Chapter 41: You're really being hard on yourself!

Most of its white fur had been scorched by flames, and its body was covered in numerous burns. Just as the middle-aged man's hand was about to touch the spiritual dagger, the white ape beast unexpectedly opened its eyes.

"Damn it, it's a trap! This thing was playing dead!"

Seeing the supposedly dead white ape beast suddenly open its eyes, the middle-aged man immediately withdrew his hand and chose to retreat.

However, having endured for so long and persisted to this point, the white ape beast was not about to let the man escape easily.

"Roar..."

With a violent roar from the white ape beast, the deafening sound made the middle-aged man's head spin, causing his retreating movement to freeze for half a second.

In that half-second, the white ape beast's right hand, tipped with long claws, lunged toward the man's abdomen like a bolt of lightning.

The beast's claws, radiating a faint golden spiritual light, were incredibly sharp; a single strike could undoubtedly pierce straight through the man's abdomen.

At this critical moment, the middle-aged man bit his tongue to force himself out of his dazed state. He twisted his waist with all his might, throwing his body to the side.

*Slash...*

The claws glowing with faint golden light grazed the man's abdomen. His camouflage clothing was instantly shredded, and a large chunk of flesh was torn away by the beast's claws.

"Ah—!"

The man let out a cry of pain and quickly put distance between himself and the white ape beast.

He only stopped after retreating more than twenty meters.

Blood flowed continuously from the heavily wounded abdomen. The man trembled with pain, and sweat poured from his forehead.

He pressed his right hand against the wound to stop the bleeding, but the gash was too wide; despite his hand pressing down, blood continued to seep through his fingers.

The experienced man knew he had to find a safe place to treat the wound immediately, or he would soon die from excessive blood loss.

Compared to the stab wound in the ape beast's chest, the injury to the man's abdomen was relatively minor.

After all, the human body could not compare to that of a beast.

The fact that the white ape beast could fight to this extent after being stabbed in the heart, and then use a death feint to launch a desperate counterattack, was a tactic no human could execute.

In the thick bushes in the distance, Lin Li, who had transformed into a bystander, was stunned into silence, even forgetting to breathe.

"Holy crap... this beast isn't dead! In that situation, it actually came up with a plan to play dead and counterattack. It completely turned the tide in one move... that's too smart! No, it's not just smart; to pull off a scheme like that, you have to be ruthless even with yourself."

In his shock, Lin Li couldn't help but feel ashamed of his earlier criticism regarding the middle-aged man's perceived hesitation.

The scene unfolding before him served as a vivid lesson, teaching him that the man's cautious behavior had been absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, despite the man's repeated caution, he still fell into the trap because that white ape beast was simply too cunning and ruthless.

Seeing that its desperate counterattack had not achieved the full effect it had envisioned, a flash of regret crossed the white ape beast's eyes.

"Roar..." With another roar, the white ape beast immediately charged toward the heavily wounded middle-aged man.

Seeing the beast rushing at him, the man immediately raised his left hand and struck out with a palm.

An orange-red fire appeared in his left hand, and as he struck, a stream of scorching flame erupted from his palm.

Seeing the pillar of fire approaching, the white ape beast dodged to the side. The scorching flame hit the ground with a dull thud.

*Boom.*

The splashing flames scorched many of the lush green plants. Fortunately, there were no dry piles of grass nearby; otherwise, the man's elemental attack might have ignited a massive fire.

"Damn beast! I admit defeat today, but our paths will cross again. Next time we meet, I will tear your head off and finish you for good!"

After forcing the white ape beast back with a single move, the man left a harsh threat before clutching his wounded abdomen and turning to flee into the distance.

"Roar..."

Seeing the man flee, the white ape beast let out a loud roar toward his retreating figure.

Hearing the roar, the fleeing man's pace became even more frantic.

However, the white ape beast only roared; it did not actually pursue the injured man. It stood still, simply watching him run away.

"I didn't expect the situation to be reversed like that. I must never let a beast turn the tables on me like that man did..." hiding in the bushes, Lin Li silently warned himself after watching the entire ordeal.

Then, after the man had disappeared from sight, a dilemma arose for Lin Li.

After the white ape beast had successfully repelled the man, it remained standing in the same spot for a long time, showing no intention of leaving.

The sun on the horizon was nothing more than a sliver of afterglow, about to vanish completely. In a few minutes, night would shroud the wilderness.

"What on earth is this white ape beast doing? Why won't it leave? What is there to look at in that direction? The enemy has been driven off, and it's heavily injured; it should be finding a place to heal, not just standing there in the wind. What kind of bizarre behavior is this?"

There were mosquitoes in the bushes. Once they discovered Lin Li, they swarmed toward him.

Before long, several welts appeared on his hands and face.

Although the mosquito bites were incredibly itchy, Lin Li did not dare to make even the slightest movement.

He was terrified that any small noise might alert the terrifying white ape beast that another human was hiding in the bushes.

Based on the battle he had just witnessed, Lin Li didn't need to use much brainpower to know that if the beast discovered another human nearby, it would surely tear him to pieces to vent its fury.

…………

(End of Chapter)