The Red Lands

Sniffing around, it found a pellet and quickly swallowed.

Once Chu saw the action of the wolf, they dropped the gate. Before the shocked beast could respond to try to look for a means of escape, the door at the front was raised. It slowly entered the open area of the barn, cautiously taking in the surroundings.

As it entered and started to sniff around the barn, the gate was closed, and two pellets were thrown into the holding bay. The exterior gate was now reopened for a new customer. Since the first wolf was aware of their presence and began its howls and growls, the others soon followed.

The same procedure was done for the wolves as they filed into the barn. The wild animals apparently thought they had broken into the barn through a weak spot. An added consolation was the free food that was scattered around the small holding bay and constantly thrown by the weak humans in a futile effort to satisfy their hunger.

Chu was thinking that the wolves might have suspected it was a trap because of how the doors were repeatedly slammed open and closed. Maybe it was the fact that the wolves were driven by hunger. Maybe it was because the first ones were still alive. Or maybe it was the fact that they were calling the others as they found free food in the form of pellets inside.

Whatever the case, the wolves just kept on coming when the doors were opened.

Lucy constantly lobbed pellets into the cage. The ones that fell outside were gobbled up by the wolves already loose in the barn. The huge area before the platform was now slowly becoming filled to capacity.

While Lucy and Ming were focused on how many were bending down and gobbling the pellets, Chu was busy counting. Since free food was available inside the barn, all of the wolves were busy trying to get in.

When Chu counted twenty-one, he waited with the outer door open. The last thing he wanted was for the animals to get fed up and try to leave. Not seeing anymore coming through, he signaled Ming to close the trap. The numbers were close to what Sakura had counted.

All the time, they sneaked around at the top of the deck. With the bold movements on the loft, the wolves exploded into a frenzy. Unknown to them, the trap was sprung and their prey were beyond reach.

A pack of wolves this large could easily bust their way through the barn if given time. Whether by biting, chewing, slashing, or scraping, they could wear down the sideboards of the wall. They might be able to break through by simply ramming against the wall. Unfortunately, they were fed pellets made to weaken their strength and minds.

These pellets were made from nearly five times the mushroom concentrate of the initial ones. Ming kept the wolves riled up to prevent them from trying to think of a way out. With the wolves focused on his antics and not trying to break anything down as yet, it was like a gift from heaven. Chu did not want them trying to force their way out through the sides. He wanted them to eat and move to speed the poison's effect.

It was not that he doubted Clod's reinforcement of the walls, but the sheer number slightly worried him.

Every now and again, Lucy and Chu lobbed a pellet towards the barn entrance or just under the platform where the most angry ones tried to clamber up the nine-foot fence. It was their way of appreciating the effort they expended. To the wolves, it was like they were shaking a money tree. Anytime they demonstrated their aggressiveness, the frightened creatures above would drop their food.

After a couple of hours, the effects of the poison started to show. It was hard to spot a single wolf in the pack under its effect, but when the majority in the pack began to wobble, even a blind man could see it. Chu now focused on making sure the vigorous ones were now dosed up on the drug by trying to feed them.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

It was late at night with the only light being the torches secured on the side of the barn. Chu waited until the wolves became weak. When he started to attack, he didn't want the wolves to be strong and sensible enough to coordinate their escape.

Maybe the alpha leader was the first to succumb, it might have been true, considering it would have been allowed the privilege of gobbling up the first set of pellets scattered across the barn.

The crux of the matter was that at present, there was no leader capable of functioning properly to aid the pack in an escape.

Confirming the pellets were eaten, Chu waited for all of them to start exhibiting the hallucinogenic effect. Like the wolf, Chu was a patient hunter. When they were all stumbling around, Chu called Miki down. He was sure that in their weakened state, they could not break out even if they wanted to.

"You and Lucy take your time and aim at their heads. Look for the ones that stumble and fall, they are easy targets since they take a while to get up. Try to kill them with one shot."

With the girls in the middle, Chu and Ming kept their spears ready in case of any unexpected trouble. Soon, the growls turned into whimpers as cross-bolts started whizzing.

Chu never expected his new long-range fighters to be good as to get a kill on the first try. They only practiced for a month, so he was not surprised that it took a while for the first wolf to be killed.

It was some time before this first wolf was killed with a perfect shot to the head. Of course, there were bolts sticking out of its neck and legs. There were even other wolves who were injured in this attack. The barn was full of them like chickens in a coop.

"Good job, Miki, first kill is yours. Congratulations on your first wolf."

A few minutes later, Lucy killed the second with a headshot.

"Great job, Lucy. Nothing less from our bravest fighter."

"What ya mean bravest fighter? I'm the biggest here, I'm the bravest!"

"Why didn't you show your bravery when that damn bear nearly ate me huh?"

If it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, Chu might have given him a slap. Right now, he was concerned that the wolves might try to break out from the barn under their assault. Under the effect of the poison, however, the wolves showed no real signs of cooperating to break their way out.

In the forest, he had no way of keeping the animals around until the poison took effect. It was his biggest headache. Out in the forest, they were at the mercy of whatever beast decided to show up. Here, he had control over keeping the animals from wandering off, and the security of the barn as protection for himself.

They continued like this for the next hour. Chu and Ming took turns with the crossbow while the girls rested their arms. It was some time before Chu finally killed a wolf. There was a huge difference between a moving and a still target.

Even if the target moved in a slow, drunken motion.

"Crap look at that shot."

Chu was surprised as well as he looked up. Ming actually killed a wolf with a bolt through one of its eyes. In this poor lighting, that was one hell of an aim.

Just when he was about to praise him, the boy had to open his mouth.

"These crossbows are really hard to reload. I wasn't even ready, and the trigger accidentally went off...."

The only thing Chu could do was close his mouth and shake his head.

The night continued as wolf after wolf fell from their hands. Halfway through this ordeal, some of the more sane wolves began to try to seek a way out, but by then, the poison was already in complete control.

It was like drunk men being caught up in a bar fight among other drunk men. Whether they wanted to or not, the motor skills just couldn't deliver them out of being in the middle of the action.

In the dim light, corpses were on the floor with bolts protruding out of their heads or from other parts of their bodies. As children with no real experience, this was the best of their abilities.

Chu didn't mind at all that, from a third-party view, they looked clumsy and unprofessional. This was how he preferred it to be. A steady buildup of skills and abilities through experience. He decided to strike the iron while it was still hot.

When they were down to five wolves, they stopped the attack. Chu made Ming carefully climb down the ladder inside the fence area to gauge the strength of the fence. It was strong enough to handle the wolves as they threw themselves on it to get to the boy.

Seeing that it was strong enough to handle the onslaught, Chu was pleased with this added protection. Even if the wolves lacked coordination in attacks, this test on the fence proved its durability.

Chu sat on the loft, his arms sore and fingers blistered. Wiping the blood of his plan from the broken blisters, he turned to the bigger boy,

"Ming, get the trapdoor open, call Clod and the girls up here quickly. Lucy, grab a spear and head down. Keep the wolves from the fence by stabbing at them."

"Let's get the others to gain some practice."