Han Ning didn't pursue. He stood still, breathing heavily.
The wounds on his arms and tiger claws were healing at a visible rate under the effects of Rejuvenation and Wild Blessing.
Meanwhile, over a dozen thick Vines silently extended from the water beneath his feet, coiling around Tuna's temporarily immobilized body and burrowing into the cracks of its Bone Armor.
"Hiss... ROAR!!!"
Suddenly.
Tuna, which had been smashed into the shipping container, let out an unprecedented, piercing shriek.
The eerie coral mass on its back flashed with blinding light, swirling wildly in shades of blue, purple, and red.
Countless three-colored tentacles, existing between physical form and Energy, surged violently from the main coral body, brutally stabbing into Tuna's massive frame.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
In the process, the Vines Han Ning had launched were shredded by the coral branches. Like hot knives through butter, they plunged deep into Tuna's muscles, bones, organs... even its brain.
Tuna's body convulsed violently and expanded.
Crack! Crack!
The sickening sound of bones breaking echoed.
Tuna's size visibly swelled another round. Between the gaps of its pale Bone Armor, countless sharp coral-like spikes grew out, as if it had donned a layer of terrifying Coral Armor.
Its head became even more grotesque—the broken end of its Spiral Drill was now wrapped in thick coral tentacles, forming an even larger coral ram.
Its original fish tail disappeared entirely, replaced by a "Octopus Tentacle" composed of light and flesh.
In just a few breaths.
A terrifying beast, standing four meters tall, clad in heavy coral armor, and wielding countless three-colored tentacles along with a massive tentacle limb, appeared nearby.
The last trace of life in its remaining fish eye extinguished, leaving only pure killing intent.
"SCREECH!"
The coral monstrosity let out a horrifying roar, neither fish nor beast. Its enormous tentacle and several thick coral appendages smashed down toward Han Ning from three different angles with crushing force.
The speed and power far surpassed its previous attacks.
Even the air compressed with muffled explosions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The water where Han Ning had stood moments earlier was completely obliterated. Mud and shattered container fragments erupted into the sky.
The powerful shockwave sent nearby Awakened flying. Yu Na's Mental Barrier flickered once before shattering instantly.
Amid the swirling dust and mist, a dark golden figure was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the wall of a half-submerged building behind them.
"Han Ning!" Yu Na groaned, her voice trembling with alarm.
"Cough... A second form, seriously?"
Embedded in the dent in the wall, Han Ning wiped a trickle of blood from his lips.
At that critical moment, bolstered by Tree Skin Art and Wild Blessing, he had crossed his arms to block the coral monstrosity's devastating tentacle strike. The terrifying impact left his blood churning and his arm bones aching with fractures.
Emboldened by its successful strike, the coral monstrosity grew even more frenzied.
It moved forward on its grotesque coral-tentacle limbs, brandishing its massive appendage and spiked tendrils, locking onto Han Ning once more.
Countless slender coral tentacles shot out, sealing off all of Han Ning's escape routes.
"If I can't suppress you... then I'll tear you apart completely!"
From the dent in the wall, Han Ning raised his golden-flame-burning tiger eyes to gaze at the mountain-like monster pressing down on him.
An even more primal aura erupted violently from within him.
The Spiritual Power in his body drained like floodwaters through an open sluice.
He was no longer in his half-human, half-tiger form.
"ROAR!!!"
A tiger's roar shook the entire battlefield.
A Molten Gold Giant Tiger, nearly three meters long, its body covered in thick, dark golden fur, its muscles coiled like cast steel, crushed the ruins beneath its paws.
Complete transformation!
[You are currently in Beast Transformation - Molten Gold Battle Tiger's complete form, consuming 8 points of Spiritual Power per second.]
[Spiritual Power: 88/110 (42/50)]
[Mental Power: 5 (2)]
In this complete form, his Spiritual Power was being consumed at an exponential rate—he had to act fast.
Facing the flailing tentacles and countless spiky tendrils raining down upon him,
Han Ning bent his hind legs slightly, his muscles swelling as he unleashed terrifying power in an instant, blasting a crater into the ground.
His dark golden body became a blur of afterimages as he charged forward fearlessly.
The heat on his tiger claws condensed to its limit.
Metal Splitting Claw!
His left claw tore through the air, leaving five burning golden trails as it slashed toward the thickest coral tentacle.
Squelch!
The tough, coral-spiked tentacle was forcibly ripped open, revealing five deep, charred wounds that gushed blood.
Han Ning twisted his body, his right claw slamming toward the coral beast's heavily armored chest.
BOOM!!!
Claw met chest.
The hard coral armor caved in on impact, large sections of coral spikes shattering and melting under the dark golden heat.
The massive beast staggered back from the sheer brute force of the blow.
Han Ning pressed his advantage, landing and immediately pushing off again with his hind legs, his tiger form becoming a dark golden whirlwind as he relentlessly attacked the coral beast.
Every swipe of his claws left behind blinding golden streaks and piercing howls through the air, carving molten, lacerated wounds across the coral beast's body.
Fist to flesh! Claw to blood!
This was the most primal, savage, and awe-inspiring clash of raw power.
...
"Haah... haah... haah..."
Not far from where the battle raged between humans and monsters,
Chairman Wu, Lin Qianqian, and Vice Chairman Zhao were struggling toward the outer edges of the Mist Zone, each carrying, dragging, or supporting someone.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, a violent gust of wind pressure swept in from the distance, dispersing large swathes of white mist.
The group instinctively turned toward the source of the wind.
"This is..."
Lin Qianqian's pupils contracted.
About a few dozen meters away, in a sunken patch of ground,
a ferocious coral beast roared in agony, its massive tentacles flailing wildly as countless spiky tendrils shot out like a torrential downpour.
Before it stood a golden giant tiger, its aura no less imposing, swatting aside the flying tendrils one by one.
Then—
The golden tiger leaped, viciously pinning the coral beast to the ground. Its massive maw, burning with searing golden flames, aimed at the violently pulsating coral core at the back of the beast's head—
BOOM!
A concentrated pillar of golden fire erupted from its mouth, piercing through the overlapping coral tentacles that desperately tried to block it, striking the tri-colored coral core in an instant.
Squelch~
Crackling explosions rang out one after another.
The eerie tri-colored coral core, under the assault of the Heat Breath's scorching high temperatures, was rapidly melted through.
"Jie! Jie!"
The blinding tricolor light flickered violently, with continuous layers of mental shockwaves spreading outward.
"Roar!!"
But before they could travel more than a few meters, they were completely suppressed by a series of domineering tiger roars.
Gradually, all the writhing tendrils on the Coral Beast's massive body stiffened, turned ashen, and then shattered inch by inch.
The coral armor covering its body rapidly lost its luster, crumbling like weathered stone.
The killing intent in Tuna's eyes completely dissipated, leaving no trace of life behind.
Han Ning stood tall atop the Coral Beast, his burning golden eyes sweeping over the stunned crowd like a beast king surveying his territory.
Chairman Wu steadied his companions behind him and straightened up, just in time to witness the final moment when the Heat Breath pierced through the Coral Beast's core. His face was filled with shock.
"This… he…"
"It's Han Ning! He came to save us."
Lin Qianqian bit her lip, her bright pupils reflecting that figure—and a white Crocodile Lizard joyfully darting around the fierce tiger.
She might not recognize Han Ning, but how could she not recognize Snowflake, his ever-present companion?
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