Chapter 33

The warriors of the Second Squad hid in the bushes, their expressions tense as they stared at a grove of mountain pear trees on the hillside.

A giant earth rage bear, over four meters long, was leaning against a mountain pear tree, its massive paw, as big as a fan, shaking the tree vigorously. The entire tree was swaying violently, and green pears, about the size of fists, rained down onto the forest floor. Two cubs, each over two meters long, happily gnawed on the green pears.

These mountain pears were not very tasty. Not only were the green pears extremely sour, but even when they ripened and turned yellow, the pears, though juicy and sweet, were full of inedible pulp. For the people of the Empire, these inedible mountain pears could only be used to make fruit wine.

Pears from the tree fell all over the ground, and only then did the adult earth rage bear crouch down and lie quietly under the tree, seemingly uninterested in the green pears.

He Boqiang never expected such a lazy-looking brown bear to be one of the dominant creatures in the Gandal Mountains, the earth rage bear.

It was said that an adult earth rage bear at its peak strength could touch the threshold of a third-level magical beast, but in reality, most earth rage bears were only second-level magical beasts.

For the warriors of the Second Squad, this earth rage bear was like an insurmountable mountain.

It was said that the earth rage bear possessed earth magic power, and ordinary weapons could hardly pierce its hide. When the earth rage bear was on all fours, it had boundless strength, which the squad's current members could not possibly defeat.

The earth rage bear had an extremely sensitive sense of smell and could detect the scent of prey from two kilometers away. Moreover, it had a temper and could easily enter a rage when it sensed danger approaching.

At that moment, everyone hiding in the bushes saw a rather peaceful scene: a mother bear and her two cubs eating green pears in the pear grove.

He Boqiang felt that the appearance of the native girl must have had a reason.

Last evening at dusk, she appeared on the treetops and quickly disappeared after being discovered, clearly warning He Boqiang of the danger in the forest. This kept him up all night.

After the squad packed up their tents and continued their journey, He Boqiang remained vigilant.

He was actually on guard against a sudden attack by a large group of native hunters or red-eyed hyenas.

It wasn't until they saw the massive earth rage bear in the forest on the hillside that He Boqiang realized this giant was the source of the unknown danger, and the danger was slowly approaching.

The body of this second-level magical beast was like a mobile treasure trove, with a magical core containing a magic crystal in its skull, and an intact bear hide was even more valuable.

However, Sulidak was not foolish enough to hunt an earth rage bear. The Second Squad's numbers were not enough to withstand a few swats from the earth rage bear.

To avoid being discovered by the earth rage bear, Sulidak led the squad members to hide in a patch of wild vine, which had a foul smell that effectively masked their scent.

Entering the bush was a good way to protect themselves.

He Boqiang always felt that the earth rage bear seemed to know there were people in the forest, and it was hesitating about whether to come over.

The earth rage bear wandered in the pear grove for a while before finally deciding to leave slowly with its two cubs.

After the earth rage bear disappeared over the hill, Sulidak let everyone emerge from the vines, and they all breathed a sigh of relief in the forest.

...

"It seems we have entered the depths of the Gandal Mountains. Everyone must be even more cautious," Sulidak warned the squad warriors.

Red Socks Garcia couldn't help but complain to Sulidak, "Captain, how long will this mission last? We are supposed to find a person in such a vast forest without any specific range. Where are we supposed to look?"

Bearded Kager wiped the sweat from his face and said, "It's said that the higher-ups calculated the time and determined that the swordsman should be in the area of our regiment's defense zone."

Sulidak thought for a moment and said, "We have seven days' worth of rations. Since the food is still sufficient, let's search further in. Consider it a field exercise."

As noon approached, the warriors made a pot of fish porridge in the forest. Tim fish, a first-level magical beast, was said to enhance physical strength when eaten regularly, making it a rare delicacy. After eating several meals of fish porridge, He Boqiang didn't feel any improvement in his physical strength, but the porridge did keep him from feeling hungry.

He Boqiang sat on a tree root protruding from the soil, eating the fish porridge with a dry, hard wheat pancake.

His gaze fell on the forest not far away, and he noticed a piece of animal skin skirt behind a maple tree. He Boqiang rubbed his forehead in frustration. Although he was grateful for her warning last night, the Second Squad's movements were completely exposed to the native girl, which was very troubling.

He Boqiang wanted to quietly follow her and scare her away.

He put down his wheat pancake without a word and signaled to a new recruit to go out for a moment. This gesture usually indicated going to take care of personal business. He Boqiang quickly walked a few steps and disappeared into the dense forest.

He crouched and moved through a patch of low cassava plants, carefully hiding his movements as he approached the tree where the native girl was hiding.

When he reached the maple tree, he found that the native girl had already disappeared.

He Boqiang sighed. Although he had expected this, he still wanted to try. At least he wanted to stop the native girl from following the squad, as it could put her in danger if the other squad members discovered her.

Augustus, a member of the Second Squad, was a ranger with good anti-reconnaissance skills.

He Boqiang was about to turn back to the temporary camp when he suddenly sensed something. He turned his head and saw the slender native girl watching him from behind a tree several dozen meters away. He bit his lip and decided to risk chasing her.

The native girl was wrapped in animal skin, with gray hair braided into small braids, and her face was covered with green tree sap. When she saw He Boqiang running quickly towards her, she panicked and ran into the depths of the forest. Her steps were light, and He Boqiang had a hard time catching up.

The forest was overgrown with weeds, and some depressions were filled with fallen leaves. Each step made him lose his balance, and several times he felt his ankles were about to break.

He chased after the native girl, passing through a dense red pine forest and leaping over a nearly dry stream. He ran for a long distance on the rocky beach.

When his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his throat, He Boqiang finally stopped.

He could clearly feel that each time the native girl disappeared from his sight, she would stop ahead and wait until He Boqiang got closer before running away again, like a deer in the mountains.

She was very cautious, neither letting He Boqiang fall too far behind nor letting him get too close.

After chasing for a long distance, He Boqiang thought that the native girl probably wouldn't follow the squad anymore.

So, he decided to head back.

When he returned to the temporary camp, Sulidak and the Second Squad warriors were looking for him, thinking he had been ambushed by native hunters.

Indeed, when they camped for the night, He Boqiang noticed that the native girl was no longer following them.

...

On the sixth day after leaving the 57th Heavy Infantry Regiment's camp, Sulidak led the Second Squad warriors to the end of the river valley and the ridge.

This was the upper reaches of the river, formed by the convergence of countless streams in the Gandal Mountains. From here, the river split into two tributaries. Further in, it was not a single mountain ridge but a series of overlapping mountains. The forest was dominated by white birch and five-leaf maples, with patches of red pine and spruce.

Sulidak was worried about getting lost in the mountains and decided to stop here, set up camp, and rest for a day before returning.

He Boqiang, Red Socks Garcia, and Bearded Kager set up tents in the forest, while Augustus accompanied Sulidak to scout the surrounding area for suitable prey.

In the morning, they saw a herd of elk running along the river valley in the direction of the squad's path, and occasionally, they could see small animals fleeing in the forest.

He Boqiang and the squad warriors had just set up the tents and built a simple stove but hadn't had time to put the iron pot on it when Augustus and another person ran back, out of breath.

Augustus, drenched in sweat, ran back and said, "We found something in the forest ahead. The captain is calling us to come over."

Bearded Kager hurried over and asked Augustus, "What did you see? Native people or magical beasts in the forest?"

Augustus leaned against a large tree and, after catching his breath, said, "A pack of red-eyed hyenas..."

Upon hearing about the red-eyed hyenas, Kager immediately grabbed Augustus by the neck and slammed him against the tree, shouting, "Since you encountered a pack of red-eyed hyenas, how dare you leave the captain behind and run back alone?"

Augustus struggled weakly, unable to speak with his neck squeezed, his face turning purple.

Finally, He Boqiang pushed Kager away, and Augustus, after breaking free, coughed violently before saying, "The red-eyed hyenas were all dead, as if eaten by some wild beast, leaving only their skins..."

Red Socks Garcia, hearing Augustus's words, sighed in relief and said, "What's so strange about that? There are more than a handful of beasts in this forest that can kill red-eyed hyenas, let alone more powerful magical beasts. It's not surprising that a few red-eyed hyenas were hunted..."