Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen: Elite Creature

After Su Xiao slashed out this nearly fatal blow, the giant tiger’s body began to collapse, its massive form crushing down on him.

Beneath the giant tiger, Su Xiao felt darkness descend overhead and instantly realized something was wrong—he rolled sideways.

“Crash.”

Dust erupted as the giant tiger collapsed to the ground, as if already dead.

Covered in blood, Su Xiao rose to his feet, watching the fallen tiger warily; he did not approach, for above the tiger’s head, the health bar still showed 5% remaining.

The master of Kerbo Mountain had not died—this clever giant tiger had feigned death to deceive Su Xiao.

“What a clever beast.”

Su Xiao flicked his long blade, shaking off the blood clinging to its surface, leaving a half-circle spray of crimson on the ground.

“Huff~.”

Heavy breathing echoed—though they’d exchanged only a few blows, each had been life-threatening, draining Su Xiao’s strength severely.

His constitution was 5 points, meaning his endurance was no better than an ordinary human’s.

In the real world, raising any single attribute by one point was nearly impossible; after three full years of grueling training, Su Xiao had only gained one point in strength and two in agility.

With just these three extra points above normal humans, Su Xiao already possessed overwhelming power over ordinary people—demonstrating how immense the change was with each attribute increase.

One minute, two minutes—they stood locked in stalemate; the master of Kerbo Mountain still feigned death, and Su Xiao made no move to attack—he needed to recover his strength.

Suddenly, the giant tiger lying in its pool of blood opened its single eye—within it lay despair, and defiance.

It was unimaginable that an animal could display such complex emotion—but not entirely surprising, for animals in the Pirate World possessed unusually high intelligence.

In a desert kingdom of the Pirate World, there was even a lustful camel that carried only women.

The master of Kerbo Mountain Mianqiang stood, its single eye fixed on Su Xiao, black-red blood dripping from its lips.

Su Xiao, having regained some strength, slowly advanced toward the master of Kerbo Mountain.

“Roar~.”

A low, threatening growl echoed as one tiger paw reached out Shitan ly toward Su Xiao.

Su Xiao immediately retreated, but seconds later moved forward again.

He chose not to engage the giant tiger in direct combat—he knew full well that even in its current state, the tiger still had the power to kill him.

The Pirate World’s tier was too high; Su Xiao could only respond with caution.

Sensing Su Xiao was stalling, the master of Kerbo Mountain fell into utter despair—it had met a seasoned hunter.

Trembling on all fours, the beast forced itself upright, then let out a deafening roar—perhaps its final roar echoing through the mountains.

After the roar, the master of Kerbo Mountain lunged straight at Su Xiao with its broken body, ignoring the sharp blade in his hand, ignoring its own ruptured internal organs.

“Crash. Crash.”

As the master of Kerbo Mountain charged, the ground within hundreds of meters trembled faintly.

Here it comes—the beast is making a final, desperate counterattack.

The master of Kerbo Mountain’s aura was fierce, but its battered body lacked the strength to sustain it.

Its chosen attack was simple: biting—opening its jaws to lunge directly at Su Xiao.

But due to the severed tendons in its hind legs, the beast collapsed after only a few steps; its bite transformed from an attack into a suicide move.

The gaping tiger mouth now came straight to Su Xiao’s face—he was momentarily surprised, but his hands moved swiftly, thrusting his blade forward.

[Dragon Slash] pierced the tiger’s soft palate, then cut through bone, sinking deep into its brain matter.

[Dragon Slash], a rank-10 white equipment, stood among the pinnacle of white-tier gear—even surpassing some green-tier items; its sharpness was unquestionable.

Suffering such a grievous wound, the tiger’s eyes finally dimmed; its health bar plummeted to zero, about to vanish entirely.

Despite such a wound, the tiger still hadn’t died—what an astonishing vitality.

Then came an unexpected turn.

The tiger, its brain pierced by the blade, deliberately thrust its body forward—driving the blade deeper into its own brain matter—but Su Xiao’s expression changed.

As the tiger lunged forward, his right arm entered the tiger’s biting range.

The tiger’s jaws snapped shut, clamping down on Su Xiao’s right arm.

He immediately felt his blade-holding arm pierced by sharp blades—first numbness, then searing, piercing pain.

Though his entire arm went numb, Su Xiao did not release his grip on [Dragon Slash].

Cold sweat trickled down his temple; his free left hand produced a flintlock pistol.

He pressed the pistol against the tiger’s single eye and pulled the trigger.

“Bang.”

The eye exploded, fluids spraying everywhere.

This shot became the final straw—the tiger’s health bar emptied, its jaws loosened from Su Xiao’s arm, allowing him to wrench it free.

On his upper right arm, flesh and blood were a mangled mess; he tried moving it—thankfully, the bones were unbroken, though the pain was excruciating.

The tiger’s bite had been its last gasp; though the wound looked severe, it wasn’t as bad as it appeared.

【You killed (Elite Creature) the Master of Kerbo Mountain】

【The Master of Kerbo Mountain is an Elite Creature. You gained 3.2% of the World Source. Total World Source acquired: 8.9%.】

【Your talent ‘Soul Eater’ activates. Permanent +15 Mana. Current Mana: 91.】

The Lunhuileyuan ’s notification eased Su Xiao’s tension—the Master of Kerbo Mountain was truly dead.

Massive blood loss and exhaustion left him weak; he collapsed onto the ground.

From his storage space, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a snap, and thin blue smoke curled upward.

“Ha~. Hehe~.”

Covered in blood, Su Xiao sat on the grass, head bowed, shoulders trembling—he had become addicted to the razor-thin line between life and death in battle.

Winner lives, loser dies—cruel, yet simple.

He exhaled a plume of smoke and stared at the tiger’s corpse.

Above the tiger’s body floated a pale green treasure chest, shimmering with a mesmerizing green glow.

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 granted him the miraculous [Wife’s Pendant]; what could a green chest, even rarer, offer?

Su Xiao’s heart burned with anticipation—but now was not the time.

In this forest full of unknown dangers, threats could appear at any moment; the ground around him was soaked in blood, and the scent might attract other predators.

Su Xiao collected the green treasure chest, used the hilt of his blade to pry out all the tiger’s teeth, and prepared to wash himself at a nearby water source.

But at that moment, a faint rustling came from a thicket ten meters away.

Su Xiao’s gaze sharpened instantly; he gripped [Dragon Slash] tightly, staring at the thicket.

“Who’s there? Come out!”

Su Xiao barked sharply—if it were a beast, it would react.

But the thicket remained eerily silent—this made him wary.

Someone might be in the thicket.