Underhanded Tactics?

Third acknowledged the order, his figure weaving through the forest until he reached the front of the Dark Giant Tiger. He picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at the beast.

The Dark Giant Tiger, eyes closed, sensed the attack. Its massive body leaped with agility, flipping in mid-air, its lantern-sized pupils locking onto Third, who had provoked it.

ROAR—

The moment the Dark Giant Tiger opened its eyes, Third sensed danger. He activated his martial soul and instantly darted away. A split second after he moved, a beam of white light shot from the Dark Giant Tiger's maw, striking the exact spot where he had been standing.

With a loud bang, a crater three meters in diameter appeared on the ground.

Seeing how cunning this bipedal creature was, the Dark Giant Tiger tensed its four limbs and lunged, covering dozens of meters in a single bound to pursue Third.

As the sound of the angry tiger's roar faded into the distance, Leader Wang emerged from his hiding spot and dashed into the cave.

Ye Tian was a step behind, only able to watch Leader Wang rush inside with a hint of pity in his eyes. His senses told him that a trace of dangerous aura still lingered within the cave.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of silence, an angry tiger's roar exploded from the depths of the cave, followed immediately by Leader Wang's cry of shock and rage.

The Dark Giant Tiger, which had been fighting Third and the others outside, heard the roar, abandoned its enemies, and turned to sprint back toward the cave.

"Pursue!"

Third and his two companions exchanged glances, quickly reaching a consensus, and followed the Dark Giant Tiger back.

"Yao Rao!"

Hearing Leader Wang's call for help, Yao Rao, who had been hiding in the shadows, immediately appeared. She shot a transparent silk thread into the cave. Soon, movement came from the other end, and Yao Rao yanked the thread back with a sharp tug.

Leader Wang flew out of the cave covered in blood, quickly steadying himself while keeping a vigilant eye on the entrance.

A giant tiger, even more robust than the one from before, emerged from the cave. Its bloodthirsty eyes locked onto Leader Wang, and it shot a beam of white light from its mouth after a brief charge.

Yao Rao and Leader Wang fled in a panic, their faces grim. "How could there be another one?"

"The intelligence report didn't mention this at all!"

"How would I know!" Leader Wang's expression was equally grim as he dodged the white light behind him in a sorry state.

When he had charged into the cave, he never expected another one to be hiding inside. As a result, he had clashed head-on with the Dark Giant Tiger within while completely unprepared. If Yao Rao hadn't pulled him back, he would have barely made it out alive.

Even now, his left arm was still throbbing; he suspected the bone was fractured.

Wang Ping was confident in leading his men to take down a thirty-thousand-year Dark Giant Tiger, but two of them—and it was clear the one in the cave was a female, and one that had given birth not long ago at that.

Just looking at the white light behind them that barely ceased, one could tell how furious the mother tiger was.

"Ye Tian, if we die, you won't be able to make it out of the Sunset Forest alone."

"I haven't been doing nothing."

Ye Tian emerged from the shadows, holding up a fist-sized, bright red fruit shaped like a tiger's tooth.

"Tiger Tooth Fruit!"

Seeing Ye Tian's confirmation, Yao Rao's eyes brightened. At least half the mission was complete; they wouldn't return empty-handed.

"Go, we must retreat!"

As for the tiger bones, after seeing the state Leader Wang was in, Yao Rao had lost all interest.

Leader Wang nodded instinctively, but suddenly his expression changed. His fourth soul ring lit up behind him, and he pushed his arms forward, unleashing two lightning-charged attacks.

A beam of white light erupted from the dense forest ahead, colliding with Leader Wang's attack. At the moment of impact, an explosion rang out, and the violent energy slammed directly into Leader Wang, causing him to spit out several mouthfuls of blood.

A spider silk wrapped around Leader Wang's waist, dragging him back rapidly.

The Dark Giant Tiger that had returned at the mother's call appeared, rushing to reunite with its mate upon hearing her voice.

The two tigers finished communicating quickly, their four murderous pupils locking onto Leader Wang's group.

Third and his two companions, who had been following close behind, caught up with Leader Wang and the others. Feeling the pressure radiating from the Dark Giant Tigers, the three of them felt their internal soul power circulation become sluggish.

"L... Leader, what do we do?"

Leader Wang glared at Third. What could they do?

If he weren't injured, he could still hold one off, but now, having suffered consecutive blows, he was at less than fifty percent of his strength.

"What else can we do? Run, obviously!"

"Yao Rao!"

Yao Rao's eyes glowed with a pink light as she stared directly at the male tiger. The beast seemed to see a pile of beautiful female tigers frolicking around it, and the fighting intent in its eyes vanished instantly.

Even the mother tiger's roar couldn't wake the male. Seizing the opportunity, Yao Rao shot out five spider silks, intending to wrap them around the others and take them with her as they fled.

Ye Tian tapped his Overlord Spear, blocking the silk.

"I can keep up."

Third and his two companions felt the spider silk around their waists increase their speed, and their faces lit up with joy.

Thwack.

The male tiger suddenly took a slap to the head. All the beautiful tigers before it vanished, and a pair of fierce, glaring eyes stared back at it.

It was the mother tiger from its home.

The male tiger whimpered in grievance, only to be glared at by the mother tiger—a useless thing. She chased the male back to the nest before pursuing the group alone.

The mother tiger was incredibly fast, and since this forest was the home turf of soul beasts, it caught up to the fleeing squad in no time. Streaks of white light flew from its maw, all directed squarely at Yao Rao in the center.

"Save me!"

Watching the overwhelming barrage of attacks, Yao Rao shrieked, her spider silk pulling her teammates toward her in a flash.

Third and Fourth had skin turning the color of steel, blocking the front, while Wang Ping stood behind them, neutralizing the white light with his own attacks. Third circled the perimeter, drawing the mother tiger's attention.

Ye Tian chose to circle alongside Third, displaying the combat prowess of an unremarkable Soul Ancestor.

"Leader, we can't hold on much longer!"

As the voices of Fourth and Fifth rang out, Yao Rao caught the scent of blood on them and cursed them as useless under her breath, her fourth soul ring lighting up behind her.

Hundreds of spider silk strands surged toward Fourth and Fifth, weaving a suit of spider silk armor over their bodies. The white light destroyed ten strands, but ten more immediately rushed to repair the damage.

Ye Tian and the others fought while retreating, pulling back a thousand meters. The mother tiger's face showed a hint of hesitation; it glared hatefully at Leader Wang, who was hiding behind the crowd, before turning and vanishing into the woods.

"Move, now!"

Regardless of whether the mother tiger was wary or otherwise, since it had stopped pursuing, Wang Ping and his group hurried to retreat toward the outer edge of the forest.

By nightfall, the squad finally returned to the outskirts and found an inn to stay at. Yao Rao seemed to know a bit about pharmacology; she brewed a few bowls of medicine, and after Leader Wang and the others drank them, color quickly returned to their faces.

"Leader, that Tiger Tooth Fruit is still in Ye Tian's hands." The group was gathered in Leader Wang's room when Third mentioned it, seemingly offhandedly.

"Go invite Ye Tian over. Tell him the mission is complete and we intend to celebrate."

"Yao Rao, go arrange a table of food and wine." Leader Wang quickly formulated a plan.