Imperial Throne

Chapter 127: Hunting

When the fireball exploded, the scattered starfire not only expanded the illuminated area but also shattered all surrounding shadows into fragments: every shadow was inevitably affected to some extent, as if finely sliced into pieces.

Aliman Shelf might not have known the true ability of the Shadow Panther, but judging from Ion’s reaction, he inferred that this magical beast had the ability to hide within others' shadows. Though he was unsure of the precise conditions for activating this concealment ability, his seasoned mercenary instincts told him that disrupting the environment to push the beast out of its comfort zone was definitely the right move.

Naturally, he launched an attack at the first opportunity.

A direct strike to the eyes!

Aliman believed that Akar would surely understand his tactical intent.

Indeed, Akar had correctly interpreted Aliman’s tactical target. So right after launching the fireball, he immediately drew his bow and aimed for the other eye of the Shadow Panther that Aliman couldn’t cover.

The whistling sound of the fire arrow tearing through the air instantly caught the Shadow Panther’s attention.

Its first instinct upon seeing the incoming attack was, of course, to dodge.

Its pair of violet-red eyes stood in stark contrast to its ink-black skin, clearly revealing them as vital weak points. Attacking such a location was inevitable — after all, whether human or magical beast, eyes were always critical. Until more specific vulnerabilities were revealed, targeting the eyes was the safest choice.

But—

Just as the Shadow Panther was about to react, several Ice Spikes suddenly launched a surprise assault.

“Roar—!”

Using the intense heat generated by the falling fire rain to mask the cold aura of the Ice Spikes, the attack evaded the beast’s senses. Only when the spikes pierced into its body did the beast belatedly register the sharp pain from one side, letting out a tormented roar.

Due to the impact of the Ice Spike assault, the Shadow Panther, which had planned to dodge and counterattack, was caught off guard.

Akar’s fire arrow successfully struck one of the Shadow Panther’s eyes and exploded within its eye socket.

Black blood spurted out instantly.

Following immediately was Aliman’s longspear!

However, this time, Aliman’s attack failed.

Knowing it couldn’t dodge in time, the Shadow Panther twisted its body and lashed its tail toward Aliman.

A sharp whooshing sound erupted again.

Having already seen Roda’s injured state, Aliman dared not receive the tail strike head-on. He quickly switched tactics, changing his thrust into a horizontal block, using his rapidly raised spear to intercept the Shadow Panther’s tail swipe.

But Aliman still underestimated the cunning of the Shadow Panther.

When its tail struck the shaft of the spear, a small section of its tail curled around and swept toward Aliman’s waist and abdomen.

Though restricted by its length, this segment didn’t truly hit Aliman.

Yet even this glancing sweep from the side sent a blade-like gust that shredded Aliman’s leather armor and inner lining, carving a few bloody gashes on his side — just like being swiped by a feline’s claws.

A burning pain surged through him, causing Aliman to let out a muffled groan.

However—

Just as the Shadow Panther’s attention was focused on Aliman and the others, Ion, who had been pinned down, finally found an opening to counterattack.

He first slammed his foot into the Shadow Panther’s soft underbelly, slightly knocking it back. Seizing the moment when its jaws loosened, Ion swiftly swept his longsword upward. Sparks flew as the blade scraped against the beast’s sharp fangs, and as it passed, the sword edge left a gash at the corner of its mouth, splattering black blood.

But before Ion could press the advantage—

The Shadow Panther leapt backward, distancing itself from everyone. Yet it didn’t flee. Instead, it crouched low, glaring viciously at all present, clearly showing it wasn’t ready to back down.

Aliman, enduring the searing pain in his abdomen, quickly stepped forward with his spear and stood in front of Ion, aiming the tip directly at the Shadow Panther.

Two Bloodline Knights, who were supposed to be the first to react but had only now arrived at Ion’s side, quickly knelt down to support him, then shielded both Ion and Aliman.

Ion lifted his head to glance at the sky, then looked at Aliman and Roda before saying solemnly, “Withdraw from here!”

The others also recognized the trouble posed by the Shadow Panther. Though they had suffered one serious and one minor injury, compared to the Shadow Panther — now blind in one eye, with puncture wounds on one side and a torn mouth — their own injuries were negligible.

If they continued to tangle with the Shadow Panther here, it would be acceptable only if they could kill it before total nightfall. But if they were dragged into full darkness, the price they would pay would not just be these minor injuries—there was a real risk of casualties.

Therefore, no one raised any objections to Ion's command.

But while Ion and the others were preparing to retreat, the Shadow Panther clearly did not agree.

It began advancing as Ion’s group withdrew, constantly keeping Ion and Aliman within its attack range. However, it didn’t rush to attack, clearly waiting for something—Ion and the others weren’t foolish. Observing the Shadow Panther’s behavior, they all realized it was applying psychological pressure while waiting for true darkness to fall.

“This damned beast is too clever!” Aliman grumbled. “I’ve never seen a Tier-3 magical beast this smart!”

“How many Tier-3 magical beasts have you seen?” Akar suddenly asked.

“I’ve hunted a few in the Western Region with my father and uncle, but none of those were as clever as this one!” Aliman responded with a frown. “This behavior is not normal.”

“No,” Ion shook his head. “The Shadow Panther isn’t usually this aggressive. At least from what I’ve read in books, they’re not known for being this combative. And Shadow Panthers rarely stray far from their hunting grounds.”

“Then what’s going on here?”

“I don’t know,” Ion shook his head again. “But the fact that it’s this badly injured and still refuses to flee—still wants to fight us—there has to be a reason.”

“Could it be that it has a child?” Akar suddenly asked. “And that child is nearby, so it’s fighting to the death to protect it, to ensure we don’t pose a threat.”

Ion and Aliman both froze.

They clearly hadn’t considered that possibility.

But upon hearing Akar’s suggestion, Ion quickly responded, “Something must have happened in the Withered Wood Forest that we don’t know about. Its habitat was affected, and it even lost its hunting grounds. So to survive, it had no choice but to flee the Withered Wood Forest with its child.”

“So it’s treating this mountain area as its new hunting ground?”

“No,” Ion shook his head. “This should be its habitat, or at least one of its activity zones.”

“Shadow Panthers typically have two areas of activity—one for living, and one for hunting. They hunt in the hunting zone, but unless they’re starving, they don’t kill every prey they find. But their attitude toward their habitat is completely different—any creature that trespasses into their living territory will be attacked without exception.”

“For the past few days, it’s been assaulting the mining zone. That must be its way of clearing threats from its habitat.”

“As for the hunting zone, it’s likely that area where it previously attacked the merchant convoy.”

After listening to Ion’s deduction and comparing it with the intelligence he had recently gathered—reports of the Shadow Panther attacking the mining area for days, causing significant casualties, and targeting every living thing within sight—Aliman found himself agreeing with Ion’s analysis.

“Then what do we do now?”

“If it really is fighting us to protect its child, we might have a real chance of killing it before nightfall,” Ion pondered for a moment before saying, “We need a few people to pretend to search nearby. That will definitely make it anxious. After all, magical beasts aren’t human—when they get agitated, they reveal more weaknesses. That will give us an opening.”

“I’ll go pretend to search,” Roda volunteered. “I can’t fight like this anyway.”

Roda’s hands were a bloody mess, almost destroyed by the Shadow Panther’s earlier attack. Only due to the unique nature of his bloodline ability was he able to keep performing such dangerous actions. Anyone else would’ve likely died back during the defensive war in White Mountain Territory.

“Alright!” Ion, understanding the urgency, didn’t hesitate.

Roda immediately let his arms hang and feigned a vicious expression as he swiftly moved away.

But instead of retreating, he advanced—heading into the forest beside the mountain.

Sure enough, the Shadow Panther shifted its focus and tried to pursue Roda. This action confirmed to Ion and the others that the Shadow Panther indeed had a child somewhere in the woods.

Aliman immediately charged forward with his spear to block the beast.

Ion and Akar also didn’t hold back.

Ion followed up with his longsword, joining Aliman to intercept the Shadow Panther; while Akar’s fire arrows fired in rapid succession, cutting off several of the Shadow Panther’s escape routes, forcing it to stay engaged.

What they hadn’t expected was that the Shadow Panther didn’t dodge this time. Instead, it tanked two of Akar’s fire arrows and tried to bypass Aliman and Ion to chase after Roda.

Fortunately, at that moment, the two Bloodline Knights rushed up and covered the exposed flank that Aliman and Ion couldn’t react to in time, successfully blocking the Shadow Panther.

The three mercenaries from the Shelf Mercenary Group also struck together, driving several more Ice Spikes into the Shadow Panther’s body. Using the explosive force of air currents, they detonated the Ice Spikes embedded in the Shadow Panther, tearing a wound open.

“Roar—!”

The Shadow Panther finally let out a pained and piercing howl.

“Good chance!”

Aliman took a step forward and launched a charge, his spear thrusting once again at the Shadow Panther’s only remaining eye.

Facing Aliman’s renewed assault, the Shadow Panther, which had previously succeeded with this move, once again whipped its tail toward him, trying to repeat its earlier success.

But this time, Aliman was ready. Just as the tail was about to hit him, he suddenly leapt.

A burst of airflow erupted beneath him, almost as if it had been commanded, quickly gathering at his feet and allowing him to move as if walking on solid ground.

Wind Pressure Burst.

Suspended Zone.

With this dual support from the Shelf Mercenaries, Aliman easily dodged the Shadow Panther’s fierce attack.

Then—

From above, Aliman thrust down fiercely with his spear, stabbing out the Shadow Panther’s last remaining eye.