Chapter 141 - 132: Ancient Fierce Beast
They had just finished dividing the Cards and were preparing to head down the mountain.
Du Yu suddenly drew the Precepts Saber from his waist.
At some point, Yang Cunshen had already raised the Longbow in his hands.
"Careful."
"It’s too quiet."
Qin Ziwen also felt a sense of danger.
"RUSTLE... RUSTLE..."
A rustling sound came from the woods above. A massive black bear, taller than a single-story building, was hiding behind a tree. It peeked out with half its head, but its enormous, bulky body was impossible to conceal and remained completely exposed.
The bear’s build was strange, unlike any common bear. Not only was it significantly taller, but its arms were also very long.
Its most unique feature was its somewhat flat head. It had large pupils, a short, upturned nose, and a very wide mouth, which made its face look short.
Its limbs, however, were extremely long and slender, like a giant wearing a bearskin. It stared eerily at the group.
"Holy shit, that’s a big bear," Li Yue said, raising his Wooden Spear.
’I think I could probably stab it,’ he thought, ’but I don’t know if I’d survive the slap that comes after.’
Wang Yun studied the bear for a moment, then gasped softly, "Careful. I think it’s a Short-faced Bear."
The Short-faced Bear seemed to have never seen humans before. It stood behind the tree, silently observing this group of "pipsqueaks" who were less than half its height.
Qin Ziwen said, "Back to the cave. Get the Incendiary Bottles."
Facing the Short-faced Bear, the group slowly backed away.
Du Yu whispered to him, "If we can hit both of its eyes and blind it, we might have a chance."
They were too close—less than thirty meters apart.
They had no idea when the Short-faced Bear had arrived.
Qin Ziwen narrowed his eyes. "Its eyes aren’t that big. It’ll be a tough shot."
’A bear’s attack style is completely different from a toad’s, and their levels of aggression aren’t even comparable.’
The Short-faced Bear just kept staring at them. It didn’t attack, but it didn’t leave either.
Suddenly, it turned its head and looked behind it.
It let out a low, seemingly irritated roar, then turned and ran off.
Soon, the group understood why the Short-faced Bear had fled.
Farther back, the forest began to shake violently.
A creature even larger than the bear emerged from the dense woods. It was covered in long, brown fur and moved slowly, resembling a sloth.
It glanced at the group, then ignored them completely.
It ambled over to a small tree and slowly rose to its hind legs.
Once standing, it was taller than a two-story building, like a small mountain.
Its thick claws gripped the trunk. It shook the tree, snapping it as easily as one might break a stalk of sugarcane. Then, holding the branches, it sat on the ground and began to slowly munch on them.
"A Giant Sloth," Wang Yun said, recognizing the creature that had long been extinct on Earth. "They weigh over five tons. Their forelimbs are not only strong but also flexible, and their claws are over fifteen centimeters long."
’Then again, since a Short-faced Bear showed up, a Giant Sloth isn’t that hard to accept. Both species went extinct over ten thousand years ago.’
’Their time on Earth heavily overlapped with the period when early humans were active.’
’It’s said that human activity was a factor in the extinction of both species—partly due to climate change, and partly due to humans encroaching on their habitats.’
(Image: Giant Sloth)
Wang Yun shared what he knew about the Giant Sloth with the others.
"So they’re just losers that our ancestors used to hunt," Yuan Ming said, getting excited. "Captain, we’ve got Bows and Incendiary Bottles. Wanna give it a shot?"
Qin Ziwen observed the Giant Sloth and noticed a potentially fatal weakness: it seemed to move sluggishly. This was a common trait among many large creatures.
The more massive the body, the slower the movements.
’Of course, he would never underestimate it for that reason. Elephants look slow too, but when angered, their short-distance sprint speed far surpasses a human’s.’
Qin Ziwu muttered, "It looks pretty big. I wonder if the meat’s any good."
After a moment of observation, Qin Ziwen announced, "We can try hunting it."
’For the Short-faced Bear, the Giant Sloth is enormous; it would be at a huge disadvantage in a physical fight due to the size difference.’
’But they had ranged attacks. Against such a slow-moving target, Bows and Arrows and Long Spears were the perfect weapons.’
’However, they’d have to watch out for the Short-faced Bear trying to snatch their kill afterward.’
’If it launched a sneak attack while they weren’t in formation, they could be easily routed.’
"Captain, should we use the Incendiary Bottles?" Wang Yun asked.
Qin Ziwen hesitated. "If we use the Incendiary Bottles, we’ll waste most of the meat. Let’s assess the situation first."
He looked at Wang Yun. "Dr. Wang, is it possible this Giant Sloth is deceptively fast? It looks slow, but could it actually be quick as hell?"
Wang Yun was also conflicted. "I’m not sure. No one’s ever seen one of these things alive. We’re probably the first people to ever see a living Giant Sloth."
He hesitated for a moment before adding, "But... it does *look* like it moves pretty slowly. Its speed probably isn’t anything to worry about... right?"
Qin Ziwen scanned his surroundings, looking for a suitable place to stage an ambush.
’If they couldn’t win the fight, they at least needed a place to fall back to and buy some time.’
’The Giant Sloth’s thick fur would be the perfect kindling for an Incendiary Bottle.’
But unless it was absolutely necessary, he was truly reluctant to waste such a massive prize. The tons of meat on its body alone would be enough to complete their meat-gathering objective.
Li Yue suggested, "How about we use the cave as a fallback? Deeper inside, there’s a narrow passage. We could block the entrance with Incendiary Bottles. And even deeper, there’s a narrow waterway that the Giant Sloth definitely couldn’t fit through."
"Good idea."
As the group finalized their plan, the Giant Sloth, still leisurely munching on leaves, seemed to sense the change in atmosphere.
It turned its head toward the approaching humans and let out a displeased cry. "AWOOO~"
The group took a few steps back.
Seeing the humans retreat, the Giant Sloth slowly turned its head back and resumed gnawing on the branch in its grasp.
It held an arm-thick branch in its claws. Its sharp teeth bit into the wood, and with a flick of its long tongue, it stripped all the leaves clean off.
Qin Ziwen, Du Yu, and Yang Cunshen all raised their Bows at the same time and began to slowly advance.
When they were about twenty paces away, the Giant Sloth turned its head again and roared impatiently. It had made up its mind: if they got any closer, it would smash these humans into meat paste. Although it was a herbivore, it wasn’t above eating meat occasionally.
It was simply too lazy to move, as fighting was a high-energy activity. It much preferred to continuously eat tender leaves and sweet fruit, occasionally stealing another predator’s kill to supplement its protein.
Because of its enormous size, and its inability to hibernate like a toad to conserve energy, it spent most of its waking hours eating.
"Aim for the eyes. Blind it, and it’ll be much easier to handle."
"Three... two... one..."
"Fire!"
As his voice fell.
Three arrows flew, arriving in an instant.
The Giant Sloth, which had been turned sideways to the group, froze. It threw its head back and let out a heaven-shaking roar, a shriek that was both mournful and frenzied.
A black Carbon Fiber Arrow was sticking out of its right eye. In its left eye socket, two more arrows—one long, one short—were embedded deep.
Its claws went slack, and the branch it was holding fell to the ground.
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