Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Chosen Ambush Site

Little Croc was the first to attack, lunging forward and sinking her jaws deep into the wild boar’s hind leg.

With a violent twist of her body, spinning three hundred and sixty degrees, her powerful bite tore off a chunk of flesh the size of a bowl.

The wild boar’s eyes burned red with pain; it squealed miserably, whirling around to retaliate.

At that moment, Big Croc seized the opportunity and rushed in. His sharp teeth pierced through the boar’s armored skin with ease, and he too performed a deadly rolling maneuver.

Soon after, Second Croc opened his savage jaws as well...

With the three saltwater crocodiles working together, the hundred-pound wild boar hardly had any strength to resist. In just a few seconds, it collapsed in a pool of blood.

Thud, thud, thud!

A massive boar—an old male—rushed to reinforce, his enormous tusks gleaming as he charged straight at Big Croc.

Watching from the side, Lu Chen finally sprang into action!

His limbs propelled him across the carpet of fallen leaves, his body launching forward.

Now weighing over three hundred pounds, Lu Chen was still considered a youngster among the saltwater crocodiles, but compared to the furious boar before him, he was evenly matched.

A flash, then another—he leapt nearly two meters high!

In mid-air, his thick, sturdy claws gathered strength before crashing down onto the prey’s back.

With a thunderous impact, the hundreds of pounds of force exploded.

A crack echoed out; the boar tumbled, gouging a long mark in the earth, its hindquarters suddenly numb. Through layers of fat and flesh, Lu Chen’s claws had smashed its spine.

Even during the hunt, Lu Chen remained alert to the sounds around him.

He saw the boar king leading its followers to within seven or eight meters, and immediately let out a rapid, shrill call.

Hearing Third Croc’s command, the remaining three saltwater crocodiles abandoned their prey, scrambling up into the trees.

Lu Chen too did not linger; before the boar king could attack, he had already retreated to the forked branches of a pine.

The boar king’s eyes were bloodshot, glaring upwards at the enemy overhead, and it let out a deep, furious roar. It never expected these despicable reptiles to attack from above like the big cats.

Circling the tree several times, the beast suddenly opened its mouth and began gnawing.

The other male boars, seeing their leader do so, gathered beneath the tree and started biting as well.

Crunch, crunch... Soon they had stripped a large patch of pine bark.

What kind of strategy was this? These thick-headed brutes weren’t seriously planning to gnaw the trunk down and force them to come down, were they?

Lu Chen watched their antics in utter silence... They didn’t seem to realize that even if they managed to fell the tree, he could easily leap to another.

Besides, Lu Chen doubted they could actually bring down such a tree. Not every animal aspired to be a beaver, the world’s greatest lumberjack.

Letting them waste energy was no bad thing, so he made no effort to stop them.

As expected, after ten minutes or so, the boar king realized it was futile and reluctantly gave up.

Gathering the remaining followers, it left in frustration.

The two half-dead boars were abandoned in the woods.

Sensing their scent fading into the distance, the four saltwater crocodiles dropped from the trees, sharing the hard-won feast.

Chatter, chirp, chirp...

The little black dot, who had watched the battle from the treetops, folded its wings and descended, making strange calls.

This time, it was thanks to the black dot’s efforts that they found the wild boar herd.

As a reward for its contribution, Lu Chen clawed off a fresh piece of wild boar liver and handed it over.

For the next several days, the four saltwater crocodiles did not return to the valley, but instead trailed the wild boar herd from afar.

The boars left plenty of clues along their route; even with half a day’s delay, Lu Chen could easily follow their scent. With the black dot reporting from above, no matter how the boars twisted and changed direction, they could never escape the pursuit.

With repeated ambushes and kills, the boar herd’s numbers dwindled rapidly.

Lu Chen could sense the boar king growing increasingly manic; its hatred for him seemed to reach a fever pitch.

Even separated by hundreds of meters, he could smell the beast’s violent rage.

It was time to finish this once and for all... Up ahead, a broad river more than ten meters wide—the perfect place for Lu Chen’s final ambush.

***

Unbeknownst to Lu Chen, several miles away in a mountain valley, a group of humans were busy setting up antennas and equipment.

After some hectic preparation, a state-of-the-art drone soared into the sky.

A bearded technician called out to a nearby woman, “Xiao Wen, you can start the livestream now!”

The girl nodded, smiling brightly for the camera.

“Hello to all our friends, old and new, joining the livestream! I’m Xiao Wen, your streamer on the DouHand platform, and also the official spokesperson for the Cat Alliance. Let me quickly introduce the Cat Alliance: we’re one of the most experienced volunteer teams in feline investigation and conservation in Great Xia... Today, Xiao Wen has come to the Tiannan Mountain Nature Reserve, hoping to bring everyone closer to the charm of South China tigers and leopards through our lens... No trade, no slaughter, no harm—let’s not let our children see these animals only in museums...”

Lin Xiaowen, a contracted streamer on DouHand, had a sweet appearance and a petite, adorable figure.

Unlike many female streamers who flaunted their looks or danced provocatively on camera, she focused on outdoor streaming.

She used her platform to promote animal conservation and share educational content.

Thanks to her unique style, she quickly won the support and affection of countless fans. In just a few months on DouHand, she’d amassed over a hundred thousand followers.

Within minutes of starting her stream today, hundreds had flooded into the chat, and a barrage of comments rolled across the screen.

“Wen is awesome! Is this really the Tiannan Mountain reserve? Be careful, wild South China tigers are man-eaters...”

“That’s right, there were news reports months ago—a group of poachers camped overnight and got mauled by wolves. Only remains were found.”

“Where’s the South China tiger? Give us a shot!”

“Judging by the comments above, you’re all diehard guys. There’s a beauty here, who cares about tigers? I’ll admit it—I’m just here for Wen...”

Reading the chat, Lin Xiaowen spoke up, “Please be patient, everyone. We checked with the reserve staff before coming. Their infrared camera recorded the South China tiger T39 in the area two weeks ago.

If we’re lucky, we should spot it soon. For now, let’s take a look at the claw marks left by big cats on the trees...”

“The most important function of a tiger’s claw marks is to mark territory. As the saying goes, ‘two tigers cannot share one mountain.’ Felines have very strong territorial instincts—they absolutely will not tolerate another of their kind entering their domain...”

As the drone camera zoomed in, everyone saw several clear claw marks etched into the bark of a large tree.