Chapter 55 Slaying the Tiger

That tawny figure was none other than the lord of the mountain forests, a fierce tiger!

The moment they caught sight of the beast, the two young nobles who had just been unseated from their horses lost their wits entirely. Armed though they were, they dared not make the slightest move, terrified that even the faintest twitch might provoke the king of beasts, which was already on the verge of berserk fury.

Yet, the tiger had locked its gaze upon them long ago. Even if they remained completely still, the beast had no intention of sparing them.

Roar!

With a low growl, the tiger paced slowly toward the two men.

"No... Don't come closer!"

Propping themselves up with their hands, the two young nobles frantically tried to scramble backward with their legs. In their wake, dark, damp trails marked the ground where they had lost control of themselves.

Lowering its head, the tiger stalked after them step for step. As its massive jaws parted, a foul, pungent stench washed relentlessly over the pair.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Liu Jun felt a sudden surge of hope for survival. Seizing the opportunity while the tiger remained fixated on the two nobles, he scrambled up from the ground and bolted to the side, desperate to abandon the other two and flee alone.

As ill luck would have it, the direction Liu Jun chose to run was precisely where Zhao Mu and his companions were hiding.

Zhao Mu and the others instantly tensed, their hearts leaping into their throats. If Liu Jun actually ran over, he would inevitably draw the tiger right along with him. Should that happen, they would find themselves in the exact same desperate plight as the three nobles.

Shi Min immediately nocked an arrow, aiming it squarely at the tiger. But a moment later, he abruptly changed targets and pointed the arrow at Liu Jun instead.

Zhao Mu was momentarily startled, not expecting Shi Min to make such a choice. He hurriedly pushed down Shi Min's bow, whispering urgently, "Don't move rashly!"

Shi Min lowered the bowstring, abandoning his aim at both Liu Jun and the beast, and simply stared ahead with taut nerves.

At the same time, the tiger spotted the fleeing Liu Jun and gave a roar, charging straight toward him. Two legs could never outrun four, and the tiger's explosive speed was far beyond human limits. In the blink of an eye, the beast intercepted Liu Jun's path.

Roar!

The sickening stench slammed directly into Liu Jun's face, forcing his eyes shut. Without hesitation, the tiger lunged to bite him. Although the pungent odor blinded him, Liu Jun instinctively flailed his arms forward in a frantic attempt to ward off the beast before him.

The tiger's bite missed Liu Jun's head, sinking instead into his arm.

"Aah!"

Seared by excruciating pain, Liu Jun broke out in a cold sweat and began writhing miserably on the ground.

On the other side, seeing Liu Jun caught by the tiger, the two nobles exchanged glances and bolted forward.

The tiger glanced back, preparing to pursue them. However, one of the nobles suddenly unfastened the pack from his back and hurled it viciously toward Liu Jun's location.

At the sight of the flying bundle, the tiger instantly changed direction, hurtling toward the spot where the pack had landed.

Seizing the chance, the two nobles rushed to their startled horses, vaulted into the saddles, and galloped away in a frenzy.

Though the tiger noticed their movement, its attention was now entirely consumed by the pack, and it paid the fleeing pair no further mind.

Staring intently at the beast, Zhao Mu and his companions watched as the tiger pawed at the bundle a few times, exposing the corpse of a tiger cub.

Only then did Zhao Mu understand why the beast was consumed by such boundless rage. Ordinarily, a tigress gives birth to three to five cubs, yet their survival rate is remarkably low. It was entirely possible that this tigress had given birth to a litter, only for this single cub to survive—only to be slaughtered by Liu Jun and his companions.

The vengeance of having one's offspring killed is a debt written in blood, never to be reconciled. How much more so for a tiger?

Gently taking the cub's carcass in its jaws, the tiger ambled slowly toward Liu Jun, who was still writhing on the ground. Liu Jun's arms had just been torn away by the beast, and he was now teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

As he saw the tiger approach and lay the cub's body beside him, Liu Jun's face drained of all color—partly from severe blood loss, and partly from sheer terror.

Pinning Liu Jun's torso down with one of its massive front paws, the tiger prepared to crush his skull.

At that instant, Wang Wu suddenly rose, bow and arrow at the ready.

"Now!"

Drawing his bow to the full, Wang Wu loosed an arrow straight at the tiger.

Agile though the beast was, it remained utterly consumed by the grief of losing its young and failed to raise its defenses in time.

Thwack!

The arrow struck the tiger squarely in the throat!

Roar!

With an enraged bellow, the tiger snapped its furious gaze toward Wang Wu and the others.

"Shoot, quickly!"

Wang Wu nocked another arrow while urging Zhao Mu and the others.

Zhao Mu scrambled to his feet, aiming his bow at the charging beast. But this time, the tiger was on guard. Although the wound to its throat was fatal, it would not die immediately.

The desperate thrashing of a dying beast was terrifying to behold. Zhao Mu and Wen Zhi hastily loosed two arrows, yet failed even to graze the tiger's hide. Shi Min, however, managed a miraculous shot, sinking an arrow directly into one of the tiger's eyes.

The beast's charge stuttered for a fraction of a second, only to erupt into even greater frenzy. As if realizing its time was short, it grew desperate to slaughter these detestable humans before drawing its last breath.

Seeing the tiger bound forward, Zhao Mu felt his mind go entirely blank. He had merely ventured into the mountains for a modest hunt, only to stumble into a nightmare encounter with a berserk tiger—and now, he was about to lose his life in its jaws.

A bitter wave of resentment rose within him. Had he known this would happen, he never would have joined the hunt, nor allowed Wang Wu to do so!

Yet, at that very moment, the slight and seemingly fragile Shi Min suddenly exploded into action.

Clutching a firewood chopper, he lunged straight at the tiger. Small though he was, the sheer force Shi Min displayed at that moment was formidable. Though the chopper in his hand was far from sharp, it still managed to slice open numerous gashes in the tiger's thick hide, leaving crimson beads of blood welling along its fur.

Even so, his situation was perilous; having slashed the beast, he was immediately pinned beneath its massive weight.

A colossal tiger head lowered steadily toward him. In a heartbeat, Shi Min's throat would be torn apart.

"Save him!" Zhao Mu screamed, drawing his bowstring to its limit and firing at the tiger.

The sharp arrow pierced the beast's thick skin. Jolted by the pain, the tiger's strength waned for a split second before surging back with redoubled fury.

Wang Wu and Wen Zhi exchanged glances. Wang Wu snatched up a wood-chopping blade identical to Shi Min's and hacked at the tiger, while Wen Zhi grabbed a thick, bowl-sized wooden club from the ground and smashed it down upon the beast's head.

Pushed to its absolute limit, and battered mercilessly by Wang Wu and Wen Zhi's combined onslaught, the tiger finally loosened its grip on Shi Min and collapsed to the earth with a resentful sigh.

Shoving the heavy carcass aside, Shi Min sat up, gasping heavily for air, shaken to his very core by the brush with death.