Chapter 166: The Nether Panther's Revenge

The White Dragon Lord was just about to spread his mental power outward to search for Yuir's tracks.

Suddenly, the Nether Panther lunged from the tall grass beside him. Razor-sharp claws snapped from its thick paw pads, slashing straight toward the White Dragon Lord's neck.

The White Dragon Lord threw up a foreclaw, shielding his throat and blocking Yuir's strike.

The feline's razor-sharp claws raked across the scales of his forelimb, striking four trails of sparks.

The White Dragon Lord raised a massive wing and swatted at the airborne Nether Panther—Yuir—like a fly.

Yuir reacted with blinding speed. Sprinting right along the White Dragon Lord's enormous body, the beast scaled it with impossible agility, leaping clear of the wing's sweeping path.

Flee!

That was the only thought in Yuir's mind. The moment its claws scraped dragon scale, the lone beast overlord—who had stalked Kumlinge unrivaled for years—instantly gauged the White Dragon Lord's defenses. He was in the exact same league as that hulking brute in the Central Mountain Range.

Yet unlike the lumbering Land Dragon leader, the white dragon could fly and possessed formidable spellcasting power.

Stripped of any desire to fight, Yuir kicked off the white dragon's body with all four paws, launching itself into the distance.

The White Dragon Lord glanced at the faint white scratch on his forelimb's scales, fury erupting in his chest. This was the first time anyone had dared to run all over his body, much less kick him on the way out.

Catching sight of the airborne Nether Panther, he lashed out with his tail in a rage. The rapidly swinging appendage cleaved the air, its tip breaking the sound barrier to unleash a deafening sonic boom.

Feeling the crushing wind pressure of the approaching tail, Yuir's fur stood on end. Strength, defense, speed, spellcasting ability—this white dragon had practically no weaknesses. He was a complete freak of nature.

Not daring to hesitate for a second, Yuir triggered its Legendary Rank ability.

Shadow Shuttle!

A cloud of black mist materialized out of nowhere, and Yuir's six-meter frame vanished into it.

The tail swept through the black mist. Sensing his strike hit nothing but air, the White Dragon Lord immediately flared his mental power, instantly blanketing a three-hundred-meter radius around him.

Over a hundred meters away, hiding behind a solitary sapling, Yuir sensed the sweeping mental power. Its scalp prickled in alarm, and it hastily abandoned its cover, diving into the nearby tall grass.

The instant Yuir left the tree's shadow, a surging wave of dragon breath arrived right on schedule, drowning the sapling and freezing it solid.

The White Dragon Lord spotted a straight line of frantically swaying grass where the creature was running and swung his head.

The cone of Ice-Blue Dragon Breath followed the swing of the White Dragon Lord's head, sweeping across the area.

The breath swept past, leaving a swath of grass entirely encased in ice crystals. Catching the sunlight, they gleamed like crystal, ethereal and dreamlike.

Beautiful, yet absolutely deadly.

Seeing the dragon breath about to overtake it, Yuir had no choice but to trigger its ability again, vanishing into black mist.

This time, the White Dragon Lord saw it clearly.

Over a hundred meters beyond the dragon breath, a cloud of black mist materialized in midair. Yuir burst from it, sprinting frantically toward the forest. Out on the sunlit plains without any shadows, it could never shake the white dragon's pursuit.

Amos noticed Yuir panting heavily, its aura somewhat chaotic. His mind raced, recalling the intelligence on the Nether Panther. This mutated Transcendent Tier beast could travel freely between shadows.

But conjuring black mist out of thin air to teleport clearly took a massive toll on it.

It was high noon, the sun blazing overhead. The grasslands offered very few shadows for the Nether Panther to use, but in the forest, shadows were everywhere—that was its home turf.

The White Dragon Lord flapped his wings, taking to the skies in hot pursuit. The Nether Panther had already fled two hundred meters beyond the range of his dragon breath, so the White Dragon Lord began rapidly chanting a spell.

Master Tier magic—Ice Lance Volley!

A dense cluster of ice lances materialized around the White Dragon Lord. Guided by his mental power, the icy projectiles hurtled toward the distant Nether Panther one after another.

The ice lances flew incredibly fast, arriving in an instant. Yuir bounded erratically, dodging the lethal bombardment.

The missed lances stabbed into the grass at sharp angles, creating a jagged forest of ice.

Seeing Yuir nimbly evade the ice lances, the White Dragon Lord shifted his strategy. He began aiming the projectiles ahead of the Nether Panther to cut off its escape.

Faced with an icy barricade, Yuir was forced to detour. Its speed plummeted, allowing the White Dragon Lord to constantly close the distance.

Flying at top speed, the White Dragon Lord gathered breath in his maw. Waiting for the perfect moment, he unleashed it at the frantically sprinting Nether Panther.

Naturally, the White Dragon Lord didn't want to kill it. He still intended to conquer the Nether Panther to serve White Castle.

The Nether Panther was a born assassin. If it were the dead of night, when darkness was everywhere, it could use Shadow Shuttle infinitely, leaving even the White Dragon Lord utterly helpless against it.

It was rare enough that it had left the forest, let alone exactly at high noon when the plains lacked shadows. If he didn't seize this opportunity to capture it, hunting it later would be extremely troublesome.

Sensing the violent surge of energy at its back, the Nether Panther stared at the forest three hundred meters away. Gritting its teeth, it triggered Shadow Shuttle one more time.

The White Dragon Lord struck empty air yet again.

Yuir reappeared over a hundred meters ahead. With the forest now just over a hundred meters away, the Nether Panther squeezed every drop of potential from its body, exploding forward at a speed far exceeding its norm.

It closed the final distance in a flash.

The White Dragon Lord halted, his gaze complex as he watched the Nether Panther vanish under the shade of the trees.

The instant it touched the shadows, the Nether Panther—Yuir—knew it was safe. Pausing beneath the canopy, it turned back and cast a venomous glare at the White Dragon Lord.

Ever since stepping into the Legendary Rank, this was the first time it had felt death so close.

If glares carried lethal force, the White Dragon Lord would have died a thousand times over.

The White Dragon Lord remained entirely unfazed by Yuir's ferocious glare.

Amos felt a twinge of regret at failing to capture the Nether Panther, but pursuing it any further was pointless. So, the White Dragon Lord decisively turned and flew away.

The Nether Panther shot the White Dragon Lord one deep look before melting into the shadows.

The White Dragon Lord arrived at the location of the army led by Hogg.

Rallying the routed troops and tallying casualties, the gnoll chieftain spotted the White Dragon Lord descending from the sky and dropped to his knees in deep shame.

"Master, I... I have failed your expectations. I... am guilty."

The White Dragon Lord stared down at the gnoll chieftain, whose head was bowed in shame. Suppressing his anger, he spoke in a low rumble.

"What happened? Didn't I give explicit orders? We were to leave the Nether Panther for last! Why did you provoke it?"

The Nether Panther—Yuir—was a principled roaming hunter. Outside of killing for essential food, it never engaged in meaningless slaughter.

Therefore, the White Dragon Lord had decided to conquer Kumlinge first, and then combine all his forces to encircle and hunt down the incredibly troublesome Nether Panther.

With the vassal army searching the ground, wyverns patrolling the skies, three white dragons, one dwarf, and the Land Dragon pack led by the Land Dragon leader holding the perimeter, the Nether Panther would have nowhere to run.

Now, the White Dragon Lord's plan had been completely derailed. The Nether Panther was on its guard, drastically elevating the difficulty of his scheme. Thus, the White Dragon Lord was currently very angry.

"Speak! What exactly happened?"

The gnoll said with grief and indignation.

"We were dragged down by a few idiot trolls. While we were marching through the forest, those fools spotted a black panther dozing in a tree. They wanted to hunt it down to roast, and the result..."

The White Dragon Lord was left speechless. Those trolls were truly daring to the extreme, actually wanting to use a Legendary Rank beast overlord for a midday snack.

Sigh!

The White Dragon Lord knew he couldn't completely blame Hogg. While creatures like trolls were physically robust, their intellect was generally low, roughly equivalent to mentally handicapped humans. Even if you pulled their ears and gave them explicit instructions, they would forget everything after a nap.

"Get up."

The gnoll stood up, waiting quietly beside the pensive White Dragon Lord.

The White Dragon Lord felt a headache coming on. His original plan wouldn't work anymore. If Yuir decided to launch a campaign of revenge, the scattered vassal armies wouldn't stand a chance of stopping it.

It would be one thing if they only lost ordinary monsters, but he feared the Nether Panther would target the upper echelon of White Castle.

Through the Vassal Contract, Amos immediately instructed Gurgalu to rendezvous at the Land Dragon territory in the Central Mountain Range. As for Old Blind and his murlocs, they would be perfectly safe hiding out in the ocean.

To guard against the Nether Panther returning to assault the monster army, the White Dragon Lord didn't leave. He chose to escort the gnolls and trolls toward the Land Dragon territory himself.

After digging pits to bury the corpses of their fallen comrades, the white dragon and his monster army hurriedly set out.

...

Night fell, and thick clouds obscured the moonlight, plunging the land into pitch blackness. However, the darkness had no effect on the Dragon Race. Standing atop a hill, the White Dragon Lord looked down upon the temporary encampment his monster army had established on the plains below.

Campfires were already burning in the camp. Spits had been erected over the flames, laden with hunted prey. White Castle's monster troops sat cross-legged on the ground around the fires.

Even though they had just suffered a defeat that day, by nightfall, the gnolls and trolls had tossed their pain to the back of their minds. Roars of laughter and rowdy brawling echoed back and forth.

But as their leader, the White Dragon Lord couldn't afford to be as carefree as the monster army. Staring out across the pitch-black landscape, the white dragon felt a swell of worry.

To guard against a night raid from the Nether Panther, the White Dragon Lord had specifically ordered the camp pitched in the open grasslands, and even commanded the trolls to chop down the few small trees in the area.

But the clouds obscuring the moon rendered the White Dragon Lord's preparations entirely useless.

It wasn't long before the meat was roasted to perfection. The rich scent traveled far on the night wind, drifting right into the White Dragon Lord's nose.

Catching the scent of roasted meat, Amos twitched his nose, feeling a sudden emptiness in his stomach.

Right then, Hogg Riverclaw came walking up the hill with several trolls, carrying golden-brown roast meat.

The trolls set the meat down before the White Dragon Lord and backed away.

The gnoll chieftain bowed in greeting.

"Master, please enjoy your dinner."

The White Dragon Lord glanced at the roast in front of him. Finely crushed spices had been sprinkled over the golden meat.

This spice was famous across the continent, its value rivaling gold. Even here in the Overseas Archipelago—the raw material's region of origin—only the upper echelons of White Castle could afford to use it.

A standard military supply train definitely wouldn't carry a luxury like this. Needless to say, the spice was the gnoll chieftain's private stash, brought out specifically to honor the White Dragon Lord.

Smelling the rich aroma, the White Dragon Lord's appetite was thoroughly stoked, and he dug right in.

A short while later, the White Dragon Lord felt a deep sense of satisfaction and ordered the trolls to clean up the mess.

"Hogg, is the night watch arranged for tonight?"

Standing respectfully to the side, Hogg Riverclaw answered.

"Reporting to Master, both the first half of the night and the second half have been organized. We also hurriedly laid out a few crude traps."

As he finished speaking, a flash of worry crossed the gnoll chieftain's eyes. Amos certainly knew what he was worried about, because he harbored the exact same fear.

"As long as you do your best. If Yuir really does launch a sneak attack, this will at least reduce our losses."

For a Legendary Rank beast overlord like the Nether Panther—Yuir—who possessed the Shadow Shuttle ability, its combat strength in daylight versus darkness lay at two absolute extremes.

In the pitch-black night, even the White Dragon Lord lacked the confidence to stop Yuir's slaughter.

The White Dragon Lord cast a glance at the gnoll chieftain beside him. As far as this vassal went, Amos was quite satisfied.

Hogg Riverclaw had ability, intelligence, and ambition. Furthermore, he was ruthless enough against both his enemies and himself in battle. He was practically the textbook lackey for an evil dragon.

Any creature would grow drowsy after eating its fill, and the White Dragon Lord was no exception. He let out a yawn and settled onto the ground.

"Hogg, you stay here tonight."

Hogg, who was just about to turn and leave, froze upon hearing this. He immediately understood the White Dragon Lord's meaning and was deeply moved.

Because at night, the safest place to be was right beside the White Dragon Lord.

A powerful conviction surged in Hogg Riverclaw's heart—the readiness of a warrior to die for one who appreciates him. He found a spot right beside the White Dragon Lord and sat down.

...

Deep in the night, devoid of both moonlight and starlight, the world was pitch black and the plains were entirely silent.

Along the edge of the monster army's camp, a few squads of gnolls gripped their spears, patrolling back and forth under the glow of the camp's fires.

Crack!

The sudden popping noise gave the patrolling gnolls a fright, and they hastily looked around in all directions.

They eventually realized it was just the sound of burning wood popping in the campfire.

Realizing it was a false alarm, the gnolls resumed their patrol.

One patrolling gnoll stared out at the pitch blackness beyond the camp, unable to help but shiver.

"Captain, you think that black panther from today is going to show up?"

At the very front of the patrol, a gnoll who was noticeably stronger than the rest heard him and replied without turning his head.

"I'm not a flea on its body! How the hell should I know if it's coming!"

The night wind blew past, and the gnoll who asked the question felt the cold on his exposed arms, nervously rubbing the fur there.

"Heh heh, I was just asking. But man, that panther is seriously tough. It took out Commander Nord with a single claw."

The gnoll captain recalled what he had seen that day. Even Commander Nord, a High-Tier Warrior, couldn't take a single hit from the black panther. The captain shuddered involuntarily.

The other members of the squad also felt their scalps tingle. Staring into the pitch-black surroundings, a wave of fear washed over them.

"Alright, stop talking."

The gnoll captain was incredibly worried himself, but as their captain, how could he show cowardice in front of his subordinates? He interrupted the gnoll who was about to speak again.

"Don't worry. With the Lord here, we'll be fine."

The other squad members chimed in agreement.

"Yeah, the captain's right. The Lord is so powerful. He beat the black panther bloody today; it definitely won't dare come back."

"Besides, we're only the second line of defense. Even if there's something to worry about, it won't reach us first."

Prone in the grass surrounding the camp, a gnoll hidden sentry—the very first line of defense—heard their voices carrying so clearly through the quiet night. He cursed silently.

'You bunch of bastards. I'm out here suffering on the ground getting bitten by bugs, and you're talking trash behind my back.'

Wait, behind him...

The gnoll hidden sentry suddenly heard a faint breathing sound coming from behind him, and his fur instantly stood on end.

Just then, a blood-stained claw gently settled onto his shoulder.