Sivatherium

Li Xian kept his guard up all the way. No one made a single sound, and the eerie buzzing sound, along with the owl hoots that sound once in a while, almost made Li Xian shit his pants.

After all, this is his first time in a forest, especially one this dense. Most importantly, it was in the dead of night, which truly terrified him.

He didn't even want to look back at the kid who was holding his hand, as his thoughts were full of ghosts. When he was still in the future, he used to be an atheist.

But still, that unknown fear of not looking back or else the ghost will catch you feeling lingered in his mind for a long time.

"It's alright! There are no such things as ghosts. What year is this? And I'm still afraid of ghosts?" Li Xian said, but he felt he said something wrong, as this is truly not a year that he consoles himself.

He took some deep breaths before calming down a bit, and the kid who was holding his hand also tightened his hand around him when he felt Li Xian's hand start shaking a bit.

Li Xian felt warm towards this guy and thought to help him as much as he could tomorrow. They walked around for two to three hours before they exited the forest area.

The entire area is completely illuminated by moonlight on the plains they set foot on. Everyone breathed a sigh before releasing their hands and starting to flex them, as they hadn't released them for almost three hours.

Li Xian also did the same, as his fingers are a bit frozen from the cold and continuous locking with others.

"One more successful journey! But what comes next is the most important part." Maiman said as he looked at the hunter's casual behavior.

Even though they are planning for the ambush, it will never be easy to kill the beast that easily without casualties or at least heavy injuries, which basically leads to deaths in later parts.

Li Xian looked around and noticed a lot of big rocks, which could be where these hunters were planning to set up their ambush.

"The beast's cave is around six thousand steps from here. And the number of big rocks that are suitable for ambush gets smaller as we get closer to the cave. But if these two kids can lead that beast to around fifteen hundred steps, where two big rocks big enough for six people to hide on each side are present, it will give us a good chance at hurting it badly without alerting it."

Ranong, the other main hunter, explained, and all of them started inputting their thoughts while slowly devising a plan for who should be the first to hit, etc.

"You just run when I signal you like this, alright?" Li Xian said as he showed the other kid the hand-waving sign, which is usually used for retreating in modern times.

Even though that kid didn't understand where Li Xian learned things like this, he simply nodded his head.

After around twenty minutes, they all decided on something before concentrating on the two baits.

" The beast has a different food pattern than a lot of other animals that we see. After we observed it for a long time, we found that it goes out of its cave to graze in the early mornings, just as the sun is about to rise. It usually stays close to its cave area, around six hundred or seven hundred steps away."

Ranong said up to that point, pausing for a moment before continuing, as he looked at them as though wanting to see whether these kids were listening properly or not.

"Around six hundred steps from the cave, there are two small rocks, which are around fifty steps apart from each other. When the beast comes out of its cave and comes close to the rocks. You both need to throw rocks at it before running away in the direction of bigger rocks, where we will lay in wait for an ambush. Since there are two people, it will confuse the beast for a moment, and that moment is also a good time for you to escape the death and lead that towards us."

Ranong explained, but Li Xian felt the chances of them being able to overtake a beast for about 800 steps were very slim, especially with the physiques they have. So, they all probably know that one of the two definitely needs to become a sacrifice to give time to the second bait.

Li Xian simply nodded his head, as he doesn't bother to complain. That immature kid's hope for living rose even more than before after he heard this big guy's words.

All of them then slowly made their way toward the beast's cave. They soon reached the location of the two big rocks, which are over four meters tall with a width of five to six meters.

They all came to a halt and began making preparations, as the moon had already crossed the mid-sky.

"What is the beast's name, Uncle Ankara?" Li Xian asked as he approached the big guy, who was also looking at him. While Lasang is busy with one final checkup for the weapons conditions for all of them.

"Name? Why does a beast need a name? It is a black-horned smasher. You should run as fast as you can and also remember to do what I told you."

Ankara slowly spoke, as though he didn't want anyone to know his plan.

"What a great name! Alright, Uncle, don't worry too much... You have a big surprise to see once the hunt starts."

Li Xian said as he walked back to his new friend, under the puzzled gaze of Ankara, who had already heard the kid for the second time saying this.

"Why would I worry? This kid is talking nonsense." Ankara muttered to himself, as though he were telling himself that he never cared for him.

Around two hours later, when the cold was at its peak, everyone waited a bit, shivering. They didn't make any fire, as that would have attracted some other beasts and may have even alerted the beast they were about to hunt.

But their bodies are kind of adapted to the cold weather, even though they can't stay outside for days, they can still grit their teeth and manage for a night.

Even that weak kid is coping with this, not to mention the fat body of Li Xian. Both of them are leaning on the stone, and just as Li Xian was about to fall asleep, Lasang came to them.

"Alright, kids! The beast will probably come out soon, so you both need to walk to your spots there. You can choose which locations you want to visit. Now, you need to keep moving there quickly."

Lasang said this while looking at Li Xian as if reminding him of what to do when the time comes.

Li Xian couldn't help but roll his eyes at all these continuing signs from these new uncles of his.

He noticed that kid was tense as the most important and dangerous time in his life approached. Li Xian slowly patted his shoulder, making him calm down a bit and look at him with eyes full of gratefulness.

Li Xian simply raised his thumb with a wink, which obviously bewildered that guy.

"Alright! Just remember what I said before. Run the moment that I signal you to in the direction away from me, and I will try to attract the beast." Li Xian said as they walked towards their positions, with Li Xian choosing the left stone and that weak guy the right one.

That weak guy firmly nodded his head and sat behind the stone. Li Xian also did the same, and they can still see each other clearly as they are exactly in parallel with each other now.

Li Xian signaled him to gather stones, as that is their mission in the end. If he were to not throw the stones at the beast to gather its attention and lure it into the trap. Even if they survived, they would probably throw him out of their band.

Li Xian patiently waited for around an hour or so, as his body was also a bit tensed with the adrenaline rushing in him. Time passed very slowly, and Li Xian felt a bit frustrated at that beast, which was taking its time.

"Damn you! Aren't you fucking hungry? Why haven't you arrived yet? The sun is already rising, and you are still sleeping inside?"

Just as Li Xian cursed the beast, he saw one making its way out of the cave a bit lazily.

"OMG! Isn't that an Okapi? Isn't that a bit too oversized, OKAPI? And damn, those horns look as big as elephant tusks." Li Xian couldn't help but exclaim at this humongous beast.

"It's definitely over eight to nine hundred kilograms..." Li Xian thought before deciding to check its stats.