Chronicles of Primitive Civilization’s Growth

Chapter 15: Ongoing Hunting

Once they entered the jungle, the hunting team dispersed. The adults hunted individually while Luo Chong took four younger boys with him.

Their group was the best-equipped one. Apart from Luo Chong, Da Zui and Houzi (Monkey), Da Mao and Er Mao each carried a backpack, a bundle of grass ropes, and a long wooden stick. Actually, they were there to assist Luo Chong.

The ground in the jungle was very soft, covered with thick layers of decaying leaves, and the soil was black.

The entire mountain was covered with broadleaf forests. Ash trees, whose leaves were slender and long like those of peach trees, along with oak and beech trees, all reached about 30 meters in height with diameters nearing one meter. Moreover, these trees produced nuts, many of which lay scattered on the ground. From afar, one could see large birds pecking at the nuts, including pearl chickens and dodo birds.

On the sunny slope of the ridge, there were also some tall and straight cypress and red pine trees, growing like utility poles. Indeed, these had been used for utility poles in the past because of their straight growth.

All these were excellent timber materials, especially the cypress, which was the best material for making longbows. However, Luo Chong could do nothing with the trees that were over a meter in diameter as he lacked metal tools. What could he do without them?

Rather than saying Luo Chong was hunting, it was more like he was sightseeing. Throughout the journey, he only observed and did not hunt any animals. As an excellent hunter, one must first understand what exists within their hunting grounds.

He observed carefully, but the kids following behind him grew impatient. They saw pearl chickens eating nuts several times and another bird resembling a turkey, making them eager to try. Unfortunately, Luo Chong was focused on walking, occasionally glancing at the ground, completely ignoring them.

Luo Chong, coming from the 21st century, knew that this great mountain housed a complete food chain.

A forest full of nuts would attract many nut-eating wild chickens, squirrels, and rodents; with such small herbivores present, carnivorous predators were sure to follow.

There were pythons as thick as arms and medium-sized feline creatures, likely leopards or lynxes, and possibly civet cats.

Yes, Luo Chong deduced this by examining the footprints on the ground: the shape of the footprints, the distance between them, and how deep they were. Through these observations, one could determine the species, size, and weight of the target.

Additionally, animal droppings left clues, which were also targets for observation.

Luo Chong hoped to find ball-shaped dung mixed with grass fragments, which generally belonged to large ruminant herbivores like sheep, deer, or bulls. Unfortunately, there were none here.

He was now tracking a herd of wild boars — yes, a whole herd. There were traces of rooting on the ground, two small pit-like footprints side by side, numerous, chaotic, and deep.

This indicated the target was an even-toed ungulate, an animal with two toes on its hooves that loved to root the ground and lived in groups. Besides wild boars, there was nothing else it could be.

What made Luo Chong a bit fearful was how incredibly deep the footprints were. The creature must weigh over a thousand pounds or even a ton. Could it be a giant pig or some monstrous prehistoric boar? After all, this was truly a primeval jungle, and he was genuinely worried whether he could handle it.

Continuing toward the ridge, they were getting closer to the target. Luo Chong had already discovered fresh feces, some still warm.

Crossing the ridge, Luo Chong cautiously advanced, trying not to make a sound, and instructed the four boys not to speak.

From crouching forward, they moved to crawling. Luo Chong finally ascended the high point of the ridge. The view brightened immediately; ahead was the edge of the forest. The slope was covered with shrubs, a sparkling stream, and giant aloes.

By the less-than-two-meter-wide stream, over ten wild boars were drinking water, with a few half-grown piglets searching for berries among the bushes. It was a complete family unit led by a boar standing at around 1.3 meters at the shoulder, estimated to weigh about 1500 pounds. Behind him were his Big Milk, Second Milk, Third Milk, and over ten piglets the size of domestic pigs.

Its most distinctive feature was the long, sharp tusks protruding outward below its eyes, along with a sparsely haired body, a highly arched back, and extremely long tusks.

The kid lying beside Luo Chong trembled with fear. Not just the children, even adults wouldn’t dare confront such a presence.

Charging in directly would surely fail; setting traps seemed safer. Luo Chong quietly retreated backward, returning to the forest.

The kids were terrified. They only wanted to hunt wild chickens or dig out rat holes, not encounter such a formidable target, which they didn’t even wish to see.

Luo Chong didn’t rely on them at all and started setting traps. Digging pits was impossible due to the effort involved; the pigs would have fled before the pits were ready.

Instead, he tied the grass ropes directly onto big trees, forming a six-character-shaped noose on the other end. Once a pig’s hoof stepped into it, the rope would tighten automatically, and the more it struggled, the tighter it got.

This trap was simple and quick to make, though the chances of catching something were slim. Luo Chong set up six such nooses. With over a dozen pigs, catching just one would satisfy him, so the probability was relatively high.

The traps were set on the footprints of the pig herd in the woods. Animals instinctively tend to use familiar paths, just like humans who daily traverse the same routes. So now, all that was needed was to make the herd take the return path.

Under Luo Chong’s instructions, the kids climbed the trees. They couldn’t help much below and might even get in danger.

After arranging them, Luo Chong himself stealthily circled around to the other side of the stream, hiding behind the bushes and covering himself with mud to prevent revealing his scent.

When he reached 100 meters away from the stream, he prepared for a surprise attack. He wasn’t planning to confront the wild boars head-on but merely intended to scare them away. Don’t think wild boars are powerful enough to seek a direct confrontation; almost all animals’ first reaction to danger is to flee unless cornered, in which case they fight desperately.

Scaring wild animals requires skill. First, you must appear taller than the beast; if your height is insufficient, you can compensate with objects to make the beast feel your power. Second, your shout must be loud and commanding, showing no fear. If you timidly cry “yiyi,” you’re dead.

Luo Chong, being under 1.5 meters tall, wasn’t much taller than the wild boar, so he held two branches, with a spear slanted across his back, suddenly jumping out from behind the bushes.

“Roar, roar, ah, run the hell away!”

Luo Chong screamed at the top of his lungs, waving the branches and running quickly towards the pig herd.

The pig herd reacted swiftly. Upon seeing Luo Chong emerge, covered in mud and wielding branches, they bolted without hesitation.

We don’t want to mess with you, we’ve never seen such monsters before. Your call is so strange, please don’t eat us, we’ll leave right away!

Without looking back, the pig herd sprinted and disappeared into the woods in a flash. Luo Chong chased after them relentlessly, shouting until he was almost out of breath, finally hearing the cries of a trapped wild boar ahead.

After taking a few deep breaths, when he reached the trap area, he saw two wild boars caught in the traps: the leading boar among them and an adult sow, probably one of his ‘milk wives’.

The boar’s left hind leg was ensnared by the rope, struggling fiercely. Luo Chong decided to deal with it first, unsure how long the ordinary grass rope could hold.

Seeing Luo Chong approaching with a spear, the boar turned its head and roared at him. Luo Chong then guided it to circle around the tree. After a few rounds, the rope became too short for the boar to continue circling, leaving it to struggle futilely.

Luo Chong turned around and, when the boar opened its mouth to roar, thrust the spear sharply into its mouth. The sharp bone spear pierced through its neck, emerging from the back, and he pulled it out forcefully. Blood sprayed out profusely, and the once fierce roar now sounded weak due to the hole in its neck.

Ha ha, this is called intelligence triumphing over brute force. Only fools would engage in a direct fight.

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