Wild 1979: From Fishing and Hunting to Becoming a Literary Master

Chapter 81 Pincer Attack

After leaving the old opium den, Chen Tuo continued walking uphill. The white wind in front of him remained as thick as snow and smoke, without weakening in the slightest.

Braving the blizzard, they walked for another half hour before the gunshots and wolf howls in the valley finally reached their ears clearly.

"Uncle Wu, is this a case of people surrounding wolves, or wolves surrounding people?"

Although he didn't have much hunting experience, Chen Tuo felt that the howling wolves down the mountain drowned out the gunshots.

"Wolves are sharp, slippery, and incredibly vengeful. They've trapped the deer in ditches and ponds on the mountain, setting a snare for people."

Although the white blizzard obscured the view, preventing any sight of the gullies and meadows below the hillside.

But thirty years of experience running in the mountains, plus the experience I've gained from traveling all over the surrounding mountains.

Ever since he heard the wolf howl, Wu Laowai has shown his capable and efficient side.

Listen to the wolf howls to escape danger, then listen to the wolf howls again to analyze the situation in the ditch and pond.

Although he didn't see it with his own eyes, what he said was pretty much accurate.

The gullies and meadows below the hillside are the pastures and deer enclosures of the Dobukur settlement.

The night before, the Songling militia went up the mountain to help them gather the reindeer herd.

At the time, my idea was to ambush the wolf pack in the ditches and ponds.

Moreover, there was no fodder to feed the reindeer herd on the mountain, so Dobukur's reindeer herd was kept in a temporary deer pen at the foot of the mountain.

The day after the militia left, the wolf pack made no move.

A mountain breeze picked up tonight, which caused the herd of reindeer to be surrounded in the ditch and pond at the foot of the mountain.

The reindeer's calls attracted hunters from the mountain settlements. When Chen Tuo and Wu Laowai were at the foot of the mountain, the battle between humans and wolves had already begun.

However, due to the obstruction of the North Mountain, the gunshots did not reach the foot of the mountain.

The white dragon, who was leading his people to guard the reindeer herd, was now both anxious and afraid.

The standoff that lasted most of the night had already used up most of their ammunition.

She never expected to encounter the same situation as Chen Tuo.

In the white wind, the reindeer herd was already exhausted from being constantly harassed by several wolves...

On the hillside, after listening to Wu Laowai talk about the nature of wolves, Chen Tuo became more careful and began to carefully wade down the mountain step by step through the snow.

"Just go wherever you want. The mountain wind blows from bottom to top. With such a strong white gust of wind, you might not even be spotted if you walk right up to a pack of wolves."

The two people on the hillside were downwind, and although they still couldn't see the situation below the mountain.

But Wu Laowai was convinced that in this kind of weather, it was difficult for people to find wolves, and wolves could not hear human voices or smell human scents either.

The two men had the advantage of terrain, and Wu Laowai was also thinking about how to trap all the wolves in the ditch.

However, the situation down the mountain was unclear, and no matter how many ideas he had, it would be in vain if he couldn't see the location of the wolf pack.

As the two continued their descent, the white-haired wind showed no signs of abating.

At this point, Wu Laowai had roughly determined the location where the wolf pack had surrounded the reindeer herd and set a trap for the hunters.

"Kid, look how sharp these wolves are. That's the only promontory on the shady slope of the North Mountain. Just past the promontory is the Great Snow Slope, where the snow is knee-deep."

"Whether it's a person or a reindeer, if they run up the snowy slope, they're doomed!"

Seeing the vague mountain shapes and terrain, Wu Laowai felt reassured.

Wolves can ambush reindeer herds and humans, and humans can just as easily ambush wolves.

Without even looking at the situation below, Wu Laowai knew that the hunters in the Dobukuer settlement had encountered the same situation as Chen Tuo the night before.

The main force of the wolf pack huddled on one side of the promontory to avoid the wind and keep warm.

Several old wolves surrounded the reindeer and the hunters, using up their bullets.

Once the hunters show signs of exhaustion and are swept away by the reindeer herd towards the snowy slope, it will be time for the wolves to hunt them down.

"Over at the cape, there should only be a few wolves whittling down the hunters' bullets. Once they run out of bullets, the wolf pack will come in."

"Kid, look at that sheltered spot over the cape. The wolf king should be right there, and there's a whole pack of wolves gathered inside."

After analyzing the location where the wolf pack was clustered, Wu Laowai pulled Chen Tuo aside and carefully explained:

"Didn't you bring buckshot? Once you get close, fire one shot at the wolf pack's group, and the second shot at the wolf alpha crouching on the promontory!"

"The wolf pack will be startled first and will inevitably rush towards the reindeer herd. The wolf alpha will try to block it, but once you fire your second shot, it will lose control of the pack."

"After you fire the second shot, do the same thing as the night before: fire ten or twenty buckshot rounds first, and wait until the wolves have all run away before standing on the promontory to block them."

"I'll follow behind you, starting the fire and lighting the lamps. We're lucky! If things go well, we can trap the entire wolf pack in the blizzard to death in one night!"

Having decided on the pincer attack strategy, Wu Laowai didn't offer any further explanation. He took the sled from Chen Tuo and pushed it backwards down the hillside.

Chen Tuo, who was following behind him, removed the cloth strip blocking the muzzle and hung up the bag containing bullets.

Following Wu Laowai's directions, they strode towards the wolf pack hiding in a sheltered spot on the promontory.

He blasted the slug out of the chamber and replaced it with a buckshot.

When they were almost at the designated location, Chen Tuo saw Wu Laowai crouching down and walking towards him, so he didn't rush to fire.

"Kid, this white-haired wolves are good! They can take another thirty or forty steps. Remember, when you fire, don't hesitate. Shoot the pack first, then the wolf king!"

Having finalized the plan, Wu Laowai didn't bother to light a fire or lamps. Instead, he took out Sun Changkui's small rifle and aimed it at the other side of the ditch.

If it weren't for the promontory blocking his way, he wouldn't have dared to lead Chen Tuo to fire from behind the wolves.

If you are accidentally shot by a hunter, there is no way to seek justice.

With the headland blocking the way, Wu Laowai didn't care about the lives of the hunters and the reindeer herd.

Chen Tuo followed his instructions to disperse the wolf pack. If the hunters guarding the reindeer herd were unable to withstand the wolf pack's attack, there would inevitably be casualties.

There are two best solutions. One is to break up the wolf pack and let them escape, but then the feud between the two of them and the wolf pack would have to be resolved separately.

Secondly, after the wolf pack scattered, the hunters guarding the reindeer herd voluntarily made way for the wolves to climb the snowy slope.

Once the wolf pack was stuck in knee-deep snow, the two groups joined forces and killed the wolves trapped in the snow one by one.

There are two good solutions, and another is to confront each other.

That means flanking them from both sides, trapping the wolf pack in the middle, and letting them freeze to death in the blizzard.

If there are many people, Wu Laowai might notify Bailong and the others on the other side of the cape.

Now, it's just him and Chen Tuo. Whether the hunters will give way or not depends entirely on their own reaction...

At this point, Wu Laowai truly revealed himself as a mountain runner who had traversed the Xingan Mountains for thirty years, displaying his unique, ruthless, fierce, and wicked nature.

The two men walked down the hillside until they reached a spot where the smell of dog stench was overwhelming. Only then did Wu Laowai signal Chen Tuo to prepare to fire.

"Uncle Wu, the wolf pack has scattered. We can't let the reindeer herd escape, can we?"

Before firing, Chen Tuo did think about the reindeer herd on the other side.

But he never expected that the wolf pack would pose a threat to the hunters on the mountain after they rushed over, since the hunters had guns.

"We can just scatter them and find them again! Fight!"

The strong, pungent smell of dogs indicated that there were at least several dozen wolves in the sheltered area at the headland.

With such a pack of wolves eyeing him, Wu Laowai wouldn't care whether the wolves attacked the hunters or not.

The hunters in the mountains have made a living by hunting for generations, and Qian's livelihood is also one of constant danger.

Even if someone were to inform them, they would certainly agree to drive the wolves up the snowy slope once and for all...