Who Wouldn't Like a "Big Cat"?

The dark night soon passed.

When the sun slowly rose above the eastern horizon, Raymond finally woke from his sleep.

He first glanced at the soldier dozing lightly at the cave entrance, then asked uncertainly, "You stood guard here all night without sleeping?"

"Of course, Master. Your safety is always the most important thing. I wouldn't dare guarantee that a venomous snake wouldn't crawl in through the entrance if I fell asleep." The soldier quickly opened his eyes, stood up, and gave a salute.

Without a doubt.

The sense of responsibility and loyalty he displayed surprised Raymond greatly.

Raymond had originally thought that humanoid creatures summoned from cards were merely puppets without much intelligence or independent thought, capable only of mechanically obeying orders like golems.

But the soldier before him was hardly any different from a real living person.

He even needed food and sleep to regain his strength, just like an ordinary person.

Clearly, a Planeswalker's Creature Cards were not like the summoning spells of the Conjuration School, which simply and crudely used powerful contracts to summon some creature from elsewhere to fight or serve the caster.

Nor were they made by creating something akin to a puppet and sealing it inside a card.

Rather, they used a more complex and profound magical art.

Unfortunately, Raymond had never personally made a Creature Card, so he knew nothing about it.

It was not that he did not want to, but that he could not.

The prerequisites for making Creature Cards were exceptionally demanding.

With the power he currently possessed, at most he could try making weaklings like Goblins and Kobolds, or tameable animals such as house cats and dogs.

Moreover, the mana consumed to make a Creature Card was nearly three times that of a Magic Card of the same level.

Most importantly, the former was far less immediately effective in battle than the latter.

Rather than spend precious mana trying to make Creature Cards, it was more worthwhile to invest it in raising his class level.

The soldier clearly had no idea what Raymond was thinking.

Seeing him stand there for so long without moving or speaking, he took the initiative to ask, "Master, are you hungry? How about I catch a few fish or gather some bird eggs for your breakfast?"

Raymond quickly shook his head. "No, there's no need. I ate well yesterday, so I'm not hungry yet. Besides, you must be tired after staying awake all night. Lie down and get some rest. I'll sort out breakfast myself."

"Rest? If I stay behind to rest, who will protect your safety?" A worried expression appeared on the soldier's face.

There was no need to ask. In his subconscious, protecting his master's safety took priority over everything else, even his own life.

Raymond keenly caught that and immediately replied, "Don't worry. I can take care of myself. And you're not my only subordinate."

As he spoke, a card appeared out of thin air in his palm.

Creature Card: Beast—leopard

LV1 Green Card (Upgradeable)

Card Quality: Common

Effect: Summon a large leopard until it is killed or the summon is voluntarily dismissed. You may issue simple commands through gestures, such as attack, retreat, hide, ambush, and so on, but cannot engage in complex verbal communication. After all, it is only a beast; you cannot expect it to be as intelligent as a sapient creature.

Using this card requires payment of two green mana or two generic mana.

When the summoned leopard is killed, this card automatically enters the graveyard to await rebirth. The waiting time is one day.

As the Creature Card activated, a large feline covered in yellow fur and black spots instantly appeared at the cave entrance.

Including its tail, it was over 2.8 meters long. Its head was slightly rounded, while its relatively short limbs were powerful and sturdy. It weighed roughly 150 kilograms.

Both its Sharpfangs and claws proved its status as a predator in the animal kingdom.

"Roar!"

The moment it was summoned, the leopard let out a low growl and gently rubbed against its summoner's hand in a show of affection.

It was clear that it was far larger than leopards on Earth.

It could even rival or surpass some smaller tigers, such as the Sumatran Tiger.

Who knew whether it was some special breed or an individual mutation caused by magic.

"Well? Feel better now?"

Raymond raised his hand and vigorously rubbed the leopard's head, which stood nearly as high as his shoulder.

Unlike the human soldier he had summoned for the first time.

This leopard had been with him for quite some time and had participated in several brief battles.

So they knew each other very well.

Raymond, who had a bit of a thing for furry creatures, had even given the leopard a name: Reed.

It meant "ambusher."

After all, who wouldn't like a smart, fierce, and loyal big cat?

Seeing how close the man and leopard were, the soldier immediately revealed a relieved smile. "With it here, I can rest easy. But you still need to be careful when moving through the brush on the island. Sometimes inconspicuous venomous snakes are deadlier than beasts."

"Got it. I'll be careful."

Raymond waved his hand, turned around, and led the leopard down the mountain path.

Perhaps because he had been shut inside the mage tower of the Floating City for too long.

When he saw the green plants around him and the colorful wildflowers, he felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation, and his mood became exceptionally cheerful.

The leopard followed behind at an unhurried pace.

At the slightest movement in the wind or grass, it immediately lifted its head, pricked up its ears, and surveyed the surroundings.

But what it usually found were only small creatures like squirrels, rabbits, weasels, and foxes.

Just as the soldier had judged last night, there were no large land creatures on this island at all.

The most dangerous creatures, and also the most numerous, were snakes of every length and thickness.

Before long, Reed had bitten to death and eaten four small snakes half a meter long, as well as one large snake around 1.5 meters long and about as thick as Raymond's arm.

It never turned down breakfast that came right to its doorstep.

As for whether those snakes were venomous, there was no way to know.

In any case, as long as it was not bitten, whether they had venom made little difference.

By the time they reached the shore, Raymond was somewhat hungry after his morning exercise, so he immediately ordered the "big cat" to get him two coconuts for breakfast.

As everyone knew, leopards were excellent tree climbers.

With its somewhat short yet powerful limbs, this leopard was the best of the best among its kind.

Picking two coconuts was nothing; even dragging a deer roughly its own size up into the treetops would not be a problem.

In the blink of an eye, Reed used standard "kitty punches" to knock two coconuts down from the top of a tree, then carried them over to his master.

Raymond took a dagger gleaming with a cold silver light from his shoulder bag, found one of the coconut's soft eyes, and viciously drove the blade into it.

When he pulled it back out, sweet coconut water flowed from the small hole.

He tilted his head back without hesitation and gulped it all down.

After finishing the coconut water, he naturally pried open the shell and ate the fresh coconut meat inside.

After eating the two coconuts, he was about sixty or seventy percent full.

Just as Raymond was planning to get some more fish or bird eggs, he suddenly spotted a raised mast appearing on the distant horizon.

At the top of the mast, a long, narrow yellow flag fluttered in the wind.

A ship?

A delighted expression immediately appeared on his face.

But that delight was soon replaced by confusion.

As the distance closed, Raymond could clearly see that it was not just one ship, but two.

The ship in front had a broad, rounded hull, like the bulging belly of a couch potato. It was clearly a merchant ship designed and built to increase cargo capacity.

Not far behind it, rapidly closing in, was a long, narrow warship that was extremely fast.

Several hundred meters separated the two.

The latter was clearly trying to catch the former, while the former was doing everything it could to flee.

To reduce weight and increase their speed, some sailors were carrying heavy stones that looked like ballast and throwing them into the sea.