whonovel Chapter 139: The Gang Tackle
Chapter 139: The Gang Tackle
The corrupted cheetah lunged, and Xin Yi’s life flashed before her eyes.
It was a surprisingly boring slideshow. Mostly instant noodles, spreadsheets, and that one time she had tried to assemble IKEA furniture. This was how she was going to die? Eaten by a zombie cheetah in a savanna that desperately needed zoning laws?
[Ding!]
[(⊙_⊙) System Notice: Host is about to become Cat Chow. Recommend immediate action!]
No kidding! Xin Yi screamed internally, raising the Bone of Discipline like a baseball bat. She swung desperately—
WHOOOOSH!
A black blur slammed into Su Ye mid-lunge, tackling the corrupted cheetah sideways into a thornbush.
CRACK.
Hei Yan landed in a crouch between Xin Yi and the monster, his chest heaving, bandages hanging loose where Jin Ze’s claws had torn through them earlier. His purple eyes blazed with fury.
"I told you to stay back!" Xin Yi shrieked.
"You told Sha Chen to stay back," Hei Yan corrected, not taking his eyes off the thrashing cheetah. "I am not Sha Chen."
[Ding!]
[(¬_¬) Technicality win! Panther logic for the save!]
Su Ye extracted himself from the thornbush with an otherworldly shriek. His red eyes fixed on Hei Yan, then slid back to Xin Yi, then down to the bleeding cub still whimpering on the ground. Too many targets. Too much hunger.
He lunged again—
"ANKLE BITERS, ATTACK!"
Gou Sheng’s war cry was... not what anyone expected from a life-or-death situation.
The hyenas swarmed Su Ye’s legs like spotted, manic football players. Er Gou latched onto his left ankle. Da Sha clamped onto his right. Gou Sheng went for the kneecap with the enthusiasm of a dog who’d just discovered a new chew toy.
"Awoo! Awoo! BITE! BITE! BITE!" Da Sha chanted, his voice muffled by a mouthful of cheetah calf.
[Ding!]
[(≧▽≦) Strategy: Distract with Chaos. Effectiveness: Questionable. Entertainment Value: Maximum!]
Su Ye stumbled, his corrupted mind unable to process the sudden attack of screaming spotted creatures attached to his lower body.
He kicked violently, sending Er Gou flying into a bush, but Gou Sheng and Da Sha held on like tiny, terrifying parasites.
"Xin Yi! The cub!" Hei Yan shouted.
Right. Kito.
Xin Yi scrambled toward the bleeding cub, her heart cracking at the sight of his small, trembling body. "Kito! Baby, I’m here, I’m here—"
The cub’s golden eyes were glassy with shock, tears streaming down his dirty face. "Th-the cheetah... he... he bit me... it h-hurts..."
"I know, sweetheart, I know." Xin Yi ripped strips from her already-ruined tunic, pressing them against the mangled leg. The blood was terrifyingly bright, too much, too fast.
"You’re going to be okay. You’re a lion, right? Lions are tough. Toughest things in the savanna. Tougher than cheetahs. Tougher than hyenas. Tougher than—"
ROOOOOAR!
The sound shook the trees. Xin Yi looked up to see an tidal wave of golden fur pouring into the clearing.
The lions had arrived.
And not just any lions. The entire Golden Mane tribe. Warriors, mothers, even the elders who hadn’t moved faster than a slow walk in years. They came in a thunderous, roaring tide, their golden eyes blazing with protective fury.
Behind them, limping but determined, came Sha Chen. The Arctic Wolf’s head was still wrapped in blood-stained bandages, but his white eyes were locked on the corrupted cheetah with murderous intent.
"You came," Xin Yi breathed.
"Did you think we would let you face this alone?" Sha Chen growled, leaning heavily on his spear. "I may have a cracked skull, but I can still throw this through something’s face."
[Ding!]
[(★ω★) Pack Unity Achieved! Wolf + Lions + Hyenas = Maximum Mayhem!]
Su Ye, still thrashing with two hyenas attached to his legs, finally managed to shake them loose. Gou Sheng and Da Sha went flying, tumbling into the underbrush with pained yips.
The corrupted cheetah rose to his full height, red eyes scanning the overwhelming force surrounding him.
For a moment, just a moment, something flickered in those eyes.
Recognition? Fear? The ghost of the terrified beastman who had begged for help?
Then the red consumed it again.
He lunged at the nearest lion.
BAD MOVE.
What followed was less a battle and more a... pile. A very aggressive, very loud, very furry pile.
Jin Xuan was the first to tackle, his massive golden form slamming into Su Ye like a furry freight train. "BAD CHEETAH!" he roared, completely missing the gravitas of the situation. "YOU SCARED THE TINY FEMALE! YOU GET THE PILE!"
"GET HIM, BOYS!" Wan Ning bellowed, launching herself into the fray. The massive lioness grabbed one of Su Ye’s flailing arms and pinned it to the ground with her full body weight.
"FOR KITO!" the cub’s mother screamed, jumping on Su Ye’s legs.
"FOR THE STEW!" someone else yelled, and honestly, Xin Yi couldn’t even be mad about the priorities.
"FOR THE BOSS!" Gou Sheng howled, scrambling back into the pile and latching onto whatever body part he could reach.
"FOR HYENA PRIDE!" Er Gou added, though no one knew hyenas had pride.
"FOR CHEWING!" Da Sha contributed, because subtlety was not his strong suit.
The pile grew. Lions piled on top of lions. Hyenas wormed their way between massive golden bodies, nipping at anything that moved.
At one point, Xin Yi spotted an elderly lioness using her walking stick to whack whatever part of Su Ye was visible.
"Stay still, you mangy speed bump!" the elder cackled.
[Ding!]
[(⊙▽⊙) Pile Status: 47 beastmen currently stacked. Su Ye Visibility: 0%. Chaos Level: Apocalyptic!]
Hei Yan stood at the edge of the pile, looking vaguely uncomfortable. "I... do not know where to insert myself."
"Just jump on!" Jin Xuan’s muffled voice came from somewhere in the middle. "There is room by my elbow!"
With a resigned sigh that suggested his dignity was already in shambles, the Panther Alpha leaped onto the writhing mountain of fur and limbs.
THUD.
"OOF—" came several voices at once.
"Who stepped on my tail?!"
"Was that a bite or a kiss?!"
"Someone’s elbow is in my ear!"
"I can’t feel my legs! Which one of you is sitting on my legs?!"
"Every leg in this pile is someone’s leg! Stop complaining!"
Xin Yi stared at the absolute chaos before her, Kito’s bleeding leg momentarily forgotten in her shock. A pile of fifty beastmen, lions, hyenas, one extremely confused panther, was actively trying to smother a corrupted cheetah to death via sheer body mass.
It was the dumbest, most glorious thing she had ever seen.
[Ding!]
[( ꈍᴗꈍ) Achievement Unlocked: The Gang Tackle! Host has witnessed the birth of a new tactical maneuver: ’Overwhelming Cuddle Aggression.’]
"I... I don’t even know what to do with this," Xin Yi whispered.
From beneath the mountain of beastmen, a final, pathetic growl escaped Su Ye. Then....silence.
"Is he dead?" someone asked.
"Pinch him!"
"I can’t reach him, there’s a hyena in my armpit!"
"That’s not an armpit, that’s my face!"
"Then why does it smell like armpit?!"
The pile slowly, painfully, untangled itself. Lions rolled off groaning. Hyenas extracted themselves from unexpected places. Hei Yan emerged looking like he’d been through a war and lost all sense of personal dignity.
And at the bottom, completely unconscious, lay Su Ye.
The corrupted cheetah was out cold. His red eyes were closed, his body limp, and if Xin Yi squinted, she could swear the sickly red glow had dimmed just slightly.
"Did... did we knock the crazy out of him?" Wan Ning asked, panting heavily.
"I think we knocked everything out of him," Jin Xuan replied, rubbing a suspicious bite mark on his arm. "Who bit me? Was it the tiny spotted ones?"
Gou Sheng looked away, whistling innocently. It sounded like a dying bird.
"Boss!" Er Gou yelped, pointing with a trembling claw. "The baby lion! He is very still!"
Xin Yi’s heart stopped.
She whirled around, dropping to her knees beside Kito. The cub’s eyes were closed, his breathing shallow, the makeshift bandages completely soaked through with blood.
"No, no, no," she whispered, pressing fresh cloth against the wound. "Kito! Kito, wake up!"
[Ding!]
[Emergency Medical Alert! Cub vitals dropping! Host requires immediate supplies!]
What do I need?! Xin Yi screamed internally. Tell me what to do!
[Ding! Inventory Access: Healing Herbs (Savanna Mint + Clotting Root) available! Antiseptic properties detected! Administer immediately!]
Xin Yi’s hands flew to her inventory, yanking out the herbs she had gathered what felt like a lifetime ago.
She crushed them between her palms, ignoring the sting of their oils on her torn skin, and pressed the poultice directly onto Kito’s wound.
"Come on, come on," she chanted, tears streaming down her face. "You’re a lion, right? Toughest thing in the savanna? You don’t get to die on me. You don’t get to—"
A tiny whimper.
Kito’s eyes fluttered open. They were hazy, unfocused, but open.
"Pink... lady?" the cub whispered.
Xin Yi let out a sob so violent it shook her entire body. "You’re going to be okay."
She gathered the cub carefully into her arms, cradling him against her chest. His small body was too light, too still, but he was breathing.
The lions crowded around, their earlier chaos forgotten. Kito’s mother reached trembling hands toward her son, tears streaming down her scarred face.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Thank you, tiny female. Thank you for my son."
Xin Yi nodded, letting out a weak smile.
Jin Xuan beamed. "Yes! The tiny female loves us! Can we have the mating ceremony now?"
"Jin Xuan," Xin Yi sighed, cuddling Kito closer, "I will personally pile every lion in this savanna on top of you if you don’t shut up."
The Lion Prince’s eyes lit up. "That sounds like a promise!"
[Ding!]
[(≧▽≦) Mission Complete! Host has survived zombie cheetah, witnessed the greatest gang tackle in Beast World history, and saved a baby!]
[New Quest Unlocked: What the Heck Do We Do With Two Corrupted Beastmen Now?]
[Reward: Continued existence! Probably!]