The idea of luring away this group of Cold Beasts had already occurred to Bruce on his way over, but the feasibility posed significant challenges.
Firstly, these Long-tailed Rodents aren't gathering here for no reason.
Without understanding why they're congregated here, trying to lead them elsewhere is easier said than done;
Secondly, the sheer number of rodents is enormous, three to four hundred of them.
During the guiding process, even the slightest mishap would mean lives lost at best.
If they accidentally discover the valley, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Finally, regarding the strength, behavior, and attack methods of these Cold Beasts—especially in such large numbers—how much destructive power they possess remains entirely unknown to them.
These three challenges combined make it evidently difficult to successfully lead this group of rodents elsewhere.
Bruce instinctively shook his head, rejecting Charlie's suggestion based on this;
Then, he showed a helpless expression because he had to admit, it's currently the only feasible strategy they could conceive.
When encountering a formidable enemy, there are only two options:
Fight or flee.
Fighting is not feasible, neither driving them away nor killing them, as our strength does not allow it;
Fleeing isn't feasible either, last time three to four hundred people relocating to the valley met with significant mishap.
Now, with nearly nine hundred people in the Harper, relocating recklessly, who knows what could happen—possibly greater threats than the rodent swarm;
Moreover, where can they run to?
The surroundings of Redwood Ridge are limited.
Moving nearby is like not moving at all, but moving far to explore new, unfamiliar environments entails greater risks.
So, trying to lure the rodent swarm far away from the valley, though difficult, is currently the only viable option.
"Leader, look over there!"
Aaron suddenly whispered, prompting Bruce to quickly lift his head and follow his pointing finger.
Upon seeing it, his eyes lit up.
In the silver rodent swarm on the northern slope of the mountain wall, two rodents were darting in a direction seemingly aimed at the south's Redwood Ridge.
Nighttime is the rest period for Cold Beasts, and this rodent swarm is no exception.
Nearly ninety percent of the rodents twine their tails, closing their eyes to rest.
Only these two are acting independently, seemingly trying to break away from the group.
"Great opportunity, move quietly, and follow."
After speaking softly, Bruce led the descent along the mountain wall, with Charlie and Aaron close behind.
All three moved with exceptional stealth, not daring to make the slightest noise.
After the three descended the mountain wall, Bruce looked northward again, only to find those two rodents were just two to three hundred meters from Redwood Ridge.
Yet, in that last two or three hundred meters, the rodents stopped moving.
They stood in place, emitting faint chirping sounds like they were communicating something.
As the three preemptively entered Redwood Ridge from the flank and saw those two were still at a standstill, Bruce frowned and, after a moment of contemplation, retrieved a torch from his back.
"You two wait here, don't move; I'll go first…"
"Leader, it's too dangerous; let me do it."
Before Bruce could finish, realizing what he intended to do, Charlie immediately interrupted, volunteering.
"Damn it!"
On the other side, Aaron was more direct; after speaking, he just dashed out.
Watching Aaron rush out and then seeing Charlie beside him, obviously annoyed for being a step slower than Aaron, Bruce knew the two didn't want their leader to risk himself, and he was somewhat moved.
To deal with the rodent swarm, one must understand their strength.
That large group on the North Slope, even if given a hundred guts, the three of us wouldn't dare to touch them.
But by chance, we came across two trying to leave the group; such a heaven-sent opportunity shouldn't be missed.
According to previous hunting experience, lighting a torch a short distance should be no problem.
But this Long-tailed Rodent, after all, being the first encounter with this Cold Beast, who knows if there will be any unexpected occurrences.
"Get a bit closer, be ready to help at any time!"
Although Aaron has been hunting with us for so long, and Bruce trusted his adaptability, he still wasn't familiar with these new Cold Beasts like the rodent, fearing any accidents, he brought Charlie closer.
Meanwhile, Aaron went north for a while, roughly estimated, the distance between himself and the two rodents was about a hundred meters, then he took out a torch.
"During previous hunts, the leader always lit the torch when about fifty or sixty meters away from a Cold Beast. Not familiar with these rodents, let's try a bit over a hundred meters first; if it can't attract them, I'll slowly get closer."
Technically, Snow Mane, Frost Wolf, and Demon Sheep have different torch perception abilities, with Frost Wolf being the strongest, able to perceive beyond fifty or sixty meters; Demon Sheep was next, with Snow Mane being the worst, needing the torch about thirty meters away to perceive it.
After half a year with Bruce, Aaron became exceedingly cautious, lighting the torch from over a hundred meters to test how far the rodents could sense the torch.
Fizz…
Bang…
In the dark forest, a small torch suddenly lit up, Aaron swiftly plunged it into the snow, then quickly ran towards a pre-selected tree.
Not far off, seeing Aaron's cautious approach, Bruce's eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction.
"Brother, look at those two rodents, what are they doing?"
Hearing this, Bruce quickly turned to look.
What he saw suddenly made his expression turn horrified.
The two rodents were actually crouching, stretching out their sharp incisors, gnawing hard at the ground.
The problem was, the ground was actually being dug open by them, with soil and rocks piling up behind them, and almost instantly, their one-meter-long bodies burrowed completely underground, disappearing, and in just a few breaths, even their two to three-meter tails fully burrowed underground.
"Do these rodents have Earthripper Realm strength?"
Charlie, upon seeing this, couldn't help but ask in a low voice with a horrified expression.
Bruce didn't immediately answer; he pondered with a grave expression for a moment, then shook his head quickly, saying, "Not necessarily. If they truly have Earthripper Realm strength, they would've used all their limbs to dig.
Just now, they only used their incisors, which should mean those teeth are very hard and their biting force is also terrifying…"
Despite denying that the rodents had Earthripper Realm strength, just their incisors alone were enough to make Bruce's heart Kilo with fear.
Such a hard ground, and yet two rodents could dig through it so quickly and burrow inside; if those hundreds on the mountainside North Slope came together, how terrifying would it be?
"Where did those two rodents burrow to?"
The confusion not only troubled Charlie but also Bruce.
The rodents were burrowing not into the snow, but hard into the ground beneath.
In the somewhat loose snow, Cold Beasts burrowing around could still be detected;
The ground in the Ice Abyss World was incomparably hard; once rodents burrowed in, they completely vanished without a trace, impossible to detect any movement.
"They burrowed as soon as the torch lit up, just keep an eye on the torch.
As long as there's no movement from the rodent group on the mountainside, we'll guard the torch.
Those two beasts will show up eventually!"
Bruce scanned the ground for a long time without finding anything, so he simply gave up and led Charlie closer to the torch, stopping about fifty or sixty meters from it.
He took out his bow and arrow and, together with Charlie, stared intently at the torch.
Lighting the torch over a hundred meters away, the rodents reacted, indicating their perception ability was obviously stronger than the previously encountered Cold Beasts.
Given this, distance control was essential; getting too close was not an option.
Of course, while keeping an eye on the torch, Bruce also continuously monitored any movement on the North Slope of the mountainside.
If anything seemed off, he'd immediately lead a retreat.
Yet, after staring closely for nearly six or seven minutes, with the small torch burning for almost half of its duration, those two rodents still hadn't appeared.
Bruce looked up at the sky, his brows furrowing tighter.
Dawn was about to break; if those two rodents didn't show up soon, they'd have to head back.
It doesn't add up; with the small torch burning for so long, why haven't they taken the bait?
Could it be, the small torch doesn't attract them?
"Ah…"
A suppressed, low scream suddenly interrupted Bruce's thoughts.
"Damn, it's Aaron, quickly, get over there!"
Bruce darted towards the tree where Aaron was hiding.
Within ten meters, he saw Aaron, with his left arm covered in blood and his face pale, running towards him.
He had three huge claw marks on his chest, oozing blood.
At the same time, two silver figures swiftly and agilely moved among the branches above the tree, so fast even their shadows were hard to perceive.
One figure leapt down from a branch, its target clearly Aaron.