Chapter 23: The Wandering Tiger

A fierce tiger roar echoed through the air, and Chu Danqing knew the Wandering Track Tiger had broken free.

However, Dabao had not yet completely finished off all the captive ghosts at this point; even with his immense efficiency, there was still a limit.

"You and I should take cover first," Chu Danqing said, taking Guo Ming with him to find a safe place to retreat.

During this process, he also used the energy link to have the five captive ghosts share the summoning consumption of the repeating crossbowmen, instructing the crossbowmen to find a safe area on their own to support Dabao.

As for using the life link to kill the Wandering Track Tiger? Chu Danqing never even entertained such an idea.

His agility and perception were far inferior to the Wandering Track Tiger's, and the creature's reaction speed vastly exceeded his own. If he were to use that trick, the only one who would die is Chu Danqing.

The combat upper limit of the life link was restricted to opponents only slightly stronger than oneself; using it against a boss-tier entity like the Wandering Track Tiger was simply courting death.

Chu Danqing actually understood that the life link and energy link were merely minor tricks in his hands. While they might seem indistinguishable from divine skills, the unavoidable flaw of shared damage alone justified their Excellent-grade quality.

As for finding a small animal or insect to use as a substitute target? Not to mention that the links could be destroyed or shattered and had a limited range, individual subjects also had a maximum damage tolerance.

Chu Danqing could withstand 200 points of fatal damage, but if replaced with such small animals or insects, they might only be able to endure ten or twenty points; even if the damage were entirely distributed among them, it would not be enough to deliver a fatal blow.

Furthermore, the enemy was not a fool and would not allow a link to remain attached to their body indefinitely; they would certainly launch counter-attacks.

If one's own strength was insufficient yet one foolishly dreamed of defeating a giant with a pebble, sooner or later, one would bury oneself in the grave.

The two quickly retreated, and the repeating crossbowman relied on his combat instincts to swiftly secure a favorable vantage point.

"You and I have fled, so how are we supposed to recite the restraint chant?" Guo Ming raised this question.

"No rush. Let Dabao and the Wandering Track Tiger engage in a protracted battle for a while before we make our move," Chu Danqing gave his reasoning. "Otherwise, what would happen if the Wandering Track Tiger targeted us first?"

Summoner-class apostles possessed little personal strength of their own and naturally had to account for the boss's aggro.

This was not a video game where bosses blindly fixate on summons.

Roughly a minute after the two of them hid, Dabao's roars and the Wandering Track Tiger's roars rose and fell in succession as the two officially commenced battle.

Chu Danqing monitored the fluctuations of health points on Dabao's status panel.

He had to admit that the Wandering Track Tiger was indeed fiercely formidable; Dabao's life-stealing effect could hardly keep up with the rate at which his health was dropping.

After waiting for about another two minutes, Chu Danqing finally stood up. "Hide here properly, I'm going to chant the restraint spell."

Guo Ming's personal combat capability was even inferior to Chu Danqing's, but he possessed a head full of knowledge, making him exceptionally strong in a supporting role.

With that, Chu Danqing rushed out and saw that Dabao was covered in wounds, while the Wandering Track Tiger's condition was equally precarious.

The repeating crossbowman continuously sniped at the captive ghosts with bolts, every single shot easily dispatching one.

The Wandering Track Tiger sensed the threat posed by the repeating crossbowman and attempted to eliminate him first on multiple occasions, only to be firmly intercepted and entangled by Dabao.

Seeing this, Chu Danqing began to chant aloud:

"Ascending to the pristine vistas, vermilion and yellow disperse the smoke."
"Gathering turbid evils with breath, letting polluted corpses sink into slumber."
"Refining souls like spirits, uniting forms to become immortals."
"Granting me immortality, securing boundless fortune and longevity."
"Hearing clearly and seeing thoroughly, enjoying lasting auspicious origins."

The forty-word incantation was shouted out by him without a shred of rhythm, relying entirely on the full force of his lungs.

When the complete restraint chant reached the ears of the Wandering Track Tiger, its movements paused abruptly, and wisps of black Qi began to seep from its features.

At that exact moment, Dabao's attack landed without a shred of mercy.

Razor-sharp claws instantly tore apart a large portion of the Wandering Track Tiger's cheek.

Even from a distance, Chu Danqing could catch a glimpse of the black human face resting in the Wandering Track Tiger's throat.

He understood this was the Three Corpses: Impediment, though it had not fully matured yet, making its facial features indistinct.

Otherwise, he could have used this clue to track down the target.

The human face opened its underdeveloped eyes, instantly darted outward, and bared its saw-toothed mouth to sink its fangs viciously into Dabao's shoulder.

Just as it bit down and prepared to rip downward, Chu Danqing successfully finished chanting the second verse.

The movements of the Three Corpses: Impediment stalled once more. Seizing this opportunity, Dabao swiftly shook off the bite and repaid the creature with a vicious swipe of his claw.

Compared to the Three Corpses: Impediment attached to the human-faced black panther, the one residing within the Wandering Track Tiger was significantly more powerful.

Though a large chunk of its flesh had been torn away in a severe wound, it managed to retract itself just in time.

The Wandering Track Tiger stepped back several paces, dodging Dabao's onslaught, its half-torn face glaring menacingly at Chu Danqing.

It seemed to be plotting how to bypass Dabao and kill Chu Danqing instead.

The restraint chant posed a threat to it far greater than the repeating crossbowman.

While it searched for an opening, Dabao had no intention of granting it any, lunging forward with fierce bites and scratches.

With the assistance of the restraint chant, the Wandering Track Tiger was forced into a momentary freeze roughly every twenty seconds.

After being interrupted just twice, the overall tide of the battle underwent a complete reversal.

With at most three more repetitions, Dabao was confident he could slay the Wandering Track Tiger.

Therefore, what he needed to do was not seek risky breakthroughs, but rather consolidate his current advantage, and victory would naturally belong to him.

Now it was the Wandering Track Tiger's turn to panic. As Chu Danqing finished chanting the third verse, the Wandering Track Tiger stalled once more, and Dabao seized the opportunity to inflict heavy damage directly.

By the time the Wandering Track Tiger recovered, it could no longer afford to fight and turned to flee.

At this point, trying to escape was naturally too late.

Dabao gave chase, grabbed the tiger's tail to pull it back, lunged forward, and pressed his massive body down upon it.

The sharp claws of his hind legs sank deep into the Wandering Track Tiger's back, forcefully gouging out two bone-deep wounds, while the claws of one forelimb gripped the tiger's head.

His other forelimb plunged deep into the Wandering Track Tiger's throat and forcefully ripped the Three Corpses: Impediment out.

The Wandering Track Tiger's struggles grew increasingly frantic, but its injuries were far too severe, driving its health down toward the brink of death.

This triggered the secondary effect of Dabao's Bloody Fury, causing his attacks against the creature to grow increasingly lethal.

Until the final blow landed, reducing the health pool to zero, and the Wandering Track Tiger completely lost all vitality.

On Chu Danqing's end, a quest completion notification appeared.

[Quest completed. You have obtained: Paradise Points ×2000, Attribute Points +2]

An Excellent-grade treasure chest simultaneously materialized over the Wandering Track Tiger's corpse, which Dabao casually scooped up and tossed over to Chu Danqing.

The battle was not yet over. Although the Wandering Track Tiger was dead, a number of captive ghosts still remained.

Based on previous conventions, slaughtering them all would likely yield another treasure chest.

However, judging by the attributes of the captive ghosts, it would probably only be of Common grade.

They were on the exact same tier as the group of skeletal monkeys in the back mountains of Xianghua Village.

With Dabao and the repeating crossbowman attacking in tandem, the captive ghosts perished at an exceptionally rapid pace, and before long, every last one of them was dead.

"Search carefully and see if any were missed." Noticing the absence of a treasure chest, Chu Danqing immediately realized that they hadn't wiped out the entire group.

Dabao and the repeating crossbowman instantly sprang into action, beginning a thorough sweep of the South Mountain Temple.