King of the Wilderness

"They must have been startled by the sound of our engine earlier." Sean stood up, gazing toward the higher part of the ridge.

"But they haven’t gone far, just moved to a place that’s safer with a better view. We need to be more cautious."

The team continued forward, but this time, their formation had changed.

Lin Yu’an and Sean, the two with the most tracking experience and wilderness survival skills in the group, walked side by side at the front.

Their cooperation was full of silent understanding, one responsible for observing the terrain and tracks on the left.

The other focused on the right, their lines of sight crossing to form a search net with no blind spots.

Big brother Wyatt and father-in-law Robert were in the second tier, providing experience support and flank vigilance.

Meanwhile, Garrett and Kley, Bo, were responsible for the rear, constantly alert to any unusual movement from behind.

They crossed a small ridge, and the scene before them suddenly opened up.

It was an open, sunlit hillside with a gentler slope, where a few snow-laden shrubs sparsely grew.

This was a typical elk bedroom. Wind-protected and sunlit, with a broad view allowing them to detect threats from any direction during rest.

Leading Sean immediately signaled, and everyone squatted down at once, hiding themselves at the edge of a dense spruce Forest.

"They’re on that hillside." Sean’s voice came through the earpiece, more subdued.

"But we can’t see them. They’ll use depressions and shrubs as cover. Now’s the time to test patience."

No one advanced any further, instead they sought out the best observation points on the spot, setting up their rifles.

Through high-magnification scopes on their rifles, they began a carpet search of the seemingly empty hillside, inch by inch.

Time slipped away minute by minute in extreme silence. Only the wind made a wailing sound as it passed through the treetops.

Even the experienced hunters like Wyatt and Robert found nothing after nearly ten minutes of searching.

Through their scopes, the hillside showed nothing but white snow and dead branches.

"Strange..." Big brother Wyatt’s voice came through the earpiece, tinged with confusion, "The bed is so fresh, they couldn’t have gone far."

"Where is it?" Kley started to get a bit impatient, "Can it turn invisible?"

At this moment, Lin Yu’an, who had been silent, suddenly spoke through everyone’s earpieces, his voice calm but full of undeniable certainty.

"It’s right there."

The spirits of everyone lifted instantly!

Lin Yu’an did not look at the most likely hiding depressions; his scope had been locked onto the seemingly unremarkable edge of the forest at the highest point of that area.

"See that old pine tree that’s been split in half?" He guided their gaze, "Look to its lower right, at those things that seem like dead branches."

Everyone immediately shifted their gaze.

Through the scopes, they saw that indeed, under the shadow of the dim forest line, several darker, oddly shaped dead branches protruded from the snow, pointing toward the sky.

At that moment, one of the dead branches seemed to slightly sway as its owner adjusted its sleeping position.

In that instant, everyone sucked in a cold breath!

That wasn’t a dead branch at all!

It was clearly an enormous antler like a crown, with several tines at the top!

That beast, codenamed King, a prehistoric giant, lay quietly in the shadow of the forest line, blending its massive body perfectly with the shadows of the trees and the undulating terrain.

Only those giant antlers, unable to be completely concealed, betrayed its presence!

It had chosen the highest point of the hillside, from where it could overlook everything below.

And those female deer formed a mobile alert perimeter for it.

This was a perfect defensive formation!

"My God..." Bo murmured, "This guy is like a general."

Having found the target, new problems arose.

"It’s too far." Big brother Wyatt said in a deep voice, "It’s over 400 yards (about 365 meters) in a straight line. The wind is strong, and it’s a sidewind blowing from left to right."

"At this distance, the bullet trajectory will deviate significantly. Hitting the target accurately is almost impossible."

"And if we fire, whether we hit or not, it will immediately disappear into the dense forest behind. We won’t have a second chance."

"We must get closer." Robert made a decision, "Reduce the distance to within 200 yards. That’s the most certain range."

But how to approach became a huge challenge.

Between them and the target was an open snow-covered slope with no cover. Any movement would be instantly spotted by those alert sentries (female deer).

The group fell into silence.

At this moment, Lin Yu’an spoke. He didn’t propose any earth-shattering plan, just pointed to the sky.

"Wait." He said just one word.

The group looked at him somewhat puzzled.

"Wait for the clouds." Lin Yu’an explained, "Look at the high sky, the wind is blowing a large cloud cover from the west toward us. In at most another half hour, the sun will be blocked."

"Once sunlight is no longer directly shining, the snow’s reflection will be greatly diminished, and the light will become softer and more diffused."