The End

Seeing the big tiger actually dare to attack him directly with its claws, Wang Zhifan immediately swung his blade down to meet it head-on.

But tigers were cunning beasts, as agile as wildcats. The claw it had just extended suddenly retracted before it could touch the weapon coming at it. It had been a premeditated feint!

If a novice blade fighter encountered such a false attack, the blade they swung down with full force would easily miss, leaving a fatal opening in front of them.

But Wang Zhifan's blade skill was now Lv3, already at the level of a generally recognized expert swordsman. Naturally, he would not be toyed with so easily by a mere tiger.

Although the slash he had made carried considerable force, he had not used his full strength at all. From beginning to end, he had left himself room to alter his move. The instant the big tiger pulled back its claw, he stepped forward sharply. At the same time, the Wolf Slayer Blade, still in the midst of its downward swing, traced a beautiful arc and flicked upward at an extremely tricky angle. It swept past the base of the tiger's half-retracted claw, sending a tiger claw as large as a human face flying toward the nearby ground in a spray of blood! With a single clean stroke, he had severed the tiger's thick claw as easily as cutting through a hemp stalk. The worth of the Wolf Slayer Blade as a Rare Grade weapon was plain to see! Yet cutting off one of the tiger's claws could not solve the fundamental problem. Having suffered this heavy blow, the big tiger had not even had time to register the pain before it twisted around furiously and pounced at Wang Zhifan with the force of Mount Tai bearing down! At this moment, Wang Zhifan could have chosen to rely on his formidable blade skills and confront it head-on, striking its vital points with precision and killing it in one blow. But if he did that, he might be crushed to death directly by the crazed tiger—or, even if he survived the impact, pinned beneath it and torn to pieces by its dying fury.

So, in order to stay alive, Wang Zhifan chose to avoid its edge for now. He immediately rolled backward and to the side, nimbly and precisely relocating behind a large tree. The trunk took the mad tiger's desperate pounce in his place.

Bang! Amid the sound of the tiger colliding with the trunk, Wang Zhifan rose and shifted position as he shouted, "How much longer are you planning to wait?!"

He was shouting at none other than the Hooded Cloak Middle-aged Man, who still had not attacked the tiger even now!

Wang Zhifan had already been dissatisfied with the man. During the earlier exchange between man and tiger, he had not seen that guy show himself even once. Clearly, the other man had failed to seize the opportunity to ambush the tiger, but that did not necessarily mean his reactions were too slow. It was more likely that he had ulterior motives and wanted to put Wang Zhifan in danger by slacking off and refusing to contribute!

Before becoming a player, the original Wang Zhifan had already frequented player forums to gather all kinds of intelligence. He knew about some of the uglier sides of the player community.

For example, when players teamed up to fight monsters in an instance, directly attacking or sabotaging one another would definitely trigger the Punishment Round mechanism. But if a player deliberately slacked off during a fight, intentionally moved a little slower, and shifted more pressure onto their teammates until they were put in danger, they would not be very likely to be forcibly dragged into a Punishment Round! Such behavior existed not merely because some players had twisted tastes. Some players had realized that since they could not directly steal their teammates' equipment, they could find ways to let their teammates die at the monsters' hands. Once a teammate died, the weapons in their hands and armor on their bodies became unclaimed. Taking them afterward carried no risk of triggering the Punishment Round mechanism. It might even be an easier road to sudden wealth than honestly farming monsters for equipment! Taking into account the strange feeling that middle-aged player had given Wang Zhifan earlier, Wang Zhifan had every reason to infer that the man had intended to harm him from the very beginning of the instance. His deliberate suggestion that Wang Zhifan stay put and fight the tiger was likely meant to get him killed by it so he could take his equipment afterward! Wang Zhifan was not being self-important. Although outsiders could not tell the exact quality of the Wolf Slayer Blade in his hand and the Wolf Pelt Armor on his body, anyone with some knowledge of equipment could see that they were far from ordinary. It was entirely possible that this middle-aged man had developed ill intentions.

Squelch! Roar!!! No sooner had Wang Zhifan finished shouting than he heard the sound of some sharp weapon piercing flesh from the tiger's direction, followed by the tiger's crazed howl of pain! He immediately ducked behind a large tree and looked back. The middle-aged man wearing a hood and cloak had finally revealed himself. He was retreating through the forest while winding the string on a Hand Crossbow in his hands. Ahead of him, a crossbow bolt was buried deep in one of the wildly roaring tiger's eye sockets! It was clearly the middle-aged man's handiwork!

"Girl, stop standing there. Reload and fire."

The ferocious big tiger had lost one claw to Wang Zhifan's blade and been blinded in one eye by the middle-aged man's shot. Now reduced to a One-Eyed Three-Legged Big Cat, it was far less dangerous. The middle-aged man thus no longer bothered to conceal himself, and even had time to remind the Gunner Female Player nearby—whose expression was still somewhat panicked—to stop running and get to work.

Seeing this, Wang Zhifan immediately felt reassured. He had originally prepared himself for the possibility that the middle-aged player would continue playing dead, forcing him to fight the tiger alone. But now, it seemed the man at least had some shame—or perhaps he really was getting old and slow to react. After being shouted at, he finally got to work seriously.

At this stage, Wang Zhifan could practically just be a spectator. The big tiger was already half-crippled, and it would be difficult for it to chase them through these woods anymore. He could leave the task of killing it to the two teammates with ranged attacks. There was no need for him to rush in for a close-range kill and add needless risk for himself.

A few seconds later, amid several gunshots and the whistling of crossbow bolts through the air, the once incomparably ferocious tiger met its end on the forest floor. Its corpse rapidly dissipated like smoke, and a Treasure Chest appeared before each of the three players who had completed this instance.

The Hooded Cloak Middle-aged Man, an assassin player, moved the fastest. The instant his Treasure Chest appeared, he stored it in his Personal Space, then vanished completely.

The Gunner Female Player, whether from fear or excitement at having cleared the instance, opened her Treasure Chest while wiping away tears.

Only Wang Zhifan did not hurriedly open his Treasure Chest. He clasped his hands together and murmured toward the sky, seemingly praying for heaven to grant him better luck in obtaining good equipment. In truth, he was using this to hide the fact that he was reading the reward selection screen that had appeared before him.