The armored tiger lurking in the woods was clearly a rookie; the herd of deer didn’t even go to the lush riverside to drink, but merely passed cautiously by the woods.

At first, the armored tiger managed to keep its cool. When the deer approached the woods, it didn’t rush to attack—after all, they were still a bit too far, not the best moment to strike.

But as the herd passed the woods and moved farther away, the armored tiger finally couldn’t hold back. With a sudden swish, two armored tigers burst out from the woods, flanking the herd from both sides and charging at them.

This hunt was clearly in vain. The speed of the Thunder Deer was far beyond what the armored tigers could match. In the blink of an eye, eight shadows vanished like lightning, leaving even the two fawns much faster than the armored tigers.

After all the commotion, the two armored tigers lay on the ground panting, while the herd of Thunder Deer leisurely circled back, cautiously and alertly heading toward the riverbank.

This time, they still chose the open ground, deliberately avoiding even the sparse patches of grass.

But it had to be said, their luck was rather bad—they actually chose a spot right between the grass where Andrew Brooks and another person were hiding.

The patch of grass where Andrew Brooks was concealed was especially sparse—clearly not naturally grown.

So, the spot chosen by the Thunder Deer was relatively close to him.

Andrew Brooks began to prepare quietly, but just then, a sharp shout rang out: “Bind!”

A rope fell from the sky, tightly binding a small Thunder Deer. It turned out that the person hiding in the grass on the other side, seeing things going awry, made the first move.

“Damn it,” Andrew Brooks cursed angrily. That’s just stealing my prey—this is clearly my territory.

But he had no intention of fighting over a single deer. He was after the antlers, and only the stag would do—a pair of antlers was worth two hundred and fifty spirit coins.

As the deer was bound, two people burst out from the bushes opposite, one tall and one short.

So they came as a pair, huh? Andrew Brooks couldn’t help but sigh. Only I am a lone wanderer.

“Kid, help us block them,” the tall one shouted, “and you’ll get thirty percent of the spoils!”

You steal my prey and still act superior? Andrew Brooks sat there motionless, pretending not to hear.

“You!” The tall one stomped his foot in anger, but he had no time to vent. The stag’s antlers flashed with electricity, and a bolt of lightning shot out.

The tall man’s body instantly stiffened, his hair standing on end. Before he could react, a half-grown Thunder Deer, with two protrusions on its head, also flashed with electricity, and another bolt struck him.

His body shuddered again, and faint white smoke drifted from his mouth and nose.

“Even the little one knows how to finish the job?” Andrew Brooks was amazed, thinking that the two bumps on the half-grown deer’s head might fetch a good price too.

But the strongest attacker was still the stag. After releasing a bolt of lightning, it gathered power for about five seconds, then sent another bolt—this time at the short man.

However, the short man now displayed combat prowess that belied his stature. He first shuddered, then charged toward the bound fawn.

The half-grown deer struck again, making the short man’s body tremble, but he still pushed forward.

Several does also opened their mouths, spitting out balls of lightning at the short man. Though he didn’t freeze up, his body shook with each hit, making it hard to move.

In the blink of an eye, the battle reached a fever pitch.

The short man seemed to be wearing some kind of armor—Andrew Brooks noticed this detail. Then he saw the two armored tigers, still panting, get up and slowly amble over as they saw the chaos.

The deer herd had intended to rescue the fawn, but seeing things escalate, they realized they might not get away if they stayed. They had no choice but to retreat slowly while discharging electricity.

As the two armored tigers drew closer, the stag finally let out a long cry and turned to flee at full speed. The other Thunder Deer followed suit, bolting away.

No beast or human could outrun a Thunder Deer bent on escape.

Yet in the next instant, something unexpected happened—a black shadow shot out like an arrow.

It was a bizarre object, resembling an oversized mushroom, with two long braids trailing from the edge of its cap all the way to the ground, making a rustling sound as it moved.

Even more incredible, the mushroom actually had two legs—truly a strange sight.

The stag, startled by the sudden appearance of this thing, instinctively fired a bolt of lightning at it. Two does also spat out balls of lightning, aiming to blast the intruder.

Naturally, the one who charged out was Andrew Brooks. Seeing the herd panic and head his way, he was overjoyed and leapt out to intercept them without a second thought.

As three bolts of lightning struck, he ducked his head slightly, catching them with the iron pot on his head. Then, pulling out the long knife he’d just extorted from his storage pouch, he mustered all his strength and slashed at the stag’s neck.