Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 164 [The Big Cat] (8000 words)

Chapter 159 [The Big Cat] (8000)

Chen Yan crouched low as he crawled out of the cave. The howling wind and snow rushed towards him, making him feel suffocated. Chen Yan held his breath and listened intently to the sounds carried by the gale.

"Gluck... cluck..."

Upon hearing this voice, Chen Yan's expression grew even more serious.

He recognized it; it was the roar of the kind of hunting beast he had seen in the village of the Beast Clan.

The hunting animal, which looks and is similar in size to a porcupine, has a very peculiar call that does not actually come from its throat.

This predator has tympanic membranes growing behind its ears, similar to those of frogs in amphibians and reptiles. When hunting, it vibrates these membranes, producing a "clucking" sound, much like a frog's croak.

(A ferocious beast-like monster is nearby?)

Chen Yan immediately became alert.

During his last revenge, he had exhausted his guns and ammunition, leaving him with a lack of offensive means. However, he had produced quite a few talismans using the spirit-sealing technique, so although Chen Yan was vigilant, he wasn't too worried.

After running quickly out of the cave, Chen Yan immediately headed towards the direction from which the sound came from the woods, then quickly circled around to the upwind side and touched a strange tree.

As soon as he climbed up, he saw several brown figures dart out of the woods.

Its body shape is like that of a porcupine, with tusks in its mouth, erect ears, and vibrating eardrums. It runs through the forest with small steps, and occasionally stops to make a "clucking" sound.

Then more and more brown figures appeared in the forest, and eventually more than ten of them ran out!
Looking into the forest, but seeing no ferocious beasts following him, Chen Yan suddenly realized something.

Are these prey animals wild?!

They were not domesticated by the Beast Clan, but were wild hunting beasts from the forest!

Chen Yan immediately pulled his hands and feet back—these wild prey looked like social animals, and with more than ten of them suddenly appearing, Chen Yan had no interest in going down to fight so many wild beasts.

He huddled quietly in the strange tree, waiting. Suddenly, more than a dozen hunting beasts rushed out, some large and some small. They ran to the area under the tree, but then began to scurry around, and several of them began to growl restlessly.

It shook its head and swung the two fangs protruding from its mouth around.

Chen Yan noticed that these hunting beasts had large nostrils, and they were tilting their heads back, sniffing something as if they had caught his scent.

Finally, one of the prey let out a few cackling sounds and ran towards the cave, followed by seven or eight other prey that swarmed after it.

Soon, Chen Yan, who was perched on the tree trunk, saw that one of the prey beasts had climbed into his cave in the distance. With a series of roars, the other prey beasts also crawled in, and a tearing sound came from inside the cave.

But soon, the prey crawled out of the cave, looking around anxiously, seemingly unable to find their target, and appeared very restless.

Chen Yan noticed that one of the hunting beasts that had run out of the cave still had a piece of canvas in its mouth. He knew that the backpack he had hidden in the cave had been chewed up by these animals, and he felt helpless.

He could only sigh inwardly, hoping that the supplies he had carried hadn't been destroyed by these beasts.

But in the end, his wish was not fulfilled.

A predator emerged from the cave dragging a backpack. After taking a few bites, it tore open a dried beef bun and let out an excited growl.

Then a pack of prey swarmed forward, eagerly tearing at the beef bun...

Chess also tore his hiking backpack to shreds. The beef jerky, energy bars, dehydrated vegetables, and other items inside were all snatched and torn apart by these things. After the packaging was ripped apart, these guys excitedly ate it.

Chen Yan frowned as he looked at it, but still didn't move.

Just then, a roar suddenly came from the rocks on the mountain ridge!
The roar carried on the wind, and the prey that were tearing at their food around the backpacks immediately raised their heads and looked warily at the mountain ridge.

Chen Yan squinted at it, his heart pounding.

A lithe wild beast slowly and gently leaped down from the rocks on the mountain ridge, stepping onto the rocks one by one, its body low to the ground, yet its movements were incredibly agile.

This creature appears to be some kind of feline, larger than a leopard but smaller than a tiger.

Its fur is entirely white, without a single hair of any other color. In the snow and ice of this mountain ridge, it is easy to fool the eye and be overlooked if one does not look closely.

Before Chen Yan could even see clearly, the large white cat suddenly leaped into the air and jumped down from above!

Its forepaws pounced directly on the beast closest to the mountain ridge. After rolling on the ground with its body around the prey, its strong forelimbs pinned the prey down. The prey roared madly, and the forepaws opened their mouths full of fangs and bit down on its neck!

The beast thrashed about on all four hooves, struggling desperately, and blood gushed out.

The surrounding prey seemed to be frightened, quickly jumping away and scattering. But they soon turned around and surrounded the large white cat at a distance, roaring fiercely at it. The eardrums behind their ears vibrated desperately, making threatening "clucking" sounds.

The large white cat, however, simply held its prey's throat tightly. Only after the prey twitched a few times and stopped moving did it release its grip, raise its head, and coldly look at the dozen or so bluffing beasts.

In that instant, Chen Yan even sensed a hint of disdain in the white cat's eyes.

A dozen or so hunting beasts paced back and forth, stamping their feet restlessly and occasionally growling at the large white cat. Despite their agitation, they seemed hesitant to approach.

The large white cat sneered its nose, then bit its prey's throat. Dragging the carcass, it carefully retreated until it reached a rock. In this position, it pulled the prey, inch by inch, backward and upward, towards the mountain ridge.

It wasn't until it climbed to a height of more than ten meters above the ground on a rocky platform that the large white cat stopped retreating. Looking down at the dozen or so prey beasts that had surrounded the foot of the mountain ridge, it let out a disdainful growl.

Then, it began to lower its head and viciously tear at the carcass of its prey.

The beasts below the mountain roared in sorrow and anger, but could only watch helplessly as the large white cat tore apart the corpses of their companions, pacing back and forth.

Two of the largest prey animals attempted to climb the rocks of the mountain ridge, but their bulky bodies and hooves were not suited for leaping and walking on the rocks, so they retreated after two attempts.

The large white cat had already torn open its prey's belly, using its teeth to pull out the soft, tender internal organs, and was now lying there chewing them voraciously...

The dozen or so hunting beasts howled for more than ten minutes before finally dispersing unwillingly. They quickly ran back into the strange forest and disappeared in a moment.

The large white cat lay on the rock, feasting on its spoils.

Chen Yan didn't climb down from the tree; he just gazed into the distance quietly.

Soon, the large white cat seemed to have finished eating. It lay on the rock with its eyes half-closed, but its gaze was fixed precisely on Chen Yan, the uncle in the distance.

It stretched out its head and let out a roar.

Its once snow-white face was now stained with blood, and even its whiskers were covered with bits of flesh.

Having eaten its fill, the large white cat jumped down from the rock and landed at the entrance of Chen Yan's cave. It paced toward the edge of the strange forest, occasionally glancing up at Chen Yan, who was hiding in the trees.

It walked back and forth in circles a few times. Chen Yan noticed that every time the big white cat reached the edge of the strange forest, it would immediately stop and turn around and back away.

(It seems hesitant to enter the woods?)
A question arose in Chen Yan's mind.

The large white cat looked up at Chen Yan and let out a few "howls," but after a few howls, it finally shook its head, walked over and sniffed the backpack that the hunting beast had dragged out of the cave and torn apart, and then shook its head.

Soon, the large white cat leaped back onto the rocks of the mountain ridge, its snow-white form bounding across the snow-covered rocks until it gradually disappeared above the ridge...

Chen Yan did not come down from the tree; he remained there, waiting.

Two hours later, Chen Yan felt his body becoming increasingly stiff. The cold air in the wind seemed to gradually penetrate his winter clothes, making his limbs feel numb.

Chen Yan knew he couldn't stay hidden in the tree any longer. He had looked carefully and realized that the pack of prey in the woods had gone far away and hadn't returned, and the big white cat on the ridge had also gone far away.

Finally, Chen Yan carefully jumped down from the tree, looked around warily, and slowly walked out of the woods to the entrance of the cave.

He first checked his hiking backpack.

This backpack was full of supplies, but it's almost completely destroyed.

The two large bags of dried beef had been almost completely devoured by the predators, leaving only scraps. The dehydrated vegetables had also been torn apart, leaving only tattered packaging and vegetable bits stained with the predators' saliva on the ground…

After taking one look, Chen Yan gave up the idea of ​​collecting these things to eat himself.

The two packs of energy bars were also torn open, and only four energy bars were found intact in the end. Chen Yan carefully put them away and put them in his pocket.

He crawled into the cave and found that the backpacks containing the wood were intact... He didn't know if the hunting animals had any intelligence, but their noses were obviously very sensitive, and they didn't touch the backpacks containing the wood.

What gave Chen Yan some comfort was that the alcohol stove was not destroyed, and the solid alcohol fuel was mostly intact—one of them had been chewed up, but it was clear that the predators had given up after chewing up one and finding that it didn't taste good.

Moreover, solid alcohol, even if damaged, will not affect its combustion and use.

Chen Yan stepped out of the cave again, looking helplessly at the little food left.

With only six and a half days left, this amount of supplies is definitely not enough.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He looked up at the mountain ridge and saw, more than ten meters above, the corpse of the hunting beast that had been killed by the big white cat was clearly visible on the rocky platform.

Although some of the body was eaten by the large white cat, most of the remains are still intact.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Yan climbed up the rocks on the mountain ridge.

He climbed onto the rock and finally breathed a sigh of relief—the beast was quite large, even bigger than a domestic pig.

Its throat was bitten open, its abdomen was torn open, its internal organs were eaten, and some of the flesh and blood in its abdomen were also eaten.

But overall, two-thirds of the part remains.

In particular, its limbs are still relatively intact.

Chen Yan simply pushed the thing off the rock with all his might, letting it fall freely from the rock platform more than ten meters high.

He then climbed down on his own and dragged the carcass of the prey to the side.

The axe used for chopping wood was still there. He used the axe to remove the four legs of the hunted animal and put them into the tattered backpack.

The weather was too cold, and the blood had already congealed, so there was no bleeding when the body was chopped; it was just that the corpse was frozen solid.

After encountering the pack of predators and the large white cat, Chen Yan realized that the cave could no longer be used—it was no longer safe.

Chen Yan thought for a moment, then discarded a bag of firewood, freeing up a backpack. He packed the remaining supplies into it and carried it on his back, while holding the backpack containing four animal legs in his left hand and the axe in his right.

Chen Yan set off, walking along the edge of the forest and the boundary of the mountain ridge, heading further and further away...

After walking for more than two hours, Chen Yan estimated that at his walking speed, he should be at least seven or eight kilometers away from where he left in two hours, so he stopped.

At the boundary between the mountain ridge and the strange tree forest lies a snowfield, as if the ice and snow can only stay here and can no longer enter the area of ​​the strange tree forest.

Chen Yan picked a strange tree at the edge of the forest, climbed up it, hung his backpack on the trunk to hide it, and then came down again.

He lit the alcohol stove, filled a small pot with snow, melted and boiled it on the stove, then took out a knife and cut off pieces of meat, about the size of a fist, from the animal's leg, throwing them into the pot to cook.

The game meat, which hadn't been properly cared for, was thrown into water and boiled, and soon a layer of rather disgusting-looking foam floated to the surface.

Chen Yan endured the nausea and scooped out the foam.

I smelled this pot of meat soup, and it had a very strong fishy smell!

However, Chen Yan still endured the nausea, scooped out a small piece, and carefully put it into his mouth to tear and bite.

The meat was tough and not tasty, and it had a very strong fishy smell.

"We'll have to be more careful next time we come to cut down trees," Chen Yan sighed.

However, after taking two bites of steaming hot meat, his body quickly warmed up. This gave Chen Yan a jolt of excitement!
The meat of this prey seemed to possess a strong, hot nature; after being eaten, it quickly filled the body with warmth.

Chen Yan discovered that the meat of this thing was very filling; after eating a few bites, he actually felt three-tenths full.

Moreover, Chen Yan could clearly feel that his lost physical strength was being gradually replenished. "This stuff is actually very nourishing?" Chen Yan was somewhat delighted.

Although there was no way to test it, Chen Yan's rough judgment was that the meat of this hunted beast was definitely more nutritious than beef, and perhaps also higher in energy and protein.

There was only a fist-sized piece of meat in the pot of soup, but Chen Yan was already full after eating only half of it. He forced himself to drink a few more mouthfuls of soup.

At that moment, he felt his body was warm, as if there was a small heater in his abdomen that was continuously radiating heat.

He suddenly realized why those ferocious beast monsters were so resistant to the cold—those ferocious beast monsters must have eaten a lot of this kind of beast meat on a regular basis!

The time he was a slave, the black dough balls that the wooden bowl gave him to eat contained suspicious animal hair—maybe it contained scraps of meat from that kind of prey.

When I was a slave, I was able to survive in this freezing weather wearing only a tattered fur coat, mostly because of the food.

After eating and drinking his fill, Chen Yan packed up his things, put his equipment back in his backpack, and then climbed up a big tree. He sat down on a trunk about seven or eight meters above the ground, leaning against the trunk of the strange tree to rest and recover his strength.

He also used ropes to secure himself to the tree trunk to prevent himself from slipping off the tree if he took a nap.

The warm feeling inside his body seemed to keep out the damp chill in the surrounding air. Chen Yan didn't feel cold at all; instead, he felt soft and comfortable.

Gradually, his eyelids closed.

Chen Yan didn't know how long he had been asleep when he was suddenly awakened by a series of "giggle" sounds!
He suddenly opened his eyes and looked around.

In the dark forest, several pairs of eyes, like lights, could be seen, their gazes gleaming.

Then a dozen or so figures ran out from under the tree and around Chen Yan's big tree, sniffing around.

Chen Yan immediately recognized that it was still the same group of hunting beasts!
It's unclear whether this group of prey came after Chen Yan or if they encountered each other again in the forest.

This time, however, the beasts seemed to have discovered Chen Yan's location and were circling around the strange tree.

Some of the prey had already climbed to the foot of the tree in agitation, using their sharp fangs to fiercely ram the trunk of the strange tree.

Meanwhile, some of the prey raised their heads and clucked loudly at Chen Yan, who was sitting on the tree trunk.

Chen Yan's expression was solemn. He knew that these beasts had discovered him and regarded him as their prey!

After the two predators nudged the tree a few times, fortunately, the strange tree was very sturdy, and the canopy only swayed slightly.

But then more prey gathered around, nudging and scurrying under the strange tree.

Chen Yan frowned and pondered for a while, then decided he couldn't just sit and wait to die. He held the axe in his hand and chopped off a few branches nearby.

Aiming at the head of a prey on the ground, he raised his hand and shot a tree branch at it.

With a thud, the branch struck a hunting beast. The beast roared angrily, its voice filled with pain, and leaped away, raising its head to roar at Chen Yan in the tree.

Chen Yan saw that the branch was stuck in the back of the hunting beast, seemingly penetrating a bit into its flesh. However, this thing was thick-skinned and as hard as iron, and the branch of the strange tree only caused it some superficial wounds, drawing a little blood. Most of the force was neutralized by the arrow in its back.

Chen Yan squinted and thought for a moment, then took out a tree branch, tied a piece of solid alcohol to it, and lit it.

He tossed the burning branch down again.

This time, several prey jumped away in fright, but the effect was not good, as they quickly surrounded them again.

The bolder predators even stretched out their hooves to kick the burning branch.

The fire won't scare you away... Chen Yan stroked his chin.

"Alright, let's see who can outlast whom!"

Chen Yan observed that these creatures could not climb trees, which calmed him down a bit.

Although he was trapped in the tree, he had food and water and was not lacking in food.

Could these dozen or so prey animals really stand under the tree on an empty stomach?
Chen Yan snorted.

·
A few hours later, Chen Yan bit down hard on an energy bar, squinting at the group of prey under the tree.

These creatures seemed to have calmed down, but they didn't leave either. Instead, they gathered around the tree, with only two or three wandering around while the others lay on the ground resting.

A few hours later, Chen Yan opened his backpack, took out a hunting leg, cut off a piece of meat, and tore off a piece of tin foil to wrap the meat.

He lit a branch, held the fire in his hand, and sat on the tree trunk to roast the meat.

Soon, the aroma of roasted meat began to waft out.

The beasts that had been resting on the ground got up and looked up restlessly at Chen Yan in the tree.

Chen Yan remained indifferent as he patiently grilled the meat. After a while, he extinguished the fire, tore open the foil, and the steaming meat inside emitted a rich aroma.

Chen Yan gently tore off a piece with his teeth, savoring the scalding hot meat on his tongue. He inhaled deeply, chewed fiercely, and watched the group of prey under the tree.

"Keep waiting, I have food, you guys go hungry!"

After eating a piece of grilled meat that smelled strongly of fish, Chen Yan felt his body heat up again, which gave him more confidence to keep going.

But after eating only half of a piece of meat, Chen Yan suddenly felt the tree trunk under his buttocks shake a few times!

His expression changed, and he looked down at the tree. Suddenly, his eyes twitched violently!
Several prey animals had already crouched under the tree, straining to lower their heads and digging furiously at the tree roots with their fangs!

The ground in the woods was muddy and damp, not frozen solid—it seemed that freezing did not occur in the wooded area.

The muddy, damp soil was repeatedly dug up by the predator's fangs, and more and more soil was dug up. As this process progressed, the tree trunk swayed more and more noticeably.

"Damn it!" Chen Yan cursed.

Are you forcing me to use drastic measures to kill you?

Chen Yan snorted, a hint of murderous intent appearing on his face.

It's not that he couldn't kill these beasts, it's just that he couldn't bear the cost before.

After all, with his current level of skill in sealing spirits, the success rate of creating the Fiery Talisman and the Myriad Swords Talisman was not high, so he was reluctant to waste them on these animals.

Now that we've decided to take action, let's not hesitate any longer!
Chen Yan took a deep breath and pulled out a few talismans from his pocket.

He wrapped two "Fire Talismans" around the branches of the strange tree and shot them fiercely at the hunting beasts digging in the ground below.

With a loud thud!
Then suddenly, a burst of flames exploded under the tree!

Amidst the flames, several prey screamed and scattered frantically. Two or three prey, still covered in flames, howled in pain and panic as they charged into the herd, immediately startling the herd into a frenzy.

The burning beasts frantically rushed towards the surrounding trees, desperately rubbing their bodies against them, while others rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire with the muddy soil.

But how could the Fiery Talisman be extinguished so easily? The fire will not go out until the stored energy is completely burned off!
This thing was the ultimate weapon Chen Yan used to destroy the village of the Ferocious Beast Clan!
The dozen or so hunting beasts had already scattered and fled. Chen Yan seized the opportunity and shot out three or four more Fiery Talismans.

Soon, six hunting beasts with their bodies on fire appeared on the ground.

Chen Yan seized the opportunity and jumped down from the tree!

He swung his axe and chopped away the frightened beast that was charging at him!
The beast, its body spurting blood, was smashed open by Chen Yan's axe, and at the same time, Chen Yan's hand trembled! This beast was incredibly strong!

After Chen Yan landed on the ground, the hunting beasts were suddenly aroused and rushed towards him, biting and slashing. Chen Yan swung his axe, moving it left and right, striking repeatedly with his hands, while his feet kept moving, and he quickly ran towards the edge of the forest!
After a few leaps, Chen Yan had already run out of the edge of the forest. Behind him, four unburnt hunting beasts were still chasing after him. One of them was the most powerful, looking as big as a calf, with fangs that were nearly half a meter long.

Chen Yan had just smashed an axe into this guy's head, but it only shook its head and wasn't hit. Instead, it charged at him headfirst. If Chen Yan hadn't dodged quickly, he would have been pierced through the abdomen by its fangs.

With an axe in one hand and a talisman between his fingertips in the other, Chen Yan had already reached the foot of the mountain ridge. He turned around, jumped onto a rock, and looked at the most magnificent beast charging towards him. Chen Yan grinned and tore open the talisman!

boom! !

An invisible sword aura swept away like a raging storm!

The calf-sized beast was directly rammed, and after it continued to run forward for three or four steps, its entire body suddenly torn to pieces, with blood spraying everywhere!
The other prey remained as ferocious as ever. One prey had already rushed to the rocks and suddenly leaped up, its forelimbs gripping the rocks, panting heavily from its mouth and nose, its red eyes straining as it tried to burrow towards Chen Yan.

Chen Yan swung his axe at the creature's head, but the axe got stuck in its skull. After the creature struggled, it fell to the ground with the axe in its body. Once it landed, it stopped moving, clearly its head had been split open. However, Chen Yan lost his axe.

Two more beasts remained, and they had already climbed onto the rocks. At this moment, Chen Yan was empty-handed, with only a Thousand Swords Talisman left in his hand!

Just then, a roar suddenly came from behind Chen Yan.

"Ouch!!"

A snow-white shadow flew over Chen Yan's head and jumped down from the mountain ridge!

With a single pounce, it knocked the prey that had climbed the rock down, and the two beasts rolled together on the ground.

That snow-white shadow was none other than the big white cat!
The large white cat bit the prey's throat, but the prey was very strong and shook its head forcefully, throwing the large white cat away.

The other prey, however, abandoned its attempt to climb the rock to attack Chen Yan and instead turned to pounce on the large white cat that had been flung away.

After the large white cat twisted its body and jumped up, it only had time to dodge before the prey nudged it on its hindquarters. The creature had already flipped over and bit the prey's body, but then with a twist, it actually climbed onto the prey's back, its claws already hooking into the flesh, and then biting down on its neck.

The prey growled and ran a few steps forward before finally crawling down, struggling, but the big white cat held on tightly, refusing to let go.

Another predator pounced and nudged the big cat's hindquarters, instantly turning its snow-white fur crimson.

However, it finally released its grip, jumped back in a disheveled manner, took a few steps back, raised its head, and howled at the prey.

Chen Yan noticed that the white cat's hind legs were trembling slightly.

Finally, the predator seemed too afraid to fight the big white cat one-on-one. It roared angrily twice and began to retreat before turning and rushing into the woods.

The burning game animals were gone from the woods. Two lay dead under a tree, and the rest had disappeared into the forest.

Standing on the rock, Chen Yan saw the large white cat struggle to crawl forward a few steps, scratching at the prey it had killed with its paws. However, it was obvious that its hind legs were covered in blood, and its originally agile body appeared to be walking with a more unsteady gait.

But it turned around and slowly crawled towards Chen Yan. When it reached the rock, it sat down on the ground, lowered its head, and licked its hind legs.

It was only then that Chen Yan realized something was wrong.

More and more bright red blood was flowing from the white cat's body!
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the white cat's injuries extended beyond the area where its hind legs had been bumped.

On its belly, a large patch of soft fur was already red!

It could no longer stand, and could only lower its head to lick its wounds with its tongue—the wounds on its hind legs and its abdomen—but the more it licked, the more blood it produced.

Chen Yan stared at the wound on its abdomen and suddenly realized that it had just jumped down from behind him and over his head, pouncing on a prey off the rock...

In that instant, because of that pounce, the big cat and the prey rolled together as they landed, and in the chaos, the prey's fangs pierced its abdomen!

"Woooo..."

The large white cat looked up at Chen Yan and let out a soft whimper.

Chen Yan was silent for a while, then suddenly realized something, leaped off the rock, and walked to the big cat's side.

The large white cat didn't show any hostility. Instead, it lowered its body and, as Chen Yan approached, even nuzzled its furry head against Chen Yan's pants, as if it were very affectionate.

Chen Yan took a deep breath, reached out and pressed the white cat's head, and whispered, "I'm going to heal your injuries, can you cooperate with me?"

"Woo~~"

The large white cat lowered its head, its head pressing against Chen Yan's boots.

(End of this chapter)