The arrow I just fired, in my haste, didn't hit a vital spot; instead, it struck one of its forelegs, and blood is now flowing down the badger's leg.
"Pat! Patrol!"
As I ran after the badger that had been shot with an arrow, I gave Pat a series of commands outside the woods. We had done this kind of isolated command exercise during training, so Pat must have heard my shouts.
I never imagined that a badger with an injured leg could run so fast; I couldn't even keep up with its speed.
Before long, it wasn't Pat who appeared first, but Top. Hearing my urgent call, he quickly dropped the taro he was holding and ran towards the direction of my voice.
Then I saw a black figure enter the sky. Pat, of course, didn't need my instructions; he had already spotted the badger that had been shot and was trying to escape.
At this moment, the hog badger's speed is very fast to me, but for Pat, who has air superiority, this speed is about the same as an old lady taking a walk in the park. Even a rabbit could probably run faster than it.
Once Pat spotted his prey, the primal instincts within the bird of prey were awakened, and without hesitation, he folded his wings into a triangular bolt of lightning and pounced on the badger.
I think you won't be able to escape this time. In such open spaces, birds of prey can take advantage of their strengths. Without bushes to hide in, their chances of survival are less than 50%.
Just then, I noticed a hole half a meter in diameter in front of the badger as it fled.
Damn it, its home is actually nearby!
It's likely that Pat also realized the badger's intention to escape back to its burrow, and immediately Pat moved even faster, almost like a black lightning bolt sweeping across the ground.
With his sharp claws stretched forward as far as possible, Pat's claws dug deep into the badger's neck just a second before it was about to enter the burrow.
Bright red blood immediately flowed from the badger's neck.
The badger, in pain, tried to shake Pat off its head, but the eagle's claws, already deeply embedded, were not so easy to get rid of.
Pat immediately clamped his beak onto the cervical vertebrae of the hog badger and pulled hard. The badger stumbled and fell in front of its burrow, its limbs twitching uncontrollably.
The spine is a vital organ for all animals; damage to it immediately severs the connection between nerves and limbs, leading to paralysis and rapid death.
This is also one of the most efficient methods for birds of prey like eagles to hunt animals. Once caught in their sharp talons, even a larger goat will fall victim to their deadly attacks.
By the time I reached the badger, it had already passed away. Looking at the burrow so close at hand, I imagine the badger must have felt utterly hopeless.
Hearing the commotion, Top ran to my side. After looking me up and down and finding no injuries, Top was relieved.
When Top saw the badger that Pat had already hunted down on the ground, he couldn't help but grin at it, his eyes filled with admiration, even between different species.
Pat sucked on the already dead badger, as if he wanted to make a show of it so I wouldn't miss it.
We had an agreement on this during training. As long as Pat obeys my commands and successfully completes the tasks I assign, I will reward it with some food.
I saw through Pat's little scheme, of course; I'm not the kind of boss who likes to make empty promises to my employees.
Now my employees are all excellent at hunting prey for me, enough to last me one to two weeks. As the boss, it would be unreasonable for me not to do something for them.
Immediately, I took out some half-dried bear liver from a leather bag I was carrying and fed it to Pat.
I've tried roasted bear liver before, and I found that Pat doesn't refuse cooked food. It's probably like how chickens accept both live insects and cooked meat quite well.
The idea that Pat doesn't eat cooked food is probably just a misconception; it's just that Pat doesn't really like eating meat that's too dry.
The main problem is that Pat doesn't have teeth like us to chew and grind food. It's too much effort for it to tear, and it's not as easy to swallow as soft meat.
Pat, now rewarded, loosened his grip, indicating that he could take it now—truly a cash-on-delivery transaction.
I weighed the badger in my hand, and wow, just as I had guessed, it was a fully grown badger, and the fattest one at that.
A typical adult badger weighs around 14 or 15 kilograms, but this one is about the same size as a normal badger, though its body is much wider. This proves that this badger is very fat; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's so fat it's practically dripping with oil.
Thinking of this, I can't help but recall the badger oil fried eggs my grandfather used to make for me when I was a child. It was a mixture of a spoonful of badger oil and an egg, which was then fried directly into a sunny-side-up egg. I still remember the aroma to this day.
Because badger oil has medicinal value, eggs fried in badger oil are good for the stomach and improve appetite, so the elderly in our area often make some for the children.
It can also have a gentle moisturizing and nourishing effect on symptoms such as stomach problems and stomach ulcers, making it a good product for both the elderly and children.
Just as I was reminiscing about the past, I noticed that Top was actually going straight into the badger's burrow.
Top's size is about the same as a badger's, so it's not surprising that it could squeeze in. I'm just curious what Top is doing in this empty burrow. Could there be another badger inside?
Thinking about this, I chuckled at my own thoughts. Badgers are just timid, not stupid. If an animal were to enter their home and corner them, they would certainly fight back.
Top, as a wild animal, has a very sensitive sense of smell; it's impossible for it not to smell whether there are badgers inside.
If Top knew there were no badgers inside, then he must have been attracted by something else inside, which is why he crawled in to take a look.
At this point, Top also became curious. I wanted to see what treasures were hidden in the badger's burrow that would make Top squeeze in so hard to find out.
Top, who wasn't inside the cave, squeaked as if he had discovered something extraordinary.
I gave a wry smile. What a naive monkey! What's left in the badger's den? It's probably all dried up by winter.
I know that badgers usually forage extensively in the fall and store some of their food.
They dig caves to live in, with different functional areas inside. They store food such as plant roots and fruits in the caves so that they can eat them during seasons when food is relatively scarce.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com