The arrival of summer made the already dense forest even thicker, with lush canopies blocking out the harsh sunlight from the sky.
Walking in the exceptionally cool woods required special attention; the accumulated dead leaves could easily expose one's position, turning a predator into prey for other, more powerful creatures.
Especially for adventurers, with preparation, even ordinary adventurers could defeat many powerful creatures.
But if they accidentally encountered some unexpected powerful wild beasts or savage animals, it was often those ordinary adventurers who would be defeated.
The group of adventurers before them was very adaptable; to avoid startling their target prey, they used grappling hooks made of thick ropes, allowing them to move through tall trees like apes skillfully leaping between branches in the jungle.
adventurers agile in body and skilled in martial arts could even be more flexible than those apes.
These adventurers had set their sights on a magic-patterned tiger living in this jungle, a female tiger with two cubs.
This type of magic-patterned tiger was inherently a savage species, naturally possessing the ability to become savage upon reaching adulthood.
The fur on these magic-patterned tigers was not only luxurious and beautiful, highly favored by nobles, but also a magical material capable of carrying the power of magic runes, making it very useful for mages.
Most importantly, magic-patterned tigers were naturally creatures with relatively abundant spiritual intelligence; some were even much smarter than newborn white True Dragon s.
If one caught a magic-patterned tiger cub, it could be sold to nobles and merchants who liked to breed pets and knights using various magical creatures; this was a business that could make a lot of money.
However, the experienced individuals among these adventurers knew very well that while the lactating mother tiger with cubs before them was extremely terrifying, what was even more terrifying was hidden in the shadows.
Male magic-patterned tigers often hid in the shadows, watching the female magic-patterned tiger and cubs' every move.
If any other creature dared to intrude near the habitat of the mother tiger and cubs, the male magic-patterned tiger would directly launch an attack until the opponent was killed, rather than merely expelled.
The adventurers carefully observed the surroundings; outside the magic-patterned tiger's den, only the mother tiger lay lazily on the ground.
Two cubs, one biting the mother tiger's ear and the other her tail, were playing and frolicking, with no signs of the male tiger's activity.
So, at the adventurer captain's command, several adventurers, quietly hidden in the tree canopy using grappling hooks, pulled out specially made long blow darts from behind them, and then began to apply an increased dose of a special magic potion to the dart tips.
This magic potion would quickly dissipate its effectiveness in the air upon exposure to wind, but its effect was very potent; a small drop could knock out the largest average-sized herbivorous elephants on the prairie.
This magic potion was a considerable expense for these adventurers, but if they could successfully capture the prey before them, this expenditure would be nothing more than a drop in the bucket.
After applying the magic potion, the adventurers aimed their blow darts at the mother tiger, who had not yet sensed the situation, and with a faint, almost imperceptible rustle of wind, *whoosh*.
The mother tiger's ears had just perked up when she was hit.
This intelligent mother tiger sensed that the magic potion in her body was taking effect; the skin on her body, adorned with beautiful magic patterns, lit up, and a power of wind element began to appear and spread over her.
Aooooargh, a high-pitched, penetrating tiger roar echoed far away, startling a flock of birds in the forest, but the mother tiger also collapsed in that brief moment.
The two tiger cubs frantically scurried into the cave, but the adventurers ignored them, instead reloading their blow darts and reapplying the magic potion.
Since the mother tiger had sent out a signal, the male tiger, not far from this area, would surely rush over, so they might as well take down that male tiger too.
Anyway, they were hidden in the trees; if the male tiger didn't discover them immediately, it would check on the mother tiger's condition.
At that time, these adventurers could repeat the trick and easily take down this entire litter of magic-patterned tigers.
A rustling sound of movement through the forest came, and even when running at full speed, the magic-patterned tiger's soft pads passively reduced its movements.
A male tiger, five meters long, leaped onto the mound above the den; he vigilantly looked around.
However, after not finding any trace of an enemy, he did not immediately check on the fallen mother tiger, but instead raised his head and let out a tiger roar that penetrated the forest.
Awooo, that was a warning signal.
The adventurers hiding in the dense tree canopy changed their expressions, and couldn't help but murmur, "Have even these wild beasts started living in groups now? Or has some change occurred in this forest?"
But they dared not expose their whereabouts casually; with preparation, these ordinary adventurers could easily take down a magic-patterned tiger, but if the other party was prepared, the situation would be reversed.
They all held their breath, carefully restraining their movements.
Soon, something happened that the adventurers could not comprehend: what came upon hearing the tiger's roar were not other magic-patterned tigers, but a group of Kobold's and Green Goblin'scarrying whistle arrows and various weapons.
This group of Kobold's and Green Goblin's first cautiously peeked out from behind tall trees to observe carefully, and only after confirming there were no enemies did they rush out angrily.
To the adventurers' surprise, the male magic-patterned tiger did not attack these Kobold's and Green Goblin's, who seemed to have poor combat effectiveness, but stood calmly in place.
The leading Kobold was Bagg's nephew, though perhaps Kobold did not place much importance on such familial relationships.
But as a relative of the Kobold Leader, he could now serve as a captain of a patrol squad.
The Kobold captain carefully examined the marks on the fallen mother tiger's body and immediately cursed, "Damn it, those humans did this! They definitely couldn't have gone far, go find them."
The male magic-patterned tiger, who had been observing, roared upon hearing the Kobold captain's words, its magic patterns lit up, and a wind blade slashed towards the high tree canopy, severing branches.
The male magic-patterned tiger, with its keen senses and intelligence, had already discovered the humans hidden in the tree canopy; being clever, it only now revealed this fact.
After all, it was now a magic-patterned tiger with a position, no longer needing to rely on its own strength; intelligent beasts knew how to leverage power, let alone it, a more intelligent savage species.
A unlucky adventurer screamed and fell, landing on the thick layer of decaying leaves, and was taken down by the swarming Kobold.
"Damn it, you humans are really good at causing trouble for us Kobold," the Kobold captain grumbled, kicking the adventurers who were tied up and kneeling on the ground.
These adventurers were well aware of the rules of living in this land; although they were currently in a cooperative relationship with the Dragon clan, the ones they absolutely could not provoke were these dependents of the Giant True Dragon.
Moreover, with the news spreading from Hobbes, the capital of the Catha Empire, that terrifying red Giant True Dragon, that Legendary monarch who had returned to his territory from the human empire, had once again taken control of this land.
These adventurers dared not provoke the will of the master of this territory; doing so might not only cost them their lives but also doom their entire camp to destruction.
And with Kobold archers pointing at them, they dared not resist casually, so they could only jump down from the tree canopy one by one and be tied up.
"This alert point is Chiron's responsibility; I hope he won't be angry about this,"
The Kobold captain was also a bit anxious, fearing punishment from the more powerful Dragonkin, as this matter was the will of the Giant True Dragon, and being punished for failing to handle it well was only proper.
And when the powerful Dragonborn Centaur Chiron learned of this news, his reaction was identical to the Kobold captain's.
"Damn it, you Kobold's always cause me trouble,"
Chiron was a bit angry; these savage animals with enough intelligence to communicate were the Dragon clan's mouthpieces in the forest.
The birds in the sky were the Dragon clan's eyes, and the beasts on the ground were the Dragon clan's mouthpieces.
That was the will of the red Giant True Dragon, and in the eyes of these Dragonkin, it was a supreme and unchallengeable command.
Moreover, these few magic-patterned tigers were also persuaded by him and other Dragonkin using physical means, and now they were almost poached by humans; it would be terrible if a loophole appeared in this alert area.
The current human camp and the Dragon clan's Territory were partners, and these humans had not crossed the line; it was just that they were unaware of the recent changes in the Dragon Clan's Territory, so he couldn't just dispose of these humans casually.
"No, I must tell Rosani about this and ask Rosani what to do; I hope Rosani won't be angry about this," Chiron thought to himself