Chapter 41: Another Discovery

Chapter 41: Another Discovery

Seeing the moon spirit leopard completely devoid of any resistance, Jason shook his head and said to Elena, "Do you need my help?"

"No need!"

Elena bit her lip, refusing Jason's kindness. At this moment, she seemed to have lost the resolute courage of a hunter she had just displayed in battle, revealing only the weak side of an elf.

The moon spirit leopard lay on the ground, excessive blood loss draining it of nearly all strength, allowing Elena to approach slowly.

Elena squatted beside the moon spirit leopard, her slender hand gently caressing its head, tenderly as if treating a loved one, while a green glow from her hand slowly seeped into the leopard's body.

"Rest in peace, may all your pain fade away, and may you find forgiveness and tranquility in the goddess's realm."

The moon spirit leopard seemed to sense Elena's kindness and sorrow, ceasing its final struggle, its amber eyes gazing quietly at Elena, conveying a profound sadness even to William.

What's going on? Why do I feel this way?

William couldn't help but feel puzzled. This was clearly a beast that had harmed others, right?

Just when everyone thought the beast's ordeal had finally ended here, the moon spirit leopard suddenly mustered its last strength to lift its head and roar towards the small mountain behind the group.

Just as William and others thought the leopard was rallying for a final stand, its massive body crashed heavily to the ground, the last glimmer in its eyes dissipating.

Jason breathed a sigh of relief, lowering his raised weapon and comforting Elena with a pat on the shoulder.

Nichole also squatted beside Elena, whispering words of comfort. To an elf hunter, killing a sacred beast like this was too cruel.

William, however, was curious. He felt no sadness for the moon spirit leopard's death and walked over to examine the beast's body closely.

Something's not right!

With just a glance, William noticed something around the leopard's neck.

William squatted beside the leopard, feeling a cold, hard object hanging around its neck.

Brushing aside the black fur, William's eyes fell on a black chained collar. The bottom link was broken, indicating it was a special collar.

It seemed this moon spirit leopard had an unusual origin. It wasn't a wild beast but one that had been captured, tamed, and then escaped. No wonder it appeared thousands of kilometers away from the Navia Forest, deep in the territory of the Fi s Kingdom.

William didn't want to alarm Elena and instead gestured for Jason to come over.

Seeing William's cautious expression, Jason walked over, somewhat surprised, and noticed the black collar around the leopard's neck.

He also realized there was something off about the leopard's origins.

The two of them began examining the leopard's body without changing their expressions.

The strong scent of blood filled the air. William ignored the fierce wound on the leopard's abdomen and carefully inspected other parts of its body.

Sure enough, numerous scars were found all over the leopard's back, many of them freshly healed.

It seemed this leopard had just escaped from captivity. No wonder it attacked humans. It wasn't just for food; it was likely also out of revenge against humans.

William shook his head. There were always people, driven by greed or malice, who would stoop to such despicable acts.

Not to mention capturing and imprisoning moon spirit leopards, those unscrupulous merchants didn't spare even their own kind. Otherwise, how could such a vast slave market exist?

Of course, human nature is complex, and William wasn't a saint himself. He wouldn't be shaken by this incident.

Nevertheless, the leopard's plight made William suspicious. Spending a considerable price to send such a valuable and powerful magical beast to the heart of the Fis Kingdom, William could already smell the scent of conspiracy.

The world of "Divine Apocalypse" was deep. The kingdom's calculations, the demons' schemes, the gods' resolutions—all these lurked beneath the surface, waiting silently for the spark to ignite.

Even William, who had experienced everything, couldn't foresee all the events to come.

This was a real world, filled with countless hidden conspiracies. Everyone was scheming for their own interests.

However, William didn't want to get too involved in these matters. He would not do anything beyond his capabilities. That was William's code of conduct.

But after experiencing this incident, Elena might become more extreme, William thought.

William left the trouble they found to Jason and turned his gaze to the small mountain where the moon spirit leopard had hidden.

Something felt off. The leopard's behavior just now was peculiar, as if it held some special meaning.

William clapped his hands. Why think so much? Just go and see!

"I'll take a walk up the mountain and see if there's anything to discover."

William said to the others.

No one paid much attention. The moon spirit leopard had been vanquished; there shouldn't be any danger.

But cautious Jason still had Lumbro accompany William.

Without saying much, Nichole helped Elena tidy up the scene, while William and Lumbro headed towards the small mountain.

When the two arrived at the large rock where the moon spirit leopard had been found, they searched around but found nothing special.

Wait!

William cast the spell "Flight" on himself and floated in the air, carefully observing the hidden corners around.

The moon spirit leopard's den wasn't here.

This didn't make sense. Since the moon spirit leopard had been lingering here for a long time, how could it not have prepared a resting place for itself?

After some thought, William, with a trial-and-error attitude, recited an incantation to use a new spell.

"Life Detection!"

This was a second-circle spell that could detect the position and strength of living beings within the spell's range. The only drawback was that it couldn't detect creatures stronger than oneself, which was also the reason why William hadn't used it before.

As an invisible ripple spread outwards, the entire small mountain was soon scanned by William.

Closing his eyes, William saw the feedback from the detection spell in his mind.

Dots of white light flickered in his mind, simulating the various small creatures such as birds and rodents on the mountain. These faint glimmers were all living beings without extraordinary power.

Soon, William noticed a feedback with a faint blue light on the back of the mountain. This should be a creature with extraordinary power, although it felt very weak.

That must be it!

William descended from the air and signaled for Lumbos to follow him. The two headed towards the location William had discovered.

Finally, in a patch of low bushes on the back of the mountain, William found a small cave. Strictly speaking, it was a crevice formed by two overlapping rocks.

The irregular-shaped entrance to the cave was hidden in the shadow of the bushes. If William didn't know the exact location, it would have been difficult to find.

William held his breath, focused, and cautiously entered the cave. His eyes adjusted to the darkness inside, and he saw the living being he had detected, feeling somewhat surprised.

Is it really like this?