Chapter 26 – 026 Twin Mountain
Returning to the smoking pit, Hwanin supplemented the natural smoke chips in the pit where the smoke was slowly disappearing, and soaked the trimmed white animal meat in the ice-like valley water.
After that, after finishing the smoking for a total of 9 hours by adding 3 hours, I took out the skewer from the pit and checked it.
“Well…….”
Only the outer skin is slightly hardened, but when you tear it open, the inside is soft. The color is also light brown.
Quack?
He is curious about the smoked meat from Hwanin’s shoulder, whether it looks edible to the eyes of emergency food.
Even to Hwanin, it was not a bad result for a first attempt. The color system also maintains white, and the smell also has a unique smokey scent.
However…….
‘It’s a failure.’
Properly smoked meat curls into a dark stick.
The reason why smoked meat prevents spoilage is that the slightly hardened surface is coated with smoke to prevent the invasion of germs that spoil meat.
Properly smoked meat has a shelf life of over a week.
If you smoke more than twice, the period may increase from 2 to 4 weeks.
But it’s because it’s so soft. It will have a longer preservation period than raw meat, but long-term preservation of more than two weeks, which you want, will not be possible.
“…….”
After thinking about the cause of the failure for a while, Hwanin shared the meat he took out with emergency food and smoked it again in the pit.
Now that this has happened, I was thinking of doing another 9 hours of smoking.
“…… ?”
But does smoked meat taste like this? The more you chew, the more you narrow your eyes at the taste, which is a bit pungent and slightly greasy.
‘The color system of the soul’s vision is fine.’
I remember going to a smoked salmon specialty store or a smoked barbecue grill specialty store with my father, but I had no memory of eating smoked meat like this, so I couldn’t tell if this taste was the right smoked meat taste.
Leaving the pit smoker alone for now, Hwanin starts to build the next smoker.
There is a lot of meat, so it’s worth trying all the means you can try.
First of all, a large amount of twigs and leaves were airlifted from the western twin mountains and a smoker resembling a hut was produced.
And Hwanin, thinking that smoking the raw meat right away might not be a problem, cuts the meat to a size suitable for smoking and spreads it out in the shade while manufacturing the smoker.
I wondered if the cool wind blowing from the riverside, as cold as ice, would dry it to some extent.
It’s a valley and the humidity is low compared to a river, so it won’t spoil quickly, and it might be more effective if you smoke it with air-dried meat.
“…….”
When I laid it out, the appearance of the meat placed on the leaves of a large broad-leaved tree was a bit disturbing. If you put it on top of leaves like that, not only will it not dry properly, but it will also attract flying insects.
Aware of the two problems, Hwanin stopped manufacturing hut smokers and began to weave twigs together to make something resembling a net.
Then, the meat is placed on the finished net and some are spread inside the cave.
“Emergency food. Come here.”
Quack?
“Wait here, and if a bug flies in, catch it and eat it. Can you?”
Quack!
Hwanin, who had set up emergency food as a sentry, built a hut again, and I sighed naturally from exhaustion.
Why does it feel that more stamina is consumed for this kind of work than for fighting?
Hwanin, who had been working non-stop for 7 hours, left the half-completed hut and went hunting again when he had 4 soul beads left.
I haven’t slept since last night and I’m getting tired from preparing for the smoke, but when I think about escaping the jungle, this level is tantamount to paradise.
“Emergency food. Today is over there.”
Pretty much.
This time, go downstream along the river.
I visited the basin side around dawn, so the beasts must still be on alert.
If I had a Jaguar’s Soul Orb, I would try hunting with a stealth action skill with a speed boost effect, but now I only have the lowest level Soul Orb, so I have no option.
Quack! Kww!
Hwanin, who had been moving along the river for about an hour, heard the emergency rations in front of him returning and squealing, so he went up to the hill in front of him and looked at the river.
“Well.”
I found out that emergency food was supposed to be the reason for the crying, but something…… It is a beast that seems to come with cognitive dissonance.
First of all, it looks like a seal as big as a large dog.
It is a seal, and its belly, front and hind feet are covered with strong blue leather and blue fur. Sharp teeth like daggers can be seen on the protruding snout, and there are spines on the front and hind feet like wide flippers.
Nearly 30 of them were gathered by the river. A few can be seen swimming leisurely in the water.
The ones I didn’t see when I was moving along the river a week ago.
‘It must be a beast that moves along the river.’
While observing the land seal (tentative name) calmly, Hwanin frowned when he noticed that the toenails on the forepaws were bright red, unlike the yellow body.
The fangs on the snout are colorless, but the claws are red? Thinking that there might be poison or disease germs, Hwanin witnessed a common brown jaguar approaching the riverside nearby.
A small hill located between the river and the jaguar, the jaguar trudging up the hill from the other side as if the hunt had failed.
QUICK QUICK QUICK!
As if the land seals also witnessed the jaguar, more than ten of them gathered there and barked fiercely, and the jaguar hid its tail and ran away.
“…….”
I don’t know what the jaguar of the earth is like, but the jaguar of this world is a species that has a temper enough to attack and brush its teeth without fear even if it is a beast bigger than itself. But running away as soon as you see a group of land seals…….
‘Are those using magic too?’
It is a reasonable doubt.
I don’t think it will run fast with its wide, webbed front feet and tail fin-like hind feet.
A jaguar would be able to hunt a land seal in a hit-and-run strategy, but choosing to run away as soon as it is seen means that there is another reason.
Hwanin watches the land seal, picks up a stone the size of his fist, and walks towards the land seal.
Then, one of the land seals gathered together turned its sharp snout towards the Hwanin, as if it had spotted it.
I just stare blankly as if I don’t recognize it as an enemy right away.
A completely different response than when I just found the Jaguar.
As we approached about 100 meters away, several more land seals found Hwanin, and an individual that snorted so much that the chest area swelled up and then shrank.
Perhaps the snorting was a warning, and as Hwanin kept approaching without stopping, only then did some of them start to cry and all the land seals looked at Hwanin.
Pheasant! Pheasant Pheasant!!
Land seals slamming the ground with their forepaws as if to stomp, as if telling them not to come.
Hwanin, who witnessed that, stopped his steps and stared at the land seals. Then the land seals also stop stumping and roaring and keep an eye on Hwanin.
‘It’s not aggressive enough to strike preemptively.’
It’s not that I’m afraid to run away. The appearance of staring at Hwanin with his head stiffly raised suggests that he believes in something.
It would be nice if one or two of them acted recklessly, but they seem to have good unity.
It was to check whether the landseal was using magic or not……. I felt it was unreasonable to continue approaching like this.
It’s still not that far away. If you get a little closer and a group of land seals start shooting magic all at once, it’s the end.
Hwanin slowly backed away, indicating that he had no hostile intentions.
After getting quite far from the land seals, they quench their thirst upstream and wait for other animals to fight them.
“…….”
Waited about 10 minutes. I could feel the beasts gathering around me one by one.
The strange thing is that when they see a hwanin, they blindly run away from a distance, so they are wary of the hwanin, but they do not show any signs of running away.
In the meantime, the beasts gradually began to increase.
Among them, there were animals I had never seen before, and they looked like a large porcupine or a honey badger.
Beep-
The sharp voice heard from the sky startled the emergency food resting on Hwanin’s shoulder, and then secretly attached itself to Hwanin’s head.
Looking up at the sky, I saw three birds circling with their wings spread wide like eagles.
It is three to four times larger than emergency food.
What is going on?
While Hwanin rolled his head to figure out the situation, the number of beasts increased even more. I haven’t counted all of them, but I’m guessing it’s over 100.
The beasts were all forming a siege around the land seal.
Hwanin, who witnessed that there was also a vampire horse running away crying as if making fun of him whenever Hwanin approached, finally figured out how the situation was going.
It was time for Hwanin to distance himself a little more as he had no intention of getting involved in the bloody attack.
Growl-
Cuong-
Ororororoll…….
A war of nerves began to unfold between the gathered beasts.
Growling, gurr, uhhh- The growling of the beasts resounds, and the encirclement is gradually reduced as if it is rocking.
The land seals gathered in the middle of the shallow and narrow river also howl as if they were nervous when they saw it.
A sense of immediate tension lingered around, but Hwanin laughed in vain.
To hunt one species, dozens of completely different species are gathering and engaging in a war of nerves. How can you not laugh at something like this that would never happen in the nature of the earth?
Aaaaang-!!
A group of jaguars, unable to withstand the tension like a tight rubber band, declare the opening of the war.
With a sharp roar, five jaguars rushed toward the seal, and at the same time, a dozen or so balls of blue water were shot at the jaguar like arrows from the seal that was making a circle.
Pip Pit- Pip Shoot- Pip Pip-
With a terrifying sound, the two jaguars fall down, unable to overcome the acceleration and fall apart.
In the ensuing shower of water arrows, the other three died instantly, unable to take five steps.
By that time, most of the rest of the animals were also charging at the ground seal pack.
War broke out.
Like cavalry rushing towards the archers, the attacking animal alliance is pierced and severed by water arrows and laser-like streams of water, and they roll roughly on the ground.
An unlucky piercing through the head would cause instant death, but a couple of water arrows the size of a 1-won coin wouldn’t kill it.
As if the animals knew it, they rushed at the land seals with their eyes turned upside down, and the land seals also fired water arrows and ultra-high-pressure water streams without rest.
And as soon as the group of bloodsucking demons boasted outstanding speed and first contacted the group of ground seals, Hwanin narrowed his eyes.
Just before the bloodsucking demon’s sharp teeth touched the ground seal, a large film of water rose, and sharp spears of water sprouted from the membrane and pierced the bloodsucking demons.
Hee hee hee-!
A group of bloodsuckers with large holes in their bodies screamed and collapsed.
After that, other beasts rush in, and as the land seal’s attack is concentrated in that direction, the fire on the other side fades and allows the beasts to approach, creating a crisis situation.
In an instant, dozens of them tangled together and began to flow in a melee.
What is absurd is the friction of the beast alliance.
With no enemies or allies, when its teeth and claws touch, it attacks no matter who the opponent is. The land seals also fired water arrows and water streams in all directions without rest, and blood and flesh splattered everywhere, literally a road to hell.
Hwanin also started to move.
Beasts die in countless numbers, and everywhere is filled with the spirits of beasts.
Hwanin approached the battle area with a staff of deer antlers, preferentially summoning the souls of animals he had never seen before turning them into soul beads.
2 Lifestealer Soul Orbs, 3 Spike Tail Pig Soul Orbs, 2 Three-Eyed Dog Soul Orbs, 1 Bison and 1 Camel Bird Soul Orb each.
Wow-!!
Whoa!
Intoxicated with the smell of blood and the slaughter, the two beasts rolled their eyes and rushed at Hwanin, but Hwanin did not blink and held out a staff with antlers.
You don’t even need to use a lesser soul made from a soul orb. Blows away the souls of nearby scaly moles and rhinoceros (velociraptor + rhinoceros) to cause a soul explosion.
Beep!!!
The two werewolf-like creatures at the center of the explosion of souls burst like the apex of a triangle and rolled on the ground as if they had been hit by a car traveling at 100 km/h.
The Soul Explosion, which was first used as a low-level soul, was 1.5 times more powerful and ranged than the lowest-level soul explosion.
While slightly surprised by its power, some of the beasts that had been circling around to attack the land seal changed their targets to Hwanin.
At the sight of the beasts drunk with blood, Hwanin summoned his extra vampire soul and spread the decree.
When a soul that was a little clearer than the lower souls was assigned to the body, the heart beat once, and vitality began to circulate throughout the body.
Hwanin, who felt that he was full of strength as if he had been hit by a powerful tonic with immediate effect, expressed his embarrassment inside.
‘The body is more active than when the lower spirits were commanded. That’s about 30%.’
It’s not a part-specific program, but it feels like the overall body ability has been strengthened by 30%.
Furthermore, smelling the blood all around me made me feel a little better, and I felt that I was entering a moderately excited state.
‘What kind of effect is this?’
Putting his doubts aside for a moment, Hwanin ran towards the other werewolf dog, baring his teeth, and swung his spear at his head.
Kwajik!
It wasn’t long before I felt that the spear was as light as a wooden stick.
Hwanin, whose eyes lit up at the slight resistance against his hand, literally slashed the spear at the back of another werewolf dog like an arrow.
With a crackle, the sound of the spine breaking, the wolf dog, whose body was folded in reverse, died instantly.
As the battle broke out near Hwanin, the blinded beasts started flocking to Hwanin who was alone.
To the beasts, it would have seemed easier for Hwanin to be alone than for dozens of land seals, but that was a huge miscalculation.
Only 40 spirits can be seen around.
As more than 20 animals swarmed, Hwanin quickly raised his staff and pointed it at the animals.
“Explode!”
Kku-gu-gu-gung…… !
As soon as I gave the order to half-soul, the ground turned over like a landmine and a shapeless explosion hit the beasts.
“Huh-wook…… !”
As if the body temperature dropped by several degrees at once, cold air enveloped the body and white steam sprayed from the mouth.
The aftermath of the massive consumption of Hungi splashed out, but Hwanin didn’t care and threw back the deer antlers staff and rushed at the half-beasts that survived in the explosion and began swinging his spear endlessly.
Every time the bloody silver flash passed, the beasts’ bodies were split open, and their heads and legs were cut off.
The 30% strengthening of the body was incredible.
The spear, which had to be used with both hands, could be wielded with one hand, and one arm was freed, so all beasts that approached closely, aiming for gaps in the spear, were shattered and kicked away like soccer balls by Hwanin’s punches and kicks. .
Furthermore.
Bang!
Sesame!!
Kwajik, cuckoo!!
Keek!
Every time he beat an animal to death with his bare hands, whenever his skin was touched with the animal’s blood, his physical strength and stamina were gradually restored, and minor scratches healed in real time.
Hwanin, realizing the effect of the Vampire Demon’s necromantic command, went on a rampage silently, covering his blood with an expressionless expression.
Unlike the other side, where the sounds of land seals pheasant and the roars of animals are mixed, this side is only the death of animals.
The figure of Hwanin fighting while breathing white breath while covered in red blood was death itself in the gaze of the beast.
Only then did the frightened beasts begin to appear one by one, but at some point Hwanin grabbed his staff and silently fired soul explosions, slaughtering all the beasts that ran away.
Coo-goo-gung, Kwa-gwa-gwang, Pung, Beep-beep…… !!
Beasts are bounced in all directions like kicked balls from indiscriminate soul explosions.
In the midst of a mayhem unfolding with the roar mixed with the screams of the beasts.
Come on-!
Jwajwajwajwajwajwajwajwajwajwa!!
With a bursting sound as if dozens of trees were splitting, the spear of water soared like a thorny bush and pierced everything within its range.
Silence fell over the battlefield as dozens of beasts died in an instant.
It was a sign that the battle was over.
