Chapter 6

In the dead of night, the forest was no longer peaceful. To win this competition, the forest closest to Leishi Village became the main battlefield.

The sounds of fighting were not deafening, but they did not escape the sharp ears of Gu Xuyao.

Gu Xuyao's strategy of waiting near the hornbill's nest was indeed safer and less strenuous. Although he was not alone, he was in a hidden position.

"Rustle, rustle..." This was the sound of someone breaking through the blade grass. Clearly, another restless friend had arrived near the hornbill's nest.

Compared to the man who was shocked and cried out when he was killed by his own younger brother, this hunter remained quite calm upon seeing the hornbill's nest. Although Gu Xuyao could not see, he could roughly sense that the newcomer was only momentarily stunned before immediately turning back to cover his tracks. He then applied the sap of the mustard tree, dug a hole, and hid himself.

Gu Xuyao knew that there were too many hunters in the forest for this competition, and it was impossible for him to hunt the hornbill alone. Therefore, he did not pay much attention to the other two hidden hunters.

"Dawn is approaching, and it will soon be time for the hornbill to return to its nest..." Gu Xuyao had waited all night, and his target was finally about to appear.

Sure enough, about a quarter of an hour later, the sky was filled with the sound of the wind, followed by the flapping of wings.

"It's here!" Gu Xuyao squinted his eyes and held his breath.

Compared to the tension of Gu Xuyao and the other two hunters, the hornbill was quite at ease. It landed heavily on its warm nest, let out a triumphant cry, and dropped its prey from its single horn.

The hornbill was in a good mood. For such a beast, nothing was more pleasurable than killing. Its single horn was not only adorned with a few ordinary beasts but also pierced through the bodies of four or five hunters. Clearly, these hunters had entered the forest for better prey but ended up becoming prey themselves.

Beneath the hornbill's sharp horn was its sharp beak. Opening its mouth revealed equally sharp teeth. Such a beast had no part of its body that was not capable of attacking.

"Crunch, crunch..." The sounds of muscles and bones being chewed indicated that the hornbill had started to eat. The sky was already tinged with red, and a new day was about to begin.

Just as he thought, the last hunter suddenly jumped out of the hole. He had short hair and a solid build. Since he was hiding in the hole, he could not carry a long spear, but he had his own unique weapon.

"Whoosh, whoosh..." Two objects shot towards the hornbill's left wing.

"Boom!" The spherical objects exploded upon hitting the hornbill's left wing. Clearly, these were called "thunder seeds," explosives made from the roots of the thunder seed plant. No one in Leishi Village had the skill to make such things; only the village at the westernmost part of the Red Mud District could produce them.

The hornbill, in pain, let out a sharp cry. It tried to fly and attack, but it soon realized that the damage to its left wing was far worse than it had imagined!

Seeing this, the hunter did not hesitate. He pulled out a long knife from his back, jumped onto a mound, and attempted to cut off the hornbill's other wing while it was still dazed.

However, the hornbill, being at the top of the food chain, reacted quickly. It swung its right wing and struck the hunter.

Many hunters knew that the hornbill was a formidable opponent with a high value, but few had experience fighting one. This hunter was no exception.

"Bang!" A dull thud mixed with the sound of metal clashing. The hunter was knocked flying and crashed into two trees before stopping.

Clearly, an ordinary long knife could not cut through the hornbill's iron-like feathers. Due to this misjudgment, the hunter was about to pay with his life.

"Two ribs broken, a leg fractured. It seems he won't escape today," Gu Xuyao said, peering out of his hole. He could see the hunter struggling to stand, his body covered in blood from the violent impact.

The enraged hornbill let out a strange cry. Its left wing was still unusable, but it slowly approached the dying hunter with its thick, arm-like claws.

At this moment, Gu Xuyao saw the fear on the hunter's face, a look that only appeared in the face of death.

He frantically searched his body and finally found another thunder seed, his face lighting up with a brief flash of joy.

"Boom!" The thunder seed hit the hornbill's chest, but this time it did not cause a fatal wound. Instead, it made the hornbill even more enraged.

The hornbill flapped its right wing, lunged forward, and its single horn pierced the hunter's body. "Ah..." The scream was cut short as his internal organs were completely destroyed, and he died instantly.

After this attack, another hunter who had been hiding in a hole also jumped out. Seeing the hornbill's left wing rendered useless, he believed he could kill it with his hunting skills.

Compared to the hunter with the thunder seeds, this "second brother" who had killed his own brother was much poorer. He only pulled out three throwing knives from his waist and boots and aimed them at the hornbill's claws.

Since the throwing knives were launched from behind the hornbill, and the hornbill was focused on the first hunter, the knives hit the hornbill's sharp claws without fail.

"Roar!" The hornbill, in pain, let out a roar like a wild rhinoceros.

Unlike the long knife of the dead hunter, which had been deflected, the three throwing knives all pierced the hornbill's claws, which were no less hard than its beak, and even penetrated them!

"Red Lion Claws." Gu Xuyao immediately recognized the origin of the three throwing knives. If they had not been tempered with Red Lion Claws, ordinary blades would not have been able to injure the hornbill.

The hornbill's eyes turned red. It easily pulled the knives out of its flesh and turned to stare at the hunter who had attacked it. Gu Xuyao knew that the hornbill would not rest until it saw the blood of the one who had harmed it.

Unfortunately, the hornbill suddenly collapsed as if it had been hit in a vital spot, occasionally letting out a mournful cry.

"Poison..." Although Gu Xuyao had only three years of hunting experience, his diligence made up for his lack of time in the field. "This person must have been prepared to kill his brother and abandon his father. The dagger with the Red Lion Claws was probably taken from another hunter."

Gu Xuyao felt a deep disgust for this hunter, but this was not the best time to reveal himself. The hunter had not expended any energy and was now separated by a small mound. Unlike the other two, Gu Xuyao did not have any hidden weapons, and he could not guarantee a fatal blow unless he had a perfect position.

It seemed that the hunter had read Gu Xuyao's thoughts. Although the hornbill was now powerless, the hunter did not immediately move to kill it. Instead, he threw a rope around the hornbill's neck from a position Gu Xuyao could not see and slowly pulled it towards him.

Gu Xuyao knew that this position was likely to prevent any sneak attacks. The arrival of the third hunter had made the man realize that someone else might have reached the hornbill's nest first. Now that the hornbill was subdued, the next step was to guard against others.

The paralyzed hornbill was slowly dragged away, and Gu Xuyao could no longer see it, only hear its mournful cries, filled with despair and hatred for the hunter who had attacked it.

The sound of dragging stopped, indicating that the hornbill had been pulled to its position. The next step was to deliver the fatal blow.

"I can't wait any longer. The opponent is very cautious. At this point, there will be no mistakes. Now I can only take a gamble..." Gu Xuyao squinted his left eye, extended half his body from the hole, picked up two stones from the ground, and waited quietly.

The hornbill's cries continued, indicating it was still alive, but Gu Xuyao heard no footsteps. The hornbill's loud cries had already made him lose track of the hunter's position after he left the hole.

Just as he thought, the hornbill's cries suddenly stopped. Clearly, a sharp weapon had pierced its head, ending its painful life.

In a flash!

Gu Xuyao had a clear view of the direction the hornbill was dragged and had roughly calculated the distance based on the speed and time. Now, he only needed to confirm that the hunter was near the hornbill's head to make his move!

"Whoosh!" The sharp stone shot through the air!

"Thud." A dull sound!

This indicated that the stone had hit its target! But the swift Gu Xuyao had already jumped out of the hole and leaped over half the mound. He could see the back of the hunter, who now had a stone embedded in his back!

"Swish!" In an instant, he covered the distance and, with his tempered axe, severed the hunter's head, causing little blood to spurt.

"Hmm?" Gu Xuyao felt something was wrong. The blood that gushed out was not hot and was somewhat coagulated!

"Thud." Realizing this was too late, Gu Xuyao felt a sharp pain in his thigh and discovered that a dagger had already pierced it.

"You..." Gu Xuyao saw the hunter's sinister smile. The man's face was full of cunning. It turned out that after killing his brother, he had not discarded the body but had brought it back to the hornbill's nest and hidden it with himself in the hole.

"Sorry, my innate sense of danger told me that even if my foolish brother was dead, his body could still be useful to me!" The man had sensed something was amiss and had hidden under the mound, using his brother's dead body as a decoy!

Gu Xuyao was not one to give up easily, but as he tried to retaliate, his strength gradually drained away with the man's sinister laughter. He looked at the rising sun and fell powerless.

The dagger was poisoned!