196 Chapter 196: Close call

'An entire horde of them'

Hazel gulped as her brain immediately went into thinking about escape plans. She was confident in dealing with one saber tooth tiger, not the entire horde of them. 

Pursing her lips, she took a step back to hear a low growl -warning her. Gulping, Hazel turned back and saw another horde of saber tooth tigers behind her led by a slightly smaller tiger compared to the huge saber-tooth tiger in front of her.

'Female' she thought before turning to the front to see the leader glaring at her. Well, she assumed it was the leader as it was the one leading the horde. What she saw next, literally made her heart fall to its pits.

The leader sniffed near the dead sabertooth tiger, nudging it with its nose, growling softly. Hazel felt like she was being drowned in cold water as the leader nudged the dead tiger with its nose. 

'It must be his cub' 

The leader saber tooth tiger stiffened for a second before it raised its nose to the sky and roared thunderously. Hazel's eyes immediately went towards her dagger which was still buried inside the body.

She was sure now she wouldn't be able to get it back. Clenching her fists, she glanced around for an escape when her eyes focused on the narrow gap between the tigers. Right after the leader roared, the horde simultaneously roared giving her a chance to escape.

Before the horde would turn to her, she made the run for it as she dashed towards the opposite direction of the narrow space. Two saber tooth tigers snarled as it leaped towards her. Hazel put a brake on her steps and bent down making the two tigers who had leaped towards her crash against each other like boulders crashing against each other.

Hazel swiftly turned around and dashed towards the wide gap formed between the tigers. Her lips lifted when she heard their angry cries before growls and snarls played behind her. Her smile fell when she realized that they were closing in. She focused on avoiding the branches as she thought of better ways to escape their eyes. 

Her speed was already at its limits but it wasn't enough to outdo the beasts. Gritting her teeth, she dashed looking around for a sign when she noticed the sharp branches. Without another thought, she broke the branch as she dashed forward. 

She collected the sharp end branches as she dodged through the trees. Her eyes widened when she saw a tree fallen across the path, blocking her way. She narrowed her eyes as she rushed forward and skid beneath the tree while a shadow leaped over her. 

Hazel let out a breath when she heard the sound of a stream somewhere ahead of her. She picked up her pace as she wanted to reach the stream and jump over it to escape this chase. As she ran blindly, her body earned a lot of cuts, some of which went deep as the thorns on the branch pierced her skin.

She glanced behind her and almost missed her step when she saw the horde catching up with her. Her eyes noticed one of the tigers running adjacent to her making her frown. She covered her arm with fire as she dodged the branches. 

Suddenly, the tiger leaped out at her with its mouth wide open. Hazel leaped up into the air and twisted in the air before slamming her fist on its skull. The tiger shuddered under her pressure before it buckled down on the ground. Hazel didn't stop for a second as she jumped aside and continued running.

The horde behind her ignored the tiger as it gave a chase after her. Their growls grew louder making her lips twitch. Hazel didn't know where she was or whether she was still in the outer regions. 

She didn't want to enter the inner regions and counter dangerous beasts at this moment. Her eyes looked for a red line as she passed making sure to not cross the line. When the snarls grew near, Hazel looked up at the long thick trees with determined eyes. 

She jumped on the tree, right when a saber-tooth leaped at her. Her heart ran frantically when she saw the angered saber tooth tiger. If she was a minute later, her head would have been in his mouth. 

Shaking her head, she leaped from tree to tree all the while noticing the mass of saber tooth tigers below her growling at her. She could guess from their stance that they don't plan on letting her go easily. 

As she jumped from a tree, her feet slid from the branch making her curse. Her eyes widened when she noticed the gathering of saber tooth tigers waiting around the foot of the tree. Closing her eyes, she reached out and tried to catch a branch. 

Finally, she caught a branch but she was just a little above the ground making it easier for the saber tooth tiger to jump at her. Her eyes widened as she immediately clasped her injured arm on the branch and swung forward, performing a handstand on the branch, narrowly escaping the teeth. 

Hazel furrowed her brows as her injured arm bleed increasingly. She gritted her teeth as she watched the sabertooth tigers leaping at her, to get a bite. Narrowing her eyes, she swung down and jumped. 

Her feet touched the ground as she rolled and stood up before the sabertooth tigers had the chance to react. Her eyes widened when she suddenly dodged and used the branch she strapped on her waist to slash at the tiger's belly above her head. 

Before she had the chance to run, another saber-tooth tiger leaped at her making her fall to the ground. She groaned loudly when its teeth sank into her bleeding arm as she blocked its teeth from her face. Gritting her teeth, she used her feet to push the beast off her. She hurriedly turned around and nailed its paws to the ground with her branch making the tiger snarl. 

Taking another branch, she slashed at its face before burying it in the neck. Hazel hurriedly scurried to her feet when she saw the others catching up and ran towards in a direction blindly. 

As she was distracted from the tiger's attacks, she didn't notice the red line she had crossed.

Clutching her painful arm, she grimaced at the blood on her hands. Her attention was drifted towards the emerald ring on her finger making her face soften.

'It was supposed to be a good day'

Remembering his face, she realized a scary truth. The roars of the sabertooth tiger would have been loud enough to wake him up.

'Shit... I hope he doesn't come in search of me' she thought desperately as she ran forward hopelessly.

Seeing the path empty with nothing but trees, her hope was dwindling. 

'Would I die here?'

She frowned as she stopped by a tree to catch her breath. Her body was moving in empty fuel making it hard for her to throw them off her trail. With her injury, she was damn tired.

Suddenly, her ears perked up when she heard the soft ripples of the stream. Her eyes brightened up as she regained some energy.

'I will survive this and come back to you, Usui."

Before she could move, she saw a shadow from the corner of her eyes and shifted her body to the side. Her eyes widened when she recognized the female saber tooth.

It snarled at her with its paws spread on the ground.

She gritted her teeth as she faced the tiger who was already growling at her. Her hands went towards her pouch and gripped the last branch up her sleeve. She frowned as she looked at the tiger hoping the branch to be strong enough to kill this one.

Hazel mustered fireballs at the tiger which swiftly dodged her attacks and approached her agilely.

From the movements, she could make out that the tiger was more powerful than the previous ones she encountered. Hazel held her dress and tore a fabric from the bottom before wrapping it around her arm. She tied her arm securely with the fabric and held the ends by her teeth.

She dashed forth to attack the tiger which dodged her attacks and returned with its attack. Hazel was agile in her movements as she dodged her paws and tried her best to slash her. The tiger avoided 

her attacks and focused on her injured arm making her clench her jaw.

When Hazel dodged one of the tiger's attacks and moved out of the way, she didn't notice another tiger sneaking behind her. Hazel looked up just in time to see the sneaking sabertooth tiger leap at her with its mouth open to bite her head off.