Chapter 24

Whether the encounter between the Mountain Tiger and the Ground Bear was a coincidence or a deliberate ambush by the Ground Bear; if it was a deliberate ambush, how could the Ground Bear be certain that the Mountain Tiger would take this path; ...

Many questions flashed through Su Baozhang's mind. Not only him, but Yang Junshan also only had a rough guess at this point. However, these were now irrelevant. What was important was that they had to do everything possible to kill these two injured beasts before Zhang Yueming and the others arrived.

The two of them approached the distant mountain hollow along the ridge, while still being in a high position to monitor Zhang Yueming and the others who were searching for the Mountain Tiger's trail outside the hollow.

Although Zhang Yueming and the other young men had not yet realized that they were being led astray by the Mountain Tiger's trail, with the guidance of the Butterfly Trace Talisman, they were slowly approaching the entrance to the mountain hollow.

"No!"

Su Baozhang suddenly stopped and said, "Rushing over like this won't work. Zhang Yueming and the others will catch up soon. When that happens, we will be outnumbered, and even if we manage to kill the two beasts, we will just be doing the work for others!"

Without waiting for Yang Junshan to speak, Su Baozhang already threw the hundred-refined cold light dagger back to him, saying, "The two beasts are already injured. You wait for the right moment to strike, but be careful. I'll go and lure Zhang Yueming and the others away!"

Yang Junshan grabbed Su Baozhang and said urgently, "Are you crazy? They have the Butterfly Trace Talisman guiding them. How can you lure them away?"

Su Baozhang broke free from Yang Junshan, already running several dozen feet away, and turned back to laugh, "Don't worry, I have a plan. Besides, I have a protective talisman. Even if they catch up, they can't do anything to me. At worst, I'll just leave the arena."

As he spoke, Su Baozhang had already run several dozen feet away. Seeing that Su Baozhang was determined to go, Yang Junshan quickly took something from his pocket and threw it to Su Baozhang, saying, "This is a talisman stone. It can form a stone wall to block the enemy. Be careful!"

Su Baozhang did not even turn his head, just waved his arm, and then disappeared into the woods. Yang Junshan looked at his back, stomped his foot hard, and accelerated towards the mountain hollow where the two beasts were fighting.

Just as Yang Junshan was about to reach the entrance to the mountain hollow, a loud howl came from deep in the woods outside the hollow. Yang Junshan was stunned. This howl sounded very much like the roar of the Mountain Tiger. If it weren't for the fact that there was already a Mountain Tiger in front of him, and Yang Junshan knew that within ten miles of a Mountain Tiger, there could not be another adult Mountain Tiger, plus Su Baozhang's confidence when he left, he would have almost thought he was hallucinating.

Yang Junshan did not know that Su Baozhang had the skill to mimic the calls of beasts. However, this imitation lacked the ferocity of the beasts, having only the form but not the substance. Yet, the Mountain Tiger had already been severely injured by Zhang Yueming and the others, and the "weak" roar it emitted at this moment was quite appropriate.

With a relieved mind, Yang Junshan slowly approached the edge of the battlefield where the two beasts were fighting. The Ground Bear, which had been resting, now had the upper hand. Its two powerful paws, carrying immense force, swung with each strike, creating a fierce wind that flattened the surrounding wild grass. Any tree branches that were hit immediately broke and fell.

The Mountain Tiger, already at the end of its strength, desperately dodged the bear's attacks. Each time it was hit by the bear's paws, it would be knocked to the ground, but it would always struggle to stand up, growling low and menacingly at the bear.

The Mountain Tiger's indomitable will made the Ground Bear even more agitated. The bear, which had already lost one eye due to a momentary lapse, was now even more frenzied, its remaining bit of intelligence obliterated by bloodlust. With the last bit of caution towards the Mountain Tiger gone, it roared and pounced on the Mountain Tiger.

The Mountain Tiger, already exhausted, saw an opportunity at this moment. Its two hind legs, which were about to collapse, suddenly twisted into a strange angle, and it managed to gather a bit of strength, allowing its massive body to lunge forward towards the bear.

Crack!

A crisp sound was heard, even by Yang Junshan, who was about fifty to sixty steps away from the battle. Yang Junshan was very familiar with this sound; it was the sound of bones breaking.

Immediately following was a roar filled with pain, and the sound of heavy thuds, each one seeming to strike Yang Junshan's heart. Unconsciously, sweat beads began to form on his forehead.

Yang Junshan pushed aside a bush in front of him, and the scene before him was shocking even to Yang Junshan, who had a hundred years of experience from his previous life.

The Mountain Tiger seemed to know it could not escape the Ground Bear's attack. As the bear pounced, it broke its own legs to support its body and leaped forward.

The Ground Bear, clearly not expecting such a desperate move, was caught off guard and was bitten on its left leg by the Mountain Tiger. The sharp teeth pierced deep into the flesh and bone.

Then the Ground Bear's paws came down, breaking the Mountain Tiger's lower spine, causing its lower body to collapse. The frenzied bear, ignoring the almost severed leg, continued to pound the Mountain Tiger's back with its paws.

The Mountain Tiger's lower body was almost completely crushed, but it still used its front paws to support its body, holding onto the bear's leg with a death grip, refusing to let go no matter how the bear struggled.

Whoosh!

A sharp sound tore through the air, and an iron-feathered arrow, carrying a powerful killing intent, shot straight for the bear's only remaining eye.

Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for Yang Junshan to hit a beast like the Ground Bear with an arrow. Such beasts, which have a rudimentary intelligence, often have an astonishing ability to predict danger, even before Yang Junshan gets close.

However, at this moment, the bear was weighed down by the Mountain Tiger's massive body, and the two frenzied beasts did not even realize that a twelve-year-old boy had approached within fifty steps.

But when the real life-and-death crisis arrived, the Ground Bear finally dodged at the last moment. Yang Junshan's arrow, which was supposed to hit the bear's eye, instead hit its nose.

This arrow was not fatal, but it was enough to instill fear in the frenzied bear!

The bear, which had been relentlessly pounding the Mountain Tiger's back, finally struck the Mountain Tiger's head, causing the already exhausted tiger to become dizzy. The bear then pushed the Mountain Tiger away and roared in agony as a chunk of flesh was torn from its leg by the Mountain Tiger's teeth.

At this moment, Yang Junshan's second arrow was already on its way, aiming for the bear's throat.

However, as the bear pushed the Mountain Tiger away, its first action was to pull out the iron-feathered arrow from its nose, causing a gush of blood to spurt out. But the raised paw also blocked Yang Junshan's arrow aimed at the throat.

The iron-feathered arrow, fired from a three-stone bow, barely penetrated the bear's skin. Yang Junshan frowned, a mix of surprise and uncertainty on his face. The bear, roaring in anger, abandoned the Mountain Tiger and limped towards Yang Junshan.

Yang Junshan did not retreat directly but ran to the side and suddenly turned to shoot the third arrow. Since the bear was running on all fours, this arrow aimed at the wound on the bear's hind leg.

Unfortunately, this arrow missed!

The bear, with a mountain-crushing momentum, was closing the distance to Yang Junshan. Each step of its massive body sounded like a drumbeat, and the ground trembled, almost causing Yang Junshan to lose his balance.

Yang Junshan casually threw a stone the size of an egg, which rolled towards the bear, scattering fine sand as it moved. When the stone reached the bear, the sand had formed a swirling quicksand under the bear.

The bear's body suddenly sank, and Yang Junshan turned to shoot the fourth arrow, which hit the bear's shoulder. However, it only penetrated the skin by an inch, doing little to the bear's massive body.

The bear became even more enraged, suddenly standing up and then stomping down with both front paws.

Yang Junshan suddenly realized something and tried to escape, but the ground shook violently, and a powerful force knocked him to the ground.

The Ground Bear, as its name suggests, had a stomping force that affected a ten-foot radius. Any enemy within this range would be knocked to the ground, and the quicksand spell created by the talisman stone Yang Junshan threw was also dispelled by this force.

The Ground Bear approached Yang Junshan again. Just as Yang Junshan, still dizzy, was about to meet his fate, the bear's body suddenly paused, and a piercing howl came from its mouth.

Behind the Ground Bear, the Mountain Tiger, which had been on the verge of death, had somehow dragged itself to the bear's back, leaving a trail of blood. At the moment the bear broke the quicksand spell, the Mountain Tiger bit into the wound on the bear's hind leg again.

At this moment, Yang Junshan, who had finally overcome his dizziness, suddenly flipped over. The bow that he could not open before was now held with both feet, and he drew a feathered arrow with a talisman pattern on it, pulling the bowstring taut.

A thread of spiritual energy flowed through Yang Junshan's body, and the jade ring on his finger glowed with a misty light, activating the talisman pattern on the arrow. A cold wind suddenly arose, and the bowstring released, the talisman arrow penetrating three inches into the bear's abdomen. The talisman patterns on the arrow seemed to come alive, flowing towards the wound, and a cold aura spread from the wound, covering the bear's body with a layer of ice.

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(End of the chapter)