Cough, cough.
Pinkish blood, flecked with foam, spilled from Yun Ning’s lips as he shakily rose to his feet.
His chest ached excruciatingly.
How many ribs had snapped?
Eight? Ten?
Surely not all of them?
Still, dwelling on such trivialities was pointless.
As long as he remained standing, he could continue to fight.
His right hand loosely curled, fingers still capable of movement, yet his entire arm felt as limp as a noodle.
Had his arm broken too?
Yun Ning assessed his battered form, blood snaking down from the gash on his forehead, staining the corners of his eyes crimson.
Through his blood-obscured vision, a devilishly distorted face flickered into fragmented images before him.
The shrill shriek echoed in his ears once more, “Save me, save me!”
“Be quiet! I know!”
He roared silently, the shriek gradually receding, leaving behind only a profound sigh.
In the end, even that sigh abandoned him.
Moonlight pierced the tree canopy, casting a shadow on the ground far taller and darker than the boy himself.
He lifted his head once more.
His eyes blazed with a hysterical madness, yet within that frenzy, a final shred of composure stubbornly clung on.
“I won’t… I won’t let you kill her, I won’t let you kill anyone…” he declared with unwavering resolve.
“Hahaha, you’re killing me!”
The tiger laughed as if he had heard the most hilarious joke in the world, his body convulsing so much he couldn’t stand straight.
“Kid, you’re quite the comedian!”
His tail cracked like a whip behind him, slicing through the air with a sharp snap, scattering a streak of blood like an ink painting.
It was Yun Ning’s blood.
“Anyone can talk big. You won’t let me kill? Kid, if you’ve got the guts, come and try to stop me!” he sneered, his sharp claws springing from his fleshy paws, glinting with a steely, silver-grey sheen.
****
Meanwhile, not far from the school gate, Huang Xiu reopened her already healed wounds, spraying hot blood around her.
Diverse plants rapidly grew and twisted, transforming into merciless weapons, arrayed before the young woman.
“It’s not enough, still not enough!” Huang Xiu bit her lower lip.
Yun Ning had risked his life to shield her and the students from the tiger’s assault, buying them a chance to escape.
How could she possibly abandon him to face death alone?
“Don’t mind me, just go!” Yun Ning suddenly shouted.
He had sensed Huang Xiu’s intentions.
“You’re not a Transcendent; you’re an ordinary person who needs protection. You’ve done more than enough tonight!”
He stepped forward, right palm held before his chest, left palm hovering at his waist, assuming a boxing stance.
“I’ll stop him!”
‘Stop him?’ she thought. ‘With what? This broken, battered body?’
Huang Xiu shook her head, her long hair swaying back and forth. “Running away like a coward isn’t my style, Senior Yun!”
It was a lie!
Had she been alone, she would have undoubtedly used every trick in the book to scurry away.
Life, after all, was priceless.
Yet, abandoning someone who had helped her, to run away alone – that was something she absolutely could not do!
Therefore, since a fight was inevitable, she might as well utter some defiant words.
Huang Xiu adopted a scornful expression, letting out a loud scoff. “Besides… I really can’t stand that damn tiger!”
“Is that so, Junior Huang…?” Yun Ning managed a strained smile through his blood-streaked face.
“You truly… are an outstanding Transcendent!”
With those words, he abruptly charged at the tiger, without a moment’s warning.
Huang Xiu, however, reacted instantly.
At her command, the vast army of plants surged forward simultaneously.
“Oh, how touching!” the tiger sneered, his face twisted in mockery. “Such heartfelt devotion! In that case, you can all stay here! I still need many more sacrifices!”
He first glanced at the surging plant army approaching from his left.
Then, he turned his head to the right, observing the boy who charged like lightning, his face a mask of grim determination.
“First, I’ll deal with this boy, then…”
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Just as he prepared to strike, a series of deafening bangs suddenly erupted from the school gate.
Instantly, a sharp pain lanced through his chest, and a finger-sized bullet hole abruptly appeared.
‘Wh… what?’
The thought had barely formed in his mind when the tiger’s bloodshot left eye exploded into fragments.
Simultaneously, bullet holes appeared across his head, both hands, both legs, and his torso.
“Firearms!” The tiger’s eyes were bloodshot, nearly bulging, as he desperately tried to dodge.
But it was too late.
Humanity’s most reliable killing machines, honed over millennia, now bloomed their most brilliant flowers of destruction.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A relentless volley of gunshots echoed like thunder, reverberating through the dark, silent campus.
The storm of metal ravaged the tiger’s entire body; the immense stopping power of the specialized rounds rendered him immobile.
His leg joints were shattered, his flesh reduced to pulp, utterly incapable of supporting his massive frame.
He tumbled backward uncontrollably, his peripheral vision, as his body fell, catching sight of the young woman behind him.
Outside the school gate, five soldiers, clad in full protective gear and exuding a chilling composure, held terrifyingly large-caliber specialized rifles.
Using the school motto stone as cover, they unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
They were clearly well-trained, their marksmanship unbelievably precise, as if they had a USB drive plugged directly into their brains.
Not a single shot missed its mark; they meticulously shattered every one of the tiger’s joints, crushing his desire to escape.
One among them raised their right hand.
Seeing the tiger fall, three soldiers immediately lowered their rifles and sprinted forward, deftly leaping over the retractable metal gate.
As they reloaded their magazines, they swiftly fanned out into a triangular formation, then knelt, took aim, and continued to suppress the target with controlled bursts, simultaneously covering their teammates as they vaulted over the gate.
“Is that… support?”
Only then did Huang Xiu belatedly realize what was happening.
She was about to turn and see who the reinforcements were, but bullets whistled past her, both beside and above her head.
The young woman shivered, then froze, terrified of being struck by a stray bullet.
In that moment, unsure how to proceed, she could only command her vast plant army to retreat, lest they obstruct the firing line.
She looked to Yun Ning for help, and saw a flicker of surprise beneath his blood-streaked face.
“It’s the World Defense Force.”
Yun Ning recognized the identity of the five individuals.
The World Defense Force, as it was known, was a secret unit established by the Great Xia Nation specifically to counter the advent of the Void Realm, trained in defensive maneuvers within Void Realm contact points.
It served as one of the crucial defense lines against Void Realm incursions.
This army exclusively recruited the elite ‘Soldier Kings’ from within the military, imposing extremely stringent requirements.
They demanded not only exceptional military prowess and physical fitness but also an indomitable spirit.
Even with such high standards, to prevent mental collapse from Void Energy shock when entering contact points,
after joining the Defense Force, the Great Xia Nation would arrange special, harmless surgeries to enhance their resistance to Void Energy.
Naturally, this was done on a voluntary basis.
Precisely because of these absurdly high demands, the Defense Force had always maintained a small roster.
In some respects, the number of Defense Force members was even scarcer than Transcendent individuals.
Consequently, they were typically stationed only in provincial capitals, serving as mobile strike forces.
However, a small number did not equate to weak combat power.
On the contrary, having undergone specialized training and utilizing custom-made equipment, they could even suppress most minor Void Realms and troublesome Transcendent individuals.
“This is great!”
Yun Ning had truly not expected members of the Defense Force to be stationed in Ying City.
Even with only five individuals, it was more than enough!