Chapter 111: Not What I Was Expecting, but Alright.

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Not What I Was Expecting, but Alright.

Chapter 111: Not What I Was Expecting, but Alright.

He wasn’t sure if it could turn into a shadow and move through dark areas.

Or maybe its ability had another restriction that he hadn’t discovered yet.

Without more information, making assumptions would only put him at a disadvantage.

Osborne watched the creature carefully.

The leopard briefly glanced at the remains of the Mud Wall before returning its gaze to him.

Its expression seemed almost hostile.

If it had been just a little slower, all that damage would have landed directly on its body.

The creature’s claws pressed against the earth.

Its tail moved slowly behind it as it continued staring at Osborne.

For a moment, Osborne wondered whether it would attack again.

He adjusted his grip on his sword.

If the creature came close enough, he could try using aura to attack it directly, although he still had no idea whether it could disappear in the middle of close combat.

That was the problem with facing an unfamiliar demonic beast.

Even if he possessed enough strength to defeat it, he first needed to understand how its ability worked.

Otherwise, he might waste his mana and expose himself to unnecessary danger.

The leopard suddenly began moving.

It paced from left to right in front of Osborne, keeping a careful distance between them.

Its golden eyes never left him.

Osborne followed its movements with his gaze.

He didn’t attack.

Neither did the creature.

The two continued watching each other as the cool breeze passed through the clearing, causing the Moonlight Grass to sway around them.

Osborne gradually became puzzled.

The creature had clearly been prepared to attack him moments earlier.

It had even used its special ability to escape his Fireballs.

Yet now, instead of launching another attack, it was simply pacing in front of him.

Was it looking for an opportunity?

Or had it realized that attacking him would be more troublesome than expected?

Osborne couldn’t tell.

The leopard eventually stopped moving.

It stood still for several seconds, its golden eyes fixed on him.

Then, to Osborne’s surprise, the creature turned around.

Its long tail swayed behind it as it began walking toward the deeper part of the forest.

Rather than stopping to look back or attack him, it actually left on its own accord?

Osborne remained where he was, watching the white figure gradually disappear among the trees.

For a moment, he couldn’t understand what had just happened.

The creature had attacked him without warning, avoided his counterattack with an unusual ability, and then decided to leave without even attempting to continue the fight.

He had expected it to be territorial, especially since it had chosen to attack him while he was examining the Moonlight Grass.

Perhaps it had only wanted to drive him away.

Or maybe it had decided that he wasn’t worth the trouble.

Whatever the reason, Osborne wasn’t particularly interested in finding out.

He had already dealt with enough demonic beasts for one day, and there was no need to chase after another one when he still had a quest to complete.

Osborne slowly lowered his sword.

He looked at the destroyed Mud Wall before shifting his gaze toward the field of Moonlight Grass.

Fortunately, the creature’s special ability had allowed it to escape without causing any serious damage to the surrounding plants.

Most of the herbs were still intact.

Osborne let out a sigh of relief.

---

In the wild, beasts rarely engaged in battles that offered them little benefit, especially when the possibility of suffering serious injuries was high enough to threaten their survival. Even the strongest predators would sometimes retreat rather than risk their lives over a meal they could find elsewhere.

Although this particular beast was a demonic creature, it appeared that its evolution had followed a similar direction to that of an ordinary leopard, with its abilities being centered around stealth, sudden attacks, and killing its opponents before they had enough time to respond properly.

Unfortunately for the creature, Osborne had already noticed its presence before it launched its attack, which meant that it had lost the element of surprise that gave it the greatest advantage over its prey.

Furthermore, after revealing its ability to disappear and reappear through the shadows, the beast had also exposed one of its most important trump cards, making it difficult for Osborne to believe that it would continue fighting when he had already prepared himself for another attack.

Considering those circumstances, its decision to retreat was not particularly surprising, and Osborne could even understand why the beast had chosen to leave instead of wasting its strength on an opponent who was no longer an easy target.

Nevertheless, he remained vigilant, because something about the entire situation continued to bother him despite how reasonable its retreat appeared to be.

’Did it really leave because it thought the fight was too risky, or is there something else going on here?’ Osborne wondered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he considered the possibility that the beast had another reason for abandoning the Moonlight Grass.

He could not think of anything that would explain its strange behavior, but that did not mean there was nothing worth worrying about, especially since he had already learned that the demonic beasts inhabiting this forest were far more unusual than the creatures he had encountered previously.

Even the timber wolves had possessed an ability to manipulate electricity, and their strength had increased enough for him to require Vanessa’s assistance before he could safely capture them without risking the Moonlight Grass.

Although the leopard had not demonstrated its full strength, its ability to disappear and reappear through the shadows was troublesome enough that he would rather avoid fighting it again until he had a better understanding of how it worked.

’Well, whatever the reason might be, I suppose I should be grateful that it decided to leave on its own.’

Osborne finally turned his attention away from the forest, allowing himself to relax slightly now that the immediate threat had disappeared, before looking at the Moonlight Grass that covered the clearing.

The sight of the precious herbs quickly improved his mood, and the small amount of uncertainty he felt about the leopard’s retreat became far less important when he remembered why he had come all the way into this forest in the first place.

After all, he had spent a considerable amount of time following the scent of Moonlight Grass, fought several unusual beasts, and even captured an entire pack of lightning wolves, so there was no reason to let a single strange leopard ruin his mood when he had finally found what he wanted.

’At the end of the day, the Moonlight Grass belongs to me now, hahaha. Who am I kidding? This encounter turned out to be more fruitful than I expected.’

A satisfied smile appeared beneath his helmet as Osborne surveyed the clearing once more, estimating how much of the herb he could collect without damaging the rest of the field, because although he wanted to secure as much as possible, he had no intention of wasting a resource that might prove useful in the future.

However, as he continued looking at the herbs, he gradually realized that his body was beginning to feel heavier, and the exhaustion that he had been ignoring since his fight with the timber wolves finally started catching up with him.

Even though his demonic body possessed greater endurance than an ordinary human, he had still used a considerable amount of mana and physical strength during his recent battles, and he did not feel particularly interested in spending another hour crouching around the clearing while collecting herbs one by one.

’Perhaps I should summon Vanessa and let her handle the gathering...’ He pondered, only to pause the next moment.

’No... I doubt she’s free at the moment. She’s probably busy dealing with those lightning wolves right now.’

Osborne remembered that he had ordered Vanessa to train the newly captured beasts and make sure they were ready for deployment when he needed them again.

He had promised her access to the resources she required, and although he doubted that she would complain about receiving another order from him, constantly interrupting her work would defeat the purpose of assigning her that responsibility in the first place.

Fortunately, Vanessa was not the only person he could summon from his sub-space, and there was another individual who could handle a relatively simple task without requiring him to explain every detail.

With that thought in mind, Osborne raised his hand and opened the passage leading into his sub-space, allowing the familiar white light to spread across the ground in front of him.

A moment later, a figure appeared within the light, and the sudden change in surroundings caused the woman to stiffen in surprise as she found herself standing in an unfamiliar forest clearing.

However, her initial confusion did not last long, because she immediately recognized the person standing in front of her, and her expression changed as she quickly lowered herself onto one knee.

"Master, what is it you desire?" She said with her head lowered.