Chapter 115: Wilderness Standoff
Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Wilderness Standoff
The wind howled across the wilds.
In the valley, flames licked at the roasting lamb. Fat dripped into the charcoal, sizzling.
A Guard slowly turned the spit, ensuring the meat cooked evenly.
Three wolves, six eyes, gleamed with an eerie light.
On a night like this, with the grim wind howling, it was an especially unnerving sight.
But when Qian Dong and the others took a closer look, they realized it wasn’t as terrifying as it seemed.
The three giant wolves lay on their forepaws, ears pricked up, their six eyes following the roasting lamb as it rotated, circle by circle.
"How come they’re acting like dogs... big dogs?"
"They really do."
"They’re like a kind of dog called a husky. Up North, we use huskies to pull sleds in the winter. I wonder if these wolves could pull a sled..."
"Why don’t you go ask them yourself?"
"What do you take me for, an idiot?"
"But you have to admit, Commander Tang Wen is really something else. He can even understand wolf howls!"
The subject of their discussion, Tang Wen, suddenly stood up. He picked up a wooden basin of lamb’s blood and walked toward the three Sand Wolves.
The three giant wolves shot to their feet.
Staring at him warily.
Tang Wen just smiled nonchalantly. "The roast is taking a while. Have some blood first."
With that, he walked to a spot a few meters from the Sand Wolves, set the basin down, and squatted, beckoning to them.
He looked just like a shady Shopkeeper welcoming a customer.
For a Sand Wolf, lamb’s blood was an irresistible temptation.
They relied solely on their tongues to drink. When hunting sheep, they usually wasted most of the fresh blood. To drink any, they had to lick it off the ground, often swallowing more sand than blood in the process.
"You’re such big wolves, what’s there to be shy about? Come on!"
Tang Wen was all smiles, but the three Sand Wolves sensed ill intent and hesitated, staying put.
"Toss me some flatbreads."
"Here you go!"
A few fragrant, well-roasted multigrain flatbreads glistening with lamb fat were tossed over, tracing a parabola through the air.
The three Sand Wolves tilted their heads up in unison, their gazes following the arc.
PAT!
The roasted flatbread landed in Tang Wen’s hand.
Tang Wen held it out and waggled it. "Want a bite?"
The three Sand Wolves exchanged a surprisingly human-like glance. The leader in the middle seemed to discreetly warn the other two: ’Don’t eat it. I think this human is plotting something!’
Tang Wen dipped the flatbread into the lamb’s blood. Warmed by the bread, the coppery scent of blood filled the air.
But to the Sand Wolves, it was the smell of a supreme delicacy.
They hesitated. Their instincts as Exotic Beasts told them that Tang Wen didn’t seem to harbor any malice.
"Catch!"
With a flick of his wrist, Tang Wen tossed a blood-dipped flatbread, aiming it just above the head of the wolf in the center.
CHOMP!
Almost instinctively, the leader wolf leaped up and snatched the flatbread out of the air.
Like a well-trained farm dog expertly catching a frisbee thrown by its master.
The two wolves on either side of it each took a step back, their eyes filled with confusion. ’Didn’t you say we couldn’t eat it?’
Huh?
What’s this?
Two more flatbreads flew through the air.
They both immediately leaped up and snatched one each.
The Guards, who had thought Tang Wen’s attempt to befriend the Sand Wolves was a failure, stared with their mouths agape:
"That’s it, that’s exactly it! Back home in the North, that’s how Hunters train their dogs! And they become so obedient!"
Now that they’d eaten the flatbread, holding out seemed pointless.
The leader wolf approached first, lowering its head to lap at the lamb’s blood.
Tang Wen gently raised a hand and placed it on the wolf’s back.
The leader wolf froze for a second, then went back to lapping. ’This lamb’s blood is delicious!’
Tang Wen stroked its fur.
Now this... this was something else!
The leader wolf paid him no mind, focused on gulping down the blood.
His hand stroked back and forth, and he even patted its head.
HUFF!
The leader wolf bared its teeth in annoyance.
Tang Wen nodded. "Got it. Head-pats cost extra!"
He tore the flatbread into pieces and tossed them into the basin.
The aroma of grain mixed with the coppery tang of blood—a combination no wild wolf could resist.
The leader wolf lowered its head and began to eat and drink at the same time.
Tang Wen seized the opportunity, vigorously ruffling its fur with both hands.
’This fella... if I opened a "wolf cafe" back on Earth, I could make a small fortune in a year!’
The leader wolf was too preoccupied to care.
Suddenly, two more wolf heads appeared, one on each side, instantly crowding the once-spacious basin.
"Easy, easy, there’s plenty for everyone. Plenty."
Tang Wen ruffled one, patted the other, having the time of his life.
Qian Dong was eager to join in but didn’t dare get any closer.
After all, these three behemoths were High-level Exotic Beasts—powerhouses on the same Level as him!
’What if one of them takes a bite out of me?’
’At this range, I’d definitely get hurt!’
Meanwhile, Tang Wen saw his experience points fluctuating, and his wolf-petting hands moved even more nimbly.
[Beast Taming Skill, Mastery (1710→1713→1719→.../6000)]
The points were rising fast. He couldn’t stop. He simply couldn’t stop.
The roast was finally ready. A dozen or so flatbreads were laid out next to Tang Wen, who stuffed them with glistening chunks of lamb.
The first one was for him. The bread was crisp, the meat fragrant—one bite was pure satisfaction.
The three giant wolves stood nearby, watching with pleading eyes.
Tang Wen held out the second flatbread to them.
He held it low. Just as the leader wolf lowered its head to take it, he snatched his hand back and lectured,
"Sit! We sit when we eat!"
The leader wolf froze for a second, then stretched out its forepaws and decisively lay down.
"Such a good boy!"
Tang Wen stuffed the flatbread into its mouth and gave its chin a good scratch.
The leader wolf was so content it closed its eyes in pleasure.
He handed out two more flatbreads, and the other two wolves followed suit, lying down on the ground. They were just short of wagging their tails.
After they finished the meat, Tang Wen groomed their fur.
He had completely won them over.
That night, he pillowed his head on one of the giant wolf’s fluffy bodies and slept soundly.
The next day, guided by the three Sand Wolves, Tang Wen and his men traveled for a full day until they reached a hilly region even farther South.
The area was dotted with dried-up pools of all sizes.
A river still flowed here, but it had dwindled to a narrow, half-meter-wide stream with a pitifully low water level.
But in this water-starved wilderness, it was a life-saving resource, one that could ensure a pack’s survival!
Ahead, by the stream, two exceptionally large Sand Wolves led a pack of over a hundred, facing off against a group of hideous, gigantic creatures.
"Those are the Crocodile Turtles!"
The Crocodile Turtles were the size of small trucks. The shells on their backs were as thick as boulders and had a cold, metallic sheen.
There were only twenty or thirty of them.
Yet they had the hundred-strong Sand Wolf Pack on high alert, as if facing a formidable foe!
AWOOOO!
Spotting Tang Wen and his party, the Sand Wolf King let out a howl of greeting but immediately turned its attention back to the enemy.
The Wolf King was at the General Level.
But the aura of the Crocodile Turtle leader opposite it was even more imposing.
Even though it was just one creature, the two Wolf Kings could not afford to let their focus waver.
THUD! THUD!
The ground trembled.
The group of Crocodile Turtles took a few steps in unison toward the Sand Wolf Pack.
GRRRRRR!
The Sand Wolf Pack lowered their bodies, growling furiously.
The Crocodile Turtles immediately halted. Their legs, thick as stone pillars, bent, and they lay flat on the ground.
’I didn’t move. Wasn’t me.’
A simple, yet effective, tactic.
The Sand Wolf Pack fell silent.
It was like being carved by a dull knife.
A gradual encroachment, step by step.
"A pack of Crocodile Turtles that understands military strategy!" Tang Wen shook his head.
Qian Dong rode up beside him and said in a low voice, "I’ve scouted them out. There are twenty-seven Crocodile Turtles over there. Besides six small ones surrounded in the middle, the rest all have the aura of a High-level Exotic Beast. This is going to be tough! Look at those shells—they’re thicker than the steel walls of our camp! I doubt the Sand Wolves can even break through their defenses."
Tang Wen murmured, "It is a tough situation. The Sand Wolf Kings are intelligent. If they thought they had any chance of winning, they would’ve charged in already."