Chapter 136: Natural Trench

To the west, that is, deeper into Red Wood Ridge.

About a hundred meters away from the crowd, there is a towering giant tree with a diameter of more than twenty meters. Because the distance is too far, only a rough outline can be seen.

That tree is estimated to be more than a hundred meters high, and it is currently making a trembling movement, just because a behemoth is constantly climbing up along the main trunk of the tree.

Although separated by a long distance, Xia Hong could still see through the outline that the behemoth was more than seven or eight meters long, with a sturdy posture, and two smooth tusks that were incomparably conspicuous in the night.

"Snow mane?"

"Is it a snow mane?"

"Snow mane!"

…………

Seeing that behemoth, the members of the hunting team immediately identified its identity.

A snow mane more than seven meters long!

*Gulp*…………

Everyone subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then their eyes shifted to Xia Hong at the front.

Xia Hong had joy on his face at this moment, but his heart was drumming.

Joy, naturally, was because he finally saw an intermediate-level cold beast after searching all night, and it was a single one, which proved that not all cold beasts live in groups like the long-tailed gnawing rats.

In this way, the difficulty of hunting intermediate-level cold beasts is much smaller.

And the drumming in his heart was simply because of the size of this snow mane.

Low-level snow manes are at most four meters long, not to mention the posture.

Although separated by a hundred meters, the size of this intermediate-level snow mane in front of him was twice as large as the biggest one he had hunted before.

The strength of a snow mane is not weak among cold beasts. The impact of an adult snow mane is at least more than ten thousand catties, which is the most terrifying among all the cold beasts Xia Hong has hunted so far.

And that was just a low-level snow mane.

This one in front of him is an intermediate-level one!

After searching all night, the intermediate-level cold beast he had been thinking about for a long time finally appeared in front of him. Xia Hong was not so excited in his heart, but quickly calmed down.

There is no way around it; with this size, it is difficult not to calm down.

"Can we try the old method?"

Yuan Cheng took out a torch honestly and suggested to everyone.

Everyone, including Xia Hong, showed a trace of intention.

But soon, Xia Hong looked around and shook his head and said in a deep voice:

"Judging from the distribution of intermediate-level cold beasts, it's impossible, unless a second intermediate-level cold beast is found elsewhere, and then use the method of attracting the gnawing rat pack to arrange torches all the way to lead it here."

Hearing this plan, everyone immediately shook their heads and denied it.

The gnawing rat pack is the gnawing rat pack. The strength of an intermediate-level cold beast is unknown to them. Rashly using torches to attract it, and the distance to guide it is so far, the difficulty and danger of actual operation are beyond imagination.

If one is not careful, it is to send one's life.

"Then we can only set up traps first, and then use torches to lure it into the trap. We have sixteen people in total. If we cooperate properly, there should be a chance."

Xia Chuan said while signaling to Li Yun, Li Pingkai, and Zhu Shun.

The three took out all the animal traps on their backs, placed them directly on the ground, and then looked up at Xia Hong.

It wasn't just the three of them; Xia Chuan and the other eleven people were all looking at Xia Hong, clearly waiting for him to make a decision.

"Torches, animal traps, ten-stone iron-fetal bows, all members of the hunting team are here, and everyone has no injuries. Leader, don't hesitate. Not to say that the hunt will definitely be successful, at least we have to try!"

Seeing the hesitation on Xia Hong's face, Xia Chuan was the first to speak to persuade.

Luo Yuan hesitated for a moment and nodded, saying righteously: "That's right, our preparations are sufficient enough. Barring accidents, the camp will not have any new Earth-Digging Realm experts for a long time. In any case, there is only this configuration. Let's try it directly, Leader."

"Sixteen people, no matter how strong it is, at worst, the hunt will fail, and we will just escape. Leader, don't hesitate."

"I also think we should go up. Sixteen ten-stone iron-fetal bows, don't fight it head-on, detour and circle, we definitely have a chance."

…………

Everyone talked one after another, all expressing the meaning of wanting to try.

Xia Hong didn't speak, but a trace of warmth rose in his heart.

What everyone said was that it was fine to go up, the strength was strong, the personnel configuration was sufficient, and there was a chance of hunting success, but the danger contained in it, how could they not know.

The reason why they requested so strongly was that they all knew that the key to his breakthrough to the Frost-Resisting Realm was this intermediate-level cold beast.

In other words, for his breakthrough, they were all willing to take this risk.

Xia Hong's heart sank slightly. He looked back at the big tree in the distance and finally made a final decision: "Good, then let's try!"

Since the decision had been made, Xia Hong didn't consider anything else and directly deployed to everyone: "Li Yun, you three find a suitable position first, dig a pit and place the animal traps; 【13

Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Yuan Cheng, come with me to survey the surrounding terrain;

The rest of you, go find good positions for yourselves.

Remember, barring any accidents, we cannot withstand the strength of this Snow Mane even if we all join forces, so we cannot confront it head-on. Bows and arrows are our primary means; if you find that the bows and arrows are ineffective, then give up immediately.

I'll give you half an hour to prepare. During this time, keep a distance of over a hundred meters from it at all times. Do not startle it, lest you alert the enemy. After half an hour, return here to discuss before we take action."

"Yes, leader!"

The group nodded and agreed in low voices, quickly scattering to attend to their tasks.

Over the past half-year, these fifteen people had gone out hunting with him nearly a hundred times; there was no need to explain many things clearly, as they could act on their own through tacit understanding.

Xia Hong also felt at ease taking Xia Chuan and the other two with him to begin familiarizing themselves with the terrain around the large tree where the Snow Mane was entrenched.

The large tree where the Snow Mane was entrenched was within a hundred meters of the west side. There was no need to look at the inner perimeter further west, so Xia Hong focused his observations on the south and north sides.

"The Snow Mane's sensory perception isn't considered strong among cold beasts. We've circled this area several times just now; we didn't discover it, and it didn't discover us. This one likely just came from the inner side. I don't know its physical condition—if only its head had suffered a serious injury!"

Hearing Yuan Cheng's wishful thinking, although Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan shook their heads immediately, a few flickers of hope actually rose in their hearts.

Conflicts already existed between cold beasts in Red Wood Ridge, and intermediate cold beasts were even stronger, so their conflicts were naturally more intense. This Snow Mane had just come from the inner perimeter; perhaps it really had failed in a conflict and was carrying injuries.

However, separated by a hundred meters, they couldn't even see the details of the Snow Mane's facial features, let alone see its physical condition clearly.

=9+Shu_ba

"Don't hold onto such unrealistic fantasies. If it were truly injured, it might be irritable, making its strength even more terrifying!"

As the four reached the northernmost edge, about to exit Red Wood Ridge, Xia Hong extinguished Yuan Cheng's fantasy and then led the three of them back toward the south.

"This side is already within the sphere of influence of the former Lu Shang camp. Further north, we'll reach the Arrow Bamboo Forest. Once the fight starts later, we can't lead it north; we can only lead it south or out to the east."

"That Snow Mane has a large build; I don't know if its reaction speed is fast. There are plenty of trees around here, so it's easy to find positions for archery. It would be even better if its reactions were a bit slower."

"Human effort can achieve anything!"

By the time they returned to their previous position, the half-hour was almost up, and the others were returning one after another.

The group had clearly found their positions successfully. The last to return were Li Yun and his two companions, who were responsible for placing the animal traps, along with the helpers they had called along the way.

Li Yun and the others had expressions of surprise on their faces, and as soon as they saw Xia Hong, they spoke impatiently:

"Leader, there is a natural trench to the south, eight meters long and three meters wide. It was covered by snow, and it's over six meters deep. The three of us just called others to help dig, deepening it by another two meters. We've placed all three animal traps around the trench. If we can successfully lure the Snow Mane into the trench, the hunt will basically be more than half successful."

"Lead the way, let's go take a look!"

Hearing Li Yun's description of the trench, Xia Hong's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly told him to lead the way.

The group followed Li Yun south for over two hundred meters, and a natural trench slowly came into view. Including Xia Hong, almost everyone's eyes lit up.

The trench was quite large, wedged between two large trees with diameters of over ten meters. The snow that had originally covered it had been swept away, clearly done by Li Yun and his men just now.

A trap had been placed at both the front and back of the trench, and one had been placed right in the middle at the bottom. All three traps were connected by ropes and were already covered with white snow.

"Cover the trench with snow again; we'll choose this location!"

Xia Hong observed the interior and the terrain on both sides, making his decision immediately. This natural trench was practically tailor-made for that massive Snow Mane.

Looking at the two large trees standing on either side of the trench, Xia Hong's expression shifted slightly, and he made further arrangements. Only after everything was ready did he instruct everyone to take their previously assigned positions.

"In a word, bows and arrows are our only means. If I were to go head-to-head with it, I wouldn't stand a chance, let alone you all. Once you discover that the bows and arrows are useless, everyone is to scatter and retreat. If they are useful, then coordinate well with each other. I don't need to teach you how to use bows and arrows, do I?"

Xia Hong gave his final instructions, and seeing everyone nod, he pondered for a moment before speaking slowly: "The top priority is to protect yourselves. There are many intermediate cold beasts in Red Wood Ridge, but we only have one life. Do you understand?"

"Understood, leader!"

"The strength and methods of intermediate cold beasts are unclear, so it's hard to set a contribution value price. However, if we can successfully hunt this Snow Mane, it will be the first intermediate prey harvested by our Great Xia camp, which is of great significance. Therefore, I have priced it at..."

Xia Hong paused here before continuing.

"Ten thousand points!"

All fifteen people looked up instantly, their faces full of surprise.

Especially the three Zhao brothers, whose hands holding their bows trembled slightly.

"Because we are using bows and arrows as our main attack, if the hunt is successful, the contribution points will not be divided equally. It will depend on whose arrows cause the most damage to it; the more damage you cause, the more contribution points you will receive!"

After finishing these final words, Xia Hong directly ordered everyone to scatter.

"That's all I'll say. Go to the positions you found earlier and wait."

Seeing that everyone had taken their places, Xia Hong took a torch from behind him, stuck it at the edge of the trench, looked back at the large silhouette of the Snow Mane in the tree, and took a deep breath.

Chila...

Under the snowy night, the torch ignited.

The surrounding air suddenly stagnated for a moment.

Xia Hong had already climbed a nearby large tree, holding his breath and quietly observing the movements of the large tree to the north.

The other fifteen people distributed around the area did the same.

Ka...

To the north, the sound of breaking branches came.

Everyone's hearts tightened slightly, and they quietly turned their heads to look in that direction.

(End of chapter)