Live Strong in the Wilderness-Chapter 131: Astonishing Defense

Xu Yi and Lu Ke both didn’t sleep, so later they simply went to the courtyard and began peeling hemp fibers. After all, with nothing to do all night, it was very boring to wait until daybreak.

When dawn arrived, the two went out.

"Why are we up so early today? It’s just 6 o’clock. Did something happen?"

"They woke up around three last night because a trapped beast kept them awake all night."

"Their snares caught something again. That’s great! Set up more and they won’t have to worry about food and drink!"

"I don’t know what big creature it was that kept calling for several hours."

Xu Yi and Lu Ke quickly arrived near the trap.

"Such a small little guy; I thought it was pretty big." Lu Ke saw the animal hanging from the snare, covered all over with earth-yellow scales, quite small, about the size of a marmot.

"No idea what kind of animal this is, but it sure put up a fuss." Xu Yi said, and then pulled back a bow, shooting an arrow at the animal.

The wooden arrow was immediately bounced off, causing no harm at all.

"Let me try." Lu Ke said, then raised her short crossbow.

"Whoosh!"

The crossbow arrow shot out, but it was still deflected by the animal’s scales.

"So solid? The arrow can’t even penetrate?" Lu Ke glanced at her short crossbow, surprised.

At that moment, the animal also woke up.

The claws were very short, and didn’t look particularly sharp.

The mouth, however, was quite large, and the teeth inside seemed pretty sharp.

"What should we do, should we kill it?" Lu Ke looked at Xu Yi, loading another crossbow arrow into the short crossbow.

"Hmm, kill it first and we’ll see." With that, Xu Yi drew his machete, walking towards the animal.

Actually, small animals caught are still pretty easy to free. After all, they can hunch their bodies and bite through the rope. But this one didn’t.

Since it stayed, it’s food.

Although we don’t know what animal this is, generally speaking, it’s all protein.

Bear Grylls said, remove the head and tail, and it’s delicious.

Xu Yi took his blade, went on and swung.

The blade struck the animal’s neck.

"Hmm?"

Xu Yi discovered he couldn’t cut through the animal’s neck.

Since acquiring this miraculous machete, nothing had been able to withstand its sharpness.

Now, this little animal actually used its scales to block the blade?

"So hard?" Lu Ke was also surprised, having never seen anything withstand Xu Yi’s machete.

Xu Yi swung the blade again, not believing the animal’s scale armor could be so tough.

After this swing, the animal let out a scream.

Xu Yi’s blade broke through the animal’s scale armor, though the wound wasn’t very large.

"Indeed, very hard, for such force to only make a small cut." Xu Yi was fairly satisfied with the result.

Blood continuously flowed from the wound, indicating the animal’s life was near its end.

"Xu Yi, the scales of this animal are so tough; could they be used to make armor?" Lu Ke thought wearing such scale armor could fend off creatures like wild wolves.

Perhaps, even tigers could be thwarted by its claws and sharp teeth.

"Hard to say, and it’s not easy to catch." Xu Yi thought Lu Ke’s idea was great, but getting enough scale armor to make armor would be difficult.

"Our arrows have no effect on it, so it’s not easy to catch, only traps can work." Lu Ke still believed they should find a way to catch more. As for weapons, without iron, upgrades are limited.

If there were iron, the arrowheads could be upgraded, making hunting easier.

Not just arrows, other weapons could be made too.

"I’m curious if its meat is especially tasty. Normally, the harder the shell of an animal, the softer and tastier the meat." Xu Yi looked at the animal as if it were a delicacy.

"Talk about appetite, Lu Ke mentioned making armor, and you’re considering how it tastes?"

"This little alien animal shivered, its sturdy scale armor couldn’t withstand Xu Yi’s Divine Blade."

"This is the first time I’ve seen an animal that made Xu Yi swing twice."

"Remember that last wild wolf? Xu Yi’s machete chopped it with one swing."

"I also think Lu Ke’s suggestion is good. Something that withstands Xu Yi’s powered-up Divine Blade wouldn’t flinch against iron arrows!"

"Not even big trees withstand a few chops from Xu Yi, but this animal after two swings only had a small wound. If this were made into armor, defense would be higher than ancient battle armor!"

"Don’t forget, Lu Ke is also a foodie. You see, after Xu Yi’s words, Lu Ke was practically drooling."

"Getting a harvest early in the morning is pretty nice. I think, too, the meat will be tasty, maybe even boost kidney function."

"Boost kidney function... Xu Yi might worry about that."

"This is their first catch of a native wild animal; maybe it really tastes good."

"I also want to try alien creature meat. Watching Wanzi and the others eat Steel-Clawed Earth Wolf seemed tasty."

"A delicious breakfast delivered right to the door. Looks tasty."

Seeing the blood flow too slowly, Xu Yi continued to vigorously chop at the spot.

After several swings, the area was cut open, and blood surged out; in less than five minutes, the animal was motionless.

Then Xu Yi went up to take the animal down.

Afterward, Xu Yi set the snare again.

The roe deer leg originally used as bait was gone, likely carried off by other animals attracted during the night.

After everything was handled, Xu Yi and Lu Ke carried the unknown animal back.

"You go practice the Strengthening 18 Forms; I’ll handle this animal." Xu Yi said to Lu Ke, then went to the water’s edge.

Upon examination, Xu Yi found a line on its abdomen.

So, Xu Yi drew his dagger and cut along the line, smoothly opening it.

Upon inspection, Xu Yi saw the internal organs, not much different from other animals.

Xu Yi took out the animal’s stomach, finding it omnivorous, with some undigested tender grass and bits of rotting meat.