Ladi looked up and exclaimed, “It seems someone is calling for help!”
Everyone tensed up instantly, worried about the possibility of bandits ambushing travelers in the vicinity. Despite the lord boasting about the effectiveness of his recent crackdown, there was always a chance of some slipping through the net.
Listening intently, no one else could hear anything. Queller laughed, “Maybe Miss Ladi heard wrong?”
But the scholar, Ladi, still looked concerned and pointed south, “It’s in that direction, my lord. May I borrow a horse to check it out?” The members of the adventure group had been traveling in a cargo wagon and had no horses to ride.
Paul nodded, “Uh, sure! Take my horse, it’s the fastest of the lot,” he said, offering her the whip.
Ladi skillfully mounted the horse, telling her companions, “Wait here for me, I’ll be right back.” She lightly whipped the horse, but it merely circled in place, accustomed only to Paul.
Embarrassed, Paul said, “I forgot this beast only listens to me. Let me ride it.” As the situation was urgent, Ladi stepped down, and Paul climbed on in front, Ladi slightly taller than him.
“Hold onto my waist!” commanded Paul, whipping the horse into a gallop southward.
Nearby, Bryce and Schroeder, hearing the commotion, hurried over.
“What folly!” Bryce exclaimed upon understanding the situation. They quickly gathered those with horses and chased after Paul to the south, followed closely by the adventure group.
After a distance, Ladi announced, “We’re close!” Paul, straining his ears, indeed heard cries for help. Urging the horse faster, they were fortunate that the trees here weren’t too dense.
Suddenly, after circling several trees, the horse reared up abruptly, nearly throwing both riders off.
Paul looked ahead and cursed, sensing danger. Follow current novels on novᴇlfire.net
About a hundred meters ahead, a black-spotted tiger confronted two people, one tall and one short. The taller person, wielding a sword, shielded the shorter one. The tiger, resembling an Earthly Siberian tiger but with different markings, was at the top of this world’s food chain.
Fortunately, the tiger’s back was to Paul and Ladi, unaware of their approach. But the two people facing the tiger were in imminent danger. From a distance, their perilous situation was clear, making Paul empathetic. He quickly dismounted and started to blow into his fire tube, trying to light his handgun.
“Damn! Is the fuel gone? Why won’t it light?”
As Paul puffed his cheeks, blowing hard to ignite the flame, Ladi dismounted, unstrapped her short bow, and expertly nocked an arrow, aiming at the distant tiger.
Paul internally scoffed at the idea of her hitting the target at such a distance. The tiger looked no bigger than a toy cat from here.
As Ladi took aim, the tiger, tensing its hind legs, prepared to pounce.
In a split second, Ladi’s arrow, swift as a shooting star, shot towards the tiger. Just as the beast was about to leap, the arrow pierced its right thigh.
“Roar!” The tiger roared in sudden pain, startling birds in the surrounding forest into flight. Paul’s horse, spooked, neighed and ran back the way it came.
The black-spotted tiger, enraged, swiftly turned around and spotted Paul and Ladi, the source of the attack. Abandoning its initial targets, it charged towards them. Due to the distance and the use of a short bow, Ladi’s first arrow had not inflicted a fatal wound.
As the fierce beast thundered towards them, Paul’s mind went blank. Holding the unlit fire tube, he looked helplessly at Ladi.
Ladi, already fitting a second arrow, seemed to be muttering something under her breath. She fired again, and to Paul’s amazement, the arrow hit the tiger directly in its right eye. The critical injury was too much for the animal, which collapsed to the ground in agony. The arrow had penetrated deeply into the tiger’s skull due to the close range, and after a brief struggle, the beast lay motionless.
The sound of galloping horses announced the arrival of Bryce, Schroeder, and the others. They had heard the tiger’s roar and, seeing the dead beast, silently thanked the Lord of Light for their protection.
“Lord, please do not take such risks in the future,” Bryce said sternly, his voice laced with a hint of anger.
Embarrassed, Paul apologized, “Sorry, everyone. I was… too reckless.”
At that moment, the two people who had been facing the tiger approached to express their gratitude. “Thank you immensely for your help. May we ask your names?”
Regaining his composure, Paul observed the two women. The taller one, around 1.7 meters, had black hair and a strikingly determined look, seemingly unshaken by the recent danger. The smaller woman, about Paul’s height and seemingly close in age, had radiant blonde hair and fair skin. The flush on her face from the ordeal only added to her charm.
Paul adjusted his hair and introduced himself, “I am Paul Grayman, lord of the Alda Count’s territory in the Northwest Bay of the Kingdom of Ordo. Welcome to my land. May I ask who you are?”
“We’ve reached the Northwest Bay?” The two women looked at each other in surprise.
Paul realized they must be lost.