The tranquilizer needle stuck into the pink buttocks of the Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog!
Suddenly attacked, the Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog instinctively curled up into a ball, and its spiny needles stood erect on its back, glistening with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.
But it couldn't find the attacker immediately and therefore didn't shoot its deadly Thorns. With just that slight hesitation, the tranquilizer began to take effect.
Its tense body gradually relaxed, it took a couple of staggering steps on its short legs, and then, like a drunkard, it collapsed on the ground and fell into a heavy sleep.
Boggy waited a while longer to ensure that the Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog was completely unconscious before approaching it, securing it, and throwing it into a Collection Bag.
Ma Lu's kitchen knife was already itching for action. 2-star ingredients could contribute blessings of at least a blue quality, and there was a good chance of scoring a purple jackpot.
However, there was a 40% price difference between the Short-Eared Lync Hedgehog when it was alive and after it died, so Boggy certainly hoped to bring it back alive if at all possible.
Since they were a team, they had to consider each other's views, and since the thing was on the motorbike anyways, there was no rush to deliver the finishing blow when needed.
Afterward, Boggy also caught two Angular Belly Black Swift Snakes, but unfortunately, he was too late to act, and a burrow of Jumping Mice had already been devoured by them.
Having fed, the two Angular Belly Black Swift Snakes didn't hurry to leave but lazily sprawled over the mouse burrow, saving Boggy a lot of effort.
After hunting the game in this area, the two mounted the motorcycle and continued deeper into the desert.
Ma Lu had confirmed with Boggy that his current location was very close to where he left off last time.
Boggy also mentioned that the farther away they were from the Giant Curtain, the more frequent the prey's activities, and the greater the chances of encountering rare game.
The results of the bracelet scan confirmed this point.
If it hadn't been for an accidental encounter with a group of Two-Headed Hyenas, the two would only have bagged some 1-star ingredients during their last hunt, but this time they stumbled upon 2-star ingredients right from the start.
And it wasn't by chance. Forty minutes later, they encountered a group of Bloodsucking Tail Weasels.
They were feasting on the carcass of an animal under the dunes, which resembled a camel from another plane of existence, but it was much larger in size, close to an adult Asian Elephant, and had sharp fangs.
"Three-humped Wolf Camel."
Boggy put down the binoculars, "In terms of strength, it was even above the group of Bloodsucking Tail Weasels. It must have died before encountering them, which allowed those guys to take advantage of its carcass."
Ma Lu saw Boggy's eyes flicker and raised his eyebrows, "What, you have an idea?"
"Yeah. The meat of the Three-humped Wolf Camel is very valuable, but it looks like it's started to rot already, so it's no good now. But there's still a group of Bloodsucking Tail Weasels; they're very popular in restaurants."
"But... aren't there too many of them?"
Ma Lu hadn't counted them carefully, just glanced over and felt that there were at least forty or fifty Bloodsucking Tail Weasels.
They were clinging like leeches to the dead Three-humped Wolf Camel, occasionally squirming a bit.
If it were any other time and Boggy saw so many Bloodsucking Tail Weasels, he would have turned tail and run as far as he could.
Especially since joining the Harpist, his experiences had made him doubt whether he could truly become a Hunter.
It was only six days ago, when trapped in a desperate situation and fighting off a pack of hyenas, that he regained the confidence he had lost long ago.
The most critical was Ma Lu's peculiar psychic power known as Meat Pigeon, which significantly boosted his strength, and thus Boggy's courage grew as well.
"It definitely won't work to confront them head-on, but we can try to lure some over. Bloodsucking Tail Weasels are especially sensitive to the scent of blood, particularly fresh blood. Moreover, their strength, stamina, speed, and intelligence are all inferior to the Two-Headed Hyenas. As long as we are careful not to get surrounded, they are relatively easy to deal with.
"In addition, I will keep the motorcycle running. If the situation turns south, we can retreat immediately."
Seeing that Boggy had considered all possible scenarios, Ma Lu had no objections.
After that, Boggy laid out several traps before carefully approaching the group of Bloodsucking Tail Weasels with an Angular Belly Black Swift Snake, stopping about seventy steps away from them.
He used a small knife to chop off the snake's head and then doubled back.
While retreating, Boggy kept an eye on the movements on the other side. He saw dozens of Bloodsucking Tail Weasels suddenly raise their heads, their blood-red eyes scanning around.
He immediately covered the snake's wound with his hand and quickened his pace, shifting from a brisk walk to a jog.
As the scent of blood in the air faded again, some of the Bloodsucking Tail Weasels stopped their restlessness and continued feasting on the Three-humped Wolf Camel. However, seven of them were called by the allure of fresh blood and left the group, following the scent toward him.
When they came closer, Boggy slightly released the snake's wound, making the Bloodsucking Tail Weasels excited and accelerating their pace.
Packing away the Angular Belly Black Swift Snake, Boggy grasped the Mechanical Spear and crouched behind a small sand dune. As the Bloodsucking Tail Weasels drew near, he thrust his spear suddenly.
It struck the leading weasel squarely, and with his enhanced strength being terrifying, the spear continued, also stabbing another Bloodsucking Tail Weasel in the abdomen!
With one spear thrust, Boggy had taken down two preys, but the remaining Bloodsucking Tail Weasels were not frightened. Instead, they became even more agitated.
The blood of their companions was blood all the same, holding fatal attraction for them. One of the weasels even pounced toward the Mechanical Spear in Boggy's hand to lick the blood, but ended up impaling itself.
The other four Bloodsucking Tail Weasels were not so foolish and charged at Boggy. However, two of them had not even reached him before triggering an Animal Trap buried in the sand. With a snap, their necks were caught in toothed steel collars, rendering them immobile.
Dealing with the remaining two weasels was easy for Boggy; he stepped on one's neck with his boot, and as the other lunged at him, he reached out and grabbed its throat with lightning speed, violently throwing it to the ground!
The Bloodsucking Tail Weasel was severely shaken by the throw. Before it could get up, Boggy had already speared it to death with the Mechanical Spear.
Ma Lu was not idle either; he picked up the dead Bloodsucking Tail Weasels at top speed and threw them into the Collection Bag. Then he and Boggy got on the motorcycle and left before the other weasels were lured by the smell of blood.
And when those Bloodsucking Tail Weasels lost their target and calmed down, returning to feed on the Three-humped Wolf Camel carcass, the two men quietly returned.
Boggy repeated his trick, tempting a few Bloodsucking Tail Weasels away from the pack with fresh blood... After repeating this process several times, he soon reduced the group to fewer than twenty.
Unlike previous hunts, Boggy wasn't very tired after several battles. Instead, he felt as if he was getting stronger with each fight.
This was no illusion; his strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes had indeed all improved to varying degrees during combat.
Such psychic power, where sacrificing opponents continuously enhanced one's strength, was something Boggy had never heard of before.
Is this... the power of Meat Pigeon?
Facing the last arriving Bloodsucking Tail Weasels, Boggy no longer ran. He charged into the weasel group, letting the Mechanical Spear dance freely, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.
A blood rain floated in the sky, a sight rare to witness. The Bloodsucking Tail Weasels, however, had no interest in appreciating it, and before long, they all lay obediently on the ground.
Boggy, holding the Mechanical Spear, still felt unsatisfied. He turned to look back at the instigator of it all, Ma Lu, who was simply standing in place but seemed busier than him, constantly jabbing and pointing at the air.