Zhao barely had time to process the massive shadow plummeting from the heights before his survival instincts launched him into a desperate flutter to one side.
Death brushed past his left shoulder.
The body of the Cat Bear, an enormous creature 20 meters tall, crashed into the ground with an impact that made the earth tremble.
"Damned cursed luck!" hissed Zhao, canceling his silent flight while moving away from the crater the creature had created.
The massive feline rose slowly, golden blood dripping from multiple wounds. The marks of pincers and perforations in its fur told the story of the recent lost encounter against the hunting trees.
It had escaped, but barely.
The wounds were showing a desperate struggle. Deep gouges where the trees' specialized appendages and massive claws had found purchase, puncture wounds and patches of missing fur where the sharp beaks had pierced through its natural armor.
