In the morning.
As he sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, Richard opened his eyes. He then stretched and walked out of the castle.
A cold breeze blew through the open space outside, making Richard feel more refreshed.
The sun was slowly rising in the east, and its light shone on the ground. Richard turned around and moved to the back of the hill, ready to survey the area. After all, he might be staying at this place for a long time, so it was better to find out more about it.
Furthermore, if he were lucky enough to discover a source of water, he might encounter a beast that was up early to drink. This would settle his meal for the day.
With this in mind, Richard walked down the hill. He had only walked less than 100 meters when he saw a meandering stream at a distance away. There was also a pond, which was an excellent source of water, with a radius of around 10 meters in a low area nearby.
At that moment, two creatures were drinking water from the pond.
After taking a few steps closer, Richard narrowed his eyes. One of the creatures was a spotted cheetah, and the other a strong black bear.
These two wild beasts were obviously at the top of the food chain in this vast forest, and they saw each other as prey. Therefore, they were watching each other very, very warily as they drank. Nevertheless, they seemed prepared to leave after drinking without intention to fight.
Richard's eyes flickered, and he hesitated slightly. Should he do something?
With the help of magic, he could completely deal with the attacks of the two beasts. However, it was difficult to break their defenses and severely injure them, mainly because none of the spells that he currently mastered had a lot of attacking power, and he did not carry any weapons with him.
In his suitcase in the castle, there was a complete set of knives for dissection. Many of them could dismember these beasts, but they would be long gone by the time he went back to retrieve them.
In that case…
Richard stood deep in thought when he suddenly noticed the two beasts lowering their bodies at the same time, giving out low and deep growls. This was a demonstration of prowess prior to attacking.
"Hmm? Are they going to fight?" Richard was slightly puzzled. They had still been fine a while ago, so why did the two beasts suddenly want to fight?
Richard then realized that he could be wrong. The two beasts were not facing each other but him… something behind him.
What?
Richard was slightly startled. Just as he was about to turn around, he felt a strong gust of wind blow past him. A petite purple figure rushed at lightning speed to the pond and leaped, covering a distance of seven or eight meters. She landed heavily, like a cannonball.
Bang. The ground shook, creating waves on the pond's surface.
The two beasts by the pond bellowed. Like a mouse that had seen a cat, they turned around and fled. Furthermore, they were fairly smart and escaped in two different directions.
At the sight of this, the petite purple figure didn't hesitate the slightest bit. She sped to chase the fast cheetah, disappearing into the forest in the blink of an eye.
Richard's eyes flickered, and he was about to follow her. However, it did not take long before the cheetah rushed out of the forest again at an even faster speed. That purple figure was actually riding on its back.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Dust was flying everywhere. The cheetah ran on all fours, carrying the petite body on its back and chasing the black bear. Seemingly in order to survive, it had already surrendered to the enemy after an extremely short period of time.
"This…"
Richard's eyes flashed as he watched the cheetah running and disappearing into the forest once again.
This time, it took a longer time.
Tap, tap, tap. After about a few minutes, Pandora walked out of the forest. Behind her was an exhausted and panting cheetah, gasping with almost every step it took. Following them was a black bear that was black and blue, as if it had been run over by a tyrannosaurus.
The two wild beasts behaved extremely well as they followed Pandora to the pond and stared at it helplessly. They had run so much, and the water they had drunk earlier had long run out. Their throats were feeling dry and hot, thus the cool water in the pond was a great temptation. However, they dared not drink for fear of being beaten to death unless they received the consent of the little devil next to them.
Ignoring them, Pandora stretched out one hand and grabbed the cheetah by the neck. She pulled it to the pond and pressed the cheetah's head firmly toward the water. The cheetah's eyes lit up, initially surprised. The animal did not stand on ceremony and stretched out its pink tongue to lick the surface.
But…
Bam. A fair, tender, yet powerful fist landed heavily on the cheetah's head, making its entire world spin. The cheetah then realized something—this was not permission to drink, but a test.
Just as it realized this, she took the cheetah's neck and pushed its head down again, closer and closer to the surface. But this time, the cheetah did not stick out its tongue regardless of how it felt. The animal kept its head over the water and remained motionless.
Pandora was satisfied. She pushed the cheetah away and walked to the black bear by the side.
The black bear was fairly large and weighed more or less 300 catties. It was about 1.6 meters tall, similar to an adult human. At that moment, the black bear was standing upright on the ground like a wooden pestle. Pandora, who was about 1.2 meters tall, approached it. She tried several times to grasp its neck but failed.
Pandora was crossed, so she kicked the animal with her bare foot. Bam. The black bear landed on the ground.
Pandora was expressionless as she grabbed the black bear by the neck and dragged it toward the pond.
After doing this, Pandora repeated the process. She pressed the black bear's head toward the water.
The black bear, who had been dragged like a dead dog by Pandora, felt that it had lost all its dignity, but it still had some intelligence. It had witnessed what the cheetah had done just now and was already aware that it would be beaten up if it drank. It would be safe so long as it did not do that. Therefore the animal did not open its mouth no matter what.
But…
Bam, bam. Two extremely powerful fists landed on the black bear's head.
For a moment, the black bear was taken aback.
Why am I being beaten even though I didn't drink any water?
Could it be that…
The black bear opened its mouth hesitatingly and stuck out its bright red tongue, which had many thorns. Pandora seemingly nodded in approval.
The black bear immediately licked the water. On the side, the cheetah's eyes widened indignantly.
Clearly, I had… Why is it that—
Bam.
The next moment, a chilling noise broke the cheetah's train of thoughts. A heavier punch landed on the black bear and knocked the animal's large body into the pond.
Pandora didn't stop there. Bam, bam. Water was splashed, and the black bear collapsed into it totally. Only then did it realize that what had happened earlier had still been a test.
But…
This is not fair!
The cheetah lowered its head quietly, as though it had not seen anything.
After three punches, Pandora pointed to the side. Although the black bear in the pond felt wronged, it still clambered ashore obediently.
Pandora stared at the bear and pointed at the pond, but the animal shook its head quickly. When she pointed a second time, the black bear continued to shake its head. It was still shaking its head during the third time.
Pandora turned around and glanced at the cheetah again. This time, the cheetah was already shaking its head crazily in an effort to show that it did intend to drink the water in the pond before Pandora could even make a gesture.
Pandora nodded satisfactorily and then pointed to the forest. As if they had been pardoned, the two beasts fled into it hastily and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Next to her, Richard looked amused. He really wanted to ask her why she had done that.
But the next moment, Pandora turned to look in a certain direction of the forest.
Well?
The sun gradually rose, and Richard heard the sounds of many animals coming from the direction of her glance.