Iya Continent: Card God

Red-haired Locke was chasing after Bald in the direction he had fled, with the mother leopard beast following not far to the side. Behind them, on higher ground, the female mage Abirge was doing her best to keep up.

Each of the three had their own thoughts and differed from the other.

Locke was worried that something might have happened to Nabald. He wasn't afraid the guy would steal the cubs; knowing him as he did, he didn't have the guts. He was more afraid that Nabald might be ambushed by the enemy, ruining everything. He hadn't gone to all this trouble for anyone's benefit!

The white-headed two-spotted leopard mother had only one thought: to find her cubs. Anyone who dared to stand in her way would be torn to pieces.

Abiergai thought Linta must have succeeded. The flash of fire earlier must have been caused by his Fireball spell. He had held off those two Silver-ranked opponents for a while. Linta should be far away by now, right? He should be! He just hoped Linta wouldn't be discovered!

"Forehead?!"

Locke's brow twitched, his eyes narrowed, and he stared at the charred corpse lying in front of him, still glowing with a hint of fire.

A bad premonition came to mind.

That corpse, could it be!

Locke accelerated and leaped down in front of the corpse, slamming his double-edged axe into the ground with a loud thud.

"drink……!"

Locke exhaled sharply, his eyes wide as he stared at the corpse.

Although his face was burned beyond recognition, he was absolutely certain of his figure! There was no mistake! It was Baldr!

"waste!"

Locke roared in anger.

He didn't care whether Baldr lived or died, but he couldn't accept that Baldr had abandoned his cub.

"Ow!"

The mother white-headed, two-spotted leopard rushed to this spot, her expression solemn. The air here was thick with the scent of young animals; her own cub lingered here for a long time.

Abiergai stopped high on a distant mountain, sweat pouring down his face. He'd had too many chases tonight; his magic was almost entirely depleted. If these two silver-ranked warriors continued to run off, he really wouldn't be able to keep up.

"Did you make it?"

Abirgay murmured, gazing at the charred corpse, guessing it might be related to Linta.

"what--!"

Red-haired Locke roared angrily, his face turning ashen.

He knew he would never find the cub again. That despicable fellow trader must have snatched it and fled far away. He probably didn't even return to Sandel City, but went directly to another city to trade.

"It's all your fault, you beast!"

Locke glared angrily at the leopard mother, berating and accusing her.

"I only want you, you little brat, it's not like I'm going to deal with you, why are you acting so crazy!"

The other person's words echoed in the tranquil mountains. The female magician, Abirgai, was stunned. She couldn't imagine how the other person could utter such shameless words. As someone who had come to hunt young animals, she knew she was in the wrong in front of this mother.

"Ow!"

The leopard mother glared fiercely at Locke. No one knew what she was thinking at that moment.

"Fuck!"

Locke didn't care and swung his axe down.

"Clang! Clang!"

The axe strike, imbued with magical power, was enough to cleave even rocks and stones. If flesh and blood were to be struck, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The leopard mother reacted swiftly and dodged the powerful blow.

At this moment, it did not want to get entangled in a fight with the other party, and its leaping figure fled towards the gap in the mountain.

"Where to go!"

Locke roared and gave chase.

The white-headed leopard ignored the human's pursuit; all it wanted now was to find its cubs. With its speed and familiarity with the mountains, it was only a matter of time before it outmaneuvered its pursuer. The human was alone, without its former bronze-level helper.

but……

"Ow..."

A sharp pain suddenly shot out from the wound on the leopard's foreleg.

This leg had been ambushed by Locke in the previous battle, suffering an internal laceration. The recent leap had exacerbated the injury, and now it was finally responding with pain.

The leopard beast suddenly stopped in its escape, just as Locke had expected.

"Heh, you're reacting now, aren't you?"

The reason Red-Haired Locke stopped fighting after ambushing and injuring his opponent was precisely for this moment. First, he needed to check on Bald and the cub. If everything was alright, that would be best. Then, he could take advantage of the leopard beast's weakened state to deal with it more effectively. Now that Bald was dead and the cub was missing, he had no choice but to kill the leopard beast to vent his anger.

"Axe strike!" "Clang! Thud!"

The violent slash crashed down, magic energy exploded, and wherever the axe fell, shattered rocks flew everywhere.

"Ow!"

At the last second, the monster leopard avoided Locke's deadly attack.

However, this further aggravated its injury.

Abirge stared at the scene, biting his lip, his anger blazing. This adult leopard was of no value; the other party's killing of it was merely a matter of venting their anger.

"Heh. How many more times can you dodge?" Locke sneered, gripping his double-edged axe tightly, and slowly walked towards him.

The monstrous leopard beast, with its sharp fangs, confronted its enemy with neither arrogance nor servility, its eyes seemingly prepared to fight to the death.

As for the cubs, there was no way to find them. However, the scent they smelled told them that their children had run away alone. This was the only consolation.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a small, howling roar came from the mountains and forests.

"Huh?!" Locke stared in shock, looking in the direction of the voice.

The mother leopard was greatly shocked and looked over in horror.

"Could it be!" Abirgay stared in disbelief at the sight of a young leopard roaring at an enemy who had been hostile to its mother.

"What happened? Didn't Linta take it away?" Abirgay was completely bewildered.

"Awooo!" the mother leopard roared excitedly, her howl seemingly telling it to run away.

The young leopard beast did not immediately flee, but instead stared at its enemy, Locke.

"Ha ha……!"

Locke laughed, a very joyful laugh.

"I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it..."

I initially thought the cub had been kidnapped by that fellow adventurer. Unexpectedly, it appeared alone.

Then he wondered, could it be that it escaped on its own while fighting the kidnapped adventurer, and then the kidnapper never found it again?

"It doesn't matter anymore, this is God's will!"

Locke laughed wildly as he turned towards the young leopard beast.

The young leopard turned and quickly rushed into the forest. It seemed it was trying to lure Locke away so its mother could be safe.

Locke saw the beast flee and immediately gave chase, ignoring the mother leopard's plight.

"Ow!"

But this mother leopard wouldn't allow this human to hunt down her cubs. She pounced, biting at Locke.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

Locke's lips curled into a smile, and his pursuit swiftly transformed into a counterattack. He gripped the handle of his great axe tightly, his body suddenly spun around, and the axe blade flowed with magical power, bathed in the light of a full moon: "Great Moon Cleave!"

"Whoosh! Sizzle!" "Ouch...!"

Abilgai stared into the distance, his pupils widening, his face turning pale. The massive leopard's chest was covered in blood, a gruesome sight.