Chapter 23: Fierce Battle with the Fierce Tiger

Hunting a tiger-type Demonic Beast of the same Bronze-rank was not as easy a task as one might imagine. For example, going up the mountain, bumping into a One-Horned Tiger, and killing the tiger after a fierce battle. How could there be such an easy thing?

The tiger was originally a type of fierce beast with very high intelligence and strong combat power , especially skilled in ambush. Its sense of smell was particularly keen; it could scent prey from an extremely far distance and distinguish the prey’s shape, strength, and quantity. It could even distinguish whether the prey was injured or not.

A Bronze-rank One-Horned Tiger would only be more powerful and cunning. Otherwise, it would not have been its turn to harm the village for so many years; it would have been hunted and killed long ago. As for things like bait, snares, and traps, this One-Horned Tiger had probably seen more of them than ordinary hunters. It was already extremely sensitive to such things and would avoid them from far away.

Zuo Qianqian also led her black-backed hunting dog and searched for three days before finding some traces of the One-Horned Tiger. Speaking of which, her black-backed hunting dog was lucky; during the previous escape, she had not been able to take care of it. After more than half a month, when Zuo Qianqian secretly returned home, she unexpectedly found this loyal hunting dog. This hunting dog, which she had personally trained, was very spirited; not only did they have a deep bond, but it was also a good helper in her hunting. When the Master was not by its side, it would also go hunting nearby for things like snow rabbits to fill its belly, so it did not starve to death.

With the help of this hunting dog named Da Hei, it was extremely helpful for searching for the One-Horned Tiger, though that did not mean it could help kill the One-Horned Tiger or anything like that. It was just that its sense of smell was very keen, and it was very skilled at tracking prey. Zuo Qianqian let it sniff at a fresh tiger paw print.

Da Hei barked lightly twice, then lowered its head and trotted to track the scent. Of course, the One-Horned Tiger was also an old demonic tiger experienced in hunting. Although Da Hei had good spirit, whether it could really track it down was still uncertain.

Because of this, Lei Qing used the Qingfeng Sword to cut a slit on his hand and dripped some fresh blood. He also stirred the Fighting Qi inside his body to make it somewhat chaotic, making himself look very weak and wretched. For some injured prey, carnivorous animals like tigers would be very sensitive. They usually chose injured or young prey when selecting their targets.

Following that, while stepping on the snow and tracking all the way, the sparse woods began to gradually become dense, and the terrain became higher and higher. But regrettably, the footprints abruptly stopped, and even the scent dissipated.

This was the formidable aspect of Demonic Beasts possessing high intelligence and Fighting Qi; while they were good at hunting, they also gradually learned how to counter-track and protect themselves during the contest with hunters. Some powerful and clever Demonic Beasts would consciously control their pores to restrain their scent.

But this also indicated that the One-Horned Tiger had already discovered Lei Qing and the others. The positions of prey and hunter could swap at any time. Lei Qing and the other person, on the surface, seemed not to have strong strength. If the One-Horned Tiger felt threatened, or felt very hungry, it was extremely likely to turn around and hunt Lei Qing and the others. Just like the Plateau Snow Wolf pack Lei Qing encountered, it was not that Lei Qing went to actively provoke them. It was that they were hungry and wanted to eat Lei Qing.

Twelve Thousand-Mechanism Crossbows were all already strung. Lei Qing and Zuo Qianqian each held one, while the rest were stored separately in their Spatial Rings. The material of the Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow was very heavy; one weighed about thirty jin. The two of them could not carry extra Thousand-Mechanism Crossbows on their backs and scurry all over the mountain either.

Although they were mentally prepared for not being able to find the One-Horned Tiger, Lei Qing and Zuo Qianqian, who had been circling around the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range for several days, also felt extremely exhausted. That One-Horned Tiger was truly extremely cunning. Even Zuo Qianqian, a veteran hunter who was very skilled at tracking, could not find its traces again after being discovered by the One-Horned Tiger.

“Phew.” Lei Qing let out a long breath, white cold air coming from his mouth as he said helplessly: “To find this One-Horned Tiger, we have already delayed for seven or eight days; we cannot dawdle any longer. While it is not dark yet, let’s go down the mountain from here and prepare to cross the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range.”

The Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range, calculated horizontally, was less than a hundred li wide in narrower places. But the distance was not calculated like that; various peaks, natural moats, mountain lakes, dense forests, and so on would infinitely amplify this distance. Many times, after encountering a path that could not be crossed, one would have to walk back.

Therefore, to cross this Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range without a clear path, if luck was good, seven or eight days would suffice. If luck was bad, one could wander for a month and not get out. And within the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range, dangers were heavy; every extra day stayed would add an extra portion of danger.

With the possibility of pursuers appearing behind them at any time, Lei Qing was also unwilling to continue playing hide-and-seek with that cunning One-Horned Tiger. So after discussing with Zuo Qianqian, they walked diagonally toward the depths of the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range.

Unexpectedly, just when Lei Qing was already prepared to give up and had walked for half a day, his mental state relaxed, an abnormal situation suddenly occurred. First, the black fur on the back of the black-backed hunting dog, which had good spirit, stood up, and it barked wildly with shock and fear.

“Brother Lei, be careful.” Zuo Qianqian also almost subconsciously changed color and shouted.

Suddenly, a gust of fishy wind blew from behind. The One-Horned Tiger, moving at explosive speed, had its pores burst open, and a foul smell emerged from pores that had been closed for several days.

It was not the first or second time Lei Qing had been ambushed, and he also knew deeply that whenever there was an ambush, it would definitely come when you were most relaxed. His reaction to the crisis was also extremely fast. The Thunder Fighting Qi stored in his lower abdomen seemed to be ignited by a blazing fire, crackling and exploding, operating at extreme speed to every part of Lei Qing’s body, providing a continuous source of explosive power for his strong physique.

His body rushed forward like a thunderclap; the speed was outrageous, bringing out a series of ghost-like afterimages.

But at this critical moment of life and death, he was ultimately a beat too slow. The several-inch-long tiger claws brushed past his back. Three sharp claws forcefully tore his wolf-skin coat and the leather armor underneath to shreds, entering the flesh by about an inch and opening three ferocious gashes.

Fortunately, Lei Qing had already rushed two or three zhang away; the vigorous and pure Fighting Qi temporarily stopped the bleeding from the wounds. Although the pain was unbearable, no expression could be seen on his face. While still in mid-air, he had spun his body around to face the ambushing One-Horned Tiger head-on.

Even at such a critical moment, upon first seeing that One-Horned Tiger, which had been famous for a long time and sought for seven or eight days, Lei Qing’s eyes still lit up, and he secretly praised this One-Horned Tiger as truly extremely majestic and strong.

From head to tail, it was fully one and a half zhang long; its build was thick, and its body was majestic, probably weighing no less than a thousand jin. The fur all over its body was smooth as a mirror. Amidst the black and white intermingling, the fur presented a faint cyan color. The most conspicuous feature was the single horn on its forehead, which had not yet fully grown and was only several inches long.

Its entire appearance was awe-inspiring and extraordinarily domineering.

Yet, such a huge tiger moved with agility and was especially good at sneak attacks. Having missed one strike, it looked angry and roared at the sky. The tiger’s roar shook the sky, making people’s ear holes ring and faintly lose their hearing, almost causing them to lose their spirit. This tiger’s roar was vaguely similar to Lei Qing’s Spring Thunder Suddenly Appears, achieving a similar effect with different methods. Both used the sound of violent explosions to disturb hearing and seize the mind.

Zuo Qianqian was shaken so hard that she fell and sat directly on the snow, while the black-backed hunting dog was pressed by the One-Horned Tiger’s majesty to lie prostrate on the ground, shivering.

But Lei Qing was not an easy opponent. After just a slight tremor of his body, he landed on the ground, raised his Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow, and shot an arrow at the One-Horned Tiger. The crossbow bolt was extremely fast, like a meteor. With a thud, it nailed into the One-Horned Tiger’s shoulder blade.

There was no time to reload the crossbow bolt or take out other Thousand-Mechanism Crossbows from the Spatial Ring. Lei Qing immediately wiped both hands on his back; his left hand pulled out a zither-shaped shield captured from an enemy that was covered with a layer of iron skin, and his right hand held the Qingfeng Sword.

Separated by several zhang, he confronted the One-Horned Tiger from a distance. Having been hit by a crossbow bolt from Lei Qing and in great pain, the One-Horned Tiger roared furiously. Its figure crouched low, and electric light flashed on the single horn on its forehead. A zigzag thunderbolt fiercely shot toward Lei Qing.

……