It never crossed Dominic's mind that there would be a second tiger hidden in this godforsaken forest.
In that moment, he had no time to dodge. Staring at the massive jaws of the tiger charging ferociously towards him, he didn't have much time to think. The instant the tiger knocked him to the ground, all the hidden strength in his body activated. Along with the adrenaline, his arms stretched out and he held the tiger up with all his might.
"Damn it!"
But the strength of a tiger is something humans cannot compete with, no matter how well trained they are. Despite Dominic's excellent physical condition and perfect experience, his hands began to shake uncontrollably.
"Rooooaaaarrr!"
The tiger on Dominic's body continued to increase its exertion of force. Along with its weight, it roared in frustration at seeing him resist, and its saliva began to drip onto his face.
Dominic paid no attention to the saliva falling on his face. Who cares about that when his life was about to end at the hands of a tiger?
Bang!
At that moment, with the sound of a gunshot, a bullet flew not far away and deeply struck the tiger's body.
"Rrrroooaarrr!"
The tiger roared in pain; its body staggered, and it immediately focused on Merle, who was holding a gun and aiming at it. Ignoring Dominic beneath it, the tiger charged directly at this new prey that had hurt it.
But how could Dominic let it run off like that? The moment the tiger relaxed its grip, he grabbed its fur and climbed onto its back as it tried to move.
Upon feeling Dominic on its back, the tiger panicked immediately, abandoning its plan to attack Merle and thrashing its body frantically to throw off what was clinging to its back.
But now that Dominic had an opportunity, how could he let go so easily? Despite the lower part of his body swinging wildly, his arms held tightly to the tiger's body, and he refused to let go, no matter how much it moved.
At the same time, he drew the dagger hanging from his waist, and when the moment came, he fiercely stabbed at the tiger's eyes.
But due to the violent shaking and the fact that he was on the tiger's back, Dominic's strike veered off course and pierced the tiger's forehead instead.
The sharp dagger sank deeply but was quickly halted by the hard skull of the beast, unable to go any further, meeting a forceful resistance.
"Rrrr!"
The threat of death and severe pain made the tiger roar angrily and thrash its body even more violently.
Dominic swayed uncontrollably, unable to make a second stab with the dagger. He had to hold onto the tiger tightly to avoid being thrown off.
At this moment, he maximized his previous horse training experience, adjusted his swaying body, and silently waited for an opportunity.
"Damn it!"
Just as the man and tiger were throwing each other around, Rick also came running over, raising the rifle in his hand to provide support.
"What's going on?" At that moment, the others had arrived and froze in shock, seeing Dominic and the tiger entwined together.
"Don't shoot!" One could say Rick had the best shot in the group, but the frequency of the tiger's movements made him hesitate to shoot, fearing he might hit Dominic instead.
Additionally, the terrifying scene made Rick hesitant to get closer, so he had to keep his distance to avoid getting involved.
And as Rick struggled to advance, the tiger, having fought for a long time, still couldn't rid itself of the thing on its back and finally slowed down a bit, exhausted.
"Wait, two damn tigers?" Glenn felt a shiver run through his body. Looking at the exhausted tiger being held tightly by Dominic, he fell silent and, along with the rest, just watched.
Dominic, who had been crawling on its back, had a fierce look in his eyes. He twisted the dagger in his hand and, instead of blindly attacking the tiger's head, he aimed at its relatively soft belly, stabbing deeply and repeatedly.
"Slash!"
The sharp dagger pierced the tiger's abdomen and sank deeply. When the dagger was pulled out, wounds appeared one after another, and a large amount of blood flowed from the wounds.
"Rrrroooaarrr!"
The tiger, somewhat exhausted, was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen and immediately let out a painful howl, its previously slowing movements becoming violent again.
Seeing this, Dominic immediately stopped what he was doing, but it wasn't hard to see from his slightly trembling arms that his condition was not much better.
With the tiger's violent movements, a large amount of blood began to gush from its abdominal wounds, splattering everywhere and dyeing the surrounding snow red.
Perhaps knowing it couldn't shake off its tormentor, the tiger, with bloodshot eyes, ran towards the nearest large tree.
Just as it reached it, it twisted violently to the side, slamming its body and back against the tree's surface with great force.
This happened so suddenly that although Dominic consciously adjusted his body's position, he couldn't avoid it completely in the rush.
"Ouch!"
Dominic's right arm and leg hit the tree, and the pain felt like being run over by a bulldozer, making his face contort in pain and causing him to tremble uncontrollably. Even when he tried again, the pain made him unable to move for a while, using only his strength to avoid falling, but the force was too much, making the dagger in his hand almost slip.
"Damn beast!"
All the joints in his body were creaking, and Dominic felt enraged at that moment. He knew he couldn't endure a second impact, so he fought through the pain in his arm, and while the tiger's body slowed down for a short time, he stabbed fiercely into the tiger's right eye with his right hand.
The knife came quickly and forcefully, almost the entire dagger plunging in.
At the same time, Rick, who had been watching and aiming from the side, took this opportunity to help and cripple the tiger's other eye with a single shot.
Bang!
Roar!
With this shot, the tiger lost sight in both eyes.
Suffering such a fatal blow again and losing its vision made the tiger thrash wildly as if out of control, almost losing its head with every movement.
But the sharp dagger kept vibrating, with the blade cutting through its eyes and continuing to sink into the tiger's body.
Victory seemed to be just within reach for Dominic, and both Rick and the others knew this was only the tiger's death throes.
But at that moment, the out-of-control tiger suddenly lost direction and ran wildly in one direction, as if trying to escape.
And in the direction it was fleeing, there was a large pit where the body of another tiger lay.
"Dominic, let it go!"
At this point, Dominic on the tiger's back couldn't immediately detect it, but Merle saw it clearly and quickly shouted to warn him.
Hearing Merle's warning, Dominic looked up and immediately understood what was happening. He instantly felt the tiger was out of control and realized this beast was heading for a trap.
Before he had time to think, he pushed back off the tiger with both hands, realizing his body was hanging over the pit. Seeing the sharp steel spikes below, his pupils shrank for a moment, and he turned around, clinging tightly to the pit's edge.
"Rrrrr!"
Gripping the edge of the pit firmly with his fingers, Dominic's eyes were bloodshot, refusing to fall. But his injured right arm and leg couldn't help much, and his body began to slide slowly backward.
Looking at Rick, who was approaching in front of him, Dominic kept roaring internally to hold on; despite his dirt-covered nails crumbling, he didn't care.
He wants to live! Many people depend on him!
"I got you!"
Maybe the threat of death inspired Dominic's potential, but he was half-hanging over the pit, waiting for Merle's support.
Throwing himself onto the dirt, Rick discarded the weapon in his hand, grabbing Dominic's arm firmly with both hands and pulling him out of the pit little by little.
With a dull thud, Dominic collapsed helplessly into the snow, and Rick beside him was also out of breath. It was evident that he had expended a lot of energy in the rescue at that moment.
Looking at the sky above his head, Dominic felt his eyes blacken for a moment, his body unable to muster any strength. At that moment, he wasn't reacting. He seemed overloaded, and the adrenaline had completely left his body.
Before he could think again, an irresistible dizziness immediately took over his brain, and he knew no more.
"Dominic!" Glenn approached and looked at the dead tigers, pondering what would happen if these things suddenly rose like walkers.
"Finish off the tigers; we don't know if they're still alive!" Daryl shouted as he approached the tiger that had hurt him, proceeding to yank out its fangs and claws for a trophy he might never obtain again.