Night Ambush (Part 2)
If I had been careless, I was careless; if complacent, complacent. That was the only thought running through my mind the moment I met the golden eyes gleaming in the dark.
The most perilous hour in the forest is night—the suffocating dark when every shred of light has vanished from the world. Even so, the nocturnal handicap had never weighed quite as heavily on me as it did on others. For reasons unknown, I possessed the ability to peer through the pitch-black gloom to some degree. Right now, however, I could only curse that very gift.
Son of a bitch. What kind of size is that...?!
A pair of twin eyes burned with baleful menace through the shadows, and because of my night vision, I could take in their owner's full, terrifying silhouette. In broad strokes, it resembled a tiger, yet elongated saber fangs jutted past its jowls. Far more frightening than its fangs, however, was its sheer, staggering mass. Its eyes were peering down at me from above the barricade erected before the cave.
Mind you, the barricades gifted to me by the dwarf stood well over my height. In shoulder height alone, the beast cleared at least two meters by a wide margin.
A four-legged animal... whose eye line is higher than mine standing upright?!
It defied sanity. But then again, that was precisely why it inhabited the Forest of the Four Seasons. A wave of despair threatened to swallow me whole, but an even deeper instinct shoved it back: the raw will to survive. I tightened my white-knuckled grip on my blade and shield.
"Grrrr...!"
As if reading the defiance in my posture, the tiger issued a rumbling threat. Though nothing more than a warning growl, the sheer vibration made the backs of my knees quiver and froze my muscles solid. Thank the heavens I had braced myself beforehand; had I run into this thing unawares, I would have passed out cold from fright.
"Whew. Whew. Whew."
I consciously regulated my breathing. Without deliberate effort, the suffocating pressure choked the air right out of my lungs. Could I truly fight such a monstrosity and prevail? Just looking at it, the beast appeared far more formidable than the mother owlbear had ever been.
Could the mother owlbear have abandoned her lair because of this bastard?
It was more than likely. If she had merely gone out scouting, she never would have brought Wonmo along. This beast was an apex tyrant—a natural disaster where a chance encounter meant instant death. Every nerve in my body screamed at me to turn tail and flee, yet I forced my boots to stay rooted.
Running from here only makes it deadlier.
Wonmo was still fast asleep inside the cave, and darkness blanketed every corner of the wild with dawn still hours away. Fleeing into the open wilderness changed nothing. The danger would only multiply.
My best hope is that it decides to back off on its own...
Carnivores that hunt for a living are inherently cautious. Their energy efficiency is terrible, and suffering an injury that impairs their hunting ability means starving to death. Therefore, when they deem prey too risky, they tend to withdraw peaceably. The problem was that the odds of this beast backing down were abysmally slim.
Just look at the sheer disparity in mass between us. In eye level alone, it towered a full head above me while walking on all fours. I was, quite literally, a single bite-sized meal. In this standoff, there was only one card I could play.
Shwaaaaa—
I summoned Aura across my sword and shield. Even in the pitch darkness, an azure haze rippled into life. It was the human equivalent of a hedgehog raising its quills—a fierce warning that attempting to prey on me would come at a bloody price. Sensing the unnatural pressure rolling off the steel, the tiger refrained from lunging recklessly, prowling in restless circles along the far side of the barricade.
Thank God I put up that barricade.
Without it, the beast would have closed the distance in a single bound. Even if it launched an assault now, vaulting over the palisade would buy me a precious beat of time.
Please walk away. Just leave. Please, please, please...
I prayed silently, begging whatever gods watched over this godforsaken forest. Yet the tiger continued its steady, menacing patrol around the perimeter. Cold sweat trickled down my temples, slickening my palms against the hilt. How long did that agonizing standoff drag on?
"Grrrrr...!"
The tiger halted dead in its tracks and began stealthily creeping backward. Seeing it retreat, a flicker of relief bloomed in my chest, but suspicion immediately pierced through.
If an animal decides to leave, shouldn't it turn its body around?
The giant beast wasn't turning around. It was backpedaling. Exactly like a predator measuring its run-up to hurdle clean over an obstacle.
"Ah."
Sure enough.
Thud-thud!
"Dammit!"
Having carved out its runway, the tiger accelerated and vaulted clean over the barricade. It was an agile, fluid leap that completely defied its colossal frame. Touching down directly in front of me, it radiated the awe-inspiring, suffocating majesty of a primordial mountain lord.
"ROAAAR!"
Closing the final gap, the beast unhinged its jaws and charged. Was it the crushing dread radiating from the apex predator? Or the primal horror of imminent death? My breath seized in my throat, and my limbs locked like stone. My body felt completely foreign, unresponsive to my desperate commands.
Move.
I had to move. Yet my limbs refused to budge.
Move, damn it!
I screamed the order over and over in my mind, but my flesh outright mutinied against my skull. Within a fraction of a second, the gaping maw—wide enough to swallow my head whole—arrived right before my nose. At this rate, my head would be crushed between those fangs. And after that? Could a headless corpse even twitch?
Yank!
"Guh!"
Amid the illusion of time grinding to an agonizing halt, something seized the back of my collar with violent force. The sudden backward tug threw my balance off, wrenching my paralyzed body out of harm's way.
SNAP!
It was a matter of a split second. The tiger's cavernous jaws clamped shut on empty air. A hairsbreadth later, and those fangs would have pulverized bone and brain instead of the wind.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
Slamming hard onto my rear jolted my senses back into place. To make matters worse, I had bitten down hard on my own tongue during the impact. A sharp, searing bolt of pain flared through my skull, radiating across my entire nervous system.
"GRAAAAGH!"
The tiger's deafening roar tore into my eardrums. I snapped my gaze upward in a panic. Under normal circumstances, a beast would have pressed the assault with immediate follow-up strikes, yet it had frozen in place. In fact, it was violently thrashing its massive head as if convulsed in agony.
I couldn't fathom what was happening, but this was my chance. Scrambling to my feet, I sank into a combat stance. That was when I finally saw the cause of its torment.
Slash! Tear!
It was Ppareumbo. The Fast Tree Sloth was latched firmly onto the tiger's face, raking furiously across its snout with razor-sharp claws. The beast flailed its massive forepaws in a desperate frenzy to dislodge him, but this was Ppareumbo—a creature whose dynamic visual acuity and agility were sharp enough to snatch flying arrows out of midair. Even for an apex predator, peeling him off wouldn't be easy.
Whoosh!
Yet the sheer disparity in weight and brute mass could not be overcome entirely. With a violent, bone-rattling shake of its head, the tiger flung Ppareumbo clear across the air. Fortunately, he tumbled straight toward me, allowing me to catch him smoothly—or rather, angle my posture so he could swiftly scramble onto my back.
He was the one who yanked my clothes.
Now I knew who had grabbed my collar. Ppareumbo had saved my life. Swallowing down the surge of gratitude, I fixed my eyes back on the giant beast. Claw marks crisscrossed its face, but the wounds were shallow and superficial at best.
Right. I'm not dying here like this.
I rolled my tongue inside my mouth. The metallic tang of blood from where I had bitten it coated my palate. That sharp sting fully awakened my flesh and sharpened my focus. My body would not freeze up a second time.
"GRAAAAGH!"
Glowering at the two of us, the beast flared its jaws wide and charged once more. Moments ago, I had been trembling in blind terror, but no longer. With cold calculation and absolute composure, I judged the trajectory and shifted my footing.
I can't let it bite me. One bite means a critical wound at minimum.
Those scythe-like saber fangs alone were proof enough. Not to mention the gargantuan difference in weight class. Being swallowed in a single gulp was a very real possibility. I had to fight under the premise that taking a single clean hit meant instant death.
CLACK!
The tiger's jaws snapped shut with a bone-chilling crack. Shifting sharply to the right a split second before impact, I narrowly slipped past the bite. Sword Master's advice remained etched in my mind: Never stay rooted; keep your feet moving at all costs. Just as it had against the giant crab, the doctrine held true against this predator.
BOOM!
"Guh...!"
Yet unlike the giant crab, this beast was blindingly swift. Just as I prepared to swing my blade, its massive forepaw swept across in a crushing arc. I caught it on the Golden Shield at the very last instant, but the concussive force was terrifying.
Don't lose your breath. Draw out every ounce of strength.
Even as the thought flashed through my mind, the tiger pressed its assault ferociously. Because of the overwhelming mass difference, even a casual swipe of its paw was an agonizing ordeal to deflect. Every downward smash threatened to buckle my knees and throw me off balance.
Thud, pivot!
The only silver lining was that every sideways dodge exposed brief openings. Whenever it unhinged its jaws to bite, its wind-up grew large and telegraphed; as long as I evaded the initial bite, openings presented themselves.
SLASH!
"SKRRRGH!"
"Ah."
Two completely different sounds broke from our throats simultaneously—a roar of agony from the tiger, and a groan of dismay from me. Slicing with the sword had gone well enough, but the blade had only cut halfway through the foreleg. The beast's hide was far tougher than I could have imagined.
Even with the Heavenly Demon's Sword cloaked in Aura?!
No wonder the mother owlbear had fled with Wonmo. Still, with more than half of its foreleg severed, its combat effectiveness was bound to plummet. If it dared to swing that ruined limb now, the rest of the flesh would sheer right off—
"ROAAAR!"
"What?!"
How on earth was it swinging the very paw that had been sliced in two?! Panicking, I threw up my shield just in time.
CLANG!
"Kuh-ack!"
The impact hit with twice the savagery of before. My feet left the earth, launching me backward through the air. Fortunately, I didn't land flat on my spine; Ppareumbo clinging to my back absorbed the brunt of the kinetic shock like a cushion.
"GRAAAAGH!"
"Whoa!"
The onslaught didn't pause for a breath. I rolled desperately across the dirt just as the beast pounced to crush me beneath its weight. Ppareumbo leaped clear with his trademark blinding agility. The expected follow-up strike never came; splitting up had evidently caused the beast to hesitate over which target to prioritize. That brief hesitation bought me enough time to scramble upright and reset my guard.
Impossible! Don't tell me it regenerated?!
My eyes widened in shock as I stared at its forepaw. The limb that had been hacked halfway through was already seamlessly restored. The claw marks Ppareumbo had carved into its face were gone as well—smooth, pristine fur covered every inch.
As if its terrifying durability weren't enough, it possessed hyper-regeneration to match. That was why it had shrugged off my threats and charged ahead regardless. It could simply heal off whatever damage it sustained.
"Fucking ridiculous."
"GRAAAAGH!"
Even as I muttered under my breath, the beast lunged forward with bared fangs. It had evidently decided to eliminate me first rather than chase after the elusive sloth. A perfectly rational assessment. But I had no intention of rolling over and dying.
When the opening comes, I cut with everything I have.
Not half-severing it, but lopping the limb clean off. No matter how absurd its regenerative ability, repairing a total amputation wouldn't be trivial. And if it could even regrow a severed limb in seconds... well, then I'd just have to throw everything on the line and go for broke.
THUMP!
The tiger's massive paw crashed into the Golden Shield. Having braced myself, I merely slid back several paces instead of being tossed like a ragdoll. But deflecting one blow was nowhere near enough. The beast fought with relentless tenacity, refusing to yield an inch.
The barricade's behind me.
Yielding ground as I guarded had driven my back flush against the wooden fence. Sensing an opportunity, the tiger reared high on its hind legs and raised its forepaw for a devastating smash.
The moment had come. I locked my eyes onto the descending claw until the very last millisecond. Just before it struck, I pivoted violently to the right.
CRACK! SPLINTER!
The sturdy timber of the barricade shattered into kindling. Had that blow connected directly, my skull would have been reduced to paste. But it wasn't my flesh that got crushed—it was the wood. As the palisade absorbed the impact, the beast momentarily faltered from the recoil.
"Hyaaaah!"
Pouring everything into the stroke, I targeted the overextended foreleg. I pumped every drop of internal mana into the Heavenly Demon's Sword. The azure haze erupted into blazing flames of Aura. This had to be enough!
SHING!
"ROAAARGH!!"
The result was spectacular. The tiger's right forepaw was sliced clean off, tumbling into the dirt. With a critical pillar supporting its massive weight abruptly gone, the monster's balance tilted violently.
"KRAAAH!"
"What?!"
Yet the beast was far from finished. Even with a severed foreleg, it miraculously arrested its fall, twisted its torso, and snapped its jaws wide open right at my neck. Having lowered my guard for a split fraction of a second, dodging was out of the question—and raising my shield to parry was too slow. Instinctively, I shoved my shield-bearing arm straight into the oncoming maw.
CLANK!
"Grah?!"
The Golden Shield wedged horizontally deep between its upper and lower fangs. The beast hadn't anticipated having a slab of solid metal shoved into its mouth, looking thoroughly bewildered. It tried to spit it out, but the shield was jammed tight, forcing its jaws to chomp and shudder helplessly.
Now!
Releasing the shield handle, I gripped the Heavenly Demon's Sword with both hands. Then, with all my weight, I drove the blade straight into the beast's exposed throat.
Thwack!
No matter how tough a tiger's hide might be, piercing attacks concentrated far more force into a single point. As the blade impaled its jugular, the beast let out a muffled shriek of agony, distorted into bizarre wheezes by the shield clamped in its jaws. Seizing the opening, I twisted the embedded blade with brutal leverage.
RIIIP!
The blade began carving agonizingly slowly through the thick muscle and tendon. Even with both hands bearing down, dragging the steel felt like dragging an anchor through wet cement. The synergy of monstrous resilience and hyperactive regeneration fought back against even an Aura-coated blade.
"GWWOOOOH!"
"Aaargh!"
The tiger's remaining forepaw raked across my torso in frantic swatting motions. It felt as though razor talons were shredding my flesh into ribbons. Fortunately, the athletic uniform gifted by Princess Chaeng-gu mitigated the worst of the lethality, but even so, I could feel hot blood gushing beneath the fabric. It was the agonizing sensation of flesh being torn off in chunks.
"AAAAARGH!"
Rrrrrip!
Summoning every scrap of strength down to the milk of my infancy, I forced the blade through. The sickening sensation of sawing through gristle, sinew, and bone sent shivers down my spine, but survival brooked no disgust.
GUSH!
A geyser of crimson erupted from its ruined throat, drenching me from head to toe in scalding blood. From here on, it was a race against time. Would the tiger shred me to pieces first, or would I sever its head before my life gave out? Clinging to the hilt with feral desperation, I focused everything on cleaving its neck clean through.
CLATTER!
A sharp metallic clatter rang out beside my ear. Involuntarily, my gaze darted downward. The Golden Shield lay mangled in the dirt, buckled and crumpled beyond recognition—its durability entirely spent. The very shield that had been wedged between the tiger's jaws. Which meant... the beast had spat it out.
"ROAAAR!"
CRUUUNCH!
With its jaws freed, the monster was now more than capable of biting me in two. I twisted my torso in a desperate jerk.
"AAAAAAAAAGH!"
Agony. It felt like molten lava had been poured into an open wound. The tiger's saber fangs had driven straight through my shoulder, punching out the other side. Only because I had jerked my body aside had my skull been spared.
"Aaargh! Aaaaack!"
"Grrrk...!!"
In exchange, my right shoulder was completely demolished, the clavicle and joint shattered to splinters. Yet I couldn't surrender here. Not after coming this far. I refused to let go of the sword. With my right side incapacitated, I had only my left hand to work with, but that was enough. As long as both hands weren't ruined, I still had a chance.
Die, please... just die already...!
Blood was spurting like an open hydrant from its carved throat, yet the monster thrashed with demonic obstinacy. How much longer did I have to endure this? My vision blurred around the edges as consciousness began to slip away. Just as the last dregs of strength were about to drain from my limbs, the unexpected occurred.
STAB!
"KRAAAAGH!!"
The tiger that had locked onto my shoulder suddenly threw its head back in a screeching shriek. As its snout jerked upward, its fangs pulled free of my mangled flesh. Bleary-eyed, I forced my gaze up to see what had happened.
GOUGE! RAKE!
It was Ppareumbo. The Fast Tree Sloth was furiously gouging his razor talons directly into the tiger's eyes. No matter how indomitable the beast, having its eyeballs shredded left it thrashing in maddened agony. And with only one intact forepaw, dislodging the clinging sloth was an impossible task.
Dazed for a fraction of a second, I seized the opening with everything I had left. My left hand still held deathly firm to the hilt.
With this single strike...!
With its forepaw severed, the tiger's center of gravity had collapsed long ago. Its exposed skull was practically served on a silver platter.
"Hyaaaah!"
I aimed for the moment the thrashing beast tumbled against the ground. To drive the blade dead center between its brows—that was the only strike that could end this. Sensing my intent, Ppareumbo vaulted off the monster's face a fraction of a second before the thrust landed. Even then, the tiger was too frantic trying to regenerate its ruined eyes to notice.
"Grrr...!"
Before long, the beast's eyes knitted back together. Shaking its massive head, it tried to gather its bearings. But perhaps because it had bled out a river of blood, its reactions were noticeably sluggish. To me, that brief delay was worth all the gold in the world.
THUD!
The tip of the Heavenly Demon's Sword sank cleanly into the center of its forehead. Under normal circumstances, it would have thrashed with violent fury, but it was exhausted to its core. Drained of so much vital blood, it couldn't even react in time.
SHRRRREK!
I yanked the blade upward with all my body weight. The edge cleaved through bone and brain, erupting through the crown of its skull. The tiger's head split cleanly in two. No matter how absurd its regenerative powers, destroying the brain meant certain death.
Tremble, twitch—
With its brain halved, the tiger's giant frame shuddered uncontrollably. Terrified that even this might somehow knit back together, I resolved to turn its skull into a honeycomb.
Thwack! Stab! Crunch!
How many times did I plunge the blade into its face? Missing a forepaw, the tiger swayed precariously on its remaining limbs before crashing down. BOOM! Given its colossal mass, the sheer impact of its fall sent shockwaves rippling through the earth.
N-Not yet. Have to make sure it's dead...
Its regenerative factor was terrifying. It could easily be playing dead, only to revive the second my guard dropped. Through hazy vision and fading consciousness, I kept the sword moving. First priority: decapitation. Only when its head was severed cleanly from its neck would I ever find peace of mind.
Riiip! Hack! Crunch!
Desperately pouring the last of my failing strength into hacking through the final ligaments of its neck...
Thud—
My consciousness snapped, plunging me into pitch black.