Chapter 660 - 8: Saw-toothed Tiger Cubs_2
Their body structure leans towards strength and endurance, and their hunting style is vastly different from the Northeast Tiger, making it difficult to catch up with the panicked young Giant Ground Sloth in a short time.
During this period, the female Giant Ground Sloth, being restrained, appeared particularly clumsy, swinging her long arms, yet never managing to touch the two female Saw-toothed Tigers, which gave the male Saw-toothed Tiger some undue confidence—
Now, it not only wanted to hunt the young Giant Ground Sloth, but also had the intent to hunt the fiercely protective female Giant Ground Sloth.
If they could kill this mother and child, they wouldn’t need to hunt for at least half a month.
...
Being young means having enough courage.
But from another perspective, courage without reverence is no different from recklessness.
The two female Saw-toothed Tigers seemed to have grasped the situation, yet this unstable "balance" could tilt to one side at any time, depending entirely on when the Giant Ground Sloth adjusts its strategy.
The young Giant Ground Sloth had successfully returned behind its mother, and the overconfident male Saw-toothed Tiger, aided by its companions, continued to make tentative attacks.
The Giant Ground Sloth’s counterattacks were exceptionally clumsy, with each attempt failing to touch the male Saw-toothed Tiger.
The Saw-toothed Tiger danced on the edge of a knife, narrowly escaping death time and time again, yet it didn’t realize how dangerous its actions were.
With their fur also dark brown, the Giant Ground Sloths were not without means of attack, not just defenseless herbivores. As the rulers of South America, they did not evolve to have no natural enemies based solely on their size.
The overconfident male Saw-toothed Tiger soon paid a painful price for an overly aggressive move—
It was attempting to scratch the female Giant Ground Sloth’s hind leg when it was hooked by one of the female’s forearms and pinned to the ground.
Unlike Mammoths, Giant Ground Sloths aren’t purely herbivorous. Occasionally, they would try to catch live prey with their forepaws or intimidate successful carnivorous hunters to rob them of their spoils.
Sometimes, they would even eat carrion to gain more energy.
Saw-toothed Tigers "judge the beast by its appearance," thinking the Giant Ground Sloth to be simple-minded, not realizing they were the demon kings roving America.
On ordinary days, America’s fierce predators would hardly dare to provoke a Giant Ground Sloth. The female Giant Ground Sloth never expected, upon arriving here, that prey would willingly deliver themselves—
Meat sure tastes better than grass.
A 270-kilogram Saw-toothed Tiger fell into the hands of a 1200-kilogram female Giant Ground Sloth, hooked by a claw, unable to break free in the short term, barely twisting its body in an attempt to escape the deadly attack.
But once caught in the Giant Ground Sloth’s claw, no matter how it struggled, it couldn’t escape this "Five-finger Mountain."
Its skin and flesh were gradually torn by the claw, and the female Giant Ground Sloth pressed her heavy body onto the Saw-toothed Tiger, her absolute weight advantage prematurely ending this deadly game.
During this process, the two female Saw-toothed Tigers attempted to rescue their companion, but the mother Giant Ground Sloth gave them no chance, and the male Giant Ground Sloth watching from the side also approached.
Hearing the wailing of their companion as it was crushed, the two female Saw-toothed Tigers hesitated.
In those few seconds of hesitation, the screams of the male Saw-toothed Tiger sounded like the desperate cries of autumn insects in the cold wind, growing weaker with each sound, only uttering a few more before abruptly stopping—
The female Giant Ground Sloth had flattened it into a blood-stained "rug."
The intense smell of blood stimulated the Ground Sloth, and it stood upright and roared triumphantly, proclaiming its absolute control over this territory and flaunting its strength.
The adult female Saw-toothed Tiger, frightened out of its wits, turned tail and ran without even considering its companions.
The other juvenile female Saw-toothed Tiger still nursing, however, reacted completely differently.
Perhaps angered by the death of its companion, or grieving over the loss of its mate, it recklessly lunged at the female Ground Sloth, attempting to use its sharp teeth to tear at the Ground Sloth’s throat.
...
"It’s over."
Paul stood with Chen Zhou from a high vantage, watching this failed hunt from afar. Seeing the female Saw-toothed Tiger charge at the Ground Sloth, he shook his head and sighed.
The subsequent events played out just as he expected.
The female Ground Sloth, in high spirits, easily dealt with the Saw-toothed Tiger.
This farce from start to finish didn’t even require the male Ground Sloth to take action; it merely watched from a distance as the Saw-toothed Tigers either died or fled.
For the giant Ground Sloth, resolving this level of predator wasn’t overly challenging unless there were too many Saw-toothed Tigers.
Most of the time, nature is fair.
To complete a successful hunt, one must possess not only courage and boldness but also a calm mind.
Reversals of fortune where the weak overcome the strong are rare, and so-called "miracles" are even more unlikely.
"Let’s go."
Chen Zhou, with interest, observed the Ground Sloths, pondering the feasibility of using them as mounts—
The Ground Sloths have enough strength to carry quite a bit of weight and possess decent combat abilities, well-trained they can serve as allies.
If given a saddle, riding them should be more comfortable.
Unfortunately, the Ground Sloths have slow movement speed, making it inevitable to waste time when traversing mountains and waters, especially in races to seize air-dropped supplies; a step slow means every step is slow.
Besides that, the Ground Sloths take a long time to grow, and their intelligence level is likely not high since their close relatives, the sloths, are known to be rather simple creatures; from this perspective, the Ground Sloth still has incurable fatal flaws, not suitable for domestication.
...
The Saw-toothed Tigers’ hunt and the Ground Sloths’ one-sided overwhelming presented Chen Zhou and Paul with an extraordinary primitive slaughter show.
Because of this, the two lingered briefly on the mountain, seeing no opportunity to kill a Ground Sloth or seize the Saw-toothed Tigers’ carcass before continuing forward.
The mountain ridge didn’t extend smoothly upwards, featuring natural obstacles caused by landslides and chasms carved by floods.
The higher they climbed, the sparser the trees became, with occasional animal tracks in the woods and droppings being broken down by insects.
Along the way, Paul appeared remarkably unaffected by his injuries, displaying exuberant energy, chatting endlessly with Chen Zhou, savoring the battle between the Ground Sloths and Saw-toothed Tigers.
It was evident that he was very interested in ferocious beasts.
Chen Zhou gave perfunctory responses to Paul, walking over bare rocks, attuned to the sounds of the forest, forging ahead in silence.
They were 5 kilometers from the riverbank where the Saw-toothed Tiger died, with the mountaintop just ahead, expected to reach the summit or cross to the other side of the ridge by nightfall if they continued to climb.
The higher they climbed, the stronger the winds, with the Northern Territory being quite chilly even in summer.
Paul, not getting a response from Chen Zhou, was starting to feel a bit bored, when suddenly Chen Zhou stopped, nearly causing Paul to bump into him.
"What’s wrong?"
Knowing this veteran of second challenges was unusual, Paul stopped and asked, fearing another encounter with cave hyenas or some other fierce beast attacking them.
This time, before Chen Zhou could answer, Paul got the answer—
At the entrance to a burrow on their left, amidst a tangle of shrubs and wild grass, a furry little creature with a spotted head poked out half its head.
In stark contrast to its cute appearance, it and its siblings had quite the nasty temper.
Seeing strangers enter their territory, they became increasingly aggressive, some growling lowly, others flattening their ears and baring their sharp milk teeth, making a show of force.
Of course, some were more timid, retreating into the burrow with tails between their legs, leaving only their round, chubby rears visible to Chen Zhou and Paul.
"Is this a young Saw-toothed Tiger?"
Seeing the first little Tiger Head at the burrow’s entrance, looking strikingly similar to the deceased male Saw-toothed Tiger, especially the facial features and spotted fur, Paul asked in uncertain tones.
"Yes, and it’s most likely the offspring of those Three-headed Saw-toothed Tigers left behind.
They failed in their hunt, two died, and I don’t know where the remaining one went; this is their den."