43: Chapter 43 The Tiger King's Wrath

Deep in the dense forest, beneath the cliff.

The Second-in-Command, "Ghost Shadow" Nie Kong, was leading his thirty elite bandits, clinging silently to the nearly vertical cliff face like geckos.

The path he chose was, just as the strategist Liu Chengfeng had said, extremely secretive.

It was not a path at all, but a perilously dangerous route where one could only barely find footholds in the crevices and protrusions of the rock face.

Ordinary people, let alone climbing it, would likely have weak knees just from looking at it.

But for Nie Kong and his subordinates, who were experts in light movement techniques, while difficult, it was not impossible.

Nie Kong's movement technique was the most agile.

He seemed weightless, like a fallen leaf lifted by the wind, and with a few leaps on the cliff face, he easily ascended over a dozen zhang.

He looked back at the men following him; although their movements were far less graceful than his, they were all seasoned veterans, using both hands and feet to climb steadily upward.

"Hmph, that fellow Liu Chengfeng has finally done something reliable."

A cold sneer flashed in Nie Kong's eyes.

He was full of confidence in this operation.

In his view, that group at Panshi Stockade, even if they racked their brains, could never imagine that someone would infiltrate from this place, which was regarded as a natural barrier.

Once they successfully infiltrated, they would set fire to the granary and barracks of the stockade.

By then, the entire Panshi Stockade would inevitably fall into chaos.

When that time came, it would be the moment for him, "Ghost Shadow" Nie Kong, to achieve a great merit!

He had even started calculating how much treasure and how many women he should get after breaking into Panshi Stockade, and how to use this credit to overshadow the Third-in-Command, Du Wei, who had always been at odds with him.

As for the Chief Leader, Bear Overlord...

A deeper gloom flashed in the depths of Nie Kong's eyes.

Bear Overlord was brave, yes, but too reckless and self-opinionated.

Following such an elder brother, sooner or later, he would lead the entire Dushan Stronghold to ruin.

"Perhaps... this time, it is also an opportunity."

A bolder thought quietly sprouted in his heart.

He licked his dry lips, and a flash of Killing Intent passed through his eyes.

With various thoughts in mind, Nie Kong led his team as they continued to climb upward.

Half an hour later, they finally climbed to the top of the cliff.

Before them, the view suddenly opened up.

A dense forest appeared before them.

Passing through this forest, faintly, they could already see the well-arranged rooftops of Panshi Stockade and the curling smoke from cooking fires.

"We succeeded!"

A bandit whispered, suppressing his excitement.

"Shut up, all of you!" Nie Kong scolded coldly, "We haven't entered the stockade yet; it's too early to rejoice!"

He was always a cautious person.

He made a gesture, signaling everyone to rest in place and recover their strength.

At the same time, he himself, like a civet cat, silently infiltrated the forest ahead to conduct a final reconnaissance.

Just as he expected, this was indeed the weakest point in the defenses of Panshi Stockade.

He snuck forward for several hundred meters without discovering a single hidden sentry.

The entire back mountain was excessively quiet.

"A bunch of idiots," Nie Kong sneered disdainfully in his heart. "Do they really think this cliff is impassable?"

He relaxed his vigilance, preparing to return and lead his men to launch a direct surprise attack.

However, at the very moment he turned around.

The bloodthirsty Killing Intent on his body, accumulated over years of slaughter and imperceptible to ordinary people, acted like a torch in the dark night, instantly alerting the true master of this forest!

"Roar——!!!"

A tiger's roar, filled with supreme majesty and fury, suddenly exploded from behind him without warning!

The roar seemed capable of shaking mountains, making his eardrums buzz and his Qi and blood surge!

"What is that?!"

Nie Kong turned his head in shock!

He saw a golden tiger of a size that exceeded his imagination, appearing at some point less than ten zhang behind him!

The tiger's muscles were like cast steel, and on its golden fur, the black "King" marking looked ferocious and domineering.

A pair of golden pupils were locked onto him, filled with icy Killing Intent and the fury of having its territory violated!

Third-Rank Vicious Beast!!

Nie Kong's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpoints!

He never dreamed that in the back mountain of Panshi Stockade, such a terrifying Vicious Beast would be kept!

This was not a weak defense at all!

This, damn it, was a dragon's pool and tiger's den!

Run!

This was the first and only thought that flashed through Nie Kong's mind!

Without a second thought, he pushed his light movement technique to the limit, turning into a gray shadow and fleeing for his life back the way he came!

He didn't even dare to look back, because he knew that if he hesitated in the slightest, he would be torn to shreds by that terrifying tiger!

However, fast as he was, the speed of the Tiger King, Ah Da, was even faster!

"Awoo!"

Ah Da roared, its massive body turning into a golden bolt of lightning, overtaking him instantly and catching up to Nie Kong!

Its tiger paw, larger than a human head, carried a sharp whistle that tore through the air as it slammed down heavily toward Nie Kong's back!

If this strike connected, even Nie Kong, who was at the Peak of the Third Rank, would be smashed into meat paste on the spot!

"Damn it!"

In this critical moment, Nie Kong displayed the astonishing reaction speed of a top-tier assassin!

He suddenly twisted his waist, and with an incredible angle, narrowly dodged this fatal blow!

"Boom!"

The tiger paw slammed heavily into the spot where he had just been, smashing a half-human-high rock into pieces!

Stone fragments flew everywhere like shrapnel.

Although Nie Kong avoided the vital areas, his back was still slashed by the fierce wind of the claw, leaving several deep, bone-visible wounds that burned with pain!

Before he could catch his breath, another slightly smaller yellow figure silently pounced from his side!

It was the tigress!

It was silent, like a top-tier assassin, seizing the perfect opportunity as it opened its blood-stained maw and lunged for Nie Kong's neck!

Two against one!

In an instant, Nie Kong fell into an unprecedented crisis!

He let out a sharp whistle, and the cicada-wing daggers in his hands flew out, like two venomous snakes, shooting toward the tigress's eyes, forcing it to turn its head to dodge.

Taking advantage of this gap, he tapped his feet repeatedly, once again opening up distance from the two tigers.

At this moment, his thirty subordinates also heard the commotion and rushed over.

When they saw the two tigers, which were like small mountains, they were all so frightened that their faces turned pale and their legs went weak.

"Se... Second-in-Command, wh... what are these monsters?"

"Quick! Form a formation! Protect the Second-in-Command!"

Although they were afraid, they were still loyal, immediately drawing their weapons and protecting Nie Kong in the center.

However, their actions were foolish in front of the two Third-Rank Vicious Beasts.

Ah Da and the tigress, looking at these "foods" that had delivered themselves to their door, both revealed cruel, vicious glints in their eyes.

A massacre, with no suspense, began right there!