Lis and another person quickly returned to the base of the mountain.
With Ya'er and Arsen's help, Ailina had already tidied up the corpse of the Moon Spirit Leopard, and was just waiting to use the Elf Ritual to send it back to the Elf Goddess's Divine Country.
Arsen had also taken two of the Moon Spirit Leopard's claws and some fur as proof of completing the subjugation task.
At this moment, Lis approached, cradling something in his arms.
Walking up to Ailina, who still seemed a bit sad, Lis extended the black bundle wrapped in cloth in front of Ailina.
"Look, guess what I've found?"
Ailina, somewhat puzzled, took the small thing that Lis handed over, took one glance at it, and suddenly froze in place.
A cute little head emerged from the cloth; its eyes were still tightly shut, and its black little body squirmed nonstop within the fabric. Its pink little paws were struggling restlessly as if the unfamiliar environment made it a bit panicky, constantly "hmm-hmming" in distress.
"Is this... a Moon Spirit Leopard cub?"
Arsen, who was beside them, also saw the little one, which clearly looked like a miniature version of the adult Moon Spirit Leopard lying on the ground nearby!
"Wow, so cute!"
Ya'er's eyes lit up as she stared at the little creature. Girls just can't resist these fluffy beings.
"Lis, where did you find it? I want one too!"
Ya'er, remembering Lis who was the originator of this, quickly asked.
"I noticed that the Moon Spirit Leopard let out a final roar toward the mountain which was strange, so I went to take a look around and didn't expect to actually find something."
Lis waved his hand and said, "I can't help you find another one like this. We'll talk about it another time if we have the chance."
"Ah, alright then," Ya'er sounded a bit disappointed but she quickly ran over to Ailina's side, wanting to hold the Moon Spirit Leopard cub.
Ailina did not pay attention to Ya'er's coquettish behavior and held the little one tightly in her arms. It seemed to sense the familiar aura of Nature and calmly lay in Ailina's arms, becoming much more sedate.
Ailina looked up, her eyes slightly red.
"Thank you, Lis. I don't know how to express my gratitude."
Ailina crouched down, holding the cub in one hand and gently stroking the fur around the neck of the Moon Spirit Leopard's mother with the other.
"Arsen has told me everything, and it seems like this child's mother must have suffered a lot."
Standing up, Ailina gently placed the Moon Spirit Leopard cub on her shoulder and looked at Lis with eyes filled with profound gratitude.
The Moon Spirit Leopard cub, as if sensing something as well, kept quiet and stayed obediently on Ailina's shoulder.
"When Arsen told me the truth of the matter, I was angry and filled with hatred," she continued, "Humans are just like some elders say—out of mere selfish desires, they destroy and desecrate all that is beautiful, as if they are forever tainted with an indelible darkness and filth."
"But Lis, you, Ya'er, and Arsen have made me realize a lot."
"There are despicable slavers, and then there are respectable people like you, Ya'er, and Arsen."
"Thank you, Lis, you will always be my dear friend."
Ailina's words were gentle yet firm as she slowly approached Lis, lifted her delicate chin, and lightly kissed him on the forehead.
Lis was a bit taken aback; he felt he had only given a small help and hadn't expected Ailina to be so grateful.
It was at that moment that the system panel popped up with a new message.
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[You have completed the milestone, "Dear Friend of the Elf Clan!"]
[ "Dear Friend of the Elf Clan": Your deeds have won you heartfelt thanks from the elves, who now consider you a true friend. Your charm attribute points +10, and the initial goodwill of all elf factions towards you is raised to friendly (excluding Dark Elves). Under certain conditions, you may use goodwill to request aid from the elves.]
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This milestone reward is pretty powerful!
I never expected such an unexpected gain!
Originally, when giving the Moon Spirit Leopard to Ailina, Lis had no other purpose in mind.
First, Ailina was his teammate, and it seemed inappropriate for him to want to keep the Moon Spirit Leopard for himself at this time.
Second, Ailina had said that if it didn't undergo the baptism, the Moon Spirit Leopard's future strength would only be that of the Silver Level and it would consume a lot of Lis's precious resources, which was not suitable for him.
Lis wasn't an absolute egoist; he thought that giving the Little Moon Spirit Leopard to Ailina was the best choice.
Even though Lis hadn't intentionally sought to receive this, he wouldn't refuse it either.
"Thank you, Ailina, you are also my friend forever,"
Lis earnestly said to the elf Hunter before him, whose cheeks were slightly reddened with shyness.
"Ohhh~"
Ya'er made an unclear noise on the side, nosily squeezing next to Ailina and also wanting to be kissed.
Ailina, not amused, pushed Ya'er's approaching little head away and became serious, saying:
"Everybody, please step back a bit, I'm about to prepare the Soul Returning Ceremony of the Goddess."
Lis raised an eyebrow; a Soul Returning Ceremony, to return the soul of the Moon Spirit Leopard to the Goddess's Divine Country.
Generally speaking, the souls of the believers of the All Gods do not enter the Netherworld after death but are guided into the Divine Country of the All Gods to be reborn or directly become Prayers. This was a way for the Gods to strengthen their Divine Power, but it was also what the believers hoped for, believing it would grant them eternal life and happiness.
In special cases, if a soul couldn't return to the Divine Country of the All Gods, someone could conduct the Soul Returning Ceremony to open the gate to the Divine Country and guide the lost soul.
Of course, this required the consent of the Divine Country's owner, and Goddess Fenrir certainly wouldn't deny the soul of a Moon Spirit Leopard.
Ailina was likely to prepare the Soul Returning Ceremony of the Moon and Guardian Goddess Fenrir.
Lis and others stepped aside, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Ailina stood in front of the Moon Spirit Leopard and took out the Holy Emblem representing the Goddess Fenrir from the storage ring.
An emerald-green shield-shaped emblem engraved with a pristine silver moon!
She then took out the morning dew, a branch from the Tree of Life, and an emerald-green gemstone infused with a unique Life Power.
After all the ceremonial items were ready, Ailina knelt down gently on both knees, closed her eyes, and with her hands clasped earnestly recited:
Great and benevolent Goddess Fenrir,
You are the embodiment of the night's silver moon!
You are the protector of the elves!
You are the protector of Rangers!
All praise, gratitude, and honor are bestowed upon You!
Here your believer prays to You with sincerity,
please open the gates,
and let this wandering child return to Your warm embrace!
With Ailina's prayers, a gentle silver and green intermingling radiance emerged from the ritual offerings and formed a hazy, ethereal silver door in the air.
Merely watching from not far away, what seemed a feeble force, imbued Lis with a sense of the Holy that he couldn't resist. Even though he felt no threat, there seemed to be a heavy pressure on his shoulders.
Is this what Divine Power feels like?
Even though in his past life he had witnessed the incarnations of gods fighting several times, in this life it was his first time to witness the display of a god's vast power with his own eyes, and simply the slightest trace of it rendered him motionless.
Lis's mind was racing with thoughts, yet his eyes remained intently fixed on the scene of the ceremony before him, not daring to miss a moment.