It was a snowy cold winter - in an unknown country, at the very end of the twelfth lunar month.
"Hoof~~~"
The heat exhaled from his mouth formed a white mist, floating in the air for a few seconds before disappearing.
"Uncle!"
Bai Luo hid behind a big stone with the old man. He heaved a dim cry, but the old man raised his hand.
"Wait."
With cover, the two carefully looked at the snow-white forest clearing ahead.
In the middle of the clearing, there is a silver-white lion-like creature. It is called Silvermane, a peculiar beast that lives in the mountains and likes to travel around them. Its coat changes color each season.
Beautiful silvery-white, this is where the Silvermane gets its name from. Its coat becomes the most beautiful in winter. It can be regarded as an excellent New Year gift for mountain dwellers.
However, Silvermane is a ferocious monster at the top of the food chain. It's not only very rare, but it's also extremely difficult to hunt.
Countless hunters blinded by greed tried hunting it but ended up as excrement in the end.
Dangerous and Deadly.
These are the first two words that the mountain dwellers think of when they mention Silvermane.
The mountain village, where the uncle and his nephew lived, did not have such a creature as Silvermane. They just heard the rumors of its appearance in this area, and it took them several days and nights to finally find its trace.
"It's almost time."
"Tell Feiya to prepare."
Old Uncle Saros narrowed his eyes and looked straight at Silvermane.
Bai Luo nodded and raised his hand, after which Saros slowly stepped forward.
On a branch in the distance, a woman covered with snow and ice, almost completely fused with the environment, moved. She drew one, no, two arrows from the quiver slanted at the back of her waist.
"Be careful."
"I know."
Bai Luo nodded, squeezing the axe in his hand.
Saros didn't look back at Bai Luo. The gray-haired old man in a gray and black velvet suit was in the zone. He walked out from behind the stone, exposing himself to Silvermane's sight.
Silvermane is a fierce and violent monster. It's certainly not a timid and shy creature.
It's a king, a tyrant of the snowy mountains, even snow wolves and giant bears are just its rations, let alone a mere human.
"Roar!!"
The Silvermane roared, but didn't attack at will—it was cautious, just like Saros in front of it, a battle-tested veteran.
A human and a beast confronted each other. The other's figure was clearly reflected in their eyes.
It was very cold and heavy snow pellets were flying.
Both the old man and the young man had patted the snow on their shoulders not long ago, but another layer soon accumulated.
However, the veteran's face didn't change. He endured the low temperature, exposing his hands to the cold air, clinging to the weapon in his hand.
"Roar!"
Silvermane has never encountered such a human being. Its IQ is not high, but its amazing instincts make this monster extraordinarily perceptive.
It smelled great danger from Saros.
This human has the same aura as it, the aura of a creature standing at the apex of its species.
"Haaa..."
However, Saros's breath became more and more rushed, as if he had fallen behind in this clash of kings.
So he retired.
Saros pulled up the boots that melted with the snow and ice, and slowly stepped back.
"Crack it."
"Gurulu..."
Silvermane also moved, taking a step forward. Its body moved forward slightly, heaving a threatening low hum from its mouth.
Explosive power gathered in its limbs as if it could cross this short distance of tens of meters in an instant, throwing the old man down, then biting his neck.
Saros backed out again and again.
He stared at Silvermane, and Silvermane stared at him.
It's just that, except for the first step, Silvermane didn't move forward—it was vigilant.
The old man stopped his movements and stared silently at Silvermane, all while holding his breath.
The snow is still there, and the cold wind is still blowing on the old man's hands,
It was like being constantly cut with blades.
"Creak."
Saros slowly moved backward, his speed gradually increased, creating a bigger noise as his boots dragged the snow.
This subtle change may not be noticed by ordinary people, but it has become the perfect offensive signal in the eyes of Silvermane.
"Snap!"
Suddenly, Saros stepped on a dead branch with his left foot causing him to subconsciously move his eyes downwards.
"Roar!"
The silver mane moved, its speed was astonishing. It crossed a third of the tens of meters distance between them in an instant.
"Roar!!!"
"Now!"
The Silvermane leaped high, heaving an earth-shattering roar. At the same time, Saros completely converged his eyes.
His sight tracked all the movements of the Silvermane.
"Puff!"
Two sharp arrows cut through the snow and pierced Silvermane's eyes without warning.
"Roar~~"
The king of the mountains screamed in pain. It was angry and panicked. Its majestic body that was flying in the air lost its balance due to the severe head injury.
Bai Luo jumped up from behind the rock. He stepped heavily on the big rock and jumped into the air.
"Haaaa!"
His physique was strong and his face was firm. He heavily waved the sharp axe in his hand against the mountain king's head.
"Boom!"
The immense force pressed heavily on the two sharp arrows, almost causing Silvermane to die due to the intense pain.
"Boom!"
However, Bai Luo didn't stop. He pulled off the hammer he was carrying, and then slammed it violently, hitting the fragile waist of the Silvermane again and again, as if to break its spine.
Silvermane's fur is very thick, ordinary sharp swords are hard to damage its thick fur, but it can't resist bludgeoning.
"Howl!"
Silvermane wailed with pain. It heavily shook its head, the arrow that almost plunged into its brain brought it intense pain.
The giant monster wanted to stand up, but it couldn't even move its legs due to the heavy injury in its spine.
No one wants to admit failure, let alone accept death.
But fate doesn't care whether you accept it or not, it will only tell you ---Your time is over!
Finally, Silvermane fell to the ground, motionless.
"Wait for a moment."
Bai Luo didn't step forward. The old uncle also stood on the side.
There is also his elder sister in the distance. She stared at Silvermane while clenching her bow and arrows to ensure that she can use them to support at any time.
In such a fashion, the three waited for a long time.
For over one hour, they did not come forward easily. They would rather endure a few more hours of cold wind and freezing to ensure that their operation is foolproof.
Before the results come out, one must not relax one's guard. This is one of the hunting rules that Saros has imparted to them over the years.
"It should be over."
Silvermane has been silent for more than an hour, Bai Luo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It isn't the first time that he has followed his old uncle to hunt in the mountains. From the precious snow fox to the infinitely powerful white bear, he has spent many years lying in the snow and the dark, night mountains, staying up for days and nights, without eating anything.
"It's dead,"
Issafeiya had come down from the tree some time ago. Her steps on the snow didn't produce the slightest noise.
Even Bai Luo couldn't hear the slightest sound. He could only detect her arrival by instinct.
"Silvermane is too big, we can't take it back."
Issefeiya squatted down and then drew out the blade specially used for deboning and skinning.
She intends to dismember the Silvermane, peeling off its gorgeous fur, and then take away some rare ingredients for preservation.
As for the remaining flesh and blood, they will leave it to the other hunters in the snow-capped mountains.
Only by letting them have a full meal, can their journey back be more peaceful.
"Leave the rough work to me."
Bai Luo quickly took over the boning knife from the hands of his elder sister.
Even after hunting such amazing prey, his elder sister still maintained a solemn expression, as if to guard against the counterattack of this seemingly dead monster at any time.
Seeing the beautiful woman's silver-white icy hair that was wet with sweat and solidified by the cold wind, Bai Luo felt a little distressed.
She is Bai Luo's righteous sister, the orphan daughter of a comrade-in-arms adopted by his old uncle Saros, and the woman Bai Luo identified as his future wife, his fiancee.
"Uncle, should we sell this silver mane outside?"
Seeing that half of the Silvermane's skin was peeled off, the old man straightened up.
Like the elder sister, he was staring at the monster from start to finish. He didn't dare to relax his vigilance in the slightest.
The beasts in the mountains are certainly not human, they have no humanity, but this does not mean that these beasts are stupid.
On the contrary, they are far more clever and cunning than what the average person thinks. Feigning death is just one of their most basic survival/hunting strategies.
Therefore, hunters cannot be overly cautious when dealing with them.
"No."
This was not the first time Saros had hunted Silvermane. He stretched his hand into his coat and searched for a moment before finally taking out a pipe.
Perhaps it's the joy of hunting prey, there was a rare trace of joy on the face of the unsmiling old man.
"Although a silver mane is valuable, we won't sell it no matter how valuable it is."
The old uncle looked at Bai Luo, then patted his shoulders with traces of expectations and approval in his eyes,
"It is your trophy. From today, you will be the patriarch of the Arden clan and our new leader."