Chapter 89: The Limitations of Trap Hunting |
Crack...
Two hours later, a Frost Wolf, lured by the torchlight, stepped on another animal trap hidden in the snow.
Unlike the previous Snow Mane that only had its bone caught, this Frost Wolf's left front limb was nearly completely severed by the trap.
And because the Frost Wolf sensed danger and tried to flee with desperate speed, the animal trap tore off a massive chunk of flesh from its entire left leg, exposing almost all the bone beneath in a rather gruesome sight.
Although the Frost Wolf moved with agility and reacted even faster than the previous Snow Mane, choosing to escape early on, the trap's tremendous clamping force and restraint, combined with Xia Hong's meticulous preparation, ultimately led to its demise on the spot, with Xia Chuan extracting its essence blood.
Luo Yuan and the others looked at the thousand-pound Frost Wolf carcass on the ground, then glanced up at the sky, realizing that only half the night had passed and they'd already bagged two prey. Their expressions had grown somewhat numb.
Since when had hunting become this easy?
It wasn't that they hadn't contributed, but compared to when Luo Ming had led them on hunts before, the dangers they faced tonight were practically negligible.
Both the earlier Snow Mane and this Frost Wolf had been lured by torches into stepping on traps, suffering leg injuries that reduced their combat effectiveness by thirty to forty percent. After a round of arrow bombardment, they were half-dead even if not finished off, and finally Xia Hong led their team of five to easily secure the prey.
"With these animal traps, if I lead the team personally, hunting low-level Frost Beasts shouldn't be a problem going forward. It just depends on how quickly we can clear out the low-level Frost Beasts in this peripheral area!"
After two consecutive successful hunts, Xia Hong had confirmed the effectiveness and power of the animal traps he personally crafted, feeling greatly increased confidence about future hunting.
"Leader, can these animal traps be mass-produced?"
Luo Yuan's question immediately made everyone's eyes light up.
However, Xia Hong shook his head, unhurriedly removing the animal trap from the Frost Wolf's leg before saying, "This animal trap's main body and spring were made from the ten-fold forged iron I produced, using twelve hundred pounds of iron ore alone. It's completely different from the ordinary ironware previously produced at Rogge Camp. Given our camp's current iron ore reserves and mining capacity, mass production is impossible..."
Pausing briefly, he continued, "Even if we could produce two or three more right now, we wouldn't be able to use them effectively."
Upon hearing this, everyone thought for a moment, then nodded in understanding.
Recalling the two hunting processes just now, while the animal traps played a significant role, what was more important was their frontal containment. More precisely, Xia Hong had inflicted almost all the fatal wounds on both prey.
So strictly speaking, while the traps could injure Frost Beasts, relying on them alone to reap rewards without effort was impossible. Without proper prior deployment and someone with Digging Realm strength as backup, the most likely outcome would be a severely wounded Frost Beast escaping while still carrying the trap.
If that happened, it would mean losing both the prey and the equipment.
"Therefore, if any of you break through to the Digging Realm first, with just these animal traps, our camp could definitely form a second hunting team. Then our hunting capacity would greatly improve, and prey harvest would certainly reach new heights."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes immediately brightened.
They had all witnessed tonight's experiments firsthand.
One Digging Realm expert, one animal trap, plus a group of Lumberjack Realm members—without encountering unfamiliar Frost Beast types, tonight had at least proven that Snow Manes and Frost Wolves could be hunted almost at will if they were careful.
Based on the hunting progress up to now tonight, not only could the meat distribution rules Xia Hong previously mentioned be smoothly implemented, but Frost Beast meat might even exceed their needs.
Luo Yuan and the other eight exchanged glances, then looked at Xia Hong. The doubt that had been in their eyes had completely vanished, replaced only by respect and admiration.
Those seemingly fantastical meat distribution rules.
Turns out he wasn't just boasting,
This new leader, Xia Hong.
Could truly deliver!
"Next, we'll see how many low-level Frost Beasts are in this peripheral area. Let's see whether our camp's hunting speed is faster, or their outward spread is quicker. I want to see if these Frost Beasts are truly inexhaustible."
Xia Hong didn't notice the change in Luo Yuan and the others' attitudes. His gaze turned toward the depths of Redwood Ridge, his expression growing excited.
Tonight's two hunts had proven that from now on, Great Xia Camp truly stood above Snow Manes and Frost Wolves in the food chain.
As long as nothing went wrong, hunting—specifically targeting the familiar Frost Beast types—would basically not be a problem going forward.
He was even starting to consider whether there would be enough low-level Frost Beasts in the future.
Redwood Ridge's trees were thick and Frost Beasts were quite large, so the five-hundred-meter peripheral area couldn't host many Frost Beasts. For example, when they arrived tonight, they searched and confirmed only seven were present.
But this didn't mean only seven existed in the periphery—just that seven were here tonight. While Xia Hong didn't know much about Frost Beasts' living habits, based on the types encountered so far, they at least didn't seem to settle permanently.
Logically speaking, those that had drifted to the periphery were definitely the weakest among Frost Beasts, but it was unclear exactly how many weaker ones existed within Redwood Ridge.
According to Great Xia's current meat distribution rules, they needed at least fifteen monthly.
Short-term shouldn't be a problem, but long-term continuation would definitely significantly reduce numbers in the five-hundred-meter peripheral area. When that happened, they'd have no choice but to expand the hunting range.
"Leader, two should be enough. Should we call it a night?"
Hearing Luo Yuan's question, Xia Hong shook his head.
"Let's take down that Golden-Eyed Demon Goat too."
Everyone swallowed hard upon hearing this, Xia Chuan included.
Two Frost Beasts in one night already seemed like a fantasy to them, yet Xia Hong wanted to go for a third.
It wasn't that they thought it unrealistic—having personally experienced hunting two, they didn't feel the third Golden-Eyed Demon Goat would be much harder.
The issue was: three Frost Beasts in one night.
This felt truly insane to them, and equally incredible.
If the first two Frost Beasts' hunting processes involved some effort, then the final Golden-Eyed Demon Goat's hunt could absolutely be described as simple.
The Golden-Eyed Demon Goat's attack method was extremely singular—just reckless charging. Although its strength surpassed the Snow Mane's considerably, after stepping on the animal trap, its power was greatly diminished. Facing Xia Hong's group's coordinated attacks, it could only choose to flee.
Knowing about the terror of the golden eye on its back, Xia Hong's team naturally didn't give it any opportunities, all deliberately avoiding it.
Coincidentally, the golden eye positioned on its back became the perfect target for Xu Ning, Qiu Peng, and the other seven archers perched in trees.
Worth mentioning was that compared to Qiu Peng, Xu Ning, and even Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan's group of eight clearly possessed superior hunting skills. This wasn't only evident with the Golden-Eyed Demon Goat but also visible during the previous Snow Mane and Frost Wolf hunts.
Xia Chuan, relying on his black knife and white threads, could still compete with Luo Yuan's group, but Qiu Peng and Xu Ning's archery skills were clearly not on the same level as Luo Yuan's team.
Both clearly noticed this too. While some frustration showed on their faces, what was more apparent was their unwillingness to accept defeat. This was evident from how throughout the return journey, they constantly seized opportunities to ask about archery techniques and practiced whenever they had a spare moment.
Xia Hong was quite pleased to see this quiet competition.
As they prepared to return to camp with all three prey, the temperature began noticeably dropping. Knowing dawn approached, everyone quickened their pace back to camp.
Coincidentally, just as they reached the valley entrance, they encountered Huang Yong and Hong Gang leading the lumberjack team in transporting wood.
"Leader, how did it go? Did you manage to hunt..."
Seeing Xia Hong at the front, Hong Gang bowed in greeting and was about to ask about the hunting results, but before he could finish, he looked up and saw what was behind Xia Hong. His mouth fell open, face full of shock.
"Greetings, Leader. This..."
Huang Yong also approached, initially wondering why Hong Gang had suddenly frozen. But when he looked up and saw the three massive creatures carried respectively by Xu Ning, Qiu Peng, and Zou Yuankai...
His expression instantly became identical to Hong Gang's.