Dangerous Attack

"We usually hunt wild boars and deer," Ren said in a subdued tone as they made they rested for the night in a clearing that was some ways in. "They are easier to hunt. Things like rabbit and other small game we don't focus on them much. We hunt them when we see them, if not," Ren shrugged indicating his disinterest in them.

"We rarely go after prey like bear or other dangerous animals. While the market price for them is high, the risk is also higher. So, it is not worth it. If we run into them, we prefer to escape as tangling with them will cost us both time and energy."

"What if they attack you first?" Duncan asked.

"Then, there is no way to ignore them. We will try to escape, but if it something like a tiger or leopard, we have no choice but to fight back. If we put up a good showing, then the animal might lose interest and retreat thinking we are not worth the trouble," Ren said in a serious manner.

"And if we run into a pack or something similar, then pray that their numbers are smaller or someone is near. If not, then we will focus on defending and hope that they leave us alone after a while," Ren said somberly.

"That's coward talk," Mo Hong snorted from the side earning a stink eye from other members.

"I will rather live as a coward than die as a hero. You haven't seen what a pack of wolves could do. You will not speak like this if you have run into them," Ren said nonchalantly as if he didn't care much for Mo Hong's opinion.

Mo Hong frowned but refrained from speaking. But, a hint of dissatisfaction could be seen clearly in his eyes. He let out a snort and left the place. The others shot a troubled look at his back, but refrained from commenting.

Finally, it was Leia who broke the silence, "Ren, we need to watch out for him. If that idiot invites trouble, we better cut him loose."

Ren looked troubled for a moment, but his eyes firmed up as he replied.

"I won't go out of my way to leave him behind. I am the leader and I am responsible for every one of you," Ren said in a firm tone. "However, I won't put all of us in danger to satisfy one person's ego either. You can be rest assured of that."

"Is it that serious?" Duncan asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah," Ren nodded in reply.

"You told us that you ran into a pack of seven wolves where you killed one, right? Tell me, how many people did it take to kill them?" Leia asked Duncan.

"It took fourteen of us," Duncan replied as he recalled that incident.

"It took fourteen of you to kill seven wolves. Even then I am sure that veteran guards are the ones who did most of the killing. I guess others just assisted them. Am I right?" Leia asked once more.

Duncan merely nodded in reply.

"That is because only the most experienced could land a blow and escape before the wolf retaliates. Even a small injury will turn fatal both during the fight and after. It is not just about swinging the sword. You need to time it right and also be agile."

"And I am sure that you guys were all well rested before the fight," Ren said with a small smile. "We, on the other hand, will be hunting wild beasts without proper rest. We will be more or less tired if and when we run into them. When you are tired it is easy to make mistakes."

"And also a normal wolf pack will have a minimum of seven to eight members and we are only seven. Leia is not that good with sword to face off against a lone wolf. Logan speed will be negated by the wolves. While I, Ren, and old Qin can fend off and even kill one, it will take time. We don't know much about you or Mo," Morgan said with a bright smile that took away the edge of his last statement.

"Survival is our goal. Not throwing away our lives for pride. Trading off our members for more prey will only weaken us and can in turn kill us if our number is reduced," Qin said in a somber tone causing Duncan to nod.

"So, we stick to what we can hunt easily. We kill as many as possible and return to the city to cash in our reward. Enjoy life," Ren said giving a small smile.

Duncan was fine with this setup. He didn't mind it much. He hardly had any experience, so he would not begrudge his team for being careful. He indicated his acceptance with a nod causing other to smile.

The next day dawned and the hunting team moved through the forest with a purpose. As they traveled, Qin Rong and Logan acted as the scouts. Ren took the point with Morgan bringing the rear, Mo Hong took the left and Duncan was assigned to the right. Leia acted as the center.

Throughout the journey, Duncan learned a lot about how to move in the woods, how to notice tracks, what to eat if he was hungry, what not to eat, and even how to move silently from Leia. Frankly, Leia was a well of knowledge as she explained a lot as they traveled.

At midday, Qin Rong returned with news of tracks of a deer herd. The team set off towards the tracks as Qin Rong went in search of Logan to bring him back.

"Wild deer is very sensitive to sound. They are skittish and even a single rustle of leaves could spook them into running. Ideally, bow and arrow is the best weapon to hunt deer," Leia explained as they made their way. "That is why old Qin has gone to get Logan."

"But, we can't stay idle. What we will do is encircle the herd as much as possible. Then, if and when they get spooked, we will try to down one or two of them," Ren continued explaining the plan.

"Watch out for their legs and horns. They hurt like hell," Morgan grunted as they neared the location. "Now, spread out and stay silent. Logan's arrow will be the signal. The moment an arrow is loosed, the deer will try to run. If they come in your direction, don't panic. Just be patient and try to attack the most isolated deer and let the others pass."

Duncan nodded his understanding and slowly made is way towards the side. He tried to be as silent as possible. But, he wasn't having any success with that. So, he tried hard to not move as he reached an ideal spot to the side. He crouched down on the spot and waited patiently for the signal.

WHOOSH!

After what felt like years, a sudden sound came from the opposite direction to where he was waiting. The sound spooked the deer into running. And they ran towards Duncan's right.

Duncan didn't waste any time as he sprinted towards the deer herd with his sword. Just as he started, he saw something long fly towards one of the deer and impale it through on of its legs. Only then he was able to identify it as spear.

"Probably, Qin's" Duncan muttered to himself and increased his speed.

By the time he reached the herd, most of the deer had already escaped. Only the stragglers were running near him. Without wasting a moment, Duncan swung his sword at the one that was passing near him. The deer danced out of the way, but it wasn't completely successful.

Duncan's sword scored a gash along its side causing the deer to stumble. That moment was enough as Duncan closed the distance and thrust his sword. The sword went through the side and got struck. Before Duncan could react, he felt a hard slam to his side.

The deer had headbutted him during the struggle. Duncan felt his vision turn black as stars exploded in his head. He found his entire side burning in pain and his grip on the sword slacken as he was pushed to side from the momentum.

Duncan gritted his teeth and held on to the sword. The slam from the side had enough momentum to send him to the ground. But, since Duncan refused to let go off the grip, the sword carved an wound as it exited the deer's body. Duncan skidded sideways and rolled twice to stop the momentum, before getting up.

The deer tried to run once it was free of Duncan, but the wound dealt by Duncan was fatal and it collapsed after taking a dozens of steps. Duncan laid on the ground panting as he felt his side burning in pain. He could hear shouts of his team members coming towards him, but he didn't care about it much.

Even moving was proving difficult at this point. He idly wondered if the deer had gored him with its horns, but he couldn't feel any blood flowing out of his body. There was only fierce pain towards the side.

With great difficulty, he sat up and looked around. Leia was rushing towards him. Qin was retrieving his spear after killing the deer that had been impaled. Logan and Morgan were standing next to another down deer. It looked as if it was killed by an arrow.

Ren and Mo Hong were running towards a deer that was downed a few dozens of paces from where he was. He felt as if his head was swimming in a muddy pool. His breathing was labored, but all in all he felt fine.

So, he slowly stood up pressing his side and looked down to see his hand still holding on to his sword. That sight brought a small smile to his face.