In the blink of an eye, three wolves died, yet the Wolf Pack hadn't even touched Zhou Cang's clothes.
Actually, the Wolf Pack's tactics were not wrong; their first attempt was repelled by a single shot, and after losing a major member, they switched to encirclement.
If they were facing an ordinary hunter, even if he used up all his ammunition and killed a few wolves, he would ultimately be eaten.
The Wolf Pack didn't care about losing a few companions; the dead wolves wouldn't be wasted, their bodies would be eaten by the other wolves.
When starving to the extreme, even humans are like this, let alone wolves!
The Wolf Pack seemed not to have noticed that a companion had been shot dead, still steadfastly carrying out the Head Wolf's command, maintaining the encirclement.
“Even gunshots couldn't scare off the Wolf Pack; do I have to kill them all?” Zhou Cang mused.
Looking at the sun, it was past noon, about three hours until dark.
Going straight home was definitely not an option; the Wolf Pack would surely follow him, ambushing him at any time, and it would be dangerous if he didn't reach the village before dark.
Now that the Wolf Pack wasn't moving, he would prepare for the worst, continue to use his bow and arrow to shoot and kill, and deplete the Wolf Pack's strength.
But as soon as he raised his hand, he heard the Head Wolf let out a “howl” not far away, and the Wolf Pack immediately sprang into action, scattering and moving around instead of staying still! And they specifically circled behind trees!
Hiss!
Zhou Cang began to take this Head Wolf seriously; this fellow had to be eliminated! Otherwise, it would become a major hidden danger for him when entering the mountains; a Head Wolf that could use tactics against humans was very terrifying!
If it weren't for his accurate marksmanship, the Wolf Pack would probably be seven-tenths full by now.
Watching the wolves moving in and out from behind the trees, he no longer had confidence in shooting them with his hunting rifle and bow.
Zhou Cang put down his bow and slowly chewed on a piece of dried meat he pulled from his in my arms.
The Head Wolf consistently refused to show itself, hiding far away, and if this dragged on, as time passed, the sunlight would weaken, and the weather would gradually turn colder. If it really waited until dark, it would be very disadvantageous for Zhou Cang.
“Old Lady, please teach me how to tan hides,” Zhang Yue said to the Old Lady, who was drying roe deer hides.
“Why do you want to learn this?” Hu Xianglan asked with a smile.
“Well, I want to make a roe deer hide coat for Fugui Ge with my own hands!” Zhang Yue blushed a little; they were going to get married in the future, and making clothes was a skill every girl had to know.
“Alright, in about ten-odd days, when the hide is mostly dry, I’ll teach you!”
“Great, thank you, Old Lady!”
“Silly girl, why thank your Old Lady!”
“As long as you and Fugui are well, I’ll be at ease!”
“I wonder if Fugui Ge has caught any prey yet,” Zhang Yue said, looking at the sky outside, a little worried.
“Don’t worry, Fugui takes after his father; he’s bold and meticulous. If there’s anyone in these ten miles and eight villages who can surpass his father as a hunter, it can only be Fugui.”
Meanwhile, Zhou Cang was still in a standoff with the Wolf Pack. Seeing that the Wolf Pack had no intention of pouncing, he simply gathered some dry branches nearby and lit a fire.
He also took the rabbit out of the basket, skinned it in a few quick cuts, gutted it, rubbed it with snow, found a branch to skewer it from mouth to anus, and then inserted two more horizontally to secure it.
Then he stuck it next to the campfire and began to roast the rabbit.
While doing all this, he constantly kept an eye on the Wolf Pack's movements, and the Wolf Pack was also extremely patient.
The campfire put a lot of pressure on the Wolf Pack; Zhou Cang could feel that many of the wolves that had been lying down became restless and anxious as soon as they saw the fire.
Just as Zhou Cang was turning the rabbit, a crisp snap came from behind him.
Without time to think, Zhou Cang suddenly rolled two meters to the side, and when he stood up, his spear was already in his hand.
It was the Head Wolf!
The Head Wolf had moved little by little behind Zhou Cang with incredibly patience. Its entire body was black, even larger than the one he had killed earlier, and its massive wolf head bared two rows of large teeth; this fellow was simply a giant wolf!
“Heh, you beast, you don’t play fair!” Zhou Cang stared at the Head Wolf in front of him, his peripheral vision scanning his surroundings. Seeing that the other wolves had no intention of joining in, it seemed they wanted to watch the Head Wolf fight alone.
“Alright, I’ll have to deal with you sooner or later!”
After speaking, he switched the spear to his left hand, swung the hunting rifle from his back and rested it on his left wrist, aiming at the Head Wolf.
Bang!
The instant the gun fired, the Head Wolf’s hind legs pushed off to the left, darting to the right.
He missed!
This fellow had indeed become cunning; it could dodge a hunting rifle at close range!
Before Zhou Cang could reload, the Head Wolf charged forward in two steps, opening its bloody maw and biting towards Zhou Cang’s chest.
In a hurry, Zhou Cang only managed to thrust the hunting rifle forward horizontally, stuffing it into the wolf’s mouth.
Crack!
The Head Wolf bit down hard on the gun barrel and wouldn't let go, shaking its head wildly from side to side. It seemed to know that this was Zhou Cang’s most powerful weapon.
As long as it snatched this strange-shaped stick away, this human would be dead!
Zhou Cang gave a cold smile; no matter how intelligent a beast was, its cognition could not compare to that of a human.
He lifted the hunting rifle with one hand, and it actually caused the Head Wolf’s front paws to leave the ground as well!
With its front paws off the ground, the Head Wolf felt very panicked. Looking at Zhou Cang grinning at it, it inexplicably felt some fear; it even had a sense of regret, perhaps provoking this human was a mistake!
But it was too late; the moment its front paws were lifted, its abdomen was exposed. Zhou Cang released the spear with his left hand, drew his sharp knife, and fiercely stabbed it into the Head Wolf’s soft abdominal cavity.
“Howl!”
A piercing, painful cry erupted from the Head Wolf’s mouth.
It’s over! It instinctively knew it wouldn’t survive; its abdomen being pierced through made it lose all its strength, and it softly loosened its bite.
Zhou Cang pulled out the knife and stabbed it into the Head Wolf’s chest again. This stab pierced the Head Wolf’s lung, and dark, bloody foam spewed from its mouth.
It stared intently at Zhou Cang, its eyes filled with unwillingness.
It was the strongest male wolf in the pack. After reaching adulthood, it defeated the previous Head Wolf in just one round. How many challengers were scared into tucking their tails and lying on the ground exposing their bellies with just a glance from it.
Zhou Cang seemed to understand its meaning. He clamped the wolf’s muzzle with his left hand, pulled out the knife, and pressed his knee against the Head Wolf’s neck.
He stabbed again, plunging the knife into its heart, until the Head Wolf completely lost its life. Only then did he stand up, mainly because he was afraid of a dying beast's counterattack, which would be a huge loss if it bit him.
He picked up the hunting rifle and checked it; the fore-end had a few tooth marks but was not damaged. He casually loaded another bullet into it.
“Phew!”
Killing a wolf in close-quarters combat, no one would believe it if he told them!
The surrounding Wolf Pack quietly retreated after the Head Wolf fell silent. They had no intention of pouncing for revenge, because every strong male wolf's first priority at this moment was to strive for the qualification of the next Head Wolf.
A human was not that important.
With the Head Wolf dead, the rabbit was also basically roasted. Zhou Cang wiped his hands clean with snow, tore off rabbit meat, and slowly ate, recovering his strength.
These four wolves should be enough to exchange for a decent rifle, right? If he had a semi-automatic in hand and plenty of bullets, he definitely wouldn't have gotten his hands dirty today!
Thinking this, Zhou Cang loaded all the wolf carcasses onto the sled. Four wolves, almost two hundred kilograms!
“What a great harvest! Time to go home!”