The true disturbance in the wind came from behind and to the right.
Linley beat his Wings of Wind fiercely.
Whoosh!
A black-and-white figure swept past his throat, the wind from its claws cutting painfully against his scales. Linley twisted aside, but his chest still took a vicious swipe.
Rip!
Several black dragon scales on his chest shattered, and blood immediately seeped out.
Linley used the force to fly high into the air, then glanced down at his wound.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard landed in a large tree, its white limbs planted on a branch as it looked up at him coldly.
It was too fast.
Even with Wings of Wind, Linley could only put some distance between them temporarily. He could not evade it at all in close combat.
"Boss, I'm going in!" Bebe shouted, shooting forward as a black afterimage.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard had paid Bebe no attention before. Only when Bebe reached it did it abruptly turn its head, surprise appearing in its golden eyes.
Linley immediately cast a support spell.
"Extreme Speed!"
Pale blue light enveloped Bebe's entire body. His speed suddenly increased. Although he was still a shade slower than the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, his small body and nimble turns allowed him to keep the black leopard occupied.
Bebe suddenly leaped up.
His body rapidly expanded in midair, and his enormous claws slammed toward the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard did not dodge. It raised its claws to meet him.
Rip!
Rip!
The two magical beasts struck each other almost simultaneously.
Bebe's claws left several distinct gashes on the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, blood seeping out beneath its black fur. The leopard's claws also struck Bebe, but only sent him flying.
Bebe rolled once on the ground and immediately stood up, without a single mark on him.
Linley's eyes lit up.
His Rushing Thunder strike earlier had only injured the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's internal organs through the impact, without even breaking its hide. Although Bebe's attacks were not much stronger than his, he could easily claw open wounds.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's defense had weakened.
"I understand now." Linley watched the black-and-white halo around the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard. "Its first form balances attack, defense, and speed. Its second form grows larger, sacrificing speed for stronger attacks. In its current Wind Element form, its speed increases, but its defense drops."
Bebe and the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard collided again.
The black leopard was fast, while Bebe was small. Two black shadows flashed constantly through the trees, their claws crossing as low growls rang out one after another.
Rip!
Bebe clawed the black leopard's shoulder.
The black leopard twisted around and sent Bebe flying with a swipe.
Bebe lunged again as soon as he landed.
Wherever the two magical beasts passed, large trees toppled and boulders shattered. Moments later, the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was covered in bloody gashes, while Bebe still moved freely.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard finally retreated, crouching on a broken rock as its golden eyes stared fixedly at Bebe.
Bebe lowered his body, his claws digging into the ground, and sent Linley a mental message. "Boss, this fellow refuses to submit. It says you don't have the ability to defeat it. Let me kill it."
"Not yet." Linley beat his wings and slowly descended to the ground. "I'll do it."
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard understood human speech. It gave Linley a cold look, then actually charged at him again.
"If you won't submit, I'll beat you until you do."
Linley did not take to the air again.
He stood where he was and began chanting a spell.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard paused.
It was a Wind Element magical beast and did not fear ordinary wind-element magic. As long as Linley did not use those blue wings, a human warrior alone could never catch it.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard charged again.
Linley continued chanting.
Just as the black leopard reached him, Linley finally completed his spell.
Hummm!
Earth-yellow light abruptly appeared within a hundred-meter radius of the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard.
Earth Element magic, Gravitational Field!
Gravity instantly increased eightfold.
This did not merely make its body heavier. Even its heart and internal organs bore terrifying pressure. The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's limbs buckled, its body abruptly sagged, and its vision went black as dizziness overtook it.
Before it could recover, Linley had already charged over.
This time, he did not use the Edgeless heavy sword.
Thud!
A vicious kick struck the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard in the belly.
The black leopard's enormous body flew sideways to the edge of the Gravitational Field, only for Linley to catch up and punch it back.
Thud!
His fist struck the black leopard's head.
"Will you submit?"
Linley lashed out with a kick.
Thud!
"Will you submit?"
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard had just regained its senses when a punch struck its chest. It wanted to get up and flee, but under eightfold gravity, its speed was less than half what it had been.
However fast its Wind Element form was, it could not escape the Gravitational Field.
Thud!
Thud!
Linley's punches and kicks never stopped. Within ten short breaths, the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's mouth was full of blood.
Bebe stood outside the Gravitational Field, grinning at the sight.
"Boss, left!"
Linley kicked the black leopard to the left, then caught up and delivered another punch.
Thud!
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's enormous body slammed into the accumulated snow, collapsing the earth around it.
It finally let out a roar of grief and indignation.
"Boss, it says it submits," Bebe immediately transmitted.
Linley had just thrown another punch.
Thud!
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's head was driven into the ground. Its body twitched, and it finally stopped struggling.
Linley withdrew his fist and stood before it. "Do you really submit?"
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard raised its head, its golden eyes full of anger, but still nodded.
It truly had been beaten into submission.
An enemy with considerable prowess as a warrior, powerful magic, and the ability to coordinate with a Level Nine Magical Beast was already strong enough to earn its acknowledgment.
Only then did Linley dispel the Gravitational Field.
The earth-yellow light faded. The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard went limp and lay on the ground, panting heavily.
Linley did not continue attacking. Instead, he raised a hand and gathered his spiritual energy.
A nearly transparent, pentagonal magical pattern appeared in midair.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard did not resist.
The magic formation slowly flew toward its head and merged directly into its mind.
Linley and the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard simultaneously felt a connection between their souls.
This was not the Equal Contract he shared with Bebe.
The contract formation had been formed from Linley's spiritual energy. Once the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard accepted it, it acknowledged Linley as its master.
"Master." A deep voice sounded in Linley's mind.
Linley looked at the black leopard lying on the ground. "What's your name?"
"My name is Haeru."
"Haeru?" Linley committed the name to memory.
Bebe had already run over to Haeru and begun growling softly.
Haeru answered with low growls as well.
The two magical beasts spoke in a magical-beast language that only they could understand. After a moment, Bebe turned and looked at Linley with a peculiar expression.
"Boss, it says you hit too hard."
Haeru immediately let out a low growl.
Bebe hastily corrected himself. "It says-it means you knew just how hard to hit."
Linley glanced at Haeru. "What else did it say?"
"It says it wants another race with me once it recovers."
Haeru raised its head, its golden eyes turning toward Bebe.
Bebe bared his teeth, refusing to back down.
In the distance, Doehring finally walked over.
He first examined the wounds on Linley's chest and waist, then looked at Haeru lying on the ground.
"The injuries aren't serious," Doehring said. "This Black-Striped Cloud Leopard is quite impressive, though. At the peak of the ninth level, and a dual-element magical beast of darkness and wind."
"I only figured out its three forms just now," Linley said.
"Figuring them out was your own achievement." Doehring stroked his white beard. "If I'd told you its weaknesses beforehand, you would have gained half as much from this battle."
Linley said nothing, merely looking up at his Edgeless heavy sword.
Haeru followed his gaze, and its deep voice sounded in Linley's mind again. "Master, that heavy sword attack of yours was very powerful. But that was still only human strength."
A trace of confusion flashed through Linley's eyes.
"Human strength?"
Haeru nodded. "You could injure me because your strength erupted very quickly. But you can't make the surrounding space pin me down for you. If you could, you wouldn't have needed that eightfold gravity just now."
Linley fell silent.
Doehring did not explain immediately, only watching Linley.
Haeru was right.
Wielding something heavy as though it were light meant controlling one's own strength perfectly. Beyond that, it was no longer simply a matter of increasing strength.
Linley gripped the sword's hilt.
He still did not know what that next realm was.
But he already had a direction.
"Heal your wounds first," Doehring said. "Continue training tomorrow."
Linley nodded.
Haeru slowly rose to its feet. Even after signing the Master-Servant Contract, its gaze toward Linley still held a measure of pride. Acknowledging a master had not made it servile.
Linley looked at it and asked, "Can you walk?"
Haeru let out a low growl.
"It says, of course it can," Bebe translated. "It also says that was only because of the eightfold gravity, so it doesn't count as a real loss."
"Then let's go," Linley said.
Haeru turned and followed behind Linley.
The setting sun sank into the mountain forest as the three people and one beast continued along the road north.