Wilderness Survival with Druid System

Chapter 572 - 71: Testing the Waters

Hunting musk oxen, this is not an easy task.Especially when the musk oxen are still within the herd.

Chen Wen climbed up a relatively large tree nearby the hillside.

He was using [Extreme Vision] to observe the condition of the herd.

Musk oxen gather, in summer the herd members are not many.

Only about a dozen to over thirty.

In lesser cases, even a few heads count as a herd.

And as time moves into winter, the herd’s food decreases, more and more musk oxen will gather spontaneously, forming a larger group, sometimes exceeding a hundred!

Such a large group, even polar bears or wolf packs dare not provoke easily.

Chen Wen was now encountering a gathering herd, around thirty musk oxen.

Among them, more than two-thirds appeared to be adult musk oxen, about twenty-five or six heads.

The remaining calves were around seven or eight.

Meanwhile, he was also looking for the old ox that the elder wolf mentioned.

Soon, Chen Wen found it.

This was indeed an old ox, larger in size, with fur comparatively duller than other musk oxen.

However, it was lying on the ground, not walking, and Chen Wen couldn’t see any signs of injury.

This old ox was indeed very suitable as a hunting target.

But whether it could be hunted or not depended on the techniques of Wolf Mink and the elder wolf.

If they could drive the herd to move, then it would be manageable.

However, Chen Wen felt that the hope was not great.

Soon, Wolf Mink and the elder wolf circled to the other side of the herd.

The elder wolf was very skilled at using momentum and size to intimidate animals.

Previously, Wolf Mink had fallen for this.

This time the elder wolf used the same trick.

It suddenly burst out from the hiding shrubs at a very fast speed.

Due to the elder wolf’s speed and large movements.

As soon as it came out, it attracted the attention of the herd.

The adult male musk oxen immediately responded.

They immediately stood up and began to move towards the periphery of the herd, intending to protect the calves and females inside.

And before the defensive circle of the herd formed, the elder wolf suddenly howled.

Awoo~~~

With the prolonged sound of the elder wolf’s call, it bared its fangs.

And emitted a series of growls, bluffing as if to pounce.

The momentum was quite in place!

Generally, if it were other animals or even humans encountering such an elder wolf.

The first reaction would definitely be fear.

Then either run away or confront.

But this herd of musk oxen was different, they had rich experience.

The herd knew that escaping now would actively expose the weakness of the group—old, weak, sick, and disabled musk oxen.

They didn’t run, but quickly formed a circle.

A rather robust musk ox snorted and even walked a few steps towards the elder wolf.

That low and sturdy body, along with the sharp horns, made the elder wolf shudder.

It was a bit panicked.

However, on the surface, the elder wolf remained calm, continuing to bare teeth and howl, trying to scare off the large musk ox.

The large musk ox sensed the danger from the elder wolf, didn’t approach, but neither did it retreat.

Instead, it kept sounding out, threatening the elder wolf.

At this time, Wolf Mink jumped out.

It mimicked the elder wolf’s actions in scaring the musk oxen, growling while showing sharp teeth.

But the large musk ox just glanced at it and then ignored Wolf Mink.

With Wolf Mink’s small build, even if the musk ox lay there for it to bite, it would at most suffer a surface wound.

Wolf Mink couldn’t even penetrate the musk ox’s fur defense.

"Tsk, still not working."

Upon seeing this, Chen Wen looked up and shouted to the Eagle, "Go, call them back, this plan won’t work."

Upon hearing this, the Eagle immediately flapped its wings and flew over, notifying the elder wolf and Wolf Mink to return.

The elder wolf also realized that the intimidation method that always worked before was ineffective now, this group of musk oxen was experienced, and not easily scared.

Wolf Mink was a bit unwilling, though.

But when the large musk ox stepped forward again, lowering its head as if to collide.

It sensibly backed off.

After driving away the elder wolf and Wolf Mink.

The herd of musk oxen returned to peace, continuing to lie on the hillside resting.

Chen Wen, having watched the whole process, shook his head slightly.

Individual musk oxen are easy to hunt, but the difficulty soars when faced with a herd.

Trying to hunt a member of the herd is very difficult!

Now, he had two choices facing him.

First, to give up hunting now and turn to let Wolf Mink or some other animals follow the herd.

Wait for the herd to abandon that old musk ox, or for the old musk ox to die before coming to hunt the old musk ox or pick up the leftovers.

But this choice relies heavily on luck.

Generally, during this period, the musk oxen herd will not migrate long distances.

To preserve energy and reduce energy consumption.

After feeding every day, the musk oxen will lie on the ground, digesting food in a daze.

They rarely migrate.

If this herd of musk oxen stays in this area, letting Wolf Mink keep an eye on them is still feasible.

But the weather has turned cold now.

This terrain isn’t high, when the heavy snow seals the mountains.

The musk oxen herd might move to higher and farther places, Chen Wen could not follow too long distances to keep up with the musk oxen.

So, it’s very much luck-based.

The second choice is to think of another method to deal with this herd of musk oxen.

Specifically, what method, Chen Wen currently had no clue.

He had previously thought about using fire to drive the musk oxen away, having Wolf Mink and the elder wolf hold torches, definitely able to drive away the musk oxen.

But this plan would most likely cause a forest fire.

So Chen Wen abandoned it.

He wouldn’t take such a big risk for a single musk ox.

As Chen Wen pondered, the elder wolf and Wolf Mink circled back around.

Since there was no good idea now, the elder wolf and the red fox also had no hints.

Chen Wen said, "Since we’ve found the location of this herd, there’s no need to rush, until the weather worsens, this herd of musk oxen will stay here, we have plenty of opportunities."

"There should be no chance of hunting today, we need to strategize long-term."

Upon hearing this, the elder wolf and the red fox nodded.

They could understand.

This herd of musk oxen is tough to handle, forcing a hunt will definitely result in them getting injured.

Even if Chen Wen manages to kill a musk ox, it’s hard for him to retreat unscathed.

Musk oxen are different from American bison.

They are braver and fiercer.

In the face of certain death, musk oxen will fight desperately to the death.

A three or four hundred kilogram animal fighting desperately to the death, even Chen Wen had to be careful.

But Wolf Mink felt it couldn’t just leave like this.

It suggested, "How about using your long spear to hunt?"

As for the long spear.

Chen Wen estimated the distance.

To hit that old ox accurately, he would have to get within forty, even thirty meters of it.

Only then could he ensure hitting the crucial point.

Too far, and the accuracy of the long spear would be limited.

But the position of the old ox, without being discovered, Chen Wen could only get within about sixty meters.

Precision was hard to guarantee.

If he missed, or hit other musk oxen instead, or hit a non-vital part and it fell down.

These were all problems.

"Not quite feasible, I only have one long spear, can’t take risks."

Chen Wen shook his head.

However, Wolf Mink’s words gave him an idea.

"Go back... I’m planning to make some stone spears, use stone spears for distant bleeding, or driving the herd and causing the old ox to fall behind, it’s worth a try."

Chen Wen’s eyes brightened.

He was considering the feasibility of this plan, and currently seeing it as quite promising!

Even if the stone spear was damaged or lost, he wouldn’t mind.

And as long as it could hit the old ox, causing it pain, it should leave the herd.

And if the herd was startled by the stone spear, they might also flee.

It’s worth a try!

At most, some time would be wasted!

After making up his mind, Chen Wen had the Eagle stay behind to watch the herd.

If the herd migrated long distances, it should immediately return to notify him.