Wilderness Survival with Druid System

One man and one cat walked in the bushes for a long time.

Just as Chen Wen was about to reach his limit.

With a crisp collision sound, Chen Wen suddenly looked up.

The place he was at now was the mouth of a valley.

Inside the valley, on a nearly seventy-degree steep cliff, a group of strange creatures stood at a high point.

They looked much like sheep, but their fur was short, and their body color leaned toward brown-black.

But their buttocks were entirely white.

However, the most striking thing was their large horns.

There were nine bighorn sheep in the group.

Three of them had curled, disc-shaped horns, and these three sheep were also bigger in size; they were the ones fighting.

These are the male bighorn sheep.

The remaining six were female, with shorter horns and smaller physiques.

The females were watching the commotion on the sidelines.

"It seems these are Canadian bighorns, also called bighorn sheep."

Chen Wen said softly, sitting down directly among the bushes.

He noticed that the bighorn sheep were not very alert at the moment, immersed in the fight.

The three males fought independently; they would bump into each other and then find another to bump into.

The thumping noises, as if hitting rocks, came from these three.

"What should we do?"

The bobcat approached Chen Wen: "Their fight has been going on for a while, when do we make a move?"

This cat actually knew what making a move meant.

Chen Wen glanced at the bobcat and said, "No rush, let's watch first. It takes a long time for bighorn sheep to determine a winner; it will take hours to end."

"We will approach when it's about to end."

Upon hearing this, the bobcat did not say much.

It could sense that Chen Wen was quite knowledgeable about the big creatures.

So the bobcat lay next to Chen Wen, resting while watching the bighorn sheep on the hilltop.

Chen Wen wasn't idle either.

He had brought a machete and was currently using an unknown cactus to wipe the blood off the blade.

"By the way."

Chen Wen asked the bobcat, "Last night, you looked like you were dying; how come today you suddenly seem energetic?"

The bobcat didn't quite understand what dying meant.

But it could still grasp Chen Wen's meaning: "On my way back to the den, I ate some grass."

"I don't know why I decided to eat grass, but I found it and ate it."

Chen Wen nodded.

This is a behavior common to many felines.

It seems their genes have an instinct for healing; after getting hurt, they seek out inflammation-reducing grass to treat themselves.

In this desert, the grass the bobcat found was likely echinacea.

This is a herb with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties to prevent infection.

Chen Wen even saw the show's information mention that when injured, one can crush echinacea and apply the juice to the wound.

The fact that the bobcat regained some mobility today might indeed result from echinacea's effect.

"Make sure to find more of this type of grass on the way back; it really can heal injuries."

"Okay."

...

Chen Wen and the bobcat waited for about two hours.

Under the sun, Chen Wen was extremely speechless about the bighorn sheep.

Which good sheep spends hours here butting heads?

The process of bighorn sheep head-butting was very slow, and to alleviate the boredom, Chen Wen numbered them.

The three bighorn sheep stood separately, and numbers one and three seemed to have teamed up.

They joined forces in attacking the seemingly more robust number two.

Number two seemed to be in trouble.

It could only defend passively, continuously resisting the attacks from numbers one and three.

And so two hours passed.

Number two seemed exhausted.

After colliding once with number three, number two noticeably staggered.

It shook its head.

Is your head buzzing?

Chen Wen thought.

He felt that the time was about right.

He patted the bobcat almost asleep in the shadow, and Chen Wen said, "Get ready. They seem to be at the final stage."

Upon hearing this, the bobcat instantly got energized.

To recover, meat is indispensable.

This hunt was also its first collaboration with Chen Wen.

Both of them were a bit excited and nervous.

As a predator, the bobcat had more impressive bodily hardware than Chen Wen.

It crouched on the ground, slowly creeping forward from under the bushes.

Even missing a leg, its movements were incredibly slight and agile.

In contrast, Chen Wen was a bit inferior.

Having a large physique and being used to walking on two legs.

With every step forward, bushes around Chen Wen rustled and made noise.

Luckily, the bighorn sheep were focused on the outcome at this moment, none paying attention to Chen Wen.

Chen Wen walked and eventually reached inside the valley.

"After deciding the victor, big ones force the loser down until they drive them to the valley floor."

The bobcat shared its knowledge with Chen Wen.

Chen Wen slightly nodded.

In many science documentaries, bighorn sheep are labeled as homosexual sheep.

It's because the victors pin the losers under their bodies, as if mating.

In reality, this was a form of humiliation from the victor, not mating.

The defeated bighorn either feel so humiliated they leave the group to find other sheep that accept them.

Or they completely accept being the defeated and assume a female position, submitting to the victor.

But generally, few defeated ones remain.

After all, the losers don't have mating rights, and the instinct to reproduce drives them to seek new herds.

Chen Wen had checked beforehand, and if coming down the rock, the valley seemed the only direction for bighorn sheep.

Occupying this place earlier might allow face-to-face encounter with bighorn sheep.

If face-to-face, Chen Wen was confident of pinning that thing down.

Plus, after head-butting for so long.

Chen Wen felt their heads must be buzzing, increasing his chances of success.

After pondering, he had the bobcat guard the south side of the valley, while he concealed himself in the bushes on the north side.

To protect from skin cuts by the bushes, Chen Wen intentionally opened [Feather (Eastern Screech Owl)] for defense.

He also used [Disguise] for concealment.

The bobcat sensed something, glanced at Chen Wen's side.

Magical human.

The bobcat shook its head, lying silently in waiting.

...

Above, as Chen Wen said, the battle reached the final stage.

Though number two bighorn was largest, it struggled against the combined efforts of numbers one and three.

After a severe clash with number three, number two wobbled and fell to the ground.

Number one took advantage, not letting go.

As soon as number two stood up, it charged over.

Thud!

A dull noise.

Number two staggered back and made a concession cry.

Numbers one and three assumed the posture of victors.

Just as Chen Wen thought, number one leisurely moved behind number two, raised its forelegs, and placed them on number two.

Number two seemed humiliated, cried out, and broke free from number one.

Seeing this, number one charged again.

Number two fled in panic toward the valley.

Numbers one and three pursued briefly, driving number two to the hillside.

Number two reluctantly gazed at the high females.

It was nearing mating season; it did not want to abandon the six female bighorn sheep here.

But numbers one and three were like the Yin and Yang envoys, staring at it from the mid-slope.

No matter how unwilling, number two headed toward the valley amid the calls of numbers one and three.

Numbers one and three succeeded in partnership, and they walked toward the mountain.

The female bighorn sheep were also welcoming their new leader's return.

Unbeknownst, an assassination against the former leader was unfolding in the valley.