Chapter 3055: Understanding One's Own Strength
The two drifted along the river for about an hour before finally emerging from underground. By then, they were more than fifty kilometers away from the area covered by the poisonous insects. Standing on the hilltop and looking back, the forest was already ablaze, with continuous black smoke nearly covering the entire field of vision.
"Insect plagues usually end in fires," Ding Xiang said. "We're getting farther and farther from Little Bear City now."
The underground river had an unpredictable course, and they were no longer within the range of the map Xu Huo had obtained earlier.
"There should be more than just Little Bear City in the Bear Hug Zone, right?" Xu Huo said.
"But the closest one to us is definitely Little Bear City," Ding Xiang replied. "None of the players we encountered earlier mentioned any other stopover points."
Xu Huo nodded. That meant they had to turn back.
Along the way, they picked up a teleportation device. Although the distance it could transmit wasn't very far, it made traveling much more convenient. However, just as they were crossing a river valley, a sudden blockade barrier cut off the teleportation channel. The two had barely retreated to the riverbank when a dozen or so players surrounded them.
"Oh, a couple!" a gloomy-looking man whistled.
Ding Xiang's injuries hadn't fully healed, and she was still showing signs of poisoning. The fact that she had made it this far without being killed led the others to naturally assume they had a close relationship.
"That makes it more fun," another female player giggled, pointing at Ding Xiang first. "Hang her up."
Then she pointed at Xu Huo: "Let's see if this man is willing to die for his woman."
"What kind of joke is that?" the gloomy man said. "People aren't stupid. Why would they die for someone else?"
"Maybe they have love?" The female player flicked her hair, smiling but with icy eyes. She looked at Xu Huo. "I really want to see if there's a man like that in this world."
This group wasn't in a hurry to attack. They clearly intended to put on a show to earn points from the off-screen audience.
At this point, Xu Huo raised a question. "Why not hang me up instead and test her love?"
Everyone paused at his counter-question, not because they found it strange that he would ask such an illogical question, but because they began to reassess his strength. After all, in this environment, a normal person would try to find a way to survive, not waste time talking.
Ding Xiang moved closer to Xu Huo and lowered her voice. "When the fight starts, you go first. I can't survive anyway, so I might as well take a few down with me."
Xu Huo glanced at her. "Aren't you overestimating your own strength? How many can you hold off by yourself?"
Ding Xiang choked. "I'll take down as many as I can..."
Before she could finish, a force seized her, yanking her violently to one side without giving her any chance to resist!
Xu Huo reacted quickly and grabbed her arm, but he hadn't expected the force to be so strong. It lifted him up as well. Following the flying rope that pierced Ding Xiang's other arm, he saw a person on the opposite side of the river using a fishing-rod-like device.
The two were pulled into the air, surrounded by sporadic laughter. Two figures also leaped into the air toward them.
Ding Xiang's arm was already dislocated, and with Xu Huo hanging from her other arm, she couldn't free herself. Fortunately, Xu Huo threw out a device to cut the flying rope, bringing them back to the riverbank.
The two players who had flown over the river missed their target and turned back in disappointment, but they didn't pursue further. Instead, they exchanged glances with the players still on the riverbank.
"Haha, I'm lucky!" the gloomy man laughed loudly. He appeared in front of Xu Huo and Ding Xiang like a ghost. Before his laughter had even faded, his knife had already grazed past Xu Huo's neck!
"Missed?" The gloomy man was a bit surprised, but then his dual blades turned into afterimages, indiscriminately attacking everything in the forest.
Grass and trees were sent flying one after another. He suddenly leaped up and kicked a broken log, intercepting Xu Huo and Ding Xiang as they tried to break out from the other side.
Xu Huo and Ding Xiang retreated slightly, only to step into a trap set by some unknown player. The massive impact not only sent them flying but also knocked back a man and a woman who had been closing in from behind.
The female player who had suggested hanging Ding Xiang was unlucky. As she retreated, she stepped on another trap, and her right leg was blown off.
She was stunned and instinctively looked at Xu Huo. His legs were fine. This bomb trap shouldn't have been that powerful...
But she didn't have time to dwell on it, because her companion walked toward her with a drawn blade. "Too bad for you. Our side doesn't keep dead weight."
The female player didn't last long. The player who killed her chopped off her head, then cut the flesh from her cheeks and stuffed it into his mouth. As he chewed, the points on his head rapidly increased.
This scene would make anyone uncomfortable, especially since they were the targets.
Ding Xiang blocked the gloomy man's blade, staggering back a few steps from the impact. She glanced at Xu Huo, who was also struggling to cope. She pulled the whistle from her belt. As the strange sound rang out, the entire mountain forest fell silent. Then, the rustling of grass and trees grew closer. In just one breath, a mutated giant tiger burst out from among the trees!
Mutated beasts often evolved not only iron-like skin and bones but also incredible speed. The giant tiger, summoned from an underground cave by the whistle, closed in on them in the blink of an eye. It targeted Ding Xiang and Xu Huo, but Ding Xiang knew the beast's habits and was familiar with such predators. She ducked to avoid the attack.
The gloomy man standing in front of her was less fortunate. He immediately raised a defensive barrier, but the giant tiger slammed into him, sending him flying. Before he could escape, the beast wrapped its tail around him and hurled him high into the air!
At that same moment, two black shadows shot out from the forest on either side, piercing through his defensive barrier and then through his chest.
When the gloomy man fell back down, he was already a heartless corpse.
With the giant tiger causing chaos, the players couldn't focus entirely on hunting Xu Huo and Ding Xiang. However, the two were still within the tiger's hunting range. While the gloomy man was being flung away, the giant tiger set its sights on Xu Huo, who was nearby.
The two players fighting Xu Huo deliberately forced him toward the tiger, coordinating with their companions to block any possible escape routes. One of them said excitedly, "Come on, let's watch a live beast fight!"
Xu Huo couldn't break free. When he turned around, the beast's foul breath was already on his face!
Trouble.
He sidestepped the tiger's direct pounce and swung his palm, slapping it hard on the massive tiger head!
The tiger's skull made a loud sound when hit, but its bones were tough enough that the blow didn't reach a vital spot. However, after being struck, the tiger shook its head violently several times, as if suddenly calming down. When it met Xu Huo's gaze, it didn't hesitate to turn and pounce on the players on the other side!
Xu Huo kindly cut through the blockade barrier behind him.