Rebirth of the Last Survivor

Elimination

The rat-man leader had killed the Striped Giant Tiger.

“That’s impossible!” Lin Yue was shocked. This completely exceeded his imagination. How could a 1.2-meter-tall rat-man kill a five-meter-long tiger? Even if it had activated all its hundred jelly bodies, it shouldn’t have been possible.

“No, I can’t let it escape!” Lin Yue suddenly snapped out of it. He immediately looked around, trying to find any trace of the rat-man leader. Soon, he spotted a large pool of blood on a smashed tree trunk. “It’s injured!”

From the various marks on the ground, Lin Yue quickly pieced together what had happened. The rat-man leader had likely activated all its jelly bodies, then used hit-and-run tactics, continuously stabbing the tiger with its spears until it exhausted and killed it. But during the struggle, it had seemingly been struck by the tiger, smashing into a tree trunk and injuring itself.

“Injured, it can’t have gone far.” Lin Yue roughly judged that the rat-man was most likely to return to the cave, since its young were there. With that thought, Lin Yue immediately rushed toward the cave.

Now was the best time to kill the rat-man leader. It had already depleted the Energy Storage Acid from nearly all its jelly bodies, was injured, and had lost all its subordinates. So Lin Yue had to kill it now. Otherwise, once it escaped, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Soon, Lin Yue reached the cave. The area was already in ruins. Lin Yue stepped over the scattered debris and carefully entered.

Inside the cave, three baby rat-men lay in a nest of grass, wailing. Lin Yue looked around but didn’t see the rat-man leader. “Impossible—did it go to find other rat-men?”

He searched carefully again but still found nothing. Then he approached the three babies and raised his knife to strike them down. These three had to be eliminated. They couldn’t be tamed, and Lin Yue certainly wouldn’t let them go free. Killing them was the only option.

In his past life, people had tried to tame rat-men, but all failed. Rat-men had strong racial identity and autonomy—they would never submit to humans. Raising them would only put oneself in danger.

But just as Lin Yue was about to strike, he suddenly felt danger approaching from behind. He quickly dodged left and retreated three steps. A wooden spear whistled past and embedded itself in the rock wall.

Startled, Lin Yue looked left. The rat-man leader stood at the cave entrance, its eyes bloodshot, glaring at Lin Yue.

The rat-man leader had appeared. It turned out that after killing the tiger, it had immediately returned to the cave to check on its young. Finding them safe, it had scouted around the cave, trying to find its subordinates. After finding none, it came back. Just as it reached the cave entrance, it saw Lin Yue about to kill its babies. Enraged, it hurled a spear.

Recognizing the attacker as the rat-man leader, Lin Yue’s mind raced. “By now, its jelly bodies are probably almost depleted. It would take a day or two to recover. With my current strength, dealing with the rat-man leader should be possible.”

Having made his decision, Lin Yue moved quickly. Before the rat-man leader could enter the cave, he stepped forward, scooped up the three babies, and held his knife against them, threatening the leader. He was confident that with the leader’s intelligence, it would understand his intention.

Sure enough, seeing Lin Yue hold its young, the rat-man leader roared furiously but dared not act rashly. It just glared at Lin Yue with bloodshot eyes, trying to intimidate him. If looks could kill, Lin Yue would have died a thousand times. But Lin Yue ignored the leader’s fiery glare and stepped closer.

Seeing Lin Yue ignore its threats and approach step by step, the leader had no choice but to step back.

Lin Yue’s intention was clear: first get out of the cave, then fight. In such a narrow space, he couldn’t use his full strength. But the rat-man leader seemed to see through him. It suddenly lunged forward, baring its sharp teeth at Lin Yue’s neck.

The leader was incredibly fast. Lin Yue barely reacted before it was right in front of him. There was no time to retreat or dodge. So he had no choice but to release one baby, raise his knife to block the leader’s teeth.

A *clang* rang out. Lin Yue staggered back three steps before steadying himself. The leader charged again. Lin Yue knew it was bad and dodged quickly. He was now a hundred percent sure the leader still had some jelly bodies left, or it wouldn’t be so fast.

Under the leader’s fierce assault, Lin Yue could only retreat awkwardly. He gave up on the babies entirely, hoping to draw the leader’s attention, and ran out of the cave.

After weighing his options, Lin Yue didn’t leave immediately. He was confident the leader had few remaining jelly bodies. In the cave, he couldn’t maneuver. Outside, with open space, he was sure he could win.

The leader stayed inside for a while before coming out—probably to secure its young. Lin Yue wasn’t worried. He had been watching the entrance. It couldn’t get out. When it finally emerged, it was still furious. It wanted nothing more than to destroy the despicable creature who had killed its entire tribe and tried to kill its young.

“I know you can’t understand me, but I’ll say it anyway,” Lin Yue said, staring at the leader and slowly shifting his stance, ready to strike. “Your rat-men attacked us first and killed our comrades. So don’t blame me for wiping you out. I know rat-men hold grudges. But remember, we humans aren’t pushovers either. When it comes to vengeance, we’re far ahead of you.”

The leader had no idea what Lin Yue was mumbling about, but that didn’t stop it from replying. It glared at him and screeched. And so the human and the rat-man began cursing each other. After thoroughly insulting each other’s families, they began to fight.

Clearly, the leader still had some jelly bodies left. It was extremely fast, and Lin Yue could barely keep up. After several exchanges, he had several claw marks on his arms and shoulders. If not for his agility, he would have been bitten by now.

As time passed, the leader’s attacks weakened. It grew slower. Lin Yue guessed its Energy Storage Acid was almost gone. He seized the moment, stepped forward, and thrust his knife at its neck. Just before the knife struck, the leader suddenly sped up, dodged, and opened its jaws toward Lin Yue’s neck.

“Damn—it was faking! It still has energy left!” Lin Yue knew it was bad, but with his thrusting posture still unretracted, he couldn’t block it. All he could do was watch its foul-smelling jaws approach rapidly.

In the critical moment, Lin Yue didn’t hesitate. Using his combat experience, he leaned forward with the thrust, twisted his body, and fell backward, narrowly dodging the attack.

He didn’t stay on the ground. The leader had already turned and pounced again. Lin Yue rolled twice, dodged, then jumped and side-kicked the leader’s head.

With a *screech* of pain, the leader was kicked two or three meters away. When it got up, it staggered, shaking its head. Lin Yue’s kick had clearly dazed it. Rat-men, due to their small size, had more fragile bodies than humans. If they couldn’t use jelly bodies to protect themselves, a heavy kick could seriously injure them.

Lin Yue didn’t wait to see if the leader was faking. He sprang up, raising his knife to finish it. Blinded by Lin Yue’s kick, the leader couldn’t see clearly. Hearing noise nearby, it panicked and retreated.

Noticing this detail, Lin Yue knew the leader wasn’t faking—it was truly at the end. After his missed strike, he pressed his advantage, stepping closer. He feinted with his knife, stabbing repeatedly at the leader’s head to occupy it, then, seeing its lower body unguarded, swept his left leg out, tripping it.

The leader felt the ground disappear and slammed down. At that moment, its vision cleared, only to see a blade descending toward its face.

*Squelch!* Blood splattered. Lin Yue’s knife was driven precisely into the rat-man leader’s head.