Wild Bison (Part 2)

The bison of this world looked very similar to those on Earth. Adult bison were generally around two meters long, with thick, sharp horns curving in an arc. The only difference was that their fur was not dark like that of Earth's bison. On the contrary, beneath the sunlight, their hides displayed a captivatingly smooth sheen, like golden brocade, beautiful enough to dazzle the eye.

And it was precisely because of this beautiful fur that these animals suffered endless disaster. Fur garments made from their lovely pelts were far cheaper than those made from other animals, and had always been favored by women from well-to-do families.

Bison meat was also more delicious than domestic beef. Thus, tempted by heavy rewards, people often entered the forest to hunt them. However, catching a bison was by no means an easy task.

First, although bison lived around the edges of the forest, they usually moved about in small herds, and no herd had fewer than ten animals. Second, while they were most active at dawn, dusk, and night, resting in cool shade during the day, their sense of smell and hearing were extremely keen. Though mild-tempered, they feared no enemy when threatened. Upon discovering someone approaching, they would flee swiftly. If wounded by arrows or driven into a corner with no road left to take, they would become even fiercer and attack people. Therefore, those who hunted bison were usually warriors below Level Six who had no means of livelihood. At the very least, they were robust hunters with extensive hunting experience.

Young boys like Fafier and Romon would have astonished others even if they hunted animals smaller than bison, let alone killed a bison.

But Fafier and Romon had no time to think about that now. They were lying prone in the grass, their gazes locked tightly upon the bison drinking by the river.

Though they lacked much hunting experience, that did not mean they could not judge the strength of these three bison. Their movements were somewhat sluggish, and they looked generally weak and listless. Added to the fact that there were only three of them, they were clearly frail bison that had fallen behind the herd! What was more, there was one adult and two young!

The two exchanged a glance, and each saw delight in the other's eyes.

"Romon, they're three bison that fell behind! We've struck it rich this time!" Fafier's excited little face turned red, as though he could already see a whole heap of silver coins laid before him. Happily, he reached for the arrows on his back and raised his bow to shoot, only for Romon to grab and stop him.

"Don't move yet." Romon stared brightly at the three bison still drinking by the river and spoke softly. "It wasn't easy finding bison that fell behind. We can't scare them away."

He licked his slightly dry lips and continued, "At this distance, arrows might not work very well. How about this? I'll sneak over and give the big one a sudden strike. You handle the two little ones. Didn't you bring rope? If we catch them alive, we'll tie them up and bring them back. Live bison are worth more, and besides, killing the adult won't be a problem, but the little ones... if we don't have to kill them, we won't..."

Without allowing Fafier any chance to object, he bent low and carefully made his way through the grass toward the three bison.

Only after getting closer did he realize that the two young were calves that seemed to have been born not long ago. Even while drinking, their four legs trembled slightly.

The adult bison also looked weak. Its body was covered in wounds, many of them festering with pus. Clearly, after falling behind the herd and needing to protect the calves, it had encountered danger upon danger—every carnivore would be interested in such isolated prey. Who knew how many desperate battles it had endured?

When Romon approached, it had just finished drinking. It weakly swished its tail and began walking toward the bank.

A perfect chance!

Romon gripped the sword in his hand more tightly and moved toward it with even lighter steps. This was the sword forged by old Weil the blacksmith. A machete might have been more suitable for hunting, but weapons were not cheap in this world. On top of that, he carried a debt of several hundred silver coins, so for now, he could only make do with this sword.

As for taking out the machete from his space, that was impossible. Besides, although a machete was more useful for hunting, for someone who currently knew only swordsmanship, a sword was better able to protect him.

Because Romon was a Druid, he naturally carried an aura of peaceful harmony with nature. This aura was not only useful on plants; it was also quite effective at numbing animals' vigilance. After all, who would be wary of a plant? Thus, when he slowly emerged from the grass and walked toward the bison, it did not notice him at first, since it had its back to him.

Only when he had reached it and raised his sword did the killing intent that erupted in that instant finally alert the adult bison to danger. In panic, it tried to flee, but how could Romon let such prey escape?

His hand rose and his sword fell, stabbing fiercely into the bison's body. The weapon was good and sank in deeply. The bison let out a mad bellow, turned around, and charged with its horns.

Romon jumped in fright and hurriedly leaped aside. His extraordinary agility burst forth at that moment.

After retreating only a few steps, Romon realized that, due to its countless wounds, the bison's movements had already become extremely slow and clumsy. It merely continued to let out mournful bellows.

Romon immediately pounced on it, stabbing again and again. Blood splashed everywhere. At last, huge tears rolled from the bison's eyes, as though it knew its time of death had come.

At the sight of those tears, Romon suddenly hesitated. But then he thought of Nick, hardened his heart again, and drove his sword down, piercing the bison's heart.

Romon looked at the fallen body on the ground and was fairly satisfied with the strength he had gained from practicing swordsmanship these past few days. He wiped away the few drops of blood that had splashed onto him.

Once that was done, he stood up and happened to see Fafier walking over with the two young bison in tow, grinning happily.

Then the two of them got busy, skinning the bison right there. At the same time, they placed the beef, already cut into several large chunks, into a burlap sack they had prepared beforehand.

It was not that Romon did not want to save himself the trouble by tossing everything into his space, but he was not alone now. Fafier was his good friend, but the fewer people who knew he possessed a space, the better.

"We really got lucky this time! Finished skinning it?" Fafier looked at the skeleton on the ground, which still had quite a bit of meat left on it, and said regretfully, "We're leaving all that behind?"

Romon smiled and patted the sack on the ground. "Forget about that. Just carrying this back will take a great deal of effort. It's nearly noon. Let's hurry back. If we get back early and bring home some money, you might even get to eat a meat pie!"

Fafier thought that made sense and said no more.

One led the calves while the other carried the beef, and the two headed back in high spirits.

It could be said that this hunt was a great success. Not only had no one been injured, they had even hunted bison that were normally difficult to catch. This was truly luck by the standard measure.

Even Romon could not help humming a tune, one of the popular songs from Earth.

"Romon, what tune are you humming? It sounds so good!" Fafier said enviously from beside him. "Can you teach me?"

Romon looked at him in some surprise. "Didn't you always dislike this sort of thing?"

Fafier scratched his head bashfully. "My coming-of-age ceremony is next year..."

"Oh, oh, I get it! You brat, you're thinking about girls, aren't you? Hahaha!" Romon understood at once and burst into laughter.

Fafier's face reddened even more. Embarrassed and angry, he said, "Forget it if you won't teach me! Honestly!"

Then he strode angrily ahead.

Suppressing his laughter, Romon walked up and patted his shoulder. "Don't be mad. I'll teach you later, all right?"

Only then did Fafier's expression soften. But soon, his face turned ugly again. "Romon, I think I just saw a shadow flash past."

"Really?" Romon stopped fooling around and carefully looked around. "There's no one. Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you?"

"Maybe." Fafier was not certain either. "By the way, I heard Miss Eileen treats you very well. You'll definitely be able to work for the church in the future, right?"

Seeing his companion already staring at him with a face full of envy, Romon could only smack Fafier on the head and say with a bitter smile, "What does that have to do with whether I can work for the Church? But..."

Before his eyes seemed to appear Eileen's tranquil, lovely face, as well as her delicate, full female figure. "...Miss Eileen really is a very nice person."

Fafier chuckled. "Don't tell me you've fallen for Miss Eileen?"

Normally, such words could not be spoken. After all, Miss Eileen was a noble and a priestess; her status was more than a little higher than that of commoners like them. Even if Romon was a Druid, it would still be difficult for him to reach so high.

But there were only the two of them now. Besides, Fafier merely wanted to win back a round and find a chance to tease the other.

"If you could marry Miss Eileen, you'd truly rise to the heavens in a single step! Miss Eileen isn't just beautiful—she's gentle and kind, and she'll be a priestess in the future. She's also the lord's daughter. Tell me honestly, you really don't like her?"

Yet Romon's reaction disappointed him greatly. His face was completely calm, as though the person who had just been linked with that universally acknowledged angel was not himself.

"Romon, didn't you hear who I was talking about? I mean Miss Eileen! Beautiful, kind Miss Eileen! Someone as angelic as her, you really don't like her?"

Romon smacked Fafier on the head again. "What nonsense are you talking about? That's completely impossible. Have you forgotten her status? Hmph."

After making a contemptuous expression, Romon quickly walked ahead.

"Hey, hey! Romon, wait for me!" Fafier hurriedly led the two calves after him.

"If you really don't like her, why are you deliberately keeping such a straight face? It's too obvious! Come on, tell me. We're brothers, aren't we? If you say it, I won't laugh at you..."

"Romon..."

The two bickered noisily as they walked farther and farther away. Behind them, countless drops of blood remained on the dirt road, trailing from beneath the burlap sack Romon carried and stretching far into the distance.

Only after their figures had gone far away did a young man wearing a loose robe emerge from the side.

!!