"Some of you have seen the beast with your own eyes, and based on your experience, what do you think will be the risk of going deep into the forest this time?" Crane had a somewhat messy beard on his face after six months of living in the wilderness, but the young leader, even if he looked a little down, still gave the older warriors in the team an inexplicable sense of security.

It is a unique feeling called trust, which is difficult to express in simple words.

"Head, that black monster that looked like a saber-toothed tiger was unlike any of the usual beasts we were used to. As predators in the forest, they lurk silently to strike a fatal blow at critical moments, and almost all beasts will roar and bare their teeth to intimidate their opponents when confronting them. The creature that wandered around the camp never did, it remained uncomfortably quiet, but it never attacked the people around the camp. Even in the face of people's provocations, it just waits and sees or runs away quietly......"

The people around patiently listened to the senior hunter's evaluation of the black beast, calmly waiting for the warrior who had been fighting with the beast for more than ten years to make a summary comment.

"That guy may not be as smart as we are, but he's smarter than most people think. It has always been able to maintain its calm in the face of such a large crowd of people, and from this point alone, it is difficult to classify it as an ordinary beast. "The hunter, who has begun to show signs of old age at the age of thirty, is very serious.

"If it's not a Ranger or a druid's animal companion, it's most likely a messenger sent by the goddess Garlandia to warn us sinners who are upsetting the balance of nature!"

Byron's expression became a little ugly: "You mean it's already certain that even the elves are targeting us?"

"Unless the demons have mastered the means to domesticate such beasts independently. The old hunter didn't answer the deputy leader's question directly, he had already told everything he knew, and the rest of the judgment was left to the decision-makers of the team.

"It's not hard to imagine that so many people are gathered by the Emerald River, and if we had done what the elves had done in the past, I'm afraid they would have already warned us. Until this time, the elves of the forest had not shown their own eyes, perhaps simply because they had long since given up the idea of negotiating with us. In Crane's view, this is not difficult to understand, since the other party has captured no less than ten of his own people, then the "mission" of this army has long been very clear. At this time, if he still has to show up to persuade and warn, it will really make him feel that the elves don't know how to be flexible and do more.

"Most of the people stayed in the camp, and Byron you took a dozen of your brothers with you as they prepared to go into the forest to hunt. We had plenty of food, and they couldn't say anything even if there were fewer people. Your mission is not to obtain food, but to scout the enemy with a large army in the forest. Remember not to scatter your movements, and don't expose your position to the outskirts of the line. Our opponents have wanted to force these idiots into the forest from the beginning, and now that their goal has been achieved, all we have to do is deploy and respond according to the opponent's backhand. ”

Forest hunting activities that spread almost throughout the camp, and even though they knew that there was something strange about them, it was not a wise choice to simply reject the offer of their "companions". In the midst of this mixed team, that would have allowed his own power to be deliberately isolated from everyone else in the mixed ranks.

......

The camp wasn't all stupid, and Andrari's well-guarded ships were not particularly concerned with the possible resistance to a forced landing, unlike their own who only had rafts. At this time, some scouts were assigned along the river bank, and there was no need to hinder the other party's crossing of the river head-on, as long as they were not allowed to sneak over quietly, the hunting party of 400 people could go deep into the forest without any scruples, and then return with a full load.

In the dense woods, there were many dark corners where the sun did not reach even during the day, and Byron and his men hung at the back of the group. Even if the nets are destroyed, they are not currently under real pressure to resupply, so they are not as eager to scatter through the forest in search of all the resources they can feed on.

The companions who disappeared in the forest once made everyone a secret place that they were relatively unfamiliar with. But when the size of the team reached the current hundreds, the people whose confidence and courage had been inflated began to despise the jungle that had rejected them. They scurry between the shade of trees and shrubs, and with their homemade short bows and sharp blades, they hunt fearfully and fearlessly against their frightened prey.

Everywhere humans passed, frightened birds and beasts, a few of which became the harvest of uninvited guests, and many more spread chaos and unrest deeper into the forest......

Although the hunting efficiency of the human team has always been kept at a low level, due to the abundance of the forest, the deeper they go, the more they will be able to find more targets that will surprise them. Small prey such as rabbits have become completely unmotivating, nimble and fast enough to catch up, often burrowing into unexpected burrows when they are cornered. Targets such as wild boars and antelopes are the focus of their attention, and as long as the personnel responsible for interception are deployed in advance, these exciting big guys can often only do some powerless struggles in a tight encirclement.

Despite the enviable good news at the front of the group, Byron and his men were still picking up mushrooms and wild vegetables that had been left out of sight, and as the main body of the team progressed, the tall deputy leader began to feel less secure even in the position he had deliberately kept. Everyone knows that the forest is the territory of the elves, and wreaking havoc on the tranquility that has been maintained for thousands of years will inevitably attract the wrath of those who have long ears. What worries Byron is where the bottom line of patience lies with the true owners of the forests, and the direction and method of attack they choose to attack when they do it.

In general, predators are usually more sensitive to their senses than predators. The latter use the means of self-preservation mostly rely on their own speed and the number of populations to cover. In hunting grounds such as forests, where vision is limited, predators like wolves are able to contain their prey's speed advantage by containment. A large number of human hunting teams can do the same, but when they find a large pack of prey, they will not pick and choose the old and weak like wolves, and the humans without true faith will only set up an ambush and wipe out all the prey in the encirclement!

Four wild boars, two goats, eleven antelopes, and even two hapless timberwolves, as well as many rabbits that people have lost sight of. In less than half a day, such a rich harvest made the momentum of the hunting team swell to the extreme that they could reach. Compared to those who proudly handled their prey, Byron and his companions' lunch was a little more prosaic, with dry food, rabbit meat, and mushrooms and wild vegetables cooked together. A few days ago, such food would have been very good, but today it can only make Byron and his hunters the object of ridicule and contempt of the whole team.

Naturally, Byron would not pay attention to the meaningless ridicule and cold eyes, and the seasoned hunters and warriors under his command would not add to the incident because of such a trivial matter. Just as the hunting party was enjoying their lunch, Byron's fears finally happened.

Three fighters who were eating leg of mutton on the edge of the makeshift camp were shot through the throat almost at the same time!!

The sharp arrow instantly brought out a trace of cruel blood, and the human whose throat was pierced could only emit an unknown meaning, like the gasping of a wild beast. The sound of bowstrings and the low whistling of arrows in the jungle are difficult to attract the attention of humans when people are not guarded, and hunters with equally sharp eyes and arrows are the most efficient executioners in the land.

Such an injury is undoubtedly doomed to human beings, and even if the major artery is not pierced, the throat and trachea pierced by the sharp arrow will only bring them more pain and long-term torment.

The adventurers who hurried to investigate the source of the attack only saw two yellow and green backs disappear into the shadows of the forest.

"Although this is the territory of those long-eared people, we can't just let them go like that! just now there are only a few of them at most, and letting them go alone will only make them obstruct our hunting activities again and again, and we can't let those insidious guys affect the morale of the team!" the temporary leaders of the hunting party gathered together to discuss what to do.

Although Byron, who had not expressed any opinion, agreed with some of the other party's views, he felt that in the forest where friend and foe were unknown and his vision was limited, a more conservative approach might be more appropriate. If it weren't for the initiative of the elves who used the forest as their back garden, the human hunters wouldn't even be able to spot each other.

For such elusive enemies, the hunting team is not completely without a way to deal with it.

After a while, the hunting party, which had calmed down and had begun to prepare lunch, was attacked again from among the woods, but this time only two of the guarded party were slightly injured. Although the direction of the arrow is hidden, the vigilant human can still avoid the fatal point through the sound of the arrow as it flies.

In the next moment, dozens of human warriors who had just appeared very calm had already clenched their weapons in their hands in a low order, and they quickly disappeared among the gloomy trees in the direction of the sharp arrows.

The assault team of this magnitude seemed to completely confuse the sneak attackers, and the thirty-four fighters didn't even suffer a decent counterattack as they clung to each other's backs.

Although the forest is the home of the elves, it is not easy to get rid of the pursuers who are several times their size in a short period of time, and there are also some veteran hunters who are familiar with the jungle environment among the adventurers of humans.

"They're starting to slow down!" the lead hunter inspired his already tired companion behind him as he fled quickly, and he didn't choose to slow down when faced with a suspicious set of dead leaves.

He then paid the price for his life for his negligence, and in the pit more than one person high, the once excellent hunter was completely pierced by the metal spikes erected at the bottom of the pit with the force of his body falling, and a dozen bloody and terrible wounds were scattered between the head and torso. It is impossible to imagine that this mutilated corpse was a warrior full of fighting spirit just a moment ago.

At the same time, more than a dozen pursuers were also attacked from all sides, the tripwires hidden between the bushes, the powerful spears, and the sparse rain of arrows combined to meet the pursuers who had been determined to win a moment before, and with hoarse wails, the running human adventurers fell one after another. Before they could see the enemy, the pursuing party had already lost a third of its ranks, and those who were behind the group finally fled in the direction of the lunch camp after a brief hesitation...... Thanks to kmt.g, True Blood Twilight for the tip.