Chapter 13: The Rampaging White Demon Tiger

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The ancient banyan tree’s leaves danced wildly, sending a chaotic shower of fallen leaves and broken branches tumbling down.

This was An Yang County, on the outskirts of Cloud City, nestled near the border.

An Yang County, being far from the city center, lay dangerously close to the monster-infested ‘Safe Zone.’ While housing prices were remarkably cheap, its permanent population remained sparse.

In recent days, this already desolate county had seen a further dwindling of its residents.

As for the reason?

Roar!

Suddenly, the savage roar of a tiger echoed from the forest outside An Yang County, offering a brutal, albeit indirect, answer.

The roar emanated from a fully grown White Demon Tiger, over four meters long. Its eyes, now a crazed, bloodshot red, glared skyward as it bellowed in fury.

The sound, carried by the wind to the treetops, instantly shook countless leaves loose. Its powerful, muscular limbs stomped fiercely on a bluestone, causing even the sturdy rock to fracture with several cracks.

Animals perched in the trees fluttered their wings and fled, while weaker, harmless monsters quickly chose a different path.

“Damn it, what in the world is going on? This is the fourth one since yesterday afternoon. Our Cloud City is a typical plateau mountain region; the depths of this forest should have a natural toxic barrier formed by various fungi. Monsters aren’t supposed to be able to pass through normally. One or two White Demon Tigers would be understandable, but this many? How did they get here?”

The speaker was Lin Zhen, a refined young man wearing glasses. Seeing yet another adult White Demon Tiger, his face was etched with exhaustion and bitterness.

Lin Zhen was an intermediate ability user in the City Monster Hunting Squad. Typically, he hunted invading monsters within the city, such as bloody giant rats emerging from sewers or disguised red-haired brides—the shadowy ghouls of the underground.

Yesterday, however, his small team had been assigned a routine patrol mission to the An Yang County forest by the Monster Hunter Guild.

The reward was exceptionally generous, three times their usual pay, so Lin Zhen had naturally not refused.

Yet, after a single night, he found himself regretting it.

His regret wasn’t due to the ferocity of the forest’s monsters, but rather the sheer abundance of mosquitoes and insects in Cloud City’s forests!

Crucially, these mosquitoes were enormous. Some were even the size of a pinky finger. Being bitten once was, in a sense, like donating blood!

From yesterday afternoon until now, Lin Zhen felt as though he had been drained and grown noticeably thinner.

Thus, a hint of complaint inevitably crept into his voice.

However, before Lin Zhen could finish his grumbling analysis, a clear female voice interrupted his complaints.

“Alright, stop complaining. Moon-moon Sister and I are both girls, and we haven’t said a word. Yet you, a boy, are already whining! Hurry up and get ready, it’s time to work.”

This time, the speaker was a petite, loli-type girl. She clung to another exquisitely beautiful girl, like a small bird nesting close to its mother.

While the sight of the two girls together was charming, Lin Zhen couldn’t help but purse his lips. He pushed up his black spectacles and muttered softly,

‘Damn it, Xiao Ai, you’re standing next to Moon-moon Sister, so you’re not afraid of mosquito bites—that’s why you can talk so coolly. By the way, what ability did Moon-moon Sister awaken anyway? How come mosquitoes and insects don’t dare to suck her blood?’

The ‘Moon-moon Sister’ referred to by Lin Zhen and Xiao Ai was none other than Tang Yue, who had awakened the Blood Princess ability.

Now, observing the appearance of another White Demon Tiger in the An Yang County forest, Tang Yue couldn’t help but furrow her delicate brows.

Her frown stemmed partly from Lin Zhen’s observation: most of Southern Cloud Province possessed natural barriers composed of toxic fungi. Generally, White Demon Tigers, unable to discern these barriers, wouldn’t willingly venture out of the forest, much less become frenzied with blood-red eyes.

These White Demon Tigers were clearly being influenced by something, suggesting an unknown change had occurred, which was far from good news.

The other reason for her frown was personal.

Ever since the sun rose that morning, Tang Yue’s right eye had been twitching incessantly.

Recalling the old proverb, ‘Left eye jumps for wealth, right eye jumps for disaster,’ and with her usually accurate female intuition, Tang Yue felt a premonition of something ill quietly unfolding.

However, she had no clue regarding either of these two situations.

Looking at her six-person monster hunting team, now ready for battle, Tang Yue ceased her ruminations and fixed her gaze on the White Demon Tiger not far ahead.

Whoosh!

The longbow ability user was the first to act, firing a verdant green arrow that streaked like a ray of light, embedding itself deeply into the White Demon Tiger’s hind leg.

Roaring in pain, the White Demon Tiger let out a furious bellow. Following the arrow’s trajectory, it discovered the group hidden in the trees.

The moment the White Demon Tiger turned its head, a chilling killing intent emanated from its blood-red eyes, seemingly solidifying the very air.

A gust of wind swept by, carrying the White Demon Tiger’s thick, bloody scent, further intensifying the raw, wild killing intent.

However, the six members of the monster hunting team merely tightened their grips on their weapons, devoid of any fear.

After all, in this era of monsters, the courage trials faced against demons during compulsory education were not for naught.

As the king of beasts in the forest, the White Demon Tiger was incensed to find that these two-legged creatures, who dared to ambush it, did not flee like other prey.

Feeling its dignity insulted, the killing intent in its blood-red eyes intensified. Its powerful four limbs tensed and lowered.

In the next instant, after a brief charge, it stomped fiercely, shattering the bluestone beneath its feet. Its massive tiger body transformed into a cannonball, hurtling towards the group with terrifying speed.

Witnessing this explosive power, Lin Zhen, the team’s scout responsible for intelligence, saw his relaxed expression instantly turn grave. His tone, a stark contrast to his earlier complaints, shouted after a quick assessment,

“Holy crap, this is a rampaging intermediate White Demon Tiger! Everyone, be careful!”

The ‘rampaging’ prefix Lin Zhen mentioned indicated a specialized type of monster.

These monsters often possessed peculiar abilities beyond those of their peers at the same level. For instance, ‘rampaging’ in this context referred to enhanced movement speed.

Following Lin Zhen’s warning, the members of the monster hunting team held their breath, focusing intently as they unleashed their powerful abilities.

“Earth Wall!”

“Lightning Strike!”

“**!~”

One after another, abilities of various colors exploded upon the furiously advancing White Demon Tiger.

While monsters naturally possessed tougher physiques than humans, such a reckless act of enduring direct damage would typically cause an ordinary intermediate White Demon Tiger to collapse halfway.

However, this White Demon Tiger was a rampaging intermediate monster; its physical resilience was clearly in a different league.

The monster hunting team’s abilities left various scars, some deep, some shallow, on its body.

Yet, this did not inflict fatal damage upon the White Demon Tiger; instead, it only fueled more killing intent in its blood-red eyes.

Just as the White Demon Tiger drew closer, its腥-smelling saliva beginning to drip from its bloody maw, a slender figure, instead of retreating, charged fearlessly towards it.

The person was none other than Tang Yue, who had awakened the Blood Princess ability.

Facing the fierce, snarling maw, Tang Yue’s long, straight legs, beneath her slender waist, suddenly gathered strength.

The rampaging White Demon Tiger, seeing this female two-legged creature dare to confront it head-on and even attempt to kick it, let out a guttural ‘Err-woof~’ from its massive, crimson mouth.

Whether it felt its dignity insulted or simply mocked the two-legged creature’s ignorance, its hind legs stomped the ground. Changing its direct charge, it opened its blood-red maw, lunging to bite at Tang Yue’s kicking right leg.

It intended to teach this human a lesson.

The White Demon Tiger’s mouth opened wide, its sharp, bone-chilling fangs gleaming. This formed a stark visual contrast with Tang Yue’s slender, delicate calf.

Facing such a perilous moment, especially given the vast disparity in their physical sizes, Xiao Ai, despite knowing Tang Yue’s high physical strength, instinctively covered her eyes, unable to watch.

Just as the two were on the verge of contact, in a split second, Tang Yue, who had been poised to kick, suddenly withdrew her strength. Her lithe, slender waist bent backward at an incredible, almost impossible angle, like a matador, narrowly evading the White Demon Tiger’s gaping maw.

Then, leveraging the White Demon Tiger’s forward momentum as it snapped at her, she subtly shifted her body. In the next moment, she was astride the monster’s massive neck.

The sequence of moves was executed with seamless grace.

Watching Tang Yue’s slender waist move as if dancing, teasing the rampaging White Demon Tiger, and now riding on its head, the male members of the monster hunting team collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Their gazes instinctively drifted to Tang Yue’s trim waist beneath her athletic wear.

After all, a beautiful girl capable of a full backbend and a graceful side-step was a major bonus in their eyes.

Amidst their admiration, everyone couldn’t help but feel envious of Tang Yue’s ‘little husband,’ Ye Yu.

With a waist like that, what position couldn’t be unlocked?

However, the boys’ envy for Ye Yu did not last long.

In the next moment, Tang Yue, still astride the White Demon Tiger’s neck, raised her delicate, pale fist.

Thump!

She shattered the White Demon Tiger’s skull with a single punch.

Watching the rampaging White Demon Tiger collapse without even a whimper, the team’s envy for Ye Yu silently transformed into commiseration.

After all, a girlfriend who could punch a tiger’s skull to pieces was truly beyond envy.

Feeling the rampaging White Demon Tiger’s breath beneath her gradually fade, Tang Yue, having personally delivered the final blow, stared at her small fist, lost in thought.

While her Blood Princess ability significantly enhanced her physical attributes more than other abilities, and the White Demon Tiger that charged her wasn’t at its peak strength, it was still a rampaging White Demon Tiger.

‘How is it that I seem so much stronger today than before?’

Accepting the tissue Xiao Ai offered, she wiped away the lingering bloodstains from her hand.

Feeling her inexplicable surge in strength, Tang Yue couldn’t help but check her ability attribute panel in her mind.

Name: Tang Yue (Female)

Ability: Blood Princess (Intermediate)

Blood Princess: Inherits a portion of the Vampire King’s abilities. Fears sunlight. Can gain energy and strengthen self by absorbing blood. The stronger the abilities contained within the blood, the stronger the abilities gained by the self from that blood.

Strength: 82 (65+17)

Agility: 68 (55+13)

Intelligence: 30 (19+11)

Abilities: Purity, Blood Chains, Wings of Coagulation

Purity: As a Blood Princess, your constitution is cold. Infection from mosquitoes and bacteria is almost zero, and you always maintain a clean state.

Blood Chains: Utilizes surrounding blood energy to materialize a chain for attack. The chain, made of blood, comes with a blood-sucking function. However, it fears water and fire; please be cautious.

Wings of Coagulation: An escape technique. Consumes a large amount of the user’s blood to create a pair of temporary flight wings. (Note: Blood cannot be recovered; use with caution!)

Seeing the sudden, massive numerical increases next to her three core attributes, Tang Yue was stunned.

Attribute increases for ability users, apart from advancement, typically relied on slow, point-by-point training; gaining even two points was a miracle.

Yet, now her attribute panel showed an exaggerated boost of over ten points in all three categories. This increase was even greater than when she had advanced from beginner to intermediate stage.

Witnessing this attribute explosion, Tang Yue began to ponder what she had done recently.

After much thought, everything seemed perfectly normal.

If anything was strange, it was probably the scene in the small grove yesterday afternoon.

Recalling how her ‘little husband,’ Ye Yu, had been ‘tree-pinned’ yesterday and had been evasive about his ability after she bit him, Tang Yue’s apricot eyes sparkled with a bright glint.

‘So, my little husband, Ye Yu, must have awakened a super powerful ability yesterday!’

She had only taken a small sip yesterday, and her attributes had increased so much. What if she took a bit more in three days?

At this thought, a hint of anticipation flashed across Tang Yue’s pure, fair face for the cohabitation that would begin in three days when she and her ‘little husband,’ Ye Yu, would register their marriage.

As for why Tang Yue, having tasted the benefits, wasn’t planning to ‘suck’ Ye Yu for the next two days, there was a little-known fact involved.

A boy’s ‘OO’ required blood circulation to ‘enlarge.’ A lack of blood could cause dizziness in mild cases, and in severe cases, prevent the ‘little O’ from rising.

To better savor the forbidden fruit with her ‘little husband,’ with whom she had been together for fifteen years, Tang Yue naturally could endure the two-day wait.

Just as Tang Yue was happily fantasizing about the blissful moment two days later when her ‘little husband,’ Ye Yu, would first ‘devour’ her, and she would then sweetly ‘suck’ him, her phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated.

Glancing at Lin Zhen, the scout, and seeing him indicate that there were no monsters nearby, Tang Yue took out her phone.

Seeing that the caller was her best friend, Huangpu Pingqing, the girl next door, Tang Yue felt a sudden dilemma. It wasn’t that her relationship with Huangpu Pingqing was poor.

Rather, Tang Yue suddenly remembered a tricky matter.

If all went well, she would be registering her marriage with Ye Yu in a few days.

At that time, the beautiful Huangpu Pingqing, her neighbor and best friend, would undoubtedly be her best bridesmaid candidate.

However, for some unknown reason, her ‘little husband,’ Ye Yu, had recently been inexplicably hostile towards Huangpu Pingqing, which gave Tang Yue a massive headache.

On one side was her best friend, on the other, her husband. Both were extremely close to her. If they fell out at the wedding, it would be like choosing between her own flesh and blood; offending either would be terrible.

To avoid such a situation, looking at Huangpu Pingqing’s call, Tang Yue, having dealt with the White Demon Tiger, decided to chat for ten minutes, then gradually work on Huangpu Pingqing to ease the tension between her and Ye Yu.

Tang Yue’s plan was well-conceived.

But what she never expected was that this ‘persuasion’ might not be needed after all!