Chapter 722 - 35: Descent
The cold of the tundra is even more severe than that of the grassland. The farther one goes, the more apparent the chill from the permafrost becomes.
After passing through a dried-up swamp, Chen Zhou suddenly spotted an animal resembling a fox, the first medium-sized animal he had seen after nearly an hour of walking.
The incessant wind disturbed his sense of smell, making it nearly impossible to catch the scent left by the animal, so he was particularly excited to see this creature.
Even if this animal couldn’t provide enough meat for two people and three tigers, at least its fur could be used for a neck warmer or hat, offering wind protection and warmth, which would be greatly beneficial.
"Sanwa, chase!"
Saying this, Chen Zhou took off, sprinting across the solid ground covered with moss.
...
The sun and the beacon hung high in the sky, casting faded light atop the tundra at the end of autumn.
The open sky lacked clouds and was not azure but a dusty gray, as if covered with a layer of dirt.
The sound of the wind howling grew louder and louder.
A man and a tiger sprinted across the dark blue rocks.
Tiger Third was not agile enough; in chasing Chen Zhou, it frequently slipped, tumbling down when stepping on the edge of an oval stone.
It was starting to get tired but didn’t get frustrated after falling. It rolled over, stood up, and kept running.
The gray-brown fur on its body was tousled by the wind, rising and falling like waves, its ears pinned back, and from its always tightly closed mouth, two sharp white fangs protruded.
Tiger Third rarely made a sound; it had always been silent since it was young but never timid.
Up to now, with its growing size, it could be deemed a young hunter.
...
The beast resembling a fox had red-brown fur and, upon sensing animals pursuing from behind, dashed forward with all its might.
Its striking fur lifted by the wind, like a banner pointing Chen Zhou in the right direction.
The uneven stones didn’t hinder Chen Zhou’s steps; running so fast, the distant scenery even appeared somewhat blurred.
The shuriken was already gripped in his hand, just waiting until he was close enough to hunt down this wary beast.
The rocks and bits of soil underfoot continued to stretch into the distance, and the sound of the wind carried to Chen Zhou’s ears grew louder.
The beast running ahead suddenly halted, and on the seemingly endless tundra afar, a massive drop appeared.
The terrain began to sharply descend from there, plummeting nearly vertically for over 100 meters, forming a terrifying Broken Cliff.
The fierce wind howled as it blew across from below the Broken Cliff.
The beast stopped desperately on the edge of the cliff, jumping back and forth—
On one side was the juvenile Saw-toothed Tiger, on the other, a tall human.
Barred its teeth in a show of force, the beast suddenly charged at Chen Zhou, then nimbly turned mid-rush toward Tiger Third, seeming to think it could bully this young and powerless Saw-toothed Tiger and flee from this side.
However, not even a young tiger, newly grown with Sharp Teeth, is something a fox can provoke.
Tiger Third was quick and sharp-eyed. As the beast leaped past, it extended its paw and, with one swoop, deeply hooked its sharp claws into the fur on the side of the fox.
The fox charged fast and fiercely, causing Tiger Third to stagger forward a bit, but this brief advantage was fleeting.
As Tiger Third threw itself forward with the force dragging from the fox, the distance between the two beasts swiftly closed to zero.
"Woo~ ow!"
The ferocious beast’s scent agitated the fox, its fur bristling entirely, eyes filled with malice, struggling fiercely to free itself from the tiger’s grip, it turned back and bared its sharp teeth at Tiger Third.
"Roar!"
Tiger Third’s powerful forearm muscles bulged, its hind legs pushed off, focusing the energy to its front shoulders, it pinned the fox firmly to the ground with the force of a landslide.
It glared with wide eyes, mouth agape, revealing the dagger-like curved canine teeth, towering over the fox with a hoarse growl.
Though the tiger’s roar was undeniably youthful, it was the call of a top predator of the plains, and at such close range, the roar alone made the fox shudder with fear.
It instinctively shut its mouth, so terrified its ears pinned to its head, tail tucked, and it even leaked a few drops of pungent urine.
Not allowing the fox a chance to react further, Tiger Third opened its wide mouth and lowered its head, tearing open the artery on its neck with its canine teeth.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, the fox kicking its legs in final resistance, but it was all in vain, and it soon became a corpse.
...
Having slain the prey, unable to restrain its thirst for food, Tiger Third tasted a few mouthfuls of warm blood, finally raising its head to look at Chen Zhou—
The prey caught should be allocated by the leader; this is the survival rule of social animals.
Undoubtedly, Chen Zhou was the undisputed king of their small group, so Tiger Third barely dared to drink more blood on its own. It would surely not dare to start eating without permission.
However, at this moment, Chen Zhou’s gaze wasn’t on Tiger Third at all; he was fixated intently on the beacon in the distance that he both loved and hated—
Only now did he finally see where the beacon was actually positioned above.
It was an eerie blackened forest.
Perhaps millions or even billions of years ago, this forest teemed with life, a breeding ground for countless species.
But now, some dreadful force had completely burned it to charcoal.
Those ancient trees stood, arranged as neatly in death as in life, their surfaces entirely black.
They weren’t just charred to charcoal but had even fossilized into petrified wood and low-grade coal stone.