The moment his arms returned to normal, Yang Bin's confidence surged back.
Hu Wenliang was back in action. This fight was as good as won.
This was the security that Star Fall Squad's strongest healer brought to the table.
"Liangzi, go treat Asen."
"On it - but I need to pace myself. I haven't recovered much." Hu Wenliang scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
"Fine."
"And you - don't fight. Focus on recovering."
Yang Bin took the Barbell Rod from Hu Wenliang's hands and stepped to the front once more.
His own had been wrecked by the tiger. He'd have to borrow.
The Mutant Tiger eyed the growing number of humans, hesitation flickering in its gaze.
It knew they were running on fumes - but so was it.
Its wounds were only getting worse.
Finally, the tiger shot them one last vicious glare, turned, and bolted toward the mountain.
"Motherfucker - you beat us half to death and now you want to run!?"
Yang Bin snorted. He teleported directly into the tiger's path, Barbell Rod already swinging.
BOOM.
The rod bent at a grotesque angle on impact, but it did its job - the tiger's momentum broke.
A claw caught Yang Bin in the chest and launched him backward.
But the tiger was fading. Yang Bin spat blood, tumbled across the dirt, and was back on his feet within seconds. Still blocking the path.
The others sprinted toward them.
The tiger glanced at the approaching group, then locked onto Yang Bin. It lunged.
If this one wanted to die so badly, it would oblige.
Yang Bin's jaw tightened. He crossed both arms in front of his chest and braced.
A casual swipe and a full-force pounce were two entirely different things. This could break him.
But he didn't retreat. If he gave ground, the tiger was gone.
His Mental Energy was too depleted for another teleport. At the tiger's speed, once it ran, no one here could catch it.
The tiger closed the distance - three meters, two, one -
A Light Shield materialized between them.
The tiger smashed through it instantly, but the barrier bled off most of the force. Yang Bin caught the remainder with his crossed arms and skidded back a dozen steps, boots carving furrows in the earth.
The tiger coiled to pounce again - but Zhao Kun was already there, both arms encased in Metal Arms, fingers locked around its tail. He hauled backward with everything he had.
The tiger stumbled back several steps.
Then it whipped its tail forward.
Zhao Kun went airborne, hurtling straight toward the gaping maw.
A hand of dark energy materialized from nowhere, snatched him out of the air, and slammed him to the ground before he could reach those jaws.
The tiger tried to press the advantage, but a Light Wave lanced directly at its eyes, forcing it to flinch and retreat.
"Brother Kun, I'm in awe. You actually grabbed a tiger by the tail." Old Hei stared at Zhao Kun like he'd lost his mind.
"I was about to punch its fucking mouth apart from the inside! Why'd you pull me down?" Zhao Kun snapped.
"..."
"You sure you weren't just delivering yourself like takeout?" Old Hei raised an eyebrow.
"You think my Metal Arms are decorations?"
"A tiger's bite force is its strongest weapon. I genuinely don't think your Metal Arms can handle it," Fang Sijie said, dead serious.
"......"
Lin Yifei and Skinny Monkey caught up. Six people now formed a ring around the Mutant Tiger.
For the first time, genuine worry surfaced in the beast's eyes.
It roared at Yang Bin - a warning. Let me leave, or this ends badly for everyone.
Yang Bin didn't flinch. Didn't move. Stood there like a wall.
The tiger's fury boiled over. It launched itself at him again.
A black energy hand shot up from the ground and seized one of its hind legs.
The tiger ripped free almost immediately - but the delay was enough. Water Wave crashed into it, and ice crystallized across its body, locking it in place.
A Light Wave punched into the open wound on its neck. Blood sprayed. The gash tore wider.
The tiger shattered the ice and burst free - straight into Zhao Kun's spiked Metal Arms fist, which hammered into the side of its skull.
Even a beast this powerful staggered, vision swimming.
That was when the killing blow came.
A sharpened Barbell Rod sheathed in black Sharp Edge appeared at the neck wound and drove inward - through muscle, through vertebrae, all the way into the brain.
Chen Hao. Either he'd recovered on his own, or Hu Wenliang had gotten to him first.
The rod was 1.8 meters long. Under the cutting power of Sharp Edge, a full sixty to seventy centimeters buried itself inside the tiger's body.
Fatal. Absolutely fatal.
"ROAAAR-"
The Mutant Tiger screamed. Its tail lashed out and caught Chen Hao across the torso. A paw swatted Zhao Kun away like a ragdoll.
Then it staggered forward, still trying to flee.
It made it less than twenty meters before its legs buckled. That massive body crashed to the earth and didn't rise.
"...Hah."
Every single one of them exhaled at the same time, then collapsed where they stood.
This was the most brutal fight Star Fall Squad had ever endured.
"Is it dead?" Zhao Kun asked quietly.
"Not yet." Yang Bin watched the tiger's flank. "Its belly's still moving. Still breathing."
"Boss, should I go try now?"
"Wait. A dying beast's final thrash could kill you. We rest first. Get our heads right. Then we move."
"Got it."
They sat in silence, catching their breath.
A few minutes later, Hu Wenliang and Zhong Yuansen walked over. Zhong Yuansen's injuries were nearly healed - moving fine, color back in his face.
With Hu Wenliang around, as long as you weren't actually dead, you'd pull through.
They rested for over ten minutes. Hu Wenliang made the rounds, patching up everyone who still carried wounds.
When they finally stood, the exhaustion lingered - but everything else had stabilized.
And the tiger's breathing had grown so faint it was barely visible. Almost gone.
They approached carefully, step by step.
The Mutant Tiger's eyes cracked open. It watched them come.
Rage. Defiance. And buried beneath both - a sliver of regret.
Skinny Monkey walked right up to it. He locked eyes with the dying beast and pushed his Beast Taming ability to its absolute limit.
The tiger's gaze wavered. For the first time, fear crept in.
But it was too far gone. No strength left to resist.
Its eyes flickered - struggling, then blank, then struggling again. Two states cycling, over and over.
Sweat poured down Skinny Monkey's forehead. His jaw clenched so hard the tendons in his neck stood out like cables. He held on.
This was Star Fall Squad's chance to leap an entire tier overnight. If he locked this tiger down, the squad's combat power doubled instantly.
And he'd never be the weakest link again.
The others watched in absolute silence. No one dared even breathe too loudly.
Afraid to break his concentration. Afraid to shatter this one shot at something extraordinary.