Chapter 72 - 68

Using my radar-like ability as a guide, I followed the wolves from the back as they ran straight deeper into the forest. And after two whole minutes of plowing through the woods and vegetation, we finally reached the boundary of the Lighting Wolf’s territory.

Once they were out of their alpha’s territory, the platoon of wolves separated into two groups and then formed the standard formation for a hunt. In this setup, a single hunting group was made up of two joint squads, each of which has its roles and jobs to fulfill. First, the squads of the hunting group would be placed in a vertical position; one at the front as the vanguard, while the other would be in the back as the rear guard.

In this arrangement, the vanguard would be the one responsible for scouting, hunting, and killing the prey. Once that was done, they would proceed to move forward and let the rear guard collect their catch. Because of this, the vanguard would be able to exert its full capabilities without being bothered by an additional burden and luggage on the way.

Of course, this didn’t mean that the rear guards’ job was to collect the spoils alone. Because besides collecting the spoils, they were also responsible for cleaning up the scene and making sure that their group wouldn’t be tracked. And in the case that the vanguard fell into a predicament or was ambushed by an enemy, the rear guard would then function as both the backup and the defender of their comrades’ back.

As for my overall role for the platoon, well, I was placed in a position in which I could respond with ease in case of an emergency. To be more specific, I was on the very back line of the formation looking over the two groups that were advancing parallel to each other.

Normally, this position should be occupied by a small and elite group of hunter wolves. Most of the time, it consisted of three Great Wolves that were both a master of combat and had some exceptional senses than the rest. And if I was not mistaken, there should also be some rare cases in which this position was occupied by none other than the alpha wolves themselves. In short, the basic requirements for this role were power and outstanding tracking skill. After all, it was clear from this experience that it would be difficult to fulfill this role without this radar-like ability of mine. That was also probably one of the reasons why it was only Great Wolves who were chosen to fill this role.

'Seriously, this hunting formation isn’t easy to pull off.' Since the Frost Wolf’s pack was destroyed before my past self could grow up, I had no actual memory and experience of formally joining a hunt. And even though I knew what my past self has been taught, there was still a huge difference between feeling it firsthand and doing it while minimizing the risks involved. 'These guys must be working together for quite some time to be able to sync their movements like this.'

Because of my skill and position at the back most line, I could see the entirety of what the wolves were doing to not break the formation. And from what I could tell, it seemed like the most crucial role, in this case, was played by the leader of the squads. If my guess was right, the leaders must be using their exceptional senses to keep track of the movements of the other squads. Because of this, they managed to remove the need to make any obvious signals that could alert any monsters nearby.

'This is a clever way of making full use of their advantage.' I thought while observing the wolves with my skill. 'But man, there is really something wrong with this forest.'

With the aid of my radar-like ability, I was able to sense not only the movements of the wolves but also the location of other monsters once they’re in range. Because of that, I noticed that the monsters living in this place were all much weaker in comparison to the monsters that I encountered before. More than that, it was also obvious that the population of the creatures here was much smaller compared to the other areas I’ve been in.

'I don’t know if those wolves know this, but this isn’t looking good.' If that Lightning Wolf’s explanation was true, then I have every reason to believe that this area was now isolated ever since I collapsed that path with the ape. But if that was the case, then that also means that wolves wouldn’t be able to hunt for food outside of this zone. So, unlike those apes from the jungle-type area, the livelihood of these wolves was completely dependent on the monsters of this place. 'All those alphas must have been aware.'

Using the population of the Lightning Wolf’s pack as the basis, I made a rough guess of the collective number of the living wolves in this forest. And according to my estimation, the other species in this place would go extinct if the wolves continued hunting them at this pace. The problem was, these guys had no other choice but to continue doing so, or they would be the ones to perish first. In other words, unless those alphas have some sort of plan, these wolves were pretty much trapped, and their fate was already sealed.

'Hmm. I wonder if this situation is somehow connected to the Tempest Wolf’s action at that time?'

Whilst checking if there was something wrong with the formation of the platoon, I noticed that the two vanguard squads were both engaged in fierce combat. But upon focusing more on it, I discovered that they were just having the usual skirmish against their target, but they weren’t even losing ground. Since that was the case, I decided to follow their alpha’s instructions and watched them for now.

'No. That cannot be the case. After all, it was only recently when that path collapsed. Most likely, at that time, the situation hasn’t gone this far… Wait, it only recently collapsed?' At that moment, I came to a sudden realization. 'S-so, basically, I-I’m one of the reasons why everything has taken a turn for the worse!' Probably because of that, I felt a chilling sensation running through my back. 'I-if so, then there was no way that the Lightning Wolf wasn’t aware of that!'

Judging the Lightning Wolf’s action so far, it was clear that the monster was still cautious because of my presence. But for some unknown reason, despite being wary of my actions, the monster’s suspicion towards me was only to that extent. And even though I was under constant surveillance during my stay in his lair, that action was still considered normal especially because he was letting a stranger stay on his turf. More than that, it was even more confusing why the monster assigned me to do this task. Because truth to be told, it wouldn’t be hard for me to wipe out this entire platoon, to weaken the forces of his pack.

'He should know that! So, what the heck is that guy even thinking?!' I couldn’t help but wonder.

A little while later, I noticed that the two rear guards were now collecting the harvest, but when I turned my attention to the vanguards, I realized that one of them had come to a sudden halt. And on the opposite end of the formation, it also seemed like the other vanguard was moving towards the other side to meet up.

'What’s happening? Did they encounter something?' Based on the behavior of the two squads, I could tell from my position that they were both moving with more caution than before. And for the vanguard squad that had stopped, I could feel that all of its members were trying to hide their presence as much as possible. 'For now, a fight has yet to break out. But given how wary they are, they must have found or encountered something that made them act like that.'

Since it looked like they discovered something serious, I ultimately decided to back them up. And so, whilst keeping my Stealth on, I ran towards the location of the motionless vanguard. Luckily, this forest wasn’t lacking in some tall grass and weirdly shaped trees that I could use as a cover. But knowing that most of the hollowed trees were a habitat of some monsters, I made sure to keep away from them to avoid compromising my Stealth.

Looking at that, I made an immediate conclusion. 'A monster’s den.'

On my way here, I noticed that the air was carrying a faint smell of blood. And the moment that I reached this place, that scent had become much more pungent, to the point that it already felt repulsive for my nose. More than that, there were also a huge number of bones scattered not only in its immediate vicinity but also up until its entrance. But what was even more shocking was the fact that there seemed to be some skulls of wolves, mixed among those numerous piles of bones.

'A monster that hunts and eats the ruling species of this forest? Well, that’s new.'