41: Unyielding Chris

Renn rode his horse along the cobblestone roads of Red River Town; all along the way, Red River Territory residents were flooding in from outside the town.

Seeing Renn emerge from Red River Fortress from afar, Fornal immediately organized men to clear the crowds on the cobblestone road to make way for him.

Ross led the Cavalry Squad behind Renn to disperse the crowd and maintain order within Red River Town.

Renn didn't let Ross and the others from the Guard Army follow him into battle; facing the Shadow Leopard this time was completely different from fighting the Fel Orcs, and having Ross and the others follow would only distract him.

Carrying the Eye of True Sight and the thorn cloak in his robes, Renn's mood remained heavy despite having these two magical items on him.

Three days ago, he had obtained the Eye of True Sight and the thorn cloak from Kapdo, and after returning, he studied them until he could use both magical items proficiently.

Since then, before receiving news of the Shadow Leopard, Renn had been training hard to increase his strength.

After the battle with the Fel Orcs, he felt he could break through to Silver Mid-rank at any time; now facing the threat of the Shadow Leopard, Renn was desperate to improve his strength.

Just last night, Renn finally took that step forward, reaching Silver Mid-rank, and his Mage rank also rose to Black Iron Mid-rank, significantly boosting his overall power.

This morning, Renn was still stabilizing his power, working to strengthen the Battle Qi and Mana in his body, but before he could adjust for long, he received news that the Shadow Leopard had appeared.

"Three days is still a bit short; if I could have waited seven more days until I had completely stabilized my Silver Mid-rank strength, I would have been much more confident."

Renn was mentally prepared for the Shadow Leopard's appearance, but after waiting a day or two without seeing it, he had some wishful thinking that it might return to the Black Forest.

Reality proved otherwise; the Shadow Leopard had indeed appeared in Red River Town.

As he reached the outskirts of Red River Town and was about to cross the stone bridge, Renn saw Wayne waiting for him.

"Lord Renn, all the residents have been withdrawn, and most of the soldiers have returned as well."

"However, the squad led by Chris is trapped by the Shadow Leopard in the farmland area on the west bank of the Red River."

Wayne didn't waste words, reporting the current situation to Renn in just a few sentences.

"West bank?"

"Did the Shadow Leopard come from the Black Mountain Range to the west?"

"It's unclear for now, my Lord!" Wayne shook his head.

"Forget it, that's not important. Besides Chris being trapped, are there any other losses?"

Against a Silver Rank Shadow Leopard, Renn had already prepared for significant losses.

"Six Farmers were killed, and dozens were injured in the panic during the evacuation. There are no other losses for now."

The figures Wayne provided were much lower than Renn had expected; he could accept this level of loss.

"Alright, lead the soldiers to protect the town. I'll go bring Chris and the others back."

As Renn prepared to move forward, Wayne blocked his path.

"My Lord, it's too dangerous. A Silver Rank Shadow Leopard is not something we can handle right now. How about we ask the Iron Wall Fortress for help and wait for Lord Sena's rescue?"

"Ask the Iron Wall Fortress for help?"

"The messengers for help left a few days ago and have already brought back a reply from Count Sena. The Count wants us to handle it ourselves; the Iron Wall Fortress currently has no spare capacity to dispatch a Gold-rank Professional to us."

Asking the Iron Wall Fortress for help was the safest course of action. Upon receiving news of the Shadow Leopard, Renn had immediately sent people to the Iron Wall Fortress for aid; he didn't think that having Kapdo's two magical items gave him full confidence to deal with the Shadow Leopard.

However, the reply meant Renn could only rely on the two magical items in his possession; the Iron Wall Fortress couldn't spare any help for him.

"Is the pressure on the Count's side that great?" Wayne couldn't believe the Iron Wall Fortress would refuse to help.

"Perhaps the pressure there is indeed too great to spare anyone, or perhaps there are other reasons why Count Sena is unwilling to send help. Regardless, the result is the same."

Renn's gaze was firm; mountains can crumble and people can flee, he never placed all his hope on others.

"Alright Wayne, go do what you need to do. I'm going to deal with that Shadow Leopard now and bring Chris and the others back."

Renn spurred his horse forward without hesitation. Watching Renn's departing back, Wayne could only pray that Renn would defeat the Shadow Leopard and return safely.

"Let's go. The Lord ordered us to protect all the residents; we cannot let him down."

Wayne and the others also worked hard to do everything they were supposed to.

On the battlefield.

Chris looked at his comrades falling one by one. They were brothers who had shared life and death with him daily; several had fought alongside him since their time in the Border Defense Army.

Now they all lay on the ground groaning in pain, missing either an arm or a leg.

The first one injured had already stopped moving due to excessive blood loss; Chris felt he might already be dead.

"Damned beast, bastard, you're playing with me!"

Chris could feel the Shadow Leopard watching him mockingly from the shadows; even without seeing its form, he could clearly sense its playful attitude.

From the start, the Shadow Leopard had realized Chris was the leader of this human squad.

It intentionally avoided attacking Chris, instead striking his subordinates one by one, forcing Chris to watch his brothers fall before him, wailing in agony.

Only two men were left standing with Chris; the rest had been stripped of their combat ability by the Shadow Leopard's attacks.

Fear was gradually taking control of the remaining two men's bodies. Their hands gripping their longswords trembled incessantly, and their mental defenses were on the verge of collapsing as they listened to their comrades' wails at their feet.

The two of them also realized the Shadow Leopard's attack pattern; one of them would be the next target.

"Captain, I..."

"Ah!"

Just as the Warrior standing to Chris's left was about to say something, both of his palms were neatly sliced off.

The Warrior on Chris's right could no longer bear the pressure and charged into the open space ahead, shouting and swinging his longsword wildly.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

"Monster! Monster!"

"Ah!"

"Die! All of you, just die!"

Before he could shout more than a few times, it was over; a shadow flashed by and sliced off his head.

"Bastard!"

Chris's eyes were wide with rage, tears welling up as he watched everything unfold before him.

Having finished this, the Shadow Leopard stepped out of the shadows and stood before Chris. To the Shadow Leopard, Chris, who was only at the peak of the Black Iron Rank, was just a decent toy and posed no threat.

The Shadow Leopard pressed its sharp claws onto the severed head of the Warrior, looking at Chris provocatively. Under Chris's furious gaze, it applied light pressure, crushing the Warrior's head under its claws, sending white brain matter splattering everywhere.

"Die, you monster!"

Chris could no longer endure it. Losing his sanity, he swung his sword and charged at the Shadow Leopard.

The Shadow Leopard easily turned to dodge Chris's attack, and with a flick of its long tail, it sent Chris flying.

Chris spat out blood as he lay on the ground. He looked up at the Shadow Leopard ten meters away, its eyes looking down on him as if saying this foolish human was pathetic.

"Am I going to die?"

"No, even if I die, I will kill you, you monster."

Chris propped himself up with his longsword, wanting to continue the attack.

On the other side, the Shadow Leopard, feeling it had played enough, raised its claws to end the game.

"Rushing Wolf Slash!"

A familiar voice rang in Chris's ears.

A Battle Qi strike resembling a wolf's form lunged at the Shadow Leopard as it was about to attack Chris.

Sensing something was wrong, the Shadow Leopard leapt into the nearby shadows first, dodging the attack.