Chapter 524: Hunting the Bear (1)

After listening to everyone's opinions and considering all factors, Chibing decided to escort everyone back to Lema City tomorrow and bring them back only after the bear had been dealt with; otherwise, with everyone in a state of panic, they would not be at ease, and the Soldiers would have to divide their attention to protect them.

Once they were sent away, the remaining room for maneuvering would be much larger; whether it was setting up Traps or launching a heavy assault when the bear arrived, everyone would have no further worries.

Upon hearing this, the group also felt it made a lot of sense, and then they started discussing the bear-hunting plan one after another.

The final conclusion was that all Tents and supplies would be left behind, the people would leave, and the Soldiers would stay; in any case, the bear could only smell whether there were people or not, it could not smell whether there were hundreds or thousands of people, and furthermore, the number of people had no impact on it.

Setting up a few Traps around the campsite would serve as a safeguard; they had only brought one Strong Crossbow this time, which was originally intended as a final defense and a deterrent against enemies, but to hunt a bear, a few more such Strong Crossbows were needed, and every Trap must have one aimed at it.

The Soldiers could also hide in the surrounding trees to attack; even if the bear could climb trees, with such a large physique, climbing trees would be quite strenuous.

Moreover, they carried a large number of Bombs, which was the main event; the Soldiers could throw Bombs down from the trees to attack, and no matter how thick the bear's hide was, it could not possibly withstand Bombs.

Of course, the most important thing for them was to bring a live sheep from the Lema City Pasture to use as bait and set up a key Trap; bears are omnivorous, and it would naturally eat dead things, but the smell of blood might not necessarily attract a bear, and it would be bad if other wild beasts were lured in to cause destruction; besides, perhaps the bear preferred live prey?

After a simple consultation, the plan was finalized, and the anxiety of everyone outside had basically stabilized; with all the Soldiers patrolling, everyone was not so worried anymore, and after a tiring day, they could not hold on much longer and gradually fell asleep despite their fear.

The Soldiers did not retreat back and patrolled until dawn the next day; Chibing was the first to announce this news, and the person in charge from the Ministry of Works had no say, especially in a situation concerning everyone's safety; he was only responsible for construction, and furthermore, he was afraid himself.

The tenant farmers were all very happy; if the bear was not killed, they could not live in such fear every day.

The Soldiers had patrolled all night and were very exhausted; Chibing could only tell them that after escorting everyone back, they could rest in Lema City, and for the bear-hunting matter, they would request reinforcements from the Ministry of War in Lema City.

However, this arrangement of his caused dissatisfaction among the Soldiers; protecting everyone was their responsibility, and since an enemy had appeared here, even if it was a bear, it was their job to deal with it; why should they ask others to come?

Chibing only asked one question: "Can you guarantee that you will escort these people back to Lema City, then immediately return with the Strong Crossbows, lie in ambush here, and not fall asleep at night? Do you have the energy for this? Even if you say you do, I dare not let you push yourselves; this matter cannot be taken lightly."

Feeling their sore limbs and their eyelids beginning to fight each other, the Soldiers could only remain silent; although dissatisfied, they indeed could not guarantee it; if they could be given a day to rest, or even half a day, it would be fine, but time was too urgent, and this great opportunity to earn merit could only be given to others.

Of course, Chibing did not let all the Soldiers leave; he kept a team of one hundred people to set up some simple Traps, and since their supplies and food were all here, it was certainly impossible for everyone to leave.

The Soldiers who were supposed to leave departed with their Small Team leaders, and at the same time, they were going to communicate with the Ministry of War in Lema City to request personnel and Weapons.

The remaining Soldiers were also very exhausted; Chibing told them to hurry and get some rest, while the few of them who had already rested would keep watch outside; now, with the empty campsite and good visibility during the day, the three of them were enough to keep watch.

Near noon, they called up those Soldiers and let them wash up briefly before starting a fire to cook; having slept for about five or six hours, the Soldiers' energy had recovered quite well, and a splash of cold water made them very spirited.

After the meal, everyone took their Weapons and began to choose places to set up Traps; because the bear's physique was too massive, ordinary Traps could not pose a threat to it at all, so they could only artificially create animal paths and then dig pits on its necessary route; as long as they could briefly restrict its movement, the Soldiers would have a chance to attack, as the bear's running speed was extremely terrifying.

East, west, south, and north—no one knew where it would come from, so they dug a pit in every direction and used wood, branches, and such to pile up a low fence around the campsite; if the bear intended to hide its movements, it would naturally choose to enter through that obvious gap, and then it would be greeted by a pit filled with upright Iron Spear Tips.

Energy was limited and manpower was limited, so the fence was very low and the pits were not deep, because the bear's physique was too massive and the area of the pits would have to be very large; if the bear stepped on the camouflage with its front feet, felt something was wrong, and backed out, it would all be in vain.

Therefore, Chibing placed his greatest hope on the Trap prepared with the live sheep; they chose the location where the sneak attack occurred last night, because they had observed that the direction was indeed very suitable for the bear to come from, and the bear might feel familiar with it and choose this place again.

No pit was dug here; instead, they laid a heavy ambush, with Strong Crossbows aimed at it from inside the Tents, and Soldiers prepared with a large number of Bombs in the tall trees on both sides; there were people in the trees on both sides of the area, so no matter where the bear tried to escape, they would be able to bomb it.

Chibing even specifically requested Bombs containing iron beads; although the cost was high, the power was also enormous, and he believed the Ministry of War in Lema City would not refuse, as this type of Bomb had only been used a few times on the training ground and had not yet been used in actual combat; it could not just be left to gather dust in the warehouse.

The main force of tenant farmers arrived at Lema City smoothly, and the sudden turn of events gave the people of Lema City a big scare; upon hearing about the giant bear attack, everyone's first reaction was actually that it was a bit of an overreaction, but after contacting the Ministry of War, the experienced members of the Ministry of War naturally felt that what Chibing did was correct, and then they satisfied Chibing's requests one by one.

However, only two hundred Soldiers could go, as the military equipment and forces of Lema City were relatively tight, though there was no shortage of Weapons, and the Pasture also provided a sheep; two of the Small Team leaders did not rest at all, hurriedly boarded the Ministry of War's ox cart, and rushed toward the campsite.