Chapter 701 - 25: Fine-toothed Giant Bear (Part 2)
"When do we make a move?"
"We’ll act after the predators finish their hunt.
By then, the Large-Horned Deer Herd guarding beneath the rock wall will definitely be scared off. The predators will be busy fighting over the spoils, leaving us free to gather salt. It’s a great opportunity.
It’s best to collect enough salt tonight. Otherwise, by tomorrow morning, the Large-Horned Deer Herd might return, and perhaps other herds of animals will come here, putting us at a disadvantage again."
After speaking, Chen Zhou stood up with his spear in hand.
Just as Paul was about to reply, the little Serrated Tigers nearby suddenly lowered their heads, raised the fur on their backs, and kept growling threateningly from their throats.
Knowing his perception abilities were the weakest here, Paul quickly turned his gaze to Chen Zhou.
Sure enough, Chen Zhou’s eyes also drifted to where the Serrated Tiger Cubs were facing.
Sensing Paul’s slightly questioning look, he calmly replied, "It’s the Giant Hyenas."
"Giant Hyenas?"
Since Chen Zhou didn’t know the specific term for Giant Hyenas in Russian, he referred to them as "huge Cave Hyenas" while responding.
Just as Paul was puzzled about the meaning of this term, a pack of unusually large hyenas emerged from the indistinct night at the far end of the mound.
If the Cave Hyena is a giant compared to the Spotted Hyena, then the Giant Hyena is a titan among Cave Hyenas.
During the mid-Pleistocene, due to overlapping ecological roles with Cave Hyenas, Giant Hyenas rarely appeared in the same area as regular Cave Hyenas.
Their shoulder height reaches 110 cm, with an average weight of 120 kg, and their bodies are more robust than female lions.
Compared to Cave Hyenas, Giant Hyenas have less endurance, but they have the ability to directly hunt Great Horned Deer or snatch food from Cave Lions and Cave Bears.
Their pack behavior, decent intelligence, coupled with their fierce nature, made them the dominant brown death on the Ancient Mammoth Plain at one time.
Due to having Great Horned Deer in their diet, the activity range of Giant Hyenas often coincided with the Deer Herds’.
When they first followed the Deer Herds here, Chen Zhou wondered why he didn’t see any traces of Giant Hyenas. Unexpectedly, these cunning creatures waited until now to appear, viewing them as appetizers.
Like all Cave Hyenas, during their long evolution, Giant Hyenas also became enemies with Primitive People.
After being "exiled" to the challenge area, the Giant Hyenas hadn’t encountered any detestable humans in a long time. Now, unexpectedly coming across Chen Zhou and Paul, they were particularly aggressive at the sight of their old foes.
It’s no wonder these creatures ignored the ongoing battles with other animals, prioritizing the elimination of these two humans encroaching on their territory.
...
"Seven in total, four males, three females.
Still the usual tactic, I’ll ambush the leader, you stay by the campfire, don’t be too reckless, just don’t get hurt."
After instructing, Chen Zhou picked up his spear and took a step forward, then suddenly looked back at the three fierce little Serrated Tigers.
For a moment, he recalled Lai Fu courageously facing the giant python unafraid on the deserted island, rushing ahead to alert them.
"Take care of them as much as you can without getting yourself hurt.
If we truly manage to raise them, you won’t have to fear Cave Hyenas."
Having said this, Chen Zhou left the range of the campfire’s glow, heading alone into the darkness.
...
The night was not as dark as the night of the initial challenge, and Paul could vaguely see Chen Zhou’s figure in the distance.
The three little Serrated Tiger Cubs, seeing Chen Zhou leave the campfire, instinctively wanted to follow but were promptly stopped by Paul—
Having taken care of the little ones for over a month, the two hadn’t named the Tiger Cubs yet, usually referring to them with handy nicknames like Tiger First, Tiger Second, Tiger Third.
As for who was the eldest or second, they distinguished by size.
The one with the largest head, showing the most intelligence and perceptiveness, was the eldest.
The rash one, who could pick a fight with a rotten stump while walking through the woods, was the second.
The most timid one, acting cautiously and needing the company of its two older siblings or Chen Zhou and Paul to show combat prowess, was the third. It was also the smallest and ate the least.
The one who hurriedly wanted to follow Chen Zhou was Tiger First. This cunning little thing had already sensed the danger.
As a member who lived closely with Chen Zhou and Paul, it was very aware of who was the true leader of the group and who had the strongest combat abilities. Hence, it instinctively wanted to stay close to Chen Zhou for more security. Unfortunately, Paul’s commanding voice stopped it from succeeding.
...
Throughout the entire Pleistocene epoch, when it comes to being most familiar with humans, the subspecies of hyenas surely have the most authority.
At this time, primitive people already knew how to use fire, stones, and long spears to hunt animals, and draped their skins over themselves to keep warm.
Though the Giant Hyenas dared to hunt humans, nearly ten thousand years of clashes also made them instinctively fear humans.
When Chen Zhou walked out alone, the seven Giant Hyenas did not act rashly.
They crouched slightly, revealing uneven teeth in their mouths, growling lowly with a stench left from scavenging, spreading out their formation, two females and one male Giant Hyena surrounded Chen Zhou.
The remaining four Giant Hyenas glanced at the blazing bonfire, did not attack Paul, but quietly observed Chen Zhou’s actions—
This human was much larger than the primitive people they had encountered before, carrying a smell quite different from the primitive people, instinctively making the Giant Hyenas feel this man was somewhat dangerous.
At this moment, the Hyena Queen was beginning to have second thoughts.
As their leader, it understood clearly whether fighting for food or killing humans was more important now.
Nowadays, the plains were full of predators, including unapproachable top predators like Saw-toothed Tigers and Saber-toothed Tigers, along with some unfamiliar but extremely massive beasts, intimidating them.
Though it was not winter yet, the Hyena Queen had a premonition—
This year’s winter would surely be bloodier than usual; if any accidents happened, their pack might not survive this winter.
At this juncture, to engage in a life-or-death struggle with two seemingly tough humans was clearly not wise.
...
"Woo~"
Chen Zhou relentlessly pressed forward, the Giant Hyenas under the command of the Queen retreated together.
They maintained the integrity of the encirclement, coordinated support left and right, while retreating without giving the humans any chance to attack.
Having no intention to clash with these foul-smelling beasts, seeing the Giant Hyenas wisely avoid him, Chen Zhou had no plan to pursue relentlessly.
Facing the Giant Hyenas, he slowly withdrew from their encirclement.
A fierce fight seemed to dissipate into thin air amid the tacit actions of both leaders; nobody expected that at this moment, a gigantic beast from the mixed woodland emerged from the depths of the pitch-black plains—
Fine-toothed Giant Bear.
The shape of the Giant Hyenas was already considered massive, but when set against this giant bear, they appeared like a few puppies.
This giant beast, standing on all fours, had a shoulder height of nearly 2 meters, its tank-like body and hunching shoulders during movements made each step carry a strong sense of oppression.
The seven Giant Hyenas noticed its presence and, without the Queen’s call, gathered together, actively maintaining a safe distance from the Fine-toothed Giant Bear.
The Fine-toothed Giant Bear had a shorter snout, appearing more docile compared to brown bears, with small eyes deeply hidden in the black fur on its face.
It disdainfully glanced at the Giant Hyenas, knowing it had no chance of catching these agile creatures, it continued forward on its own.
And its direction was right toward the bonfire under the mound, or rather, towards Paul and the three Serrated Tiger Cubs guarding by the bonfire.
According to Chen Zhou’s observation, it seemed to have no intention of changing direction.
...
Chen Zhou hadn’t gone far from the bonfire, from this distance, even if Paul didn’t have much night vision capability, he could clearly see the gigantic beast—
After all, it was too massive, its weight conservatively estimated to be over 1500 kilograms.
Such a big target, no matter how dark it got, Paul could see it.
Without needing Chen Zhou to voice a reminder, seeing this gigantic beast heading straight for the bonfire, Paul immediately picked up the long spear, preparing to make way for the three Serrated Tiger Cubs.
Even if he had all the confidence in Chen Zhou’s combat ability, he didn’t think Chen Zhou could handle this giant bear.
The bonfire is dead, but humans are alive.
If this bear must walk through here, then clearing a space for it is all there is, can’t defeat it, but surely can evade it?
Paul’s thoughts were optimistic, but when he stepped onto the half-dead wild grasses near the bonfire into the pitch-black wilderness, he found the giant bear had turned its direction alongside him, its eyes reflecting the firelight fixed on him.
His heartbeat instantly accelerated.
Paul could feel his heavy breathing, and before he could make the next move, the giant bear had already started accelerating, pressing down like a small mountain.