Lu Feng made the decision to recruit without the slightest hesitation.
Although this recruitment was only for a temporary follower from this world, it brought about earth-shattering changes to his own strength!
Just then, a blood-red light screen suddenly lit up, tightly enveloping the Master of Mount Kolbo · Anka.
The blood-colored light screen emitted a strange and powerful aura, instantly making Anka feel an unprecedented sense of strong restraint.
Out of instinct, it struggled desperately, trying to break free from this annoying restraint.
However, when it realized that this restraining force actually originated from the seemingly ordinary human in front of it, a surge of astonishment and surprise welled up in its heart.
After a brief period of thought and deliberation, Anka finally gave up resisting and chose to accept this restrained state.
To it, this person in front of it seemed to hide many unknown secrets and charms.
The Master of Mount Kolbo · Anka decided that it would adopt this human as its 'poop-scooper'.
This was not only because Lu Feng looked very pleasing to the eye, but also because of his exquisite massage skills, which were even more intoxicating than eating catnip.
The recruitment was successfully completed, and a 'Follower' option appeared in Lu Feng's Reincarnation Mark.
Clicking on 'Follower' brought up Anka's information panel.
Master of Mount Kolbo · Anka (Temporary Follower)
Strength: 20 (Under Follower Restraint Suppression)
Agility: 20 (Under Follower Restraint Suppression)
Stamina: 15
Intelligence: 4
Charm: 3
Skill 1, Claw Strike (Active): Claw Strike the enemy, dealing 225% attack strength damage.
Skill 2, Stealth (Active): Enter Stealth mode, movement speed is reduced by 50%, the first attack launched in Stealth will deal 20% additional damage to the target.
Skill 3, Tail Sweep (Active): Violently sweep with the tail, causing a knockback effect to hit enemies.
Skill 4, Tiger Roar (Active): Roar, causing a deterrent effect to surrounding enemies. (Deterrent effect reduces enemy morale; if morale falls below a certain level, negative statuses such as fear and fleeing will appear.)
...Seeing Anka's data, Lu Feng gasped, exclaiming, "Terrifying as this."
And this was after becoming Lu Feng's follower, with two major attributes suppressed.
It was hard to imagine what an astonishing height Anka's true strength would reach without these restrictions.
Even if Su Dalao had not used dynamite barrels for a surprise attack beforehand, but had instead encountered Anka head-on in its prime, he would probably have ended up in a tragic state of annihilation and death.
However, even though he now had the powerful assistance of Anka, Lu Feng knew very well that the side mission he faced still could not be taken lightly.
To brazenly break into the heavily guarded palace relying solely on himself and this fierce tiger was simply a pipe dream.
What's more, if this mission ended in failure, what awaited Lu Feng would not merely be expulsion from the guard Team.
It would also be a full-scale official manhunt.
Thinking of this, Lu Feng rubbed his hands with a sheepish grin, looking at Anka's fangs with ill intent.
"Brother Tiger, can I discuss something with you?"
Anka, who was lying on the ground, rolled over, shook its ears, and looked at Lu Feng.
"Roar (You speak)"
With the establishment of the follower relationship and the effect of the auxiliary talent, Heart of the Beast, Lu Feng easily understood Anka's meaning.
"I have a very important mission here. Can I borrow a few of your teeth?"
"Roar (Small matter, follow me)"
Lu Feng, who had originally expected to put in some effort, was puzzled to see Anka agree so readily.
Following Anka through winding paths in the mountains, they arrived at Anka's lair.
"Roar (These are all my shed teeth, take as many as you want)"
Inside Anka's deep and dim lair, a dozen tiger teeth of various shapes and sizes were scattered on the ground.
Standing before this pile of tiger teeth, Lu Feng couldn't help but feel a pang of distress.
Originally, he had planned not to put Anka to death, merely submitting a few teeth to complete the mission, a method that was somewhat opportunistic.
However, at this moment, even these teeth meant for submission were merely Anka's baby teeth!
This, he feared, had already far exceeded the scope of mere opportunism.
By then, not only would the Left Minister not be fooled, but even the Paradise's judgment might not approve of this approach.
But on the other hand, Anka had already become his follower, and those teeth were one of its important weapons for survival and combat.
If he forcibly pulled out these teeth, not only would Anka certainly not be willing, but Lu Feng himself could not accept such a cruel act deep down.
For a moment, Lu Feng was caught in a dilemma, unsure how to choose.
Looking around, Lu Feng found many other good things in Anka's lair, and immediately had an idea.
"Um, Brother Tiger?"
"Roar (Take it yourself, don't bother me)"
Those things couldn't be eaten; Anka had only brought them back because it found them novel and fun. If the poop-scooper liked them, it would just give them to him.
"Hehehe, with these things to hand over, the mission is as good as done."
Returning to the royal capital, Lu Feng arrived at the Left Minister's house with a bulging package on his back.
In the study, the Left Minister looked at the dozen small tiger teeth on the table, his face grim.
"Bai Ze, is this how you hand in your work to me?"
Bai Ze was the alias Lu Feng had given himself.
"These are baby teeth found in the Master of Mount Kolbo's lair, genuine and authentic."
Lu Feng patted his chest, swearing solemnly.
"If this is your attitude towards work, then I..."
"Left Minister, don't rush. I also found other things in that giant tiger's lair."
Before the Left Minister could finish speaking, Lu Feng took out a large pile of beast skulls from his package.
Among them, two male deer skulls were particularly striking, with majestic and well-preserved antlers.
The Left Minister immediately beamed with joy.
He hadn't expected Lu Feng to complete this mission; bringing back some baby teeth was already quite rare. He had merely feigned anger just now, intending to renege on the mission reward.
Now, with so many more beast skulls for his collection, the Left Minister was overjoyed.
Lu Feng struck while the iron was hot, pulling out a small package from his embrace, lifting a corner, and placing it on the Left Minister's table.
Through the open corner, the Left Minister saw that the small package was full of gold coins and jewels. As a connoisseur, he naturally recognized that these items were of considerable value.
Though the Left Minister was greedy, he was not foolish. Such a quantity of treasure was simply not something someone like Lu Feng could come into contact with.
If these items were ill-gotten, and the King found out, even as the Left Minister, he would be in deep trouble. He couldn't help but frown and ask,
"What is the meaning of this?"
Lu Feng's face was righteous, and he said angrily:
"That beast has been occupying Mount Kolbo for a long time, harming many innocent commoners and travelers. These are the belongings of those poor people that I found in its lair. Now, I must trouble the Left Minister to return these belongings to the families of the victims."
"Good! Good! Good!"
The Left Minister's eyes narrowed into slits from smiling, and he righteously placed the small package into his hidden small drawer.
"It is truly a blessing for our Goa Kingdom to have such a dedicated guard leader as you."
The Left Minister now found Lu Feng increasingly pleasing to the eye and readily gave him the mission reward.
"I'll handle things at the palace; it shouldn't be a problem. But you are still quite young, and those old foxes in the guard team might outwardly comply but inwardly defy. How about this?"
The Left Minister tapped the table with his index finger, and a guard walked in.
"Bai Ze, this is my confidant. Take him to the Guard Headquarters to take up your post now. Let's see who dares to cause trouble!"
This truly surprised and puzzled Lu Feng.
He recalled how Su Dalao had met with rejection here; he had completed the mission with great difficulty, yet in the end, he had to rely on the Paradise's personal intervention to successfully obtain the deserved reward.
But now, when it was his turn, everything was progressing surprisingly smoothly.
Not only that, the other party had even specifically dispatched his confidant to help him build momentum.
Could this be the correct way to approach this mission?
Indeed, it was. The position of Guard Leader was quite a lucrative one.
The Left Minister, who held the power of appointment, would naturally hold out for the best price, hoping to gain the maximum return.
Although Su Xiao had successfully completed the mission, a mere few tiger teeth were far from enough to satisfy the Left Minister's insatiable appetite.
Therefore, the Left Minister wanted to renege on the agreement and attempt to gain even greater benefits.
However, Lu Feng's situation was quite different.
The amount of treasure he brought back far exceeded the Left Minister's original valuation of the Guard Leader position.
Even by the Paradise's evaluation standards, Lu Feng's completion of this mission was relatively low, yet the Left Minister was completely unconcerned about this.
After all, in the face of immense wealth, so-called rules and assessments seemed to become less important.
In fact, the Left Minister was worried that Lu Feng's assumption of office might not go smoothly and that he might demand some of the valuables back.
So, he 'thoughtfully' sent his confidant to 'escort' Lu Feng to take office immediately, lest there be any complications.
Of course, Su Xiao's high charm attribute of 3, and Lu Feng's mere 7 charm attribute, also played a crucial role in this.