Chapter 17: Practical Hunting

The morning breeze blew gently, bringing a hint of dampness. Lu Yu took a deep breath; the scent of soil mixed with grass in the air felt both strange and familiar to him.

Looking out, the surroundings were a vast Wasteland where lush wild grass grew wantonly, reaching up to knee height and dotted with specks of wildflowers.

There were also some unknown wild fruits hanging from the branches, colorful and vibrant, yet they stirred up some not-so-pleasant fragments from the depths of Lu Yu's memory.

On the Wasteland, besides the wild grass, there were large, connected thickets of bushes, like a green ocean. Not far away, a few trees were scattered sparsely, with some tree stumps nearby, clearly traces left behind after being felled.

Presumably, this was to meet the needs for building houses or fuel in the nearby human settlement. Looking further into the distance, the outlines of mountain ranges appeared and disappeared in the mist.

"That way is the direction of Yongan City," Zhao Shan, who had a sturdy build, said from beside him.

"Yongan City?" Lu Yu cast a curious gaze.

"That is a small city built against the mountains, with solid defenses. It is said that there are even Awakened stationed there; it is a place many people yearn for," Zhao Shan said, a hint of longing appearing in his eyes.

"Awakened, huh..." Lu Yu muttered to himself and nodded. He could imagine that such a city must be heavily guarded, and entering it would be no easy task.

"Haha, if one day you also awaken an ability, you can go in, and by then you can even bring your dad and the others along—how impressive that would be!" Zhao Shan said half-jokingly.

Lu Yu rolled his eyes at him. Although he hadn't been transmigrated for long, he knew some common knowledge.

The earlier an Awakened awakens their ability, the better; the older one gets, the smaller the possibility of awakening. Moreover, the Mental Attribute of an Awakened is usually very high.

He looked at his own Mental Attribute value, still possessing self-awareness in his heart.

The group observed their surroundings vigilantly while carefully moving forward. The initially relaxed and lively atmosphere gradually became heavy as time passed and their physical strength was consumed.

Just then, a massive figure appeared not far away, exuding a chilling aura from its entire body.

Lu Guohao, who was walking at the very front, had his expression change abruptly and immediately reached out to signal everyone to stop.

"That is... an Iron-Backed Black Bull?" someone in the crowd couldn't help but exclaim.

Lu Yu fixed his eyes on it, his heart greatly shocked. The size of this Iron-Backed Black Bull was enormous, comparable to a small truck, and the black fur on its body shimmered with a metallic luster under the sunlight.

"Go around it, try not to disturb it," Lu Guohao said in a low voice, while looking at Lu Yu and explaining patiently.

"This Iron-Backed Black Bull is covered in a layer of hard keratin, and its defensive power is astonishing. Even among Intermediate Fierce Beasts, it is a very difficult type to deal with. When we run into it, it is best to avoid it."

Lu Yu nodded and looked at the bow and arrow in his hand, knowing clearly in his heart that with just this bow, it was almost impossible to break through the Iron-Backed Black Bull's defense.

If this big guy launched an attack, with its impact force, being hit would be like being struck by a truck; the consequences would be unimaginable.

The group carefully took a wide detour, and only when they could no longer see the figure of the Iron-Backed Black Bull did they heave a sigh of relief.

"It's not just the Iron-Backed Black Bull," Lu Guohao continued, "from now on, as long as you encounter an Intermediate Fierce Beast, if you can avoid provoking it, don't provoke it; take a detour. Otherwise, even if we can kill them, we will have to pay a heavy price."

"Understood," Lu Yu replied. He understood that so-called Intermediate Fierce Beasts referred to those powerful beasts that required multiple adult men working together to kill.

Killing them was not impossible, but wanting to do so without a scratch was absolutely impossible.

Just like the Iron-Backed Black Bull before them, someone always had to rush up to attract its attention so others would have a chance to attack. But the person rushing at the very front, even with a Shield for protection, had a very high possibility of losing their life.

As for Low-level Fierce Beasts, they usually referred to beasts that an adult man holding a weapon could defeat. Their strength spanned a wide range; some had almost no aggression and would flee upon encountering danger, while others were extremely aggressive and would even perish together with the enemy.

"You'll get used to it; you won't find it strange after seeing more of them in the future," Zhao Shan said, comforting Lu Yu with a smile.

The others also had expressions of being accustomed to it.

Lu Yu smiled back. To tell the truth, when he saw the Iron-Backed Black Bull just now, he was indeed incredibly nervous.

"Let's go, let's go check the first trap; hopefully, we'll have some harvest," Lu Guohao said, taking the lead to walk forward.

The group followed one after another, with Lu Yu being protected in the middle of the team.

After walking for about two or three minutes, Lu Guohao suddenly stopped and pointed his finger forward.

The group looked in the direction he pointed and saw a Wild Rabbit in the dense grass, leisurely gnawing on grass seeds, seemingly completely unaware that someone was approaching.

"That is a Wild Rabbit," Zhao Shan introduced in a low voice. "This guy's eyesight isn't very good; it can only see things clearly within ten or twenty meters, and anything further is blurry. However, its hearing is excellent; movements thirty or forty meters away can make it alert."

As if to verify his words, the Wild Rabbit suddenly stood up, its ears twitching constantly, seemingly having sensed something unusual in the surrounding atmosphere.

"This rabbit is too big, isn't it!" Lu Yu couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

The size of this rabbit was actually about the same as a medium-sized dog from his past life, or perhaps even fatter; its chubby appearance made one unable to help but smile.

"Give me the arrow," Zhao Shan whispered.

"Ah?" Lu Yu was stunned and asked in surprise, "Zhao Shu, you know how to shoot an arrow?"

"I don't, but it's come to this, might as well try, right? What if I hit it? Otherwise, if we walk any closer, this rabbit will take off and disappear," Zhao Shan said carelessly.

Lu Guohao also looked at Lu Yu, his eyes full of expectation, but he didn't dare to hold too much hope.

"Zhao Shu, let me try instead," Lu Yu couldn't help but say.

"Alright," Zhao Shan paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Lu Yu held the bow steadily with his left hand and carefully took an arrow from the quiver.

At this moment, his heartbeat accelerated involuntarily. After all, this was his first time hunting in the wild, and the prey before him not only related to the food supply in the Zhai but might also bring him Potential Points.

But if he missed, he would lose this rare opportunity and also disappoint his father.

He tried hard to calm himself down, but various distracting thoughts kept popping up in his mind, and even his right arm holding the arrow was trembling slightly from nervousness.

This scene was seen by the others, and everyone shook their heads secretly. This was normal; who wouldn't be nervous the first time they went hunting in the wild?

Lu Guohao also sighed inwardly. Oh well, just consider it practice for Little Yu; he'll be fine after experiencing it a few more times.

However, the moment Lu Yu nocked the arrow onto the bowstring, the distracting thoughts in his mind vanished without a trace.

He aimed the arrowhead at the prey and slowly pulled back the bowstring. This series of movements was smooth and natural, as if he had repeated it countless times, completely out of muscle instinct.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. When the bowstring was pulled to the limit and emitted a slight tremor, with a "whoosh," the arrow shot out like lightning.

The Wild Rabbit seemed to have sensed a Fatal danger; its ears twitched violently, and its hind legs kicked hard, wanting to escape.

The good news was that it jumped up; the bad news was that just as it jumped, it was pierced straight through the head by the arrow.

The powerful impact carried its body flying three or four meters forward before it landed heavily on the ground.

The Wild Rabbit's hind legs kicked weakly twice, and then it stopped moving.

For a moment, everyone stood frozen in place, silent, their mouths wide open as if they had been petrified, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.