Hunting in Progress (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Once they entered the forest, the Hunting Team scattered. The adults hunted separately, while Luo Chong led his four little brothers.

Their group had the most equipment. Aside from Luo Chong, Big Mouth, Monkey, Big Fur, and Second Fur each carried a Back Basket, a bundle of grass rope, and a long wooden stick. They were really just there to lend Luo Chong a hand.

The forest floor was soft, layered with thick fallen leaves, and the soil was black.

The whole mountain was covered in broadleaf forest: white ash with slender leaves like peach leaves, oak trees, and beeches. These trees stood around thirty meters tall and nearly a meter thick. They were all nut-bearing species, with countless nuts scattered across the ground. From far away, they could see large birds pecking at the nuts, along with guinea fowl and even dodos.

On the sunny slopes of the ridge stood some tall, straight firs and red pines, growing like utility poles. In fact, these things had once been used as utility poles—who could blame them for growing so straight?

They were all excellent timber, especially the firs, which were the best material for making longbows. But looking at trunks more than a meter thick, Luo Chong could do nothing about them. Without metal tools, what could he possibly do?

Rather than hunting, Luo Chong seemed to be sightseeing. He only observed along the way and did not hunt a single animal. As an excellent Hunter, he first had to find out what his hunting grounds contained.

He observed everything carefully, while the little companions following behind grew impatient. They spotted guinea fowl eating nuts several times, as well as a bird that looked like a turkey. The children were itching to try, but Luo Chong only kept walking, occasionally looking at the ground and paying them no attention at all.

But Luo Chong, who came from the twenty-first century, knew that this mountain possessed a complete food chain.

A forest full of nuts would have plenty of pheasants, squirrels, and rodents that ate nuts. With these small herbivores around, there would naturally be carnivorous predators as well.

Pythons as thick as an arm, as well as medium-sized felines—probably leopards, lynxes, wildcats, and the like.

Mm, he could tell from the tracks on the ground. The shape of the prints, the distance between them, and how deep they were—by looking at such things, one could determine the target's species, size, and weight.

There was also the droppings left behind by animals. Those were all things worth observing.

Luo Chong wanted to find round droppings mixed with grass fragments. Those generally belonged to large ruminant herbivores, such as sheep, deer, and cattle. Unfortunately, there were none here.

He was currently tracking a herd of Wild Boar. Yes, a whole herd. The ground bore signs of having been rooted up, with numerous deep, messy tracks like two small pits pressed together.

That indicated an even-toed ungulate, an animal with two toes on each foot. It also liked rooting through the earth and lived in groups. Other than Wild Boar, there should not have been anything else like that.

What frightened Luo Chong somewhat was that the prints were too damn deep. The creature probably weighed over a thousand jin, perhaps even a ton. This couldn't be some monster like a giant pig or an Entelodont, could it? This was a genuine primeval jungle, after all. He was genuinely worried he might not be able to handle it.

They headed toward the ridge, drawing closer and closer to their target. Luo Chong had already found fresh droppings, some of which had not even cooled yet.

After crossing the ridge, Luo Chong carefully moved forward in a crouch, trying not to make the slightest sound. He also told his four little brothers not to open their mouths or say a word.

His crouching advance turned into crawling. At last, Luo Chong crested the high ground of the ridge, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Ahead lay the end of the forest. Only shrubs covered the slope, along with a sparkling stream and giant aloe plants.

Beside the stream, less than two meters wide, over a dozen Wancchi Pigs were drinking. Several half-grown piglets were searching the shrubs for berries. It was a complete family. The leading boar stood around 1.3 meters at the shoulder and was estimated to weigh 1,500 jin. Behind him followed his first wife, second wife, third wife, and more than ten young the size of domestic pigs.

Long, sharp tusks, a high humped back, pitifully sparse fur, and long pointed cones growing outward beneath both eyes—those were its most obvious features.

The little companions lying beside Luo Chong were shaking so hard their legs trembled. Forget children like them—even adults would not dare provoke something like that.

Charging over and fighting head-on was definitely impossible. A trap would be safer. Luo Chong quietly backed away close to the ground and returned to the forest.

The little companions were scared out of their wits. They had only wanted to catch a pheasant or dig into a rat hole or something. They did not merely have no desire to hunt such a target—they did not even want to see it.

Luo Chong had not counted on them in the first place and began setting traps. Digging pits was impossible; it took too much effort. Before the pit was finished, the pigs would have run away.

He tied grass rope directly to the Dashu trees, making a movable noose shaped like the number six at the other end. Once a pig's hoof stepped inside, the loop would automatically tighten, growing tighter the more it struggled.

This kind of trap was simple and quick to make, though the odds of catching something were not high. Luo Chong made six nooses. There were over a dozen pigs, and he would be satisfied if only one target got caught. With that calculation, the odds were still fairly high.

The nooses were placed over the herd's tracks in the forest. By instinct, animals generally liked following old paths. People were the same, traveling back and forth along the same few familiar roads every day. Now, they only needed to make the pigs turn back.

Under Luo Chong's arrangements, the little companions climbed directly into the trees. They could not help much on the ground, and would only be in danger.

After arranging them, Luo Chong quietly made a wide circle to the other side of the stream. He hid behind the shrubs all the way, covering himself in mud to keep his scent from giving him away.

He crawled until he was a hundred meters from the stream, then began preparing his surprise attack. He was not going to confront the Wild Boar head-on; he only wanted to scare them away. Do not assume that Wild Boar would actively fight you just because they were powerful. Nearly every animal's first reaction to danger was to flee. Only when forced into a dead end would they fight for their lives.

There was skill in frightening wild beasts too. First, you had to be taller than the beast. If you were not tall enough, use something to make up for it. You had to make the beast feel that you were powerful. Second, your shout had to be loud. Do not show weakness; you had to possess the aura of a king. If you dared jump out and cry, "Ying ying ying," then you were dead for sure.

Luo Chong's small frame, less than 1.5 meters tall, was not much taller than the Wild Boar, so he held up two branches and slung his spear diagonally across his back before suddenly leaping out from behind the shrubs.

"Roar! Roar! Ah! Run the hell away!"

Luo Chong shouted at the top of his lungs while waving the branches, charging rapidly toward the herd.

The herd reacted extremely quickly. The moment they saw Luo Chong emerge, waving branches and colored the same as the mud all over his body, they were already bolting.

Can't provoke him, can't provoke him. We've never seen such a monster before, and that cry is so peculiar. Please don't eat us—we're leaving right away.

The herd ran wildly without looking back, vanishing into the forest in the blink of an eye. Luo Chong chased relentlessly behind them, shouting as he ran until he was nearly out of breath. At last, he heard the anguished squeals of Wild Boar ahead.

After taking several slow, deep breaths, he reached the trap area and saw that two Wild Boar had been caught. The leading boar was among them, along with an adult sow. He did not know which wife she was.

The boar's left hind leg had been caught in the rope, and it was struggling desperately. Luo Chong planned to deal with it first. He had no idea how long ordinary grass rope could hold.

When the Wild Boar saw Luo Chong approach with his spear raised, it turned its head toward him and roared. Luo Chong could only lead it around the tree in circles. After less than two laps, the rope was no longer long enough, and the Wild Boar could only struggle for its life.

Luo Chong turned back. When it opened its mouth and roared, he thrust his spear fiercely into its maw. The sharp Bone Spear pierced straight through the back of its neck and emerged behind it. When he forcefully pulled out the spear, pig blood sprayed out as though it cost nothing. Its originally ferocious roar now leaked air through the hole in its neck.

Heh heh, this was what it meant to win through cunning. Only an idiot would fight you head-on.

Qing Shu asked with a stern face, "Where are my recommendation votes???" (Super quietly)