Chapter 257: Wolf Howl

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Wolf Howl

As a Strength Evolver, Xiaqing could have easily used enough force to break the branches off with the cones. But pine trees grew slowly. If she snapped off the small branches as she did when harvesting chestnuts, she might not get any pine cones for the next couple of years.

Fortunately, Xiaqing was well-prepared. She put the stick away in her backpack and took out a pole pruner. Bracing against the wind, she clamped the blades around the base of a pine cone and squeezed hard.

SNAP.

The first pine cone finally broke free from the tree and tumbled down. This method was slower, but it minimized damage to the tree.

Xiaqing looked down and shouted, "Second, watch out for the cones!"

The Sick Wolf’s hearing was sharp. It not only dodged the cone, but it also picked up the fallen cone and placed it in the basket Xiaqing had brought.

The Sick Wolf, who caught Evolutionary Worms every day to feed the chickens and fish, was very proficient at this sort of task.

"Second, good boy! You’re a huge help!" Xiaqing shouted in praise, then started at the top of the tree, working her way down and snipping the pine cones one by one.

As each pine cone landed on the ground, the Sick Wolf would go over, pick it up in its mouth, and place it in the basket.

When Xiaqing was about ten meters from the ground, she saw a flash of red. Just as she expected, the little thief—the Red Squirrel—had come to steal her pine cones. Fortunately, she had come prepared and brought Wolf Dog Second with her.

The Sick Wolf was in the middle of collecting cones when it saw the Red Squirrel appear and immediately charged. But the Red Squirrel was wicked fast. It snatched a pine cone, leaped onto a tree, and vanished, jumping quickly from branch to branch.

Xiaqing...

Furious at its failure, the Sick Wolf stood its ground, threw back its head, and let out a howl.

"AWOOOO—"

’Oh no!’

Ever since the Wolf Group broke into the Wild Boar Breeding Center twice and killed wild boars, forcing the center to relocate, the local inhabitants had been terrified of wolves. Although the Sick Wolf’s howl wasn’t loud, it could still travel a great distance. It would likely cause panic among the other Lords, attracting Tang Huai’s attention and questions from the patrol teams.

Xiaqing immediately switched on the Lord radio she carried with her. She was still well within reception range.

As soon as she turned it on, she heard Tang Huai asking, "No.1 Territory, what’s going on? Is there a wolf on Mountain No. 49?"

Hu Zifeng calmly replied, "Correct."

Tang Huai immediately demanded aggressively, "You signed an agreement to keep large carnivorous beasts from threatening the territories!"

"Correct, we did," Hu Zifeng replied smugly. "But that’s no wild beast. It’s our tamed beast. And it hasn’t entered any territory; it’s on our own training grounds."

Upon hearing Hu Zifeng’s reply, Xiaqing quickly sent him a private message, explaining the reason for the howl and assuring him the situation was under control.

Tang Huai grew furious. "Since when does the Green Dragon Team have tamed wolf beasts? Why wasn’t I informed?"

Hu Zifeng shot back, "Do we need to report to you every time we get a new tamed beast? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"There’s absolutely no way you’re capable of taming wolf beasts!" Tang Huai fumed. He was the one who spent his days squatting near the border, digging for worms and eavesdropping on every sound from No. 1 Territory.

’If that wolf isn’t one of the Green Dragon Team’s tamed beasts, then it must be Xiaqing’s. But I promised her I wouldn’t reveal her secret about the wolf.’ He could only bottle up his frustration and tear at his own hair.

Tan Junjie asked, "No. 1 Territory, are you confirming the howling wolf on Mountain No. 49 is a tamed beast?"

Xiaqing smirked. ’Tan Junjie was being clever. He asked if it was a "tamed beast," not "one of the Green Dragon Team’s tamed beasts."’

Hu Zifeng’s reply was unequivocal. "Confirmed. The tamed wolf beasts are using their howls to drive away small animals."

This was Mountain No. 49, and since Hu Zifeng was handling it, Xiaqing pretended her radio was off. She looked down and comforted the Sick Wolf, "It’s okay, Second. Don’t be angry. It’s bad for your health. As soon as I’m down, we’ll go get our pine cone back."

"AWOOOO—"

The Sick Wolf tilted its head back and howled again.

Tang Huai, who had already run to the signpost for the Second Territory, confirmed that the howl sounded weak. ’It probably wasn’t the same wolf that had stood beside Xiaqing, looking like it wanted to tear me to shreds.’

’Is that the Evolutionary Wolf from Xiaqing’s territory, the one that was dying? If it is, then Xiaqing must have gotten Zhang San to treat it.’

’Damn it, does she have any idea who Zhang San is? How dare she ask him to treat a wolf!’

"Alright, Second, no more howling. I’m coming down now." Back in Zone Three of Mountain 49, Xiaqing quickly descended the tree with her climbing spikes.

She hadn’t even reached the ground when she saw two grayish-brown Evolutionary Wolves hurrying over from the valley.

Xiaqing knew these two wolves all too well: the Head Wolf and the broken leg wolf!

So the Sick Wolf wasn’t throwing a tantrum; it was calling for backup.

The Sick Wolf and its newly arrived packmates sniffed one another. Then, the three wolves took up positions around the Big Pine Tree, forming an equilateral triangle to guard it. Finally, the Sick Wolf looked up at Xiaqing.

"You’re so smart, Second, calling your packmates for help," Xiaqing praised immediately. "Queen, Broken Leg, thanks for coming. I’ll get back to cutting pine cones, then."

At the sound of Xiaqing’s voice, the Head Wolf didn’t even lift its head. The Sick Wolf wagged its tail, while the broken leg wolf leaped about frantically, knocking over the basket and scattering the pine cones all over the ground again.

Even with the pine cones scattered on the ground, the Red Squirrel didn’t dare come and get them. With the number of wolves increased, there was no room for it to get a free meal.

After the second howl, silence fell over Mountain No. 49. Zhao Ze asked timidly, "Captain Hu, the wolf isn’t going to go berserk, is it?"

Except when he was dissing Tang Huai, Hu Zifeng’s voice was perfectly calm. "I ask all Lords to rest assured. As long as you don’t try to force your way onto Mountain No. 49, our tamed beast will pose no threat to any of you."

"Of course, of course! I definitely won’t try to force my way in," Zhao Ze quickly assured him.

Kuang Qingwei asked, "Brother Feng, is your tamed wolf male or female? Think it’ll have pups next spring? If it does, I’d like to adopt one to guard my territory."

Although he knew it was a long shot, Qi Fu couldn’t resist jumping in. "Brother Feng, put me on the list, too."

Zhao Ze chimed in, "Me too! I raised large dogs before the Natural Disaster. I’m experienced."

Even Tang Huai couldn’t resist. "I raised two Samoyeds. I’m experienced, too."

Hu Zifeng, who was currently petting a cat, replied, "Sorry, everyone. That’s not my call to make."

Tang Huai asked, "Where’s Captain Luo? We haven’t heard from him in a while."

Hu Zifeng shot back, "Do you need something from Brother Luo?"

Tang Huai retorted, "Can’t I ask just to ask?"

"Anyone else can. But what right do you have to ask?"

As expected, the Lord channel devolved into another shouting match between Hu Zifeng and Tang Huai. Xiaqing simply turned off her radio, finished snipping the rest of the pine cones, climbed down the tree, removed her climbing spikes, and started gathering the cones with the Sick Wolf.

’The Queen? Her Majesty was too proud to do such menial work.’

’The broken leg wolf? It was still freaking out, too busy for chores.’

The pine tree, over twenty meters tall, had only yielded a little over a hundred cones. However, each cone was as long as her palm, so they should be full of pine nuts.

Xiaqing poured the pine cones into a sack, slung it over her back, and set off with the Sick Wolf, full of righteous fury. "Let’s go, Second. We’re getting our pine cone back."

"ARF!"

Hearing the tone of Xiaqing’s voice, the broken leg wolf got even more excited than the Sick Wolf, leaping up and down. The Sick Wolf trotted obediently by Xiaqing’s side, while the Head Wolf, bringing up the rear, let out a massive yawn.

Using her phone’s GPS app, Xiaqing quickly located the large pine tree where the Red Squirrel was hiding.

This was a Yellow Light Pine Tree, with hundreds of cones growing on it. Xiaqing drew her dagger and tested the bark. She discovered the tree hadn’t undergone a hardness evolution. No wonder the Red Squirrel had chosen this tree to build its nest.