The leopard cat was quite massive—nearly two meters long, not even counting its tail.
A small dagger was lodged in its left eye, and worse yet, its belly had been sliced open, spilling its guts all over the ground.
Rossi gave Wu Youren a surprised glance, gave a slight nod, and flashed a thumb up!
A leopard cat of this size was basically enough to crush an apprentice knight, and might even hold its own for a few rounds against a full knight.
Rossi adjusted his estimate of the kid once again. The monkey-tiger he had slain earlier was barely over three meters long.
However, with Guizu lurking in the dark around them, he couldn't afford to say much; most of his focus had to remain on staying vigilant.
Yet Wu Youren spoke up and answered, "I wasn't the one who delivered the killing blow."
At the back of the leopard cat's skull was a large hole about five centimeters in diameter, delivered by the female knight.
She merely smiled casually, however. "The kid did a great job. I just found the creature too noisy."
She had been standing guard on the side, personally witnessing the battle between the youth and the leopard cat.
Not only was this leopard cat massive, but it was also exceptionally cunning. Ignoring Rossi's slaughter, it had remained patiently hidden.
When it pounced, it had moved completely without sound, yet with shocking swiftness.
The youth, however, had proved equally remarkable. In an instant, he triggered a trap beside him, sending a fist-sized object springing up from the ground.
Mid-spring, the object burst open rapidly, turning out to be a net two meters across.
There was no way the leopard cat could miss it. It twisted its body in midair, seeking to evade the potential hazard.
At the same time, the momentum of its pounce toward the youth never wavered.
Its slender body stretched and shifted to the absolute limit in midair, displaying a degree of nimbleness and flexibility that left one in awe.
That was an innate racial talent, something one couldn't hope to envy.
Yet right as it maneuvered, the youth's right hand moved, loosing a small dagger in absolute silence.
The small daggers Wu Youren had purchased all had matte finishes; unpolished, they reflected very little light in the dark.
This made the daggers look rather shoddy, but he bought them for combat, not for show.
Most of them weren't even sharpened, having only their tips honed.
Apprentice knights had internal breath as well; sometimes, a blade didn't need to be as sharp as possible.
Besides having a matte finish, this dagger had also been coated in ghost-dispelling powder, making it even less conspicuous.
The female knight had nothing against helping the kid, but earlier on, he had consistently been lukewarm toward her.
She had intended to wait until he suffered a bit before deciding whether to intervene.
Because of that, she had watched the youth's entire engagement.
That net had purely been a feint, incapable of altering the fight's outcome; its only purpose was to distract the leopard cat.
The youth's flying dagger had been the true display of his skill—the timing had been impeccable, remarkably precise, and backed by astonishing force.
As for dropping flat onto his back and letting the creature's forward momentum slice open its own belly... that could only be called quick-witted and daring.
Killing a leopard cat that way was uncommon among martial artists, but not utterly breathtaking.
Given the female knight's cultivation, executing such a play wasn't difficult at all.
Yet considering that he was merely an apprentice knight, it was truly extraordinary.
His strength was one thing, but more importantly, his demeanor was unnervingly composed. Unflustered in the face of crisis, knowing when to push and when to yield, his movements hadn't faltered in the slightest.
In particular, the net springing up—though seemingly inconsequential to the larger fight—had unquestionably been a stroke of genius!
The female knight truly couldn't fathom how, in the heat of the moment, the kid had managed to come up with such a ploy.
She had been certain that the leopard cat was mortally wounded, but since it wouldn't die immediately, she had stepped in to finish it off.
To her, it was little more than lifting a finger; had she stayed her hand, she would have looked like an idle spectator enjoying the show.
She didn't want Wu Youren harboring resentment, and the Guizu directing the leopard cats could reveal itself at any moment.
Who would have thought that the persistently aloof youth would be so tactful, readily yielding credit?
So his cold, distant demeanor... perhaps there was another reason for it?
Rossi hadn't expected the female knight to hold the boy in such high regard.
He nodded slightly. "Alright, the battle isn't over yet... What the fuck?"
His figure blurred, and he dashed out of the factory, vanishing into the night.
Caught off guard for a moment, the female knight dashed out right after him, leaving behind a warning: "Full alert!"
The next instant, the whistle of howling wind came from outside, which upon closer listening could be recognized as weapons slicing through the air.
The four members of the Intelligence Bureau stood back-to-back, forming a tight circle, their faces grim.
One of them, facing Wu Youren, thought for a moment and waved him over. "Come, huddle up!"
With both knights rushing out, huddling together was the only sensible choice for the five remaining apprentice knights.
Though the person before them was young, they had all seen how cleanly he had defeated that leopard cat—he was no slouch!
Wu Youren had no intention of acting stubborn at a time like this, darting over in an instant.
The four opened a gap to let him in, and one couldn't help asking, "Where's your weapon?"
He carried only one sharpened dagger meant for close combat; the rest were tucked into his belt, used as throwing knives.
Hoping to fight the Guizu with that kind of equipment? The Intelligence Bureau members felt something was definitely off about this picture.
Earlier, one could say he had been caught unprepared and had no time to grab a weapon, but now...
"This is all I have," Wu Youren answered quietly without elaborating.
"Are you kidding me?" The man who had spoken grew annoyed, pointing toward the motorized tricycle. "Isn't there a spear right there?"
That spear belonged to Rossi...
Wu Youren smiled faintly. "I'm not used to relying on external aids."
Hearing this, the other four were struck speechless: *Wait, so pulling out a net earlier to trick the leopard cat wasn't an external aid?*
A moment later, however, a middle-aged man among them nodded thoughtfully: *Is he using extreme circumstances to temper himself?*
All five spoke in low whispers, ears pricked as they strained to parse the wind outside and assess the situation.
Oddly enough, no howls of agony came through; instead, the sounds of weapons whistling through the air grew steadily fainter.
Three or four minutes later, the weapon clashes had faded to near-inaudibility when Wu Youren suddenly felt something abnormal from his biguijue again.
Without a second thought, he whipped out an extra-treated throwing knife and flung it straight at the giant leopard cat's corpse.
No sooner had the dagger left Wu Youren's hand than it detonated in midair.
The next moment, a faint, ghostly wail echoed out.
"Holy shit... on your toes, everyone," one of the four barked in a low voice. "Watch out for leopard cat remnant souls!"
Under the influence of Guizu aura, remnant souls could transform into vengeful wraiths, which fell into the domain of the Guizu.
Wu Youren's strike made everyone realize that these leopard cat carcasses posed a lurking danger.
After that, however, no further disturbances occurred.
About two minutes later, two figures blurred into sight—Rossi and the female knight had returned.
Chapter 29