Chapter 059: Fortune and Catastrophe

On the eastern wall of the Han Tribe, three heads—two large and one small—peered out in stunned silence as a succession of animals leaped one after another into the yet-to-be-filled canal. For Luo Chong, what was initially a mundane agricultural ditch turned into a surprising stroke of fortune, capturing an entire herd in what he described as a fortuitous twist of fate.

As Luo Chong reveled in his unexpected windfall, the situation for the leading bull became dire. The first thirty alpacas were already lost, and over twenty deer had fallen into the trench. The remaining deer, caught between fear and survival instinct, either sprinted forward or hesitantly turned back.

A young stag attempted a heroic leap across the nearly three-and-a-half-meter-wide trench. Unfortunately, its magnificent antlers, usually a symbol of majesty, became a cumbersome burden, throwing off its balance and causing a noisy splash into the four-meter-wide ditch. Miraculously, a smaller deer managed to step on the submerged deer to catapult itself to safety.

However, such feats were rare. Fewer than twenty managed to cross, and the others, realizing the futility of jumping, turned to run along the trench towards the river in a desperate bid to break the encircling wolves.

The wolves, efficient as ever, tightened their ranks and prepared to close in for the kill. One daring stag, in a desperate bid to escape, was swiftly brought down by the combined weight of three wolves, ending its struggle with a savage flurry of bites.

The rest of the deer, witnessing the fate of their leader, had no choice but to turn back, only to meet the rest of the wolf pack head-on. Surrounded and outnumbered, their valiant struggle ended under the relentless assault of the wolves, with the survivors backed against the trench, forming a defensive circle with their formidable antlers.

The bison, realizing the trap too late, tried to halt and pivot, an impossible task with the momentum of the herd behind them. Chaos ensued as the front runners tried to stop and the rear pushed forward, resulting in several bison being pushed into the trench amid heart-wrenching bellows.

The realization dawned on the remaining bison—they were trapped. With a deep trench blocking their path and wolves closing in, their situation seemed hopeless. In a final stand, they formed a defensive ring, horns pointed outward, ready to fight to the last.

As the wolves cautiously circled, closing their deadly loop, the atmosphere was thick with tension. A single unfortunate belch broke the standoff, causing both predators and prey to pause in confusion.

On the wall, Luo Chong was scolding Meat-Meat, who had innocently burped amidst the tension, drawing unwanted attention. In the plains below, both bison and wolves glanced momentarily towards the sound, a comic relief to the otherwise grim scenario.

The standoff resumed, the wolves slowly tightening their circle as the bison steeled themselves for the inevitable clash. Suddenly, a new sound pierced the night—the thunderous charge of the bison. With nowhere left to run, they charged directly at the wolves, their hooves thundering on the frozen ground, their breaths visible in the cold night air.

It was a spectacle of raw power as the desperate bison broke through the wolf lines, their massive bodies and sharp horns turning predators into prey. The wolves, taken by surprise, were momentarily scattered, allowing a few bison to break free from the encirclement.

The escape was short-lived, however. The leaders of the bison pack, realizing they could not outrun their pursuers forever, made a desperate decision to charge the fence of the Han Tribe in hopes of finding refuge. With a thunderous crash, they collided with the wall, their combined weight bringing it down in a cloud of dust and debris.

In the chaos, Luo Chong rallied his tribe, calling for weapons and preparing to defend their home from the unexpected onslaught. As the wall crumbled under the impact, the situation inside the tribe became as perilous as outside.

Through it all, Luo Chong could not help but marvel at the twist of fate that turned a simple irrigation ditch into a theater of war. As he organized his tribe's defense, he knew that the coming days would require all their courage and strength to survive the aftermath of this wild night.