Chapter 813: Chapter 796: The First Prey in Actual Combat
The little white falcon, fed only half the amount yesterday, now exudes a murderous aura. It perches on Yue Feng’s arm, its big, black eyes searching everywhere, missing nothing in the swaying grasses around it.
For this live-action hunt, Yue Feng has prepared extremely thoroughly. He carries a pack on his back, a military knife for self-defense, jerky as provisions, and in his left hand, he holds a thick pine stick which serves as both protection and a walking stick.
Starting the livestream, Yue Feng keeps the drone at a height just above his head.
Due to Yue Feng’s recent desensitization efforts, the falcon has grown accustomed to his tools and is gradually less wary. At lower altitudes, it no longer feels nervous.
“Morning, Brother Feng!”
“Oh ho ho! Front row! I set a special alert just to watch the stream!”
“Are you setting out, Brother Feng?”
Yue Feng placed a hood on the falcon and simply said, “Hello, everyone! I’m Yue Feng! It’s my first live-action hunt, and I’ve chosen a familiar nearby hunting ground for this.”
Choosing the hunting ground is one of the key points of a hunting operation. The benefits include a better understanding of the environment and game types, increasing the success rate, and so on.
Preparations are complete. Brothers, follow my perspective, let’s go!”
With cane in left hand and falcon in right, Yue Feng strides towards the wilderness.
In true combat mode, Yue Feng’s demeanor is noticeably different. His steps are steady, his eyes watchful and ears attentive, exuding a powerful aura.
As he walks, his wooden stick taps around in the shrubs and grasses, while the falcon, having grown used to the perch, sits stably on his arm like Mount Tai.
This hunting ground is located in a wilderness between the water source and the forest, with a considerable number of prey.
Not even fifty meters ahead, a rustling sound emanates from the bushes.
“Something’s there!” Yue Feng called out, immediately holding his breath to observe.
Soon, a head peeks from the underbrush. The drone’s camera provides a close-up—damn, they thought it was some game, but it’s just a ground squirrel.
“A squirrel! This one’s a bit bigger than the ones before, Brother Feng, release the falcon!”
“It should be a ground squirrel—it looks big but doesn’t have much meat. An Indian sister previously caught one with a trap, and it barely had any meat!”
“It’s a ground squirrel! These critters are active in the wilderness, slightly larger than tree squirrels, very keen and agile. They’re too small, so we won’t catch them!” Yue Feng had no intention of releasing the falcon for such a tiny creature; it’d hardly have two ounces of meat when caught, so he dismissed it on his own.
With the false alarm over, Yue Feng continued exploring, easing up to chat with viewers about ground squirrels stealing tree squirrels’ food reserves, when suddenly, a grey shadow shot out from beneath his feet at high speed, darting desperately into the distance.
The fully free rabbit moved with astounding speed, leaving Yue Feng with very little time to react.
The drone’s lens captured the chase, but Yue Feng’s reaction lagged. Two seconds later, the camera showed the rabbit nearing the low bushes and pine area. Chasing with the falcon would lead them into the woods, missing the best opportunity.
“Oh, guys, that was my mistake! Got carried away chatting and lost concentration! Missed a great shot!” Yue Feng lamented slightly, and subconsciously tightened his focus.
The rabbit that had just sped past made Yue Feng feel that keeping the falcon hooded hindered his response time, so he took the hood off.
Seeing light again, the falcon quickly entered combat mode, its feathers flaring out like a brooding hen, eyes scanning for any overlooked signs.
“The speed of a wild rabbit is really fast. From spotting it to commanding the falcon to attack, we have less than two seconds. If the rabbit reaches the woods’ edge, the chance is lost!” Yue Feng summarized his earlier error succinctly.
As he was speaking, another plump rabbit sprang up at his feet, dashing away at full tilt.
This time, Yue Feng reacted instantly, blowing a whistle and loosening his two-fingered grasp immediately.
The falcon locked onto its target almost simultaneously with the rabbit’s dash, powerfully kicking off from Yue Feng’s arm, its wings thrusting strongly, propelling its entire body like an arrow towards the rabbit.
Head-on was the falcon at its peak, against a fully free and unfettered rabbit. The next second, the footage revealed an astonishing scene.
The falcon skimmed low around sixty to seventy centimeters off the grasses, pursuing, as the rabbit madly dashed ahead.
Every so often, when it seemed about to catch up, the rabbit managed a sudden sharp turn to break free of the falcon’s targeting, picking a new direction to run again.
The falcon, though momentarily outmaneuvered, was resolutely determined, subtly adjusting direction to continue its chase.
After three consecutive sharp turns, the falcon seized an opportunity, delivering a solid kick to the rabbit’s lower back.
The thud sounded far louder than during yesterday’s simulation exercise; the running rabbit was kicked up over a meter in the air.
After landing, the rabbit still tried to run. Just as it regained balance, a second kick came.
This time, the thud was much duller. The rabbit, kicked again, weakly trembled its hind legs on the ground, but soon it went silent.
Deadly kick, another deadly kick!
Seeing the rabbit kicked dead, Yue Feng ran over briskly.
This chase covered some seventy to eighty meters. By the time Yue Feng arrived, a patch of fur on the rabbit’s head had already been plucked bald. The falcon, with its hooked serrated beak, tore open a gory wound rapidly.
After all, this was the falcon’s first independently hunted rabbit, so Yue Feng didn’t immediately use a lure to trade out the prey but crouched about a meter away, letting the falcon feast.
Many predators start eating from the head in their prey, and the falcon was no exception. There’s little meat on the rabbit’s head, so Yue Feng wasn’t worried it would fill up too quickly.
Grasping the rabbit’s head with two talons, the falcon gnawed for a while, finally tasting a little fresh meat. Seeing it was about time, Yue Feng pulled out a lure, whistled, and swapped out the first rabbit.
Wiping the falcon’s beak with his hand, Yue Feng casually hooded it.
“Guys, that’s the first rabbit of the live hunt, another deadly kick! Let’s see where the lethal spot was this time!”
Greeting everyone, Yue Feng picked up the rabbit for inspection.
After a thorough check, Yue Feng soon found traces of the attack at two spots: the lower back and neck of the rabbit.
The lower back showed some bruising but was not fatal; the truly deadly blow was in the neck area. Under the intact rabbit hide, the vertebrae had been displaced by the kick! That was the main cause of death!
Seeing the falcon’s agile pursuit and rapid maneuvering in the hunt, the livestream chat burst into excitement.
“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! This is fucking thrilling!”
“No kidding, my heart rate was over two hundred just now, and it’s still pounding!”
“Brother Feng, Brother Feng, is there a legal opportunity in the country to train falcons? I’d pay more, this is even more thrilling than fishing! I think I’m getting hooked!”