79: Chapter 79 Sliding Tackle Kills the Tiger

"Chief."

The young constable lowered his voice, his eyes scanning all around.

"Where are the people?"

Constable Meng Yu dismounted, hand pressing on the hilt of his blade, walking step by step deeper into the alley.

Walking to the entrance of the third household, he stopped.

That door was half-open, revealing a sliver of dim light through the crack, along with a pair of eyes.

They flashed in the crack of the door and then retracted.

"Come out."

Constable Meng Yu said in a deep voice.

That pair of eyes appeared in the crack of the door again, not retracting this time.

After a few breaths, the door creaked open, and a youth poked half his body out from behind the door.

The youth was fifteen or sixteen years old, as thin as a bamboo pole, his face as white as a sheet without a trace of blood, and his lips were chapped.

"Who are you…"

The youth's voice was airy.

"Constables of the Guanhai County yamen."

Constable Meng Yu flashed his waist plaque and continued to ask.

"Where are the villagers? Where have they all gone?"

The youth's eye sockets instantly turned red, and he blinked hard to keep the tears from falling.

"They are all hiding. Big tigers, there are two big tigers that come to the village to eat people every few days!"

"At first, they ate Aunt Li's sheep, and a while ago, they snatched Grandpa Wang's grandson away. Grandpa Wang chased after them and was slapped to death by a paw!"

"The villagers do not dare to come out and are all hiding at home…"

The more the youth spoke, the faster he went, as if he wanted to pour out all the fear pent up in his heart these past few days in one breath.

Constable Meng Yu's brows furrowed tightly.

"Big tigers? How big?"

The youth stretched out his hands, gestured, felt it was not enough, and spread his arms even wider, as wide as they could possibly go.

"That big, bigger and fiercer than any big tigers seen before, with black and yellow fur. When it roars, the entire village shakes."

Constable Meng Yu turned his head and exchanged a glance with the three constables.

Listening to the youth's description, these two had probably already become demons.

But it still sounded like monsters of the First-Turn strength.

Big tigers that had turned into spirits were not something ordinary villagers could deal with.

Constable Meng Yu's hand subconsciously pressed tighter on the hilt of his blade.

Right at this moment, a tiger roar exploded from the other end of the village.

This roar was so close, just behind a few alleys.

So close that the horses were startled, whinnying and jumping backward, almost snapping the reins.

Hearing the tiger roar, the youth was so scared he sat heavily on the ground.

Even Constable Meng Yu and the three constables felt their eardrums buzzing.

Constable Meng Yu and the three constables exchanged glances again.

Without needing to speak, their four gazes collided and they nodded at the same time.

Constable Meng Yu let go of the reins and bolted in the direction the sound came from.

The three constables followed behind him, their blades already drawn, reflecting the scenery of Liujia Village's alleys on the blade bodies.

The tiger roar sounded again, closer than before.

Constable Meng Yu's pupils contracted slightly, gripping the hilt of his blade tighter as he quickened his pace.

Soon, he led the three constables to an open space in front of an opera stage.

At this moment, the opera stage had already collapsed halfway, the pillars were crooked, and the roof had a big hole leaking through.

Two giant Demon Tigers were squatting in the center of the stage, lowering their heads to gnaw on something.

In one Demon Tiger's mouth, an arm was exposed, ghastly pale, its fingers still slightly curling.

Blood trickled down from the stage surface, flowing down the stone steps step by step, pooling into a dark red liquid on the ground.

Constable Meng Yu's blade unsheathed with a clang, the blade body reflecting the orange light of the setting sun.

He stared at the two Demon Tigers, his pupils contracting slightly.

First-Stage Early Phase, having just become spirits not long ago, their demonic qi was still not very stable.

Although their fur was thicker than ordinary tigers, it had not reached the point of being impervious to blades and spears.

The three constables behind him walked forward holding their blades, the blade light flashing on and off.

"Only First-Turn Early Phase."

Constable Meng Yu's voice was steady.

Two First-Turn Early Phase Demon Tigers were truly nothing to a team consisting of himself, a First-Turn Late Phase chief constable, and three First-Turn Mid Phase constables.

The breathing of the three constables eased a bit.

They had chased all the way here with their hearts hanging in suspense, afraid of running into a major demon that had matured.

First-Turn Early Phase, dealing with two First-Turn Early Phase Demon Tigers was more than enough for them.

The young constable twirled his blade in his hand, the corners of his mouth curling up as he strode toward the opera stage.

The other two constables followed behind him, the tips of their blades pointing diagonally at the ground.

They walked neither fast nor slow, their boot soles stepping on the gravel road, making faint rustling noises.

One Demon Tiger raised its head, its blood-red eyes staring at the three constables walking towards it.

Its mouth was still chewing on something, a wisp of blood hanging from the corner of its mouth, dripping down its chin onto the stage surface, drop by drop.

It no longer lowered its head to gnaw, pressing its front paws onto the stage surface, arching its back, and rolling a roar like muffled thunder from its throat.

Then it leaped down from the opera stage, pouncing toward the young constable.

The young constable did not retreat, holding his blade horizontally in front of him, the corners of his mouth still curling up.

He shouted.

"Do not panic! I have killed quite a few tigers before and have quite a bit of experience in killing tigers!"

His voice was loud and clear, echoing in front of the empty opera stage.

He squatted down, his body leaning back, almost touching the ground, with the blade tip pointing upward, aiming at that Demon Tiger's abdomen.

"To kill a tiger, one must use a sliding tackle to rip open the belly!"

Before his words finished, he slid forward abruptly.

His boot soles scraped a white mark on the gravel, his body skimming beneath the Demon Tiger, and the blade tip grazed the Demon Tiger's belly.

"Chih—"

A muffled sound.

A long gash split open on the Demon Tiger's abdomen, and blackish-red blood gushed out from inside.

Mixed with intestines, stomach, and things that had not had time to be digested yet, spilling all over the ground in a mess.

The Demon Tiger let out a short cry of agony, its body falling from the air and smashing onto the ground, splashing up a patch of bloody mud.

It struggled a few times, kicked its hind legs, and stopped moving.

The young constable stood up from the ground, the blood on his blade still dripping down.

He shook his blade, turned around, and looked at the dead tiger, the corners of his mouth curling up even higher.

The other Demon Tiger stood on the opera stage, looking at its companion's corpse, its blood-red eyes widening even further, its pupils contracting into thin slits.

It opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar; the entire opera stage shook, and dust on the roof dropped down in rustles.

It leaped down from the opera stage, pouncing toward the young constable, faster and fiercer than the first one, stirring up a foul wind.

The young constable still had that appearance, unhurried, holding his blade horizontally in front of him, squatting down, sliding tackle, the blade tip grazing across the Demon Tiger's abdomen.

"Chih—"

Another muffled sound, another ground of black blood, another ground of intestines and stomachs.

The second Demon Tiger fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and stopped moving.

The young constable stood up, the blood on his blade still dripping down.

He shook his blade, wiped it on the dead tiger's fur, and sheathed his blade back into the scabbard.

The young constable turned around, looking at the two constables standing behind, the corners of his mouth curling up so much he could not suppress it.

A First-Turn Mid Phase martial artist so cleanly killing two First-Turn Early Phase monsters was indeed worth showing off about.

The youth had followed over at some point, hiding behind a crooked-necked tree.

He poked out half his head, saw that scene just now, was stunned at first, and then frantically began to applaud, his hands turning red from clapping.

Constable Meng Yu sheathed his blade back into the scabbard, looked at that young constable, and nodded.

This kid remained calm in the face of danger, had agile martial skills, and was good material.

Given time, he would probably be able to take over his position and become a fine chief constable!