Chapter 360 Misfortunes Never Come Slower Xia Zhining made a quick decision: "Brother, let's sneak over and check the situation first!"
She immediately turned to Boss Crow and quickly gave instructions: "Crow, go and inform all the animals in the vicinity immediately, and tell them not to panic."
"Try to stay away from the area where the elephants are and find a place to hide to avoid being accidentally injured or trampled!"
[Understood! The forest loudspeaker is on!]
The crow cawed and transformed into a black shadow, flying away swiftly.
After arranging the rear, Xia Zhining and Ji Shuyun exchanged a glance and, guided by the serpent eagle in the air, quickly and stealthily made their way towards the direction from which the vibrations and elephant calls came.
The serpent eagle's sharp eyes make it the best high-altitude reconnaissance sentry!
The two traversed the dense forest, making the most of the terrain and vegetation for cover, taking each step with utmost care.
The air was filled with the increasingly strong scent of elephants, mixed with the stench of repeatedly trampled earth.
Just as they were about to pass through the last towering grove of Hopea trees, and their view was about to open up, allowing them to catch a glimpse of the elephant herd in the distance.
The serpent eagle, acting as a sentry at the front, suddenly let out a soft whistle as a warning!
The serpent eagle suddenly soared upwards, quickly landing back on a branch near Xia Zhining, and urgently pointed its wings westward: [Xia Xia! There are other two-legged creatures!]
[Several of them came from that direction!]
Xia Zhining and Ji Shuyun immediately ducked low, using the dense ferns and tree trunks to conceal themselves.
Ji Shuyun gently parted a huge leaf and peered through the gap with his binoculars.
A group of about eight or nine people were seen sneaking towards the elephant herd from the west.
They wore khaki or camouflage clothing for easy disguise, but their fierce movements and the equipment they carried were awe-inspiring.
The leader carried a large-caliber hunting rifle, its barrel gleaming with a cold metallic sheen in the morning light.
The others were carrying heavy packs or holding machetes and ropes.
Some people even had gleaming curved knives and saws tucked into leather sheaths at their waists.
Xia Zhining was very familiar with these tools; they were not logging tools, but professional knives used for butchering large prey!
"They're poachers!"
Xia Zhining's heart sank, and she said in a barely audible voice, "Judging from their equipment and direction... they're coming for the elephant herd, for the ivory!"
Ji Shuyun's binoculars slowly swept over the men's weapons, and he said in a stern voice, "They are using the largest caliber rifle ammunition specifically designed for hunting large, dangerous animals."
"One shot is enough to take down a fully grown male elephant!"
Xia Zhining's heart tightened. Now, not only was the mother elephant having a difficult birth, but a group of poachers were also watching her closely!
These elephants are Asian elephants. Female Asian elephants do not have protruding tusks; their tusks are hidden inside their skulls.
Therefore, these poachers will first use large-caliber bullets to knock down the elephants, ensuring they are dead or incapacitated before...
They used machetes and saws to cut open the elephant's entire face to obtain the ivory!
Just seeing the tools these people were wearing made Xia Zhining feel a wave of nausea and chills.
She looked at the herd of elephants in the distance, who were crying out in anxiety because their companion was having a difficult birth.
He glanced again at the poachers who were creeping closer like hyenas that had caught the scent of blood, and instantly realized the worst-case scenario.
"The elephant herd is gathering, becoming agitated, and making a huge commotion because of difficult childbirth... This is tantamount to sending a dinner bell to these poachers!"
Xia Zhining gritted her teeth, "The mother elephant is extremely weak during the birthing period, and the attention of the entire herd is focused on the birthing of her companion."
"Although the defensive perimeter is tight, it is also the time when they are most concentrated and most easily wiped out!"
"These bastards are trying to take advantage of the situation to harvest more ivory!"
Ji Shuyun quickly assessed the situation and immediately decided: "The enemy has more people and better equipment; a direct confrontation won't work."
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