Chapter 328

"Haha, this is a real slut." Tiger Vanguard seemed to be laughing, but his eyes were actually cold, and he didn't care about the monster's life at all.

It crouched down slightly, its blood pool surging, propelling its body forward at great speed. It raised its head, its view blocked by the dense forest, unable to see the outside world, yet it was full of confidence.

Do you really think I'm still guarding the mountain gate? The first thing I learned all these years was math, physics, and chemistry.

Resembling a fierce tiger, yet possessing a meticulous mind, this is a tiger demon armed with science, its enormous head filled with mathematical problems.

Taking off, falling speed, judging the landing point, it recalled the miserable scene when it was practicing the 'Advanced Mathematics Technique', and how it had to eat several people every day to calm down.

A moment later, a crisp sound of branches stretching out came from above, indicating that the magic weapon's defensive mechanism had been activated, and the calculations were accurate to the last detail.

With his broadsword in hand and his back arched high, he resembled a tiger pouncing on its prey, but the cunning Tiger Vanguard failed to seize the initiative.

Until the branches shattered and a person fell in, she held a long knife, the blade covered with spirit, and chopped the branches as if cutting tofu.

This little vixen has improved, but it's still not enough.

Thump--

Just as the opponent landed, it suddenly pounced, its broadsword slashing towards the white thigh beneath the short skirt.

Moving at high speed, he was already in front of her in an instant, but the ferocious smile on Tiger Vanguard's face suddenly froze, because the girl in front of him, seeing the tiger in the forest, was not afraid, but instead was laughing.

What's going on?

My mind went blank for a moment, and when I opened my eyes, the dense forest where I felt right at home was gone, replaced by a Corpse Mountain, Blood Sea.

Numerous corpses were scattered all around, and the girl stood atop the giant monster, gazing at herself with contentment.

"Domain-specific items? Where did you get this windfall from...?"

The tiger's roar abruptly ceased, for the girl wielded twin blades, the spirits imbued on their blades Red Lotus Fire. The tiger demon froze, its expression drastically changing.

"Shift Form, Swap Shadow!?"

"You're a tiger in the forest, I'm a cross-dressing master." Yuki lightly flicked his sword blade, completely at ease.

That's fair.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Slaying the Tiger!

He predicted Lao Tzu's prediction!

In an instant, Tiger Vanguard understood. The pattern had been deliberately exposed, allowing him to lie in wait and take advantage of the fact that the inside and outside of the forest were not visible to each other, thus switching identities with the little girl.

How did he know which time Lao Tzu would be lying in wait? How could there be such a cunning person in the world?

Tiger Vanguard was a little confused. Such a lifelike disguise was definitely a high-level magic item. What normal person would carry such a thing?

Because I represent four factions fighting against your single tiger.

Yuki appeared to be smiling, but in reality, he was on high alert. This tiger was stronger and more cunning than the Witch Spirit, and it was a major test for the Night Furnace. Just by looking at those tiger eyes darting around, you could tell what it was thinking.

Thump--

Yuki a step forward, causing the mountain of corpses to tremble. His entire body was covered in Insect Demon Armor, and his Blood-Burning Heart was ablaze.

Like a tiger pouncing on a rabbit, he uses all his strength; he unleashed all his abilities right from the start.

Wielding the Phantom Twin Blades, his figure was still lingering in Tiger Vanguard's retina when the continuous blade shadows reached his head.

Ding ding ding...

With a series of heavy slashes, the tiger was forced to retreat continuously. The broadsword dance was impenetrable, and having already lost the initiative, the tiger was even more terrified.

This guy has incredible strength and his swordsmanship is superb. Fortunately, this domain isn't big enough, and those nets can't stop me.

Tiger Vanguard isn't stupid. Blood Pool and Flesh Forest are its 'strongest magic weapons,' so it knows that fighting in someone else's territory will put it at a disadvantage, and that every territory has its weaknesses.

Bite!

He lunged forward and launched Yuki into the air, simultaneously slashing down with a powerful downward strike, instantly creating a 'canyon' in the ground that stretched for nearly a hundred meters.

Yuki flew into the air, he saw the tiger wielding its swords and spinning around. In an instant, a Tatsumaki rose from the Furnace, and dozens of crescent-shaped sword beams spread outwards.

This was pure wind pressure, Anti-Magic Realm had no effect. Yuki chose to meet it head-on, and the shattered blade light flew everywhere, causing sparks to fly all over his body.

With improved defense, he no longer had to bleed profusely. Yuki, Yuuki caught a glimpse of the blade's edge and noticed that it wasn't aimed at him. Many blades blasted into the edge of the domain, cutting through the beast-catching net.

'That's incredibly cunning; it's testing the strength of the area so it can seize the opportunity to break out.'

Yuki knew immediately that he couldn't stop them; the trap would likely be broken in a single move, and if they were released back into the wild, even their trump cards would be exposed.

Why stop them?

Without a bit of confidence, Yuki wouldn't dare activate his domain right away. Just as the Tatsumaki accelerated, he crashed headfirst into it.

Clang, clang, clang!

Blades were everywhere, Yuki was like someone willingly crawling into a blender. Even the insect demon's body was cut with countless bloody marks. But once they got close, he used his two swords to block on both sides and raised his knees.

Thump!

Sizzle--

With a spark as the claws scraped across his right ribs, Yuki slammed into the furry tiger's head with a flying horse kick, and both fell backward.

Time seemed to slow down. As Yuki fell downwards, he slashed off the hand, forcing Tiger Vanguard then thrust his sword at the head, but Tiger's head tilted to the side, and a piercing pain shot through his forearm.

Tiger Vanguard used his intuition to see through the illusion amidst the multiple layers of sword shadows, dodging the lightning-fast thrust. His sharp teeth pierced through the forearm, and then he shook his head frantically.

Concept Enhancement: Iron Body.

Yuki swayed violently like he was on a roller coaster, strengthening his entire left arm to its limit so that it wouldn't be torn off by the tiger's head-swinging. He then plunged his knife into the tiger's chest, causing it to loosen its grip in pain.

Every movement was measured in milliseconds. Yuki released the hilt of his sword and jumped, his thick tiger claws brushing past his chest, the steel-like nails sparking brilliantly. Then, he lightly slapped the ground with his palm, performing a backflip like a gymnast.

Roar!!

A tiger's roar echoed, the sound wave blasting a large crater in the ground, while Yuki, still in the air, drew his musket and began to spin and pull the trigger.

Deer-Hunting Shells.

Two muffled thuds were heard as the bullets pierced through the protective aura and exploded into two bursts of blood on Tiger Vanguard's chest. However, the massive body only swayed slightly; the Arcane Grade- level artifact was simply not enough to seriously injure him.

The damage from a full-power reload was real; two fist-sized holes appeared in his chest, leaving Tiger Vanguard stunned. When Yuki raised his gun again, his eyes turned blood red.

"I'm going to eat you!!"

Like a tiger pouncing on its prey, it pounced on Yuki in an instant. His vision dimmed instantly, and through his fingers, he saw a gaping maw looming larger in his eyes.

Yuki straightened his legs and braced them against his chest, letting the tiger's mouth tear at the air in front of his face, then felt the friction of his back against the ground.

Tiger Vanguard's eyes were no longer cunning, only primal rage and killing intent remained. Like a mad tiger, it pressed Yuki to the ground and charged into the distance.

"The essence of demons and beasts—this is the faction talent of the Manual of Hundred Demons. Each demon has a different essence; for example, that fox's essence is charm."

Yomi Isayama's words echoed in his ears, and a trace of fear still lingered on his face.

"The Tiger Vanguard's true nature is to eat people; when it gets carried away, it becomes incredibly frenzied, and its combat power increases dramatically."

Yuki personally experienced this madness. This speed and power had reached Monster IV level, and it was a pure melee specialist. If it were Frieren, his head would probably be ripped off in one move.

Yuki took advantage of this inherent nature. Since such a powerful player Isshin to escape and couldn't be stopped, he used the threat of death to stimulate its demonic nature, making it choose to stay.

Everything is going according to plan. The special ability is indeed significantly stronger than the talents of other factions. If it really comes down to a bloody battle...

As the wound widened, the Blood-Burning Heart Incandescence. Yuki suddenly pulled his knees together, letting the gaping maw snap at his head, before forcefully kicking away.

"You think I'm afraid of you?"

Thump!!

The rabbit kicked the eagle, creating a sonic boom. A pale aura erupted on the tiger's chest, causing the closed wound to reopen.

Blood gushed out. Tiger Vanguard flew up a hundred meters into the air and saw Yuki on the ground raising his hand to draw his long sword, curling up as if to draw it. His instincts kicked in with a frantic warning.

"You think you're the only one who can unleash your hidden power?!"

It plunged its tiger claws into its body, pulled out a clump of internal organs, and swallowed it with a whimper, its fur standing on end like steel needles.

I can eat faster and more fiercely.

It took off charging downhill, its speed so great it seemed to be running on air, leaving only a blurry afterimage even in Yuki.

Leap, dive, approach, pounce, draw sword!

The two moved in one fluid motion. When the lingering flames overflowed from the scabbard, the extremely concentrated soul fire was not vast, only turning the blades red-hot, yet it distorted the air itself.

Secret Technique: Crimson Lotus in an Instant.

As the blade flashed, the black tiger transformed into a torch. Yuki's eyes narrowed slightly as he caught a glimpse of the tiger curled up in a ball, a bloodthirsty and cunning smile on its face.

You missed a crucial point.

Using the Tiger Shadow Clone as a scapegoat, it landed on the ground beforehand, and with all four limbs exerting force, a loud 'boom' was heard, and the ground within a hundred meters collapsed. The resulting enormous kinetic energy propelled Yuki away.

He pressed his waist and sprinted toward the edge of the territory, not letting go even as Yuki hacked his arms to pieces.

'The information about Yomi is somewhat outdated. Like traits, the essence of demonic beasts can also be improved through specialization points.'

Yuki knew exactly what the tiger was up to. It seemed to have lost its mind, but it was actually quite cunning. It wanted to force him out of the Night Furnace, back into the Blood Pool and Flesh Forest, and then tear him to pieces to achieve a win-win situation.

The tiger's head stretched out in front of me, its gaping maw filled with a foul stench; this was at point-blank range.

The Fierce Tiger Roar!

Roar!!!

The violent sonic attack cracked the hard insect shell, but even with Yuki raising his gun from the side, he remained unmoved. Once the black tortoise shell was broken, he could be torn to Yuki in no time.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, his head snapped to the side, a large chunk of flesh was torn from his neck, and the frenzied charge had come to an end.

Ahead lay the Hunter's Snare, whose strength it had just tested and was absolutely no match for the charge, yet the blood-red tiger's eyes froze.

The light net that filled the entire space suddenly contracted and concentrated in front of him. Yuki's back slammed into it, and thousands of light bands tightened instantly, bulging backward.

One by one, the spears snapped, slowing the charge. When the muzzle of the musket pointed at it a second time, it had to release its grip.

Bang!

His body bounced backward, and the two, both covered in blood, stared at each other for a moment before Tiger Vanguard took a step and lunged to the side.

The net was closed, but other areas became 'empty'. How could Yuki let the tiger return to the mountain? He pounced on it immediately.

The Regenerative Tail.

The wounds on my body are closing up even faster. So what if my insect armor is broken? I still have a long health bar, it's just become structural resistance.

"What the hell is that monster?"

Tiger Vanguard was terrified. It had finally managed to shatter the tortoise shell, only to discover that it could recover at an incredible speed, several times faster than a demon beast.

The severity of the injury indicates the speed; the tiger's roar was too late, so it used both hands to block the two swords.

The two seemed to be locked in a struggle, with Yuki, who had entered a state of Combustion power, gaining the upper hand. His twin swords closed like iron clamps, but at that moment, a flash of cold light appeared.

Zheng--

Tiger Tail 'gripped' a broadsword and slashed down, and no one would notice that a prop was hidden at the tip of this furry tail, the ability of which was to automatically retract the user's weapon.

Just as he was pinning down Yuki as he ran, he had already sheathed his broadsword and was about to deliver the fatal blow.

The broadsword turned blood red and swelled several times its original size, resembling a scythe. This extremely vicious tail strike had killed countless powerful individuals.

Like a fierce tiger, yet gentle as a rose; when you are drawn in by its ferocity and think the broadsword is just an ornament, its sinister nature is the real killing move. After all, this is a tiger that has diligently practiced advanced mathematics.

"Blood Spirit Blade kills both spirit and flesh. If you don't want to perish together with your opponent, get out of the way!"

Tiger Vanguard hadn't expected to actually kill Yuki, but a moment later, his tiger eyes widened in surprise.

Yuki did indeed abandon his sword, but he advanced without it, ignoring the Blood Spirit Blade slashing at him from the side. Because he was still wearing the Fool's Mask, Tiger Vanguard was momentarily disoriented.

Does this little vixen harbor such deep hatred for me?

It forgot who the other party was; all it saw was the mirror unfolding beside Yuki, and the light blade refracting as it struck the surface.

Ah?

Within a millisecond, Yuki closed in, his right hand drooping down as he pulled the Anti-Magic Blade from the ground. After a dazzling display of blade movement, he stabbed it into the tiger's chin with a backhand twist.

Soul Ignition.

The flames flashed and disappeared in an instant, leaving the ferocious tiger head stunned, staring blankly at the 'girl' before it.