novelraw Chapter 211 : Cindy and Little Black
Chapter 211 : Cindy and Little Black
Chapter 211: Cindy and Little Black
In the Lord's Manor of White Mountain City, Cindy was in the garden, feeding the Shadow Panther cub.
Everyone in the White Mountain Territory's manor now knew that their young lady kept an extremely fierce creature. So it was best not to approach her lightly, especially during feeding time.
Thus, at this moment, in the back garden of the manor, Cindy was alone.
She sat on the grass, watching as the Shadow Panther cub devoured a slab of meat nearly a meter tall.
Ever since Cindy had officially been allowed to raise this magical beast, its diet had been left completely unchecked. But only Cindy could feed the Shadow Panther cub—no one else could approach it casually anymore, or they'd be attacked.
It had been manageable in the past.
But now, the cub had grown strong enough to radiate immense pressure—once resembling a kitten or puppy just two or three years old, it now looked like a full-grown Hunting Hound.
A Hunting Hound was a fierce beast standing over sixty centimeters tall at the shoulder, with a body length including its tail of over 1.5 meters. It possessed immense speed and explosive strength. Its teeth and claws were razor-sharp, and it could even use its long tail like a whip to strike enemies. Adult Hunting Hounds had intelligence comparable to twelve-year-old human children. They could understand moderately complex commands and were a favorite "pet" among noble heirs without bloodline powers.
The Soderbell Family could afford them but believed in spending money on the right things—so they would never buy such frivolities.
Anna had once gifted Liam a Hunting Hound—after Liam had been bitten by Little Black.
Unfortunately, Liam brought it to show off in front of the Shadow Panther cub. The hound, sensing Little Black's overwhelming presence, bared its fangs in threat—and was promptly killed by the cub.
Liam had cried bitterly that day.
While others might feel pressure from Little Black's current form, Cindy did not.
Because despite its imposing size, the Shadow Panther was still not fully grown. Its maturity was proportional to its strength: the stronger a magical beast, the longer its growth cycle. The cub by Cindy's side still needed about ten more years to reach adulthood—by then, it would step into the Third-Tier.
But even now, this cub was nearing the strength of a Second-Tier Bloodline User.
If Liam had been bitten by it in this state, he would've lost his entire hand.
"Little Black."
The cub's ears twitched.
It recognized Cindy's voice.
Magical beasts above the Third-Tier were extremely intelligent—almost as smart as adult humans. The Hall of Spirits had long claimed that magical beasts could communicate, but due to humanity's greed for power, they had been hunted relentlessly, leading them to reject contact with humans and appear more like wild beasts.
Supporters of this theory pointed to the intelligence of magical beasts. They learned and grew, and once they escaped a trap, it rarely worked on them again.
Opponents argued that magical beast cubs couldn’t be tamed, proving the theory was emotional and unrealistic.
If the Hall of Spirits saw Cindy now, they'd be utterly shocked.
But they couldn’t see it.
Otherwise, they'd have far more to be shocked about.
"Little Black."
Cindy called again.
The Shadow Panther cub reluctantly paused its feast, raised its head, and looked at Cindy.
"Do you think my father and the others are in danger?"
The cub tilted its head.
"You think not, huh?"
Its eyes filled with confusion, and Cindy smiled with satisfaction, patting its head before picking up a large slab of meat and feeding it directly. Though Little Black didn’t understand what this two-legged creature was saying, it never refused food. So it once again buried its head and resumed devouring.
But this time, halfway through its meal, it suddenly raised its head, looking in a specific direction. Its body tensed and arched into a combat-ready posture, responding to a threat.
Cindy frowned.
She looked in the direction the cub was staring.
It was a specially built courtyard wall.
This back garden served as the Shadow Panther cub’s territory. Occasionally, to preserve its wild instincts, other wild animals or beasts would be released for it to hunt. To prevent it from escaping and harming others, a five-meter-high, two-meter-thick stone wall had been built around the area.
Cindy stared at the wall, then quickly realized the cub wasn't looking at the wall itself—but toward the direction it faced.
That was the direction of the manor's front gate.
"Someone’s coming?"
"Grrr—" Little Black let out a low growl.
Cindy understood immediately.
Someone had come to the manor—and Little Black sensed a threat, or danger.
She picked up a large meat slab and handed it to the cub, who took a bite and swallowed.
By now, Cindy had already removed the glove from her right hand—used for feeding raw meat—and quickly walked toward the gate, shouting, "Follow me, Little Black!"
The cub trotted a few steps in mild annoyance, then turned back to grab another meat slab before running to catch up with Cindy.
As Cindy approached the courtyard gate, Little Black’s shadow finally caught up with hers. In the next moment, its body melted like ink and merged into Cindy’s shadow.
【Shadow Dive】
This was the Shadow Panther’s special ability.
However, as Little Black was still a cub, its ability was limited. It had to overlap its shadow with another's to merge. It also couldn’t jump between shadows like an adult.
"Who’s here?" Cindy exited the courtyard and asked the two guards on duty.
The two men looked confused.
"Never mind." Seeing their expressions, Cindy knew she wouldn’t get answers.
She hadn’t realized: how could the rear courtyard guards know what happened at the front?
"Did you hear anything earlier?"
Once Cindy had walked away, one guard asked, "I think I heard chewing. Did you hear it?"
"Chewing?"
"Yeah, when the young lady passed by."
"You're imagining things. That must’ve been the beast eating. No way the young lady eats raw meat."
"I heard she’s cruel and loves watching dog fights. They say she feeds that fierce hound with human corpses."
"Are you insane?! Don’t talk like that about the young lady! You’re a refugee—you might not know better, but the Soderbell family isn’t like the nobles you're used to. Don’t spout such things. Lord Ion might let it go, but if Lord Ryan hears you—you’re done for."
"Why?"
"If not for Lord Ion and Baron Ster, none of them would've returned alive. My father and second brother didn’t make it, but my eldest brother did because he listened to Lord Ion. Cindy is not that kind of person. She would never feed people to a hound."
"But what if it's true?"
"Cindy isn’t even eight years old yet. What are you thinking?!"
Cindy had keen hearing, but her mind wasn’t on the guards. She only caught part of the conversation and didn’t hear the rest.
Even if she had, she wouldn’t care.
She’d heard the chewing—it was Little Black, eating in her shadow.
About two months ago, when she, Liam, and Angelina were returning to White Mountain Territory, the Shadow Panther cub grew at an alarming pace. By the time they arrived at the manor, it was already the size of a Hunting Hound.
Everyone thought Cindy had brought back a hound from Gem Territory.
After all, Liam had raised one before.
Then one day, Little Black disappeared.
She searched everywhere—cried out of worry.
The manor was anxious too. They'd seen the cub kill a wild wolf. A missing beast like that was a huge concern.
They searched for three days, but found nothing.
On the fourth day, Cindy noticed something strange—her shadow looked... swollen.
She tried different angles, using light to view it from the front.
Then she reached into her shadow—and felt something like liquid, not cold but without any temperature.
After experimenting, she found only her hand could enter her shadow. She pulled out bones, scraps of meat, and carcasses—it seemed a beast had made her shadow a nest, hoarding food inside.
Realizing what had happened, she reached in and pulled out the missing cub. Since then, Cindy knew that the Shadow Panther cub could hide in her shadow.
But uniquely, it could only do so in hers—and build nests, hoard food, even eat inside. It couldn’t do this in Liam or Angelina’s shadows.
Only Cindy’s shadow was special.
Still, eating inside her shadow produced noise.
Usually, Cindy demanded silence from Little Black.
She didn’t want anyone knowing what hid in her shadow.
But today was different, so she hadn’t stopped him.
Soon, Cindy arrived at the front yard.
But it was already empty.
She ran toward the audience hall.
"Cindy."
Ion’s voice rang out.
"Grandfather?" Cindy looked up and saw Ion descending the stairs. She quickly greeted him.
"You came just in time," Ion said. "Your Uncle Akar is back and eager to see you. Come with me."
"Father is back too?" Her eyes lit up.
"No." Ion fell silent.
Only then did he remember—no matter how talented Cindy was, or that she was the chosen wielder of the Demonic Sword and the first Soderbell sword-bearer, she was still just a child not yet eight years old.
Her composure often made people forget that.
She was still a child—and she worried for her father at war.
"Your father just achieved a glorious victory. Aches did very well too. There’s much to manage, so he couldn’t return," Ion explained. "Akar came back because your father needs your help."
"Alright!" Cindy beamed. "I’ll definitely help Father!"