Chapter 198: The Hunt (4)
As Kate ran on all four limbs, the gap between her and the chameleon tiger started closing. It couldn't believe this, but even when it used all of its abilities to boost its speed, the human girl was still able to get closer. Even so, it kept on running away from this freak.
Based on how determined the beast was to run away, Kate instinctively understood that there would be something waiting for her at the end of this chase.
"Grr..."
She released a low growl and jumped into the sky. Even as this suspicious action occurred, the chameleon tiger didn't stop running. If it wasn't already at top speed, it would have used this time to go even faster. However, a couple seconds after Kate shot into the sky, the chameleon tiger suddenly stopped and jumped back.
BOOM!
Trusting the chill down its spine, the chameleon tiger continued to warily stare at the crater that suddenly formed at its previous position. A single moment of hesitation would have cost it its life, but the many years it had spent in the forest saved it.
Leaping from the crater was Kate with even her eyes now scarlet red.
"Grr..."
The moment it saw her, the chameleon tiger got ready to spit a tree spike, but she instantly appeared in front of it and punched it to a nearby tree. The damage it felt from being knocked back like this wasn't much compared to the humiliation it felt. Kate approached, while it only could stare in horror, so it was obvious who the victor was. However, there was a smirk on the chameleon tiger's face.
Right as Kate was about to dash towards the chameleon tiger and strike again, she changed her mind and froze in place. Out of nowhere, several dark-skinned lions appeared and surrounded her. They were only beasts spirits, but she already knew that this was trouble, and the presence of another high beast proved that she had fallen into a trap.
Unlike the smirking chameleon tiger, the ash lion high beast that appeared, kept a cold expression as it examined Kate. The chameleon tiger purposefully roared for help while coming in the direction of its territory, so the ash lion knew something was wrong. Since many high beasts were in the secret world, it would be harder to find a territory with a high beast, but rather than stick to one of the empty territories, the chameleon tiger hid itself and hunted in all of them. This meant that it would be very hard for human experts at its level to find it, but it could easily find weaker prey.
After examining Kate, the ash lion noticed that she still wasn't in the Earth Realm but could somehow exude a similar aura. It could also sense the presence of a red tiger emitting from her.
'What a strange human.'
The ash lion was curious as to how this human gained this power, but that could wait for after she died.
Kate understood her circumstances, and even with her rationality suppressed, she knew that this was bad. However, fear and hesitation did not cloud her judgement. If she was going to retreat, she would need to fight her way out.
"Grr!!"
Kate roared to boost her fighting spirit and then pounced towards the chameleon tiger. The ash lions that tried to stop her and were blown away with one swing of her arm, but they bought enough time for it to go back into hiding. It would be a good time to start trying to figure out where it would be, but the beast spirits' barrage stopped her from staying focused on just the chameleon tiger. It was tiring, but she could stay unharmed despite the amount of them that attacked. However, as she got used to fighting them, she felt a sudden pain on her shoulder.
"!!"
The chameleon tiger appeared and had its teeth sunk into her. Thanks to the thin red layer over her skin, her arm wasn't lost in its mouth, but it still drew blood from her left shoulder.
Kate tried to grab the head of the chameleon tiger, but once it realized she didn't die, it quickly stopped biting her and went back into hiding. It didn't try to force her into submission, it was much too late to act like it had the right to be so arrogant. Now that it had called for help, the only thing it wanted to do was kill her.
While fused with the Red Tiger Paws, Kate's physical abilities were enhanced, but her stamina was not touched. Therefore, the chameleon tiger's tactic of hiding and attacking her blind spots was steadily doing damage when paired with the support of the ash lion beast spirits. Furthermore, due to her emotional state she was unable to remain calm as the tiger ran from her blows. This rage caused her to be more reckless and take more blows. Once more, the positions had been switched. She was the one being hunted like a savage beast.
"Ahh!!!"
It wouldn't be long. At the rate the battle was going, her death would be soon. Even so, the fire in her eyes never died down. The odds were stacked against her, and her chances of survival were grim, but she was confident that she would make it through this. This confidence that was backed by nothing but her feelings seemed fragile, but it was firm. And then, something appeared that proved that her feelings weren't wrong.
Suddenly, multiple shadows were cast over them and when those fighting looked up, they witnessed innumerable arrows made of nature energy, falling down from the sky. The beasts' first instinct was to run away, but oddly, Kate felt that staying in place was the right answer. The beasts cleared a ten cales radius around her but that seemed to have been predicted as the arrows still showered down on them. Even the chameleon tiger couldn't avoid a few arrows piercing through its pelt.
Blood had created a circle around Kate, but not a single arrow touched her. While her enemies were stunned by the fact that she remained unharmed and intensely regretted their decision to run, Kate knew that this was no coincidence.
"Who's there?!"
Even when the arrows were fired and fell on them, neither the chameleon tiger nor the ash lion high beast could sense who did it, but after the damage was done, the two presences suddenly appeared. One presence belonged to a charming young woman who stood on the branch of a tall tree. Since she had a bow in her hand it was obvious that she was the one who fired the arrows. Once they realized this, several nearby ash lion beast spirits pounced at her, but neither did she flinch nor did she even glance at them. Instead of her, it was the other presence that made his move.
Right as five ash lions jumped towards the young woman, the figure of a slender young man blocked them. With his early Soul Realm cultivation, it should have been impossible for him to stop them by himself. And yet, with one swing of the sword, five heads were severed. He didn't exert extraordinary force or use an abnormal amount of nature energy, or even cast a special spell. He merely slipped his sword through their necks like he was slicing through hot butter.
As the only other human here, Kate was especially interested in how the young man was able to do this. However, she found herself even more curious about their identities. In her resonant state, she couldn't miss the aura of someone very close to her coming from them.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone