Chapter 605 Crimson Cave Saber Tiger
The sight before them looked almost ordinary.
A campfire.
People laughing.
Music drifting through the trees.
The horses grazing peacefully near the edge of the clearing.
If not for everything that had happened over the last hour, Liam might have believed it himself.
Instead, his eyes remained fixed on the scene without blinking.
Something was wrong.
He just didn’t know what yet.
Without taking his eyes off the clearing, he quietly raised one hand.
"Stay here."
Nobody argued.
Tatiana glanced at him but said nothing. She knew that look. Whenever Liam wore that expression, it meant his instincts were screaming louder than his words.
"I’m just going to take a closer look."
His voice remained calm.
"If anything happens..."
He smiled faintly.
"...you’ll know."
Before anyone could respond, Liam stepped out from behind the trees and slowly walked toward the clearing.
Every step was careful.
Measured.
His senses stretched outward in every direction.
The laughter around the camp continued.
Someone raised another mug.
A woman spun around the fire while another group clapped along with the music.
Everything looked...
Perfect.
Too perfect.
Liam narrowed his eyes.
Then...
His foot landed on the grass.
He stopped.
Something immediately felt wrong.
He slowly shifted his weight.
The sensation beneath his boots wasn’t what it should have been.
Grass should bend.
It should feel uneven.
Soft.
Slightly damp from the evening dew.
Instead...
The ground felt...
Smooth.
Almost polished.
Like walking across cold stone hidden beneath a thin layer of air.
Liam’s expression changed.
"...An illusion."
The realization flashed through his mind almost instantly.
The scenery hadn’t fooled his eyes.
It had fooled every other sense.
His heartbeat remained steady.
Without moving another step, every passive ability within his body instinctively awakened.
Aether Sense silently spread through the surroundings like invisible ripples, searching every corner of the area for hidden life and abnormal mana fluctuations.
Combat Prediction sharpened his perception, instinctively reading every subtle movement around him before they even happened.
His muscles relaxed.
Not because he felt safe.
Because they were preparing to move.
It didn’t even take two seconds.
A violent fluctuation burst beneath his feet.
"There."
Liam’s pupils contracted.
Behind the trees, everyone watched in confusion.
Why had he suddenly stopped?
Why wasn’t he moving?
Then...
Without warning...
Liam disappeared.
He threw himself sideways with explosive speed.
BOOM!!
The ground where he had been standing exploded with deafening force.
Rock fragments erupted into the air as something massive burst upward from below.
The peaceful clearing...
Shattered.
The dancing people dissolved into streams of mana.
The campfire vanished.
The music stopped.
The horses disappeared.
The surrounding forest twisted like broken glass before crumbling apart into countless glowing fragments.
The illusion had been destroyed.
Tatiana’s eyes widened.
"...What?"
The entire landscape had changed.
There was no clearing.
No celebration.
No camp.
Instead...
A gigantic cavern stretched beneath the earth.
Jagged stone walls surrounded Liam from every direction while countless glowing crystals embedded within the rock illuminated the enormous chamber with pale blue light.
The opening where Liam stood connected directly to the outside forest.
Everyone else remained beyond it.
Standing outside.
Liam...
Was inside.
Tatiana’s breathing caught.
"Liam!"
Before anyone could move...
Something growled.
A deep vibration rolled through the cavern, causing loose stones to tumble from the ceiling.
Then another growl answered from the opposite side.
Two enormous figures slowly emerged from the darkness.
The first stepped forward.
It resembled a tiger.
Only...
Everything about it was wrong.
It stood nearly three meters tall at the shoulder, its body covered in thick black fur streaked with crimson markings that glowed faintly beneath the crystal light. Muscles rippled beneath its skin with every movement while enormous saber-like fangs extended past its lower jaw. Each paw was the size of a wagon wheel, ending in claws long enough to slice through solid rock.
Its yellow eyes never left Liam.
Then...
The second beast emerged behind him.
This one was even larger.
Its breathing alone echoed throughout the cavern.
The two monsters slowly circled.
One blocking the entrance.
The other cutting off every path deeper inside.
Tatiana felt her face lose color.
"He’s boxed in..."
For one brief second...
Fear gripped her heart.
Then...
She remembered who they were talking about.
A small smile slowly appeared.
"...We’re talking about Liam."
She folded her arms.
"He’ll beat the hell out of those things."
At almost the same moment...
A familiar voice echoed inside Liam’s mind.
Ding!
══════════════════════════════════════
[Omniscient Eye Activated]
══════════════════════════════════════
Target Identified
Race: Crimson Cave Saber Tiger
Classification: Elite Cave Predator
Strengths:
* Exceptional physical strength.
* Extremely durable hide.
* Explosive burst speed.
* Powerful night vision.
* Highly coordinated hunting instincts.
Weaknesses:
* Eyes vulnerable to high-speed precision attacks.
* Lower jaw possesses reduced defensive capability.
* Neck joints become exposed during lunging attacks.
* Poor resistance against overwhelming blunt force.
══════════════════════════════════════
Liam smiled.
"So that’s what you are."
The tiger nearest the entrance roared.
The sound shook the entire cavern.
Without hesitation, it lunged.
The ground exploded beneath its paws as the gigantic beast crossed the distance almost instantly, its enormous claws slicing toward Liam’s chest with enough force to split a carriage in half.
Liam didn’t move.
Not immediately.
Combat Prediction had already shown him the attack before it happened.
The moment the claws reached him...
He tilted his body half a step.
The claws tore through empty air.
The tiger’s eyes widened.
Too late.
Liam’s fist shot forward.
It wasn’t flashy.
It was simply...
A punch.
CRACK!!
The impact shattered the beast’s lower jaw.
Bone fragments burst outward as its enormous head violently twisted sideways.
Before its body even hit the ground...
Liam grabbed one of its saber fangs.
His muscles tightened.
Then...
He lifted.
The monster weighing several tons left the ground as though it were made of paper.
Tatiana blinked.
"...Seriously?"
Liam swung the beast overhead.
Then slammed it into the cavern floor.
BOOOOOOM!!
The impact created a crater several meters wide.
Shockwaves raced across the cavern as countless cracks spread through the stone beneath them.
The tiger let out a painful roar.
Liam didn’t give it time.
He grabbed its neck.
Lifted it again.
Then smashed it into the opposite wall.
CRAAASH!!
Solid stone collapsed inward.
Dust filled the cavern.
The beast attempted to stand.
Liam was already there.
His knee drove directly into its skull.
CRACK!!
The entire head caved inward.
The gigantic body twitched once...
Then went completely still.
Silence.
One punch.
Two slams.
One knee.
Dead.
The second tiger roared furiously.
It charged from behind.
Its massive jaws opened wide enough to swallow Liam’s entire upper body.
Liam didn’t even turn.
Aether Sense had tracked it from the moment it moved.
Just before the jaws closed...
He vanished.
[Dragon Step.]
His body became a blur.
The tiger bit nothing but empty air.
Before it could recover...
Liam appeared above it.
His heel crashed downward like a falling mountain.
BOOOOOOM!!
The tiger’s skull smashed into the cavern floor with terrifying force.
Stone erupted in every direction.
The beast struggled wildly.
Its claws tore massive trenches through solid rock.
It twisted violently before swinging one enormous paw backward.
Liam caught it.
One hand.
Everyone outside froze.
The tiger pushed.
Every muscle in its body bulged.
Liam didn’t move an inch.
He sighed.
"...You’re surprisingly weak."
He squeezed.
CRUNCH!!
The beast’s foreleg exploded inside his grip.
Bone burst through flesh as the tiger screamed in agony.
Before the roar had even finished...
Liam stepped forward.
His fist buried itself deep into the creature’s exposed neck.
The impact punched completely through.
Blood erupted across the cavern walls.
The tiger collapsed.
Its enormous body hit the ground with enough force to shake the entire cave.
Then...
Nothing.
Complete silence.
Liam casually shook the blood from his hand before looking around the cavern as though wondering whether there was supposed to be more.
Outside...
Nobody spoke.
Irina stared at the two enormous corpses.
Leonid quietly exhaled.
Agatha blinked several times.
Even Mary looked speechless.
Tatiana simply smiled.
"...I told you."
No one argued with her.
Because what they had just witnessed...
Wasn’t a fight.
It was complete domination.