Chapter 7: Battle of Speed
Among the leopard-type magical beasts, the most formidable was undoubtedly the Saint Domain magical beast, the 'Thunderclap Leopard', a lightning-type sacred beast. Its speed was far beyond that of other Saint Domain magical beasts.
But if one were to speak of the most mysterious among leopard-type magical beasts, it would have to be the ninth-level magical beast, the 'Black-Striped Cloud Leopard'.
According to records in books, the last appearance of the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was over a thousand years ago. Even with the vast amount of information gathered by countless people over the years, the records about the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard were extremely sparse.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was a ninth-level magical beast. It was extremely fast, with a few sparse black stripes on its body, while the fur on its four hooves was pure white, as if it were treading on clouds. It was because of this appearance that humans named it the 'Black-Striped Cloud Leopard'.
As for what element the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard belonged to or what its special abilities were, there was virtually no record in any book.
"Most likely, any strong person in history who saw a Black-Striped Cloud Leopard ended up dead. Even those Saint Domain experts who truly know the reality of the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard probably deliberately hide that information." Linley was well aware of how tightly the upper echelons of major powers guarded certain information. Even magic above the seventh level was not to be passed around, which showed just how strict it was.
...
In the dense forest of the central region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was locked in a standoff with Linley, who was flapping his wings in midair.
"Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, its size can change, and its appearance can even shift. Truly bizarre." Linley dared not relax in the slightest.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard stared coldly at Linley, its icy eyes filled with fury.
"Swoosh!"
In the blink of an eye, the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard had crossed nearly fifty meters and was right in front of him. Its speed was nearly half again as fast as its first form (normal size, body covered in dense black stripes).
Half again!
With such a sudden increase in speed, Linley couldn't dodge in time. The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's claw struck him hard in the chest. Scales shattered on the spot, and with a "Pfft!" sound, blood seeped out.
"Whoosh." Linley immediately flapped his wings violently, flying higher at top speed.
"So fast." Linley was shocked in his heart.
In its first form, the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was slightly faster than Bebe. In its second form (enlarged size), its speed dropped by twenty to thirty percent, matching Linley's. As for its third form (its current appearance), its speed was actually half again as fast as its first form.
At this point, even a hundred meters could be crossed in the blink of an eye.
Too terrifying!
"Roar~~" The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard raised its head and stared at Linley, its eyes full of arrogance.
Linley slowly flapped his translucent cyan wings, staying in midair without descending. He knew very well that if he lowered his altitude, given the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's speed, he would be extremely hard-pressed to defend himself.
"Boss, let me handle it." Bebe, who had been watching from the side, could no longer hold back.
"Yow~~"
A terrifying, shrill screech rang out as Bebe turned into a black blur and charged at the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard. The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, which had initially paid no attention to Bebe, now realized Bebe's astonishing speed.
"Swift!" Linley instantly cast an auxiliary magic.
The 'Swift' auxiliary magic took effect on Bebe directly. In the past, Bebe had never encountered a ninth-level magical beast faster than him, so Linley had never used the auxiliary magic 'Swift' on Bebe. But now, Linley finally did so.
In practice, this kind of auxiliary magic was typically used by mages to boost the warriors in their team.
"Whoosh!" The 'Swift' boost from an eighth-level mage increased Bebe's speed by nearly thirty percent.
"Pfft." The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's sharp claws immediately swiped at Bebe.
But with the thirty percent speed boost, although Bebe was still a bit slower than the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, the gap was no longer significant. Most importantly, Bebe's small size made him extremely agile.
Bebe kept moving and changing direction.
"Yow~~" Bebe suddenly leaped up at top speed. During the leap, his size abruptly enlarged, and then he struck at the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard with a fierce claw.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard coldly watched Bebe and also swiped a claw viciously at him.
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
Both magical beasts struck each other almost simultaneously. Bebe's claw left clear scratch marks on the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's body, and blood seeped out. Meanwhile, Bebe was sent flying by the blow, tumbling once on the ground before getting back up, completely unharmed.
"Huh?" Linley's eyes went wide.
"Bebe's attack power is about the same as mine. But how did he wound it so easily?" Linley was astonished. He knew very well that Bebe's defense was freakishly tough.
Back when they entered the Misty Valley, Bebe had only just reached the eighth-level magical beast stage, yet he could withstand the dying blow of a Spiked-Back Iron-Armored Dragon without dying. Now that Bebe had reached the ninth level, his defense was even more terrifying than Linley's. Linley wasn't surprised that Bebe was unharmed.
What surprised him was that the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's defense had dropped.
"Ah, I understand."
Linley suddenly figured out the peculiarity of the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's three forms. The first form was likely the most balanced state, with attack, defense, and speed all well-proportioned. The enlarged second form sacrificed speed for increased attack. As for the current third form, speed skyrocketed, but defense dropped.
Now, the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was locked in a standoff with Bebe. Feeling the blood flowing from its wounds, it began to worry. Because the strange Shadowmouse in front of it was completely unscathed.
"Black-Striped Cloud Leopard," Linley spoke up.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard looked at Linley.
Linley did not treat the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard as a lowly creature but as an equal intelligent being: "Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, in your current form, you should be fast but weak in defense, right? Like this, you can't even defeat Bebe."
"Roar~~" The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard let out a dissatisfied roar.
Then, staring at Bebe, it made a strange, low growl. Bebe paused, then also let out a low growl.
"Boss. This Black-Striped Cloud Leopard knows the language of our rodent magical beasts," Bebe transmitted to Linley.
Linley knew that Bebe had been born understanding the language of rodent magical beasts. But the languages of other magical beast groups were different.
However, some long-lived high-level magical beasts were proficient in the languages of multiple magical beast groups.
A ninth-level peak magical beast like the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard not only understood the languages of various magical beast groups but also human language. However, due to the physiological structure of magical beasts, they couldn't speak human language. Only upon reaching the Saint Domain level and undergoing a transformation could they speak human language.
"What did it say?" Linley immediately asked.
Bebe and the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard were communicating with low growls. Suddenly, they seemed to start arguing, both beasts bristling with fur standing on end.
"Roar~~"
"Yow~~~"
The two magical beasts began attacking each other wildly. Blurs flashed continuously, blood splattered... Roars rang out nonstop as the two beasts clashed rapidly. The surrounding large trees and boulders bore the brunt of it.
Large trees crashed down, boulders shattered.
Wherever the two magical beasts passed, everything turned into rubble.
Suddenly, the two beasts separated. Bebe crouched low, growling at the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard. The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard faced Bebe with equal wariness.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was covered in blood.
With its defense lowered, it could no longer withstand Bebe's claws. And in terms of speed, Bebe, boosted by 'Swift', was only slightly slower.
Bebe roared at the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard growled back at Bebe.
"Boss, this Black-Striped Cloud Leopard refuses to submit. It says you have no ability to defeat it," Bebe transmitted to Linley. "Boss, let me kill it."
At this moment, the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard itself was troubled.
If it switched to its other two forms, its speed would be inferior to the opponent's, and it would only be toyed with. But even in its current 'Wind Form', while fast, its defense was lowered.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard also knew that the human could fly.
Flying speed was definitely faster than running on four legs. In close-quarters movement, it might be faster than Linley, but if it tried to flee, Linley carrying Bebe could easily catch up.
"Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, you think I can't defeat you?" Linley said loudly.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard immediately raised its proud head toward Linley. In close-quarters combat, the speed advantage of wings couldn't be fully utilized. It wasn't afraid of Linley.
"Fine." Linley nodded slightly.
Then Linley began chanting a magic spell. The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard hesitated for a moment. But since it was a wind-element magical beast, it wasn't too worried about any powerful wind magic Linley might have. Besides, it knew that if it tried to flee, Linley could easily catch up.
"Hum~~"
A layer of earthy yellow light covered the area within a hundred meters centered on the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard. The light pulsed with a special fluctuation.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard felt an astonishing gravitational pull from the ground, causing its entire body to sink. Even the blood in its body, its heart, and other organs were affected by the gravity in that instant, leaving the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard momentarily dizzy.
Earth magic — Gravity Spell!
The 'Gravity Spell' cast by an eighth-level archmage exerted nearly eight times the normal gravity. The power of eightfold gravity was not simply a matter of adding a thousand pounds to a two-hundred-pound weight. Eightfold gravity affected not only the surface of the body but also internal organs like the heart, liver, and spleen.
An ordinary person might be able to lift a hundred or two hundred pounds.
But under twofold gravity, their heart might give out, and they could die instantly.
After all, while the muscles on the surface could be trained, internal organs like the heart and lungs were difficult to strengthen. The improvement was far less than that of external muscles.
Caught off guard by the 'eightfold gravity', the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard felt dizzy.
Before it could recover, Linley, his body covered in a layer of earthy yellow light, shot down at top speed and began a frenzied... beating with fists and feet!
Yes, he didn't use the Black Heavy Sword.
Just fists and feet!
"Roar~~" The ninth-level magical beast's physique was astonishingly tough, and it quickly adapted to the state. But under eightfold gravity, its speed was less than half of what it had been.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" ...
"Bam!"
A kick slammed hard into the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's abdomen. Then Linley dashed to another direction, punched the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's body, and sent it flying back.
Punching and kicking, in just ten seconds.
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard was thoroughly battered by Linley. In its current state, it couldn't escape the area affected by the Gravity Spell. And Bebe was watching menacingly from the side.
"Do you submit?"
"Do you submit?"
...
Linley shouted as he continued his frenzied beating, pummeling the ninth-level peak magical beast, the 'Black-Striped Cloud Leopard', until it had no strength to resist. Blood trickled from its mouth.
"Roar~~" The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard suddenly let out a mournful, angry roar.
"Boss. It submits."
"Bam." Linley, who had been punching too fast, landed another fist on the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard's head, smashing it to the ground.
Linley smiled as he looked at the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard lying on the ground. Under eightfold gravity, its blood circulation and everything else were under immense pressure, and after being so brutally beaten by Linley, it was dazed.
"You submit, right?" Linley smiled at the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard.
Although Linley was smiling, in his fully Dragonized form, his dark golden pupils were always indifferent and emotionless. With his scale-covered face, how could the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard tell that Linley was smiling?
The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard looked up at Linley. Seeing the corners of Linley's mouth curl up, it trembled inwardly. It was afraid of being beaten again. It nodded immediately. Besides, it was genuinely impressed by Linley's strength. A powerhouse with both formidable combat skills and magic was enough to earn its submission.
Linley smiled and immediately began setting up the Soul Contract magic array!
(Second chapter here. There's also a third chapter to make up for a previous shortfall.)