Chapter 151: Annihilating the Pack of Wolves

Upon hearing about such a geomantic treasure trove, Han Li immediately followed the sparrows toward that mountain valley.

However, anticipating the wild beasts that might appear there, Han Li crafted a long spear for himself out of iron birch wood for the second time.

Several sparrows scouted the surroundings in detail, ensuring that no wild beast could advance to a position where it posed a threat to him.

Han Li marched briskly all the way to the valley. The valley was expansive, winding and stretching far into the distance. It was densely overgrown with large patches of Mongolian oaks, hazel trees, Korean pines, walnuts, and a variety of other miscellaneous trees.

This valley was undoubtedly a remarkable place of auspicious energy. The peaks on both sides blocked the cold wind to a certain extent, making the temperature here in winter somewhat higher than outside. Coupled with such abundant food sources, it was bound to attract numerous herbivores. Once the traces of herbivores appeared, the whereabouts of carnivores wouldn't be far behind.

The only drawback here was the deep valley and dense forest. Generally, even if people hunted game here, it would be extremely difficult to haul it out. Yet, according to the unwritten rules of the local mountains, no matter who went out hunting, the prey they killed had to be carried back no matter what, lest it offend the Mountain God. Thinking of this, Han Li couldn't help but feel amused inside; if this legend were true, it meant very few people would come to this place, inversely implying that his harvest might increase.

Setting aside the matter of superstition, regardless of what kind of prey it was, there was no such thing as something Han Li couldn't bring back.

He had the sparrows scout and keep watch around the area, while he found a relatively easy spot to descend, climbing down to the valley floor foot by foot using a rope.

After carefully hiding the rope, Han Li found that in such a densely wooded place, neither the crossbow nor the javelins were easy to use. Therefore, gripping the iron birch spear in his hand, he followed the sparrows as they advanced step by step.

After walking about five hundred meters forward, Han Li soon discovered the spot the sparrows had observed. Under a canopy of Korean pines, there were traces of wild boars having rooted around. Almost this entire patch of woods had been turned over by wild boars; the small pits dug out by their snouts nearly connected into one continuous area, accompanied by numerous hoof prints. These prints varied in size, and many were larger than an adult's fist. The only pity was that these traces were a bit old, so whether Han Li would actually encounter this sounder of wild boars remained uncertain.

Still, this place truly was a geomantic treasure trove. Before long, Han Li harvested another litter of rabbits, though the number was slightly smaller this time, totaling only seven.

Just as he finished collecting all the rabbits, the sparrows on guard chirped and flew before Han Li, reporting that a pack of wolves was approaching his direction, currently no more than five hundred meters away from him.

A wolf pack? Han Li was momentarily stunned, but the movements of his hands were much faster than his racing thoughts.

Running at a distance of a few hundred meters was out of the question. Using both hands and feet, Han Li quickly scrambled up a thick Korean pine tree nearby.

By this time, Han Li had already spotted the vanguard of the wolf pack—a grey wild wolf was sniffing around the spot where Han Li had smoked the wild rabbits.

Do not underestimate this vanguard sent by the alpha to scout the path and essentially serve as cannon fodder; it was much sturdier than the lone wolf Han Li had encountered last time.

"Awoooo~~~"

A resonant wolf howl echoed from the rear, its tone filled with cold-blooded ruthlessness and dominance, as if inquiring about something.

"Awooo."

The vanguard wolf lifted its head and responded with a howl. Before long, more than twenty wolves emerged one after another from the forest. After circling the area for a bit, they almost simultaneously raised their heads to gaze at the large tree where Han Li was hiding.

Han Li was currently pondering whether he should start a slaughter, only to be startled by this grand and unusual display of attention from the pack.

He couldn't help but curse inwardly: *Damn it, could it be that I've stained myself with the blood of the wild rabbits? Otherwise, why would this pack of wolves latch onto me?*

The reason Han Li hesitated was that a wolf pack was entirely different from a lone wolf; you could kill a lone wolf casually.

However, you couldn't do that with a wolf pack. Because they held an extreme grudge, if you failed to kill every single one of them, the best course of action was not to make a move. Otherwise, the surviving wolves would trail you indefinitely, constantly waiting to avenge their companions—in severe cases, they would fight to the very last wolf.

At this moment, a massive wolf in the rear of the pack, presumably the alpha, squatted down and emitted low, rumbling growls.

Following that, some of the wolves lifted their necks and howled toward the sky, while others began to circle the large tree where Han Li was hiding.

Seeing the pack's actions, Han Li realized he had no way out. Since these beasts regarded him as prey, then let's go to war, dammit.

Han Li seated himself on a branch with a relatively good view, took the crossbow out of his back basket, aimed, and fired.

"Awooo."

A wolf was pierced clean through the spine on the spot. As it lay on the ground wailing, its four legs kept frantically scratching at the earth.

The wolf pack beneath the tree fell into a brief commotion due to this turn of events, but they quickly calmed down under the alpha's low growls.

When the pack attempted to drag the fallen wolf away, Han Li immediately shot and killed another. Subsequently, the wolf pack's encirclement began to retreat, and Han Li used his crossbow bolts to slay three more wolves.

The wolf pack's encirclement pulled back once more. Wolves were crafty creatures; after paying the price of five wolves, they figured out the effective attack range of Han Li's crossbow bolts, and then squatted in the safe zone, staring unblinkingly at him.

Seeing this, Han Li cursed inwardly; he didn't have the time to sit here and waste stamina in a war of attrition with these beasts.

Glancing at the surrounding terrain, Han Li began climbing down the trunk of the large tree.

Once he reached a certain height, Han Li used his ability to decompose the ground beneath the tree into a series of circular pits, into which he inserted tree trunks.

Ultimately, he constructed a protective wall about one and a half meters high, spanning a radius of eleven meters around the big tree, along with a wooden platform roughly three meters high.

Stepping onto this platform, the solid feel underfoot immediately lifted his mood considerably.

Han Li's actions didn't stop there. He then erected a flagpole of roughly the same height on one side of the platform.

Immediately afterward, he simply decomposed the wolf carcasses within his mental perception range and hung them atop the flagpole.

This move by Han Li caused the wolf pack to stir in agitation once more, but they were still suppressed by the alpha.

*Damn, has this alpha attained sentience? Even now, it still isn't taking the bait?*

Han Li felt a slight fatigue creeping in, but to provoke the wolf pack further, he used stones on the platform to rig up a small fire pit. Once he ignited the charcoal, he began roasting and eating rabbit meat.

When the aroma drifted over to the wolf pack, the alpha let out a piercing howl.

Following that, the wolves began to charge and leap over the outer wall, completely unaware that traps awaited them on the inside.

These traps lacked any sharpened spikes, but they were unquestionably deep enough that even if the alpha fell in, it wouldn't be crawling back out.

Of course, a few wolves managed to clear the traps, but they were met with the javelins Han Li hurled down.

"Awooooo~"

"Awoof, awoof, awoof!"

For a time, anxious howls rose from the wolves trapped in the pits, while shrill cries were emitted by those struck by Han Li's weapons.

At that moment, the alpha let out an enraged howl—a sound laden with cruelty, bloodlust, and madness, one that might have frightened the faint-hearted into wetting themselves. All the wolves began launching a desperate charge toward the low barrier, the alpha included.

Yet, what awaited them were the traps Han Li had laid out and the lethal javelins in his hands.

True to its status as the alpha, it leaped effortlessly into the enclosure and cleared the trap zone entirely.

Han Li snatched up the long spear resting on the platform, wound his arm back, and hurled it with all his might. Due to the height and sheer force behind it, the long spear pinned the alpha's leg straight to the ground, trapping it in place as it let out a miserable, piercing screech.

"Awoof, awoof, awoof!"

Witnessing this from the platform, Han Li knew his plan was secure. Once he slaughtered this entire pack of wolves, he wouldn't have to worry about any future retaliation.

With a leap, he dropped straight down from the platform. By then, the alpha had actually bitten off its own leg and lunged toward Han Li, though its speed and power were severely compromised due to its grievous injuries.

Observing this, Han Li instantly materialized a thick, long javelin in his hand and thrust it straight down the alpha's gaping maw.

The alpha couldn't even emit a dying shriek; it could only manage intermittent, rattling gasps of air.

Yet, its eyes clearly held the look of unresigned grievance, for until its dying breath, it could not comprehend how the sharp wooden stick in the hands of the human before it had seemingly materialized out of thin air.

Han Li then went around finishing off the howling wolves on the ground one by one before approaching the edge of the pit, looking down at the baring-teethed wolves snapping and snarling below.

To ensure the integrity of the pelts and to verify whether the old generation's saying—"copper head, iron bones, tofu waist"—held any truth,

Han Li erected a tree trunk by the pit's edge and began looping a rope around the wolves inside.

Whichever wolf was snared would be hoisted up, whereupon Han Li would deliver a crushing blow with a thick wooden club directly onto its lumbar spine.

The wolves whose lower backs took the heavy blow would let out a final, agonizing wail before perishing, confirming to Han Li that the elders' adage was indeed quite accurate.

As for the remaining wolves, he decided to grant them a swift death. Every single wolf hauled up was immediately granted a swift end by Han Li using his KA-BAR 1217 knife to slit their throats, after which he simply processed their carcasses and transferred them into his spatial dimension.

When Han Li finished handling all the wolves and tallied them up, his harvest this time amounted to an astonishing twenty-seven wolves.

Yet, an expression of joy mingled with distress hung on his face. Due to the excessive expenditure of his mental energy, he was now experiencing mild dizziness.

Han Li cursed inwardly: *Why is this damned mental energy never enough? Am I really going to have to spend the night deep in these mountains today?*

He then resolutely shook his head. Nights deep in these mountains were far too lively, and after over-exerting his mental energy, he tended to fall into a deep sleep for a stretch of time. If any unexpected emergency occurred during that window, it would be far too dangerous.

A gentleman does not stand under a tottering wall; he was heading back. No matter how late it was, he was going home to sleep today.

Even in his current state, Han Li meticulously dismantled the wooden wall and platform before finally departing the area.