Chapter 182: Chapter 181: The Plan Begins
"Understood!" Everyone called out in unison, except for Pretty Girl.
Ever since that incident the night before last, Pretty Girl seemed to be the same as usual, but Song Junhou couldn\'t help but feel that she had become distant from the other members of the team. He found the situation quite awkward, but there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was secretly plan to allocate a larger share of the proceeds from the Winged Tigers to her after the mission was completed to rebuild the goodwill.
What he didn\'t know was that due to his desertion in the face of the enemy, someone was secretly in high spirits. At least, this imagined rival no longer existed.
Putting aside Pretty Girl\'s identity as a member of the Green-grade redemption, solely based on Golden Lion Dog\'s act of desertion and disregard for Pretty Girl\'s safety, he no longer had the qualifications to be Tang San\'s rival in love.
At that time, the last thing Tang San wanted to see was Song Junhou playing the hero, fighting to the death to save the beauty. If that had happened, Song Junhou might have even left a deep and favorable impression in Pretty Girl\'s heart.
Fortunately, Monsters seem to lack any sense of humanity. Their primary concern is still self-interest. So, Tang San didn\'t even show up last night. What was there to worry about when faced with a Pretty Girl who could deal with five Eighth Stage Peacock Demon Clan members by herself, plus a rival who had already suffered a social death?
Song Junhou took a special look at Pretty Girl and, seeing that she seemed to be doing everything as usual, waved his hand and said, "Let\'s set out!"
The seven-person team moved quickly. According to the map, they were about to enter the Winged Tiger Habitat in a little over an hour.
Song Junhou walked in the front, with the thick-skinned Bear Demon taking up the rear defense. Pretty Girl, as the team\'s remote attacker, positioned herself towards the back of the middle. The scout Monster swiftly flew ahead. They progressed through the jungle quickly, as they had practiced on ordinary days.
Soon, as the day brightened, they began to enter the Winged Tiger Habitat.
There seemed to be an invisible pressure in the air. They slowed their pace, waiting for information from the scout.
What they didn\'t realize was that at this moment, a pair of eyes were watching their movements from high above, following their progress.
They did not have the same luck as Tang San and his team last time, who encountered a Winged Tiger just as they reached the edge of its habitat. After entering this area, they had searched for half a day and had not discovered any traces of Winged Tigers. It was almost noon.
"Everyone, rest in place. Wait for Xiao Yun to come back." Xiao Yun was the team\'s scout, a Shadow sparrow monster. Proficient in sneaking through shadows to launch surprise attacks, its forte was short-range flight assaults. It was responsible for scouting for the team.
The group felt some disappointment as they hadn\'t found any Winged Tigers after searching all morning. They gathered to rest, taking out food to replenish their energy.
Song Junhou\'s brows furrowed slightly. Why hadn\'t they encountered any Winged Tigers? They had been in the Winged Tiger Habitat for almost half a day, and according to the information they had checked, there shouldn\'t be a shortage of Winged Tigers here. They should be more worried about encountering too many Winged Tigers, but now there was no gain, which was somewhat abnormal.
"Captain, why haven\'t we found any Winged Tigers yet?" asked one of the Seventh Stage Monster Academy students, frowning.
This member was a Steel-backed ape monster, grasping a metallic long-staff thick as an arm. The Steel-backed ape monster was known for its ironclad body and immense strength and was also quick and swift as the wind. Among the Ape Demon Race, it ranked highly and was a crucial combatant. It had a higher status than the Titan Ape Monster. With its towering height of three meters and a Cultivation base of the Seventh Stage, it was considerably powerful.
Apart from Song Junhou, this Steel-backed ape monster was the strongest member of the team in terms of public knowledge. Another Seventh Stage Monster, a Cat Demon known for its speed, was only slightly weaker than it.
"I also think it\'s strange. We should have found something after being here for so long," Song Junhou\'s brow was tightly knit, "Let\'s eat and rest for a bit while we wait for Xiao Yun to return with news."
"Alright."
Just then, a shadow silently flitted through the air, only coming to a stop before Song Junhou. It transformed into a somewhat delicate and petite figure—it was Xiao Yun.
This was a male Shadow sparrow monster among the Monsters, belonging to the smallest category in size.
"Leader, I\'ve found the Winged Tigers, three of them; two adults and one young. It seems to be a family. The adult Winged Tigers both have a cultivation base around the Seventh Stage, while the young one is at the Fifth Stage," Xiao Yun reported excitedly to Song Junhou.
Song Junhou\'s eyes lit up, "Can you confirm their location and lead us back?"
"No problem," Xiao Yun said without hesitation.
"Great!" Song Junhou exclaimed joyfully, waving his hand, "Let\'s move out to complete the mission. After we take care of these three Winged Tigers, we\'ll rest."
Upon hearing that the Winged Tigers had finally been located, the other Monsters were also thrilled and quickly set out again, led by the Shadow sparrow monster.
Pretty Girl followed quietly within the group. Ever since that day\'s events, she had become even more reticent than usual. The Monsters also consciously felt it was shameless to speak to her, so in this extra day\'s time, the distance between them seemed to grow even further.
About a quarter of an hour into their travel, Song Junhou sniffed and his eyes sparkled with golden light, "It\'s definitely the Winged Tigers, I can smell them. Prepare for battle. During the fight, maintain formation; Old Yuan and I will take the front, and the rest of you assist from the sides. Let\'s end this quickly and quietly. Once the hunt is complete, we\'ll carry their bodies and leave the Winged Tiger Habitat immediately. If all goes well, we could come back after resting."
"Charge!"
About two kilometers away from them, Du Bai, forehead sweating a bit, said to Wu Bingji beside him, "I\'ve retracted the bad luck I cast on them, in accordance with Xiao Tang\'s \'Time\'. But I\'ll need at least an hour to adjust before I can control \'Luck\' again."
"You better rest up," Wu Bingji nodded to him.
On the other side, Gu Li said, "Then I\'m going over."
Wu Bingji replied, "Alright, be very careful. Don\'t forget Xiao Tang\'s reminders."
"Don\'t worry, big brother," Gu Li responded, quickly springing into action and disappearing into the jungle.
Wu Bingji looked up at the sky, subconsciously clenching his fist. The plan was about to begin!
Elsewhere.
Song Junhou led the way like a lion, approaching the forest in front of him. This mountainous terrain was rather rugged, which most suited the Winged Tigers\' living habits. Winged Tigers generally liked to live in caves. Caves situated at higher elevations were comfortable, regardless of wind or rain.
Soon, a cave came into view, and the pungent smell was indeed emanating from inside it.
With a slight squint of his eyes, Song Junhou gestured to one of his teammates.
The teammate chuckled and walked near the entrance of the cave, turning around as his body suddenly grew larger, especially around the rear.
With a "puff," a pale green stream of air was ejected from behind him. The pale green flow drilled straight into the cave.