Gordon's lips were tightly pursed as he agilely moved through the complex terrain of the dense forest.
The previous smooth sailing seemed to have exhausted his good luck; it had been over two hours since he left the Hunting Camp, and he had only just found traces of a Great Wild Boar.
He looked up at the sky.
Although the sun hadn't completely set, the light had dimmed considerably. If he wanted to complete the hunt before nightfall, there wasn't much time left.
Night hunting wasn't entirely impossible; having undergone complete Hunter training, he could still move freely even in the dark.
However, Shuretsusen Hill was home to too many nocturnal animals, and even monsters.
Compared to daytime, the danger of night hunting was undoubtedly several times higher.
At this point, he had two choices.
One was to give up the pursuit, return to the Hunting Camp immediately, and resume hunting after daybreak tomorrow. Anyway, only two days of the three-day mission time limit had passed, so as long as he completed the subjugation mission before the end of tomorrow, there would be no problem.
The second was to continue tracking the Great Wild Boar's trail and complete the mission as soon as possible.
Both his former instructor's teachings and his own rationality told Gordon that returning to the Hunting Camp at this moment was the best choice.
But another thought was also brewing in his mind.
"So what if it's night hunting? Am I scared? If I don't even have this much courage, how will I hunt Flying Wyverns in the future?"
Without hesitating for a few seconds, Gordon, who was at his most impulsive age, decided to go for it!
He even found an excuse for himself in his heart:
"What if I have bad luck tomorrow and can't find a single Great Wild Boar all day? Wouldn't the mission fail then? This isn't impulsiveness on my part; it's a mature decision based on the actual situation, made after careful consideration!"
Having made his decision, Gordon adjusted his gear, quickened his pace, and plunged into the depths of the gloomy, wild forest.
Over half an hour later, the forest became completely dark.
Due to the dense vegetation, night always came faster in the jungle.
In the dim light, tree branches and vines loomed indistinctly, the strange calls of night owls drifted near and far, and fireflies floated sporadically like will-o'-the-wisps. A more timid person might even scream just standing there.
But Gordon was extremely excited.
He was currently squatting on the ground, examining a Great Wild Boar's footprint.
"The footprints are very fresh; that fellow is nearby!" Gordon couldn't help but grin as he rubbed the soft earth at the edge of the footprint with his finger.
Hunting wasn't just about combat.
Information gathering, preparation of equipment and items, and tracking traces were all important components of the hunting process.
Now that he had found his target, he was confident he could deal with it cleanly and efficiently.
He slightly lowered his body, bent his knees, and moved forward with his feet almost touching the ground, alternating steps.
This method of movement was not fast, but it minimized noise, preventing the target from noticing or becoming alert, making it easier to gain the upper hand.
Gordon silently searched forward, and soon, the target appeared in his line of sight.
This was a lone wild boar, not very large, and its tusks weren't long. It was likely a female, even easier to handle than the one he encountered before.
As long as he took it down, he could complete the mission, pass the assessment, and become an official Hunter!
Thinking of this, Gordon's heart rate uncontrollably began to accelerate.
His instructor's teaching, "Always observe carefully and confirm the surrounding environment before starting a hunt," was thrown to the back of his mind.
After quickly scanning his surroundings and briefly confirming that no other creatures were in sight, Gordon decisively launched his Attack Up.
The plan was the same as before: charge in, initiate with a shield bash to disrupt the target's balance, then follow up with a series of slashes to end the fight!
The young Hunter was full of confidence.
However, this time, things did not go as he had planned.
Perhaps the distance wasn't close enough, or perhaps it was because the target wasn't feeding at the moment and was quite vigilant.
As soon as he burst out of the shadows, the Great Wild Boar, sensing something, turned its head towards him and simultaneously pawed its hind hooves, preparing to charge.
"Tsk."
Gordon clicked his tongue during the charge. Colliding with an unsuspecting Great Wild Boar from the side was fine, but a head-on charge with these guys would be foolish.
However, failing to gain the initiative didn't mean he was at a disadvantage; it just meant the combat process would become slightly more troublesome.
His steps changed, and the full-speed charge in his legs lessened by three points.
Just as he was about to collide with the Great Wild Boar, Gordon crossed his feet and spun, dodging its charge. As he passed the Great Wild Boar, he made a cut on its rump.
The Great Wild Boar let out a miserable howl and stopped.
Gordon wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. He stepped closer and unleashed several more slashes, each striking the Great Wild Boar's hind legs, solely to cripple its charging ability.
Unexpectedly, this Great Wild Boar used its front legs to forcefully swing its head backward, and its dagger-like tusks jabbed towards him.
Gordon was somewhat surprised but not flustered. He raised the Dunjian (Shield Sword/Sword and Shield)on his right arm to meet it.
This was the main reason why apprentice Huntersgenerally used Dunjian (Shield Sword/Sword and Shield).
Light, flexible, neither outstanding in Attack Up nor defense, but very balanced, allowing for quick and smooth transitions between Attack Up and defense in sudden situations.
"Crack!"
The tusks collided with the bone-made round shield. Gordon firmly blocked the Attack Up, while the Great Wild Boar, whose hind legs were seriously injured, staggered backward.
Under the impact, his shield-holding right arm felt a bit numb, but this did not affect his subsequent offensive.
The half-meter-long Hunter's Knife felt as light as a feather in his hand. A vertical slash, a horizontal swing, a turning slash—a whole combo burst forth instantly.
"Hmph, oink, oink, oink!"
The wild boar, repeatedly struck by the blade, let out a piercing, tragic howl that echoed through the forest. Gordon, of course, felt no sympathy for this, continuously swinging his weapon and unleashing slashes.
Until it completely fell.
Compared to the previous one, this wild boar's death was far more gruesome.
Its body was crisscrossed with knife marks, with hardly any good skin left, and blood was splattered everywhere.
Gordon stood panting heavily. Even with his excellent physical condition, this continuous full-power Attack Up was truly exhausting.
Fortunately, the hunt was over.
Now he just needed to collect the wild boar's tusks and take them back to the Hunting Camp.
After catching his breath, Gordon, who was about to walk towards the Great Wild Boar's corpse, suddenly froze.
He could feel a dangerous and malevolent gaze locking onto him.
Ignoring the Great Wild Boar's corpse nearby, Gordon sharply turned towards a certain direction, raised his arm to brace his round shield in front of him, gripped his Hunter's Knife tightly, and was fully on alert.
Heavy breathing, heavy footsteps that slightly vibrated the ground, and the crackling sound of breaking trees.
A massive dark shadow slowly emerged from among the trees.
The first thing that entered his sight was a pair of gigantic tusks, thicker than tree trunks.
Facing these massive tusks, a thought involuntarily popped into Gordon's mind: "Are these really things that can naturally grow from a living creature?"
The giant tusks were neither smooth nor beautiful, their thickness was uneven, and they were even asymmetrical.
But the spiral patterns, like steel bars twisted by giant machinery, filled with a sense of power, possessed an untamed tension that was impossible to ignore.
"...Dosfangao." Gordon secretly swallowed his saliva.
He, of course, knew this fellow, the king of the Great Wild Boar tribe, a monster crowned by the Hunterswith the title "Valiant General."
—The Great Wild Boar King.