Chapter 15: Elite Creature
After Su Xiao delivered that nearly fatal slash, the giant tiger’s body began to go limp, its massive frame collapsing toward him.
Beneath the giant tiger, Su Xiao felt the sky above him darken and immediately sensed something was wrong. He rolled to the side.
“Boom.”
Dust surged up as the giant tiger crashed to the ground, seemingly dead.
Covered in blood, Su Xiao stood up, staring warily at the fallen tiger. He didn’t approach it because, in the health bar above the tiger’s head, 5% of its life remained.
The master of Mount Colpo wasn’t dead. This clever beast had actually feigned death to lull Su Xiao into complacency.
“What a clever beast.”
He flicked his longsword lightly, sending the blood clinging to the blade flying off, forming a semicircle of splattered stains on the ground.
“Huff~”
Heavy breathing came from Su Xiao. Though only a few exchanges had passed, the fight had been fraught with danger, draining a significant amount of his stamina.
His physique was 5 points, meaning his endurance wasn’t strong—merely on par with an average person.
In the real world, increasing even a single attribute point was incredibly difficult. Su Xiao’s three years of grueling training had only raised his Strength by 1 point and his Agility by 2 points.
With just these three extra points above the average person, Su Xiao already had the power to crush ordinary humans. This showed just how massive the change was with each attribute point increase.
One minute passed, then two. Man and tiger entered a stalemate. The master of Mount Colpo was still playing dead, and Su Xiao didn’t attack it either—he needed to recover some stamina now.
The giant tiger lying in a pool of blood suddenly opened its single eye. In that eye was despair, and also unwillingness.
It was hard to imagine that a wild beast could display such complex emotions, but it wasn’t too strange. Animals in the One Piece world generally had higher intelligence.
In a desert kingdom within the One Piece world, there was even a lecherous camel that only carried women.
The master of Mount Colpo struggled to its feet, its single eye fixed on Su Xiao. Black-red blood dripped from the corner of its mouth.
Having recovered some stamina, Su Xiao slowly closed in on the master of Mount Colpo.
“Roar~”
A threatening low growl came, and at the same time, a tiger paw tentatively swiped at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao immediately retreated, but a few seconds later, he advanced again.
He didn’t choose to fight the giant tiger head-on. Su Xiao was well aware that even in its current state, the tiger still had the ability to kill him.
The rank of the One Piece world was too high; Su Xiao had to be cautious.
Realizing that Su Xiao was stalling for time, the master of Mount Colpo fell into utter despair. It had encountered an experienced hunter.
The master of Mount Colpo trembled on its four limbs, forcing itself to stand upright, then let out a sky-shaking roar. This might be its last roar over the mountains.
After roaring once, the master of Mount Colpo dragged its crippled body and lunged directly at Su Xiao, ignoring the blade in his hand and the ruptured organs inside its body.
“Thud, thud.”
As the tiger ran, the ground within several hundred meters trembled slightly.
Here it comes. The beast was making a desperate last stand.
The master of Mount Colpo indeed had an overwhelming momentum, but its battered body left it lacking in stamina.
Its chosen attack method was simple: biting. It opened its massive maw and lunged straight at Su Xiao to bite him.
But because of the severed tendon in its hind leg, the master of Mount Colpo stumbled and fell to the ground after just a few steps. Its biting motion immediately deformed, turning from an attack into a suicide charge.
The wide-open tiger mouth came right in front of Su Xiao, surprising him, but his movements weren’t slow. He raised his blade and thrust forward.
[Dragon-Slaying Flash] first pierced the soft tissue of the tiger’s mouth, then passed through a layer of bone, sinking deep into the tiger’s brain.
As a white-quality equipment with a rating of 10, [Dragon-Slaying Flash] was among the top-tier white equipment, even surpassing some green equipment. Its sharpness was absolutely reliable.
Suffering such a severe wound, the tiger’s eye finally began to dim. The health bar above its head plummeted to the lowest point, about to empty.
Even with this kind of injury, the tiger still wasn’t dead. What astonishing vitality.
Then, something unexpected happened.
The tiger, with its brain pierced, actually pushed its body forward, driving the blade deeper into its brain. But Su Xiao’s expression changed.
As the tiger pushed forward, one of his arms entered the tiger’s biting range.
The tiger’s jaws closed, and Su Xiao’s right arm was clamped in its mouth.
He immediately felt a sharp object pierce his right arm. First came numbness, then excruciating pain.
Though his entire arm was going numb, Su Xiao didn’t let go of [Dragon-Slashing Flash].
Cold sweat dripped down his temple. With his free left hand, Su Xiao pulled out a flintlock pistol.
He pressed the flintlock against the tiger’s single eye and pulled the trigger.
“Bang.”
The single eye burst open, fluids splattering everywhere.
This shot was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. The tiger’s health bar emptied, and its blood-soaked jaws, which had been clamped on Su Xiao’s arm, loosened. Su Xiao took the chance to pull his arm free.
On his right upper arm, the flesh was a bloody mess. He tried to move his arm—fortunately, the bone wasn’t injured. Though it hurt badly, the bones were intact.
The tiger that had bitten him was already at its last gasp. The injury looked severe, but in reality, it wasn’t.
[You have killed (Elite Creature) the Master of Mount Colpo]
[The Master of Mount Colpo is an elite creature. Gained 3.2% World Source. Total World Source obtained: 8.9%.]
[Your talent ‘Soul Devourer’ has activated. Permanently increased Mana by 15 points. Current Mana: 91 points.]
The notification from Reincarnation Paradise relaxed Su Xiao a bit. The master of Mount Colpo was truly dead.
Massive blood loss and exhaustion left Su Xiao’s entire body weak. He slumped to the ground.
He took a cigarette from his storage space, lit it with a snap, and a wisp of blue smoke rose.
“Heh~, hehe~.”
Covered in blood, Su Xiao sat on the grass, head lowered, shoulders trembling uncontrollably. He had become addicted to this feeling of walking the line between life and death in battle.
The victor lives, the loser dies. Though cruel, it was also very simple.
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Su Xiao looked at the tiger’s corpse.
Above the tiger’s body floated a faint green treasure chest, shimmering with an alluring green light.
Covered in blood, Su Xiao struggled to his feet. This was his first time seeing a green treasure chest.
Opening a white treasure chest had yielded a magical item like [The Widow’s Necklace]. What could a green treasure chest, more precious than white, contain?
Su Xiao’s heart burned with anticipation, but now wasn’t the time.
In this forest full of unknowns, danger could come at any moment. The large patch of blood-soaked ground nearby might attract other predators.
Su Xiao put away the green treasure chest, knocked out all the tiger’s teeth with the hilt of his blade, and prepared to find a nearby water source to clean himself.
But just then, from a patch of bushes about a dozen meters away, a faint rustling sound came.
Su Xiao’s gaze immediately sharpened. He gripped [Dragon-Slashing Flash] tightly and stared at the bushes.
“Who’s there? Come out!”
Su Xiao shouted sharply. If it were a wild beast in the bushes, it would definitely react.
But contrary to expectations, the bushes remained very quiet. This made him even more alert.
There might be someone in the bushes.