Episode 59 The Hunter and the Prey (5)
Iyan and Vikir cautiously pursued the male Oxbear.
It is clear that the nerves are as sensitive as the body is weak. I could tell that just by looking at the water poop that was scattered on the road he passed.
“You have to aim for the moment when the target is as weak as possible.”
Vikir also nodded at Iyen’s words as he smeared frog poison on his arrowhead.
…When is the enemy’s weakest moment?
it’s time to sleep Even more so after several intense copulations.
Iyen looked at the Oxbear droppings on the floor and nodded.
“Looking at the viscosity and thinness, it must be that the condition of the body is getting very bad.”
“I’ll probably get a good night’s sleep tonight.”
“That’s right. I haven’t slept a wink for the past three days and I’m exhausted. I’ll probably hide in a dark, deep corner where I don’t normally go.”
Ayen was right.
Perhaps conscious of his physical condition, Oxbear was breaking through the dense sea of water and entering a deep place where there was no road.
dense jungle. Fallen trees are hung between living trees, creating a maze horizontally and vertically.
The leaves were dyed red and yellow every moment, making it difficult to discern the direction.
The trails that the wild beasts walked on were likely to disappear in half a day when it rained, so the pursuit was doubling the difficulty.
However, even in this situation, Iyan never misses the target.
The direction in which the branches are bent, the direction in which the grass is stepped on, the cries of grass insects around the depth of the soil.
For a seasoned hunter, all of these serve as milestones.
“Where Oxbear passed, you won’t hear the cries of rats or insects for a while.”
As if agreeing with Ayen’s words, the wolf Vakira let out a low cry.
Bakira had been tracking a scent since before, but it was the scent of a spicy tree fruit, and it was a faint smell that the human nose couldn’t smell.
The spicy-smelling tree fruit was stuffed into the stomachs of carp and salmon by Ayen and thrown to Oxbear as food.
So that Oxbear could smell this nut every time he exhaled and moved.
“…”
Meanwhile, Bikir watched Iyen’s skillful tracking technique from beginning to end.
There are things I don’t know and things I know.
I thought I was reviewing what I knew, and I had to learn everything I didn’t know.
at that time.
Iyen, who had climbed up the tree, looked down at the forest at the bottom of the hill and extended a finger.
just as expected. There, a male Oxbear can be seen walking squeamishly.
It seemed like he could catch it if he attacked it right away, but Iyen was cautious nonetheless.
“I’ll have to postpone this hunt a bit.”
“Why is that?”
When Vikir asked, Ayen groaned and furrowed his brow.
“That Oxbear crossed the border of the swamp. You can’t just enter the swamp because scary creatures live there.”
“A scary creature?”
The moment Bikir tries to ask what that is.
…match!
Ayen’s palms flew and slapped Bikir on both cheeks.
The cheeks instantly turn red. As Bikir stood there with a dazed expression, Iyen smiled brightly.
“It is this creature.”
Ayen held out a palm in front of Vikir.
In the center of his palm, he saw a dead mosquito.
Vakira the Wolf growled in a low voice, alerting the mosquito carcass.
Iyan warned with a serious expression.
“There are three types of mosquitoes living in that swamp. One is the blood sucking mosquito. They aren’t very threatening. But… you have to be careful with the bone sucking mosquito and the flesh sucking mosquito.”
Bikir knew this too.
Among all the mosquitoes that live in the waters of the Red and Black Mountains, the most dangerous being is the ‘bone-sucking mosquito’.
They charge at anything that moves in droves, and in an instant turn the body of a living creature into a leather pouch full of only blood and entrails.
In fact, having seen Bikir a few times to see how a colleague who was bitten by a bone-sucking mosquito survived, I could understand Iyen’s seriousness.
……just one thing. There are things you can’t understand.
“But. Why don’t you take your hand off your cheek?”
Iyen’s other hand was still resting on Bikir’s cheek.
Ayen flinched a little when he heard Vikir’s question, then answered with a brazen attitude.
“Should I take it off?”
Now, it is Iyen who openly flirts with Bikir’s cheeks.
Bikir frowned.
“…What are you doing?”
“Why? I’m the owner. Do you have any complaints about me touching mine?”
Bikir half-opened his mouth in amazement.
However, it is far off to rebel against Iyan now that he is not feeling well.
“You’re so soft.”
“…”
So I have no choice but to accept this humiliating treatment of a child for a while.
* * *
That night.
Iyen perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the crypt Oxbear had dug.
“It will strike at dawn tomorrow.”
Oxbears are nocturnal, so fighting now is at a disadvantage.
It was the wisest thing to do when the sun rose and he fell asleep.
Ayen and Bikir built a simple barracks on the solid bedrock.
A few twigs and large leaves of leather were added to create a tent large enough for three or four people.
When you blow on it, thick white smoke comes out.
This place, called ‘cold valley’ by the natives of Balak, was a valley where the snow accumulated throughout the winter did not melt even in May.
“It’s cold here, so even mosquitoes can’t come.”
Ayen went inside the tent and lay down.
Then he held up the skin and spoke to Bikir, who was standing outside the tent.
“Let me come in here.”
“…”
Bikir was silent for a moment.
Looking around, the barren environment of the cold bone comes into view.
Cold, poor soil.
Since trees cannot grow large, only bushes and weeds grow strong under the dead spots after growing to some extent.
It was a place where wild beasts couldn’t come in easily because the short shrubs stood out like a bar, so if you were careful about the cold, it wasn’t a bad terrain for a night’s sleep.
Basrak…
Bikir went inside the tent.
Ayen had dug a shallow hole in the bird’s bed and had piled up fallen leaves and gum.
Hwareuk!
A small fire burns
The light hidden by the tent warmed the confined space.
As the name suggests, the valley here gets very cold at night.
My face and arms in front of the fire were hot, but the back of my back and the tips of my head, legs and toes felt like ice.
Vikir thought of many things over the flickering embers.
Friends and colleagues left behind in the era of destruction. those countless faces.
People who can meet again whenever they want. People who will never be able to meet again.
In the meantime, in the sea of fog flowing outside the tent, dead trees resembling human bones rise and sink.
When Bikir is lost in thought over the flickering embers.
“nice!”
The sound of breaking that thought comes from the side.
When I turned my head, Iyen was buried in Vakira’s fur and was drinking something.
It was so strong that you could tell how strong it was just by smelling it.
Iyen spreads white fat on a piece of smoked beef jerky in a leather pouch and eats it as a snack and late-night snack.
It looked like buttered bread, but the taste and calories would be different.
Iyen, who mumbled for a while, looked back at Bikir.
“You eat too. It’s good for you.”
“……I don’t have beef jerky.”
When Vikir answered, Ayen waved his hand as if it was no big deal.
“What else am I saying? Don’t worry. It’s the owner’s virtue to take care of a slave. I brought it to you.”
“……?”
Bikir tilted his head.
Iyen’s leather pouch contained only one piece of jerky.
It just went all the way into her mouth.
Right then.
…chin!
Ayen covered Bikir’s cheeks with his palms.
Then, he slams his face right in.
“……!”
Bikir had no time to resist.
Ayen kissed Bikir on the mouth and passed the alcohol and jerky in his mouth.
gulp!
Bikir swallowed the pouring booze and chunks of meat whole.
“Puha!”
Then, finally, Ayen took his face away from Bikir.
She wipes her chin with the back of her hand and grins.
“Your jaw can’t chew this jerky right now. It’s very tough.”
“…I guess so.”
Bikir frowned.
The beef jerky that remained in his mouth was so tough that he had to chew it to raise the mana.
Bikir, who was beaten by Ahhun and was in a state of disrepair, could not eat anything other than porridge or fruit, but thanks to him, he was able to properly (?) take in nutrients.
suddenly.
Ayen’s eyes widened.
Somehow, it looked like she was sitting on top of Bikir.
In the narrow tent, Bikir is just lying under Iyen without being able to resist.
Iyen’s face, soaked in flames, turned red.
She looked down at Bikir with a strangely warm laugh.
“Can’t you resist?”
“Because it’s heavy.”
“It’s not heavy.”
“Because it’s heavy.”
“It’s not heavy.”
“I’m heavy.”
Then, Iyen kept his mouth shut for a while and thought hard about something. And then
“I’m not heavy, you’re weak.”
After saying that, it was Iyen who gave a strangely pleasant smile.
Bikir saw that laugh and gave up the conversation.
Maybe it’s because the language is different, but I can’t read this woman’s emotions right now.
‘The first priority is to quickly recover the body.’
I had to do that in order not to be swayed.
If only he regained his strength, he would be able to easily subdue and leave the jungle.
And the best means to recover the body was sleep.
Bikir closed his eyes.
Iyen came close enough to touch Bikir’s face with the tip of his nose.
“Does your hand get cold? Put your hand here. This is where the heat is the most. Instead, I put my hand on you…”
Iyen, who brought Vikir’s hand between her chest and her armpit, instantly put it on Vikir’s body. He stopped laying himself on top of himself.
Iyan’s expression soon turns to bewilderment.
“……Are you sleeping?”
Scared to speak, the answer came back.
Dororon-
Bikir fell asleep in that brief moment.
It is a skillful sleeping technique of unmanned people who have gone through the era of destruction, where they can fall asleep in less than a second if they lie down.
“……her!”
Iyen pouted her lips as if it were absurd.
As if offended, she got down from Bikir’s body and lay down next to him.
Then he turned around and crossed his arms. He put his hand between his chest and his armpit.
“Heh. You dare to be arrogant on the subject. He is a dull slave who does not know his master’s consideration.”
Iyen continued to grumble.
Only Wolf Vakira, who was lying face down on the floor, was looking at Iyen with a pitiful gaze. ”
What? Why do you open your eyes like that?”
[Grumble-]
“What! what! It was just because I was cold! I didn’t mean to try something different…”
Just when Iyen and Vakira were arguing.
…Pak!
Vikir, who thought he was sleeping, stood up in an instant.
Even Iyen and Vakira flinched in surprise. ” Huh huh
? Didn’t you sleep…?”
Before Iyen could even open his mouth, Bikir said first, ”
Coming
.”
Only then did Ayen and Bakira harden their expressions, and before
long
, an unknown cry broke through the night
.
