“Riley, try to harass it from behind. Don’t fight Karina head-on. If it's going after you, don’t run in a straight line; try to duck under her body if it gets too close,” Arthur whispered to his bond.

Arthur knows that Karina is smart. If he said it out loud, the tiger would have made a plan to counter him. While he knows the tiger probably can still hear him due to how high its cultivation is, he hopes it will act as if it did not hear it since it's supposed to act as a 1st tier Spirit Animal.

‘I’m not as strong or as fast as the others. Riley is just not strong or fast enough to give me a substantial boost, but I believe my agility is not that bad. I should try to dodge instead of blocking it,’ he thought, as blocking something way stronger than himself is a recipe for broken bones.

Arthur was wearing the metal bracer he got from Layla, but he was not using the katana this time; instead, he used a wooden sword. While the bracer might be strong enough to block Karina's attack, which it tries to keep on the 1st tier Spirit Animal level, Arthur's body is just not strong enough.

‘The bracer will hold, but my arm will break.’

On the other hand, Riley, his rat bond, might have grown since before, especially after eating the meat Layla provided at her place, but it's only as big as a cat at this point. It's unrealistic for Arthur to hope it can hold Karina like Little Orange did.

‘As expected, it's coming after me,’ Arthur thought as Karina ran at him.

Riley was already ten meters away, putting some distance between them after Arthur instructed it. They did not want to be in the same place when Karina arrived.

‘Now that I have a giant Tiger pouncing at me, I can relate to why Stevan got scared!’ Arthur steeled his mind as claws and maw came toward him.

He could basically see the Tiger trying to get a bite at him, as instructed by its owner.

With a quick jump to the side, Arthur barely dodged the giant Tiger. He rolled on the ground and did not stop as the Tiger pivoted and pounced at him once more.

Arthur already knew that it can quickly adjust its direction the moment its feet touch the ground, pouncing at its target from watching the others fight the tiger.

‘I need to dodge but not too far, just enough for me to dodge but not enough distance for it to leap at me again.’

It was easier said than done, but luckily for him, his partner did not keep him waiting. Riley jumped at Karina from behind, trying to bite its hind leg.

The white tiger aborted its attack and dodged the ambush, before swiping at where the rat was with its foreleg after it turned around, but the rat scurried away, causing the swipe to hit the air.

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‘Chance!’ Arthur, who had recovered from his dodging motion, took the opportunity to leap at the tiger’s exposed behind.

Surprisingly or not so surprisingly, the tiger just took a small step aside, dodging the attack from its blind spot.

His failed attempt to hit his target caused Arthur to overextend. By the time he recovered, the tiger’s paw was already coming toward him.

Arthur could only cross his arm in front of him, thanks to his Fast Hands Trait, while he tried to adjust his body as well, but he did not have enough time. Karina would push him to the ground, and he would lose just like that.

Of course, that would happen if he was alone, but the rat was not idle at the moment. It jumped at the Tiger’s tail, biting it. This caused the Tiger to reel, knocking Arthur aside instead of pinning him down.

Karina did not actually feel pain, but she is acting as a Spirit Animal at the moment, and she did her job perfectly by doing that.

The tiger swung its tail, trying to throw the rat off, but Riley held its tail and bit harder. Unable to shake the latching rat, Karina tried to chase after it, running at its own tail.

Arthur took the opportunity to stand from the ground; his arms ached from blocking the attack but were not broken.

‘I guess I’m visiting the healer again after this.’

Unable to reach its own tail, Karina stopped circling around and swung its tail to the ground, forcing the rat to let go, or it would hit the ground.

Karina kept its focus on the rat, pouncing at it as it scurried around. Riley dove under the tiger's belly, dancing between its limbs.

Arthur did not want to give the tiger a chance to catch his bond; he came at it from the side, using an overhead swing with his sword, aiming toward the neck.

The rat tried to scratch and bite at Karina’s legs, but it ignored the rat, as it could only do minor damage in a real fight against a 1st tier Spirit Animal of Karina's size.

With a slight movement, it dodged the sword coming for its neck, then swiped at Arthur's side with its foreleg, sending him to the ground, which caused him to drop his sword.

‘That hurts! I guess this is it,’ Arthur thought as he tried to crawl away. With a quick glance, he could see the tiger's maw coming toward him from behind.

Karina had made sure to hold back enough not to break his bones, but the pain of being swatted to the ground was still not light.

Arthur was waiting for the tiger to sink its teeth or press him with its paw to secure its victory, like it did with the others, but a second passed, and nothing happened.

‘Huh?’ he looked back in confusion.

Karina was looking under its legs, while Riley was standing on its hind legs, holding the sword Arthur dropped with its forelegs and pressing it against the Tiger’s chest, where the heart is supposed to be.

Arthur flopped to the ground. The fight was finally over, and he could rest.

‘I only wanted to score a hit; I did not expect to win,’ he thought while catching his breath.

Layla was silent, along with the other recruits. They did not expect that the rat would make such a comeback. It waited for when the tiger was about to claim its prize and let its guard down, then used the fallen weapon to attack a vital spot.

“Sergeant, does that mean I win?” Arthur asked with a smile.

While it's questionable whether the rat has enough strength to push the sword through the heart, it technically was a fatal strike.

Layla gritted her teeth; she did not like the cheeky grin on his face.

“What win? Aren’t you ashamed to be carried by a rat! Your bond basically gives you the win! It saved you multiple times while you almost got yourself killed each time!” She refuted him.