Chapter 1128: Mountain of Meat

After victory comes the feast.

In this invasion, the wolf pack and Xiong Qun hunted down over sixty Yi Snakes, so the wolves and bears in the valley no longer followed any feeding order—every single one threw open their bellies and ate their fill. Even Does Daigua the monkey got a section of Yi Snake nearly as long as its own body, which it hugged and gnawed wildly, its belly visibly rounding out.

After confirming Seeing Xin Yu had already contacted Raven Guagua and Sea Eagle Xiaoyu, the wolf pack's fourth-ranked combatant Xia Qing leapt into the valley, quickly picked four relatively intact Yi Snakes and packed them into sealed bags, then looked at the four wounded wolves still eating their bloody rice, sprayed medicine on each wolf's wound, and waited to treat them properly after they finished eating. This was very likely a once-a-year nutritional feast that absolutely could not be missed.

Then, when Xia Qing went to test the Qiang element content of the three medium pythons, Xiong Wang, who was eating across the way, suddenly stood up and tossed a Yi Snake right in front of her.

This scene made the wolf pack's chewing pause for only two seconds before they continued gorging—especially the evolved wolves who had just been transferred from the western front to the valley ate the most enthusiastically.

Xia Qing only froze for two seconds, then bent down and picked up the fifty-plus-jin Yi Snake, gesturing loudly toward the giant bear across the way: "Bear Brother, is this because I shot those two pythons and saved your companion, so you're thanking me with a white snake? Good, I'll take it."

Xiong Wang across the way, seeing Xia Qing accept the Yi Snake, no longer paid her any attention and continued eating.

After the wolves in the valley ate their fill, they picked up the leftover Yi Snakes in their mouths and left to feed the other members of the wolf pack. Duan Yao Wolf carried two Yi Snakes in its mouth to Xia Qing, rummaged through her backpack to find packaging bags, and urged her to seal them up quickly and send them back to Territory Three, to be stored in its double-door big refrigerator.

This was premium meat that could boost combat power when eaten—of course the leftovers couldn't be given away cheap to those freeloaders waiting to eat for free. They had to be stored for later.

After the Yi Snakes were eaten up or carried off, the wolf pack no longer guarded the battlefield. The small carnivorous land animals and birds perched at the valley's edge scrambled down into the valley, snatched up the strips of meat they'd long had their eyes on, and beat their wings or sprinted away at top speed.

The satiated wolf pack and Xiong Qun watched this scene lazily, showing no reaction. Xia Qing, who hadn't eaten and had no time to rest, dragged the two giant pythons and three medium pythons together into a mountain of meat, then quietly negotiated with the head wolf, who was lying lazily on a rock: "my lord, can you give me these snakes?"

Xia Qing was the wolf pack's fourth-ranked combatant and the hero who had repelled the snake swarm in this battle. The wolf pack had all eaten their fill, and given the head wolf's temperament, she probably wouldn't refuse Xia Qing's request.

She kept her voice low because she didn't want some stingy wolf to overhear.

The head wolf, now lazy after eating, lay on the rock and quietly gazed at the mountain of meat that was taller than Xia Qing.

Duan Yao Wolf, who had been cleaning its fur by the river, immediately bounded over, sniffed the pile of snakes, then precisely placed its front paw on the first giant python Xia Qing had hunted, and stared at her with a solemn expression.

Although this python's Qiang element content reached as high as 12‰, its skin, flesh, and bones had all undergone high-grade hardness evolution. Duan Yao Wolf was no fool—of course it knew this snake's hide was material for making protective suits.

Xia Qing seriously negotiated with this clever wolf: "Does Handsome Wolf Brother want to use this snake's hide to make protective suits for Little Wolf Brother and Little Wolf Sister?"

Duan Yao Wolf bared its lips, revealing bloodstained fangs.

"Of course you can! I won't charge you processing fees—I'll use this snake to make two protective suits for Little Wolf Brother and Little Wolf Sister, and the leftover hide is mine."

Duan Yao Wolf still wore a solemn expression, raised its big paw, and tried hard to spread the five toes on its paw.

Xia Qing solemnly raised her hand and pressed down the dewclaw that Duan Yao Wolf's left front paw was trying so hard to spread: "Four protective suits, one of them for Big Wolf Brother, and the leftover hide is mine."

Besides the four main toes that handle walking, running, and attacking, a wolf's front paw also has a toe on the inner side that grows slightly higher up and can just barely touch the ground—or cannot touch the ground at all. This toe is called the dewclaw.

The video materials in Xia Qing's notebook mentioned that a wolf's dewclaw is an evolutionary remnant structure, similar to a human's tailbone, with no significant function. But the dewclaw on Duan Yao Wolf's inner front paw was very flexible—Xia Qing had seen several times that when it leapt up a big tree, the dewclaw would grip the branch tightly to maintain balance. So the information in the materials was already outdated.

Duan Yao Wolf stared for a few seconds at the big paw wearing a snake-skin glove that was holding its front paw, then once again bared its bloodstained fangs.

After Xia Qing confirmed the trade terms with Duan Yao Wolf with a radiant smile, she discussed the next item with it: "Handsome Wolf Brother, can I have Watching Huo Zhun and Hu Zifeng fly the helicopter here? With this many snakes, I can't carry them all by myself."

The two giant pythons were both Yellow Lantern, and of the three medium pythons, one was Yellow Lantern and two were Red Lantern. Xia Qing wouldn't eat this meat, and neither would the wolf pack, but once hauled back to the territory and skinned, it could fetch a decent price.

Giant pythons and medium pythons weren't the same species of snake, but neither was light. The two giant pythons, each about fourteen meters long, weighed nearly a ton apiece; the three medium pythons, each over seven meters long, weighed five or six hundred jin each. Even though Xia Qing was a strength evolver, carrying meat back and forth to Mountain Fifty-Nine by herself would wear her out completely.

Tiredness aside, it was very likely that before she could haul the meat back to the helicopter, the snake swarm would launch its fourth attack. The two Yi Snakes Duan Yao Wolf had caught were both male—she needed to catch one more female.

Duan Yao Wolf closed its mouth tightly, expression solemn. No!

Mountain Sixty was the wolf pack's core territory; besides Xia Qing, Duan Yao Wolf would not allow anyone else to enter.

Xia Qing had long anticipated this and offered her real condition: "Can Big Guy, Second Guy, and the others help me carry the snakes to Mountain Fifty-Nine? Handsome Wolf Brother, if I'm carrying meat by myself, when the giant pythons attack again, I won't be able to use my gun to kill snakes."

Duan Yao Wolf thought for a moment, then bared its teeth in agreement.

"Thank you, Handsome Wolf Brother—you really are a fine wolf at the top of Jin Zita on Blue Star! I'll contact Watching Huo Zhun and them right now to fly the helicopter to Mountain Fifty-Nine." Xia Qing immediately contacted Watching Huo Zhun and Zhang Hongda, then began tying up the pythons and asked the wolf pack to help carry them to Mountain Fifty-Nine.

Except for the head wolf, Duan Yao Wolf, and the wounded wolves, every single wolf in the valley had to help her transport the snakes. Of course, Xia Qing, a peak Level-6 strength evolver, was also a main force in transporting the snakes. But Xia Qing's haul today was too much—even with nine wolves helping, she'd need two trips to get all these snakes over.

Just as Xia Qing hoisted a medium python onto her shoulder and prepared to leave the valley, Xiong Wang on the opposite bank of the river moved again.

"Slap!"

A medium python that Xia Qing had shot dead, which had fallen within Xiong Qun's territory on the east bank of the river, was slapped hard by Xiong Wang's paw and sent flying toward Xia Qing. Because the python was too heavy and too long, Xiong Wang couldn't slap the whole snake across—a section of the snake's body landed on the water surface, sending up a huge splash.

The head wolf, resting on its royal platform, glanced over, then shifted its gaze back to continue watching the lake.

Xia Qing wiped the water off her protective visor, dragged the python ashore, ignored the giant bear beside Xiong Wang that was baring its teeth and slapping stones at her, and calmly gazed at Xiong Wang as she asked: "Bear Brother, are you giving this snake to me too? What do you want to trade for it?"

Xiong Wang probably couldn't understand human language—after tossing it over, it ignored Xia Qing and turned to stare at the lake.

"Good, thanks, Bear Brother, I'll take it." In the Year of Natural Disasters, human food was scarce—free meat, whatever the quality, would be foolish to refuse. Xia Qing swiftly tied up the python and slung it on her back, then followed the wolf pack out of the valley.

The one giant python and two medium pythons she couldn't take were dragged by Xia Qing to the head wolf's side, and she asked it to guard them for her temporarily.

Seeing Xia Qing about to leave, Does Daigua, whose belly was now round as a ball from eating, immediately grabbed a random snake from the ground and followed. Xia Qing didn't stop it—after all, the fellow had eaten too much, so running a lap would help it digest.