2 Not Again!!!

Milas was stuck in a dangerous dilemma. He knew that he had to move first or else the creature will make the choice for him. He started to back away as gently as possible but his eyes were fixed on the beast too afraid to blink.

The beast pounced at an amazing speed but Milas was ready for it. He leaped backwards diagonally which allowed him to just barely avoid the beast's claws. He immediately ran as fast as he could towards the group, determined to increase the distance between him and the beast.

He could hear the beast behind him and this only spurred him to move faster. The beast used its paw to hit his leg which caused Milas to lose his footing. He stumbled but miraculously managed to remain standing only to feel something hit his other foot.

He fell heavily and his momentum caused him to roll before finally coming to a stop. He tried to stand but the beast pinned him down with his front paws before opening its jaws widely and bit at his neck. A snap was heard as the beast's sharp teeth collided with each other. Milas was struggling hard with his right arm on the beast's neck pushing it back. His actions had stopped the beast's maw inches short of his neck.

The leopard stopped trying to bite Milas when it realized that it couldn't reach him. Instead, it used its terrifying claws to rip his chest to shreds. The claws had sliced through his leather armour like it was tofu and his chest was soon bleeding from the light cuts. Milas got desperate due to the pain and did the same thing he used to do when he was pinned down by bullies.

"Take this!"

Milas hit the beast as hard as he could and leopard let out a cry like a kitten in pain. Milas hit over and over till the beast got off him and leapt a few meters away. The beast gazed at Milas with fury but its legs were trembling. It was trembling with fear and pain. It couldn't believe its prey would be this dangerous.

Milas had kneed it in the groin so many times that it felt too weak to move.

Milas ran with all the energy he had left while cursing the group for moving this fast. He couldn't believe that hitting a beast in the groin would work but this proved to be weakness that all species had.

The group came into view and Milas felt a little bit more at ease. He ran towards the large man and tried to tell him the situation but his heavy breathing made it impossible to understand him. He finally calmed down enough to form a sentence, "Darklands... leopard...behi...nd.... me!"

"No way that's true. Everyone knows that Darklands leopards depend on ambush to hunt. It wouldn't chase its prey over long distances. You are just scared over nothing. Besides, we can just kill it if it attacks." Adrian was pretty quick to dismiss Milas' claim. Just then, a loud roar was s heard from the direction that Milas came from.

"That thing sounds pissed. What did you do?" The large man asked as he took out the two axes that were strapped to his back.

"I hit it in the nuts when it was attacking me." Milas said quickly as he saw everyone was getting ready for battle. Everyone stared at him like he had grown a second nose. Jill's expression was more like she was looking at a frog with wings.

"I get that you were trying to survive but that was just wrong. I don't even think that anyone else in Norvak has ever done what you just did." The large man talked as if he was trying to council a lost youth. The leopard soon found the group and scanned their faces before it saw Milas standing behind the large man. It let out a growl as it focused on Milas and ignored everyone else.

It started to move forward and an arrow suddenly landed on its side. Jill was already notching another arrow with practiced movements. The next arrow flew but the leopard dodged it easily before rushing forward to kill the annoying archer. The leopard was about to pounce when it suddenly stopped and leaned backwards allowing the fast moving projectile to miss. Milas looked at the projectile, only to see an axe deeply embedded in the ground.

He looked at the large man holding a single axe in shock. That throw was fast, silent and powerful. The large man then fearlessly charged at the leopard while it was distracted. He swung his single axe downwards at the dark figure with rapid consecutive slashes. His swift attacks were ineffective against the leopard as they couldn't even graze its fur.

Regardless of its speed, the leopard was restrained by the strange angles that the man swung his single axe. The fight came to a stalemate with both man and beast being unable to land any hits on each other. The stalemate remained even as Jill fired her arrows in coordination with the large man's strikes. The leopard used its superior agility to evade both attacks till Jill eventually emptied her quiver.

The large man's movements slowed with time and the leopard prepared to use this chance. It closely evaded a hit by letting it graze its back lightly then it shot forward like a spring aimed at his face.

Its maw opened wide as the leopard intended to crush the skull of its opponent. A sword came out of nowhere and slashed across the leopard's mouth. The sharp blade met little resistance as the force of the swing and the momentum of the leopard made it cut through flesh and bone like it was butter.

The leopard tried to roar, only for it to make a strange gargling sound. Its blood stained lower jaw lay on the ground while black blood poured out of what used to be its mouth. The large man took this opportunity to embed his axe in the leopard's skull. The beast was finally dead and the group couldn't wait to rest. Adrian was pleased by the fact that his attack was what ended the battle. He kept bragging to Jill while she collected the arrows that were strewn all over the ground. The large man started to gut the leopard as he searched for the beast crystal in its chest.

Milas sat under a tree as he tried to regain some of his lost energy. His senses were on high alert as he couldn't afford to relax. The previous incident had taught him to be sensitive to his surroundings. His ears picked up some sounds a short distance away from his position. He listened closer and the sounds got louder.

"Shit!! Not again."