Although injured, the Ice Horned Beast was exceptionally ferocious, and every charge, every tail whip, and every horn thrust carried a deadly threat.
With the enhanced physical abilities gained after his transmigration, the agility honed in dire situations, and the sharpness of his obsidian axe, Lin Feng constantly moved and dodged, searching for an opportunity to attack.
His attacks were always precise and ruthless, targeting the Ice Horned Beast's wounds and what he considered to be its weakest points.
The obsidian axe in his hands became an extension of his arm, sometimes sweeping and powerful, sometimes swift and nimble.
The surrounding pine trees suffered during their battle, with trees being snapped off by the "Ice Horned Beast's" ferocious power from time to time, and snow flying everywhere.
Lin Feng's breathing gradually became heavy, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, instantly turning into white vapor upon contact with the cold air.
This huge creature, which he named the "Ice Horned Beast," was so difficult to deal with that it truly took him a tremendous amount of effort.
After a long and fierce battle, the Ice Horned Beast had more and more wounds, and the flowing blood stained its snow-white fur, making it look mottled. Its movements also gradually slowed down due to blood loss and pain.
Although the single horn on its forehead still shone brightly, the frequency and accuracy of its attacks were far inferior to before.
Lin Feng keenly seized this opportunity. Just as the "Ice Horned Beast" staggered once again, attempting to butt him with its horn.
He spotted a huge weakness exposed by its exhaustion—the soft area below its neck that heaved violently with its panting, where there seemed to be no thick fur to protect it.
Instead of dodging, he took a sudden step forward, lowered his body, and channeled all his strength into his arms. With a resolute and fierce angle, the obsidian axe in his hand slashed fiercely at the throat of the "Ice Horned Beast" from bottom to top, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder!
"puff!"
This time, the axe blade was deeply embedded in the neck of the "Ice Horned Beast".
The Ice Horned Beast's massive body suddenly stiffened, and the light from its eerie blue horn flickered rapidly a few times before fading away.
It let out a short, desperate cry, its forelegs buckled, and it collapsed to its knees with a thud. Then its entire body slumped limply, creating a large crater in the snow. Blood gushed from the wound on its neck like a spring, quickly staining the white snow beneath it red.
Lin Feng leaned on his obsidian axe, breathing heavily, his chest heaving like a bellows.
Only when he watched the "Ice Horned Beast" gradually lose its life in the pool of blood did his tense nerves slowly relax.
The hunt was arduous and challenging, but he ultimately won.
He didn't immediately deal with the spoils, but first cautiously observed his surroundings to make sure there were no other dangers before walking to the corpse of the "Ice Horned Beast".
He took a piece of tough vine he had prepared beforehand, made from animal hides he had skinned himself, and painstakingly bound the Ice Horned Beast's front hooves tightly.
Then, he swung the other end of the vine onto his broad shoulder, took a deep breath, his muscles bulging, and used all his remaining strength.
Step by step, he dragged the enormous creature, which he named "Ice Horned Beast" and which was as big as a calf and incredibly heavy, toward his makeshift sheltered camp, which was covered with a few flat stone slabs.
The snow crunched under his feet as he dragged his prey, appearing lonely yet powerful in the vast snow-covered forest, like a lone wolf struggling to survive on this icy wasteland.
Next to his nascent wooden house, Lin Feng specially cleared out a relatively flat open space and laid down several large stone slabs that he had dragged back from the riverbank.
This was his temporary, yet luxurious, "open-air slaughterhouse"!
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
The sharp stone knife flew up and down in his hands, as if it had come to life.
Skinning, gutting, removing internal organs, cutting the meat into pieces... the whole process is smooth and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.
He was now making full use of the exquisite knowledge about biological anatomy that had inexplicably surfaced in his mind.
Each cut is made precisely along the muscle fibers, avoiding major tendons, which saves effort and ensures the meat remains intact to the greatest extent possible.
Lin Feng unceremoniously cut off several large pieces of the freshest tenderloin and leg meat, skewered them with sharpened wooden sticks, and roasted them directly over the makeshift campfire next to the wooden house.
While grilling, he also rubbed the meat with some spicy and fragrant plant juice that he had discovered by chance, as a kind of seasoning.
The grease dripped into the flames, sizzling and crackling. The primal and domineering aroma of meat, mixed with the smoky scent of firewood and the fragrance of exotic berries, was enough to make anyone's mouth water.
"Damn, this is what life is all about!"
Lin Feng took a big bite of the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside ice horn beast meat, feeling the scalding juices burst in his mouth, and an indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
Of course, Lin Feng couldn't possibly eat that much meat in one go.
Most of the meat requires long-term, meticulous processing and storage.
The wooden house wasn't fully completed yet, but he understood the importance of planning ahead!
"Only through smoking and burning can the true flavor be obtained, and only then can it be preserved for a long time!"
This thought echoed in his mind like the admonition of his ancestors.
While there were still some scraps and relatively flat stones left over from building the wooden house walls, Lin Feng began to set up a more professional "smoking room" not far from the planned downwind side of the wooden house.
This is much better than the haphazard hole he dug in the cave before.
He built the base and three walls with stones, and the top was framed with thicker timbers. He then covered it with a mixture of grass fibers and soil, creating a semi-enclosed little house.
The roof has several adjustable smoke vents, and the interior is made of several layers of mesh woven from heat-resistant hardwood branches.
He cut large chunks of ice horned beast meat into long strips, and then carefully rubbed and pickled them with coarse salt that he had painstakingly scraped from a saline-alkali land and which had been filtered and purified several times.
The salt in this world carries a faint, peculiar mineral aroma, which adds a unique flavor to the meat cured in it.
After marinating for a day or two, until the salt has fully penetrated and the surface of the meat strips is slightly wet, he hangs these future "energy bars" one by one on the grid of the smoking room.
The materials used for burning incense are also very particular.
Relying on his knowledge of plant encyclopedias, Lin Feng specifically selected several types of hardwood that he recognized as producing thick smoke and a unique aroma when burned.
This is a type of wood called "Cedar Heart," which is hard, burns slowly, and emits a faint pine scent. There is another type that he named "Red Flame Fruit Wood," which emits a sweet aroma similar to that of roasted apples when burned.
He carefully controlled the fire, making sure it wasn't an open flame, but rather a half-dead, billowing fire, allowing the thick smoke to slowly and continuously embrace every inch of the meat strips.
Day after day, while he was building the wooden house, the smoking room was also under construction.
Around the log cabin, besides the fresh scent of pine, there is often a thick smoke that mixes the aroma of meat with the unique fragrance of wood.
A few days later, when Lin Feng took out the first batch of finished products from the smoking room, the jerky had turned an enticing dark brown, with a firm and shiny surface, exuding a mouthwatering smoky flavor.
He squeezed it with his hand; it was as hard as stone. But when he tore off a small strip and put it in his mouth, the unique chewiness and the increasingly fragrant taste were simply irresistible.
This smoked jerky not only has an excellent flavor, but it can also be preserved for several months without spoiling, making it his most important protein reserve for winter.
Besides smoking, air drying is also an important method, especially for lean meats with lower fat content.
For example, the giant "snowbirds" that he occasionally caught (with wingspans of three or four meters, and slightly tough meat but plentiful) were sliced into thin pieces by Lin Feng, strung together with flexible vines, and hung directly under the eaves of the wooden house under construction.
He deliberately chose a location that was well-ventilated and would be illuminated by three eerie suns in turn.
The sunlight in this world has a peculiar ability: dried meat slices not only dry quickly but also hardly grow mold.
He also began experimenting with a more advanced "oil seal" method. He would soak small pieces of roasted or boiled meat in hot rendered animal fat (mainly the flank fat of the Ice Horned Beast, which was snow-white, delicate, plentiful, and easy to solidify).
Once the oil cools and solidifies, it effectively isolates the air, achieving the purpose of long-term preservation.
These confit meats will be an excellent luxury and a calorie bomb during the long winter ahead!
Sometimes, to try his luck, Lin Feng would go to the stream that wasn't completely frozen over.
He used fishhooks made from animal bones and tied them with "fishing lines" made from tough plant fibers, and he was able to catch a few palm-sized, silvery-white "icefish" with exceptionally delicious flesh.
Besides stewing or grilling the fish while they're fresh, any excess fish are gutted, cleaned, lightly salted, and then smoked or air-dried to make salted dried fish.
Watching the rows of dried meat and fish gradually taking shape under the eaves and in the smoking room, I felt the food in my hands transform from fresh life into sustenance that can be preserved for a long time.
Lin Feng felt an indescribable sense of peace and satisfaction.
This is not just food, but also his confidence and dignity in fighting against this harsh world and surviving!
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