Encountering Danger in the Forest

Laddie raised her head and said, "It sounds like someone is shouting for help!"

Everyone tensed up at once, wondering if bandits were robbing travelers nearby. Although the lord beside them had been boasting about the effectiveness of his "crackdown" along the way, there were bound to be some who slipped through the net.

Everyone held their breath, straining their ears, but heard nothing. Queller said with a smile, "Miss Laddie must have misheard?"

But the scholar still frowned, pointing south. "It's in that direction, Lord. Please lend me a horse to check it out." The adventurers had been riding in a freight wagon the whole way and didn't have horses.

Paul nodded in agreement. "Uh, alright! Take my horse; it's the fastest of the lot." He handed her the riding crop.

Laddie skillfully swung onto the horse's back and said to her fellow adventurers, "Wait here for a bit; I'll be right back." She lightly flicked the crop, and the horse snorted but only spun in place.

Paul said embarrassedly, "I forgot, the beast only recognizes me. Let me get on and guide it."

With the situation urgent, the scholar yielded the stirrup, and Paul climbed onto the horse in front of her—Laddie was a bit taller than him.

"Hold on tight!" Paul flicked the crop, and the steed set off southward.

Bryce and Schroeder, who were resting nearby, heard the commotion and immediately ran over.

"Nonsense!" Bryce said anxiously after hearing what had happened. They immediately gathered those nearby who had horses and set off south in pursuit, with the adventurers following closely behind.

After riding for a while, the scholar said, "We're getting closer!" Paul again strained his ears, and indeed, someone was shouting for help. He urged the steed to go faster, fortunately, the trees in this area were not dense.

As they rode, after bypassing a few trees, the horse suddenly reared up, coming to an abrupt halt, nearly throwing the two from its back.

Paul looked ahead in a hurry, "Damn!" he blurted out, feeling a sense of foreboding.

Just a hundred meters ahead, a Black-Spotted Tiger was confronting two people, one tall and one short. The taller one tightly gripped a longsword, protecting the shorter one behind him. This animal, called Black-Spotted Tiger, looked extremely similar to the Siberian tiger on Earth, except for the patterns, and was also at the top of the food chain in this world's wilderness.

Fortunately, the Black-Spotted Tiger had its back to Paul and the scholar, seemingly unaware of their approach. But the two people facing the Black-Spotted Tiger were in danger. Although they were a bit far away and it wasn't very clear, their perilous situation still resonated with Paul. He immediately rolled off the horse, took out the Fire Tinder, and started blowing, trying to ignite the gun's match cord.

"Damn! Is the fuel inside used up? Why won't it light?"

Just as Paul was puffing out his cheeks and trying to ignite the flame, the scholar also dismounted, unslung the short bow she had been carrying, skillfully drew an arrow, nocked it, and aimed at the Black-Spotted Tiger ahead.

Hey, hey, scholar, even if your archery is good, this distance is too exaggerated, right? Paul thought wildly. The Black-Spotted Tiger looked about the size of a toy cat from here; how could she possibly hit it?

Just as Laddie was aiming, the big cat in the distance tensed its hind legs, ready to attack.

In the blink of an eye, after a delicate shout, Laddie's arrow shot towards the Black-Spotted Tiger like a meteor. Just as the beast was about to pounce, the arrow pierced the fur on its right thigh.

"Roar!" The sudden pain made the beast roar wildly, and a large number of birds in the surrounding forest were startled into the sky. Paul's steed was frightened, neighed, and ran back the way it came.

The Black-Spotted Tiger turned around fiercely and quickly spotted the person who had attacked it from behind. It quickly abandoned its previous target and charged towards Paul. Because of the distance and the fact that it was a short bow, the arrow had not penetrated deeply into the flesh and had not caused any fatal damage.

Watching the beast running towards him like thunder, Paul's brain short-circuited. He held the unlit Fire Tinder, at a loss, and subconsciously looked at the scholar.

The scholar had already nocked a second arrow. Her lips opened and closed slightly, as if she was muttering something to herself, but it was unclear.

The second arrow shot out quickly, and under Paul's incredulous gaze, the arrow pierced the Black-Spotted Tiger's right eye without deviating at all. Injured in a vital spot, the beast could no longer endure the pain and fell to the ground. Because the distance was very short, the force of the arrow hardly diminished, and it penetrated deeply into the Black-Spotted Tiger's head. It struggled on the ground for a while before stopping moving.

The sound of hooves rang out behind them; Bryce and Schroeder and the others had arrived. They had heard the tiger's roar earlier, and seeing the dead beast on the ground, they didn't need to guess what had happened and inwardly thanked the Lord of Light for his blessing.

"Lord, please don't put yourself in danger like that again," Bryce said in a serious tone that Paul had never heard before, and he could even hear a hint of anger in it.

Paul's face turned red. "I'm sorry, everyone. I... I was too reckless."

Just then, the two people who had been confronting the Black-Spotted Tiger walked over and thanked them. "Thank you very much for your help. May we ask what your names are?"

Paul regained his composure and looked at the two of them. They were actually two women, and two beautiful women at that. The taller beauty was about 1.7 meters tall, with black hair, a pretty face, and a determined expression. It seemed that the crisis just now had not made her too flustered or nervous. The smaller beauty, who was being protected behind her, seemed to be in shock, and her breathing was still a little rapid. The girl was about the same height as him and should be about the same age. She had bright blonde hair and snow-white, delicate skin. Because of the danger just now, the blush on her face had not faded, but it gave her a different kind of cuteness.

Paul straightened his hair, placed a hand on his chest, and introduced himself. "I am Paul Greiman, the Earl of the Arda Earl Territory in the Northwest Bay of the Auldo Kingdom. Welcome to my territory as guests. May I ask who you are?"

"We've already reached Northwest Bay?" The two beauties, big and small, looked at each other.

Uh... it looks like these two are lost.