Leopard

Even the bitter wind seemed to stop for a moment, shaken by the boulder's thunderous crash. In the mountain stream where snow had been falling softly, only the lingering sounds of colliding stones and collapsing snow remained, spreading in waves through the woods on the outskirts of Frost Forest.

Lu Heng swallowed hard, a chill shooting from deep inside him straight to the crown of his head.

In his haste, he had wanted to pry loose the entire slab of bluestone that met the requirements, saving himself the trouble of repeated mining altogether. But he had forgotten that this mountain stream connected to the entire outer woodland. In this silent snowfield, any loud noise would be amplified endlessly.

Upstream lay the boundary pool where the outskirts met the middle section, and two fierce Coldrock Bears were facing off there. Though a stretch of river separated them, sound traveled far through the mountains and woods. Lu Heng had no way of knowing whether the thunderous crash of the falling boulder would carry upstream on the wind and cause the ill-tempered Coldrock Bears to abandon their standoff and come down the mountain to investigate.

He dared not gamble, nor could he afford to.

Compared with the scattered Cold Stiffs he could handle, a Coldrock Bear's killing power posed a fatal threat he had absolutely no way to withstand at present.

Not daring to hesitate even slightly, Lu Heng tapped the bracelet interface. Without a moment's pause, he instantly stored the entire, undamaged slab of bluestone that had rolled to the foot of the slope in his storage backpack.

Stone chips and broken snow still clung to his hem and cuffs. He reached back and gripped the Bronze Hunting Blade, bent low, and hurried away from the flood-scoured field of rocks, his feet treading slippery frozen earth and mud. He moved as quickly as he could, wanting only to leave the center of the noise as soon as possible and get away from the river's direct course, reducing the chance of being noticed by the massive beasts upstream.

He hurried through the shadows of the trees along the riverbank, his heart pounding, every step intensely cautious. His ears strained for any unusual movement in three directions: behind him, among the trees, and at the upstream pool.

The snow swirling through the air gradually settled, and the rumbling in the mountain stream slowly faded. Yet the dead silence among the trees only grew more unsettling.

The wind stopped.

The sound of swaying branches vanished. Even the low roars of the Coldrock Bears confronting each other in the distance grew faint and remote.

The entire outer woodland fell into the dead silence that preceded a hunt.

Lu Heng stopped short. Every hair on his back stood on end, and he instinctively turned toward the dense broadleaf woods beside him.

Between the coarse, withered-yellow trunks, a powerful, agile body covered in interlocking brown and black markings slowly emerged from the snowy shadows.

Lu Heng immediately raised his left hand. His bracelet glimmered, and an appraisal panel appeared.

[Beast: Spotted Leopard]

Grade: Black iron

Habitat tier: Frost Forest, middle layer

Traits: Swift, adept at woodland ambushes, keen sense of smell, extremely aggressive

The instant Lu Heng read the bracelet's text, his heart sank.

He had not been in this world long. From the beginning, he had only dared to move around the outskirts, facing nothing but walking-corpse-like Cold Stiffs day after day. He had never encountered a flesh-and-blood predator like this.

The image of leopards from wildlife documentaries on Earth instinctively flashed through his mind: slender, nimble bodies and pale markings, agile woodland hunters at most.

But the one before him overturned that impression completely.

Its frame was broad and brawny, its shoulders and back high, its muscles taut and bulging. Its fur was thick and coarse, its dense black-and-brown markings ferocious. It was nearly twice the size of an Earth leopard. Its broad paws trod over the snow, pressing it down slightly even as it deliberately restrained its strength. Hooked claw tips protruded halfway, gleaming cold white and hard.

This was no gentle wild creature. It was a jungle killing machine steeped in bloodshed, born to hunt.

Presumably, the thunderous crash of the falling boulder had carried across the boundary between layers and disturbed it in its middle-layer habitat, drawing it across into the outskirts.

A cold, still white light glinted in its narrow, vertical pupils as it fixed an unblinking stare on Lu Heng. The Spotted Leopard's nose twitched lightly, repeatedly sniffing the lingering scent of earth and stone in the air, along with the fresh scent unique to humans.

It slowly lowered its shoulders and arched its back, the muscles in all four limbs tightening as a vicious aura spread around it.

There was no testing, no hesitation.

It had already decided that Lu Heng was prey ripe for the taking.

The next instant, the Spotted Leopard did not pounce straight in for the kill.

It moved slowly sideways, deliberately cutting off Lu Heng's route to the gentler woodland to one side. Its growls were soft, its posture languid, every bit a feline hunter toying with its prey.

It was herding him.

It deliberately blocked the escape routes toward the outskirts, forcing Lu Heng step by step toward the deeper woods, where the trees grew denser and the middle-layer boundary lay closer. It wanted to drive its prey into its familiar hunting grounds, then toy with him slowly and exhaust his strength.

Lu Heng could not understand the leopard's intentions, much less why it did not simply attack and kill him.

He only felt an instinctive chill deep inside, his whole body taut.

Sure enough, felines were cold-blooded to the bone. They preferred playing with prey to a quick kill, watching it flee in panic with nowhere to run, enjoying the thrill of controlling life and death.

Videos from Earth's internet flashed through his mind: people abroad keeping leopards that seemed docile, clingy, and incredibly affectionate. But those were captive animals that had been tamed. A wild leopard's nature was carved into its blood and bones. Its wildness was difficult to tame, it held grudges and was suspicious, and there was never any such thing as truly taming it.

He did not think, calculate, or speculate about the leopard's hunting tactics.

The instinct to survive was etched into his bones. Ever since coming to this world, he had relied on the outskirts of Frost Forest to survive. Only the outskirts were safe in his mind.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Heng ignored the leopard's attempts to block and herd him, turned, and sprinted with all his strength toward the outermost reaches of Frost Forest. Snow crunched beneath his feet as he stubbornly fled away from the dense middle-layer woods.

This completely defied the Spotted Leopard's expectations.

It had been certain its prey would panic and follow the direction it was being herded into the dense woods. Yet the human before it had no intention of cooperating, intent only on charging toward an area outside the bounds it had set, completely disrupting the rhythm of its hunt.

The Spotted Leopard paused. Its vertical pupils abruptly contracted into narrow black lines, and the fur on its neck bristled.

Agitation and anger filled its eyes.

Its prey's defiance thoroughly enraged the proud predator.

No more playing. No more blocking his path.

The instant Lu Heng pushed off the ground and leaned forward to accelerate, the Spotted Leopard's four limbs smashed through the snow. Its body became a brown-and-black blur as it sprang off a tree trunk and leaped through the air, hurtling straight at Lu Heng's back with the bitter wind!

Wind howled against his face. The heavy beast struck with tremendous force, slamming Lu Heng bodily onto the snow-covered frozen ground.

Agony shot through his shoulder blades. The beast's heavy body pinned his lower back, and its bone-chilling rank stench hit him full in the face.

From the start of the standoff, Lu Heng's right hand had gripped the Bronze Hunting Blade without loosening in the slightest.

In that instant between life and death, he gritted his teeth and twisted his wrist. Using the momentum of his fall, he raised his arm backward. The hunting blade flashed coldly, slashing hard at the leopard's face beside him!

A sharp ripping sound rang out as the blade sliced through flesh.

The keen edge cut through the fur and skin beside the Spotted Leopard's muzzle, opening a bleeding gash.

In pain, the Spotted Leopard jerked its head aside, then raised it and let out a shrill, rasping hiss. Its fangs bared, white breath spurted ceaselessly from its nostrils, fury roiled in its eyes, and its viciousness surged severalfold.

Taking advantage of its pained recoil, Lu Heng rolled awkwardly sideways and pushed against the snow to scramble to his feet. The back of his clothing had already been torn open by the leopard's claws, and his flesh burned with stinging pain.

He tightened his grip on the blood-dripping hunting blade, his chest heaving as his mind settled completely.

There was no escaping now.

From the moment this middle-layer leopard had set its sights on him, there had been no room for escape.

He clearly remembered that wild leopards had exceptional memories and vicious dispositions. Having wounded it today, he knew this leopard would not stop until one of them was dead. Those online scenes of docile pet leopards were ultimately only a handful of exceptions. The beasts of Frost Forest had no empathy, no gentleness, only hunting and grudges.

His only choice was to fight to the death.