Translated by Sunyancai
Of the warriors that came to them, the leading one was called Cha. Cha was almost the same age as Mai, and he was the second strongest person in his hunting group, which meant that he was of great importance in that group. He was also an old experienced hunting warrior. Among the five people, he was the least wounded.
You lost people in your group?
Mai said with astonishment. It was just the beginning of the hunting trip… apparently, it was extremely abnormal to lose someone.
We lost three warriors. When we arrived at the first location to rest, they went to fetch some water, and then they never came back.
It was hard for Cha to say this out aloud, for obviously, that incident was a great strike to the whole hunting group. It was not like when someone got killed during a fierce hunting mission. Someone went missing, without knowing why. Even their bodies hadn’t been found, and that was something unacceptable! No one was willing to give up.
The water-fetching spot was also up in the mountain, not far away from the cave that we spend the night in. Dangerous animals like ferocious beasts were rarely seen in the nearby region. However, until night, these three never came back. Ah-Cheng took a few men to look for them, but they only found some traces and marks that they left around the water-fetching spot. We waited for another half a day, and people split up to look for them…still, no news… We did encounter a lot of those things while we looked for our missing men.
Cha rubbed his tired face, and pointed to the dead bat on the ground,
They actively attacked the hunting group… in the daylight! There were dozens of them, and they wounded quite a few of us. Ah-Cheng told me to come ask you for help. But I did not expect that they had already came to you before we did.
Shao Xuan heard him talking, but in the meantime, he noticed that there seemed to be something wrong with Caesar. He checked his wound, only to find that the injury did show any signs of being bad at all. The blood was still fresh-red, but Caesar looked extremely tired and dizzy.
It was bitten by the bat, wasn’t it?
Cha asked,
Anyone bitten by that thing would feel feeble and weak. But don’t worry, it won’t die. Let the wolf eat this.
Cha passed a root-like thing to Shao Xuan. After spending so much time learning about herbs and medicines from the Shaman, of course Shao Xuan recognized the plant. That root had some refreshing effects, and could ease some anesthetic effects caused by toxic plants. However, they were very hard to find in the hunting regions. Moreover, Cha and the others had shared the same negative opinion when they saw Caesar tagging along with the hunting team. He even laughed at Mai when he saw the wolf was in Mai’s hunting group. So, why would he give such precious herb to Caesar now?
Seeing that Mai and Lang Ga were looking at him as well, Cha explained,
I have to count on the wolf to help us find our three men.
That was true.
In the past, you laughed at us, and now you need our wolf’s help? Lang Ga and the others really wanted to gloat a little, but thinking of the situation right now, their hearts became heavy again.
Men went missing for no apparent reason, nor any sign. They just disappeared inexplicably and vanished in the mist. It was so crazy to even think of that. They didn’t fear to battle with ferocious beasts, however, towards something unknown, they had always been perturbed.
What did Ah-Cheng say?
Asked Mai.
Ah-Cheng said that our men had probably been bitten by those disgusting things, so they couldn’t resist. It’s highly likely that they got dragged away by those things. However, few traces could be found, so it’s been difficult tracking them down.
Cha glimpsed at Caesar again. The wolf was becoming more and more energetic.
I hope it can help.
Shao Xuan checked the wounds on Caesar’s body. After making sure that he was fine, Shao Xuan focused his attention on those two dead bats.
The saliva of the bats had a strong anesthetic effect. Shao Xuan opened their mouths with his stone knife. He noticed that their front teeth were much larger than cheek teeth, while their canine teeth were as sharp as knives. Apparently, the wounds on Caesar’s body were caused by those teeth.
Some animals with such teeth clearly had meat in their diet.
Aside from that, the bats’ claws were also very sharp, and they had strong hind legs, as well as giant eyes.
So how’re things? Can we go now?
Cha was a little anxious, and he was eager to head back quickly. The more they stalled, the less hope they would have for finding the men they lost. He had no idea what the situation was along their hunting route.
Mai glimpsed at Shao Xuan. Seeing that Shao Xuan nodded, he knew that Caesar was good to go,
Okay. Let’s march.
The hunting group first headed back to the cave, to bring more stone tools with them, just in case.
Cha led the way, but they didn’t go from the mountaintop. Although it was safer to travel over the mountain, it would take longer time for them to get to the destination. Now, everyone agreed that they were in a big hurry, and had to arrive as soon as possible. Without hesitation, they chose the shortest path.
On their way, they encountered a few more giant bats, and they put them down with joint efforts.
Everybody watch out! Scratches are fine, but a bite could be pretty bad. I don’t have enough herbs on me.
Cha reminded the crowd.
There is less game in the hunting region, for many giant-antler deers and mammoth cows have left their old habitats and ran further away. Even ferocious beasts would rarely come out these days… Never have I met such a situation in the past…
Hearing that, people understood that it was not a good sign.
Less game meant that they were caught by other predators. Migration of giant-antler deer and mammoth cows might indicate that they were trying to get away from this dangerous place. However, why would there be less ferocious beasts? What would threaten or put fear in the ferocious beasts?
Indeed, this is not a good thing.
Lang Ga and the others whispered. When seeing the big bats, they had an uncomfortable feeling. Now, they were more certain of it.
As they were marching forward, Shao Xuan suddenly heard an unusual sharp scream travelling through the air. However, he checked Lang Ga and the others around him, and noticed that they didn’t seem to pay any extra attention to the surroundings. They hadn’t heard anything.
Caesar’s hair on his back stood up again, and he stared at the sky vigilantly.
Cha walked in the front. Mai, Cha, and a few other mid-level totem warriors that were leading the group suddenly stopped.
Mai waved his hand to the others, to indicate them to keep quiet and be alert while he focused on listening.
Is that it?
Mai whispered.
Yep.
Cha nodded,
But right now, we are not their targets. They are supposed to have found other prey.
Did you hear something, Mai? How come that I hear nothing?
Asked Lang Ga.
Because your ability is limited, so you can’t hear it.
Mai listened carefully for some time, and then pointed to one direction,
Go climb up on the trees! Hide yourselves, and let’s watch the situation first.
Since Caesar could not climb trees, Shao Xuan asked him to stay hidden behind the grass.
Shao Xuan climbed up a tree next to him, and he hid behind some dense leaves after he reached certain height and could see afar.
Looking up, he saw a tree fox standing on a branch above. At that time, the tree fox was all tensed up, with his hairs standing up. It kept its mouth wide open, with fear in its eyes. That preparedness and fear were not meant for Shao Xuan, but the approaching creatures in the sky. However, as it was being extremely vigilant, Shao Xuan jumped up out of nowhere and frightened it so much, that it almost fell from the branch.
The tree fox glared at Shao Xuan with its big round eyes for a while, to make sure that Shao Xuan was of not a threat. After confirming his safety, it bared its teeth towards Shao Xuan, and throw some part of some insect that hadn’t been eaten yet at Shao Xuan’s face. It seemed that the tree fox was very angry about Shao Xuan startling it.
Shao Xuan moved his head to avoid the insect residue that flew towards him.
The insect smashed on the trunk directly, but a few drops of splashing green liquid glued on Shao Xuan’s face.
Without any facial expression, Shao Xuan wiped away the liquid on his face, and cursed in his mind. The little thing indeed had a bad temper.
However, it was not like Shao Xuan would start a pointless fight because of that incident.
Suddenly, the tree fox looked away in some direction.
And that direction, was where Mai pointed at earlier.
Like everybody else, Shao Xuan hid behind dense branches and leaves. He looked through the gaps of the leaves.
It was very quiet in the surroundings, but there was some silent fear and anxiety.
In the front on a flat grassy area, four roebucks stood there, facing four different directions. Their ears were standing up straight, and they looked very tense.
Whoosh.
Black shadows flashed in the sky, and promptly, they landed on the grassy area.
Not just one bat… There were a total of eleven bats that landed on that spot, surrounding the four roebucks.
For most bats, it was very difficult for them to walk when they landed on the ground. When they walked, they were slow. However, when these bats landed and retracted their wings, they seemed to have very strong long legs and forelimbs.
Any one of the eleven bats seemed to be bigger than the one that Mai slaughtered.
When the eleven bats landed around the roebucks, they quickly ran towards their prey.
The roebucks tried to jump out of the siege, but as soon as they made a leap, they would hit against a giant bat that jumped up as well.
One giant bat got slammed back for a few meters, but it rolled over on the grass, and stood up on its feet again to start another attack. Their sharp teeth were like razors, and they tore down a piece of skin of the roebuck.
Blood began to spread.
The roebucks were becoming slower and slower after they got bitten by the bats. At first, they did not manage to get out, and now, even the chance of survival was slim.
Four roebucks all got bitten on their bodies, and one of them was starting to have soft legs already.
Those bats did not start another round of attack. Instead, they waited with patience.
When finally, the last roebuck hit the ground, the bats began to grab the roebucks who had fainted with joint efforts, instead of having a feast right there. Two or three bats grabbed on one roebuck, and flew away with their wings wide open.
After the bats left, people from the hunting team gathered under a tree. Everyone was feeling sour and sad at the same time.
It seems that they have no intention of eating their prey immediately.
Said Mai.
Cha responded with a gloomy face,
That’s why Ah-Cheng said that we should find our missing men as soon as possible. At least, now we have seen that thing’s behavior. Since they were not eaten on the scene, it’s possible that they are still alive.
They are behaving as if they are trying to store food. But winter is already over.
Some older warrior said,
Then, to whom are they serving the food?
The crowd fell into a silence.
Let’s find the missing men first.
Cha sighed.
When Cha guided Mai and the others to their first holdout to meet with their hunting group leader, Ah-Cheng, Ah-Cheng was applying herbs on some wounded warrior.
What’s happened? Another strike?
Cha hurried to them to check on the wounded warriors.
It’s not bad. No one has a grave injury.
Ah-Cheng walked towards Mai with a slight smile on his sad face,
Finally, you’re here.
Ah-Cheng looked over and set his eyes on Caesar, who was standing beside Shao Xuan,
Unexpectedly, we need to rely on it this time.
When the two hunting group leaders were exchanging information, Shao Xuan observed the situation in the cave.
The hunting warriors were so high-spirited and energetic when they set off from the tribe. However now, the crowd could not have been droopier. Perhaps, deep down, they were all worried about their companions’ inexplicable disappearance, and the crisis that might come later.
Everyone had wounds on their bodies. Luckily, most of them were scratches, and few got bitten.
A fortune in the misfortune is that we did not bring those young lads with us, or else…
Ah-Cheng did not continue, but everyone knew what he was talking about.
If there were any newly awakened warriors in this hunting group, they would be the ones that received most of the attacks, just like Shao Xuan last year. Newly awakened young warriors hardly had any experience in hunting. Any careless mistake might end up with a dreadful death.
Ah-Xuan, we need to rely on you and Caesar next.
Said Ah-Cheng.
