"Neigh! Neigh!"
"Whinny! Whinny!"
The braying of donkeys and the neighing of horses filled the air.
Standing on high ground, Tang Wen watched as three donkeys and horses galloped wildly, their hooves kicking up clouds of dust.
The owners of the animals, clad in tattered armor, clung desperately to their mounts, shouting "Help!" in despair.
Behind them, a group of black-clad riders pursued relentlessly.
Tang Wen had initially intended to ignore such trivial matters.
However, the three fleeing individuals gradually changed their direction, heading toward the hunting squad's camp in the wilderness.
"It seems they know about the hunting camp."
Now he had no choice but to intervene.
The strongest combatant in the hunting camp was merely a Martial Practitioner.
Clearly, they wouldn't be able to handle this group of cavalry. He had to stop them.
Whoosh!
With a burst of energy, he leaped high into the air and shouted, "Who goes there? Halt!"
"A Martial Master?"
The young man riding the donkey exclaimed in surprise, then quickly cried out in relief, "Help! Please, Martial Master, save us! We're merchants from nearby, being chased by the Black Mountain Devil!"
Tang Wen glanced at the black-clad riders behind them, his expression impassive. "Change your direction and flee."
The three fugitives, who had just reined in their mounts, panicked.
The middle-aged man on horseback hurriedly said, "Sir, the Black Mountain Devil's cavalry only has one Martial Master. If you help us, we will surely repay you generously."
"Clang!"
With a sharp sound, Tang Wen drew his long blade. "I don't care how many Martial Masters there are. Run!"
The three were caught in a dilemma. If they didn't head to the hunting camp at Flame Camp, they would eventually be caught.
The thunder of hooves grew louder.
A commanding voice shouted, "Black Mountain Camp is on official business! Unrelated people, get out of the way!"
"Get out of the way?" Tang Wen chuckled, looking at the three on their donkeys and horses. "You're lucky. You don't need to run anymore."
"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
The three quickly rode their mounts to Tang Wen's side.
"Bold! How dare you interfere with Black Mountain... Damn it! Take cover!"
The Black Mountain Devil, who had just arrived nearby, hadn't even finished his threat when his expression changed drastically.
He abandoned his horse and threw himself to the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The cavalry lined up in a row, but those behind had no idea what was happening. All they heard was a deafening noise, and in an instant, they were thrown from their horses.
The entire squad was in disarray.
"Stones? Is that you? Tang Wen!"
The burly black-clad man at the front raised his head, covered in dust and looking disheveled.
He looked at Tang Wen, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
"You know me?" Tang Wen studied him for a moment, certain he had never seen him before.
The burly man's expression shifted several times. He glanced back at his squad, where only the horses were injured or dead, and sighed. "Since it's Commander Tang Wen, I'll give you face. Consider yourselves lucky, you three. We're leaving."
The burly man acted decisively, waving his hand and leading his men to retreat backward.
"Our goods! Give them back!" the young merchant shouted.
Tang Wen remained silent.
The burly man sneered.
They retreated to where the horses were injured or dead, began collecting the horse meat, and retrieved the less injured horses before leading them away.
Tang Wen secretly regretted it. Killing their horses had been both a show of force and an attempt to keep the horse meat.
Unexpectedly, these Black Mountain Devils were quite resourceful.
"Where are you from?" Tang Wen asked the three after the burly man and his men had left.
The three clasped their fists and bowed deeply.
The middle-aged man at the front said, "Commander Tang Wen, we are from Wujia City. We are merchants from the Lin Family."
Wujia City was a small city governed by five major families: the Lin, Wang, Zheng, and others.
It was about ten days' journey from the camp.
The short-distance merchant caravans from the camp often went there.
"How did you provoke them?" Tang Wen gestured for the three to follow him.
The three followed, and the middle-aged man smiled bitterly, "We wouldn't dare provoke them. We were just going to the mountain village as usual to collect furs and dried meat. We didn't know how the village had offended the Black Mountain Camp, but they massacred it. We tried to escape as quickly as we could, but they still caught up with us. Not only did we lose everything, but they also sent people to hunt us down!"
"The village didn't provoke them at all; they just wanted to capture slaves! Damn those Black Mountain Devils!" The young man, who had been silent until now, clenched his teeth, his eyes red with anger.
The middle-aged man sighed mournfully.
The three lowered their heads and said nothing more.
Tang Wen sighed silently. The Black Mountain Camp, a force that had incurred the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, should have been wiped out long ago.
Unfortunately, in this world where the strong prey on the weak, they continued to absorb the most vicious and ruthless individuals, and they were still thriving.
After walking for a while longer, Tang Wen pointed ahead and said, "You can do me a favor too. Help me transport these game back."
"Sure."
"No problem."
The three readily agreed. When they approached and saw the corpses on the ground, they suddenly froze.
"Black Hyena Hounds!"
"A Desert Giant Lizard?"
After a moment of stunned silence, the three exclaimed the names of the game on the ground, their faces filled with shock.
Mid-level Exotic Beasts—they would have fled at the sight of them from a distance.
Tang Wen waved his hand dismissively, "I got a bit greedy and killed a few extra."
The middle-aged man sighed in admiration, "As expected of Lord Tang Wen, who even the Black Mountain Devils avoid!"
The three Martial Practitioners worked together to load the two Black Hyena Hounds onto the donkey.
Each Black Hyena Hound weighed two to three hundred pounds, but the donkey remained steady under the weight.
That wasn't all; they also tied a larger Desert Giant Lizard onto the donkey.
The donkey swayed slightly but quickly stabilized.
Tang Wen was surprised, "No wonder you managed to escape their pursuit. Is this donkey an Exotic Beast?"
The middle-aged man patted the donkey's head and said with emotion, "You have a keen eye, my lord. This donkey is a large female donkey, crossbred with a Mid-level Exotic Beast, the Black Mountain Donkey.
She's a hard worker. Don't let her unimpressive appearance fool you; she can carry up to two thousand five hundred pounds of cargo and pull a cart weighing several thousand pounds."
Tang Wen nodded, "What do you usually feed her?"
"If she's not doing heavy work, a mix of beans, foxtail millet, and some hay is enough. But for a trip like today, she'll need a few pounds of meat and some eggs. Otherwise, she might refuse to work next time."
"Impressive, impressive."
As they talked, the two young men finished loading the game.
Noticing Tang Wen's interest, the middle-aged man led the donkey and said, "To repay your life-saving grace, I would like to give these two donkeys to you, my lord!"
Tang Wen was tempted but remained noncommittal, "We'll talk about it later."
As the group walked halfway, they encountered the hunting squad coming to meet them.
Everyone returned to the camp together.
Blood control, skinning, deboning, and meat division.
The three from the Lin Family's merchant caravan worked efficiently, helping Tang Wen process over a dozen Exotic Beasts in half a day.
Before leaving, they insisted on leaving the two donkeys as a token of gratitude to Tang Wen.
Seeing their persistence, Tang Wen gave them a few Black Hyena Hound pelts as an equivalent exchange.
The three left with a thousand thanks.
Captain Liu said, "Lately, the Black Mountain Camp has been going on a rampage, massacring and capturing people everywhere. Many unfamiliar faces have appeared at our camp's entrance. After questioning them, we found out they were all refugees from nearby villages."
"Capturing people as slaves?"
Captain Liu shook his head and said coldly, "It's more than that. They're stealing grain, occupying wells, seizing farmland—this time, they're taking everything! The extra people will even be sold to Mountain Chasing City in exchange for food. With their destruction, the nearby villages will likely be ruined..."
Tang Wen gazed at the desolate wilderness, remaining silent for a long time.
That night, he stored the meat in the ice cellar at home. With the Black Hyena Hound, sand lizards, and moose combined, he managed to fill about two-tenths of the bottom layer of the ice cellar with nearly eight thousand pounds of meat.
After finishing everything, he walked out of the ice cellar.
...
The next day, Tang Wen finished his morning routine and headed out to continue hunting.
There was no other choice—there was still plenty of space in the ice cellar, so he had to hunt more game.
"Jump!"
The Blood Raven leaped nimbly.
"Extend your left wing."
The Blood Raven froze.
Then
it spread both wings simultaneously.
Tang Wen reached out to close them and then pulled out the left wing separately.
...
Beast Taming Art experience +1
On the way to hunt again, Tang Wen rode his horse while continuously training the Blood Raven.
More updates to come later.
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