Chapter 14

Thick smoke rose into the sky, and the smell of burning gunpowder mixed with the scent of singed hair, creating a strange odor that made Su Xiao frown deeply.

His vision obscured by the thick smoke, he was unable to determine the exact position of the giant tiger.

"Roar~!!!"

An angry tiger roar echoed through the smoke. After hearing the roar, Su Xiao's attention became highly focused, but his muscles remained relaxed.

Tightening his muscles would slow his movements, creating a fatal flaw in battle.

The long sword in his hand hung naturally, the tip touching the ground.

The giant tiger had yet to appear, hidden in the smoke, but Su Xiao could feel that the tiger had already discovered him.

A strong wind blew through the jungle, dispersing the rising smoke.

At that moment, a massive figure, accompanied by a bit of green smoke, burst out of the smoke—it was the giant tiger.

The giant tiger that appeared in Su Xiao's line of sight was no longer as majestic as before. Large patches of its fur were burned, the singed hair clinging to its skin, with sparks still flickering faintly.

Its massive body was covered in wounds, countless iron nails embedded in its flesh.

The most severe injury was to one of the tiger's eyes, with iron nails surrounding it, and blackish-red liquid flowing from the eye socket.

Upon discovering the tiger's injuries, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's lips. Such injuries, even if not fatal, would reduce its combat effectiveness by at least ninety percent. His trap had been very effective.

Indeed, humans are the most dangerous creatures in nature.

The giant tiger, accompanied by a whistling wind, pounced at Su Xiao, reaching him in just a few steps.

Compared to the massive creature, Su Xiao was not even as tall as its front legs.

However, for some reason, Su Xiao's heart began to race, and this formidable opponent made him somewhat excited.

Before the tiger could charge, Su Xiao kicked off the ground forcefully, causing dry leaves to scatter. He rushed to the tiger's front, his long sword slashing at the tiger's front paw.

"Thud."

Blood splattered, and a wound appeared on the tiger's front paw. The "Dragon Slash" sword, rated at 10, effortlessly pierced the tiger's tough outer skin, deeply cutting into its flesh.

The tiger roared in pain. The previous explosion had injured it, causing its movements to be somewhat sluggish, and its brain was still somewhat dazed.

Just as the tiger was about to counterattack, Su Xiao jumped to the side, positioning himself on the tiger's left side, which was now a blind spot due to its injured eye.

The tiger's two massive paws, each as large as a millstone, clawed forward, their tips gleaming with a metallic sheen. If Su Xiao were caught, he would surely suffer a terrible fate, but the tiger failed to injure him at all.

Seizing this opportunity, Su Xiao lunged forward, gripping the sword with both hands, and slashed at the tiger's paw again.

The reason Su Xiao chose to attack the tiger's paws was out of necessity. The tiger was at least four meters tall, making it very difficult to attack vital areas like its throat or head.

With the threat of those paws, Su Xiao dared not rashly attack the tiger's vital areas.

But that was fine. There were still a few hours left before the side mission's deadline, and Su Xiao had time, while the tiger did not.

After just a short battle, the nearby ground was drenched in blood. It wouldn't be long before the tiger collapsed from blood loss, leaving it at Su Xiao's mercy.

The tiger also realized this. With its single eye filled with hatred, it began to consider retreating.

Animals are like this; in extremely adverse situations, most will choose to flee unless they have young to protect.

Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is not only a human instinct but also an animal instinct, especially for a tiger with high intelligence.

The tiger panted heavily, its claws deeply embedded in the soil, ready to flee at any moment.

The battle had reached this point, and Su Xiao would not let the tiger escape. He had spent valuable time setting up the trap.

Just as the tiger began to retreat, Su Xiao's "Dragon Slash" sword struck repeatedly, leaving several bloody gashes on the tiger's body.

Seeing the tiger's health bar at only 8%, it was clear that the tiger was doomed.

In the Cycle Paradise, there was no situation where a creature would go berserk when its health dropped below 10%. Instead, any creature would become very weak.

Not to mention going berserk, the tiger could barely run, and its attacks were disorganized, focused solely on escape.

On the tiger's sixth attempt to flee, Su Xiao thrust his long sword into the tiger's hind leg, then gripped the hilt tightly and pulled outward.

The sound of the blade slicing through muscle was distinctive, and Su Xiao, gripping the hilt, could clearly feel the slight tremor transmitted through the blade as the muscle was cut.

The tiger let out a mournful howl, and a deep wound appeared on its hind leg. Before the blood could fully soak the wound, Su Xiao saw a severed tendon inside.

With the tendon severed, the tiger had lost its chance to escape and was doomed to die that day.

Perhaps the tiger also realized this, and it changed its demeanor, facing Su Xiao and issuing continuous threatening roars.

Su Xiao stood before the massive beast, his bare upper body stained with tiger blood.

The slippery, warm sensation of the blood stimulated Su Xiao's ferocity, making him appear particularly fierce at that moment.

Standing before the house-sized beast, Su Xiao smiled, a particularly gentle smile.

The "Master of Korbo Mountain" had dominated Korbo Mountain for many years and had never feared any creature.

But at that moment, the giant beast was somewhat afraid of Su Xiao, because this smiling human might take its life.

"Roar~!"

A roar filled with anger and fear echoed throughout Korbo Mountain.

Su Xiao moved nimbly toward the tiger, constantly changing his position.

The tiger crouched low, preparing to fight to the death with Su Xiao.

A massive paw, accompanied by a pungent wind, swiped at Su Xiao's face. This claw was both fast and urgent, and the tiger had hidden its speed, revealing it in its dying moments to deliver a fatal blow to Su Xiao.

If hit by this claw, Su Xiao would be lucky to survive and would have to flee.

Su Xiao appeared to have the advantage, but in reality, the gap in strength between him and the tiger was too great. Despite slashing the tiger with over a dozen cuts, the tiger's health bar had only decreased by about 1%, which was negligible, and even that 1% was due to the tiger's rapid blood loss.

But if the tiger's claw struck him, the battle might end.

The fatal claw was about to hit him, but Su Xiao continued his forward momentum, actually moving to meet it.

Just as the tiger's claw was about to strike, Su Xiao spread his legs, assuming a kneeling position, lowering his center of gravity and leaning backward.

The claw, carrying a strong scent of blood, narrowly missed Su Xiao's nose, the wind blowing his hair.

Kneeling on the ground, Su Xiao narrowly avoided the tiger's claw.

Slapping the ground with one hand, Su Xiao leaped up, now positioned directly below the tiger's head, where its vulnerable throat was exposed.

Su Xiao did not hesitate and slashed with his sword.

A large amount of blood spurted out, drenching Su Xiao in blood.

While Su Xiao and the tiger were locked in a life-and-death struggle, a small, thin figure hid in a nearby bush, clearly a child.

"Strong, so strong."

The bush rustled, and the child's head emerged, a few green leaves still on the brim of the hat.