Ed had not expected to see a tiger staying back here to guard the lake.
It seemed that it had learned its lesson from their last encounter and became smarter.
Nevertheless, this was good news for Ed. If anything, it would be of great help to his plans.
Ed deduced that the tiger who stayed behind to guard this lake must have been the strongest among his pack. Otherwise, it would not have been left behind here, all by itself. After all, this lake was not only important as a source of water, but also for the rich amount of seafood that it contained.
In one fell swoop, Ed disappeared into the bushes and headed deeper into the jungle.
Roar!
At that moment, the other tigers were still chasing after Little Treasure.
Little Treasure skillfully maneuvered its way across the tree trunks. From time to time, it would stop to check if the tigers behind it had caught up. Little Treasure didn’t forget the mission that Ed had entrusted it with.
The tigers chasing after Little Treasure were absolutely furious. How could this squirrel move so quickly?
As it was able to use the natural surroundings to its advantage, Little Treasure could easily shake off these tigers if it wanted to. However, Little Treasure had a mission to complete, and so had to toy around with its pursuers. Needless to say, it was quite fun.
The tigers behind did not seem to share the same sentiment. For them, Little Treasure had become their number one target throughout the entire forest!
As there were too many big trees that could serve as a hiding spot, the tigers dispersed. If they didn’t spread out to hunt down Little Treasure, it would take too long to scour the forest.
Cluck cluck!
One of the tigers stopped in its tracks. It seemed to have heard the sound of a rooster.
Cluck cluck!
The tiger was right!
It was indeed the sound of a rooster. The tiger listened attentively, and realised the source of the noise was getting closer and closer.
When the tiger pushed aside a patch of grass in front of it, it really did see a little rooster!
The tiger stuck out its tongue and licked its mouth, which was already salivating.
It had already forgotten all about the squirrel by this point. It would be foolish to chase after a tiny squirrel when there was a rooster right in front of it to eat.
There were no leaders among the group of tigers. They only cooperated with each other for mutual benefits. As such, they were not obligated to listen to any orders from their pack mates.
The tiger moved quietly. It made its way through the grass and slowly approached the would-be prey.
Finally.
The tiger saw an opening and seized the opportunity. It leaped towards the rooster and pounced at it.
Roar!
It let out a low roar. The tiger opened its mouth wide, revealing its fangs as it reached for the chicken.
Just as it had been about to grab the chicken, the tiger felt that something was amiss. It tried to leap back, but it was too late.
The danger was already here.
Rip!
The sound of something cutting across skin reverberated throughout the forest. The tiger’s vision started to go black as it fell into a huge wooden barrel.
The barrel had been prepared in advance by Ed to prevent any blood from being scattered on the ground, causing its smell to disperse outwards. If the other wild beasts caught a whiff of the blood, it might not end well for Ed.
The tiger did not make a sound before dying silently at Ed’s hands.
It was afraid that it would die helplessly, unable to react. The tiger had just been trying to eat a chicken, how could that have led to its death?
After some thought, Ed placed the wooden barrel into the storage space.
When that was taken care of, he concealed all the footprints that were left behind on the ground. This was paramount to ensure his safety, and the success of his future plans.
“Next.”
Ed picked up the chicken and continued to scuttle through the thick grass until he arrived at the next location.
Heeding the orders given, Little Treasure tried to trick the other tigers into going towards that direction.
Five minutes passed.
By then, the second tiger had already been enticed into Ed’s trap.
Much like the previous tiger, before it could even touch the chicken, it had been finished off by Ed and stored away with its groupmate.
Though the plan was efficient, who in their right mind would have dared to do this? If they were not careful and made even the slightest movement, the tigers, or even other wild beasts would surely have hunted them down.
Ed’s bravery was commendable. If any other survivor were in the same position, they definitely wouldn’t have come up with such a plan.
He was like the Grim Reaper, harvesting the souls of the remaining tigers.
Though one of the tigers had actually managed to find Ed, it was taken out before it even had the chance to react.
Of course, part of Ed’s success was owed to the tacit understanding that he had with Little Treasure. Without Little Treasure’s help, Ed would not have been able to do all of that.
“Success.”
Ed took out a piece of cloth and wiped off the blood on the axe.
The other tigers had all been dealt with. All that was left was the tiger by the lake.
Meanwhile, the tiger that stayed behind sensed that something was wrong. Why hadn’t any of its partners returned yet? There was no way that they hadn’t caught the squirrel by now.
Just as the tiger was beginning to feel suspicious, a small sound came from the bushes in front of him.
Upon hearing it, the tiger got up from its position and crouched, looking at the bushes in front of it attentively.
A young man emerged brazenly from the bushes. He held an axe in his hand with a little squirrel on his shoulder.
Roar!
The tiger was completely enraged as it witnessed the scene before him.
Wasn’t this the little squirrel and the human it had seen before?
The two of them were working together!
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The tiger let out a few more roars angrily, attempting to summon its partners.
Logically, if this detestable squirrel had returned here, the other tigers should also be nearby.
However, even after calling out for some time, no response came.
As he watched the tiger do that, Ed did not stop it. Your partners have already been killed by me. No one will come to your aid now, even if you yelled until your throat dried up.
The tiger stopped roaring. It started to realize what had happened to its partners.
Right now, the biggest threat was the human before it.
Meanwhile, Ed took out half of the peach and took a big bite. The sweet taste spread across his mouth.
It gave him the skill of agility.
Right as he swallowed the peach, Ed felt his body becoming lighter.
Yet, he would not run away this time. He would fight with the tiger to the death.
He would fight for control over the lake.
With the peach in his hand, Ed did not falter at all.
It was just a tiger. He had already killed a few, who were all now lying quietly in wooden barrels.
However, the tiger in front of Ed started to retreat slowly, with a cautious look in its eyes.
It had sensed danger exuding from Ed’s body, and especially from the axe that he held in his hand. It knew that if that axe was to fall on it, it would surely die.
Roar!
The tiger moved at a steady pace, hoping that it could scare Ed away.
“Are you ready?”
Ed clenched the axe in his hands and started to stalk toward the tiger in front of him.