Strictly speaking, Chuck and Valentina's tactics this time, even to be polite, couldn't be called a direct head-on clash.
But flexibility is also a key part of strength. Choosing such a tactic against a BOSS of the "flesh-and-blood tank" caliber like the brown bear was, of course, beyond reproach.
As long as it was within the rules of the game, there was no need for any psychological burden.
And the battle, which Chuck originally thought would be like walking a tightrope, became easier and easier as time went by...
It felt as if every movement of the brown bear was becoming slower and slower in his eyes, and his body was becoming lighter.
Even without looking with his eyes, the position of every vine and every knocked-down tree around him was crystal clear in his mind.
What was the reason?
The sounds in his ears also became quieter and quieter.
On the distant tree trunk, Valentina, who had already fired eight crossbow bolts, was rapidly reloading the magazine.
Because she had practiced this thousands of times in advance, her movements were proficient to the point of being mechanical.
But when she spared some energy to look down and observe Chuck's condition, her gaze suddenly froze.
"This is..."
Chuck might not have noticed it himself, but from her perspective, his current movements looked as if they had been meticulously designed in advance.
Every dodge and every counter-attack was exactly enough—not too much, not too little—wasting not a shred of energy while dealing maximum damage to the brown bear.
It was as if he were truly dancing with the bear.
Valentina was dazed for a brief moment, but she quickly forced herself to withdraw her gaze, locked the reloaded crossbow, raised it, and fired again.
She had no clue about this, but if Chuck could pause time and observe from a third-person perspective, he might notice that his current state had appeared in a certain member of his household before.
His breathing was long and hot, and a strange, intimidating light flashed in his eyes.
That's right.
It was the ZONE!
He had entered the ZONE!
Eight minutes later.
Accompanied by an unwilling and desperate roar, the brown bear—now completely covered in bolts and blood—let out one final, miserable howl before collapsing to the ground with a massive thud.
Chuck, soaked in sweat and panting heavily, didn't rush to immerse himself in the joy of victory.
Instead, holding his halberd, he cautiously took half a step forward, then suddenly lunged, thrusting the halberd directly into its eye socket and giving it a vicious stir.
Not until a white, unidentified liquid flowed out from the bear's eye did Chuck finally withdraw the halberd with relief.
He turned to look at Valentina on the distant tree trunk and slowly raised his hand.
"Amazing! Incredible!!!"
Before Chuck could even speak, Valentina shouted excitedly while rapidly climbing down the tree.
She tossed aside the sniper crossbow and sprinted toward him.
With a great leap, her snowy-white, slender legs clamped tightly around Chuck's waist and hips, and she cupped his face to kiss him heavily.
The ecstasy of victory instantly ignited them both like wildfire.
There is no aphrodisiac more powerful than this.
Chuck grabbed her firm waist, his tongue fiercely responding to her kiss, while his hands roughly tore open her sweat-drenched tank top.
Valentina's silver short hair was a mess during the frantic kissing as she panted and proactively rubbed against Chuck's crotch, her sturdy abdominal muscles tensed and carrying the scent of female sweat.
"Quick... now... fuck me right here!"
She bit Chuck's lower lip, giving an order in a low, panting voice.
Chuck didn't hesitate for a second. He turned and found a thick tree trunk nearby, his large hands firmly supporting her tight, fleshy buttocks as he pressed her back heavily against the bark.
She seemed to feel no pain at all, proactively lifting her long legs to wrap even tighter around Chuck's waist, her booted feet locking firmly behind his lower back.
The kiss became more and more intense, and Chuck's rationality collapsed instantly.
One hand held her butt, while the other roughly grabbed the edge of her black shorts and tore them hard to the sides—
"RRRIP!"
The sound of the fabric being brutally torn was exceptionally clear in the jungle.
The black shorts were instantly ripped in half, peeling away from Valentina's snowy-white buttocks and thighs.
Her pink, wet, hairless mound was exposed to the air without any cover, already glistening with moisture.
Valentina's green eyes widened instantly. She yanked her head back from the kiss, her face showing no resistance at all.
Instead, she began to scream loudly:
"Fuck me!!! Fuck me harder!!!"
Her cries were uninhibited from the very start. The ecstasy of victory and intense desire for Chuck had completely set her ablaze.
Her voice was loud and slutty, nothing like her usual cold self; she was now just a female completely submissive to a powerful male.
Chuck's waist suddenly thrusted forward, and his thick, scalding giant dragon buried itself fiercely inside her body.
"Oh oh oh oh!!!"
Valentina's eyes rolled back, and she let out a high-pitched, crazed scream.
Her legs clamped Chuck's waist like a vice, her booted heels digging in hard, as if trying to lock him inside her forever.
In this moment, she finally let go of all her reserve and coldness, and she completely accepted that she would always be a female belonging to Chuck.
Chuck let out a low roar and began to thrust violently.
Every hit was deep and heavy. He held her entire body in the air, pounding her crazily.
It made a loud slap-slap sound, and juices splashed everywhere.
Valentina's silver short hair whipped around violently during the wild process.
She let go completely, howling at the top of her lungs like a thoroughly conquered female beast.
"Harder! I'm yours... I'm your woman!!!"
This declaration from the depths of her female heart sent Chuck's desire for conquest into a frenzy.
He roared, his hands death-gripping her firm buttocks as he held her aloft, thrusting upward with the violence of a pile driver.
Every stroke was so deep and heavy that even if Chuck let go now, he could probably keep her propped in the air with the power of his hips alone.
Valentina's silver hair whipped frantically during the wild pounding.
Her legs were locked around Chuck's waist, her heels pressing hard.
Inside her boots, her soles were white with tension, and her toes spasmed crazily from the extreme pleasure.
Her cries became more and more hysterical, and her green eyes grew hazy and unfocused.
Finally, with a beast-like slutty howl, her firm abdominal muscles began to spasm violently, her whole body tensed up, and her legs twitched frantically.
"Oh hoo hoo!! I'm dying... I'm going to be fucked to death by you!!"
A powerful force instantly clamped down on Chuck's lower half.
The intense stimulation finally broke his restraint as well.
He let out a low roar and slammed her snowy-white buttocks against the tree trunk one last time.
Valentina trembled slightly with her eyes rolled back amidst the faint sounds of squelching and flowing liquid.
Her cries stopped abruptly. As her snowy abdominal muscles slowly bulged, her entire body went limp, hanging on Chuck like her bones had been removed.
She had completely fainted away, yet a smile of unprecedented satisfaction lingered on the corner of her lips.
Chuck panted heavily, gently setting down the unconscious Valentina.
Just as he straightened his body, his legs suddenly went weak.
Only then did he realize that after a difficult life-and-death battle and an impulsive, passionate fuck, his body had finally entered a brief period of exhaustion.
He wasn't a superman with infinite stamina, after all.
Chuck wasn't in a hurry. He sat down silently on the spot.
Once his breathing steadied and his strength had mostly returned, he stood up again and checked on Valentina's condition...
Then he turned his head toward the dead brown bear nearby.
Looking at the mountain-like corpse, a relaxed and hearty smile appeared on his face.
Kill the enemy, occupy their territory, and then fuck your woman hard on their land...
This was the most primitive and satisfying victory ritual for a male animal.
Of course, after the ritual, the important harvest part was indispensable.
Following the increasingly pungent wild scent, Chuck eventually crossed the river valley jungle and found a bear cave under a low, moss-covered rock.
Stepping inside, amidst the scattered white bones, Chuck unsurprisingly found a large patch of Flowers of the Other Shore huddled together, emitting a piercing bright red light in the pitch-black cave.
Just like with the tiger and the giant bird, there were seven Flowers of the Other Shore, swaying in a soul-stirring glow.
But this time, all seven were red.
Chuck had already expected this. He carefully plucked them all, drew his short knife, and approached the massive bear corpse.
One by one, he pulled out the bolts that made the corpse look like a hedgehog.
Chuck hesitated for a moment, glancing at Valentina, who was leaning against a tree trunk with her bare ass and legs leaking fluid, still deep in sleep.
He decided it was better to start the work himself first.
This bear corpse was the largest prey he had processed so far.
Aside from some internal organs, it could yield at least 500 kilograms of Lord-class flesh.
In that case, that would be five or more Essence Potions!
Fortunately, based on his past experiences, Chuck had been intentionally or unintentionally collecting Energy Essence during sex over the past few months.
Sometimes he did it outside, but more often, he filled the women completely and then caught the excess with a small clay pot or bowl...
Over the months, he had actually saved up four liters... about four kilograms of Energy Essence.
These were the hard-earned results of Chuck and his harem's countless poundings and slutty cries.
But Chuck wasn't sure if he could still refine Essence Potions once the flesh rotted.
So, he had to completely finish with this bear corpse before dark.
The first step, naturally, was the classic heart extraction.
The short knife sliced across the bear's chest, cutting through the thick fur and fat.
After a search, he finally found a crimson heart the size of a clay pot, aided by the faint red glow.
Chuck's own heart rate uncontrollably quickened.
He eagerly cut out the heart, not even taking the time to wipe the blood from his hands before putting it into the workbench.
[Workbench added: Brown Bear Heart (Lord-class) x1]
Without a shred of hesitation, as the light flashed, Chuck decisively pressed "Synthesize."
The seven Flowers of the Other Shore and the heart instantly merged.
Under the stored time-acceleration effect, in just an instant, seven red potions lay quietly in his palm.
Chuck tilted his head back and poured all seven potions into his mouth.
[Potions consumed: Red x7]
[Congratulations! Under the effect of the potions, your physical attributes have been improved by 70% in all aspects! Current cumulative bonus: 240%!]
[The red potions you consumed have met the standard. Transformation Upgrade!]
[Red Potion Exclusive Transformation—Blood Qi Mastery (LV.5)...]
Although the percentage increase from the potions became less effective as the cumulative value grew higher, a 70% boost at once was still enough to give Chuck that familiar sense of transformation.
Similarly, the level of his exclusive transformation increased as well.
Chuck tilted his head back, soaking in the tingling sensation throughout his limbs and bones.
Although his outward appearance wouldn't change noticeably anymore, the muscle texture, endurance, and explosive power within his body were all enhanced once again.
He had taken another step toward completely leaving the realm of mortals.
The fatigue from consecutive fighting and sex was instantly swept away.
Chuck opened his eyes, feeling refreshed.
Similarly, Valentina, who shared 30% of Chuck's potion effects through her exclusive bonus, had essentially consumed two red potions.
She slowly opened her eyes by the tree trunk, looked around strangely, and stood up from the ground bare-assed.
"Oh, Suka... my pants."
She looked at the black tight shorts scattered on the ground, which had been torn in half by Chuck, and reached down to pick them up.
Chuck, however, beckoned her over and then unceremoniously tossed a shining short knife to her.
"There are plenty of pants. I'll make you another pair when we get back. For now, come help me work."
Chuck spoke while his hands never stopped moving.
Valentina looked at the brown bear's corpse, and the joy in her heart was reignited.
Swaying her tight, perky, large white ass, she ran over excitedly.
"I can't believe it... we actually killed a brown bear!"