Chapter 30: Testing the Leader

"Weixian Qu?" Lu Yu looked puzzled; this was the first time he had ever heard of this concept.

"Mm." Zhao Shan turned around, looking at Lu Yu with a gentle gaze as he explained: "You remember that Iron-backed Black Bull we ran into halfway here yesterday, right? Fierce Beasts of that level are not uncommon up ahead. That area is mainly packed with carnivorous Intermediate-level Fierce Beasts; there are a great many of them. If your luck is bad, you might even run into an Advanced Fierce Beast."

"Advanced Fierce Beast..." Lu Yu gasped. Advanced Fierce Beasts were usually over three or four meters in size, some even larger. They possessed the terrifying strength to easily destroy a small human settlement, and they were extremely aggressive.

It was said that many small Zhai had been slaughtered overnight, all because they were targeted by an Advanced Fierce Beast that had taken advantage of the cover of darkness to crash through their walls and break in.

"Let's turn back and try our luck elsewhere." Lu Guohao looked ahead with lingering fear; these were all lessons learned at the cost of countless blood and lives.

The team then set off toward the southeast.

"Do you find it quite dull?" Zhao Shan asked Lu Yu with a smile.

"Mm." Lu Yu nodded and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He felt his entire back was soaked through with sweat, his clothes sticking tightly to his body, which was extremely uncomfortable.

"This is the norm for hunting trips." Zhao Shan comforted him, "In the past, we would trek for a whole day and not even catch a glimpse of a prey's shadow. Sometimes, even if we did see one, the guy would take off running, and we couldn't catch up at all."

"That's right, yesterday was pure luck. Of course, Xiao Yu, your Archery is truly impressive; otherwise, it would have been useless even if we had seen the prey," a middle-aged man with a collapsed nose nearby added with a wry smile.

"So that's how it is." Lu Yu couldn't help but smile wryly. It seemed his expectations for hunting were too high, putting the cart before the horse by actually making the improvement of his 【Basic Archery】 proficiency the main goal of the hunt.

He prayed silently in his heart, hoping to have some harvest today.

Lu Yu subconsciously looked back at the place everyone called the "Weixian Qu," thinking that there must be a lot of prey there, but it was a pity that with his current strength, it was far too dangerous to go there rashly.

Next, the group chatted idly.

It was unknown how much time had passed when a few small black dots appeared two or three hundred meters ahead.

Lu Yu had sharp eyes and saw them first. The group instantly perked up and hurried to close the distance. When they were within a hundred meters, looks of surprise appeared on everyone's faces.

They saw two gray Wasteland wolves surrounding a lone calf. The calf seemed to be not yet fully grown, its size not much larger than the Wasteland wolves. It had a pair of horns as thick as an arm on its head and was charging left and right, attempting to flip one of the Wasteland wolves.

Unfortunately, the two Wasteland wolves were working together with great tacit understanding; one was responsible for distracting the calf, while the other waited for the right moment to ambush, specifically targeting the calf's soft underbelly.

By the time Lu Yu and the others arrived, the calf's intestines had spilled out, and fresh blood had stained the ground red; it was clearly not long for this world.

Just then, the two attacking Wasteland wolves also noticed the arrival of the group and immediately jumped away in alarm, their eyes fixed firmly on their prey and these uninvited guests. The calf stood swaying on the spot.

The group looked at each other, as if to say: There's such a good thing? Could we be dreaming?

"What should we do?" Zhao Shan cleared his throat, "This calf, are we taking it, or are we taking it?"

"Hahaha." The group burst into laughter.

"Does that even need asking? Of course we're taking it; this is a gift from the Heavens."

"That's right, I reckon the Heavens saw we hadn't caught anything after walking so far and felt sorry for us. Goodness, even though this calf isn't full-grown, it must weigh at least two hundred jin, right? Beef... I haven't tasted it in years."

"Hahaha, we also have to thank these two beasts for doing the work for us."

Lu Guohao, however, looked serious, his brows locked in a frown.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Lu Yu had been quite happy, but seeing his father's expression, he couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"Nothing." Lu Guohao shook his head, looked at the calf that was about to bleed to death, and said: "Xiao Yu, put it out of its misery."

"Okay." Lu Yu nodded. Under the gaze of the group, he walked thirty or forty meters away, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and fired.

The calf hadn't noticed the movement around it at all; like a stationary target, it fell to the ground at the sound of the shot.

Lu Yu glanced at the proficiency of his 【Basic Archery】; it had increased by less than 1%, which was truly a bit low.

But the good news was that he had gained 5 Experience Value, bringing his total to 8. He looked into the distance and found that the two Wasteland wolves were still staring fixedly this way, their eyes full of unwillingness.

"The distance is too far, over one hundred and fifty meters. These two beasts are too shrewd." A trace of killing intent flashed in Lu Yu's eyes.

Even with this eighty-jin draw-weight bow on his back, it was difficult to hit a target beyond one hundred meters, and even if he did, the lethality was limited.

The others were not idle either; they hurried to start butchering the prey, preparing to drag it away.

Lu Guohao's frown deepened. He noticed that the two Wasteland wolves kept staring this way; clearly, they would not let it go after having their food snatched away.

Wasteland wolves were Fierce Beasts with a strong sense of vengeance; he feared there would be endless trouble ahead.

"Let's end the hunt here for today." Lu Guohao said, "I don't feel quite right, and being able to drag this prey back to the Zhai safely is already a very good harvest."

"Mm." The group expressed their agreement one after another; after all, this was a windfall, what more could they be dissatisfied with?

On the Wasteland, the team began their return journey. After walking one or two hundred meters, two gray figures followed closely behind, like sticky candy that couldn't be shaken off.

Lu Yu tried to take the initiative to attack, but as soon as he chased, the Wasteland wolves ran back; as soon as he returned, the Wasteland wolves followed again, applying the tactic of "the enemy retreats, I advance; the enemy advances, I retreat" to Pure Perfection.

"Damn it!" Lu Yu cursed inwardly. How could these guys be so cunning? He even suspected whether they had gained intelligence.

In the final analysis, it was because the range wasn't far enough. If he had a bow with a one-hundred-jin draw weight, he could finish them off with one arrow from over two hundred meters away.

"Guohao." Zhao Shan's expression also became grave. He looked at the two Wasteland wolves, "Do you think these two beasts might be calling for their companions?"

"It's very possible." Lu Guohao nodded with a grave expression, "This is exactly what I was worried about from the start. Wasteland wolves usually like to act in groups; it's very abnormal for these two to be alone. Looking at them now, refusing to give up, it's nine times out of ten that they are waiting for the main force to arrive."

"What!"

"This... what should we do?" Upon hearing this, the group panicked. They weren't afraid of two or three Wasteland wolves; relying on their weapons and numerical advantage, they would at most suffer some injuries.

But if a large pack came, ten or twenty of them, that would be dangerous.

For the sake of one piece of prey, it was clearly not worth taking such a big risk.

But saying it was easier than doing it; who would be willing to easily give up a benefit already in hand? For a moment, everyone's eyes fell squarely on Lu Guohao—the time to test the team leader had arrived!