Enraged, the Pikeake charged at Tara, showing none of the cunning demonstrated in their earlier confrontations.
She had no idea if it underestimated her cultivation level. Nonetheless, it made a grave error trying to attack her head-on.
Despite packing a mighty bite, it sacrificed its superior movement to make a damaging attack that she could deal with, but it could not boast near her resilience.
Lost in its bloodlust, the Pikeake made a grave error and paid for it; as soon as the thing charged into her, biting into her flesh, she began tearing into it in a fury. The fish was vulnerable as it locked its jaws around her body. The fish shrieked, trying to shake and tear at her flesh, yet her skin was far more durable than a regular Iron Salamander.
It underestimated the toughness of her physique, which, combined with her regeneration, made her a terrible match for a Pikeake that boasted a vicious attack and excellent manoeuvrability yet had fragile natural defences.
And with the Pikeake being so aggressive, it had left itself in a vulnerable position, leading to a counter-attack, allowing her to bite, claw at it nastily with it unable to gain the leverage to deal further damage to her as she latched onto the fish with her sharp claws digging them across its soft flesh ferociously as the fish soon stilled. Dead.
A notification soon followed.
[You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 647/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]
After the swift confrontation, Tara tore a quick chunk out of the Pikeakes' flesh to fuel her regeneration and continued into the chaotic battle.
Pikeake and Iron Salamanders fought everywhere the eye could see in a mess of blood and gore.
Despite the Iron Salamanders' generally weaker cultivation, they held their own, fighting savagely.
Some of the battles ended up like hers, with the Pikeake sacrificing too much of their superior speed by acting too aggressively with the resilient and rugged Salamanders, which ended up with them getting overwhelmed by the Salamander's frantic, do-or-die tactics.
However, she found that not all Iron Salalanders were as durable as her or regenerated as fast. Her upgrades showed their worth, as she saw many Iron Salamanders being torn to shreds by the superior bite of the Pikeake before they could tire them with their durability.
Many Pikeake continued to make that mistake with her, treating her lower cultivation identically to the same ordinary Iron Salamanders they usually had no trouble tearing apart with their bite. However, they soon discovered she was not the easy prey they envisioned and, like the previous, found themselves torn to shreds.
The notifications went off one by one.
[You have defeated {Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 20 EXP. You are now 707/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]
Tara soon discovered that her straightforward dealing with the Pikakes attracted dangerous attention.
Looking over, she witnessed a terrifying sight. At the most extensive, widest section of the underwater cave formation, a region sizable enough to fit the bulk of the hulking Elder Iron Salamanders. Now, one of the four lay dead, its enormous body torn into large chunks partly covered with frost, the water murky with fluorescent grey blood.
The other three were also under serious threat, with two barely holding back the Sphyrna Pikeake, who seemed to be toying with them as an arrogant, carefree glint emerged in its red eyes.
The final Elder Iron Salamander was currently being ganged up on by the Greater Swamp Pikeakes, barely holding on due to its resilience as it desperately fought them both to avoid the two other Elder Iron Salamanders having to face the monstrous Sphyrna Pikeake in a one-on-one.
She realised there must have been a three-vs-one at the start against the Sphyrna Pikeake, with them attempting to deal with the most significant threat instantly. Yet, despite that advantageous position, the Sphyrna Pikeake was winning overwhelmingly.
The problem came when one of the Greater Pikeakes spotted her dealing with the regular Pikeakes efficiently and, confident that its companion could finish off the gravely injured Elder Iron Salamander, decided to join the battle heading directly for her.
A terrifyingly sizeable shark-like fish swiftly approaching her made it difficult to keep a calm mind, yet the advantage came from the thing completely disregarding her.
It saw her as nothing but a troublesome weakling that was a problem to the regular Pikeakes, so it wanted to make a quick, brutal example out of her.
Yet, she had one card she had not utilised so far, an ability stronger than anything she had demonstrated.
Preparing {Metal Manipulation}, she did everything she could to hold off as long as possible until the gigantic shark opened its absurd maw, intending to swallow the puny salamander in one bite.
However, she was waiting for that as she prepared the metal spike formed of her Qi as quickly as she could, barely forming it to its usual size. She just about fired it directly towards the giant Pikeake, eager gaping maw.
No matter the size of the Greater Pikeake, even with the toughness from its far superior cultivation, its insides were far weaker, and the spear pierced the perfect spot that directly reached its brain.
It was as some may describe as an absurd level of fortune, from the events leading to the Greater Pikeake in treating her so lightly that it would make a grand show to open its maw so widely way before it even reached her to the fact that its swift momentum and large size gave the metallic spike all the force it needed to pierce right through its flesh to the most vulnerable area of its body.
Either way, it led to a complete and utter miracle as a Salamander less than three times its size and half its cultivation had sent an attack powerful enough to fall the horrid Greater Pikeake that tormented this swamp region in a single blow.
And despite its vitality, the death of the beast occurred quickly as Tara's attack utterly destroyed the brain.
[You have defeated {Greater Swamp Pikeake}, gaining 150 EXP. You are now 857/1000 into progressing to Level 4.]
Tara froze in shock at the notification; not even in her wildest imagination did she think it would end so simply; she had almost resigned herself to death seeing the monstrosity approaching her so fast.
However, she was quickly awoken from her stupor as the shark's large body abruptly stilled. Its momentum stopped.
A blank look filled its eyes as it did not even seem to realise its death right until the moment it died.
It was as if its body had stopped, becoming completely limp as it began to still before slowly drifting down to the bottom of the water as the Iron Salamanders and Pikeakes looked on.
For the Pikeakes, who were advantageous in the all-out territory war of beasts, it was a disaster, a blow to their ego and dominance. To the crazed Salamanders, it ignited their battle fervour even more as they began to push back the Pikeakes for the first time slightly.
The momentum of the battle completely changed, and the Iron Salamanders began to look like they had a chance to change the status quo among beasts in this region.
The fight between both sides was always inevitable. The clashing of magical beasts was constant; they always fought for territory dominance and resources.
Yet, though they gained a slight advantage among the bulk of the species, they remained at a significant disadvantage in the battle of the alphas among the species.
The one Elder Salamander facing even odds was doing better against the Greater Pikeake, its regeneration helping to keep it in the fight. Yet, the two against the Sphyrna Pikeake looked on the brink of falling.
Tara knew she had to do something, or the Iron Salamanders were doomed. She was not disillusioned by what would happen if the Pikeakes won, and they decided to hunt down all the Salamanders, including her.
It was then she had a crazy idea.
One that could prove her death sentence; however, the rewards would be gigantic, and she couldn't help but harness the craziness of the Iron Salamanders as a dangerous thought filled her mind.
'Here it goes,' Tara thought, promising to try to return to her rational self if she survived this.
Oh, who was she kidding? Tara never lived like a daredevil, but she was strangely liberated and felt that constantly doing absurd things kept her sane despite being reborn as a Salamander.