Chapter 291 - 216: Unexpected Harvest
Zhao Wendong took a deep breath, lining the White Wolf up in his sights. The other three didn’t need his instruction; they knew to wait for his shot before opening fire, each of them poised and focused.
’Three, two, one,’ Zhao Wendong silently counted down before decisively pulling the trigger. At the exact instant he fired, the White Wolf seemed to sense the danger, whipping its head around to look in their direction.
BANG BANG BANG—!
Zhao Wendong instantly fired four rounds in quick succession. Combined with the shots from the other three men, a total of seven bullets streaked toward the White Wolf. They were determined to bring down this exceptionally cunning beast. The instant the wolf glanced back, its white fur bristled. The gunshots followed, and just as the White Wolf seemed to have nowhere to dodge, a sturdy gray wolf at its side reacted with incredible speed. It unhesitatingly leaped into the air, using its own body to shield the White Wolf King.
THUD THUD THUD—!
Blood blossomed from several spots on the sturdy gray wolf’s body. The sheer force of the impact sent it crashing into the White Wolf King, knocking them both over. The White Wolf rolled with the fall and staggered back to its feet. Without a single glance at the gray wolf that had taken the bullets for it, it tucked its tail between its legs and bolted, letting out a sharp, urgent howl. In an instant, the White Wolf dove into the forest and disappeared. The other gray wolves, which had been surrounding something in the distance, heard the piercing cry and fled without a moment’s hesitation.
"Fire! Take down as many as you can!"
Zhao Wendong roared, frustrated at his failure to kill the White Wolf, and vented his anger on the scattering gray wolves. Zhao Wenjun and the others had experienced this many times. They certainly weren’t going to miss an opportunity to beat a drowning wolf, firing at the fleeing animals as they gave chase.
Dahuang led Dahei and Erhei into the fray, barking furiously as they chased down the last gray wolf in the pack. From the sky, Xiaojin once again coordinated with them to corner one, but this wolf was quite strong. Xiaojin’s surprise attack missed its vitals, and the three Gouzi struggled for some time before they finally managed to pin the wolf down.
’Erhei, don’t worry. I’ll call Master.’
AWOOOO~!
Dahuang’s cry was urgent, and Zhao Wendong, sensing something was wrong, hurried over to check. The wolf on the ground was held in a death grip by the three Gouzi. Zhao Wendong pulled out his bayonet, slit the wolf’s throat, and left it to bleed out. His gaze then darted to Erhei, where he saw a patch of blood on its neck, matting the black fur into a clump. Zhao Wendong’s eyes narrowed. ’Not good. Erhei’s hurt.’
"Quick, Er Gou, come over here."
Each of the four brothers carried some spare supplies, but Zhao Ergou was the one with the medical kit. Hearing Zhao Wendong’s call, he and the other two rushed over. By then, Zhao Wendong had already parted the fur to examine Erhei’s wound. The gray wolf had caught Erhei on the neck with a final, desperate snap. Fortunately, the bite wasn’t deep. Erhei must have dodged the fatal attack at the last second; otherwise, if the wolf had latched on and not let go, Erhei would have met its end today.
Zhao Wendong unhooked the canteen from his back and first rinsed Erhei’s wound with some clean water. Then he said to Zhao Ergou,
"Wood ash."
Er Gou took out a cloth pouch of wood ash, and Zhao Wendong grabbed a handful, pressing it into the wound. Erhei trembled all over from the pain. After a sharp bark from Dahuang, it forced itself to hold still. Seeing Erhei injured, Zhao Wenwu began to pace anxiously nearby, tears streaming down his face. He was terrified that Erhei was going to die.
"Badger oil."
Zhao Wendong was like a surgeon and Er Gou his nurse, constantly passing him the items he requested. Once the bleeding stopped, Zhao Wendong smeared the badger oil onto Erhei’s neck to seal the wound against frostbite and inflammation. Finally, he carefully wrapped it with a clean strip of cloth. This was all they could do for now; the rest was up to Erhei’s own constitution. The thought of hunting dog equipment from his past life gave Zhao Wendong an idea. ’I should get some protective gear for the Gouzi.’
"Dahuang, take care of your brother."
Zhao Wendong patted Dahuang on the head. Dahuang barked twice at Zhao Wendong, then he and Dahei flanked Erhei, one on each side, sticking close to their brother. If Erhei tried to walk too fast, Dahuang would even growl fiercely at it, so Erhei could only slow its pace pitifully. Zhao Wendong nodded with satisfaction. ’So what if that White Wolf is preternaturally smart? My own Gouzi are one in a million.’
RUMBLE—ROAR—!
A massive roar suddenly echoed from the distance, laced with desperation and defiance.
"Holy shit, a black bear!"
Zhao Wenjun shouted, his expression tensing. The four men exchanged a look and ran toward the source of the roar, guns in hand. As he ran, Zhao Wendong looked back and made a pressing-down gesture with his hand toward Dahuang, signaling for the dogs to stay put and not follow. The men crept slowly toward a massive cottonwood poplar. There they saw that the trunk, so thick it would take seven or eight people to wrap their arms around it, had been clawed open on the sun-facing side, revealing a hidden hollow within.
A huge black bear was slumped at the entrance to the hollow, covered in blood. The roar from just now had come from it. Unfortunately, it was on its last breaths. Its body was covered in gashes from the wolves. Blood streamed from its eyes, which had been bitten and blinded. The moment they saw this, the men knew what the Wolf Pack had been surrounding. The White Wolf had led its Wolf Pack to ambush a hibernating black bear. It was clear this was premeditated; they must have launched their first deadly assault while the bear was sound asleep.
Two wolf carcasses lay near the hollow—unlucky bastards whose bones had been shattered by the bear’s paws. Sensing the humans’ approach, the black bear grew more frantic. But it was already a spent force and could only let out a few threatening roars.