Wu Song (Silver)
The purple-striped fierce tiger, maddened by the intense pain in its belly, roared in anger upon seeing the black-haired man emerge from the forest. It seemed to recognize him as one of Xia Tian's kin.
With a furious roar, it lunged forward on all fours, charging towards the black-haired man!
"Good, come!"
Seeing this, the black-haired man raised an eyebrow, showing no fear. He even shouted.
First, he threw the wild boar in his left hand to the ground, then tossed the pu dao (a type of Chinese broadsword) from his right hand, and stood his ground, showing no intention of dodging.
Roar!
Just as the purple-striped fierce tiger opened its blood-red mouth, its four limbs spread wide, and a putrid stench accompanied its charge, the man suddenly shifted his body, nimbly stepping back half a pace to avoid the tiger's frontal claw strike.
Then, his hands shot out like lightning. One hand grabbed the fur on top of the tiger's head, while the other pressed down on the back of its neck.
The next moment, he exerted all his strength, and the tiger's head, belonging to a beast four to five meters long, was slammed to the ground with a "boom," sinking into the yellow mud mixed with a large amount of decaying leaves in the mountains, filling its mouth with dirt!
"Roar, roar..."
Then, the black-haired man held down the purple-striped tiger's head with one hand.
Bang!
He raised his other hand, clenched into a fist, and delivered a powerful punch to the head of the purple-striped fierce tiger, which was struggling in the mud, trying to lift its body.
The tiger's body shuddered violently, as if struck by a thousand-pound hammer, and its claws, which had been desperately digging into the mud, uncontrollably loosened their grip!
Bang, bang, bang!
Subsequently, the black-haired man, with his thick, blade-like eyebrows, continuously struck the purple-striped fierce tiger's head with his fists, causing blood to gush from its mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. The blood even splattered several meters onto the ground, staining the nearby mud and leaves red!
After about six or seven punches, the purple-striped fierce tiger, held firmly beneath the black-haired man's single hand, ceased to breathe.
An eighth-tier fierce tiger, with a green name and a cultivation world background, was thus beaten to death by a human with his bare fists.
"How powerful, what an exceptional man! Whose subordinate is this?"
Inside the territory's protective barrier, Xia Tian's eyes widened as he witnessed this scene up close, muttering to himself.
"Look, there really are houses! Is this the territory guided by Heaven?"
Meanwhile, as the black-haired man was fighting the tiger, more people gradually emerged from the forest.
Looking at the large clearing in the forest, and the magnificent building at its center that exceeded their understanding, the group of refugees showed expressions of great excitement!
"【Some of the refugees you summoned have arrived. Please recruit them into your territory as soon as possible!】"
At the same time, a notification appeared in Xia Tian's mind.
Refugees still needed to be recruited to become residents after arriving, which was clearly due to the real world, not some game or novel.
This made Xia Tian feel a little awkward. Although, thanks to the integration of all worlds, all intelligent life forms had mastered a universal language, so there was no need to worry about language barriers.
But who could tell me what to say to these refugees?
However, Xia Tian soon realized that he didn't need to say anything at all.
Because, after the refugees discovered the territory in the forest, and the invisible barrier that prevented them from approaching, they all showed expressions of profound reverence towards Xia Tian, who stood inside the barrier.
"May I ask if this is the dwelling of an immortal, and are you an immortal, sir?"
The oldest white-haired elder among the refugees asked cautiously.
This was because Xia Tian's hairstyle and clothing were vastly different from anything they had ever seen before.
Especially on his first day of work, Xia Tian had deliberately endured the expense of buying an expensive suit, coupled with his distinctive short hair. Given their preconceived notions, all of this was naturally taken as a symbol of an "immortal"!
"No, this is not a dwelling for immortals, but a territory that provides shelter for humans. I am not an immortal either; you may call me 'Lord'!"
However, Xia Tian had no intention of admitting to being an "immortal." This was because a lord and the recruited residents would live together for a long time, and creating too "lofty" a persona from the beginning would be difficult to manage.
"Lord, Heaven said you could provide us with shelter and food? Is that true!"
A middle-aged man among the refugees spoke out.
"Indeed, as you can see, my territory can prevent otherworldly creatures from entering! There are also many empty spaces for you to live and reside. Are you willing to become my residents?"
Xia Tian looked at the refugees, his tone kind and his attitude gentle.
"What do we, your humble servants, need to give in return for becoming your residents, sir?"
However, the white-haired elder's expression instead became quite uneasy, and he asked in a low voice.
"You need to offer your loyalty and your strength. I need you to cultivate fields, build various houses, raise poultry and livestock, weave clothes, mine resources... And of course, when necessary, you will need to take up arms and fight against enemies!"
Xia Tian's expression became serious.
"Ah, is that all..."
The next moment, the tense expressions on all the refugees' faces relaxed.
This was because, as commoners from an ancient dynasty, which some called "accounting for 80% of the world's GDP at the time," the exploitation and oppression they experienced daily were unimaginable!
Tenant farmers, military households, artisan households... numerous corvée labors killed many people every year. House taxes, salt taxes, foot taxes... countless exorbitant taxes and levies meant that children were even forced to be thrown into rivers and drowned if their head tax couldn't be paid.
Compared to the miserable lives they led in their original world, what Xia Tian had just described could hardly be considered "demands"; rather, they were things they considered natural to provide.
Moreover, in this extremely dangerous jungle, if they didn't join Xia Tian's territory, they had nowhere else to go!
So, without a doubt, not a single refugee objected.
"Chief Wu, what do you think..."
However, even though their hearts were already filled with longing for Xia Tian's territory, the group of refugees still looked first at the black-haired man who had single-handedly killed the purple-striped fierce tiger!
"Hmm, Chief Wu?"
Xia Tian's heart stirred. The top-tier potential "hero" among the refugees mentioned on the summoning scroll must be this person, right?
"His surname is Wu, he's a chief, and he can easily kill an eighth-tier fierce tiger. Hiss, could it be..."
Thinking of a certain possibility, Xia Tian immediately activated his "Eye of Insight" and scanned the man.
"【Wu Song (Silver)】"
"【Rank】 Ninth-tier"
"【Physique】 10.0"
"【Soul】 8.0"
"【Talent】 Tiger-Slaying Hero (Provides powerful deterrence and combat power bonus against tiger-blooded creatures and those who commit evil deeds)"
"【Characteristics】 Wu Song on Foot (All combat skills in foot combat are raised by one level), Drunkenness (Soul attribute increases after drinking alcohol; enters a full 'burst' state when drunk)"
"【Skills】 Jade Ring Steps, Mandarin Duck Kicks (Grandmaster), Drunken Fist (Master)"
"【Description】 A 'Remarkable Figure (Silver)' with top-tier potential, with a high probability of further advancing to 'Exceptional Figure (Gold)'."
"Wu Song!"
Although Xia Tian had already somewhat anticipated this due to the title "Chief Wu" and the feat of single-handedly killing a tiger, he couldn't help but feel surprised and delighted when he actually saw the name Wu Song.
Good heavens, "Lin Chong on horseback, Wu Song on foot"! Wu Song was the "foremost foot combatant" in Water Margin, a demon god reincarnated, with arms possessing a thousand catties of strength, capable of throwing a several-hundred-catty stone pillar ten feet into the air and then catching it with his bare hands—what a formidable man!
A physique attribute ten times that of an ordinary person was enough to indicate that the Wu Song before him was indeed the legendary version. With such a Wu Erlang joining him, would he still need to fear the monsters around his territory?
"And Wu Song's talent isn't just for tigers, but also for 'criminals and traitors'?"
"Could it be that this Wu Song is not only the Wu Song from the novel but also influenced by the historical Wu Song?"
Although Wu Song is famous because of "Water Margin,"
he has a historical prototype and was indeed a chief. He also did kill a "tiger," but that tiger wasn't a real tiger; it was Cai Yun, the Hangzhou prefect who was harming the common people at the time, and the son of the corrupt prime minister Cai Jing!
Presumably, for this reason, Wu Song, after being reshaped by the "Eternal Land," not only could fight tigers but also posed a great deterrent to "evil-doers and criminals."
"In that case, not only can he fight for the territory in the early stages,"
"but later, when the territory develops, Wu Song can also perfectly fit positions like 'Chief of the Imperial Guards' or 'Head Constable of the Six Doors.'"
"Get him, I must get Wu Song!"
Xia Tian muttered frantically in his heart, but on the surface, he remained calm.
"Brave warrior, your strength is quite remarkable. Are you willing to join my territory?"