Looking at that tiger's claw emerging from the darkness, my blood seemed to freeze for a moment.
I had forgotten the pain at that moment, my eyes fixed on the figure that slowly emerged from the darkness.
Finally, we see its true form. A tiger's head bigger than a basketball, with a pair of eyes like copper bells exuding a kingly aura of killing intent.
Its colorful body, estimated to be at least two meters tall, along with its four limbs as thick as pillars, exudes a powerful sense of oppression even when it's just standing there.
Oh no! This tiger has actually overcome its fear and is walking towards me. I'm doomed!
No! I can't just die like this. I have a family, I have to live!
I don't know where I got the courage from; the extreme fear made me forget the injury on my foot. I crawled on all fours like a tiger, my eyes still fixed on the tiger's eyes.
Animal behaviorists have said that when you try to make eye contact with a predator, they perceive it as a challenge to its authority and a provocative act.
The animals will then have two choices: first, they will become enraged and attack you directly, fighting to the death.
Another possibility is that they will be more cautious and will not launch an attack directly, but will first test your strength and weaknesses.
If you are assertive and not to be trifled with, they will back down temporarily. But if they sense that you are afraid and trying to escape, they will pounce on you and kill you immediately.
Generally, the first situation mostly occurs with tigers that have just reached adulthood or are nearing adulthood. They are new to the area and have little social experience, so they tend to be more direct and just do what they have to do.
The second type usually refers to tigers that are already adults and have lived for many years.
These tigers are much more cautious than those that have just entered society, because they have learned from their experiences and know that protecting themselves is the most important thing.
I'm betting that this tigress is a tiger with a wealth of survival experience. Her seemingly risky behavior is actually understandable.
After all, when I first came in and started the fire, it didn't immediately make any rash moves. Even now, it has only emerged from the darkness to confront me, without showing any desire to attack directly.
This shows that the tiger wasn't as reckless as we thought; otherwise, it would have jumped out and fought me for three hundred rounds already.
Just as I was lost in thought, the adult tigress arched her back and, like a cat playing with a mouse, extended a claw to probe me.
Without hesitation, I took a small step toward the tiger, roared, and raised my hand as if to slap it.
Actually, I didn't really intend to use my bare hands to fight the tiger. I just wanted to create a psychological deterrent, to let it know that I'm dangerous and shouldn't mess with me.
This seemingly dangerous maneuver is actually not safe at all. A feint must be executed precisely to achieve the desired effect; otherwise, it either fails to deter the attacker or is too direct, provoking the other party to act rashly.
I slammed my palm down, then immediately stopped and raised it less than ten centimeters from the tiger's head. That body language seemed to say, "I'm not afraid of you, but I don't want to fight you either."
These actions may seem ridiculous to humans, who might think it's just a show of incompetence.
However, animals don't see it that way, especially those with rich survival experience.
They assume the other party is just as fierce as themselves, an evenly matched opponent, and try to persuade both sides to avoid fighting through neutral means.
Sure enough, my fake slap and roar actually scared a tiger back a few steps.
But it let out a low growl and quickly tried to pounce on me again. At this moment, my adrenaline was already soaring at several times the normal level, due to its fright.
I roared and raised both hands high, one hand almost touching the tiger. But each time, my goal was mainly to intimidate it; I couldn't actually make physical contact with it.
If that happens, I'll be exposed and my deception will be revealed in the next second.
When the tiger saw me suddenly stand up and raise my paws, it immediately stopped its forward lunge and took a few steps back, while continuously making threatening growls.
These beasts have a vague concept of size. In their visual plane, any opponent that is taller and wider than themselves is considered big, and the larger the size, the stronger they perceive it to be.
A wild animal may be very fierce, but if you hold up a piece of cardboard two meters high and one meter wide to scare it, it will still be frightened and back away.
Seeing that this method worked and successfully frightened the tiger, my next step was not to further scare it, as that might backfire and make it think it had no way out, thus escalating its attack.
Now all I need to do is use some seemingly dangerous feints to confuse the tiger. The more uncertain it is about me, the less likely it is to make a move.
I slowly lay down, spreading my palms out as wide as possible so that they would appear to be about the same size as its.
Then I relaxed like a wild beast resting, even putting my hands together loosely in front of this tiger.
Don't underestimate this action; it's unbelievable to the tiger at this moment. The fact that the tiger dares to place its paws so casually when facing an enemy will only increase their suspicion.
This is just like those novels where someone pretends to be something they're not, and then gets slapped in the face. He actually dares to put on such a show; just how terrifying is this person's cultivation?
Seeing that I had actually lay down, the tiger became even more hesitant to approach. It could only pace back and forth, looking at me with a somewhat confused and anxious gaze.
Perhaps it hadn't given up yet, for it tentatively stretched out one paw forward.
But I wouldn't allow such a test. I immediately threatened it to retract its claws with a gradually increasing, more aggressive tone.
And in this way, I'm telling it that I've already restrained my anger and that it shouldn't provoke me anymore.
At the same time, I pulled the rope controlling the spikes one by one, and the spikes shook like the mane of a wolf in anger.
This tactic worked wonders; the gradually increasing menacing shouts combined with the lifelike thrusts finally broke down the big cat's defenses. At this moment, I was no longer its opponent.
In its world, I am now an unfathomable beast, a hundred times more ferocious than itself. It is no match for me; it can kill me at any time if it so chooses.
The tiger glanced at me evasively, no longer daring to look me in the eye, and then slowly retreated to its den, whimpering like a wronged woman.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com