CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: THE FOX AND THE WOLF

Seeing those Little Red Birds flying away proudly with a big snake, Wang Wu wasted no time and darted out of his snow nest, racing towards the low mountain. He was not there to play the hero or to help Little Demons fend off the Gray Rat’s ambush.

Rather, in such instances of plundering and extermination, those who see it have a share; getting a bit of benefit isn’t excessive, right?

Covering a distance of two to three hundred meters, Wang Wu quickly charged forward, holding nothing back. But before he reached the small mountain, the dug-out snow nest was already emerging with a dozen or so squeaking, angry, fierce yet terrified Gray Mouse Knights.

After all, with over half a year passing by, even though Wang Wu’s growth has stalled at 90%, his size had almost doubled.

Just the intimidation of his physique was enough to make those Gray Rats drink a pot of fear.

Wang Wu halted thirty meters away, fixed his gaze absently on those Gray Mouse Knights, confident these guys wouldn’t dare act rashly.

Indeed, after less than a minute, a dozen or so Gray Mouse Knights came forward, carrying two nearly ten-meter-long big snakes, placed them ten meters in front of Wang Wu, and then fled in haste, terrified of being eaten if delayed even for a second.

Very efficient!

Young rats can indeed be taught!

Wang Wu was quite satisfied, stepped forward to grab the two still writhing big snakes, turned to leave, keeping his word and principles, hoping this positive spirit could be passed on.

Upon returning to his snow nest, the two big snakes had completely stopped moving. See, this is what happens without Bloodline Talent, nor maxed out Ice Resistance.

Wang Wu felt no pity, and certainly had no inclination to emulate Xu Xian, opening his jaws wide for a sumptuous meal.

Just a single big snake provided him 400 points of Satiety, with an extra 2 points of Spiritual Qi bonus, indicating this snake, during summer and autumn, must have been at least a mid-level manager, tragically slaughtered now.

After eating to his heart’s content, Wang Wu sighed, entered Level 5 Concealment, and fell into a deep sleep. He hadn’t eaten this well in ages, his growth had been stalled for almost two months, with spring arriving, being able to eat to fullness is such a relief.

Two days later, he awoke from hunger again and therefore ran to the snow nest at the tunnel entrance, squatting in wait for food to come knocking.

However, the entire day remained eerily quiet, without even a single Gray Mouse Knight in sight.

His tracks left on the snowfield earlier were more glaring.

"This lair can no longer be kept, it must’ve already been exposed."

Though without concrete proof, Wang Wu was not about to underestimate the virtue and wisdom of those Gray Rats.

Short-term is fine, but over a longer period, it might not be safe.

After gnawing on some ice and snow, Wang Wu decided to move once the snow melted away without leaving traces.

The weather was gradually warming up, and the thick snow began to melt slowly.

The constant is Wang Wu was still with an empty stomach.

Several times he wanted to emulate the Gray Mouse Knights, finding a snake den for winter prey, but in the end, caution prevailed.

Now the world was desolate, white everywhere, and the thick snow could easily expose his tracks; he never considered himself strong enough yet. What if he encountered an irresistible force? What then?

Besides, he’s not a native mouse, doesn’t know where any snake dens might be.

Still, gnawing on snow, he could at least guarantee 50 points of Satiety each day.

In this way, time flew by, and another half month had passed. The three months of winter came to an end, and it became noticeably warmer. In the sunny slopes of the valley, large patches of snow were melting, revealing desolate ground.

It’s like a signal, suddenly the Little Demons in the valley grew numerous, and every morning, they gathered on the sunny slope, sunning themselves, absorbing Golden Particles, transforming Spiritual Qi.

It felt like everything finally got back on track.

Wang Wu was starved to the point his eyes turned green. The originally 91.2% growth rate plummeted to 88% over these nearly twenty days of famish. But even so, he still felt insecure, choosing daily to huddle in his snow nest.

His area was in the shady slope, the snow was melting, but overall stayed thick.

The only good news was that those Gray Mouse Knights apparently did not come for revenge, and traces left by Wang Wu during his last extortion were now chaotic and hard to track due to melting snow or other Little Demons passing by.

A new day dawned, at first light, proving today would be a warm sunny day, likely rising above freezing by noon.

Countless Golden Particles cascaded with the golden sunlight, covering the top of the sunny slope on the valley’s west side and the treetops in the valley packed with many Little Demons.

Many of them were old friends.

Among the few trees, the Little Red Bird community seemingly branched out, even electing several new leaders.

On an iconic cliff, a nearly two-meter-long newly ascended Flame Scorpion King strutted on the rock representing the highest authority.

Could only say last year’s Scorpion King left a rich legacy, oh or a substantial estate, anyway this new King is too powerful.

Wang Wu couldn’t help but feel fortunate, recalling that over half a month ago, when the Gray Rats were raiding snake dens, he also thought of following their lead, clearing out the Flame Scorpion Race’s old lair on the cliff.

Luckily, he didn’t act impulsively.

Besides this Scorpion King, another popular newcomer this year is a black centipede with wings on its back.

Of course, these are continuations of last year’s old Little Demon groups.

With a low mountain as the group’s territory, the wealth indeed was abundant.

However, what truly amazed Wang Wu was a black horse-level group of wandering Demons that appeared out of nowhere.

They were a bunch of wild pheasants.

Really, initially Wang Wu thought he was seeing things.

But it’s real, just on the valley’s eastern side, where the snake den was emptied by Gray Rats, around thirty-plus wild pheasants occupied there, messing around on the eastern valley, even occasionally crossing into this side.

These days, they would take turns to thrash the Gray Rats, Black Centipedes, Fire Scorpions; quite impressive.

The most formidable wild pheasant leader could fly from this side of the valley to the other in one breath, his sharp claws, nimble demeanor, making Wang Wu drool.

He even had planned to sneak into the night and catch one...

Yes, he thought it might be time to end this long hibernation, with a few more days of such warm weather, most of the snow would melt away. Although wild grasses hadn’t grown yet, the shrubs could provide him a decent Concealment environment.

He was cautious, enduring hunger to wait for the snow to melt completely.

He was eager to become a hunter of the valley’s Little Demons.

"Cluck cluck cluck!"

At this moment, even before the Golden Three Minutes ended, a sudden anxious, fearful cluck could be heard from the wild pheasant hilltop, all thirty-plus wild pheasants scattered as if bombed, not even bothering to absorb the Golden Particles, flapped away in all directions.

For a moment, the entire valley sky was filled with swift passing colorful pheasant silhouettes, frankly, it was quite spectacular.

But Wang Wu, hiding in his snow nest and dreaming of delicious pheasant meat, felt a jolt of shock and dared not move. Being the dark horse and Overseas Dragon in recent beatings of various Little Demons, the pheasant family was quite formidable, but now scattered as if by a great threat; it definitely meant someone formidable had arrived.

Bad timing, should’ve hidden in the lair today.

There, nervous, he noticed a gray fox appeared on the ridge.

This fox didn’t go about on all fours but strolled like a person, walking on two legs, about one and a half meters tall, wearing a Five Poison Shirt typical of human children’s attire, very amusing, but in this scene, rather spooky.

Wang Wu glanced only once, quickly shut his eyes, and dared not breathe.

Because this Gray Fox moved leisurely, only scaring the pheasants away but not in a rush to hunt, suggesting it had accomplices lying in ambush.

Indeed, mere seconds passed before another shrill clucking erupted from the western valley, where five of the largest, plumpest pheasants got caught, the attacker being a Cyan Wolf.

Interestingly, this Cyan Wolf likewise adopted a human stance, walking upright, about two meters tall, clad in a quirky sheepskin coat, at a glance could be mistaken for an old shepherd.

A real wolf in sheep’s clothing!