The moment this thought crossed my mind, a chill ran down my spine, and I broke out in a cold sweat.
It must be said that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this explanation is currently the most plausible one.
This wilderness is still too vast, and my understanding of it is not comprehensive.
Since jackals have already come down from the mountains to hunt for food, then ferocious beasts like tigers and leopards may soon arrive as well.
Thinking about this made me a little uneasy. I didn't know how long they would stay here.
Moreover, judging from the jackals that were so hungry they weren't afraid of torches at all, they would probably be even more ferocious when tigers or other wild beasts arrived.
Then Top came to his dead companions, lifted their mutilated bodies with his hands, gently stroked their fur, and let out a low whimper.
I felt uncomfortable watching this scene and had to turn my head away. It was my oversight as the leader that led to this undeserved disaster for the Top people.
But this is also the cruelest law of nature. There are no protected areas here, and no laws to protect any kind of creature.
I am but an insignificant link in this dog-eat-dog food chain. Without weapons and intelligence, I am not even as good as a monkey.
Seeing Top's distress, I didn't know how to comfort him. Since things had come to this, all I could do was stay by Top's side; perhaps the jackals he had killed could offer him some solace.
After a while, Top seemed to have accepted the reality. It jumped onto a branch, came to the group of monkeys huddled together, and squeaked twice.
That night, Top didn't go back to his own hut to sleep, but instead squeezed in with the other monkeys to rest. Perhaps as the monkey king, he felt a little guilty about what had happened.
I didn't have time to continue marveling at these things; the stench of blood here was so strong that I could smell it even from the trees.
If the carcasses of these jackals and monkeys are not disposed of quickly, even more powerful predators may emerge.
It's too dark now, I don't dare to take the risk. I'd better go to the shed and put on my set of rattan armor with spikes.
There was a steep embankment near my dwelling, which would be perfect for dumping the carcasses of these jackals.
Holding a torch in one hand for illumination, I pulled the crossbow bolts from the jackals' bodies and dragged their carcasses toward the steep embankment.
After a rough count, a total of thirteen jackals were shot this time, which is almost the entire family of jackals.
Just as I was halfway through moving the jackal carcasses, I heard the cracking sound of bones being separated and the sound of large mouthfuls of food being swallowed and chewed coming from below the dark, steep slope.
They arrived so quickly!
I was shocked. Even though I was wearing protective rattan armor, my legs were still trembling uncontrollably.
I was already mentally prepared, but I didn't expect the seriousness of the situation to far exceed my imagination.
I sped up and threw all the jackal and monkey carcasses onto the steep embankment below, then took off my rattan armor and put it in the basket of the crane pulley.
After climbing the tree, he pulled up the basket, took out the armor inside, and placed it outside the warehouse.
These are extraordinary times. Even though I'm up in a tree and have powerful weapons, I still don't dare to be careless. Bringing my armor up here is a wise choice.
That night, the monkeys and I lived in constant fear; the slightest noise under the tree would wake us all at once.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the legendary Nian beast did not arrive, but this wilderness made me realize for the first time how long the night could be.
Despite the fear, we made it through the night safely.
The next morning, I went to the wooden bridge to check the situation. The white snow on the ground was now stained crimson with blood, and the blood splattered on some trees had dried and turned black.
I lowered the basket, climbed down the tree, and put on my armor before arriving at the place where I had abandoned the jackal carcasses yesterday.
"hiss……"
Upon seeing this, I couldn't help but gasp.
Yesterday I clearly threw all thirteen jackals down there, and now, apart from a pool of bright red blood proving that the jackals were there, not a single wolf hair has been left.
Looks like throwing all that stuff down there yesterday was the right thing to do. It must have been quite a scene down there last night, otherwise the ground wouldn't be so clean.
I don't know if those guys have been fed yet. I feel this is a serious matter and we need to think about it carefully.
These wild beasts that have come to eat are certainly not the most terrifying; their ferocity is probably unmatched in this area.
They must have been forced to come to this area to forage for food and survive because of some kind of creature that they feared competing for their living space.
Thinking about this, I felt a pang of pity for these wild animals. They, like me, were simply trying to survive; there was no right or wrong in their lives.
If the environment hadn't changed so drastically, they probably would have been just as unwilling as I am to leave their homes to forage elsewhere.
However, I am now in this wilderness, and I am the opponent of these wild beasts. As long as they do not provoke me, I will not interfere with their stay or leave.
It seems that the number of herbivores on the east side of the lake has decreased drastically since the beginning of winter. I wonder when those mysterious and powerful creatures will arrive here.
I have a limited supply of arrows, and even more limited supply of high-powered shotgun shells for self-defense. I must prepare for both possibilities.
I plan to start now and lay down all the powerful hunting traps I've learned within a hundred meters of my residence.
In addition, I need to produce some high-nitric acid. This stuff can not only be used as a propellant for nitrocellulose, but also has a bigger use: blasting.
I had some glycerin left over from making soap. If I mix these two materials together, I can synthesize a powerful explosive:
Nitroglycerin!
This thing is extremely unstable; it will explode violently upon the slightest impact. I can use this to my advantage by burying nitroglycerin explosives near my residence.
Then I detonated them on the tree with my specially made crossbow bolts.
However, this cannot be too close to one's residence; it must be placed at least 30 meters away to serve as the last line of defense.
Having made up my mind, I rallied once again. I couldn't afford to lose this gamble; if I did, both I and these monkeys would suffer the fate of those wild beasts.
This time, I had a vague premonition that those mysterious creatures that had devoured the nearby resources would definitely come to the vicinity of my residence.
Because I had my reasons for worrying, my gaze unconsciously fell on the warehouse where several hundred kilograms of meat were stored.
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