Most of its white fur had been scorched by the flames, and its body was covered in burns. Just as the middle-aged man's hand was about to touch the spirit weapon dagger, the White Ape Exotic Beast suddenly opened its eyes.
"Fuck, I fell for it. This bastard was playing dead."
The instant he saw the supposedly dead White Ape Exotic Beast suddenly open its eyes, the middle-aged man immediately withdrew his hand and retreated.
But after enduring for so long and holding out until this point, how could the White Ape Exotic Beast let the middle-aged man escape unscathed so easily?
"Roar..."
The White Ape Exotic Beast let out a thunderous roar. The ear-splitting bellow left the middle-aged man dizzy and muddled, causing his retreating movements to freeze for half a second.
And within that half second, the White Ape Exotic Beast's right hand, tipped with long claws, shot toward the middle-aged man's abdomen as fast as lightning.
The beast claw glowed with a pale golden Spiritual Light and was incomparably sharp. If it stabbed him, it would definitely pierce straight through the middle-aged man's abdomen.
At this critical moment, the middle-aged man bit through his own tongue and forcibly broke free from his dazed state. Then he twisted his waist and did everything he could to turn his body sideways.
"Rip..."
The beast claw glowing with pale golden Spiritual Light grazed past the middle-aged man's abdomen. The camouflage uniform he wore was instantly torn open, and a large chunk of flesh was visibly ripped away by the White Ape Exotic Beast's claw.
"Ah~!"
The middle-aged man cried out in pain and swiftly put distance between himself and the White Ape Exotic Beast.
He retreated more than twenty meters in one go before finally stopping.
Blood kept spilling from the grievous wound in his abdomen. The middle-aged man trembled all over from the pain, sweat continuously streaming from his forehead.
He pressed his right hand over the abdominal wound, trying to stop the bleeding. But the gash was too wide. Even with his hand clamped over it, blood still seeped helplessly through the gaps between his fingers.
With his wealth of experience, the middle-aged man knew that he had to find a safe place immediately and treat the wound in his abdomen. Otherwise, he would soon bleed to death.
Compared to the stab wound through the White Ape Exotic Beast's chest, the injury to the middle-aged man's abdomen was nothing much.
A human body simply could not compare to an exotic beast.
The White Ape Exotic Beast had been able to fight the middle-aged man to this point despite taking a stab through the chest.
And in the end, it had pretended to be dead before launching a desperate counterattack. That kind of maneuver was something no human could pull off.
In the dense grass far away, Lin Li had disguised himself as a bystander watching the spectacle. This sudden turn of events left him dumbfounded, so stunned that he even forgot to breathe.
"Damn, this... this exotic beast isn't dead! In that situation just now, it actually came up with a scheme to fake its death and counterattack.
"It completely reversed the disadvantageous situation in one move... Isn't it way too smart? No, it isn't just smart. To carry out a scheme like that, it also has to be ruthless enough with itself."
At that moment, Lin Li was shocked, but he also felt ashamed of himself for complaining earlier about the middle-aged man's slow and fussy behavior.
What had happened before his eyes had given Lin Li a vivid lesson, telling him that the middle-aged man's actions had been absolutely necessary.
Unfortunately, although the middle-aged man had been cautious again and again, he had still fallen into the other party's trap, because that White Ape Exotic Beast was simply too crafty and vicious.
When the White Ape Exotic Beast saw that its desperate counterattack had failed to achieve the effect it had expected, a trace of disappointment flashed through its eyes.
"Roar..." With another bellow, the White Ape Exotic Beast immediately charged at the middle-aged man, whose abdomen had suffered a grievous injury.
When the middle-aged man saw the White Ape Exotic Beast rushing toward him, he immediately raised his left hand and struck out at it with his palm.
Orange-red flames appeared on the middle-aged man's left hand. As he thrust out his palm, a scorching pillar of fire shot from it.
When the White Ape Exotic Beast saw the pillar of fire coming, it dodged to the side. The searing column slammed into the ground with a deep, muffled boom.
"Boom."
The flames splashing in every direction scorched many emerald-green plants. Fortunately, there were no piles of dry grass nearby. Otherwise, the middle-aged man's supernatural attack would likely have started a major fire.
"Damn exotic beast, I'll admit defeat today. But there's always a time when the mountains and rivers meet again. The next time you run into me, I'll twist your head off and make sure you die for good."
After forcing the White Ape Exotic Beast back with one move, the middle-aged man left it with that harsh threat. Then, clutching his injured abdomen, he turned and fled into the distance.
"Roar..."
When the White Ape Exotic Beast saw the middle-aged man running away, it raised its head and let out a thunderous roar at his fleeing back.
Hearing the beast's roar behind him, the middle-aged man quickened his fleeing steps even further.
However, the White Ape Exotic Beast only roared from where it stood. It did not actually pursue the injured middle-aged man. It remained motionless, simply watching him flee.
"I never would've thought it... The situation was actually reversed. From now on, I absolutely can't let myself get overturned by an exotic beast the way that middle-aged man did..." After watching the entire scene from the grass, Lin Li secretly warned himself.
Then, after the middle-aged man vanished from sight, something troubling for Lin Li happened.
After the White Ape Exotic Beast had launched its desperate counterattack and driven the middle-aged man away, it continued standing in place for a long time, showing no intention of leaving.
Only a sliver of afterglow remained from the sun on the horizon, and it was about to disappear completely beyond the horizon. In a few minutes, night would blanket the wilderness.
"What on earth is this White Ape Exotic Beast doing? Why hasn't it left yet? It keeps staring in that direction. What's so interesting to look at?
"The enemy's already been driven off, and it's carrying such a serious injury. It should be hurrying to find somewhere and figure out how to heal itself. What kind of bizarre move is this, just standing there and letting the wind blow over it?"
There were mosquitoes in the grass. After discovering Lin Li, they immediately flew toward him.
Before long, several welts had been raised on Lin Li's hands and face.
Although the mosquito bites itched terribly, Lin Li did not dare make the slightest reckless move.
He was terrified that some small motion of his might create a disturbance and alert that terrifying White Ape Exotic Beast to the fact that another human was hiding in the grass.
Judging from the series of battles the White Ape Exotic Beast had just fought against the middle-aged man, Lin Li, as a bystander watching the spectacle, did not need to strain his brain to know what would happen.
If that terrifying White Ape Exotic Beast discovered that another human was hiding in the surrounding grass, it would certainly tear him to pieces in a frenzy to vent its rage.
Before you continue