Chapter 102 – Lair
The group divided their tasks.
Ba Niu and Xiao Tang returned to the truck, while Xia Huo Qu, Yan Xi Nian, and Kong Zhi transformed back into their beast forms.
Since Xia Huo Qu would need his claws and teeth during the fight, he no longer carried Xia Lu Nong in his mouth. Instead, he used fabric and rope to secure Xia Lu Nong to his back.
Xia Lu Nong clung tightly to his brother’s neck. If anything went wrong, he’d immediately transform and leap off his brother’s back.
The presence of the giant tiger, wolf, and golden eagle put immense pressure on the cow herd, especially since their old nemesis, the honeysuckle, was right in front of them.
“Moo—” The lead cow bellowed, took a few steps back, and retreated.
The herd became restless, and they began to back away.
The road had been wide enough when they arrived, allowing the cows to gather smoothly. But as more cows piled in, the path became crowded, leaving them unable to retreat.
Panic spread through the herd. The giant cows began colliding with each other, desperately searching for an exit.
It was the perfect opportunity to attack!
Xia Lu Nong held onto his brother’s neck, breathing lightly as he watched the scene unfold.
“Roar—”
The enormous white tiger charged into the herd with a roar.
The herd erupted into chaos. Some cows lowered their heads and charged at the white tiger, while others frantically squeezed past their companions, trying to escape.
Cows pressed against each other, and many let out distressed cries as they tried to flee but found no way out.
“Roar—!”
With another roar, the white tiger leaped up like lightning, dodging the charging cows. Its powerful front paws struck the neck of a cow, ripping off a large chunk of flesh.
“Moo!” The injured giant cow let out an angry bellow as blood spurted from its neck, splattering onto the white tiger, staining its snow-white fur red.
The pungent, warm blood filled the air, stirring the group’s adrenaline.
Several nearby cows, seeing their companion attacked, charged fearlessly at the white tiger’s waist.
The white tiger was soon surrounded on all sides by the herd.
It wasn’t hard to imagine that if one of those horns struck the tiger, it would likely break its spine.
Xia Lu Nong’s heart raced as he watched Yan Xi Nian’s movements, “Be careful—”
His fists clenched as he wished he could take his place.
In the air, the golden eagle swooped down to assist, using its wings to strike the cows and its talons to gouge at their eyes.
But these cows were enormous—much larger than pre-catastrophe water buffaloes!
Despite Kong Zhi’s immense strength, he couldn’t lift the cows off the ground.
The fearless cows pressed onward, undeterred by the pain of the eagle’s talons raking across their faces, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.
Damn!
Xia Lu Nong finally understood why, despite the abundance of mutated plants and animals in N University, it was these mutated cows that ended up ruling the area.
They were cunning, ferocious, and far from being ordinary animals.
His brother Yan Xi Nian was in danger!
“Roar—”
The giant wolf let out a howl, signaling his rider to hold on tight. Without hesitation, he turned his head and dashed forward to provide support.
Everything happened in an instant.
Before the support from the sky and the ground could arrive, the herd of cows had already closed in on the giant tiger.
It seemed like the tiger was about to suffer a serious injury.
At that moment, the giant tiger leaped straight up into the air, soaring over two meters high. His massive figure turned into a flash of white light, hovering in mid-air just before the giant cows could crash into him.
The cows, charging from all directions, ended up colliding with each other instead.
Several dull “crack” sounds were heard as the thick horns of the cows snapped off and shattered into pieces on the ground.
“Moo—”
A pained bellow echoed from the herd.
Blood spurted out, staining the heads and faces of the cows.
At the same time, the giant tiger had already leaped into the air, landing on the back of one of the cows. Using the force, he jumped again, smacking the cow hard on its rear, sending it charging forward into the honeysuckle’s territory.
The cow, in pain, charged uncontrollably into the honeysuckle’s range.
The thick vines of the honeysuckle shot out like arrows, flexible and deadly like tentacles, grabbing the cow and dragging it into the center of the flower cluster.
With a single cry, the cow’s neck was slit open by the vines, and it quickly perished.
Layer upon layer of vines moved aside, revealing a large pit in the ground. The cow was dragged into it, and the vines closed over it again. In the blink of an eye, the cow disappeared without a trace.
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed that this honeysuckle was so savage that it could devour a giant cow in mere moments.
Xia Lu Nong swallowed nervously. This honeysuckle was even more terrifying than he had imagined. They would need to be extra cautious in dealing with it.
The herd of cows watched this scene unfold and grew even more enraged.
The lead cow let out a furious roar and charged at the giant tiger again.
Though some of the cows were already injured and bleeding profusely, they became even more determined, turning their heads and charging at the tiger with their broken horns.
The tiger’s eyes flashed brightly, and his momentum grew stronger as he prepared to meet the cows head-on.
What followed was a chaotic scene of roaring cows and tigers.
Both sides were of equal size—on one side, a carnivorous predator, and on the other, a mutated herbivore. Ultimately, the giant tiger held the upper hand, forcing the cows back.
While the cows were heavy and clumsy, the tiger, with the agility unique to felines, dodged left and right between the cows. Each swipe of his powerful claws and bite of his sharp teeth inflicted significant damage on the herd.
The golden eagle circled overhead, seizing every opportunity to swoop down and leave deep wounds on the cows with its talons.
Some of the cows, driven into a frenzy, continued to charge at the tiger and the eagle recklessly.
In the chaos, several cows mistakenly wandered into the honeysuckle’s range and were quickly strangled by its vines.
The stench of blood in the air grew stronger and stronger. Xia Lu Nong, perched on his brother’s back, watched in stunned silence.
Some of the mutated cows, now fearful, began to retreat, kicking up their hooves to flee.
However, with the tiger and wolf on the ground and the eagle in the sky, only about ten cows managed to escape.
“Moo—” The lead cow, injured again, gave up the fight, bellowed, and ran off.
The rest of the herd quickly followed.
The giant tiger swiped with his paw, shattering the skulls of two cows with a single blow.
The two giant cows collapsed with a thud, their bodies hitting the ground with a heavy sound.
The remaining cows swerved around him, taking advantage of the confusion to escape.
Without hesitation, the giant tiger dropped to all fours and chased after them with a roar.
The giant wolf followed from behind, while the golden eagle circled overhead.
Everything happened so quickly that Ba Niu and Xiao Tang, sitting in the truck’s cab, were left speechless as they watched the scene unfold.
Xiao Tang gulped, “Should we follow them?”
Ba Niu was equally stunned, having never seen such a situation before. “Maybe we should provide backup? In case Captain Yan charges too fast, we could offer some firepower support.”
“Then… let’s go.”
Xiao Tang hesitated for a moment before stepping on the gas, turning the truck around to follow the giant wolf and tiger.
The golden eagle landed on the roof of the truck, causing it to shake slightly.
“Even Kong Zhi agrees!” Xiao Tang’s eyes lit up. “This time, we’ve got it under control.”
Ba Niu glanced back at the honeysuckle and lowered his voice, “Is it possible that the honeysuckle is too powerful? Maybe they’re trying to avoid it to talk things over.”
The two exchanged a glance and, understanding each other, fell silent.
They had to be extra careful because the honeysuckle could understand human speech.
The herd of cows, running for their lives, moved quickly, but they were still no match for the speed of the tiger and wolf.
The tiger and wolf easily kept pace, not chasing too aggressively.
The cows at the front seemed terrified, charging blindly ahead, while the lead cow at the back bellowed in an attempt to call them back, though it was largely ineffective.
The herd gathered together like a flood, all heading in a specific direction.
After watching for a while, Xia Lu Nong suddenly realized—they were running toward their nest.
If they followed the herd, they could find the cows’ lair!
Excitement bubbled within Xia Lu Nong. He couldn’t wait to see what the cows’ nest looked like, how many more battle-ready cows were there, and how many calves might be inside.
Perhaps they could even bring back a batch of calves!
Soon, Xia Lu Nong saw his brother, Yan Xi Nian, slow down, no longer giving chase but trailing from a distance.
The herd ran up the mountainside and into a semi-enclosed courtyard.
Sitting on his brother’s back, Xia Lu Nong couldn’t see clearly but noticed the cows disappearing.
As they continued their pursuit, the dense vegetation brushed against them, and Xia Lu Nong had to reach out to push the plants aside, his eyes anxiously fixed on the path ahead.
The vegetation was so thick that he worried they might lose track of the herd.
Soon, Xia Lu Nong realized that his brother was running without hesitation, always pursuing in a specific direction.
His brother knew where the herd’s lair was!
No, wait!
Xia Lu Nong figured it out—his brother didn’t actually know the location of the lair. Instead, it was his exceptional sense of smell that allowed him to track the prey closely.
As they turned another corner, Xia Lu Nong was suddenly hit by the strong smell of cow dung.
In the depths of the yard stood a row of buildings. Beneath one partially collapsed building was a wide, open space where many of the cows resided.
Xia Lu Nong immediately spotted the scattered cows and piles of hay on the ground.
The previously injured cows had also returned, their heads stained with fresh blood.
The cows that had stayed behind were now panicking.
The herd gathered together, sniffing and bellowing as they communicated.
Soon, the lead cow stepped toward a corner of the wall.
There was a patch of vines there. The entire lair was surrounded by green vegetation, so Xia Lu Nong hadn’t paid much attention to it—until the lead cow approached. That’s when he noticed a faint gray shadow moving among the vines.
It seemed like something more was hidden there.
Xia Lu Nong widened his eyes, trying to see clearly.
The lead cow lowered its head and tore off a piece of vine.
After ripping it apart, it grabbed something—a small, light-gray rabbit?
How could there be a rabbit here?
Xia Lu Nong was shocked. Could it be that these cows were raising rabbits?
No, that didn’t make sense. Why would cows raise rabbits?
Unable to contain his curiosity, Xia Lu Nong sat up straight, eager to understand what was going on.
But before he could even fully process his thoughts, the lead cow suddenly threw the rabbit hard onto the ground.
The rabbit hit the ground with a twitch of its legs and then stopped moving.
The lead cow lowered its head, opened its wide mouth, and began gnawing on the rabbit’s body.
In one bite, half of the gray rabbit was gone, revealing its bloody insides.
“Oh my god!” Xia Lu Nong couldn’t hold back a gasp.
The giant wolf glanced back at him, signaling him to stay quiet.
In just a few bites, the lead cow had devoured almost the entire rabbit, leaving behind only a few bits of fur and bone.
Still not satisfied, it tore away more vines and grabbed a second rabbit.
The other injured cows crowded around, trying to share in the feast.
Xia Lu Nong had never imagined such a brutal scene. Their base had cows too, and though some were mutated, they were still relatively gentle by nature.
But these cows had evolved into predators.
The injured cows pulled out a total of four rabbits from the vines. After finishing their meal, they returned to the herd, still craving more.
Then, Xia Lu Nong saw the lead cow approach a calf.
The calf seemed to have been born recently—thin and frail, it wobbled on its legs as it tried to stand up.
The lead cow opened its mouth.
Xia Lu Nong thought it would lick the calf, but instead, it opened its massive jaws and bit down on the calf’s neck, breaking it in one bite.
These cows had developed a habit of eating their own young!
Thanks for the chapter! So creepy…