Chapter 726 - 14: The Fox Borrows the Tiger’s Might (Part 2)

Chapter 726: Chapter 14: The Fox Borrows the Tiger’s Might (Part 2)

The gray wolves were faster. They could sprint at around sixty kilometers per hour and possessed astonishing stamina, capable of running ten to twenty kilometers in a single stretch.

In terms of pure speed, Tian Kui was their equal.

But just because he could keep up didn’t mean his subordinates could.

This wasn’t like the previous hunt, which had involved a hand-picked team of the best of the best.

The white female dog, for instance, just couldn’t keep up. Even running for her life, she could probably only manage forty or fifty kilometers per hour, dragging the whole pack down.

And they couldn’t just abandon her.

They were all police dogs—comrades, teammates. You don’t abandon a teammate.

Then there was the matter of reinforcements.

Even if Teddy sent a distress signal immediately, it would take Shen Xin at least ten minutes to arrive, even by helicopter.

And there was no guarantee other teams were in the vicinity.

Therefore, surviving those ten minutes was the key.

The wolves were cunning and had the advantage of numbers; they certainly wouldn’t give him a chance to stall for time.

Seeing the Wolf King circle around and close in at high speed, a wild idea suddenly struck Tian Kui.

’Turn around! Follow me!’

He barked urgently, stopped dead in his tracks, and wheeled around, heading for the grizzly bear.

That’s right.

In that moment, Tian Kui planned to borrow the tiger’s might—a classic bluff.

He would use the grizzly bear, this behemoth, to intimidate the Wolf King.

As long as he could stall until reinforcements arrived, there would be plenty of ways to deal with these gray wolves.

’The absolute nerve of them.’

He had let them go just a few days ago, and now they had secretly tracked him here to ambush him.

’What is this, payback?’

The gambit worked.

The Wolf King stopped abruptly, growling low to halt his pack.

The grizzly bear, which had been sitting by a squirrel’s nest with its head down, digging out pine nuts, was also stunned to find itself surrounded by a "pack of wolves."

Its paw froze in midair, as if to say, ’Aren’t you carnivores? You’re after my pine nuts too?’

As for the red squirrel in the tree—the true owner of the pine nuts—it had long since curled up in a cluster of pine needles, hiding itself completely.

Tian Kui mustered his courage and stopped about two meters from the grizzly, warily observing both the bear and the Wolf King.

The wolf pack had already spread out, encircling both him and the grizzly bear.

Overhead, Teddy flew in a figure-eight pattern, broadcasting a distress signal.

He heard no response from any teammates, which meant there were probably no other teams nearby.

So his only choice was to stall until Shen Xin could get there.

Tian Kui couldn’t help but feel relieved. ’Thank god for this grizzly bear.’

Without the bear, if the wolves had ambushed him, his team’s current lineup would have definitely suffered casualties.

It was a good thing he’d had that stroke of genius and thought of the bluff.

Any other animal in this situation wouldn’t have been caught dead running toward a grizzly bear.

The Wolf King hesitated, wary of the grizzly bear. It let out a low growl, as if taunting Tian Kui.

But just as the standoff took shape, the grizzly bear beside him suddenly moved.

After one last scoop from the red squirrel’s den, it could no longer reach the food deeper inside the burrow.

If it had time, it could have slowly dug the burrow open to get more food.

But as things stood...

The grizzly bear heaved its rear end up and, to Tian Kui’s utter astonishment, simply walked away!

’Wait, you’re a bear!’

Tian Kui was dumbfounded. ’Sure, there are a lot of enemies, but you don’t just run without a fight, do you?’

’What about your dignity as a bear?’

But this particular grizzly bear couldn’t care less.

It knew gray wolves: they were agile and fast. In a real fight, while they couldn’t get through its defenses, it could never hope to catch them either.

It was trying to store up energy for the winter, so why waste it on a pointless fight with a pack of gray wolves?

Most importantly, this was a she-bear. She was past mating season and was already pregnant.

North American Grizzly Bears typically mate in June, and their gestation period is as long as six months.

In other words, they usually give birth during hibernation. At this stage of pregnancy, there was no reason to risk her life fighting gray wolves.

Therefore, the best strategy was to walk away and let everyone go their separate ways.

The wolf pack automatically parted to let her pass.

Stunned, Tian Kui’s first thought was to follow the grizzly.

But on second thought, he realized that following the bear was also a huge risk. If they angered it, they’d be no match for it either.

Seeing the grizzly about to leave the encirclement, Tian Kui gritted his teeth and made a decision.

’You guys follow the bear!’

’Don’t worry about me!’

Then he charged toward the Wolf King, barking fiercely.

’If you’ve got the guts, come and get me!’

With that, he pivoted and charged in the opposite direction, straight at one of the gray wolves.

He leaped, twisting his body in midair to dodge the wolf’s counterattack while sinking his teeth viciously into its back.

He didn’t linger after landing, immediately sprinting forward and breaking out of the encirclement.

’Don’t follow me! Follow the bear!’

Sensing that his subordinates were about to charge in to help, Tian Kui barked a sharp reminder, then tilted his head back and let out a long, drawn-out howl.

’Come on! One-on-one!’

The Wolf King couldn’t resist such a provocation. With a glance at the grizzly bear and Tian Kui’s four subordinates, it quickly called off the other wolves that were about to give chase and charged after Tian Kui itself.

Its target had always been Tian Kui.

Wolves are extremely vengeful animals.

For the Wolf King, their encounter a few days prior had been no pleasant memory.

Of course, the Wolf King wouldn’t dare seek revenge against Shen Xin and his people.

But Tian Kui?

Curious about what Shen Xin was up to, the Wolf King had wandered into this area and soon picked up Tian Kui’s trail.

It had observed him from the shadows for two days before finally finding the perfect opportunity for revenge.

Led by their king, a formidable pack of eleven gray wolves gave chase to Tian Kui.

Tian Kui was extremely fast; they wouldn’t be able to catch him in a short sprint.

The Wolf King wasn’t concerned. The way of the wolf was the long chase. It had faith in its stamina and knew that sooner or later, it would run Tian Kui to death.