"There are so few of us! How can we possibly win?"
A man frantically grabbed the walkie-talkie and yelled.
"Yeah! Why donât you join us? If we die, it wonât do you any good either!"
another woman with short hair added.
"You have no choice."
The voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie said after a moment of silence.
After that, the truck ground to a complete halt.
Meanwhile, the two SUVs up ahead continued to speed away.
"They obviously brought us here just to be cannon fodder."
said Ian Logan, the man who had spoken to Wayne Warner earlier.
The Mutant Tigers were about to catch up. If they didnât get out of the truck and fight, everyone on board would become a canned feast for the two beasts.
"I knew they couldnât be this nice. Saying all we had to do was survive... how could anyone survive this?"
"We should have fought back together earlier. We might have had a chance to make it out alive."
"Heh heh heh... weâre all going to die anyway. Whether we quit or not, weâre all dead. Itâs not my fault, not my fault, I didnât get him killed..."
The woman sitting next to Nina Jacobs muttered, her expression vacant.
Just then, the two zombies from earlier lunged at the nearest Mutant Tiger.
Unsurprisingly, the two zombies were instantly trampled into paste.
"Looks like the zombie trick wonât work."
Ben Lawson, still watching from a distance, said from inside his vehicle.
They had used zombies to turn Mutated Animals into zombie animals time and time again with great success, but they hadnât expected the Mutant Tigers to be so enormous.
These two Mutant Tigers were twice the size of the one that the siblings, Wayne and Summer Warner, had killed before.
"Two Mutant Tigers. Besides those useless wastes, we have over thirty Superpower Users. If we take turns, it shouldnât be hard."
said Leo Flynn, a Fire Element Superpower User sitting in the back.
"Everyone, on your guard! Prepare for battle at any moment!"
Magnus York commanded.
"Understood. I bet they can hold them off for ten minutes."
Anselm Vance said over the walkie-talkie from a vehicle further back, a hint of a smile in his voice.
"Youâre giving them too much credit. Six minutes, tops."
"No oneâs dared to come out yet. Are they just going to get swatted away in one hit?"
The people in the cars watched with excitement.
The distance between the truck and the SUVs wasnât too great; Ben Lawson and his group could already see the two Mutant Tigers drawing closer.
But at the rear of the truck, out of their sight, two figures were preparing to get out.
"Are you two crazy?"
a man in his twenties dressed in black asked, looking at Nina Jacobs and her companion.
"Whatâs the alternative? Wait here to die?"
Nina Jacobs knew these people had already given up.
"But weâre no match for them."
The man in black wasnât exactly a willing sacrifice either.
He just didnât want to do anything for those people anymore.
He didnât want to let them get their way, not even if it meant stalling for just one more minute.
"Do you want to live?"
The woman didnât look at him, but he couldnât help but answer, "I do."
âWho wouldnât, if they had the chance?â
"Anyone who wants to live, help us stall one of them."
Nina Jacobs said.
"Is this girl scared stupid?"
Ian Logan sneered.
"Help you stall one so you two can escape? You want to use us as human shields?"
In this post-apocalyptic world, no one would believe the words of a strange woman.
But Nina Jacobs didnât care.
âIf I take care of these two Mutant Tigers, Iâll only have twelve left for my Task 2.â
"Iâll help you!"
The man in black from before followed them out of the truck.
It wasnât because he believed them, but because Nina Jacobsâs words had moved him.
He really did want to live.
A man and a woman followed him down.
"I have a Wood Element Superpower. I should be able to stall it for a few seconds."
The woman, who had a baby face, said with little confidence.
"Iâm Thunder Element. If you guys actually do run for it, you have to get a message to my friends at the foot of the mountain for me."
The other man had white-streaked hair and a rebellious air, as if life and death were trivial matters.
"You should save that and tell them yourself when you get back."
With that, Nina Jacobsâs Earth Element Superpower began to circulate in her hands.
âShe had no intention of running.â
The road ahead began to turn to sand.
Seeing this, the baby-faced woman quickly conjured several vines.
ROAR!
The first to arrive was a giant tiger with brownish-tan stripes.
It leaped high into the air and pounced toward the group!
"Run!"
As Nina Jacobs shouted, the few people behind her immediately followed her lead and scattered.
The moment the Mutant Tiger landed, it sank into the quicksand trap Nina Jacobs had prepared on the road.
It only sank halfway, but for Nina Jacobs, that was enough.
With the three who came to help, they should be able to hold this Mutant Tiger back for a little while.
Her real target was the second Mutant Tiger, which had been circling nearby.
Perhaps because its body had grown too quickly, patches of skin on its back were still bare, not yet covered by fur.
"Looks like the one we ran into before was underdeveloped."
Nina Jacobs watched the Mutant Tiger before them, which was practically drooling at the sight of them.
This Mutant Tiger was clearly quite intelligent; it had already noticed its companion trapped in the quicksand.
It was now watching Nina Jacobs and Wayne Warner warily.
The scent of fresh flesh and blood goaded it, but after a few seconds, it finally lunged at the pair!
Although they both dodged in different directions at the same time, they seemed minuscule compared to the massive Mutant Tiger.
"Three minutes."
Far away, the group from the SUVs had gotten out of their vehicles, ready for battle.
To their surprise, however, the first Mutant Tiger was still stuck deep in the pool of sand that had just appeared.
"She really does have a few tricks up her sleeve."
Magnus York said, watching the pair.
"But itâs also pretty stupid. Taking on a Mutant Tiger with just two people? How is that possible?"
Eryx Rhodes readied the rocket launcher in his hands.
He was a Space Superpower User, and these were his weapons. He was now preparing to fire.
However, when he started to look for his target through the scope, he froze.
In the distance, a forest of towering stone pillars had appeared out of nowhere.
The woman from before was standing steadily on the highest pillar. The sand and stone under her Control formed into sharp blades that shot downward at high speed!
A heaven-shaking wail echoed out.
The Diamond Sand Spikes had hit the Mutant Tigerâs back.
BANG!
The Mutant Tiger struggled and roared, smashing through several Stone Spikes as it lunged violently toward the spot where Nina Jacobs stood!
However, Wayne Warner grabbed its hind leg and forcibly flung it to the side.
The Mutant Tigerâs body was immense, and everyone nearby felt the ground tremble when it landed.
The Diamond Sand once again formed into a long stone blade, which plunged vertically from above into the Mutant Tigerâs neck, sending blood splashing everywhere.
The three people still holding back the other Mutant Tiger in the sandpit also stared at this scene with their mouths agape.
"Itâs dead?"
Ian Nash asked in shock.
"So strong..."
Distracted for a moment, Lily Daltonâs Wood Element Vines were swatted apart by the paw of the Mutant Tiger in the sandpit.
ROAR!
A long tiger tail whipped toward Lily Dalton!
SLICE.
A sharp blade severed the tail just in time, then shot toward the Mutant Tiger in the sandpit!
But the Mutant Tiger was remarkably agile and managed to swat the blade away with its paw.
"Iâll help you!"
Seeing they had a chance, Ian Nash unleashed his Thunder Element Superpower. Blue lightning struck the Mutant Tiger, momentarily paralyzing it.
But this move also enraged the Mutant Tiger. It thrashed wildly, looking as if it was about to break free from the sandpit!