Becoming a Leader in a Primitive Otherworld - Chapter 4

Among the eight members of the hunting party, besides Xie Yu, Ping, and Li, there were the brothers Yan and Shi, and a woman named Lian. Lian was particularly lively, her cheerful energy lightening the somewhat heavy atmosphere throughout the journey. The remaining two members were unremarkable.

The air in this era was exceptionally fresh. Xie Yu took a deep breath, letting the cool air sharpen her senses.

Now she needed to start thinking about how to hunt.

The outer edges of the forest were frequently visited by tribal members gathering fruit or hunting small animals, leaving few traces of wildlife activity.

The wolves they had captured last time had only been found by venturing deeper into the forest. Now that it was winter, prey would be even scarcer in the outer areas. They would have to venture into the forest’s depths.

The group pushed through layers of dense undergrowth, heading deeper into the forest. As they progressed, the trees transformed, growing taller and more massive. Their overlapping canopies formed dense layers that blocked out much of the sunlight.

A trail of footprints marked their passage across the forest floor.

Xie Yu led the way, stopping at a suitable spot with a wave of her hand. “Halt.”

The snow here was thin, and the location straddled the boundary between the inner and outer perimeters. This made it ideal for setting up traps; venturing deeper would risk attracting unnecessary trouble.

“Li, take three others to gather wood, bark, and turf. The rest of you, dig pits with me.”

Lian asked, “Chief, are we making traps?”

Xie Yu nodded, forcefully driving her spear into the ground. Snow scattered as she swept her leg across the exposed yellow earth.

Li and his team returned with armfuls of branches, carefully selecting pieces that were neither too hard nor too soft, making them easy to sharpen into stakes.

Xie Yu led the pit-digging team. Four people worked in pairs, their practiced hands making the task effortless.

“I can’t believe it’s not that cold today,” Yan exclaimed, surprised. “I’m even sweating! Chief, does this mean winter’s finally ending?”

His elder brother, Shi, shook his head. “The flowers won’t bloom for several more cycles. May Apam protect us.”

By the time Li and the others returned, Xie Yu had already led the group in digging three pits, each spaced a good distance apart.

“Sharpen these,” Xie Yu instructed, picking up a wooden stake and demonstrating with her stone knife. Everyone in the tribe knew how to do this, so no further demonstration was needed.

Li had brought back a large pile of wood—over a hundred stakes by rough estimate. Given their good toughness and hardness, Xie Yu deemed them perfect for the trap’s spikes. Once an animal fell in, the stakes would pierce it, ensuring it couldn’t escape.

She wondered what they would catch.

“Chief, you seem really happy. What are you smiling about?” Li asked curiously, glancing up from sharpening a stake to see Xie Yu’s obvious smile across the clearing.

“The Chief must be thinking about the Priest!” Lian’s woman chimed in.

Yan nodded emphatically. “I think so too! Shi said…”

Shi smacked him on the back of the head. “Get back to work!”

The others immediately understood. The Chief and the Priest had just formed their bond yesterday, so she must be missing her already, hence the radiant smile.

Even the usually composed Ping seemed to agree with Lian’s words.

Xie Yu couldn’t defend herself. She was merely savoring the joy of her future harvest in advance. But in this case, their misunderstanding was actually beneficial. Though she and Yun Nai shared no genuine affection, as long as the Tribe members believed they were close, it would enhance the stability of her leadership.

Instead of refuting their claims, Xie Yu urged, “Let’s pick up the pace. We need to move faster.”

Lian and Yan grinned mischievously and fell silent.

With eight people working together, the wood-sharpening task was completed swiftly. Soon, all the stakes were ready. Xie Yu instructed them to divide the sharpened stakes into three piles and insert them into the prepared pits, covering them with turf and bark.

They then carefully spread a layer of snow over the traps, concealing them almost entirely.

Xie Yu circled the area, noting its distinctive features. Though the spot was easily recognizable, she still marked it as a precaution.

“Memorize this location well. Don’t fall into your own traps.”

The traps were well-concealed, and Xie Yu nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s move on. We should encounter wildlife soon.”

She didn’t expect these traps to catch much prey, if any at all. Their main source of food would still come from venturing deeper into the forest themselves.

The group’s earlier activity had broken the tense atmosphere, lifting the oppressive mood.

“No talking once we enter,” Li instructed, waving his spear. The others nodded in acknowledgment.

After a day and a night of travel, they had only managed to catch a deer and two wild chickens. Their dried meat supplies were nearly exhausted. While the deer and chickens weren’t a substantial haul, combined with whatever the traps might yield, it should barely sustain them for another two or three days. Moreover, no one had been injured, making this expedition relatively smooth so far.

The group continued pushing through the towering trees, but after crossing a certain invisible line, the forest grew eerily silent. Their seasoned instincts immediately put them on high alert, sensing something was amiss.

Birds that had been chirping on branches suddenly took flight, abandoning their perches. From the waist-high grass nearby, a wolf emerged, its eyes fixed on the eight figures before it.

Xie Yu frowned. Wolves were pack animals, and the appearance of one wolf meant a whole pack was likely nearby. Sure enough, the remaining wolves soon revealed themselves—twelve in total, though it was impossible to tell if others were lurking in the shadows.

“It’s the wolves we badly wounded last time,” Ping whispered, sidling up to Xie Yu. Xie Yu recognized them too—the same pack they had confronted during their last hunt. They had killed ten wolves that day, while the rest had fled.

Now, the survivors were lying in wait, ready for revenge.

The others closed ranks, forming a tight circle to guard against the encircling wolves. The wolves were cunning, baring their teeth to intimidate them before circling, feinting attacks, and tightening the noose.

A Snow Wolf, the pack’s leader, emerged from the side, snarling. It led the pack in gradually closing the circle, its dark eyes fixed on the eight humans.

Xie Yu gripped a stone tightly in her left hand, while her right hand aimed her spear at the Snow Wolf.

Wolves were familiar foes to Yu and her people. The Tribe knew their habits and attack patterns well, but an enraged pack was a terrifying force.

In an instant, the Snow Wolf howled and charged into the group. The intelligent creature recognized Xie Yu as the leader and immediately targeted her as its primary objective.

As if receiving a command from their king, the other wolves surged from the tall grass, claws slashing. In this moment, the importance of the group’s coordinated teamwork became clear.

The strong and sturdy Li, Yan, and Shi formed a frontline, thrusting their stone spears at the wolves. But the wolves were too fast to evade, scattering the group and lunging at Xie Yu. “Watch out!” Lian shouted.

Xie Yu understood the principle of “capture the king first.” In the next instant, two stones flew from her hand, striking the Wolf King’s eyes with lightning speed.

One stone hit its mark, while the other was dodged. Crimson bl00d streamed down the white fur, dripping onto the snow and leaving a trail of crimson.

Enraged by the injury, the Wolf King’s speed intensified. Ping and Li charged from either side to stab it, but the wolf king sidestepped both attacks and continued its assault on Xie Yu.

The stone had only delayed the Wolf King by less than half a second. Xie Yu swiftly raised her long spear and thrust it at the charging beast, engaging it in combat.

Xie Yu found the perfect angle and thrust with all her might. The spearhead pierced the Snow Wolf’s flesh instantly. The massive wolf’s entire weight crashed down on her, knocking her to the ground. Her pupils constricted as the Snow Wolf opened its bl00d-soaked jaws to bite her.

The wolf shook its head violently, bl00d splattering across the snow, staining it crimson. The stench of the animal’s breath nearly overwhelmed Xie Yu, but she quickly regained her composure. She raised the spear horizontally, jamming the shaft against the wolf’s jaws with a thunk.

Though the spear blocked the wolf’s bite, its razor-sharp claws raked across Xie Yu’s skin. First, pinpricks of bl00d appeared, then a torrent gushed forth.

Wolf bl00d mingled with human bl00d.

The others fared no better. Yan and Shi, the rock brothers, were surrounded by three wolves. On the other side, Li, a skilled defender, and Lian, agile and quick, worked in perfect coordination, already having killed one wolf.

Everything happened too fast. Since the Wolf King evaded her initial attack, Ping had been entangled by another wolf—not an old, weak, or injured one, but likely a high-ranking member of the pack. Now, only one woman remained near Xie Yu. Reacting instantly, she swung her weapon down on the Snow Wolf’s head.

Xie Yu’s expression was unprecedented, a mix of terror from being so close to death and fury born from the threat.

The instinct for survival is etched into human DNA. Unless one deliberately seeks death, they will cling to even the slightest chance of survival. In the end, her anger overwhelmed her fear.

“Chief!” Li roared, his eyes bloodshot with rage. He had just fought off an old wolf and, though better off than Xie Yu, was still wounded and could only watch helplessly.

At the same moment, the female warrior’s strike bought Xie Yu a crucial moment to breathe.

Enduring the searing pain in her arm, Xie Yu braced her spear against the wolf’s jaws in a familiar Yu-style stance, leveraging her entire body to thrust upward. Simultaneously, she swiftly drew the stone knife from her waist and plunged it into the wolf’s neck. Crimson bl00d erupted, splattering Xie Yu’s face.

The wolf attacking Ping was equally ferocious, lunging to bite her, but she dodged just in time.

Nearby, Yan suddenly howled in fury. “Shi!” The three wolves Yan and Shi were fighting were no pushovers. One had clamped its jaws onto Shi’s left hand, tearing flesh and bone.

Furious, Yan swung his spear at the wolf, but the other two wolves continued to harass him, snapping at him whenever he tried to dodge and help Shi.

Suddenly, Shi’s eyes widened in fury as he kicked the wolf behind Yan. The wolf immediately clamped its jaws around Shi’s leg.

Yan thrust his spear at the wolf, while Li, who had just finished dealing with his own attacker, rushed over to assist Yan.

Though the Snow Wolf was dead, its claws remained clamped tightly on Xie Yu’s arm, causing excruciating pain with the slightest movement.

Suddenly, everyone heard Yan’s heart-wrenching scream: “Brother!” Shi’s carotid artery had been severed, bl00d gushing out like a fountain. The already dead wolf still clung to his neck.

Xie Yu glanced at him and knew it was hopeless. In just a few minutes, he would bleed out.

The events had unfolded too quickly. She turned back, slightly dazed, and met the unfocused gaze of the wolf’s green eyes.

After the battle between humans and wolves, only bloodstains remained scattered across the ground.

Xie Yu struggled to her feet and walked over to Shi’s side. He looked at her, his lips moving as if trying to speak, but he no longer had the strength. With one last glance at his stunned younger brother, he closed his eyes.

Shi was dead, and the remaining members of the group were all wounded to varying degrees.

Though grief-stricken, they couldn’t linger. Xie Yu patted Shi’s shoulder. “We have to go back.” If they didn’t leave immediately, the bloodstains would quickly attract other wild beasts.

“Chief, your wound…” Ping started to say, then trailed off.

Xie Yu waved dismissively, wiping away the bl00d casually. She hoisted the Wolf King, who was closest to her, onto her shoulder.

“Yan, carry Shi,” Xie Yu said to Yan, letting out a barely audible sigh.

Yan’s eyes were bloodshot, and he struggled to hold back tears. He nodded heavily and shouldered Shi’s lifeless body.

Xie Yu led the group back, walking at the front. Yan brought up the rear, unable to suppress his sobs.

The others listened to Yan’s muffled cries, their hearts filled with conflicting emotions. By the time they reached the trap site, most of the day had passed. As Xie Yu had anticipated, several rabbits were caught in the traps. They redistributed the burdens and returned to the Tribe.