Chapter 11: Dark Spotted Panther

About one hundred yards back and perched up high on a tree branch, John could see a beast staring straight at him.

John started breathing heavily as he thought "A Dark Spotted Panther? What the fuck is a Mist Creation level beast doing this far past the red marked tree line?" John stared at the beast, quickly trying to think of what he could do in this situation.

"Whatever the reason, I can't fight that thing, even if it is only at the early Mist Creation level."

Dark Spotted Panthers were one of the numerous beasts that inhabited Skycleave forest. Their power usually peaked at the early Mist Creation level, and were known for their great speed and sharp, deadly attacks. The panther was seven feet long and four feet tall, with dark spots all over its otherwise white fur.

John immediately turned and began to run as fast as he could, trying to get back to the road before the beast could catch him. Although the road was not a safe haven, there were often carriages traveling back and forth, and were usually escorted by powerful cultivators. As long as he could get back to the road, John figured he would have a chance at survival.

The panther realized that it had been spotted and quickly gave chase after its prey, darting from tree branch to tree branch as it closed the distance between itself and John.

After running through the dense forest for a few minutes, John looked over his shoulder and realized that the panther was almost upon him, about to attack.

"Fuck, how is it so fast?" yelled John as he took out his greatsword and twisted his body, his sword barely being raised in time.

Peng!

The panther's claw collided with John's hastily raised sword.

"Gah" John yelled out in pain as he was sent flying backwards like a broken kite. John crashed into the ground and tumbled a few times before coming to a stop. He felt like his body was on the verge of collapse after taking that attack head on.

After struggling to stand up for a second, John realized that this was no time for complaining and quickly turned around again to flee. The panther had expected that attack to kill John, and so had been in no rush to follow up with another attack. Seeing its prey stand and flee, the panther became enraged as it started its pursuit again.

After a few more minutes of chasing, the panther once again caught up to John and lashed out, this time using even more power.

John looked over his shoulder and saw the panther rapidly approaching, its claw swinging forward about to strike him. With his previous defeat still fresh in his mind, John knew that he was no match for this Dark Spotted Panther, and could not block its attack head on.

Right as the panthers claw was about to hit his shoulder, John twisted his upper body and watched the panthers attack barely miss his chest by an inch. Seizing the only opportunity that he just created, John was already swinging his sword as hard as he could at the ribs of the beast.

Clang!

A loud sound rang out as the panther was sent flying into a nearby tree. The tree broke at the point of impact and slowly tipped over as the panther was knocked straight through the tree. John knew that this victory was only temporary as he turned around once again and kept running.

The panther slowly appeared on the other side of the broken tree stump, its rage completely evident. A small inch deep cut was now visible on its hide where John had struck it, but other than that, there was no significant damage. What should have been an easy hunt had turned into one filled with non-stop frustrations for the panther. The panther spotted John running off in the distance before it too once again chased after John.

John was panting heavily as he mustered all his energy into his legs, running as fast as his body would allow. Although he had struck the beast head on, he knew that a Mist Creation level beast would not be too troubled by the attack he had just made. Looking back over to confirm his suspicions, John saw the panther darting back and forth from tree branch to tree branch still in pursuit.

"I need to think of something. I can't outrun this thing and I can't keep running forever" John thought as he desperately tried to think of something to get out of this lethal situation.

As John was desperately trying to come up with something, the panther had once again caught up with him. Deep in thought from trying to think of a plan, John was a step late to notice that the panther had fully caught up and its attack was about to reach him. With no time to dodge this time, John hastily raised his sword and put all his power into blocking the attack.

Peng!

The sound of claw on steel rang out as John was sent flying backwards, rolling over and over until finally coming to rest in a clearing.

"Cough, cough"

John continuously coughed out blood as the force of that attack had nearly taken his life. He felt as if his arms were about to break, and had almost no strength left in his body. John raised his head with difficulty to see the panther rushing towards him from a distance.

"So this is how I die" thought John as he struggled to stand up. He figured if he was going to die, he might as well die on his feet fighting, even if the fight was futile. Despite his heroic intentions, John barely managed to get to his feet, his body propped up against his sword. John stared at the approaching beast and did his best to raise his sword once more.

Just as the Dark Spotted Panther was about to reach him, John felt his blood begin to rush and his body begin to heat up. Although John had no idea what was happening, a surge of energy beyond anything he had felt before rushed through his body. He gripped his sword tightly and was prepared to swing it down with all his strength as soon as the panther came into range.

Che!

A sharp sword light appeared from behind John and flew towards the Dark Spotted Panther. The panther noticed the light and moved to block it with its claw, but was immediately bisected into two parts as the sword light cut clean through the panther. The two halves of the panther fell lifelessly to the ground, tumbling over a few times from the remaining momentum it had.

"Wha...What just happened" thought John as he watched the panther die right in front of him. Just now, he had been prepared to make his last stand against the panther, when all of a sudden it was cleaved in half.

John turned around to find himself in the middle of the road he had been on earlier in the day. When he was struck by the panther, John remembered being knocked out of the forest and into a clearing, but during the high pressure situation, he hadn't been able to take a good look at his surroundings.

He looked up towards where the sword light came from and was shocked to find a group of people he was quite familiar with. In front of John was the Varis Clan which were on their way towards the Fenix Clan for the party. Miko was at the front of the group with his sword raised, looking around for any more would be attackers. There were several carriages behind Miko, all being pulled by powerful Qi Condensation beasts, and dozens of guards surrounding the carriage perimeter.

"John?" asked Miko in confusion as he put away his sword and ran towards John. John felt a wave of numbness and fatigue wash over him as he collapsed, falling to the floor unconscious.