“Growl?”
The enlarged cat let out a low hum, looking at Anis in confusion.
“Wait, I have a plan. Maybe we can avoid a direct confrontation with it.”
“Purr?”
Mimi let out another soft whimper from its throat, as if saying its body was like steel and it wasn’t afraid of being hit.
“No, even if you are powerful after growing large, it would still break my heart if you got hit. Do as I say first.”
“Meow…”
Mimi lay down and listened to Anis’s proposal.
The two of them split up. Mimi went back down the mountain to find dry firewood near the miners’ dwellings, while Anis scouted the perimeter of the cave to look for other possible exits.
“This is the only entrance. It looks like we’re fine.”
The girl and the cat reunited. After the big cat piled the dry firewood at the cave entrance, Anis pulled out her wand.
“Flame, please.”
A faint flicker of fire danced at the tip of the wand. Anis gently placed it among the kindling, and the fire ignited instantly. The rising black smoke made Anis frown, her eyes stinging.
“Mimi, blow the air inside!”
“Meow!”
The cat turned into a living blower, forcing the thick black smoke into the cave.
The beast’s snoring soon turned into uncomfortable roars, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps rushing toward the entrance.
“Step aside! When it comes out, ram it!”
“Meow!”
The girl and the cat stood on opposite sides. Mimi arched its back, eyes fixed on the entrance, ready to pounce at any moment.
In contrast, Anis’s hand holding the wand shook slightly. Her heart rate accelerated, and even taking several deep breaths didn’t help.
‘Calm down, calm down…’
*Crash!*
While she was cheering herself on, a dark, massive object suddenly burst out of the cave entrance!
The burning wood pile was scattered. The flaming sticks flew several meters through the air before landing on the snow and quickly extinguishing.
Anis shielded her eyes with one hand, peering through the gaps to see the big fellow clearly. It was a black bear, taller than a human and nearly 3 meters long, with a ferocious expression!
The soot-covered black bear’s eyes were blood-red. It was already furious from the smoke treatment, and its roar shook the snowy mountain!
“Growl!”
Mimi showed no fear upon seeing this giant. The moment the massive creature emerged, Mimi pounced directly, slamming into its side!
*Thud!*
The sound of two hard objects colliding vibrated against Anis’s eardrums. The enlarged Mimi was no longer just a cat that could only meow; its fur, stiff as steel needles, struck the bear’s hide with a tough sound.
Anis was now certain that the bear’s fur had indeed been reinforced by Magic Crystal Ore. Even Mimi’s steel-needle fur couldn’t pierce it!
“Growl!”
The recovered giant bear was also completely enraged. The two beasts grappled together, their claws and fangs repeatedly crossing. Blood splattered, and the forest trembled under their roars. For a moment, it was impossible to tell who would win.
Anis clearly saw blood flowing from Mimi’s mouth. It was injured.
The original plan was for her to use fire and smoke to injure the bear’s eyes. When it rushed out of the cave, Mimi would launch a fatal sneak attack from the side, which would significantly weaken the opponent’s combat power.
She didn’t expect her plan to fail. The bear’s defensive power was beyond her assessment.
She raised her wand and aimed at the black bear. Her cat was currently biting and clawing at the opponent, so she had to be extremely careful, or she would hurt Mimi.
“ICE SPIKE!”
An ice spike appeared in the air. Anis swung her wand with force, and the sharp ice spike accurately pierced the black bear’s left eye. Black blood sprayed into the sky.
The intense pain caused the black bear to lose its ability to attack briefly. It rolled on the ground in agony, its two paws clutching the ice spike as it tried to pull it out.
But this was no different from secondary damage. The wound wouldn’t stop bleeding, and the painful roar was deafening!
“Even if your fur is as hard as steel, your eyes are unprotected!” Anis raised her voice and shouted to Mimi, “Mimi! Claw its remaining eye!”
“Growl!”
Receiving the command, Mimi struck quickly. Its right paw opened, revealing five blade-like sharp claws, and it struck the black bear’s remaining eye!
Blood gushed out once again. The blinded black bear fell into a complete frenzy, pouncing and scratching wildly at its surroundings. Finally, it charged straight in a certain direction!
As luck would have it, this direction was exactly where Anis was standing!
“ROAR — “
The black bear’s roar was like a ringing death knell. The fear of death flooded Anis’s heart. She quickly tried to run to the side to dodge, but her legs were shaking with fear. Instead of running away, she tripped and fell on the spot!
Mimi followed in pursuit, but it was too late. If this continued, Anis would only have one path: death.
‘Stupid legs, move!’
Anis pinched her weak, powerless legs. As long as she rolled to the side, she could resolve this crisis, but at this moment, a crazy thought surged in her heart.
As the saying goes, the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish.
The black bear was full of treasures; almost every inch of its body could be sold for a good price. Especially its heart—it was one of the essential materials for brewing high-purity Mana Stability Potions. If she were to buy it elsewhere, the price would be astronomical!
This guy had only been blinded and hadn’t received a fatal blow yet. If it escaped and hid here, it would definitely be a significant loss!
She couldn’t let it escape.
The crazy thought caused Anis’s adrenaline to start secreting wildly. She briefly overcame her fear of death, stood up, and raised her wand.
“Growl!”
Chasing from behind, Mimi was panicked when it saw its master’s bold actions. Its four limbs were already running at their limit, and though it was getting closer to the target, there was still a distance to close!
‘Calm down, calm down. There’s only one chance…’
The wand in Anis’s hand glowed with a faint azure light. The black bear’s giant mouth, dripping with blood and gaping like a black hole, opened wide. She could even smell its foul, bloody stench.
“ICE ARROW!”
An elongated, sharp ice arrow made of magic sped toward the black bear’s mouth like it had been shot from a bow!
The arrow tip pierced the black bear’s upper palate, penetrated the skin, and went through the skull until a point of light appeared at the back of the bear’s head. The massive creature crashed to the ground!
The moment the black bear fell, it kicked up a large cloud of snowflakes. These snowflakes floating in the air showered Anis. A few playful flakes seemed to crawl into her bandaged wound. The blood stained the gauze red, and a surge of pain made her let out a soft groan.
“Ugh… it hurts…”
Anis knelt on the ground, clutching her left eye. Was it because the movement just now was too large, causing the wound to rip open?
“Meow!”
Mimi ran to Anis’s side, its gaze urgent and full of worry.