The howls pierced the night, a chilling reminder of the predators closing in.
The sound reverberated through the dense forest, creating an eerie, disorienting chorus that made it hard to pinpoint the wolves' exact locations.
As the footsteps grew closer, Xu Feng and Zhao Kai could hear the faint rustling of leaves and the soft crunching of twigs underfoot.
The wolves moved with predatory grace, their light steps barely disturbing the forest floor. The darkness was their ally, concealing their approach until they were almost upon their prey.
In the dim light, Xu Feng could barely make out the shadows of the approaching wolves.
Their eyes glowed with spectral light, reflecting the minimal moonlight that managed to pierce the canopy. The wolves' fur, dark and matted, blended seamlessly with the surrounding shadows, making them appear as living extensions of the forest.
The air grew colder as the wolves drew near, the temperature seemingly dropping with their presence.
Zhao Kai could feel the intensity of the moment, but Xu Feng lightly grasped his shoulder. Zhao Kai glanced up, only to see Xu Feng shaking his head.
"There's no need to be nervous," Xu Feng whispered softly. "Did you forget we killed a few of them when we had trash equipment?"
With that reminder, Zhao Kai relaxed his tensed muscles.
'Right, they're not that much of a big deal when we already killed four of them.' He thought to himself, recalling the previous incident. They were ambushed previously and even without any preparation, they managed to swiftly and smoothly deal with them.
And now that they were the ones taking the initiative this time, what was there to be nervous of?
As Zhao Kai regulated his emotions, Xu Feng's eyes remained focused on the Shadow Wolves.
'These wolves are really not easy to bait.' He thought, inspecting their cautious behavior.
The Shadow Wolves' noses were constantly sniffing, clearly smelling the aroma of the raw meat. Their glowing eyes scanned the area, reflecting the faint moonlight and giving them an otherworldly appearance.
Right at this moment, one of the wolves suddenly howled in a different volume. The rest of the wolves soon stopped their surveillance and turned their attention to the direction of the wolf howling.
"Feng, they noticed the bait," Zhao Kai murmured, his finger fidgeting somewhat around the trigger of his rifle. It was quite evident that he was ready to fire at any given moment.
However, Zhao Kai could only be left disappointed when Xu Feng intervened.
"No need to rush," Xu Feng said and shook his head. "The wolves aren't going to simply dash ahead at the sight of food. As tempted as the food in front of them was, they were still an alert monster. Only a fool would jump right without thinking properly."
A few seconds later, just as Xu Feng had predicted, the shadow wolves, though enticed by the smell of the raw monster corpses, approached it warily.
Their noses twitched as they sniffed the air, their bodies low to the ground, ready to spring away at the slightest sign of danger.
As one of the wolves took a tentative step closer to the bait, its muscles tensed and ready to retreat. It sniffed the meat, then glanced around suspiciously, clearly wary of a potential trap.
Meanwhile, the other wolves circled the bait from a distance, their movements slow and deliberate, ensuring no detail was overlooked.
The tension in the atmosphere was palpable.
As the Shadow Wolves were ready to follow and join in after their scout had already tested for safety. One of the wolves suddenly stumbled upon the trap that Xu Feng had laid earlier.
Its leg was trapped by the tree branch, alarming the other wolves as they howled in response, clearly surprised by the unexpected situation.
'Hehe, it's finally my turn to shine.' Zhao Kai laughed inwardly and angled his Ironbolt Rifle at the trapped wolf.
Zhao Kai thought it was his turn to fire, but Xu Feng suddenly placed his hand above the Ironbolt Rifle, signaling that it was not time yet.
"Are we not shooting the trapped wolf?" Zhao Kai asked in a barely audible tone, clearly bewildered.
Wasn't the main point of a trap to give them an early advantage?
Alas, Xu Feng didn't bother to explain anything at all this time. He simply kept silent and watched the trapped wolf with an expressionless face.
Speechless, Zhao Kai could only suppress the urge to fire.
Through the scope of his lens, Zhao Kai watched the wolf get out of the trap safely with the help of other wolves.
Exasperated and bittered by the development, Zhao Kai wondered if Xu Feng had lost his mind.
'That was an easy shot to take, but we are just going to let the wolf go just like that?' he ranted silently, not daring to voice his complaint aloud.
As frustrated as he might be, he still chose to believe Xu Feng and that he had another plan in mind. There was just no way Xu Feng would suddenly turn into some saint or nature-loving person.
Sometime later, the wolves began feasting on the raw monster corpses they laid out, filling their bellies with joy.
Occasionally, there were times when some of the wolves were complacent and had their guards completely down. And it was honestly difficult for Zhao Kai to resist the urge to shoot at them.
In the end, Zhao Kai decided to stop scoping in and placed his Ironbolt Rifle on the ground, his eyes staring intensely at Xu Feng.
Although no words were said, Xu Feng could easily tell he had a bunch of questions in mind.
Questions such as...
Why are we not shooting them?
Are we really just going to let them feast on the bait?
What are we trying to achieve?
Alas, Xu Feng feigned ignorance of his stare and continued checking on the belly-filled gleeful shadow wolves.
'Hope you enjoy that feast, my dear prey,' he thought, watching them eat every bit of the corpses and wobbly return to their patrol area.