Chapter 40: What are you dawdling for? Just get on with it!

Hiding in the bushes, Lin Li widened his eyes, carefully observing the white ape beast and discovering a dagger plunged into its chest.

Blood continuously seeped from the wound in its chest, staining the snow-white fur of the white ape beast a deep crimson.

At this moment, if someone were to pull the dagger out of the white ape beast's chest, a pillar of blood would likely erupt from the wound immediately.

"The vitality of this white ape beast is too tenacious! Its heart has been stabbed, yet it can still engage in such intense combat. If this were any human, being stabbed in the heart like that would likely result in instant death on the spot..."

While Lin Li marveled at the tenacity of the white ape beast's vitality, he was simultaneously shocked by the immense strength of the middle-aged man.

Facing such a resilient white ape beast, the middle-aged man had actually managed to wound it this severely. Furthermore, judging from the smile on his face, the man seemed to be handling the white ape beast with relative ease.

"Roar..."

The white ape beast let out another roar at the middle-aged man, though this roar was significantly weaker than the previous one. It seemed its physical condition was indeed as dire as the man had suggested.

The middle-aged man did not strike again; he simply stood there quietly, waiting for the heavily wounded white ape beast's condition to deteriorate further.

As a veteran beast hunter with mid-second stage strength, once he judged that the white ape beast was nearing the end of its strength, there was no longer any need to continue fighting it. The reason for this was to avoid a desperate, dying counterattack that might cause him unnecessary harm.

In such a guaranteed victory, he only needed to keep the creature in his sight; as time passed, the white ape beast would eventually collapse and die due to the dagger lodged in its heart.

"Roar..."

Feeling its strength rapidly draining, the white ape beast also realized that this hateful human intended to wear it down with time. Although it understood the man's sinister intent, its current physical state left it completely helpless. It had fallen into this predicament only because of a momentary lapse in vigilance that allowed the man to land a sneak attack.

If it were near its companions and could cry out for help, there might still be a slim chance of survival, but in its current situation, there was clearly no hope.

"Roar..." The white ape beast let out another roar, but this one was even weaker than the previous two.

Watching the white ape beast steadily decline, the smile on the middle-aged man's face deepened.

After several minutes of confrontation, the white ape beast's body began to sway. With a stumble, it tilted backward and fell heavily onto the grass.

*Thud.*

Seeing the prey fall and cease all signs of life, the middle-aged man burst into laughter. However, being a veteran hunter, he did not approach immediately after seeing the beast fall; instead, he continued to stand still and wait.

Watching the man's actions, Lin Li was filled with confusion.

"That white ape beast is already dead, so why isn't this guy going up to collect the prey? What's the logic here?"

Another two or three minutes passed. Only a sliver of the setting sun remained on the horizon; in a short while, the sun would set completely.

"Sigh... how much longer is this guy going to wait? It's almost dark."

Lin Li grew anxious in the bushes because the wilderness became far more dangerous after dark than during the day. If he waited any longer and night fell, the middle-aged man, relying on his great strength, would surely be able to return to the safe zone with ease. But in the pitch black, how would Lin Li find his way home? He hadn't brought any lighting equipment on this trip, and relying on a small fireball for light would likely be insufficient to deal with the beasts that emerged at night.

"Just get on with it! It's dead as a doornail... I don't know what you're stalling for," Lin Li complained furiously to the man in his mind.

A few more minutes passed. Feeling that enough time had elapsed, the middle-aged man muttered to himself, "It's been so long, this fellow should be dead for sure."

However, being habitually cautious, the man did not approach immediately. Instead, he raised his right hand, which was clad in a metal glove, and aimed his palm at the white ape beast.

"What's going on? What is he doing?" Lin Li watched the man's strange behavior with a face full of questions, but he soon realized what was coming next.

A pale golden spiritual light bloomed from the man's metal glove. Immediately following, a pillar of fire ten centimeters in diameter erupted from his hand, shooting rapidly toward the dead white ape beast.

*Bang!*

The scorching pillar of fire struck the dead beast, exploding instantly. The scattering sparks scorched the surrounding lush green grass into a charred yellow.

"..." Watching this scene, Lin Li could not understand the man's methods.

"The thing is already dead, and this guy is still using his abilities to blast it? This is going too far! Or does this guy have some kind of special fetish? But now I know who created that pillar of fire I saw earlier."

Seeing that the white ape beast showed no reaction to his fire attack, the middle-aged man was finally completely at ease. He then began to walk briskly toward the corpse, whose fur had been slightly singed by the flames.

"Phew... he's finally starting to deal with it... please hurry up! It's almost dark."

Seeing the man finally move toward the carcass, Lin Li breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he might be able to return to the safe zone before sunset.

*Rustle, rustle, rustle...*

The sound of footsteps on the grass was faint.

The middle-aged man arrived before the dead white ape beast. Looking at the dagger lodged in its chest, he prepared to crouch down and pull it out.

It had cost him a significant amount of money to buy this spiritual tool dagger, and it had been a painful purchase at the time. Thinking about it now, the money was well spent; if he hadn't gritted his teeth and bought it then, he might not have been able to kill this white ape beast today.

Just as the man's hand was about to touch the spiritual dagger in the beast's chest, a sudden change occurred.

...