Chapter 169: Rabbit’s Master

Chapter 169: 169: Rabbit’s Master

Elowen’s eyes widened.

The ears twitched once, then froze. A small round head followed. The beast looked like an ordinary rabbit for one short moment, with soft white fur, dark eyes, and a pink nose that moved quickly as it smelled the air. Then its cheeks swelled slightly, and the soft skin around its mouth expanded like a small pouch.

Elowen whispered, "That is it."

Lucard did not answer.

The puffer rabbit climbed halfway out of the hole. Its front paws were short but thick, with sharp digging claws hidden under the fur. It sniffed the carrot scent again and took one cautious hop forward. Then another. Its eyes moved from the carrots to the stones, then back to the carrots.

It was not stupid.

That was good.

A stupid beast could dig a tunnel, but it could not steal spring water under the eyes of mages.

Lucard waited until the rabbit entered the carrot circle. The beast bit one carrot, chewed quickly, then stuffed half of another into its swelling mouth pouch. Its cheeks became rounder. It looked harmless, almost funny.

Elowen’s lips moved slightly as if she wanted to smile.

Then Lucard’s blood thread moved.

It did not attack. It slipped into the scent circle, thinned itself, and touched the rabbit’s front paw. Lucard did not try to hurt it. He sent a small blood mark into its body, soft and silent, the same way he would place a command seed into a weak creature.

The rabbit froze.

Lucard felt the mark enter.

Then something inside the rabbit pushed back.

It was not the rabbit’s own strength. The beast’s blood was too small to resist him like that. Something else was already there. A clean mana brand, hidden under its heart and tied to its mind. The moment Lucard’s blood mark touched it, the brand struck back like a needle.

Pain flashed through Lucard’s chest.

He coughed once.

Blood touched his lips.

Elowen almost jumped from behind the stone. "Lucard?"

The puffer rabbit dropped the carrot.

Its cheeks shrank at once. Its ears stood straight up, and its whole body became stiff.

Lucard wiped the blood from his mouth with one thumb. His eyes became colder, but not angry in a simple way. This was more interesting than anger.

"It is already tamed." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Elowen looked at the rabbit, then at him. "By someone else?"

"Yes."

"Then its master is nearby?"

"Most likely."

The puffer rabbit began backing toward its hole.

Lucard raised one finger.

Blood threads rose from under the dust and formed a loose cage around the rabbit. The little beast squeaked and puffed its mouth in fear, swelling its cheeks until its head almost looked twice as large. Its body trembled, but it did not dig. It had understood that the threads waited under the soil too.

Elowen watched with worry. "Are you going to kill it?"

Lucard looked at the rabbit.

The first plan had failed. That did not matter. A failed plan only showed the shape of the next one. The rabbit was already tamed, which meant it had a master. A master who knew puffer rabbits, who was close enough for the beast to wander here, and who was likely also interested in Deepwell Spring.

That could be useful.

If the master was weak, Lucard would kill him and take the beast.

If the master did not appear, Lucard could kill the rabbit, keep the body, and attempt a blood puppet method. A living digging beast would be better, but a fresh corpse with blood threads and puppet control might still move through a tunnel long enough to steal water.

One way or another, he would get what he wanted.

Lucard let a small amount of killing intent touch the blood threads.

The rabbit felt it and shook harder.

Elowen’s face changed. "Lucard, wait. It is only a rabbit."

"It is a tool."

"It is scared."

"Good."

"That is not good."

Lucard ignored her and tightened the blood cage. One thread moved toward the rabbit’s neck, slow enough for anyone watching to understand what was about to happen.

The air changed.

A thin blue line shot from a nearby stone ridge and cut the blood thread before it touched the rabbit.

Lucard smiled faintly.

"There you are."

A young man stepped out from behind a high rock.

He looked about twenty years old, perhaps a little older. He wore a travel coat of dark blue cloth with silver clasps, and his hair was pale brown, tied loosely behind his head. His face was handsome in the careless way of someone born too high to worry about common hunger. But his eyes were sharp, and the wand in his hand was already pointed at Lucard.

The puffer rabbit squeaked and tried to hop toward him.

Lucard’s blood cage closed again.

The young man’s eyes narrowed. "Release my beast."

Lucard looked at him. "No."

Elowen slowly stood from behind the stone, then stopped when the young man glanced at her. She quickly lowered herself again. She had learned not to become the easiest hostage twice in one day.

The young man noticed the movement and smiled slightly. "You have a companion. That makes this more complicated."

Lucard said, "Only if you make it complicated."

"You tried to steal my puffer rabbit."

"I tried to tame a wild beast. It was not wild."

"Now you know."

"Yes."

"Then release it."

Lucard’s blood threads moved closer to the rabbit’s throat. "Take one more step, and I test if your bond survives death."

The young man’s smile faded.

Blue mana gathered around his wand. It was not water, though it looked close. It had a clear, sharp feeling, like cold glass. The nearby air tightened, and thin crystal-like lines appeared around him.

Fourth Circle mage.

Not ordinary.

Lucard felt it at once. This young man was stronger than Maera in raw talent, even if Maera had more killing experience. His mana was clean, controlled, and fast. He was not a wandering fool who had found a rabbit. He had been trained properly.

The young man said, "If you kill it, I will make you regret it."

Lucard answered, "You can try."

The young man attacked.

A crystal spear formed in front of his wand and shot forward without chant. It crossed the distance quickly, aiming for Lucard’s shoulder instead of his heart. He did not want to kill immediately. He wanted to disable it.

Lucard moved to the side and cut upward with a blood thread.

The crystal spear split in two.

Both halves exploded into smaller shards.

Lucard raised a blood spell circle in front of him. The shards struck it like rain on glass. Several pierced the outer ring, but none reached his face. The young man moved at the same time, circling toward the rabbit.

Lucard’s second blood thread pulled the rabbit backward.

The young man’s wand flashed again.

The ground under Lucard’s feet turned slick, covered with a thin layer of blue crystal frost. It was not ice. It was mana made into a slippery surface. Lucard’s foot shifted, but he did not fall. Blood hardened under his soles for one breath, giving him grip.

The young man’s eyes sharpened. "Interesting."

Lucard sent three blood threads toward him.

The young man did not dodge like a normal mage. He turned his wand in a circle, and a thin crystal shield opened before him. The blood threads struck it and tried to pierce through. The shield cracked but held. Then the cracks themselves turned into sharp lines and shot back toward Lucard.

Lucard stepped through the counterattack with small movements. One line cut his sleeve. Another scratched his cheek. The third cut a lock of hair near his ear.

Elowen watched from behind the stone, holding her breath.

The puffer rabbit lay flat inside the blood cage, pretending to be smaller than it was.

Lucard looked at the young man again.

Talented.

Very talented.

A Fourth Circle mage who did not waste power, did not shout, and did not rely on one heavy spell. His control was precise. His reaction speed was fast. He understood how to defend and counter at the same time. Someone had trained him very well.

Lucard moved first this time.

He formed two blood spell circles. One appeared above the rabbit, keeping it trapped. The other opened near his palm. Bloodfire Lv2 burned inside the second circle, quiet and dark after absorbing Maera’s blood.

The young man noticed the flame and became serious.

Lucard pushed his palm forward.

A line of bloodfire shot toward him.

The young man raised his wand and formed a crystal wall. Bloodfire struck it and did not explode. It sank into the crystal, turning the clear blue surface red from within. The young man’s eyes changed, and he released the wall at once before the bloodfire could travel through his spell into his wand.

The wall fell and melted into red smoke.

The young man took two steps back. "That is not normal fire."

"No."

"Bloodfire?"

Lucard did not answer.