【Mission requirements: Kill the Tiger King】
【Mission time: ten days】
When Li Zhen awoke, he had already possessed the body of a strong man.
Judging by his attire, it was surprisingly ancient commoner clothing.
The man's memories began arriving in succession in his mind, allowing him to understand that he was now in an era resembling the Tang Dynasty.
As for his mission, that Tiger King was also near the Village where the man lived.
“If it's only killing a tiger, it shouldn't be difficult.” Li Zhen pondered. Pity, it seemed that because his soul had traveled into another body, he could not bring the Sniper Rifle's abilities with him. Otherwise, a single bullet would have been enough.
At least in his eyes, this was much simpler than encountering a deadly disaster immediately after arriving last time.
No matter how one put it, a tiger was still a Beast. Its intelligence was limited, and if he took action, he had at least three methods to Kill it.
Li Zhen quickly took action.
He asked the villagers about the tiger's situation, hoping to obtain some useful Messages.
“That tiger? It's the Tiger King. I've heard it's over three meters long and ferocious beyond compare. Usually, even three to five people wouldn't be its Opponent. Going there would only mean throwing away your life.”
“A group of hunters previously went after that great beast, but in the end, several of them were eaten instead. It was truly fierce.”
Li Zhen soon learned some information from several elders in the Village.
They were all talking about how mighty that tiger was.
Of course, they might all have exaggerated the stories, so they could only serve as reference.
Therefore, Li Zhen made preparations on two fronts.
Near the Village, he discovered a poisonous plant—Oleander—which delighted him. Oleander was highly toxic; only a small amount of its Poison could kill a person. Thus, he spent some Time collecting Oleander venom, planning to use its toxicity to poison the tiger to death.
In the evening, a light rain began to fall.
After the rain, Toads came crawling out one after another.
When Li Zhen saw the Toads, his eyes lit up, and he immediately caught more than a dozen of them.
Toads secrete a white liquid, and this liquid produces hallucinogenic effects.
Oleander combined with Toad secretions: attacking on two fronts.
Of course, there was one prerequisite: he had to make the tiger ingest the Poison.
Besides poisoning the tiger, Li Zhen also announced a bounty.
Hunt the Tiger King.
This was the key.
Any hunter who participated in the hunt would receive ten taels of Silver.
Ten taels of silver were enough to cover a common person's expenses for an entire year.
Money moved people's hearts. After hearing the Message, hunters from every Village came rushing over.
Before this, Li Zhen had already put on a whole set of splendid clothes, making him look like a wealthy man at first glance.
The Reason that people respected fine clothes before the person was especially obvious in ancient times. Ordinary common folk could not possibly afford clothes like these.
“Is this really true? We can get so much money just by hunting the tiger together?”
Even though Li Zhen was dressed like a rich man, there were Still people who doubted him.
“That's right. Don't trick us.”
“There are already more than twenty of us here. Will you be able to produce that much money when the Time comes?”
As more and more hunters arrived, voices of distrust gradually increased as well.
After all, ten taels of Silver was no small amount.
These hunters were looking at Li Zhen, their expressions filled with uncertainty.
They felt that something was suspicious, yet hoped in their hearts that it was true.
“I swear on my head that if I return from the hunt and don't give every person present ten taels of silver, you can report me to the authorities and have me arrested.”
“A written document as proof!”
Seeing Li Zhen write out a document and act so full of conviction—and, crucially, not fear anyone reporting him to the authorities—everyone immediately believed him.
Right. If he did not pay, they could report him to the authorities. Even if they killed the tiger by then, Li Zhen would not get the tiger; he could go eat prison food instead.
The tiger would belong to them as well.
No one believed that Li Zhen would refuse to pay them later.
Moreover, Li Zhen's composed attitude and splendid clothes ultimately won everyone's trust.
Thus, the next day.
A dense crowd of more than twenty people set out together.
“With this many people, there shouldn't be a problem.” Li Zhen gazed at the long procession, brimming with confidence.
No matter how Powerful the tiger was, it was still only one tiger. He refused to believe that twenty fully armed men could not defeat a mere tiger.
The tiger might even hide when it saw them.
Li Zhen looked at one of the hunters, who was holding two live hens in hand. Li Zhen had already given this hunter his Poison and instructed him to use it at the right moment.
For safety's sake, he also had the hunters coat their Bows and Arrows with Poison.
It had to be said, these hunters had Experience too. Except for the Oleander venom Li Zhen had provided, nearly half of them also possessed their own paralyzing Poison.
That conveniently saved him some effort.
He felt that things should be stable now.
Li Zhen did not plan to hunt the tiger alongside them, but he still followed behind the hunters. At the very least, he needed to know the tiger's approximate location.
“Stop!”
Just as Li Zhen was imagining beautiful possibilities, a shout came from the distance.
Everyone turned their heads and saw another group approaching from the other side. There were at least fifty people, more than Li Zhen's group. The leader was riding a tall horse, dressed in splendid clothes, and was a handsome Young Master.
“That's Young Master Zhao.” Someone recognized the leader at a glance.
“I heard that you are also going tiger hunting. Turn back. Our Zhao Family wants this Tiger King.” After Young Master Zhao approached, he swept his eyes over everyone and spoke Lightly.
His words sounded less like a discussion and more like an order.
“This...”
The hunters hesitated, their faces troubled. In the end, they all looked toward Li Zhen.
“Don't concern yourselves with them. Keep moving.”
“Don't you want those ten taels of silver?” Li Zhen said. Seeing that everyone remained where they were, he could only use the temptation of silver once more.
Under the temptation of ten taels of silver, several hunters finally took the lead and began to leave.
“Do you not value your lives? Is money more important than your lives?”
“If anyone dares take another step forward, I guarantee that his entire family will be mining in a pit tomorrow.” Young Master Zhao spoke again. His tone was heavier this time, and his face was somewhat angry.
He deliberately glanced at Li Zhen, whom everyone regarded as their leader.
“How dare you oppose our Zhao Family? You have some nerve!”
“Disperse, all of you!”
A sword-bearing attendant beside Young Master Zhao shouted angrily. After speaking, he directly drew his blade and pointed angrily at the hunters.
After being shouted at and seeing the gleaming blade, the hunters all shrank their heads like quails, slowly retreated, and then slipped away.
“Don't go!” No matter how Li Zhen shouted, it was useless.
“Don't waste your effort. Although we really want those ten taels of silver, we want our family's lives even more. You should also stop coveting that great beast. The Zhao Family has never failed to obtain anything they wanted.” One hunter kindly reminded Li Zhen.
Looking at the hunters who had all dispersed, Li Zhen was bewildered.
Earlier, he seemed to have seen the tiger beckoning to him. Now he could only watch helplessly as others plotted to take his tiger.
Young Master Zhao glanced at Li Zhen, a trace of mockery appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Li Zhen did not leave. He followed behind Young Master Zhao's group as they slowly went deeper into the mountains.
Even after Young Master Zhao and the others noticed him, they paid him no attention.
Everyone proceeded into the mountain forest.
Young Master Zhao's group also included several hunting experts. By afternoon, they had found the Tiger King.
Roar!
The tiger's roar shook the mountain forest, its sound possessing tremendous penetrating power.
Even the trees trembled.
Li Zhen also saw the Tiger King from the Mission at the first opportunity.
The legends were true. The Tiger King was indeed three meters long, truly a behemoth.
However Powerful the tiger was, it was ultimately only one creature and could not defeat a team of nearly fifty people.
Moreover, all fifty of them were brave and skilled hunters and guards.
After several human lives were lost, the tiger finally collapsed helplessly.
It had not been killed; it had merely been brought down by Poison.
When Young Master Zhao's group left with the tiger, Li Zhen was Still standing in place.
“That was quite spectacular.” Li Zhen watched the group depart, as though he had just watched a movie, still savoring its aftertaste.
Witnessing dozens of people battle a fierce tiger in person was quite visually impactful.
That Tiger King was even more valiant than he had imagined.
“Pity that the good fortune of picking up a human head did not happen to me.” He had just been thinking about how the snipe and the clam could struggle while the fisherman benefited.
If he could give the tiger a single strike at the end, it would count as him killing the Tiger King, right?
But since that did not happen, so be it. He did not care.
The Zhao Family was a prominent household in the county and had an excellent relationship with the County Magistrate. Once the Tiger King entered their home, it would be extremely difficult for an ordinary person even to see the tiger.
But Li Zhen was no ordinary person. He was a transmigrator from Earth.
He arrived at the site of the recent battle and looked around. He discovered that many strands of tiger fur had fallen on the ground.
He crouched down, picked up a tuft of tiger fur, and rolled it between his fingers. After pondering briefly, he had an idea.
“I've got it!”
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