Chapter 54: Five Days of Tracking
Chapter 54: Five Days of Tracking
During the pursuit, no heart-pounding or life-threatening incidents occurred, contrary to expectations.
Instead, it was a tedious journey as anticipated.
The mastermind behind this incident, who had been controlling the Ice Boar while ensuring their safety, was hiding far away from the frontier town, making it impossible to locate them in a short time.
Through the information left by the Ice Boar, Dan had foreseen this and reminded the rest of the team, preventing the atmosphere from becoming gloomy despite the monotonous tracking for several consecutive days.
The sun rose and set, and the moon followed suit.
Time quietly passed in the forest, and Lin Sai's group gradually moved away from the frontier town during the tedious tracking.
Within the first 48 hours, they could still spend the night in the rudimentary hunter's cabins scattered throughout the surrounding forest.
But from the third day onwards, they ventured deep into the wilderness, sleeping under the open sky.
On the fourth day, they completely left the town's sphere of influence.
By the fifth day, there were no signs of human activity in the forest, no freshly cut tree stumps, and no hunter traps. The animal tracks on the forest trails significantly increased, and even encounters with beasts became more frequent.
To conserve supplies, the experienced hunters in the team began to showcase their skills.
Whether it was Lin Sai, Dan, or Torch, they all carried bows and arrows, and the forest provided ample prey.
Over the four-day expedition, they obtained supplies through hunting, barely depleting the dry rations they had brought, which they now kept as emergency provisions.
During this time, Lin Sai's expert-level cooking skills came in handy, and he took charge of preparing meals for the group.
The results were positive; the maple syrup he had made a few days earlier was a perfect addition to their grilled meat, earning praise from the team.
On the fifth day, the morning sun cast dappled shadows through the trees.
Lin Sai opened his eyes precisely on time.
Torch was on watch, struggling to stay awake, leaning against a birch tree with his bow and arrows. Seeing Lin Sai awake, he nodded slightly and leaned back, his breathing slowing down in a rhythmic pattern.
"..."
Lin Sai got up and sat for a while.
Then, he approached the extinguished campfire, intending to find the kindling and relight it to prepare breakfast for the group.
Lin Sai dug through the extinguished campfire, and the autumn morning forest was chilly and damp.
Kindling couldn't be preserved in such conditions, so he gathered some dry twigs and took out a flint from his pocket to start a fire.
Just as Lin Sai brought his hands down to strike a spark, his right hand was suddenly gripped tightly.
"Shh—"
Lin Sai turned to see who it was.
Alan, who had been asleep moments ago, was now by his side, staring intently at him and shaking her head lightly.
"Don't light a fire; there's movement nearby!"
The female hunter had clearly been awakened by Lin Sai's movements.
As a Tier 4 hunter, her perception in the forest far exceeded ordinary understanding, even surpassing Lin Sai's enhanced perception.
At that moment, Alan heard faint sounds from the surrounding trees, prompting her to stop Lin Sai from lighting a fire.
Seeing the female hunter's cautious demeanor, Lin Sai realized something was amiss. He sealed his lips, remaining silent, and only nodded towards Alan's direction, indicating if they should wake up the other two.
Alan shook her head seriously, rejecting the idea.
Then, she pointed at herself, then at the distance, and finally pressed her hands down towards Lin Sai, signaling him to remain quiet.
Lin Sai nodded, indicating his understanding.
He stood still by the campfire, appearing to fully accept the female hunter's command.
As Lindsay watched intently, Dan moved towards the forest in the northeast direction. Within a few breaths, the female hunter's figure completely merged into the forest.
She disappeared from Lindsay's sight, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye. Even with Lindsay's constant attention, he lost sight of Dan completely within four to five seconds.
Throughout the entire stealthy approach, the female hunter made not a sound. Her figure had completely vanished.
She was like an invisible ghost, dissipating into the morning forest.
"..."
Lindsay's gaze remained fixed on the direction where Dan had disappeared.
The hunter's skills were like fish in water in the forest, making it nearly impossible for anyone to detect her.
However, Lindsay had his own methods.
He couldn't confirm the female hunter's current movements, but based on her speed when she left, he made a rough calculation of Dan's current position.
The forest was dense with trees and bushes, creating a maze of foliage.
"Huff—"
Lindsay took a deep breath, his mental state becoming increasingly focused.
He felt the dampness of the morning forest, the birds flying in the distance, and the rustling of animals moving through the bushes.
And then, there was a barely noticeable sound, coming from the same direction where the female hunter had disappeared—something was approaching!
Lindsay's gaze sharpened.
He couldn't estimate the exact distance between them, relying only on his hearing for a vague judgment, but it was at least several dozen meters away.
In a straight line, there was also a fir tree blocking his line of sight.
In the forest, aiming at prey sometimes required not only the hunter's archery skills but also a bit of luck, ensuring that nothing obstructed the shot.
Lindsay made almost no sound as he slightly twisted his body, assuming an awkward position.
But even so, he managed to bypass the obstructing fir tree.
Then, Lindsay put away his oak longbow into his portable bag and directly retrieved another weapon from the bag.
The entire process was instantaneous, without making a sound.
But the weapon and arrows were now firmly in his grasp.
Ready for rapid fire, Lindsay began silently counting in his mind, estimating Dan's speed as she approached.
Three seconds... two seconds...
Bang!
"Ow!"
In an instant, the direction Lindsay was aiming at echoed with the sound of a bowstring, followed by the wail of a beast.
The female hunter, who had previously disappeared, now burst out from the forest shadows, tossing aside her bow and arrows and rushing towards the bushes in front of her with a prey in her hands.
- A companion's figure.
- An enemy's wail.
Lindsay received these two pieces of information simultaneously, and the bow and arrow he had prepared released its string, shooting three arrows in rapid succession!
Whoosh—Whoosh—Whoosh—
"What?"
"What's going on?!"
At this moment, Alana and Torch, who were still asleep, were startled awake by the sounds.
They quickly scrambled out of their slumber.
To their surprise, they saw Lindsay already standing on the ground, holding his oak longbow, its arrowhead aimed directly at the forest.
Realizing the situation was dire, they hastily drew their weapons, ready to join the fight.
But just then, Lindsay slowly lowered his bow and shook his head at them.
Alana and Torch looked towards the distance, puzzled.
At that moment, the agile figure of the female hunter returned from that direction, carrying two dark beast shadows—the corpses of ice boars!
"Mom?"
"Is this the beast that disturbed Finn's remains?"
Torch and Alana reacted differently.
The female hunter shook her head and then nodded, saying, "There's good news and bad news."
"The good news is that our tracking is on point, or you could say it's very successful."
"The bad news is that we've probably been discovered by the enemy, and now we need to speed up!"
(End of Chapter)
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