Chapter 37

The warriors of the Second Squad still had many complaints about leaving behind a dying Great Earth Bear lying by the stream.

However, since Captain Suldak made this decision, even the daring Augustus did not say anything more.

Although no one spoke, the dissatisfaction was palpable, and the atmosphere on the return journey was somewhat somber.

Two days later, as the squad members were crossing a giant red rock formation without any green shade, someone in the group suddenly exclaimed:

"Look over there, the bear fishing by the river bend..."

The warriors of the Second Squad stood atop the red rock, lined up neatly, and they all saw the giant bear standing by a large rock at the river bend.

The river bend was somewhat steep with rapid currents and several dangerous turns.

A Tim fish was swimming upstream along the river bend. At the bend, there was a short, low waterfall. The Tim fish repeatedly flicked its tail, creating large splashes, and suddenly lunged forward, leaping out of the water, preparing to jump into the upper pool.

At this moment, the bear extended its massive paw and slapped the hundreds-of-pounds-heavy Tim fish onto the rocky shore. The Tim fish struggled on the pebbly riverbank, trying to return to the river.

The giant bear, swaying its cumbersome body lazily, walked to the riverbank, stepped on the Tim fish, bared its sharp fangs, and hooked the skin near the gills. With a fierce shake of its head, it tore off the entire skin, took a few bites, and swallowed it. Then it scooped out the liver and swim bladder from the fish's belly and swallowed them before slowly licking the flesh.

It was unclear how many Tim fish it had eaten to become so skilled at fishing, managing to hide its body completely in the shadow of the large rock, making the Tim fish, a first-level magical beast, completely unaware.

At this moment, the bear seemed to sense that someone was secretly observing from the top of the mountain. It suddenly stood up on its hind legs and roared at the red rock on the mountain top.

A faint scar, which had been stitched, was visible on the bear's abdomen.

Augustus involuntarily took two steps forward. Everyone stood on the red rock ridge, with steep cliffs on both sides. If not for He Boqiang pulling him back, he might have slipped down the slippery red rock. When he came to his senses, he was drenched in cold sweat.

Bearded Man looked at He Boqiang with a complex expression and stammered:

"...It's that Great Earth Bear!"

Red Socks, who had a softer personality, widened his eyes and looked at the river valley below with an incredulous expression, lowering his voice:

"It really didn't die!"

After roaring at the warriors of the Second Squad, the Great Earth Bear ignored them and bent down to continue enjoying its meal on the riverbank.

The warriors, now recovering from their shock, continued to hike across the red rock.

The atmosphere in the squad was no longer as gloomy, and everyone started talking about the Great Earth Bear.

Bearded Man Kager, a believer in the Earth Goddess, always liked to bring up religious doctrines in any conversation. He said:

"I've heard that the Great Earth Bear has the bloodline of the Earth Goddess Gaia and often receives her blessings. That's why it could recover so quickly from such severe injuries. Its constitution is truly extraordinary."

Augustus did not agree with Bearded Man's theory and said as he walked:

"Even if it does, it's so diluted it's almost non-existent. But you're right, its recovery was indeed very fast!"

Red Socks muttered on the side:

"This should be credited to Dake's excellent first aid, of course, and my sewing kit!"

The warriors of the Second Squad ignored Red Socks and jumped down from the red rock one by one, re-entering the dense forest.

The mountain ridge was shaded by trees, much cooler than the rock face, and the cool breeze from the forest was particularly refreshing.

Bearded Man wiped the fine sweat from his face with a rough linen cloth and said with a sigh:

"I'm glad we didn't do something foolish back then."

"Just staying put and returning to camp with a few demon skulls sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

"Hearing you say that, it does seem that way!"

The warriors chattered, no longer thinking that abandoning the bear's pelt by the stream was a foolish act.

The warriors' thoughts were straightforward, and their emotions were written on their faces. After seeing the Great Earth Bear by the stream, they no longer had any complaints about Suldak and He Boqiang.

Everyone began to discuss that although the search mission was not completed, the trip had many gains.

...

The Second Squad returned to the Yansai Lake, where they had hunted Tim fish. They saw people moving around on the shore, and the Tim fish in the river were again swimming silently toward them. This time, the warriors of the Second Squad, with their experience in catching Tim fish, cut a batch of leeks under the large willow tree.

The fishing ended only when the Tim fish had gnawed the bait to the bone.

While peeling the skin off the Tim fish, Suldak suddenly looked up and asked He Boqiang:

"At that time... did you know the bear was still alive?"

He Boqiang nodded without hesitation.

"You also knew... that if it wanted to, it could have gotten up and bitten us to death, right?"

He Boqiang glanced at Suldak but did not speak.

In fact, at the time, he did not know if the bear would get up; he just felt it was dangerous.

The warriors had been drinking fish porridge for days and were almost sick of it. They only took two strips of lean meat from the Tim fish's back and discarded the rest on the riverbank.

However, the weather was hot, and the fish meat had to be dried before it spoiled. Fortunately, there were no large shade trees around the riverbank, and the scorching sun heated the pebbles to a scalding temperature. The fish meat, cut into thin slices, sprinkled with white pepper and salt, and spread on the hot rocks, dried quickly.

This time, they caught fewer Tim fish than last time, only twelve.

However, Augustus extracted five magic cores from the Tim fish's heads, which was better luck than last time, adding to the income from the rescue mission.

When the warriors of the Second Squad packed the dried fish into their bags and were about to set off again, He Boqiang saw the native women on the opposite bank. A few native women stood quietly under a large tree, looking at the leftover Tim fish meat on the riverbank with longing in their eyes.

However, He Boqiang did not see the native girl among them, which made him slightly disappointed.

He Boqiang felt that his observational skills were strong, always noticing things others overlooked. For example, these native women standing under a tree near the forest edge on the opposite bank, though far away, were still noticed by him.

He stopped, wondering whether to mention this, but Suldak, who was leading the group, shouted his name loudly, urging him to catch up.

He Boqiang ultimately decided to keep this to himself. He looked up at the sun, which was about to set, and hurried to catch up with the group.