Shadow Leopard

Morning sunlight illuminated the entire castle. Beneath the sun, the castle revealed its massive form. Compared to other knightly castles of the same rank, it was already enormous. It had been built over ten years by the first Lord Bennett.

Because several heirs in later generations had been incompetent, the Bennett title had been lost, leaving only the rank of knight. Whenever Knight Bennett spoke of it, he could not help but feel deep regret.

Knight Bennett's greatest regret was that he had not earned enough military merit. Though he had fought bravely and tenaciously in the war against the orcs, he had still failed to accumulate enough merit to exchange for a title.

Therefore, Knight Bennett devoted great care to educating his children, especially his eldest son, Zack. As long as Zack became a knight before the age of thirty, the inheritance of this castle would be assured. After that, it would depend on how hard Zack worked and whether he could raise his title.

Knight Bennett had few expectations for his younger son. He had originally planned to find someone to teach him arithmetic while he was young, then help him find a decent job in town. But his younger son had chosen the path of a knight, which left Knight Bennett somewhat worried. The road Abel had chosen was even harder than his brother's. Without his own castle, warhorse, or armor, he would become a wandering knight, a profession unrecognized by the nobility. He would have to risk his life outside to slowly earn enough money to buy his own warhorse and armor. It would already be fortunate if he could settle down before forty, and most wandering knights fell along the road before then.

"You advanced?"

At the training ground, Knight Bennett stared in surprise at his second son, Abel. After only two months of training, Abel had successfully advanced to become a Level 1 Squire Knight. Knight Bennett himself had taken four months to advance, while his eldest son, Zack, had taken four and a half. Yet the younger son he had paid the least attention to had become a Level 1 Squire Knight in just two months, without resources or special attention.

"Yes, Father. I successfully advanced last night."

Zack rushed forward and hugged Abel. The tall Zack lifted Abel right off the ground and spun him around in the air, laughing as he shouted, "My dearest brother, you're a genius!"

After Abel struggled continuously, Zack finally put him down. He gave Abel's shoulder a hard pat and declared with certainty, "You are a genius."

Knight Bennett stood nearby, faintly shaking his head. He was both happy and saddened as he sighed. "What a pity. What a pity."

If Abel had been his eldest son, or if the knightly territory had earned a little more, he would certainly have devoted all his strength to training Abel. But that was simply not their current situation. It was already difficult enough to fully ensure Zack's training, much less Abel's.

Abel had obtained the Horadric Cube yesterday. Although he had no way to use the Town Portal Scroll, the Horadric Cube, as a divine artifact, was no ordinary item. After getting up that morning, Abel had been constantly recalling the Horadric Cube's formulas. There were not many formulas he could use at present, so he planned to visit town today and see if there was anything that could help him.

"Father, I want to go to Libo Town today." Abel did not hesitate and directly made his request. This was a trait of knightly families: if there was something to ask, they asked it directly. There was no need to beat around the bush. Abel had been unaccustomed to this at first, but he had now completely adapted to this way of speaking.

"Mm. You've just advanced, so don't train today. It'll do you good to go into town and relax."

Zack said from the side, "I'll get your horse."

As he spoke, he ran to the stables, found a draft horse, helped Abel fasten the saddle, and assisted him onto the horse. He even secretly slipped Abel a gold coin.

Knight Bennett saw everything but said nothing. Still, the pleased expression on his face was impossible to hide. Countless noble families had brothers who turned against and harmed each other, making such brotherly affection all the more precious.

Other than warhorses, all horses were called draft horses. Warhorses ate specially prepared oats and soybeans, requiring ten gold coins' worth of feed every month. Without that special feed, a warhorse would quickly lose condition and be unable to run fast, becoming an ordinary draft horse.

The draft horse Abel rode was a two-year-old colt. Though it was a draft horse, it had descended from the family's warhorses. It had only become a draft horse because they could not afford to feed it properly.

Abel rode ahead, followed by Norman, an attendant wearing leather armor and carrying a longsword. Norman was not riding. He simply ran behind the draft horse. Fortunately, it was a small draft horse. Draft horses were not fast to begin with, and since this one was still young, Norman had no trouble keeping up.

Norman was an old soldier Knight Bennett had brought back from the battlefield. After returning from the war, he had followed Knight Bennett, and his entire family had settled in Bennett Castle as well. This was how nobles treated their attendants: it made them grateful to the nobles while fundamentally ensuring their loyalty.

Norman's swordsmanship was outstanding. With the Warrior Secret Arts provided by Knight Bennett, he had become a Level 6 Warrior. Though he possessed no special abilities, his exquisite swordsmanship made him extremely formidable. Thus, whenever Abel went out, Knight Bennett was always at ease letting Norman accompany him.

"Young master, stop."

Norman had already drawn the hand sword from his back and held it in his hand, his eyes fixed on the woods by the roadside. It was half an hour from the castle and half an hour from Libo Town. If anything happened here, they would be unable to seek help from either side.

Abel reined in the draft horse and drew the refined iron dagger Zack had given him from his waist. "What did you find?" he asked softly.

Abel sat much higher than Norman on horseback, but even after carefully observing the area, he saw nothing. Just as he was wondering about it, a roar rang out, and a black shadow shot from the woods. Abel finally saw it clearly. It was a Shadow Leopard.

The Shadow Leopard was too fast. In only a few steps, it reached the draft horse and bit for its neck. After all, this draft horse was descended from warhorses. At that critical moment, it whinnied and leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the Shadow Leopard's certain bite.

Norman had already charged forward. His longsword slashed out, carrying a piercing whistle through the air as it cleaved toward the Shadow Leopard. The Shadow Leopard was no ordinary leopard. It normally did not appear during the day, much less on a road. It preferred hiding in the darkness and waiting for prey to pass before biting through its victim's neck. It was likely so hungry today that it had been forced to leave the forest in search of prey.

The Shadow Leopard was too fast. It evaded every strike from Norman, while its own attacks had little effect. The experienced Norman always managed to block its attacks with his greatsword.

Abel jumped off the horse and slowly approached the fight. The Shadow Leopard paid no attention to the small human. Its experience told it that as long as it defeated the sword-wielding human before it, there would be plenty of food.

Abel did not immediately enter the battle. He merely circled the edge of the fight, slowly searching for an opportunity. Entering now would only trouble Norman. As for the Shadow Leopard, the weak, small human could not pierce its hide even if he gave it everything he had.

At that moment, Norman and the Shadow Leopard made their first true exchange. Norman's longsword struck the Shadow Leopard's back. The blow had originally been aimed at its neck, but with a twist, the beast avoided the vital spot. The Shadow Leopard's tail lashed Norman's leg. Pain appeared on Norman's face, and his retreating steps staggered from the injury.

At that instant, Abel took a deep breath. A powerful force surged from his Qi Vein. This was a way for a Squire Knight to overdraw the body, allowing only a single strike. The vast amount of qi within the Qi Vein was transformed into strength in an instant. If there were a second strike, the Qi Vein would shatter beyond repair.

In that flash of time, after the Shadow Leopard was struck by the sword and lashed out with its tail, its body paused briefly in midair. This was the opportunity Abel had waited for. He stamped the ground and shot forward. The Shadow Leopard saw Abel as well, but although its injury was not fatal, it had affected its movement. Abel thrust his dagger toward the Shadow Leopard's rear and plunged it in through its anus.

"Aooow!" The Shadow Leopard let out a shrill howl. Abel had already released the dagger and retreated, and a black tail swept past his chest the next moment.

Despite his injury, Norman limped over and pulled Abel behind him. The Shadow Leopard was already rolling about on the ground, its cries growing weaker and weaker until it gradually stopped moving.

Abel was about to step forward and inspect it when Norman grabbed him. "Careful." He removed the scabbard from his back and threw it at the Shadow Leopard. Just before it struck the beast, the Shadow Leopard suddenly extended a claw and swiped at the scabbard. After that, it made no further sound.

Norman stepped forward, picked up the scabbard, and looked at the claw marks on it. "Young master, many beasts have a habit of making one final strike."

Then he lifted the Shadow Leopard's corpse from the ground. Looking at the wound in its rear, he pulled out the dagger and smiled. "The young master killed this. How does the young master want to handle it?"

"Carry it into town and sell it."

Abel looked at Norman's leg again. "You ride from here on. Put the Shadow Leopard on the horse too."

Norman did not stand on ceremony. To him, his life belonged to the Bennett Family. Since the injury did not prevent him from traveling, the best choice was for him to ride.