Ferocious Beasts and White Sail Swordsmanship

Seeing that Grem was about to follow in his companion's footsteps because of his own carelessness, the hunter's pupils shrank as though he could already see Death's scythe falling upon his head.

"Woof! Woof woof, woof woof..."

The black hunting dog fearlessly lunged forward the instant it sensed danger, throwing itself in front of its master.

"Bang!"

"Yelp... yelp..."

The brave hunting dog was clearly no match for the savage predator. It was sent flying by a single swipe of its paw and landed on the ground with pitiful whimpers.

But its actions had not been in vain. Grem seized that fleeting chance to roll across the ground, dodging the fatal bite aimed at his neck. He had barely escaped with his life, at the cost of a chunk of flesh and blood from his arm.

The black big cat landed without a sound and prepared to pounce again. Now aware of the gap between them, Grem closed his eyes and waited for death, practically able to smell the bloody stench stirred up by the beast.

"Whoosh!"

A feathered arrow tore through the air.

"Bang!" It struck the ground between the big cat and Grem. The powerful force drove the arrow deep underground, leaving only its fletching trembling with a hum.

The black big cat was startled. It turned to glance in the direction the arrow had come from, humanlike hesitation appearing in its bright yellow eyes. Then it sprang onto a large tree on long, slender limbs and vanished into the canopy.

When Grem saw who had arrived, relief flooded his face. Panting heavily, he struggled to his feet.

"Brother, thank you for saving my life!"

At this moment, the tenacious hunting dog also got up and ran to Grem's side, tongue hanging out.

"And you, my Old Friend Jim! You really are my savior."

Evan took a roll of gauze from his backpack and let Grem bandage himself. With no time to catch up, he asked in a low voice, "Did you get a clear look at what it was?"

"It was a black leopard. Back then..." Grem clenched the gauze between his teeth as he skillfully dressed his wound, all while bitterly recounting to Evan how he and Colin had tracked it.

"And it was incredibly fast, incredibly cunning. Colin was bitten to death by its Sneak Attack because he wasn't on guard. If we hadn't been afraid it would get away and wanted to wait for others to surround it with us, we would've Taken Down that damned beast long ago."

"Evan, let's join forces and Take Down it!"

"No, Grem! We'd better leave immediately. That probably wasn't a leopard." Evan paused, his brow furrowing. "It was most likely a Ferocious Beast!"

Having received systematic instruction from Old Butler Leo, Evan's understanding of this world far surpassed that of an ordinary hunter from a small town.

Perhaps their ancestors had encountered Ferocious Beasts before, but they had most likely never had the chance to return and pass that valuable experience on to later generations.

Perhaps the Upper class of Leopold knew about them, but the divide of bloodline and status meant that knowledge and experience would never casually flow down to the Low-level of society.

This was also why Evan was grateful for where he had been born. Being reborn in This era, if he had started as an ordinary commoner, the difficulty would have been hellish. He might not even have understood what kind of country or world he lived in by the time he reached adulthood and could move freely.

Judging from Data Vision and Grem's description, there was a high chance that it was a Ferocious Mountain Cat.

"A Mountain Cat?" Grem's face was full of disbelief at Evan's conclusion.

Of course he knew what a Mountain Cat was. Mountain Cats were also called lynxes, and they could often be seen in the woods when hunting in the mountains. But those were medium-sized felines no taller than a person's thigh and smaller than hunting dogs. They were worlds apart from that creature capable of carrying a grown man in its jaws as it bounded through the trees.

It was difficult for Evan to explain this clearly to Grem, who possessed no extraordinary knowledge at all. Ferocious Creatures had originally been ordinary animals, but after being affected by the mysterious particles drifting through this world and undergoing a passive Extraordinary Transformation, those that survived became Ferocious Creatures far larger, stronger, faster, and smarter than their own kind.

Such strange beings had existed since ancient times.

According to Old Butler Leo, a Formal Knight, humanity had developed methods of using special training techniques and potions to actively trigger Savage Body Transformation, thereby advancing into powerful Human Knights, through studying this wondrous phenomenon.

One was active and the other passive. Though both underwent Savage Body Transformation, Human Knights were far stronger than Ferocious Beasts of the same level.

A Mountain Cat, which should have been no more than a medium-sized feline, had grown into a vicious predator even larger than a cheetah. With the physical enhancement brought about by Ferocious Transformation, it was far beyond the ability of ordinary people to handle.

Unfortunately, those ordinary people included Evan himself, a mere Apprentice Knight.

"Perhaps that cunning beast only pretended to leave. Ferocious animals may not be as intelligent as humans, but we can no longer treat it as an ordinary beast."

Evan's mouth was bitter as well. If he had known that Grem and the others had provoked a Ferocious Beast, he never would have followed them here. Even if there were two of him tied together, they would only be delivering themselves as food to the Ferocious Beast.

As for why he had managed to frighten it away with a single feathered arrow at first, Evan guessed it was merely the hunting instinct of a nocturnal animal. Even when facing weak prey, it habitually concealed itself first.

"Then... let's head back first. If we report the presence of a vicious predator here to City Hall, the Magistrate should send the Musketeer Squad to Take Down it."

Recklessness was not a hunter's trait, and Grem happened to be a qualified hunter. After a brief inner struggle, he nodded fiercely and decided to leave first. Later, he would guide the Musketeer Squad stationed in Leopold back here to settle matters with this beast.

"Woof! Woof woof, woof woof..."

The two men and one dog had only taken two steps when Jim suddenly ran two steps forward, bared his snow-white fangs, and began barking madly into the forest again.

Looking at the big cat, which had openly leaped down from the tree and now approached with slow, elegant steps like a spirit of the woods, the two exchanged glances and smiled bitterly at the same time.

"Let's risk our lives!"

Since the beast had no intention of letting them go, Evan's ferocity was stirred as well. He stepped to the front of the group, and the longsword at his waist slowly slid from its sheath.

When enemies met on a narrow road, the braver side won. Evan firmly believed that.

"Wait, Evan." Grem, who was behind him with his bow drawn and arrow nocked, suddenly spoke. His tone was excited, and his words came rapidly.

"Maybe we still have a chance. I don't know about elsewhere, but I grew up in these mountains. Every adult Mountain Cat here has long, dark tufts of fur on its ears. But this one doesn't! Look, it really doesn't!"

Evan's eyesight was better than Grem's, and he had noticed this earlier. He simply lacked Grem's wealth of experience.

At last, a glimmer of survival appeared in their hopeless situation. Evan's heart eased, and he regained his usual composure.

The big Mountain Cat, still technically a juvenile, was not particularly brave. But after a successful hunt, it had discovered that these two-legged animals were not powerful. Clever but inexperienced, the young predator decided to stop circling around and turn all the remaining two-legged creatures into stored food.

Evan made a gesture for support, then raised his sword and stepped forward to meet the Ferocious Mountain Cat as it slowly approached.

Stopping five paces away from the Ferocious Mountain Cat, Evan gripped his sword with Both Hands and bent his knees slightly. The blade was level with his line of sight as he assumed the Square Sail Opening Stance of White Sail Swordsmanship, used to deal with agile enemies.

White Sail Swordsmanship was an exquisite sword art used by the ancestors of the Garratt Family when they roamed the seas in their youth. It originated from Ship Combat Art used by sailors fighting aboard vessels on the water, and was later refined by generations of Swordsmanship Masters.

By the time it had been passed down to Evan, it had become a battle-tested and masterful sword art suited for both land combat and shipboard combat, with enormous influence along the Black Sea coast.

Though he did not understand why the big cat had revealed itself so openly, that did not stop Evan from testing it. He gripped his longsword tightly and slowly dragged his feet forward.

"Hiss—!"

The big Mountain Cat was clearly far from being a patient, qualified hunter. The moment Evan entered its attack range, it Turned into a black shadow and lunged straight at him.

"Ha!"

Evan dodged with a small, nimble movement. Then he twisted around in an instant and let out a shout. His right foot stamped down, and the strength of his entire body united through his battle-hardened swordsmanship instinct. The longsword in his hand pierced the air with an explosive crack.

A perfect Thrust Sword strike chased after the big Mountain Cat's spine, as though it would pierce straight through it.

The big Mountain Cat, whose attack had missed, showed no trace of sluggishness. The hunting instinct in its bones made it choose the most correct response: it did not evade.

Its huge yet agile body suddenly exerted force. Its hind legs kicked off the ground, launching it into the air again. It twisted at the waist, passed over the thrusting longsword, and pounced once more at Evan's face.

A foul wind struck his face. Evan lunged forward along the momentum of his sword and rolled several times across the ground, avoiding the attack while once again opening the distance between himself and the big Mountain Cat.