SWNOVELS Chapter 15 The Critical Moment
The group could hear rustling sounds in the snow.
But the sounds stopped as quickly as they started, as a giant shadow darkened the pine forest. In the twinkling of an eye, it was right in front of them.
It was a huge white tiger with two sharp half-meter long tusks. Its muscles rippled as it breathed. "A Saber-toothed Tiger!" said Lewis and Vivian in unison, their legs shaking violently out of fear. Neither of them bothered to say "jinx!"
Luther always remained unfazed by anything. But this time, they saw fear flash in his eyes.
A Saber-toothed Tiger was a savage beast, which could match any warrior at the sixth grade of Skin Refinement. The one they came across was extremely powerful. Even if it wasn't fully-grown, it was a terrifying creature.
"What... what should we do?" She sounded on the verge of bursting into tears. It roared ferociously, and its terrible rage could be read in its gaze.
Luther stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. He spoke confidently, “We can't beat it. I'll hold it off. You guys run!"
Vivian and Lewis looked at each other, and then at Luther with newfound appreciation. "Thanks, brother, I owe you one.
C'mon Ricky, let's move it!"
But Ricky wasn't buying it. “Why he being so nice? Maybe he thinks since he's more powerful than us he should protect the group?’
But he still said yes and prepared to take off.
"Come on, you mangy cat! Come get some!" Luther shouted in exasperation as he ran towards it, sword in hand. He used his martial technique to propel himself like an arrow at the beast.
Almost like it could understand what he said, the tiger roared violently in response. Having gotten its prey close enough, it leapt at Luther, trying to sink its hideous fangs into his neck.
And that was when Luther showed his true colors.
Instead of holding off the tiger like he offered, Luther turned tail and ran straight for them.
"Luther, what the fuck?" Lewis shouted out.
"He's too tough for me. I'm going for help!" said Luther.
He had attained the fifth grade of Skin Refinement, so Luther could run much faster than Vivian and Lewis. He knew he'd have time to escape if the tiger got the other three.
Lewis and Vivian were no idiots, and they knew what was up. At once, their faces turned white. "Yeah, run away, you dogknobber!" Ricky yelled at him. But before the fleeing warrior could pass him, he aimed his iron sword straight at Luther's neck. If Luther kept going, he'd shear his own head off.
"Arrgh! You! Bastard!"
Luther's pupils shrank in fear. He didn't think they'd get that drastic tiger clawed at his waist while Luther twisted his body and drew his own blade to knock Ricky's away.
And that was when they heard the sound of cloth ripping and Luther's cry of pain. Luther was knocked to the ground, his blood splattered everywhere. The pure whiteness of the snow was now disturbed by angry scarlet pools melting into the frozen mix. The once fleeing warrior fled no longer, on the ground weakly mewling in pain.
The next second the Saber-toothed Tiger turned his attention to Ricky. It was obvious that he intended to make Ricky his prey.
"Sword's not my best weapon, but I'll still cut your head off!" said Ricky viciously. The roaring tiger was extremely terrifying, but Ricky betrayed no emotion. He was as unflappable at Luther right now. Feeling threatened, the spiritual meridian inside his body flared to life again. It absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth automatically and transferred it to Ricky's arms and sword
"Go to hell, beast!" Ricky shouted with all his force and ran towards it.
"Ricky! Get back here! You're no match for that thing!" Lewis cried out. Vivian could only stand in stunned silence. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. In desperation, she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear seeing Ricky torn to shreds.
The Saber-toothed Tiger growled again, a low-frequency rumble that would rattle and paralyze an ordinary man. Then it sprang at Ricky. Its sharp claws and huge fangs were as deadly as any weapon. Even warriors at the sixth grade of Skin Refining would have fallen to the beast.
Instead of a head-on fight, Ricky pounded on the ground with his feet and leaped to the other side of the tiger. At the same time, he swung his sword quickly and thrust it at the tiger's eyes.
As he landed, he rolled, ending up on the opposite side of the tiger once more.
Roar! At that moment, there was no sound but the tiger's growling, echoing hollowly through the forest.
Ricky did not stop attacking, because he knew he had to kill it as quickly as possible. A moment's hesitation could mean his death.
To gather the force, he jumped up into a pine tree first. Then he dropped from the branch he was standing on, using gravity to drive his long sword into the tiger's skull.
The whole world went deathly still.
Ricky pulled his sword free and took a deep breath.
The Saber-toothed Tiger was powerful, but it used brawn rather than brains. First, Ricky stabbed its eyes. That made it much less deadly. Then he could take his time finishing it off. Ricky would be dead now if he faced an actual warrior at the sixth grade of Skin Refinement.
"Hey! Why are you standing around like idiots? Let's skin it. That's some serious moola." Ricky said, smiling and wiping the sweat from his brow.
His words brought Lewis and Vivian back to earth. They shook their heads at the same time. It was like waking up from a dream.
"He... you... you... how?!" They were too shocked, and that was only thing they could say.
Then they skinned the dead Saber-toothed Tiger quickly and got ready to leave, cleaning and sharpening blades, and securing their packs.
"Hey guys, um -- I'm... still here!” said Luther weakly. He'd lost a lot of blood, and his pallor was starting to match the snow.
"Humph!" Vivian and Lewis snorted at him. They were just going to ignore him and let God sort it out. They even thought about killing him for what he just did.
"Let's go!" said Vivian.
"Just remember this! My brother knows I went with you guys," said Luther gravely. This time when he coughed, he spattered his hand with blood.
Lewis and Vivian stopped in their tracks.
"What was that about?" Ricky asked.
"He's talking about Dustin, the fifth outer disciple. He's pretty high-ranking, ninth grade. He's got a lot of promising disciples under him. I think we just made another enemy," said Vivian reluctantly. "I know," Ricky nodded his head as he walked over to Luther.
"Huh! You little shit! Help me up, and give me half your stuff. I might be able to talk my brother into training you," said Luther blatantly.
Luther tried to sit up. He managed to lean on his elbows. Ricky squatted down and put his hand on Luther's shoulder, acting as if he were going to help him up. But he stopped when Luther said that, and pushed him back down into the snow.
An evil smile found its home on Ricky's face, "God, you got balls, Luther. Half-dead, and you're still a bully.
Luther was unapologetic, and simply coughed again, his breath turning to mist in the air. Ricky's eyes were cold as ice. Luther finally caught the scent of danger.
"My brother..."
*KRAKK* Ricky broke his neck before he could finish. Luther never thought he'd die like that.
The young man looked at the body, now rapidly cooling in the snow. He snorted before he stood up, shrugged, and walked back toward his friends. 000000000000000