Chapter 3：poaching river wolves

The rainforest river wolves were quite sizable, each measuring about 0.5 meters in length.

This particular river wolf dam was home to over a hundred river wolves, making them the dominant species in the area.

But Allen's extensive ranger experience told him that river wolf pelts were quite valuable.

River wolf meat was edible, and their dam's nests stored a large amount of fresh fish.

Allen needed these things to complete his initial capital accumulation.

High returns meant taking risks.

River wolves were fierce, but if Allen failed alone, he could escape flexibly. However, bringing someone else along would complicate things.

This was one of the reasons he didn't bring Peter.

Allen straddled a thick tree trunk, sitting steadily on a large branch.

He hid within the dense canopy, observing the majestic river wolf dam 30 meters away with his excellent vision.

These nocturnal creatures had only a few individuals on the water's surface at this time.

This distance was within Allen's shooting range.

But Allen was poor, with only fifteen arrows, so he couldn't afford to waste any.

Moreover, shooting a river wolf now, even if it was a one-hit kill, would inevitably cause the entire pack to rush out.

At that point, not only would he fail to retrieve his prey, but he would also risk being surrounded.

On this continent, where medical supplies were scarce, Allen didn't want to get injured.

"In a few hours, it'll be noon, and the river wolves will be at their laziest. That's when I'll strike!"

Allen muttered to himself, reaching for the water pouch at his lower back to take a drink.

But he suddenly remembered that he had replaced the water in the pouch with oil before setting out today.

He had no choice but to endure for a while longer.

Taking this time, Allen untied the long, thin hemp rope coiled around his waist. One end was tied to his right wrist, and the other end was cleverly tied to the tail of an arrow.

When it came time to hunt, Allen would use this rope to pull back his prey.

...

After nearly three hours of waiting, the forest temperature had reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sweat poured from every part of Allen's body.

By now, only two river wolves remained in the river.

Allen had been watching intently for an opportunity.

At this point, he knew his chance to act had arrived!

First, he drew three arrows from the quiver on his back. The arrowheads of these three arrows were tightly wrapped in rags.

He slowly soaked the rags in the oil from his water pouch, completing the preparation of three fire arrows.

He then placed a strip of flint tied to his thigh under his foot, holding a hunting knife in his right hand and a fire arrow in his left, close to the flint.

'Ting~ ting~'

The back of the knife struck the flint, creating sparks that flew onto the oil-soaked rags, igniting them instantly.

Allen, already fully focused, immediately used a special technique to sequentially launch the three fire arrows!

'Whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh~'

The three fire arrows shot up like meteors, then fell diagonally.

The two patrolling river wolves hadn't even reacted when the three fire arrows embedded themselves in the high, raised dam.

The magnificent dam built by the river wolves from rainforest trees was a marvel of the animal world.

But the top of this wooden dam, which rose 10 feet above the water, had long been dried and made flammable by the scorching sun.

"Aah~!"

The two patrolling river wolves let out short, high-pitched shrieks.

In an instant, the river wolves in the dam swarmed out, a black mass of them.

The fear of fire was an instinct deeply ingrained in animals' genes, especially when the flames threatened their nest.

The fierce river wolves had no time to search for the culprit; they were all diving and using their powerful cheek pouches to compress and spray water jets in an attempt to extinguish the fire.

Allen knew that the fire created by the fire arrows wouldn't last long before the river wolves put it out.

His time was limited; he had to hunt quickly.

Although this area wasn't under any noble's jurisdiction, it was too close to the estuary rainforest overseen by the miserly Obion.

Once the black smoke from the flames rose into the sky, that stingy man would bring the ranger team, and they could reach here in just two hours.

By then, with his limited strength, Allen would only end up being robbed!

He had to act quickly!

An arrow was already nocked on his drawn bow. He aimed, and fired!

'Whoosh'

The arrow traced a beautiful arc through the air, piercing through the body of a glossy, plump river wolf with lightning speed.

From back to chest, it was a fatal shot.

Amidst the chaotic shrieks of over a hundred river wolves, the busy fire-extinguishing wolves didn't notice a dying comrade on the periphery.

Allen immediately seized the opportunity, frantically pulling the rope to drag the prey towards him.

The first hunt went surprisingly smoothly.

After pulling the lifeless river wolf's body up the tree and placing it in a fork, Allen checked the arrow and rope for any issues before acting again.

'Whoosh'

The target river wolf changed its trajectory, causing the arrow to miss.

Allen wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly retrieved the missed arrow.

This back-and-forth took a few minutes.

'Whoosh'

He shot another arrow, this time hitting the mark. The sharp arrowhead with barbs instantly pierced the river wolf's neck.

Under the high pressure of the artery, the wound spurted a large amount of blood.

This time, the river wolf pack noticed something was wrong.

These intelligent beasts immediately let out unique, alert shrieks.

Simultaneously, a dozen river wolves swarmed over, trying to stop the dragged river wolf's body.

Allen hurriedly pulled the prey ashore before the wolves could catch up, but he had also exposed himself.

"Fuck it, I'm going for it. This is my only chance; I need to hunt one more!"

Allen gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and didn't flee immediately.

It was known that while river wolves couldn't climb trees, they could gnaw through one in just 30 minutes.

By then, Allen would be dead for sure!

Urgently pulling back the river wolf's body, Allen, exhausted, didn't even have time to catch his breath before aiming at the river wolf pack on the shore and firing another arrow.

The arrow flew out, and without waiting to see the result, Allen immediately strapped the two river wolf bodies to his back and jumped down from the tree.

A roll to absorb the impact.

"Aah~!"

At that moment, the rope in his hand transmitted a struggling force, and a painful wail pierced through the river wolves' shrieks.

"Seems like I didn't hit a vital spot."

At this point, Allen couldn't care less.

Although river wolves weren't fast runners on land, if surrounded, even a tiger would be doomed.

Without further thought, Allen immediately pulled the rope and ran.

During the hours he had waited in the tree, Allen had thoroughly observed his surroundings.

With a pre-planned escape route, Allen's speed was unmatched.

In just a few breaths, he had left the fierce river wolf pack far behind.

Fortunately, the struggling force on the rope didn't weaken.

This meant the injured river wolf hadn't bitten through the rope.

The rope had also luckily not gotten tangled in the forest vegetation.

After running for two minutes, Allen noticed the river wolves' shrieks behind him fading, muffled by the dense forest.

Almost safe!

Allen abruptly stopped, turned around, and swiftly yanked the rope.

After a while, a blood-soaked, plump river wolf was dragged over.

Almost instinctively, Allen stomped on the river wolf's head.

The 40-centimeter-long beast struggled desperately, flinging foul-smelling blood from its wound.

"You beast, quite strong, aren't you!"

Allen grinned, and with a swift, hard-to-follow motion, drove his hunting knife into the river wolf's neck.

Slipping the blade through the neck vertebrae, he severed the nerves, blood vessels, and windpipe.

The struggling river wolf immediately went limp.

At that moment, Allen's eyes suddenly sharpened, his whole body tensed like a tiger ready to pounce, his fierce gaze fixed on a distant tree.

"Who's there! Come out!"

As he spoke, Allen had already nocked an arrow and aimed at the tree!