"Huh, I've been walking all day, and I'm finally here."
Gordon put down the heavy package on his shoulders and took a breath.
This is a closed cave camp. It’s not big, but it’s very safe. As long as the entrance and exit are blocked with snowdrifts, you won’t be afraid of a snowstorm.
The only drawback is that the lighting is relatively poor. If you don't light a bonfire at night, you won't be able to see anything, but Gordon is already very satisfied.
There were only two things in the package weighing dozens of kilograms - a large amount of food and a large amount of hot drinks.
These two things may not seem to be directly related to hunting, but being on a snow-capped mountain with scarce resources and an extremely cold climate, the only consequence of running out of food and hot drinks is to freeze to death in a short period of time.
Gordon didn't want to have to think about replenishing supplies in the middle of the hunt.
"It's supposed to be enough food and hot drinks for a week, but why do you always feel a little unsafe?" Gordon muttered after storing most of the supplies in the storage box in the camp.
"Maybe it was infected by Ancil, meow."
"That makes sense."
"But we still need to make some preparations. I just checked the firewood in the camp. It's barely enough for two or three days."
"That needs to be added."
Gordon glanced at the sky outside the cave camp, "Didn't we pass by a valley on the way here? It's not completely covered by snow. It should be enough to cut down a small tree and drag it back."
"Over there, I saw the footprints of a snow deer, meow!" Zhupa's eyes were bright.
"Snow deer's footprints..."
"Very fresh footprints, nya!"
"Then let's walk!"
After two or three hours, it was completely dark.
One person and one cat dragged a small tree blown down by the snowstorm and a large pile of snow deer meat back to the camp.
After a lot of effort, they chopped the saplings into firewood and roasted all the snow deer meat, and then they had a hearty meal.
The remaining barbecue was left to cool naturally and then stored in the storage box.
Looking at the boxes full of boxes, Gordon sighed with satisfaction, "I feel comfortable now. I can hunt with peace of mind starting tomorrow."
"Hiccup~, you were indeed infected by An Xil, meow."
...
The first day of hunting didn't go well.
The snowstorm of the previous two days had obscured all traces of living creatures, and among the few fresh footprints encountered, no giant beasts were seen.
Gordon felt that he would not miss the huge footprints that were said to be more than two meters in diameter or admit his mistake.
The next day, same thing.
On the third day, Gordon took the pork chop and set out early in the morning. He wasted most of the day and still found nothing.
So far nothing, Gordon is optimistic, for various reasons, temporarily unable to find prey is also common in hunting, right?
Then something unusual happened.
The sharp-eyed Pig Chop spotted a hot air balloon wandering in the clouds, so they immediately used the reflective parts of the armor metal to send out a signal, asking the hot air balloon to help find the target's location.
The scholars on the observation hot air balloon responded to their request.
"Snow lion... king... northwest... five kilometers... strange dragon... due north... ten kilometers... ah?" Ge read the light signal carefully. Deng's mind is filled with questions.
As was customary, the light signal was repeated three times and Gordon confirmed it three times.
That’s right.
Gordon did not believe in evil and sent a light signal to the hot air balloon again.
"G...Mu...To? (Behemoth)"
After a moment, the observation hot air balloon responded.
"No...found..."
Gordon and Pork Chop looked at each other.
Judging from the style, the observation hot air balloon should belong to the Gulong Observation Bureau. Even if the observers on it are not powerful scholars, they are definitely novice idiots with poor eyesight.
Besides, a thing as big as a giant beast should be very conspicuous in the sky. How can it be missed?
If you hadn’t missed it, there were no behemoths in the nearby mountains at all? A trip in vain?
Are you kidding me? !
At this time, the observation hot air balloon had slowly drifted into the clouds and disappeared. Even if Gordon and the others wanted to find each other to confirm again, there was no way.
"Unbelievable meow."
Pig Chop looked at the direction in which the hot air balloon disappeared and murmured to himself, "Having lost the gold coins and Hayata is not around, how can Gordon be so dark-faced?"
The corners of Gordon's mouth twitched fiercely.
His face was indeed dark at this time, but he did not attribute all problems to luck.
Whether it is an ordinary illustrated book or internal research data from the Ryukyu Academy, it is shown that the giant beasts have a strong sense of territory and their territory is very fixed.
With no natural predators, it is almost impossible for them to leave their territory unless food is so scarce that they cannot survive.
This possibility cannot be said to be completely impossible. After all, the reason for this mission was that the giant beast destroyed the village and ate up all the wood used to build the houses.
But what about he and Pig Chop cutting down trees in a valley two days ago? Although it is not a large snow forest, basic food should still be guaranteed.
Wait, Valley?
Pig Chop looked at the silent Gordon from side to side, and shook his little paw, "Meow? Are you being hit now, meow? I'm just joking, meow."
Gordon found a rock exposed outside the snow, sat down, and took out the map.
After looking left and right, he quickly overlaid the surrounding mountains with the pictures on the map and confirmed his position.
Pork Chop also came over curiously.
"We are here now." Gordon looked up at the sky, "The observation hot air balloon just now was probably at this position and height."
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Gordon let Pork Chop hold the map, stood up, and looked down.
The flat map turned into rolling mountains and deep valleys in his mind, and soon he had some guesses.
"From the position of observing the hot air balloon, this valley, as well as the back slope of this mountain ridge to the foot of the mountain, should not be visible."
Gordon marked two areas on the map with his finger. "We will focus on reconnaissance at these two places. If there are giant beasts in the nearby mountains, only these two places can avoid the sight of the hot air balloon."
"That makes sense, nya."
Pork Chop thought about it for a moment, "Isn't this valley the same place we visited two days ago?"
"Um."
Gordon nodded, "The valley isn't that big. If we weren't blind at the time, we should have been aware of it, so... the back slope of the mountain ridge here is more likely to be there, so let's reconnoiter here first.
If there is no one here, go to the previous valley. If there is no one in the valley, you can only choose to retreat. "
"Good meow."
The hunter and Ellu cheered up. Instead of wandering around and searching aimlessly, they now had at least two targets for focused investigation.
After climbing over mountains and ridges, Gordon and Pork Chop spent more than two hours and finally arrived at the back of the towering mountain ridge.
The steep mountain crest is like a barrier, blocking most of the wind and snow. At the foot of the mountain, a small basin stretches out into the distance.
"Oh haha."
On the mountain crest, overlooking the dense cedar and spruce in the basin, Gordon raised his eyebrows.
The giant beasts eat wood as their main food, so this is simply a canteen.
Looking up at the orange-red sky filled with sunset glow, Piglet scratched his ears, "Meow...if the giant beast is really in this basin, it should be clearly visible from the hot air balloon, meow?"
"That's right. Maybe it's because the mountain is blocking the view and there are some blind spots." Gordon held up a portable telescope and inspected the foot of the mountain.
At this time, a large group of meng mammoths came into his sight.
"Huh? Does it have a white head?"
