Tatical

Liu Xue told the little fox that he had a plan.

He, in fact, did not have a plan. He wanted to come up with one, but he was too busy dodging the ferocious swipes and snaps of the bear's claws. He was no genius: he could not multitask, especially not when adrenaline pumped through his veins with every breath. All of his brain power went into his senses, perceiving, reacting, predicting the bear's every move.

The bear was no ordinary black bear. Though he was aware that it was nearly three meters long with razor-sharp teeth and claws and a wide wingspan, he was not prepared for it. The first strike of the bear almost sent him to the history books with Marie-Antoinette: the muscle fibers of his neck doused with so much cold fright, he felt he was already decapitated. The beast was big. It was strong. But it was slow. He needed keep his muscles tense at all times to narrowly avoid the slashes through the air.

He tumbled away after the first strike, falling hard, rolling through the sand. His glasses crinkled, pushed into his eyes, obstructing his vision. He quickly scampered upwards and jumped to the left, crashing into the sand again.

The bear roared from afar, clearly deeply peeved at its missed attacks. It stomped forwards.

Liu Xue did not have the time to brush himself clean. He forced the stumbling away and stood firm, this time agilely turning, sidestepping the bear's third strike. As the bear recovered from the missed attack, he seized the opportunity and lunged forwards. His eyes scanned the bear's body for the best point of attack.

"Mi!" Xiao Bai cried out as he was deliberating in the milliseconds.

His mind decided instantly and tightened the small hunting dagger clutched tightly in both his hand. "Got it! The dry wounds!"

The bear roared in pain at the blade pierced the scabbing on its flank, but its fury only grew stronger. It rose to its hind legs, swinging its massive paw around, catching him completely off guard on the side. With the hunting dagger left wedged in the bear, he was thrown sprawling through the air, landing on his bottoms and elbows.

A sharp aching pain instantly ran up his right arm, but he did not have time to wince. The bear sprinted in his direction, primal aggression coloring its eyes a bleeding red, forepaw raised in the air.

SLAM!

A cloud of sand and rocky debris kicked into the air. The bear roared in frustration as its and pieces entered its eye. It wanted to wipe his face and the mini-sandstorm away, but its paw was caught in the sand.

Liu Xue took the opportunity to scamble on his feet and regain his footing. He responded to the little fox as he gasped for breaths.

"I'm alright, Xiao Bai. Did I lure him away enough?"

The little fox gave a low and worried whine of affirmation.

"Good. Good. I've gained my confidence, so we can play tactical now. Get your illusions ready."

"Mi, mi … mee!"

Liu Xue craned his neck with his left hand. "No, it's fine that your illusion can only affect the bear's senses for a moment. I expected as much. Follow my instructions, okay?"

He pulled out a chef's knife from the toolbelt and slowly circled away from the bear. It popped its paw out from the sand and snarled at him at the distance. Their eyes made contact once more and it charged.

"Now, Xiao Bai!" Liu Xue shouted. "Left!"

The bear threw itself onto him and reined in its jaws for a heavy bite onto his neck, but it was too late. It snapped its canines and incisors shut to the flesh of nothing but sand.

To its right, he chugged the last of the A-grade water with no return. The bruises when he threw himself to dodge and the sharp pains in his elbow faded away altogether under it and adrenaline. His mind cleared, in a fresh state, immediately simulating several courses of actions he needed to take next.

The bear was in a momentarily daze at the dry, grainy, and salty taste in its mouth, so Liu Xue did not hesitate. With all his might, he slammed the chef's knife into the bear's left leg, before ducking. Its mauling kicked miss. He let himself fall into the sand and rolled away.

"Again, Xiao Bai," Liu Xue called, devoid of fear, eyes and voice sharp and cold. "Prepare!"

Though the bear let out its loudest roar yet with pure frustration and anger, he was not intimidated. His vision was fully clear and quickly noticed the bear was stumbling. The wound on its flank was trickling with blood badly and it too was not without shortened breaths. He reached into the toolbelt, pulling out a chainsaw and a sword, knowing the battle was nearing its end. Piercing the sword into the sand to free up his right hand, he pulled the chain brake handle, squeezed the throttle trigger, and pulled the starter cord.

"Chainsaw!" Liu Xue shouted to Xiao Bai as the chainsaw whirred to life.

The bear was unfazed: teeth clacking and squeezing out huffs. He heard two reverberating pounds on the sand and instantly knew it was charging again.

"Now! Immediately upwards!"

He rolled underneath the bear's massive body as it sprang forwards and upwards. A fierce glint in his eyes, he ruthlessly forced the spinning blade of the chainsaw into the belly of the bear. The bear roared and howled in pain as the blade passed through its flesh and nerves with ease and again when the blade lodged itself stuck after the bear slammed into the ground.

He was fully prepared for this moment. Taking advantage of the bear's momentary weakness, he grabbed the sword and climbed onto its back, gripping its fur tightly. With the toughest grit of his teeth yet, he drove his knife into the bear's neck as hard as he could, aiming for a vital spot.

The bear thrashed and bucked, trying to dislodge its human adversary, but he held on with all his strength, refusing to be thrown off. After continuous struggles, the bear mauled its paws towards its back in one final, desperate surge, raking its claws downwards.

Liu Xue could not hold on. He crashed into the sand with claw marks that spanned over three-quarters of the length of his right arm. The bloody gnash and stinging sharpness of the open wounds rendered his arm completely useless, but he held on, refusing to let the pain and darkness consume him.

"A little bit! A damn bit more to sever a major artery! No … Xiao Bai," he mumbled.

He watched the bear continue to thrash and grope its back, trying to pull the sword out, as his vision quickly faded and his senses overtaken by the searing pain.

"Xiao Bai!" Liu Xue shouted with his remaining strength.

The little fox did not need his reminder. Halfway his shout, it launched herself into the air, letting its weight give the ferocious force needed to force the blade in.

He watched its four paws land on the blade, spurting another burst of blood at the bear's neck, slowing its weak gasping breaths. When it breathed its last, he found his conscious slip into darkness.