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Chapter 35: Boar Hunt 2
(TN: Sorry for the late upload. One thing led to another and the chapter got delayed.)
Twenty-one serfs and two commoners are walking towards the woods. They said that the nearest spot for hunting is located this way.
Rodan and Allen left the house before 7:00 am, because they were not fetching water today. It must be around eight o’clock now. They said they would be at the hunting spot before noon.
(Even by then, they should be able to increase the number of Boars they hunt.)
I wondered why I was so concerned about the number of Boars. It was the village mayor who had been asking for more participants for years. He said that it is his Lord’s order to increase the number of Boars to be killed in a hunt.
I remembered the words of the Knight Commander who came to see Kurena. He had said that this land placed the greatest importance on increasing food supply.
As we walked along, I thought about the possible reasons for the Lord’s push for Boar hunting. I can think of three main possible reasons.
Reason 1: There is no major industry in the land, so they are focusing more on increasing the food supply.
Reason 2: They want to increase tax collection since they’ve been able to get Boars on the market.
Reason 3: There is a shortage of food in the land or in the Kingdom.
(All three of them seem logical but I’m going to go with 1 or 2. It can’t be 3 because there are still merchants coming to the village to sell fruit, so it’s not like there’s a shortage of food.)
I hadn’t noticed it yet but my thinking had changed a bit. I’m sure it’s because for the first time in my seven year of reincarnation, I’ve stepped outside of the village and my perspectives have expanded.
“Okay, we’re here.”
Rodan’s voice brought everyone to a stop. We had just entered the forest and were a little further ahead.
The area was a bit wide and bare of trees, enough space for twenty people to hunt.
Since we had been walking for several hours, we all ate dried potatoes from our bags and drank water from our water bottles.
“Pekeji, what are you going to do today?”
Gerda called out to a man named Pekeji. He comes in, taking a bite of a dried potato.
They discuss the plan carefully again by drawing a picture with a stick on the ground, as to where they will bring the Boar from. Allen is also there with him, listening to the discussion.
The twenty of us will be divided into three groups. So, there would be three leaders Rodan, Gerda and Pekeji.
Pekeji’s group’s actions would make the difference between life and death for all.
“We’re going to attack the north side today.”
Pekeji replied, “North?”
Then Gerda confirmed that the Boar would come from that direction.
Pekeji’s team was supposed to bring in one Boar.
In the game that I used to play when I was Kenichi, my role was to bring the desired enemy close to the camp where my allies were. I was called a bait in the game.
The three groups grabbed their weapons and disappeared into the woods. It was not a spear, but a wooden sword. They use it to fish Boar.
The Boars are scattered throughout the forest, but they are not all in one group. If they find one Boar, they’re good but if they bring more than one to the other two groups, we won’t be able to catch them and our hunt will end in failure.
The three groups must work together to defeat one Boar.
In the fall, this forest near the village has more great Boars.
I was curious why the Boars came to the forest in the fall mostly, but Rodan and Gerda didn’t know the details quite well.
What they did know was that after passing through the forest, there was a mountain range called the White Dragon Mountains, where the White Dragons lived. Boars originally live in the foothills of the White Dragon Mountains and they come to the forest in search of food in autumn. So I was told that they return to the foothills of the mountain range in the winter after autumn is completely over.
(I can’t see the mountain range. I think it’s pretty far away. Or maybe because the trees are in the way.)
“Here it comes!”
Pekeji came running out of the woods interrupting Allen’s thoughts. The other two didn’t come back. It seems that there were three Boars, and two were on their way to scatter them in the woods.
“Goooooooooooo!”
The Great Boar came. He tried to crush Pekeji but he dodged it by using a large tree as a shield. He slammed Boar’s body into the tree and ran to his friends while it slowed down.
Gerda is waiting for him, saying, “We’ll take it from here.” Gerda’s team will take care of the next task. There are about eleven of them. This is the largest group among the three.
Pekeji runs towards Gerda at once. He rushes through Gerda’s group.
A Boar approaches Pekeji from behind, running at full speed. It has large teeth and horns growing from the tip of its nose to its head. It’s huge body, over three meters tall, shakes and rolls into the air, drooling all over the place.
I can understand why he’s so scared. It’s a C-ranked magical beast after all.
I watch from farther behind Gerda. The earth shaking from the Boar’s stomping can be felt all the way up here, and the strength is also overwhelming.
“Come on! Everyone, hold tight.”
“Ooohhhhhhhh !”
Gerda’s group was in charge of stopping the boar. They were basically the wall. It’s better catch a rushing Boar and surround it then stab it to death. Eleven spears, modified for hunting Boars, were lined up in front of the Boar.
The Boar rushes at Pekeji with great speed.
“Oiiiiiiii” Pekeji shouted.
Gerda’s team desperately tries to catch it. The eleven of them unite as one to stop the Boar. The serfs grit their teeth.
“Whoa, we’ve stopped it! Enclose them! Rodan, you’re up!”
Gerda’s group holds the Boar at spear point as they surround its large head.
“I’m on it! Let’s go!” Rodan said to his group.
“‘Okay!” shouted everybody.
Rodan’s group consisted of six people. They split up into three groups on each side to stab the Boar in the side.
The target is the Boar’s neck. They aim for the blood vessels in the neck. Boar’s head is big and hard. Its back is also covered with a hard outer skin. To defeat a Boar, they need to stab the spear deep into its soft neck and stab its vital points.
It was a Boar hunt, with twenty men doing their part, a coordination that had been developed over the past ten years.
(Okay, the situation is just as I’ve planned. It’s going to work.)
“Well, I guess we’d better get started.” I hear the new recruits say.
“Okay, okay.”
“Okay, I’ll go.
At this point, the commoners finally moved. The new commoners have a spear. And from where Allen was, they headed towards the mass struggling to stop the Boar.
They reach the back of Gerda.
“Here we go!”
Allen’s strategy was very simple: use short, two-meter spears on the serfs. This time, he prepared a spear twice as long, four meters, for the commoners. And the commoners were provided with spears twice as long (four meters), which they used to surround the Boar and stab from the back.
The plan was for the bait team to catch one Boar, the wall team to hold it, and the encircling team to defeat it. No matter where you put the newcomers, if they are unlucky, they will die.
(It would be a mistake to put them in one of the groups in the first place. We just let them stab Boar from behind.)
And one of the commoners stabbed the Boar.
The new commoner was also stabbing hard, when Boar let out a particularly loud yell. He seemed to have pierced the throat, the vital point. It stung deeply and fresh blood spurted out. His movements slowed down, as if he was losing strength, and he finally fell on his side. A huge body collapsed and the earth shook.
(Oh! they’ve defeated it safely!)
As they were checking to see if they had defeated it completely, two commoners shouted.
“Aaaaah! It’s over!”
“Oh, my power! Thank you, God!”
Apparently, they had improved. One of them exclaimed that he had passed the test of God. He was looking at his hand holding the spear.
(Oh, so just jabbing Boar from behind raised his level. I guess it’s normal mode.)
I check to see if I’ve gained any experience.
(I knew I wouldn’t get any experience just by standing here.)
I had expected this, but I was disappointed that I really didn’t get any experience (EXP).
And so began the training of new Boar hunters using Allen’s method.