After getting ready, the two set out into the forest in search of wild beasts, accompanied by two bee swarms, totaling about 1000 bees.
They made their way to a cave in the snowy landscape. This cave, located 500 meters south of the shelter, was an unexplored area for James, marked on the scroll as a gathering point of five or six red dots.
Luke guessed it might be a wolf den with a small pack inside.
"These small wolf packs, living on the outskirts of the forest, are likely not strong and probably struggle to find enough food, resulting in weaker physical conditions," Luke explained as they stealthily approached the cave entrance.
Before long, they spotted a modest-sized cave, shallow at the entrance with snow blown inside. They could clearly see five shrunken wolves inside, each only about the size of a regular dog and even more emaciated.
A good opportunity!
Luke's eyes lit up as he said, "These wolves are weak, and the weather has affected them. We should be able to handle them easily."
As he finished speaking, Luke drew his bow and aimed an arrow at the wolves in the cave. The arrow whooshed through the leaves, hurtling towards the cave with a whistling sound. One of the wolves, alert too late, was hit.
The wounded wolf let out a pained and mournful howl, too weak and in too much pain to stand, collapsing inside the cave. The other four wolves instantly became alert, struggling to stand up despite their weakness, and looked around warily.
"James, they're even weaker than I thought. They must have been without food for days. Let's go in now!" Luke's eyes sparkled as he quickly beckoned James.
"Okay!" James promptly agreed. Even if Luke hadn't suggested it, he had already secretly commanded the Black Tiger Bee Queen to lead the swarm towards the cave.
The tamed bee swarm, functioning like an external brain, moved with more intelligence and coordination. James directed the bees to attack the wolves' neck arteries, aiming for maximum damage while minimizing the risk to the bees.
Seeing the bees engage the four wolves, Luke didn't hesitate to rush out of the bushes, moving even faster than the swarm. He wielded his machete and charged, quickly dispatching the wolves, now overwhelmed by the bees. Blood spurted out as Luke severed their heads.
James was inwardly shocked by Luke's strength. He knew Luke was strong, but now he truly understood the extent of it. Luke's skills were likely of a high level, and even among those, he was formidable.
James felt his own strength had improved over the days of training and consuming high-quality food, touching the threshold of a higher level. While he might not win against a high-level beast, he could manage a few moves. However, he still fell short compared to Luke.
In just a few minutes, Luke had dealt with all five wolves, unscathed. He wiped his blade clean and said with a smile, "This bee swarm is indeed impressive. Hunting with them makes it a lot easier. We should cooperate more in the future!"
"Ha, as allies, we'll definitely have more opportunities to hunt together," James responded, stepping out of the bushes and into the cave.
After examining the wolves, he found that four were of ordinary level and one of a higher level. Strangely, they only dropped 5 wooden resource boxes, likely due to the weakened state of the higher-level wolf.
They harvested the wolf bodies, obtaining 12 pieces of ordinary-level meat and 2 pieces of higher-level meat, along with 3 wolf teeth. The loot was rather meager.
Luke shook his head, "The cold wave affects not only us but also the wild beasts of the Misty World, even more severely, it seems."
"True, at least we have shelters, resource boxes, and the system's guidance. Wild beasts have only themselves to rely on," James noted, feeling fortunate for their circumstances.
After collecting the meat, teeth, and resource boxes, James reflected, "Today's opportunities are rare. Most wild beasts are also weakened by the snow and in a vulnerable state. Survivors who dare to hunt today might find great success."
Their early success boosted their confidence.
They continued their search for the next beast. This time, Luke targeted a bamboo forest a kilometer away from the cave, where several light points gathered. He suspected a bamboo rat nest, having hunted one near his shelter before.
Upon reaching the bamboo forest, they indeed found dozens of rat burrows scattered throughout. To flush out the hidden bamboo rats, they employed a simple method: smoke.
They blocked most burrow entrances, leaving only two open. They lit a fire at one entrance, filling the burrows with thick smoke. James and Luke waited at the other entrance.
As the smoke filled the burrows, the bamboo rats, discomforted, began to move, indicated by the dozens of red dots on the scroll. After trying several passages, they finally headed towards the only open exit – right into a trap.
Each rat that emerged was swiftly killed by Luke with a single stroke. Surprisingly, the bamboo rats were not as emaciated as the wolves; they were plump and well-fed, indicating a good store of winter food.
In the end, nine bamboo rats emerged from this burrow, becoming victims of the hunt. Five others escaped, likely through an undiscovered exit.
They harvested the nine rats, gaining nine pieces of meat and nine resource boxes. By now, they had collected 23 pieces of meat and 14 wooden resource boxes, a significant haul.
After digging up the rats' food store, which was mostly gnawed and of poor quality, they decided it was just right for feeding wild chickens back at the shelter.
Having hunted two sets of wild animals in just over an hour, they considered the abundance of resources. They decided to return to the shelter first to drop off their loot and replenish their strength.
After a brief rest, they set out again, with Luke consulting the beast search scroll for their next target.
They excluded most red dots due to their dense and scattered nature, making it hard to identify the type of beast.
They aimed to find solitary predators, as only large predators tend to live alone and are easier to spot on the scroll.
After some discussion, they chose a cave two kilometers away, with only four red dots and no other beasts in the vicinity.
It likely housed large predators similar to wolves.