A Sneak Attack?

Third acknowledged and darted through the trees, quickly reaching a spot in front of the Dark Giant Tiger. He picked up a rock and hurled it at the beast.

The Dark Giant Tiger, its eyes still closed, sensed the attack. Its massive body leapt nimbly into the air and spun around, its lantern-sized pupils locking onto Third, who had dared to provoke it.

Roar—

As soon as the Dark Giant Tiger opened its eyes, Third felt danger. He activated his Martial Soul and instantly retreated. A heartbeat after he moved, a beam of white light shot from the tiger's mouth and struck the spot where he had been standing.

With a crash, a crater three meters across appeared in the ground.

Seeing how cunning the two-legged beast was, the Dark Giant Tiger braced all four legs and sprang forward, covering dozens of meters in a single bound as it chased after Third.

The tiger's furious roars gradually faded into the distance. Leader Wang emerged from his hiding place and hurried into the cave.

Ye Tian was a step too slow. All he could do was watch Leader Wang rush inside, a hint of pity in his eyes. He could still sense a trace of danger in the cave.

Sure enough, after several seconds of silence, an angry tiger's roar boomed from deep within the cave, followed by Leader Wang's furious, startled cry.

The Dark Giant Tiger, still fighting Third and the others outside, heard the roar, abandoned its enemies, and turned back toward the cave.

"After it!"

Third and the other two exchanged glances and quickly came to an agreement. They followed the Dark Giant Tiger back.

"Yao Rao!"

Hearing Leader Wang's cry for help, Yao Rao immediately emerged from her hiding place. A translucent thread shot into the cave. Soon, something stirred at the other end, and Yao Rao yanked the thread back with a sharp pull.

Leader Wang flew out of the cave, covered in blood. He quickly steadied himself and warily watched the entrance.

A giant tiger, even more powerful-looking than the Dark Giant Tiger from before, emerged from the cave. Its bloodthirsty eyes fixed on Leader Wang, and a moment later, it fired a beam of white light from its mouth.

Yao Rao and Leader Wang fled, their faces grim. "How can there be another one?"

"The intel never mentioned that!"

"How would I know?" Leader Wang's expression was just as grim as he dodged the white light chasing him.

When he'd charged into the cave, he hadn't expected to find another Dark Giant Tiger inside. Caught unprepared, he'd taken a hard blow from the beast. If Yao Rao hadn't pulled him out, he might never have made it back.

Even now, his left arm still hurt. He figured a bone was cracked.

Wang Ping had been confident he could take down a thirty-thousand-year-old Dark Giant Tiger with the others. But now there were two, and the one in the cave was clearly a female that had given birth recently.

The white light that had barely stopped coming from behind them said enough about how furious the mother tiger was.

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

"I haven't been standing around doing nothing."

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

"Tiger Tooth Fruit!"

Seeing Ye Tian confirm it, Yao Rao's eyes brightened a little. At least half the mission was complete. They wouldn't come away empty-handed.

"Go! Let's get out of here!"

After seeing Wang Ping's sorry state, Yao Rao had lost all interest in collecting tiger bones.

Leader Wang nodded instinctively. Suddenly, his expression changed. His fourth Soul Ring lit up, and he thrust both arms forward, sending two lightning-wreathed attacks flying.

A beam of white light emerged from the forest ahead and collided with Leader Wang's attacks. The instant they met, an explosion rang out. The violent energy slammed straight into Leader Wang, and he spat out blood several times.

A spider thread wrapped around Leader Wang's waist and yanked him rapidly backward.

The Dark Giant Tiger that had returned at the mother tiger's call appeared. Hearing his mate's voice, it hurried over to join her.

The two tigers quickly communicated, then fixed their murderous eyes on Leader Wang and the others.

Third and the other two caught up and joined the group. Feeling the Dark Giant Tigers' imposing presence, they found their Soul Power growing sluggish within them.

"B-Boss, what do we do?"

Leader Wang glared at Third. What did he think they could do?

If he hadn't been injured, he could have held one of them off. But after taking hit after hit, he had only half his strength left.

"What else? Run, of course!"

"Yao Rao!"

Yao Rao's eyes glowed pink as she stared at the male tiger. It seemed to see a group of plump tigresses frolicking around it, and the fighting spirit quickly faded from its eyes.

Even the mother tiger's roars couldn't bring it to its senses. Seizing the opportunity, Yao Rao shot out five spider threads, intending to ensnare the others and take them with her.

Ye Tian tapped his Overlord Spear, knocking the threads aside.

"I can keep up."

Feeling the threads at their waists boost their speed, Third and the other two grew more cheerful.

Thwack.

The male tiger suddenly took a slap to the head. All the beautiful tigresses before its eyes disappeared, replaced by a pair of furious eyes glaring at it.

It was the tigress from its den.

The male tiger gave a few aggrieved cries. The tigress glared at him as if to say, "Useless." She drove him back to their den, then chased after the others alone.

The mother tiger was incredibly fast, and this forest was the Soul Beasts' home ground. Before long, she caught up with the fleeing group. Beams of white light shot from her mouth, every attack aimed at Yao Rao in the middle.

"Save me!"

Faced with a barrage of attacks, Yao Rao shouted. Her spider threads pulled her teammates together at once.

Fourth and Fifth's skin turned a steel-gray, and they took the lead. Wang Ping stood behind them, destroying the white beams with his attacks. Third darted around, drawing the mother tiger's attention.

Ye Tian moved around with Third, presenting himself as an utterly unremarkable Soul Ancestor.

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

Hearing Fourth and Fifth, Yao Rao caught the scent of blood on them and cursed them as useless. Her fourth Soul Ring lit up.

Hundreds of spider threads surged toward Fourth and Fifth, weaving a suit of spider-silk armor around their bodies. The white light destroyed ten threads, and ten more immediately repaired the damaged spots.

Ye Tian and the others fought as they retreated. When they'd pulled back a thousand meters, the mother tiger hesitated. She shot a hateful glance at Leader Wang, hiding behind the others, then turned and vanished into the forest.

"Hurry, move!"

Whether the mother tiger was wary of something or not, she'd stopped pursuing them. Wang Ping and the others quickly headed for the forest's outskirts.

That night, the group finally made it back to the outskirts and found an inn. Yao Rao seemed to know a bit about medicine. She brewed several bowls of medicine, and after Leader Wang and the others drank them, color quickly returned to their faces.

"Boss, Ye Tian still has the Tiger Tooth Fruit." The group had gathered in Leader Wang's room, and Third mentioned it as if in passing.

"Go invite Ye Tian over. Tell him the mission's complete and we're going to celebrate."

"Yao Rao, arrange a table of food and wine." Leader Wang quickly came up with a plan.