Chapter 120

Joonbum was appreciative of the magnificent Boduas roaming the plain. There were also monsters looking for a chance to hunt down any Boduas that strayed from the pack. Keroxes and a giant cat resembling a saber-toothed tiger lurked nearby and so were other carnivores.

‘But those are the most dangerous ones.’

Joonbum looked into the distance where the Gartz and Kawiqunins lurked in small numbers. They were strongest on this mountain, closely followed by Galfus and her pack. The Gartz and Kawiqunins seemed to be scared by the sight of the pack of Guardians and the Ainos.

“Hmm. Are we hunting out here?” James was puzzled, and so were his knights. They joined the hunt in order to protect Jasmine.

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It’s not as dangerous as it seems to be. They don’t attack unless we attack first. Fall is the season where those monsters need to hunt successfully.”

Jasmine was curious about Joonbum’s words.

“They need to hunt successfully?”

“Yes, they usually give birth during the spring, so those babies need to eat a lot in fall to last through the winter. Monsters don’t score their hunting that easily. They usually succeed two out of ten times. So they can’t spare the energy to fight.”

“Oh.”

“The Bodua is a good prey, but it’s strong and powerful. Even the Gartz or Kawiqunins aren’t safe if those packs begin charging.”

“OH!”

The sound of a horn was heard at that moment.

“It’s a start!”

“The Boduas are moving!”

“Kerox!”

Keroxes began running toward the moving Boduas. An old, weak Bodua was left behind from the pack.

“Wow!”

Jasmine watched Keroxes moving left and right to scatter the Bodua packs while the Gartz and Kawiqunins quietly moved in to hunt the Boduas. The plain was now filled with the tremors and cries of Boduas. The land shook as if there were an earthquake, and dust filled the entire field.

The race for survival was also fierce. The hunters and the hunted tried their best to survive. An old Bodua fell to the ground while some of the Keroxes lay dead as they were stepped on and rammed into by the Boduas. The surviving Kerox pack charged at live Boduas that fell and began eating them. Several Keroxes began feasting as the Odringos, which were smaller and more numerous began gathering around, lurking. The Keroxes let out threatening cries, but Odringos did not fall back. When the Keroxes had their fill and moved away, the Odringos took places. It was then the eagles’ turn. They joined forces with the Odringos to feast upon the Bodua meat. One of Odringos attacked an eagle, but it was poked in the eyes and more eagles joined in to kill the attacker. The other Odringos seemed to not be bothered by what happened.

“Wow, they don’t even help!”

“That’s why they are monsters.”

It was like a movie. Joonbum was also astonished by such a sight. At that moment, the sound of crying was heard. Joonbum turned to see a Gartz slamming one of the giant Boduas.

“Wow.”

Everyone let out an astonished gasp. The Gartz were about twenty-five feet tall. It was fighting Bodua alone. The Bodua was a strong beast, but it was no match against a Gartz.

“That’s incredible!”

“Unbelievable.”

Four more Gartz surrounded the Bodua and they ripped the Bodua’s head apart. Their nails were stronger and sharper than any weapon. The Gartz who were successful in their hunt began chewing down the meat.

The Kawiqunins were not so successful. They cornered a baby Bodua, but it escaped their grasp and joined its pack. Kawiqunins roared in anger, but it was too late.

“We will set up a trap too.”

Six Guardians and hundreds of Ainos began preparing a campsite. They moved about the perimeter to set up tripwire and other kinds of traps to protect themselves.

“Aren’t we hunting them directly?”

“No Miss, they need more than arrows,” Joonbum coldly answered Jasmine’s question.

Jasmine frowned and asked, “Hey, can we just be friends? We are the same age after all, right?”

“MISS! PLEASE!”

James smacked his forehead as he heard the absurd request Jasmine was making. It seemed like James was used to Jasmine’s unexpected behavior.

‘Friend? For what?’

That was the first thing that came to Joonbum’s mind. Jasmine was the type to be wary of.

‘What should I do?’ Joonbum thought for a moment, then grinned. It was bad to refuse. It was better to make friends with the marquis’ daughter.

“Yeah, I guess we can.”

Joonbum answered quickly and Jasmine smiled. It was weird. He knew she was a woman, but she didn’t feel like a woman at all.

“OH! GOOD! You sure are different. I’m sick and tired of the people here. They are too picky.”

“Yeah, well I just think it’s better to be friends with the marquis’ daughter.”

“WHAT! Is it only because of that? Well, I understand though. But am I bad as a friend just by myself?”

Joonbum grinned at Jasmine’s direct question.

“Do often look at yourself in the mirror?”

“Haha!”

Jasmine laughed out loud at his words. She was cool about jokes. She laughed for a while then turned to busy the Ainos working about the campsite.

“Are we hunting with traps? I imagined more a fierce hunting session.”

Jasmine looked little disappointed. It looked like she expected to see a battlefield filled with blood.

“It’s a hunt for survival. It’s a hunt to keep people alive on a day-to-day basis,” Joonbum answered plainly.

Jasmine smiled. “OKAY! I’m sorry. It was just a thought. But surviving is good. What can we do?”

“Do whatever you want. You’re a guest. You can help or you can rest. But don’t try to hunt monsters on your own. No monsters will try to attack this place.”

“Okay. James! Did you hear him?”

“Yes, ma’am!” James answered. Joonbum looked at James and his six knights for a moment.

-I thank you for your courtesy.-

It was written toward the bottom of the long letter from Marquis Beneth. It meant a lot of things. The bounty that was paid was also amazing. The marquis paid the merchants and others who were ruined by the thieves. All nobles suspected the marquis had to stop because of his generosity. It was never wise to make enemies with such a powerful aristocrat family and even more so when the said family was acting apologetically. Joonbum knew this too.

‘I’m not some justice seeker anyway.’

The marquis was being courteous to him, so he did not need to fight him.

‘Just don’t make me regret it.’

“STOP!”

The Ainos dug deeply between the huge boulders and installed sharp spears into the ground. Some of the traps from last year were still intact, so the work was done quickly.

“What can I do to help?” Jasmine asked Doral. He pointed to the side without a thought.

“Go work on that hole and install some spears into it.”

“Okay! Will do. James!”

James frowned and so did other knights at the back.

“Ugh, Sir James! Please do something!”

“There we go again…”

“We are knights! For god’s sake!”

Everyone began ranting and James frowned.

“Are you complaining? Miss Jasmine is working.”

“No! I mean…”

“Ugh.”

The short rants were soon over. Every knight moved out to pick up a shovel and began working on a trap. Thirty other traps were installed while they worked on their traps.

“Isn’t it bit much?” Joonbum asked.

Gazlow nodded. “Too many that survived this year. It’ll be a problem in the winter if there’s too many.”

Joonbum nodded. This number of Boduas in the winter meant scarce resources for the other herbivores. Thinning out the number of Boduas was required for this reason.

“We can kill about thirty per village. Gazlow, prepare accordingly.”

“Yes, Chieftain.”

Howen gave an order Gazlow as he returned from the meeting with other villagers.

‘The number has increased a lot.’

Joonbum was surprised. It was much more than last year. The number also excluded number that would be hunted by Galfus and her pack. They were to be left alone so they could hunt down Boduas and eat them at their own pace. Galfus’ loud howl filled the area and they began charging through the field.

“AHHH! I want to ride on it! Hey, can I have one of the cubs?”

“No. It’s not some puppy. They can’t be tamed. They can always turn on you when you don’t expect it.”

Joonbum mumbled in warning and Jasmine frowned.

“But you seemed pretty close to her.”

Jasmine was unconvinced. This kind of request was the bad side of being a friend.

“If you find a dying one by yourself and look after it for months, then you might manage to make friends with it. That is, if you don’t get killed beforehand.”

“Hah! You’re joking, right?”

Jasmine waited for Joonbum’s response, but it soon turned into disappointment as she realized Joonbum wasn’t joking.

“Dammit, that’s a shame. Huh?”

Jasmine let out a gasp. Galfus jumped on a mid-sized Bodua and other Guardians also jumped upon it, biting the beast down. The Bodua fell to the ground immediately and the Guardians crushed its legs by chomping on it. It was a quick death for the Bodua.

A victorious howl filled the plains.

“We will move also. Gazlow!”

“Yes, Chieftain!”

The Ainos began moving out.

“Okay, we should go too.”

Joonbum and Jasmine also followed.