Chapter 006: Between Life and Death
In the instant they were about to clash, a brilliantly lit orb of light flashed right before the Tiger King’s eyes. Blinded by the light, the Tiger King instinctively raised a paw to shield its eyes from the dazzling orb. In that split second, Lia’s sword slashed across the soft fur under the Tiger King’s neck, tearing a long, bloody gash. With quick thinking and agile movements, she then rolled precariously under the Tiger King’s body, emerging unscathed.
Chen Ran let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that although his Holy Light Bullet’s attack power was negligible, it was quite useful for special purposes. The thought of a lovely girl like Lia being taken down by a beast like that would have weighed heavily on his conscience.
The moment the Tiger King was stunned, Raul and George seized the opportunity and followed up. Their greatsword and spear landed squarely on the Tiger King’s back, breaking its hide and injuring the spine beneath. The immense force made the Tiger King jump and hastily retreat to regain its footing. It took up its stance again, the blood vessels in its eyes becoming more prominent, its expression even more ferocious.
When it pounced again, the Saber-toothed Tiger King’s strength had increased severalfold. Tyris raised his great shield to block, but a single powerful swipe of its massive claws shattered the already damaged heavy shield. At the same time, a crisp cracking sound came from his arm. Ignoring the pain, Tyris quickly dropped the remains of his shield and dodged the Tiger King’s follow-up attack with a desperate roll.
“This can’t go on,” Chen Ran thought, carefully observing the situation and beginning to formulate an emergency strategy.
At this point, the others realized they couldn’t hold their ground and even started to think about running, but that would only lead to them being picked off one by one. Just then, the Tiger King easily broke through their loose formation again and charged straight for the spear warrior, George. Raul, at his side, was too slow to provide cover.
“No!”
When George saw the Tiger King charging straight for him, terror descended upon him. In his panic, he abandoned the formation and started to flee for his life.
“Don’t run!” Although this was no longer a game, Chen Ran knew the consequences of a broken formation. He could understand George’s feelings at that moment, but running like that was no way to escape death. It was a guaranteed death sentence…
Time seemed to freeze…
The moment the Tiger King pounced on George, Chen Ran found it hard to describe his feelings. He watched with his own eyes as a person who had been alive and well just moments before was struck by the Saber-toothed Tiger King, his brains splattering everywhere. In that instant, the oppressive reality of death enveloped his heart, and his stomach churned. It was only now that he truly realized he could no longer be the otaku he once knew.
After killing George, it became even harder for the remaining members to stop the Tiger King’s charge. Its next target was Raul. Raul, too, sensed death’s approach. The hand holding his sword began to tremble, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead. He barely managed to stand his ground, his eyes filled with terror, but he was ready to run at any moment.
Just then, Chen Ran suddenly shouted at Raul, “Raul, don’t run! Try to clash with the Saber-toothed Tiger King head-on! I have a plan!”
“Quick! Tell me what to do! I don’t want to die!” The death of their companion was a huge blow to everyone. Raul clutched his greatsword, his limbs trembling, tears and snot streaming down his face.
“When the Tiger King pounces, remember to swing your sword upwards! Protect your head, keep your center of gravity low, and use both hands to parry so you don’t get hit by its claws!”
“It’s useless! Its strength is immense! Even if both my arms break, I won’t be able to block its attack…”
“Do as I say!” Facing the rapidly approaching Tiger King, Chen Ran knew how urgent the situation was. He spoke to Raul again, his voice serious. “Calm down. You can do it. Remember, you’re not alone. Everyone’s hopes are on you now!”
Perhaps Chen Ran’s calm encouragement finally had some effect on Raul. He gulped, glanced at the expressions of the others, and tightened his grip on his greatsword. Facing the charging Tiger King, he roared, “Alright, I’ll fight you!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he timed his attack perfectly and met the Tiger King head-on.
At this moment, Chen Ran finally realized the gravity of the situation. A heavy sense of responsibility pressed down on his shoulders.
Before coming here, although he was a priest, he was also a guild leader, a commander. Most of the guild’s first-clear raids were led by his strategy team. For small and medium-sized quests and dungeons, their skill was on par with the world’s top teams. He was a true tech otaku. More importantly, in team PKs, he was always the soul of his team. Although he had no attack skills, he had learned more tactics and strategies to compensate. His perfect skill application and rich experience in team combat made him a nightmare for all his enemies. This was just a level 35 elite creature. He could do this…
Raul followed Chen Ran’s instructions and charged forward, his sword swinging upwards. Just as it looked like Raul was about to be pounced on by the Tiger King, two ordinary Holy Light Bullets flew out from Chen Ran’s hands. He had calculated the position and angle perfectly, and they flashed right in front of the Tiger King’s eyes, stunning it again. This lessened the momentum of the Tiger King’s pounce, and Raul, seizing the moment, struck. His sword slashed heavily against the Tiger King’s lower jaw, leaving a long gash. Unfortunately, the strike was a bit off-center and didn’t achieve the ideal kill.
At the same time, the Tiger King’s claws, carried by inertia, left several gruesome bloody gashes on Raul’s arm. But thanks to Chen Ran’s cover, he had avoided a fatal blow. The clever Raul then used the momentum to roll away from the enraged Tiger King, narrowly escaping.
Just then, Chen Ran charged forward alone, continuing to fire Holy Light Bullets at the Tiger King’s still-closed, vulnerable eyelids.
He didn’t expect the weak Holy Light Bullets to harm the Tiger King; he just wanted to keep its eyes shut. At the same time, as he ran, he bent down and picked up the two short swords Lia had dropped. Just as the Tiger King’s vision returned and it opened its eyes, he accurately stabbed the left and right swords into its vulnerable eyeballs. Before the Tiger King could go completely berserk, he quickly retreated.
As expected, with both its eyes severely injured, the Saber-toothed Tiger King began to rampage, crashing into nearby trees and knocking them down. The others wisely backed away to avoid being caught in the frenzy. Chen Ran used this opportunity to cast Heal on the injured. The bloody gashes on Raul’s arm and Tyris’s broken bone gradually healed.
The Saber-toothed Demonic Tiger King thrashed about, repeatedly slamming into sturdy trees. Although its body was tough, it couldn’t withstand the continuous impacts, and its movements grew smaller and smaller.
“I’ll finish this big cat!” Sensing an opportunity, Raul gritted his teeth. Before his injuries were fully healed, he charged toward the disoriented Saber-toothed Tiger King. He got closer and closer, then raised his greatsword high and delivered a full-powered thrust, following up on the previous strike that hadn’t landed squarely.
