NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51: Ambush
Zach crumbled and braced himself against the ground with one hand. But through the uncomfortable feeling of his insides revolting, Zach forced himself to look up and see what the tiger was doing.
Fortunately, Zach wasn't alone.
His barrier, while it had collapsed almost instantly, had bought Yanael enough time. She had also noticed the tiger when Zach did, so she moved as soon as it did and caught it right before it landed on Dukiel, Anerias, Rierdan, and Nessa.
Yanael crashed into the tiger, slamming it into the cliff and stunning it long enough to push against the wall and fling away the tiger, bringing the fight away from the students who would undoubtedly die if they were caught in the crossfire.
However, the tiger wasn't a plushie, and it wasn't going to let Yanael treat it like one without consequences. As soon as it landed, it bounced to the side to avoid her sword. It swept out with a paw that Yanael barely managed to block with her shield. Her arm stung from the impact, but it was bearable.
She slashed with her sword while ignoring the pain, but the tiger had already pushed back by using the rebound from hitting the shield.
After putting distance between itself and Yanael, the tiger prowled and walked to the side. Yanael followed it with her gaze as she slowly turned to match it.
Yanael looked at its eyes and muscles, ready to move at a moment's notice as soon as the tiger did something.
It was unfortunate. The tiger was stronger and faster than her, so she couldn't make the first move. She had to wait for the tiger to do something and then react.
Yanael wasn't sure if the tiger knew that and was intentionally being patient to wear down her nerves or if it just enjoyed seeing its prey fight for its life.
Since the tiger most likely held a grudge against Yanael for the scar she had left it, Yanael wouldn't be surprised if the tiger wanted to see her roll around on the ground like a stranded eel.
She wasn't going to let it see anything like that even in the afterlife.
The tiger continued circling to the side, looking for openings. Yanael continued not revealing a single opening.
However, unlike the tiger, Yanael wasn't alone.
The tiger walked into a translucent golden wall.
Since Yanael was the only threat to its life, the tiger hadn't bothered about the others, especially Zach, who had crumbled to the ground.
That was a mistake. But at the same time, if the tiger hadn't focused solely on Yanael, it would have revealed an opening for Yanael to take advantage of.
But that still ended up happening.
Zach couldn't make a strong barrier or a dome to trap the tiger. The wall was his limit after the previous one broke. And even that one, he could barely hold up for more than a few seconds before his insides started protesting.
It was enough.
Yanael stomped against the ground and shot forward. Her sword flashed diagonally. But the tiger dodged it with ease. Yanael continued chasing it. She held up her shield and pushed it forward, letting it go.
By using the moment the shield blocked the tiger's view, Yanael stepped to the side and prepared a two-handed thrust.
But the tiger was quick to react and bounced aside, out of range for the tip of Yanael's sword.
The Sentinel's lasers crashed into the tiger's shoulder.
The tiger growled in surprise and stumbled from the hit. It turned toward the Sentinel and snarled. The lasers hadn't left a deep wound, but they had scorched the tiger's skin, revealing burned muscles.
It hurt.
The tiger wanted to pounce toward the Sentinel and crash it into the ground. It tried to.
But when the tiger pushed against the ground, its paws slid on the ice that had formed. The tiger lost all of its footing and sank to the ground, slamming its jaw and chest against it.
Before the tiger could pull itself up again, Yanael had already arrived and, like an executioner, was bringing down her sword toward the tiger's neck.
The tiger's claws sunk into the ice and it pushed away.
It was too late.
Yanael's sword didn't reach the tiger's neck, but it did reach its front leg. The strike was not clean due to the tiger's frantic movement, but Yanael cut almost all the way through.
The tiger howled in pain and flopped back on the ground. The surge of pain shooting through its limb as it did so gave it sudden clarity.
The tiger rolled to the side, away from the mirror of ice on the ground, earning another scar from Yanael.
The tiger got up, ignoring the dangling remains of its leg. It stood on three legs with hunched shoulders and glared at Zach and the others.
Before Yanael or any of the familiars could attack it again, it turned around and fled.
"Don't chase it."
The tiger was injured. They could probably catch up to it sooner rather than later. But a cornered beast is the most dangerous. It was also fast.
The students would have to spend the few hours remaining of the night chasing the tiger. Those hours were the absolute darkest and most dangerous. They wouldn't be able to see any of the tiger's traces.
The tiger, on the other hand, would be able to see, hear, and smell them coming from a mile away.
It wasn't worth the risk when they could pick up the hunt as soon as dawn broke.
They also had another threat to think about.
The others had adrenaline running through their bodies, and their hearts beat quicker than what was healthy.
Although they had missed most of it, Violina and the others had still woken up to see the bloodthirsty tiger right in front of them, baring its fangs and fighting against Yanael. It was the worst awakening, second only to a similar situation but where Yanael lost.
When they saw the tiger flee, they wanted to pursue it. It was instinct.
But as soon as Zach spoke, the adrenaline faded and their heart started to slow down.
They looked at Zach and then took several long minutes to accept and process the situation in silence.