Another Discovery

Seeing that the Moon Spirit Leopard had completely lost the ability to resist, Arsen shook his head and said to Elena:

"Need my help?"

"No!"

Elena bit her lip and refused Arsen's kindness. At that moment, she seemed to have lost the steadfast decisiveness of a hunter she had shown in battle, leaving only the vulnerable side of an elf.

The Moon Spirit Leopard was already lying on the ground. Excessive blood loss had left it with barely enough strength to move, and it could only watch as Elena slowly approached.

Elena crouched beside the Moon Spirit Leopard. Her slender hand gently stroked its head, as tenderly as though she were caring for a beloved relative, while green light from her hand gradually seeped into its body.

"Rest in peace. All suffering shall leave you. May you find forgiveness and peace in the goddess's God Kingdom."

The Moon Spirit Leopard seemed to sense Elena's kindness and sorrow as well. It ceased its final struggle, its bright yellow eyes quietly gazing at Elena. Li Si could even sense profound grief in its eyes.

What was going on? Why did I feel that way?

Li Si could not help finding it strange. This was clearly a magical beast that had hurt people.

Just as everyone thought the magical beast hunt had finally come to an end, the Moon Spirit Leopard suddenly used its last strength to raise its head and let out a roar toward the small mountain behind them.

Just as Li Si and the others thought the Moon Spirit Leopard was having a final burst of strength and preparing for a desperate fight, its massive body slammed heavily onto the ground. The last glimmer of light in its eyes vanished at that moment.

Arsen let out a breath of relief, lowered his raised weapon, and stepped forward to pat Elena on the shoulder in consolation.

Ya Er also crouched beside Elena and comforted her softly. For an elven hunter, killing one of her people's sacred beasts—the hunter's finest companion—was simply too cruel.

Li Si, however, felt no sorrow over the Moon Spirit Leopard's death. Curious, he walked over to the dead creature, crouched down, and carefully examined the sleek, black high-level magical beast.

Something was wrong!

After only two glances, Li Si noticed that there seemed to be something around the Moon Spirit Leopard's neck.

Crouching beside it, Li Si reached out and felt something cold and hard hanging around its neck.

He parted the black fur and saw a black chain collar. The connecting section at the bottom had already snapped; it appeared to be a specially made collar.

It seemed this Moon Spirit Leopard had an unusual origin. It was probably not a wandering magical beast, but one that had been captured, raised, and then escaped. No wonder it had appeared in the heartland of the Fies Kingdom, thousands of kilometers away from Navia Forest.

Li Si did not alert Elena. Instead, he beckoned Arsen over.

Seeing Li Si's cautious manner, Arsen came over to take a look and was somewhat startled. He too saw the black collar around the Moon Spirit Leopard's neck.

He also realized there was something suspicious about the Moon Spirit Leopard's origins.

The two then quietly examined the Moon Spirit Leopard's corpse together.

The pungent stench of blood assaulted his nose. Ignoring the gruesome wound on the Moon Spirit Leopard's abdomen, Li Si carefully inspected the rest of its body.

Sure enough, he found numerous scars across the Moon Spirit Leopard's back. There were many of them, and they appeared to have only recently healed.

It seemed this Moon Spirit Leopard had only just escaped from a cage. Li Si had no idea why it had come to Tony Baron's territory.

No wonder it had attacked humans. It seemed hunger was not the only reason; it was likely seeking revenge against humans as well.

Li Si shook his head. There were always people like that—whether driven by greed or malicious intent—who did things that crossed the line.

Forget capturing and imprisoning Moon Spirit Leopards; those heartless merchants would not even spare their own kind. Otherwise, where would such an enormous slave market have come from?

Of course, human nature was complicated. Li Si was no saint, so this matter alone would not shake his resolve.

Even so, the Moon Spirit Leopard's plight made Li Si suspicious. Someone had paid an enormous price to bring such a precious and powerful magical beast into the heartland of the Fies Kingdom. Li Si could practically smell a conspiracy.

The main storyline of Divine Revelation ran very deep. The kingdoms' schemes, the demons' plots, the gods' decisions—at this moment, all of them still lurked beneath the surface, quietly awaiting the spark that would ignite them.

Even Li Si, who had experienced it all, could not know every event that would happen in the future.

This was a real world, and there were countless hidden schemes and intrigues. Everyone was calculating for their own interests.

However, Li Si did not want to involve himself too deeply in such matters. Never doing anything beyond his own capabilities was the principle he lived by.

Still, after going through this, Elena would probably become even more extreme, wouldn't she?

Li Si left it to Arsen to tell the two women about the troubling discovery, then raised his head and looked toward the small mountain where the Moon Spirit Leopard had been hiding.

Something still felt wrong. The Moon Spirit Leopard's earlier behavior had been strange, as though it carried some special meaning.

Li Si clapped his hands. Why think so much about it? He could just go take a look!

"I'll take a look around the mountain and see if I find anything."

Li Si spoke to the others.

No one paid much attention. The Moon Spirit Leopard had already been slain, so there should not be any danger left.

But the cautious Arsen still had Lunbos accompany Li Si.

Without another word, Ya Er helped Elena clean up the scene while Li Si headed up the small mountain with Lunbos.

When they reached the huge rock where the Moon Spirit Leopard had been discovered, they searched the area but found nothing unusual.

Something was wrong!

Li Si cast Flight Spell on himself and floated into the air, carefully observing every hidden corner around him.

The Moon Spirit Leopard's den was not here.

That should not have been possible. If the Moon Spirit Leopard had occupied this place for a long time, how could it not have prepared somewhere to rest?

After some thought, Li Si decided to give it a try and chanted an incantation to use a new spell.

"Life Detection Spell!"

This was a second-circle spell that could detect the location and strength of living beings within its range. Its only flaw was that it could not detect creatures stronger than its caster, which was why Li Si had not used it earlier.

As an invisible ripple spread outward, Li Si quickly scanned the entire small mountain.

Li Si closed his eyes, and the information returned by the detection spell appeared in his mind.

Tiny white points of light flickered across the mountain in his mental image. These dim, faint lights were ordinary living things without extraordinary power, such as birds, insects, and rodents.

Soon, Li Si noticed a spot on the far side of the mountain that returned a pale blue glow. It should have been a living being with extraordinary power, though it felt extremely weak.

It should be there!

Li Si descended from the air, called out to Lunbos, and the two hurried toward the place Li Si had found.

At last, Li Si found a small cave amid a patch of low shrubs on the far side of the mountain. Strictly speaking, it was actually a crevice formed where two rock faces overlapped.

The irregular entrance was hidden in the shadows of the shrubs. If Li Si had not known its exact location, it would have been difficult to spot.

Li Si held his breath and stooped as he entered. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness inside, he saw the living being he had detected—and was somewhat surprised.

So that was it?

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