Chapter 603: White Tiger
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"How about we allow this temporary friend of ours to join us?" Sky Jealousy suggested, her presence breathing out an aura of elegance.
Tyrant furrowed his brows at the prospect but did not say anything in opposition. If the others had arrived without issue, he wouldn't have given the idea a second thought. But now, there were only five of them left. If they wanted to prove the existence of the creatures they sought, bringing Han Sen and the silver fox along to shoo off any additional mobs would be a great help.
"What does temporary mean?" Han Sen skewed his eyebrows as he asked.
"Give us a price and we will hire you as a sellsword or mercenary," Tyrant coldly said, still unwilling to offer a formal position in their fellowship.
Han Sen looked at Queen as she calmly said, "No matter what you decide, I will have you returned home without injury."
When Han Sen heard Queen say this, he smiled and replied, "Fine, you can hire me. I must warn you, however; I am expensive. I almost suspect you would not be able to afford me."
"How much do you want?" Tyrant continued to look at Han Sen with a stone-cold attitude.
"Well, the silver fox and I count as two people. Therefore, we will accept one sacred-blood beast soul each. We won't settle for lower than that," Han Sen stated.
He wanted to receive some sort of benefit from this excursion, even if he hadn't come expecting any. And since he had come all this way anyway, he wanted to see how they planned on fighting a super creature.
With someone now paying him to watch, there was no reason for him to decline.
Formally becoming a member of Queen's team wasn't too important to him. After all, her team wasn't the only super creature-hunting team in the Second God's Sanctuary, so even if he wasn't accepted here, he was bound to be accepted elsewhere.
"Okay." Tyrant did not even blink before agreeing. He gave Han Sen one sacred-blood beast soul and then said, "This is a deposit. After we are done, you can have the other."
"I like that you are quick to make decisions. I have no problem with that." Han Sen accepted Tyrant's terms.
After Han Sen accepted, the others gathered around to form a plan of action. First, they would need to find the creature.
They did have a plan initially, but it had been made under the assumption all members would be present and available for combat. Now, with only five of them remaining, they'd have to come up with another plan. Horny Old Man was injured, too, so that left only four battle-worthy team members. Han Sen was now a part of the team, as well.
After Han Sen heard them discuss their predicament, he quickly understood the gravity of the situation.
Deeper inland, it was said, resided a certain white tiger. Upon visiting the island, someone on the team had spotted this creature, which appeared to be encased in a whirlwind of some sort. This suggested it had the ability to harness the wind itself. They had all decided to come to the island today to fight this creature that had been appropriately named "White Tiger." They had no plan to kill it just yet; only to get a feel for its power and accurately gauge the extent of its strength.
"With Han Sen here, we do not have to worry about any of the additional mobs that populate the island. The only drawback to his inclusion is a reduction of any extra goodies we might collect from slaying them. Okay, so who will tank and try to withstand the tiger's first strike?" Lazy Cat worriedly enquired.
Tyrant stepped up and said, "I will do it. I recently came into possession of a sacred-blood shield. If it really is a super creature, I should be able to block its paws at least twice."
"Okay, so that is established. Tyrant will go in and block its attack first. I have drawn a map of the surrounding area. Sky Jealousy, you will go here..." Queen went into great detail, explaining the plan. She had developed all sorts of contingencies, too, for if anything were to go wrong during their assault.
Han Sen wasn't included in the battle plans. All he had to do was stand a fair distance away from the creature, holding the silver fox to ensure no other monsters came near.
Han Sen had no complaints. Queen and the others worked well together. He had only come here to watch, but he also thought if he were to join in, he might interfere with the synergy the others had with each other.
However, Han Sen was well-acquainted with the powers super creatures possessed, and he didn't think Queen and her team had what it took to bring one down.
Han Sen was worried that the silver fox might also end up chasing the White Tiger off, but these fears were soon allayed. From among three hills in the distance, a monstrous roar sounded, accompanied by a gusting wind. It was undoubtedly the White Tiger, and since it was still nearby, this most likely meant no other super creature would fear the silver fox, either. It felt as if a tornado was now racing down from the hills, and the White Tiger in its midst would soon be upon them.
"Get ready to fight!" When Queen issued her command, Tyrant and the others quickly assumed their positions and awaited the monster's arrival.
There were supposed to be a great deal of other monsters on the island, but only the tiger and its wind came for them. No other creature could be seen, and this allowed the others to confirm the silver fox's ability for themselves.
Han Sen secretly turned on his gene lock, which pushed his seventh sense to the max. With it, he could see the White Tiger running at them from a mile away.
Compared to many other creatures he had encountered; the White Tiger wasn't so big. It was only about four meters in length. Its body was snow white, and its eyes glistened like blood rubies.
The White Tiger was now carried on the wind it employed, and it ran towards them on the air, no different than how it would run on land. If it could fly in the sky without wings, then the creature could certainly harness the wind for its own devices.
The White Tiger looked angry, and the momentum that drove him in their direction was powerful. Although it wasn't too big, its presence exerted a pressure on them. It was almost like a champion, descending from the sky. The faces of Queen and her team were bleak.
Han Sen saw this, then fell back a bit with the silver fox in his arms. He was afraid of super creatures, and really wanted to avoid them. It felt as if it was only dumb luck that had allowed him to defeat one back in the First God's Sanctuary.
The super creatures that populated the Second God's Sanctuary had a crushing power unlike anything else. If the baby silver fox had the ability to kill a person who had unlocked their gene lock in one hit, whatever the White Tiger could do would be much worse.
The silver fox now saw the White Tiger, and it too looked nervous. Its hair rose up on its ends, and it looked at the tiger with hostility.
Han Sen held the silver fox tight, not allowing it to do anything unusual. Although the silver fox was powerful, he didn't think it had what it took to defeat the adult White Tiger.
The White Tiger continued to traverse the air, but it was now only a mere dozen meters away from them. It raised its paw and whipped it through the air. As if the atmosphere was breaking in two, violent gusts of wind splintered out to attack the team.
Tyrant shouted and raised his shield, his body clad in golden armor. His shield presented a phalanx of steel, blocking the arrows of wind that came towards him.
Dong!
After the loud noise, Tyrant opened his eyes to see the shield in his arms shatter. A sacred-blood shield, destroyed in an instant.
Tyrant's hand had also been damaged. It was bleeding badly, and there was a tear in his thenar space. The faces of the team members changed. The power of the White Tiger was even greater than they had expected, and it only took a brush of the air it controlled to annihilate Tyrant's defences.