He checked the three arrows on his back and the bow that had accompanied him for five years, then drew out the fine hunting knife he had just bought. Brian Carter finally shook off his gloom and took the most crucial step of his life.

He had already been walking for about two hours. The sun in the sky had long since turned into a crescent moon. By the moonlight, Brian Carter's vision was not much affected. The sound of insects grew weaker and weaker, almost inaudible, making the silence feel a bit strange.

Years of hunting experience made Brian Carter sense that something unusual was about to happen. His steps gradually slowed. Along the way, small and gentle animals became increasingly scarce; all he saw were carnivorous animals—wild boars, lone wolves, leopards. These animals, rarely seen under normal circumstances, kept appearing in his line of sight. Brian Carter deliberately concealed himself and did not attract the attention of these animals along the way.

The insect sounds had completely stopped, and the silence was almost uncanny. Brian Carter's steps grew even slower, and the creaking sound made by stepping on the thick layer of decaying leaves was piercingly loud in the quiet forest.

Suddenly, the sound of running reached his ears, growing from faint to loud as it approached.

A tiger! Brian Carter's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing by. Years of experience allowed him to quickly judge that it was the sound of a tiger running. But what was strange was that he only heard the tiger's running, not the sound of any other animal. Normally, if a tiger was hunting, judging by the direction of the running, he would not have missed the sound of the prey fleeing. Brian Carter was absolutely confident about this!

If it wasn't hunting, then what could make a tiger run at full speed? Brian Carter was puzzled. As he wondered, another sound appeared by his ear—a sound of skin rubbing against earth. A snake? No, even a python wouldn't make such a loud friction sound. What was it? Brian Carter couldn't tell, but this sound led him to another shocking conclusion—the tiger was running for its life! It was fleeing from the animal behind it!

Brian Carter had never known of anything in the forest that could terrify a tiger so much. As the sound drew closer, Brian Carter judged that the tiger was doomed—it was being chased by something even faster!

At this point, Brian Carter began to consider his own safety. Any animal that could make a tiger flee for its life was definitely not something he could handle easily.

Instinctively, his eyes flashed as he found the tallest tree nearby and climbed up it as nimbly as a wild ape. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief; except for flying creatures, no other animal could pose much threat to him now.

Standing in the tree, by the moonlight, Brian Carter's field of vision became even wider. It was coming. Accompanied by the appearance of this giant beast, a whirlwind swept across the ground, and its mottled fur drifted in like a phantom.

The tiger was about three meters long, with a tail a meter long as well. Judging by its three-hundred-kilogram weight, it was clearly an adult male tiger. Yet at this moment, it was running madly—not to hunt, but simply to survive! Now Brian Carter was even more curious about what kind of animal was chasing it.

Closer now, behind it was an even larger whirlwind, mixed with dust and leaves, making it hard to see clearly.

In the span of a single breath, the tiger roared past the tree where Brian Carter was hiding, and at that moment, Brian Carter finally saw what kind of animal was chasing it!

He gasped. Now he was grateful for his quick decision to climb the tree! He saw a creature that was like a python but not a python, like a snake but not a snake, with two horns on its head and two wings on its back. The monster's dark purple eyes were as big as fists, its body about eight meters long and as thick as a barrel, covered all over with thick scales. Its gaping mouth was lined with several rows of conical teeth, and just by looking at their hardness, Brian Carter had no doubt about their deadly power.

Though the monster was still several meters away, the stench from its mouth was already overwhelming. Just a whiff made Brian Carter's chest feel heavy, so he immediately held his breath, secretly feeling lucky—he hadn't expected even the smell from its mouth to be so poisonous.

Of course, the monster had no idea there was another prey in the tree above its head, and it roared past Brian Carter as well. But the whirlwind it created as it moved kicked up dead branches and dirt, briefly blurring Brian Carter's vision.

At that moment, a tiger's dying roar announced the end of the chase. When Brian Carter looked in the direction of the sound, he saw the tiger had already fallen silently. Just by the unnatural twist of its body, Brian Carter could be sure that no living tiger could end up like that.

Now Brian Carter began to consider whether he should get closer to observe, but he immediately dismissed the idea. He thought of the consequences if that monster discovered him. Just by its appearance, he could tell it was ferocious and bloodthirsty. Looking at its thick scales, Brian Carter began to doubt whether his bow and arrows could even harm it, and its mountain-like size made Brian Carter lose all confidence in his own strength—let alone the fact that it was highly poisonous!

Brian Carter quickly came to a conclusion: this creature was absolutely not something he could handle. Staying put was definitely the wisest choice for now!

After a moment's hesitation, when Brian Carter looked at the monster again, he saw that a third of the tiger had already been devoured. The monster's speed of eating made Brian Carter wonder if it was swallowing the tiger whole without chewing, but when he saw it bite through the tiger's neck in one go, he immediately dismissed that doubt—he no longer dared to question the sharpness of its teeth!