Chapter 58: The pig mold is a mold, but it’s also the mushroom’s mold.
The leading Thunder Wolf Dragon slightly widened its steps and began to pick up speed.
Jie Jie and the Small Thunder Wolf Dragon followed it together, curious as to where it was leading them?
After running for a while, the Thunder Wolf Dragon slowed down again, occasionally lowering its head to sniff at the traces on the ground, apparently tracking something.
Is it hunting?
But along the way, they only encountered a few Fairy Deer. The wind from the Thunder Wolf Dragon’s run didn’t escape their ears; once they entered deeper, lower forest areas, the massive Thunder Wolf Dragon had no way of catching them.
The Big Thunder Wolf seemed accustomed to this already. Only the Little Thunder Wolf made a ruckus trying to chase after them, returning with a head full of twigs and leaves.
Only when they could be in the downwind position and discover the prey first would they have a chance to complete an effective hunt.
At that time, the Big Thunder Wolf would growl lowly to issue signals, and the Little Thunder Wolf would immediately crouch and crawl forward.
The wind carried the scent of the Fairy Deer into Jie Jie’s nose. The Big Thunder Wolf looked at him, its hard tail knocking against the ground, signaling for him to crouch down.
He had always been surrounded and beaten by others; even during the Thief Dragon period, he hadn’t seen such strong social behavior. Jie Jie felt novel, suddenly experiencing an excited feeling of having found his group.
Following the Big Thunder Wolf’s instructions, Jie Jie crouched down, and the three Thunder Wolf Dragons crawled forward together.
The wind did not carry their scent to the Fairy Deer, but other predators had already struck first.
A green figure flew through the air, its shadow cut unevenly by the leaves.
The Female Fire Dragon’s dive startled the Fairy Deer, making the Big Thunder Wolf let out a disgruntled purr.
But it wasn’t all bad news; one startled Fairy Deer was heading towards them.
The Big Thunder Wolf swayed its eyes left and right, and Jie Jie froze, amazed at how easily he could understand the meaning in its gaze.
Spread out, surround.
… It made sense; even well-trained cats and dogs could understand basic eye cues, just like his four little ones at home.
The loneliness that spurred the Thunder Wolf Dragon’s instinctual need for companionship was filled, and a certain sense of satisfaction drove Jie Jie to find his position.
With their path blocked, the Fairy Deer instinctively chose to break through in the direction of the smallest Thunder Wolf Dragon.
Between the Little Thunder Wolf’s stammering, the Big Thunder Wolf charged forward, slapping it to the ground.
A gaze watched over them three; it was the Female Fire Dragon perched upwind, her height advantage allowing her to see over the slope.
Jie Jie raised his claws, ready for a battle over the prey.
“Hmm…”
“Rrrrr~”
Glancing at Jie Jie, the Big Thunder Wolf, now confirmed as the leader, seemed pleased, growling lowly at the Female Fire Dragon.
The Female Fire Dragon’s gaze lingered over the three dragons, pausing briefly on the Fairy Deer under the Big Thunder Wolf’s claws and the Little Thunder Wolf, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
She then chose to snatch the Fairy Deer and flew away contentedly.
Jie Jie looked at the Big Thunder Wolf in surprise, not expecting this guy to be so steady despite his fierce appearance, able to resist temptation even in the face of a silver-haired femme fatale.
Cough, cough… He was surprised that such matters could be resolved peacefully, gaining another layer of understanding about nature.
Wolves can lock eyes with crows, coyotes can become best friends with badgers and travel together.
Even here, nature shouldn’t always be about fighting and killing; it’s not always you die or I die, too extreme.
And that Fairy Deer…
Little Thunder was already drooling as he approached, still looking to his father for approval.
And the Big Thunder Wolf looked at Jie Jie; Jie Jie could tell it was gesturing to his size, seemingly regretting why it invited him along.
In the end, the Fairy Deer was torn into three parts, one share per dragon.
Definitely not enough to fill their bellies, but it gave them enough strength to continue.
Where are the Herbivore Dragons? Following this route, Jie Jie hadn’t even seen the footprints of any Herbivore Dragons.
Capturing Fairy Deer was much harder compared to the slow-moving Herbivore Dragons, many of which were hidden deep in forests inaccessible to large monsters.
But starving was still difficult. Their next discovery was a rather large Mushroom Pig.
How big? About the size of two Fairy Deer. It was the first time Jie Jie had seen such a large Mushroom Pig.
For Mushroom Pigs, there was no need for caution; they just rushed forward and pounced.
To prove he wasn’t just freeloading, Jie Jie’s pounce was far faster than both Big Thunder and Little Thunder.
The fat Mushroom Pig was instantly knocked unconscious.
The other two Thunder Wolf Dragons slowed down their charge, staring at Jie Jie in astonishment, their eyes full of “How could you move so fast?”
Silently, the Big Thunder Wolf waited for Jie Jie to distribute the spoils, stepping down from his position as the lead wolf.
But as Jie Jie tore into the Mushroom Pig, an angry, strange call pierced through the trees.
“Roar (gurgle)!”
Lower-pitched than a Fire Dragon’s roar, it was accompanied by some sort of rumbling sound.
They began to look around warily.
Until a figure covered in emerald-green scales crashed into view, screeching to a halt before spinning around and charging straight at them.
“Shit! Veteran Mushroom Pig!”
Jie Jie’s eyes widened as he realized the Mushroom Pig he had just defeated wasn’t the largest individual he’d ever seen.
In the game, he had encountered a special variant of Mushroom Pig capable of instantly killing Master Rank hunters with its pig cart, a six-star task known among players as the “Veteran Mushroom Pig.”
In his alarmed shout, he instinctively sidestepped, dodging the charge.
The “small” Mushroom Pig’s corpse was crushed beneath its hooves, but there was no time to worry about that. The abnormally large Mushroom Pig screeched to a halt and spun around again, leaving terrifying tire marks on the ground as it charged towards him once more.
I need to dodge! Need to dodge! Need to dodge!
In an instant, the Mushroom Pig, with an air of relentless determination, pushed the twenty-one-meter-long Thunder Wolf Dragon back onto a tree.
No! Why?!
Jie Jie, dazed, looked at the small Mushroom Pig that had similarly collided with him.
Small Mushroom Pig? What small Mushroom Pig?!
Sliding down from the tree, Jie Jie steadied himself, heart racing as he stared at the Mushroom Pig, still not fully recovered from the shock, forgetting even to counterattack.
But the Thunder Light Bugs on his body had already reacted, bursting into aggressive defense.
He had been wounded, and these Thunder Light Bugs flew out like a disturbed hornet’s nest, biting and striking the Mushroom Pig with crackling electricity.
In a sense, Thunder Wolf Dragons were indeed the “beehives” of Thunder Light Bugs.
The Mushroom Pig, after all, was still a Mushroom Pig; its skin was far too thin compared to normal monsters. Electric currents surged through the wounds via the Thunder Light Bugs’ mandibles and pincers.
Paralyzed in place, the Mushroom Pig couldn’t move as the lightning attribute energy began destroying its body tissue.
Realizing what was happening, the Big Thunder Wolf also pounced, delivering a powerful slap that flipped the Mushroom Pig onto the ground, ending its short yet accomplished life with continuous strikes.
Jie Jie silently approached the Mushroom Pig, taking a harsh bite alongside the Big Thunder Wolf as they shared the meal.
No one could bear the humiliation of being killed by a pink fluffy bunny rabbit, and he found it hard to accept that he had been thrown by a mere pig.
Why?! Why?!
Chapter 59
