Chapter 197: Tiger roars, pig squeals
"Bang!"
This stone didn't disappoint Han Cheng. It hit the wild boar below at an angle and struck the eye of the most significant wild boar standing side by side, perfectly and directly!
Although his original target was the smaller wild boar closer to him.
The long confrontation had made the two adult wild boars, whose size was much larger than the ones Han Cheng's Eldest Senior Brother had hunted, become restless.
It was only because the front male and female saber-toothed tigers were not easy to deal with characters, and they also had half-grown piglets to protect that they had been enduring and not attacking.
Now, one eye suddenly came under attack, and the pain spread instantly throughout its body. This wild boar, which had been teetering on the brink of madness, instantly exploded with anger!
It didn't even consider when the saber-toothed tigers in front of it had learned to attack pigs from a distance. Ignoring the stone that had fallen into the nearby grass, it focused solely on the two damn saber-toothed tigers that had laid hands on it!
It snorted angrily, vigorously digging its hooves into the ground, mouth wide open, and charged straight towards the two saber-toothed tigers in front of it, like a small tank full of momentum!
With this movement, the other adult wild boar on the side also charged forward, equally fierce.
The rest of the piglets scattered in all directions.
The male and female saber-toothed tigers, furious, roared, mouths open, their long, dagger-like teeth reflecting in the sunlight like divine weapons.
Compared to the charging wild boars, the saber-toothed tigers appeared more agile. They didn't want to confront the charging adult wild boars directly.
Upon seeing the two large wild boars charging towards them and the scattered piglets running away, they immediately turned their bodies and chased after the nearest piglet.
One unlucky piglet, in its panic, was suddenly tackled by one of the tigers. Before it could even squeal in fear, attempting to display its courage and struggle a few times to show its resilience, the two large tiger teeth had already ruthlessly pierced its neck!
Under the tiger's kiss, who could escape?
With drops of crimson blood dripping down, this piglet that hadn't grown up was doomed!
The red-eyed adult wild boar charged forward, and the saber-toothed tiger biting the piglet sensed the danger, instinctively leaping aside. But it was a little too late; one of its hind legs was grazed by the wild boar's fangs, leaving a bloody gash.
Watching all these from his perch in the tree, Han Cheng couldn't help but marvel at the battle ignited by his single stone. He had heard of the ferocity of wild boars and knew that these omnivores were not to be trifled with, but he had underestimated them.
After all, he had eaten plenty of pork in his future life and had seen too many fat pigs that would grunt and squeal only when they were bound up and prepared for slaughter during the New Year
Now, seeing the saber-toothed tigers struggling in this battle, unable to gain an absolute advantage, he gained a new understanding of their ferocity and understood why Wu Cheng'en wrote about Piggy as the second disciple in "Journey to the West," surpassing the monster of Flowing Sands River and the Little White Dragon!
At the same time, he was curious about how his Eldest Senior Brother and the others had managed to kill these fierce wild boars during their previous hunts.
"Squeak!"
The saber-toothed tiger suddenly turned around, dropping the dead piglet from its mouth, and fiercely bit into the hindquarters of the large wild boar chasing after it.
The massive teeth, which quickly pierced the piglet's body, weakened significantly after encountering the "armor" on the adult wild boar's body, barely breaking through the boar's skin and only penetrating a little further inside before becoming powerless.
This bite didn't cause much damage to the wild boar; instead, it received a solid blow from the enraged wild boar
The tiger's roar and the pig's howl echoed here, sounding particularly fierce.
After a brief yet intense battle, one saber-toothed tiger fled empty-handed while the other carried a dead piglet and ran off. The two wild boars, now wholly enraged, chased after them with powerful strides.
Whether it was coincidence or some more profound arrangement, the two saber-toothed tigers and the wild boars ran in the direction Han Cheng had just come from.
Watching the roaring and swiftly departing tigers and boars, Han Cheng was dumbfounded and couldn't help but worry. How could these creatures choose the same direction?
Then he realized that his Eldest Senior Brother and the others were over a mile away from here, and there was such a vast expanse to the east. These saber-toothed tigers and wild boars couldn't just coincidentally stumble upon where his Eldest Senior Brother and the others were.
Even if they did, several vines were blocking the way, and his Eldest Senior Brother and the others were armed and experienced hunters. They shouldn't be at a disadvantage.
Thinking like this, he felt somewhat reassured. He looked in the direction where the wild boars had left but didn't see them returning. He then transferred the basket to his back, stood up from the tree branch, and prepared to continue sliding down the tree quickly to confirm whether it was indeed Fu Jiang.
As he slid down the trunk a bit, he suddenly hesitated again. He looked at the dead piglet left on the ground and then at the small wild boars gradually emerging from the surroundings. After hesitating for a while, he hugged the large branch of the tree and climbed back up.
Sitting against the trunk, he watched the piglets, who seemed somewhat frightened, grunting and squealing.
Not long after, a giant wild boar's grunt came from a distance, sounding somewhat anxious, accompanied by the rustling of dry branches, leaves, and grass being trampled.
Following the sound, Han Cheng saw the two wild boars that had left earlier running back.
Han Cheng inwardly exclaimed at the close call. Luckily, he had kept his wits about him and hadn't gone down immediately. It would likely have been hazardous if he had encountered these two fiercely enraged creatures at this moment!
Upon hearing the familiar call, the piglets all ran over to greet them.
The previous tension quickly dissipated after the big and small wild boars met.
The big and small boars grunted at each other, then went to drink water in the spring. After drinking, they approached the dead piglet that had been bitten by the saber-toothed tiger and left under the pressure of the big wild boar.
A big wild boar gently nudged it with its mouth, grunting as if it wanted the piglet to stand up again and leave with them.
The tusks that could easily tear apart the saber-toothed tiger's fur earlier now seemed surprisingly gentle.
After trying for a while and seeing that the piglet still couldn't stand up and the big boars, who had suffered several injuries and had some blood seeping out, the big wild boar finally led the rest of the piglets away
"Doot!"
As if aimed explicitly at striking Han Cheng, the Great Divine Child's face, an unusual sound rang out before he could finish his thoughts.
Holding the bow, the Third Senior Brother appeared excited and incredulous as he looked at the feathered arrow nailed to the wooden stake. He hadn't expected to hit the target on his first attempt.
"Many words will lead to failure, and many shots will hit the mark." Shooting arrows many times doesn't escape this rule.
Han Cheng couldn't help but feel excited and curious about Third Senior Brother's second arrow.
Third Senior Brother nocked the arrow, drew the bow, and with a release, a sharp thud resounded once again.
Two arrows were already embedded on the tree stump serving as a makeshift target.
With a mix of joy and surprise, Han Cheng watched the Third Senior Brother draw his bow again.
The third arrow missed, much to the disappointment of the onlookers and Han Cheng himself.
But upon reflection, Han Cheng's mood lifted again.
Hitting two out of three arrows on his first attempt indicated that Third Senior Brother had considerable talent in archery.
Moreover, the stump used as a target differed from the circular targets commonly seen in later eras. Hitting this target was much more challenging than hitting a typical bullseye.
Although the power of the bow and arrow fell far short of expectations, Han was quite satisfied. After all, this was a hastily made, rudimentary bow and arrow.
The bow and arrow were passed to the remaining people, and few managed to hit the target like the Third Senior Brother did. His consecutive hits raised expectations for the bow and arrow, among others.
Han Cheng went over to pull out the feathered arrow stuck in the stump. He wanted to gauge the power of the bow and arrow.
Compared to a real bow and arrow, the difference in power was considerable. Even though the outer layer of the stump used as a target had decayed, the arrows hadn't penetrated deeply.
Despite this, Han was content. After all, these were hastily made, rudimentary weapons.
The bow and arrow circulated among the rest of the people, with few managing to hit the target like the Third Senior Brother did. His consecutive hits raised expectations for the bow and arrow, among others.
When everyone cheered for Third Senior Brother, Second Brother's expression soured slightly. After all, he used to be the best thrower in the tribe. Now, he was overshadowed by Third Senior Brother. While primitive people didn't have the complex emotions of modern humans, many basic emotions were still present.
He picked up a few stones and approached Third Senior Brother, holding the bow and arrow, gesturing for everyone to move aside.
Then, he positioned himself next to Third Senior Brother, took a few steps back, and increased the distance from the wooden stump.
With a sudden wave of his hand holding a stone, the stone struck the wooden stump accurately.
All three stones hit the mark, and the last one knocked over the stump, which wasn't buried in the ground but supported by a few rocks.
The people of the Green Sparrow Tribe cheered for Second Senior Brother when they saw this.
Han Cheng also gave Second Senior Brother a thumbs-up. This guy's title as a Pea Shooter was well-deserved.
Throwing stones was a crucial skill in this era, and even later, after the widespread development of bows and arrows, stone-throwing remained a viable means of attacking enemies.
For example, the common practice of using slings to hurl stones.
One of the most famous instances was in the Water Margin, where Zhang Qing defeated seventeen generals of Liangshan with thrown stones in a single day.
Even Lu Zhishen, with his shiny bald head reflecting in the moonlight, was taken down by Zhang Qing's stones.
Then there were the catapults, capable of hurling projectiles like small artillery
Even today, stone-throwing remains a simple and effective method for hunting and combat.
Han Cheng wouldn't hesitate to praise Second Senior Brother from that perspective.
The third Senior Brother approached the area where the Second Senior Brother was and also prepared his bow and arrow. Today, the two of them seemed to have the intention of competing.
However, the Third Senior Brother was disadvantaged in the contest this time.
After multiple shots, the hastily made makeshift longbow had lost some elasticity, naturally not matching up to Second Senior Brother, the pea shooter.
After this comparison, most people in the Green Sparrow Tribe believed that the bow and arrow made by the Divine Child were not as effective as their original stone-throwing skills.
Han Cheng didn't mind the crowd's attitude too much because he knew how vast the future of bows and arrows was.
This scene suddenly reminded him of the early days of experimenting with steam trains, when someone on horseback easily surpassed the train, thinking it was nothing special.
But what about later? No matter how hard the horse tried, it couldn't catch up with the high-speed bullet train.
Second Senior Brother beat his chest to express that he wouldn't use bows and arrows in the future. On the other hand, Third Senior Brother appeared somewhat disheartened as he approached Han Cheng with his bow and arrow.
Third Senior Brother liked bows and arrows. While he wasn't very accurate at throwing stones by hand, he could achieve great precision with a bow and arrow. Therefore, he was unwilling to give up on them.
Han Cheng formulated a plan after looking at the bow for a while. He reached out and patted Third Senior Brother's shoulder, indicating that he shouldn't be discouraged.
"This is just the most rudimentary bow. We can make a bow and arrow that shoots farther and with greater power with some improvements."
Third Senior Brother perked up, recalling the story of "Hou Yi shooting the sun" that the Divine Child had told him last night, looking at Han Cheng hopefully. "Can we shoot down the sun too?"
Han Cheng was speechless. He shouldn't have told the story of "Hou Yi shooting the sun" in the first place.
He replied seriously, "We can't shoot down the sun, but we can shoot even farther."
Then he added, "There's only one sun in the sky now. If you were to shoot it down, we wouldn't be able to live."
Upon hearing this, the Third Senior Brother finally realized the problem and felt embarrassed.
Instead of dwelling on shooting down the sun, he asked Han Cheng for advice on making a stronger bow.
Han Cheng gave him explicit instructions. "Go to the mulberry forest and cut down a thick tree."
He demonstrated the size with his hands, indicating a bowl-sized circle.
"After you return, I'll teach you how to make a more powerful bow and arrow."
Third Senior Brother received the information he needed from Han Cheng, feeling elated, and dashed off. Han Cheng called for the Second Senior Brother and the others to accompany him.
After all, it's better to have company in the wilderness.
With the bow and arrow matter temporarily settled, Han Cheng could finally implement his sudden inspiration.
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