The sun climbed higher, its blazing rays piercing through layers of leaves and casting shifting patches of mottled light across the forest. It also steamed up the moisture that had accumulated in the mountains overnight, making the air hot and humid.
Ning Chuan held his breath and focused, hiding behind a dense clump of bushes some thirty meters from the mud pit. His body was pressed close to the ground, minimizing the area exposed.
Sweat trickled down his temples and soaked his sideburns, but Ning Chuan did not dare wipe it away. His hawk-like gaze remained fixed on the dark shape rolling in the mud pit.
The wild boar was clearly uncomfortable with the sudden rise in temperature and humidity as well.
It restlessly rooted around in the mud, letting out heavy snorts. Seemingly tired of the sticky "mud bath," it slowly rose from the pit.
Muddy water streamed down the boar's powerful body, forming a thick coat of mud armor over its dark, coarse hide.
The mud armor gleamed with an oily sheen in the sunlight, making the mud-covered boar look like a fortress standing amid the forest.
Its not overly large tusks curved upward, their tips glinting with chilling light.
The boar shook its massive head, spraying mud everywhere, then lumbered toward a patch of denser shade beside the mud pit, clearly seeking a cool place to rest.
An opportunity!
Ning Chuan's heart jolted, but he forcibly suppressed his excitement and considered the situation carefully.
As the boar left the mud pit and headed for the shade, it would pass through a relatively open stretch with sparse shrubs.
That would be his only chance to deliver a fatal blow!
Success or failure depended on this one strike!
Ning Chuan slowly adjusted his breathing and pushed the Spirit Turtle