Chapter 25 Baiting_1

Dusk Cathedral is not a charitable place; although resting here is free, other aspects such as physical check-ups, weapon maintenance, treatment, and so on aren't. That's why when the nun told Zheng Yichen this, the first thing he thought of was... how much would it cost?

"It doesn't cost money, but you need to do something for me," the nun with milk-white hair said.

Zheng Yichen nodded in understanding, "Just like a task exchange, right?"

"Right."

There wasn't even a question of exploitation. The party requesting the task clearly laid out the content and reward, and those facing the task could choose to accept or refuse—their choices mutual.

"Then I..."

"Not now," the nun shook her head.

"..."

Returning to the southern forest, Zheng Yichen stared at the extinguished campfire not far off, one he had left behind earlier. This time, he had come better prepared, having bought some useful items from the hunters at the Dusk Cathedral.

Among these items was a recommendation from Hunter Arno, who seemed quite popular at Dusk Cathedral.

Temporary scent-masking powder, capable of even suppressing the smell of blood emanating from oneself for a while. However, there were many types of this powder, not just one that could deal with any situation.

The scent-masking powders prepared for different locales varied, with some suited for the forest, others for the wilderness—over thirty different types just in the subcategories...

Zheng Yichen, somewhat overwhelmed by the choices, was now using the type suitable for forest activity. He was planning to confront that one-horned mule again. After failing at fencing and even getting jabbed a few times by the creature, he was determined to reclaim his dignity.

For this purpose, Zheng Yichen prepared a lavish meal for the mule—sans poison. He worried that the mule's keen sense of smell and its ability to sense danger might detect the poison.

Moreover, poison was expensive, especially the kind hard to detect. Some poisons were tricky to notice but also not very effective, and those that were both potent and hard to detect were even more costly. Cheap poisons would only work if you could force them down the target's throat—any creature that wasn't an idiot would avoid eating them.

Perched on a tree, Zheng Yichen watched the 'bait' he had placed below; it was made with his own blood. Although he had not learned how to make bait from the nun, he found numerous bait-making methods from other hunters—those could be bought.

Then Zheng Yichen saw a wolf dart out and snatch away the bait???

"Damn... How could there be a wolf here?? And a lone wolf at that?" A baffled Zheng Yichen, lying in wait, questioned. This was the periphery of the southern forest; how could such a creature appear here?

As for other small animals, they couldn't even touch the bait Zheng Yichen had left. His challenge was to outwait the one-horned mule, to see who would lose patience first: the creature or himself.

But now a single wolf had ruined everything???

But soon Zheng Yichen heard a brief wolf howl in the distance, and he quickly climbed down from the tree, approaching the source of the sound. He saw that the wolf had become a corpse, with a one-horned mule lowering its head to eat the bait Zheng Yichen had prepared.

Seeing this, the corners of Zheng Yichen's mouth twitched with irritation. Was this creature too cunning, actually driving other wild animals to help it obtain what it wanted?

However, since the creature had taken his bait, it proved that the bait Zheng Yichen had concocted was truly tempting. Although this attempt hadn't been successful, who would have thought this creature would now show such cunning traits? This ploy might work this time, but it certainly wouldn't be effective next time.

Zheng Yichen charged forward, and the mule, its mouth covered in blood, only reacted when Zheng Yichen was very close by. Zheng Yichen was somewhat astonished. Was this thing really that consumed by eating?

There weren't many opportunities. In the instant the one-horned mule reacted, the black spear materialized, and Zheng Yichen lunged forward and stabbed at it. The one-horned mule could have run away, but given the distance and its not-so-small body, unless he took a nosedive to the ground, he was sure to injure the beast.

The one-horned mule tried to escape with the bait in its mouth, but the black long spear hit its thigh muscle, causing a slight sensation of blockage. Yet, the spear in Zheng Yichen's hand firmly continued its path into the mule's thigh muscle.

Zheng Yichen felt a surge of energetic blood flowing through the black spear, bringing with it a strong feedback. This bloodsucking was different from when he bullied small animals in the past; he could distinctly feel a sense of resistance.

But this resistance only slowed down the rate of bloodsucking from the black spear. Even if nothing was drawn out, it was still worth it to have wounded the mule this way.

The additional Bloodsucking Damage enraged the one-horned mule, causing this cunning extraordinary creature to go into a rampage. No matter how cunning it was, it was still a transformed animal, and when hurt, its animal instincts exploded. The mule didn't think of running away... at first.

But when it saw Zheng Yichen's eyes glowing red in the dark night and showing signs of pain-driven fury, the mule's madness somewhat subsided. It wanted to go into a rampage, but it seemed as though Zheng Yichen had beaten it to the punch.

Especially when he saw Zheng Yichen discard the firearms from his body, indicating his intent to engage in close combat, the one-horned mule charged at him with formidable strength.

It had witnessed human weapons and was highly alert around those wielding them. Now that Zheng Yichen had given up those weapons, there was no need to run for the moment.

This human, it remembered him. They had fought yesterday, and it hadn't suffered even a single hair out of place. Though the guns had fired some small pellets at it, those pellets hadn't even pierced its skin. Not like today, when the despicable human had ambushed it.

Its thigh had not only been stabbed, but also drained of much blood. This was the most severe injury it had suffered since being discovered. It needed to eat a human raw to make up for the lost blood.

Facing the one-horned mule's charge, Zheng Yichen, feeling stronger and more vigorous, was somewhat inflated with confidence. He grabbed onto the horn with one hand, his palm getting scraped raw, and was pushed backward by the massive impact.

His black spear hit the one-horned mule's head, eliciting a snort from the beast. The grating hissing sound rose again, and his arm got entangled by the mule's tongue, causing a painful constricting sensation.

With a flick of its head, the one-horned mule sent Zheng Yichen crashing into a nearby tree, and the black spear flew out of his hand.

The mind-affecting hissing became more frequent. Zheng Yichen, feeling as if he'd been hit by a car against the tree, was spurred by fury. With his free hand now holding a black handgun, he caught the one-horned mule off guard and stabbed it in the neck.

At this distance, no matter how good the creature was at avoiding danger, there was no room left to escape.