In the center of the tigermen's nest, there was a tall totem pole painted with various colors. Around the totem pole, there were dozens of simple triangular shacks. Each shack represented a tigermen's family.
The closer the shack to the totem pole, the bigger the shack, and the more tigermen's family members lived in it.
The tigermen's nest did not have a wall. As the most powerful group in this crypt, they did not need a wall.
In front of the tigermen's nest, there was a small path. After the path was more than two hundred meters away from the nest, it split into two parallel paths, one to the left, and the other to the right.
What did the path mean?
It meant that every time the tigermen left the nest, they would follow a fixed route. It meant that they would not move around casually near the nest!
Thinking about it, it was very simple. As the most powerful creature's nest in this crypt, no prey would dare to come near it. The tigermen would not be able to catch any prey near the nest.
Since there was no prey, these Tigermen naturally wouldn't move around the nest frequently. They would take the best and most convenient path and directly leave the nest to hunt in the distance. Over time, they stepped out of the nest and created a path near the nest.
What did this mean?
This meant that the area near the nest should be dark under the tigermen's lamp. As long as they avoided the path, the tigermen's nest should be relatively safe!
Feng Chou told Simon and Anrui his speculation, which slightly reduced the anxiety in their hearts.
Judging from the direction of the path, the tigermen's main hunting ground should be around the lake. They were hiding in the right direction.
In the next few days, the three of them took turns to observe the tigermen's nest. They hoped to find out the pattern of their activities and see if they could find an opportunity.
After seven or eight days of observation, they found that the tigermen hunted about once every three days. During the hunt, the young and strong in the tribe, regardless of gender, would leave and split into a dozen hunting teams. Only the old and weak would be left in the nest.
It seemed that these creatures had been dominating this place for a long time. They did not pay much attention to the defense of the nest.
On the ninth day, when the adult members of the tigermen tribe went out to hunt again, Feng Chou and the others began to try again.
This time, they were not in a hurry to make a move. Instead, they hid in a place closer to the nest. Simon sneaked closer to the tiger's den and waited quietly.
This was because they had discovered that every time the young Tigermen went out to hunt, there would be Tigermen cubs that would sneak out of their nests to play. They had been waiting for this opportunity.
Their hard work paid off, and they finally found a tiger cub that had slipped out of the nest.
Simon quickly retreated and threw out candy along the way.
This time, they successfully lured over two half-grown tiger cubs.
However, they didn't touch the two cubs. Instead, they let them finish the jelly beans and leave.
Simon quietly followed behind the two tiger cubs. When they returned to the nest, he once again dropped the candy along the way and retreated.
Just as they had expected, the two tigerkin cubs soon snuck out with the other four tigerkin cubs and found Jelly Bean again. They happily followed Jelly Bean into Feng Chou's ambush …
This time, Simon and the others finally made their move.
Anrui took out a magic scroll. This was a general scroll that stored the level-1 spell "Mute Ward".
The so-called general scroll was a magic scroll that could be used even if one wasn't a spellcaster, as long as one was trained.
Mute Ward was a level-1 spell that could turn an area with a diameter of ten meters into a silent zone. In this zone, sound couldn't be transmitted in any form.
Anrui activated the scroll, and the Mute Ward enveloped the six tiger cubs.
Then, Anrui and Simon each took a stick and rushed into the ward. They simply and violently knocked out the six tiger cubs.
Then, the three of them carried two tiger cubs each and quickly retreated.
On the way out, the three of them could be said to be overwhelmed with emotions and trembling with fear.
They were overwhelmed with emotions because they had actually done something that they originally thought was impossible.
They were on tenterhooks because they were afraid that the Tigermen would catch up too quickly. If that happened, they would make a fool of themselves and bring about their own destruction.
The three of them used all their strength and madly ran in the direction of the stronghold.
The more distance they ran, the more relieved they felt.
When the three of them ran for about three kilometers, a mournful roar suddenly came from the direction of the Tigermen's nest behind them.
Hearing this roar, Feng Chou and the other two felt despair. With the speed of the Tigermen, a distance of three kilometers was simply not enough for them to run back to the stronghold before the Tigermen caught up.
Despite the despair in their hearts, the three of them were determined people. They didn't give up and ran even harder.
What Feng Chou and the others didn't know was that the roar just now was just the cry of the old and weak Tigermen in the nest to summon the young and strong Tigermen. It would take some time for the young and strong Tigermen who went out to hunt to return to the nest and catch up.
Fortunately, Feng Chou and the other two's physique was far superior to that of ordinary people, so they could run for more than ten kilometers continuously.
When the three of them returned to the vicinity of the stronghold, they just happened to see the official garrison of the stronghold from Thorne City and the previous temporary garrison from before taking over.
The new garrison was composed of a high order priest leading a small team of intermediate priests, and a squadron of 100 Drow warriors, plus 200 Bear Goblin slave soldiers.
The elite level of this garrison was slightly worse than the temporary garrison, but with the addition of 200 Bear Goblin slave soldiers who were basically level 5 and above, their fighting strength was not weak.
Several patrols stationed in the stronghold were lined up outside the stronghold gate to welcome the new garrison.
The three of them put the six Tigermen cubs in the forest not far from the stronghold gate.
When Simon and Anrui put down the six Tigermen cubs, their attacks were extremely heavy. Running all the way, three of the six Tigermen cubs were already dead, and the remaining three were dying, so they didn't have to worry about them running away.
The three of them put down the Tigermen cubs, and Simon conveniently cut off the head of a Tigerman who was still breathing. The blood sprayed far away, and the air was suddenly filled with the smell of blood.
After throwing down the Tigermen in his hand, Feng Chou somewhat "reluctantly" looked at the Tigermen he left behind, and then turned to leave.
The three of them quickly retreated hundreds of meters away, and only stopped near the cave wall.
They still didn't feel at ease, so they sprinkled the remaining Tigermen urine on themselves.
The new garrison quickly entered the stronghold, and Drow warriors at the gate also entered the stronghold gate. Because the Bear Goblin in the patrol team had poor discipline, their captain Drow was afraid that they would mess up the handover, so he left them outside the gate.
The smell of the Tigermen cubs' blood quickly drifted to the Bear Goblin's nose.
Although the Bear Goblin's intelligence was higher than the Tigermen's by nature, but it was also very limited. Some Bear Goblin were quickly driven by instinct to chase after the smell of blood.
When these Bear Goblin discovered the fresh Tigermen cubs lying on the ground, they didn't even think about it, and pounced on them, fighting over them and gorging themselves.
The smell of blood and the roars of the Bear Goblin fighting over the Tigermen quickly attracted more Bear Goblin …
One of the faster Bear Goblin snatched the Tigerman cub that Feng Chou was "reluctant to part with". He didn't notice that there was a pagoda-shaped birthmark under the fur on the Tigerman cub's chest. He also didn't notice that when he bit off the Tigerman cub's neck, the pagoda-shaped birthmark moved to his chest …