Chapter 994 - 13: Hua Yun and the Golden Eagle

While Chen Wen is busy searching for supplies.

The only team member who has left the camp, Hua Yun, is cautiously walking through the forest.

Knowing there is a large brown bear active near the camp makes her especially careful.

And just as Hua Yun is thinking about this matter.

In the sky, the Golden Eagle is circling, looking for suitable prey.

Hua Yun is not in a hurry; she calmly waits for the Golden Eagle to provide information for the hunt.

At this moment, the Golden Eagle notices some prey ahead and to Hua Yun’s left, immediately alerts her, and uses its body to guide Hua Yun in the direction.

Hua Yun glanced at her left forefront, slightly adjusted her direction, then raised her bow and arrow, and slowly approached.

A few minutes later.

As she continues to get closer.

The prey spotted by the Golden Eagle gradually appears in front of Hua Yun.

Her eyes brighten, and she can’t help but praise the Golden Eagle in her heart.

On a clearing in the middle of the forest, a group of creatures with darker feathers, a hint of blue on their bellies, and upturned tail feathers are pecking at something incessantly.

Grouse!

Being familiar with this kind of prey, Hua Yun recognized them at a glance.

The grouse, a bird from the Tetraoninae family, widely distributed across the Eurasian continent.

Although there are some near Lake Baikal, their numbers aren’t many.

Finding them, luck is quite favorable this time!

Hua Yun thought, and continued to approach.

She doesn’t possess Chen Wen’s skill of masking scents, so she can only look for windward directions to slowly get closer.

Just getting close to this group of grouse took Hua Yun nearly half an hour.

Fortunately, the grouse seemed to have just begun feeding.

They did not move elsewhere during that half hour.

This allowed Hua Yun to successfully approach the grouse.

Now, Hua Yun was within less than thirty meters of the grouse, perhaps even closer.

She slowly calmed her heartbeat, bringing herself back to peak condition.

This time, she must accomplish something significant in the hunt!

Hua Yun thought as she gently lifted her bow and arrow.

As she determined her target, she aimed to shoot as many of the group of grouse as possible.

After all, their team had six mouths to feed, along with four animals that needed to be sated.

Hence, she was very cautious.

After watching for a while, Hua Yun confirmed her target.

She pulled out three arrows, placing them between her three fingers respectively.

Setting the first arrow on the bowstring, Hua Yun’s arm muscles bulged as she began to draw the bowstring taut.

Accompanied by faint breathing and the sound of the bowstring tightening.

Hua Yun drew the bow, aiming at a particularly plump grouse.

Slowly exhaling, aiming.

Hua Yun suddenly released the arrow!

She did not bother to check if this arrow hit its mark, for she had full confidence it would be a perfect hit!

The arrow flew, and Hua Yun immediately set the second arrow.

Once again, she drew the bowstring, a much heavier bowstring than her previous one, exerting much effort!

But Hua Yun had already adapted!

Days of training culminated in this moment.

Hua Yun released the second arrow!

Aiming at the second grouse.

Swish!

Accompanied by the sound of tearing through the air, the arrow shot forth!

Only then did the first punctured grouse emit a struggling cry.

The grouse flock exploded into a panic.

All the grouse scattered in a flurry, desperately flapping their wings, emitting clucking and croaking sounds, quickly darting and gliding through the forest.

The third arrow was nocked.

Hua Yun furrowed her brow, observing the flight path of one grouse.

It would be difficult to hit!

The forest here was too dense!

The trees blocked Hua Yun’s sight, making it hard to track the grouse’s movements.

What frustrated Hua Yun more was yet to come.

After holding the bowstring drawn for an extended period, she felt her arm strength waning.

The bow was shaking!

Unlike a crossbow, when a bow is drawn for a long time, it trembles significantly, drastically reducing accuracy.

So the arrow must be released immediately; otherwise, it would be hard to hit anything!

With this thought, Hua Yun gritted her teeth, aimed at the grouse, predicted its movement direction, and quickly shot the third arrow!

Did it hit?

Hua Yun stood up, stretching her sore arm.

But unfortunately, her prediction was off.

This grouse, while passing a large tree, suddenly swerved and escaped in a different direction.

"Damn!"

Hua Yun couldn’t help but curse.

To an outsider, this assault might seem successful, with two out of three arrows hitting grouse.

But to Hua Yun, she felt a bit dejected.

"Such a pity!"

Hua Yun sighed again; two grouse surely wouldn’t suffice for their team’s meal tonight.

Dividing one among three, especially after a hard day’s work, would merely stave off hunger.

Thinking of this, Hua Yun felt a bit disappointed.

But she seemed to have forgotten something.

Up above, after Hua Yun launched her attack, the Golden Eagle’s eyes narrowed, already locked onto a target.

Without needing anyone’s command, the Golden Eagle is a competent hunter by nature!

It folded its wings, descending like a bolt of grey and gold lightning from the sky!

Crack!

As it was about to land, the Golden Eagle spread its wings, the wind pressure directly snapping the branches of trees.

It beat its wings, stabilizing its body, talons extended.

Below, a grouse had no awareness it was being hunted.

Under Hua Yun’s shocked gaze, the Golden Eagle attacked.

Its strength perfectly calibrated, neither excessive nor lacking.

Its timing neither hurried nor delayed.

At that one, singular, correct moment, the Golden Eagle struck, almost as inevitable as fate.

Its talons seized the grouse’s neck, applying slight pressure, producing a creaking sound; the grouse’s body collapsed limply to the ground.

And the Golden Eagle decisively abandoned this doomed grouse.

It flapped its wings again, stirring up fallen leaves and dust.

Amidst the rustling sounds, the Golden Eagle, like an agile assassin, swooped toward the nearest grouse.

So quick!

Hua Yun only saw a blur before another grouse was pinned by the Golden Eagle.

After consecutively capturing two, the Golden Eagle was a bit fatigued.

It called out, signalling Hua Yun to clean up the aftermath.

Hua Yun hurried over.

Looking at the two grouse she hit with arrows, along with the two grouse taken down by the Golden Eagle.

Hua Yun felt slightly dizzy.

No way?

How is it that after preparing for the hunt for so long, the results are nearly the same as the Golden Eagle’s?

Is my hunting skill not even as good as a Golden Eagle’s?

Hua Yun held her forehead, seemingly not quite matching the Golden Eagle!

The Golden Eagle, with its years of hunting experience, possesses ridiculously strong hunting skills.

Although Hua Yun excels in hunting, compared to the Golden Eagle, there is indeed a gap.

After all, hunting as a hobby is different from hunting as a way of life.

"Forget it, no point dwelling on this, well done!"

Hua Yun looked at the Golden Eagle, sincerely praising it.

The Golden Eagle seemed to understand Hua Yun’s intention, chirping joyously.

But if Hua Yun understood the meaning behind the Golden Eagle’s sounds, she might have been infuriated.

The Golden Eagle’s message was simple: "Haha! Violent woman! When it comes to hunting, there’s no way you’re better than me! Have you surrendered yet?"

The Golden Eagle was smug and content.

It still remembered being pinned to the ground in embarrassment by Hua Yun once.

Of course, the Golden Eagle had long since forgiven Hua Yun, but taking the opportunity for some mockery did wonders for its mood.

The joy of the Golden Eagle is not for outsiders to understand.