King of the Wilderness-Chapter 48: Mule Deer Buck!
Lin Yu’an’s heart suddenly contracted, all his fatigue seemed to have been thrown to the winds in an instant.
He quickly lowered his body, using a thick spruce tree as cover, his gaze locked onto the clearing, observing carefully.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of pine needles and the damp smell of earth; the wind direction still favored him, carrying his scent in the opposite direction.
He held his breath and listened carefully.
Besides the "rustling" sound of wind sweeping through the treetops, he also caught some more subtle sounds!
It was the branches gently stirred, and the "rustling" sound of some animal walking on fallen leaves.
"The target is right there!" Lin Yu’an rejoiced in his heart, adrenaline unconsciously starting to accelerate its secretion.
He very slowly protruded half of his head from behind the old pine tree, looking through the dense branches towards the direction of the clearing.
Finally, a clear figure appeared in his sight!
It was a medium-sized buck! Standing at the edge of the clearing, lowering its head, seemingly sniffing something on the ground warily.
Its fur color exhibited a beautiful gray-brown, perfectly blending with the surrounding environment’s hues.
The buck’s head bore a pair of fully ossified, forked splendid antlers! Though not yet robust, they already showcased the majestic bearing of a mature buck!
Of course, it might also be a Black-tailed Deer, as Black-tailed Deer are themselves a subspecies group of Mule Deer, genetically very close with many similar characteristics.
"This looks like a mature Mule Deer! Or Black-tailed Deer," Lin Yu’an whispered to the action camera.
"Upon closer inspection, most of its tail is white, with a small tuft of black hair at the tip, this is a Mule Deer!"
"If it were a Black-tailed Deer, its tail should be almost entirely black or dark brown, extending from the base to the tip."
Lin Yu’an’s heart was pounding fast, for Mule Deer meant more meat and fat than Black-tailed Deer.
The buck seemed oblivious to the approaching danger; after sniffing the ground for a while, it slowly walked to the center of the clearing unhurriedly.
Occasionally stopping to nibble some lush moss or lichen growing from rock crevices.
Lin Yu’an knew this wasn’t the best time for shooting yet, with a distance of about six or seventy meters, plus many low shrubs and branches obstructing in-between.
He needed to get closer and find a more ideal shooting angle.
He commenced a ghostly stealth approach, his body almost entirely hugging the ground, every movement slow to the extreme!
When placing his foot down, he’d test with his toes first, ensuring not to step on dry branches or noisy gravel.
He started deliberately controlling his breath, which gradually became elongated and steady.
Yet his eyes never left that buck, constantly monitoring its every move.
When the buck raised its head warily, turning its ears, scanning the surroundings, Lin Yu’an immediately froze like a lifeless rock.
When the buck ascertained safety and lowered its head to munch again, he would gently, silently creep forward like a snail.
The process was a torment! Each meter of closing in felt like walking on the edge of a blade.
Lin Yu’an could hear clearly his heartbeat accelerating due to tension! Yet he had to force himself into absolute calm.
Time ticked away second by second, shadows in the forest grew more intense.
Just when he was about fifty meters from the buck, preparing to use a rock ahead as his final cover, something unexpected happened!
"Ga—!" A sharp and loud bird call suddenly rang out from a nearby tree overhead!
It was a very alert Star Crow to intruders! Apparently noticing Lin Yu’an, sounding an ear-piercing warning! 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
The buck in the clearing snapped its head up, ears pivoting like radar, attentively probing for the sound of danger!
Its body instantly tightened, legs slightly bent, ready to dart away at any moment!
"Damn it!" Lin Yu’an swore silently, body instantly froze stiff, daring not to move a muscle.
He knew any hasty movement now and this alert buck would vanish into the dense forest immediately.
Lin Yu’an forced himself to stay calm! Hoping the deer might misjudge the bird’s call as other natural phenomena.
Luckily, after a few calls, the Star Crow flapped its wings, flying away.
The buck in the clearing observed warily for a few seconds, seemingly not discovering direct threats, gradually relaxing again.
Yet its vigilance was undoubtedly heightened, no longer focused on feeding like before, but frequently raising its head, scanning the surroundings.
Lin Yu’an knew he must be even more cautious.
He chose a more roundabout route, sneaking from the side and rear of the stag, using the denser vegetation.
This is an extremely patience-and-skill-testing process.
Lin Yu’an held his breath, inching forward like a lynx in the forest.
Every time the deer alertly raised its head, he had to instantly become still and merge with the environment.
After about seven or eight minutes of torturous stalking, he successfully closed the distance to around thirty-five meters!
This distance, for his 50 pound American Hunting Bow and sharp hunting arrowhead, was already within a very confident effective range!
He chose a spruce tree with rough bark and dense foliage as his final shooting position, his body pressed against the rough tree trunk, exposing only half of his silhouette.
Lin Yu’an moved slowly and smoothly, without a bit of excess, first firmly gripping the handle of the hunting bow with his left hand, then drawing two metal hunting arrows with glimmering arrowheads from the quiver at his waist with his right hand.
The first arrow was swiftly and silently nocked onto the bowstring, the arrow’s tail snug against the center of the string.
The second arrow was cleverly held lightly between the fingers of his bow-holding left hand, the shaft nestled against the inside of the bow’s grip, the arrowhead slanting forward and downward, the tail near his body.
Not interfering with the aiming and firing of the first arrow, while allowing him to grab and nock the second arrow at the fastest speed after releasing the first.
His gaze was unwaveringly fixed, locked onto the area behind the left rib cage of the stag, where beneath the thick fur, the heart beats vividly!
The bowstring was gradually drawn back until it nearly touched the corner of his mouth, forming a stable anchor point.
His body leaned slightly forward, his entire weight pressed upon his left arm holding the bow and his left leg supporting his body, his right shoulder blade tightened as he felt the immense tension from the bowstring.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
At the instant when the stag lowered its head once more, its attention fully focused on the ground.
Now!
Lin Yu’an’s eyes suddenly tightened, his string-drawing fingers swiftly released!
"Whoosh—!"
A deep and powerful sound of the vibrating bowstring rang out!
The metal hunting arrow, like a bolt of black lightning released from the string, shot towards the unsuspecting mule deer!
"Thud!"
A dull and clear sound of a sharp instrument piercing flesh was heard!
The stag let out a shrill and brief wail, its body lunging forward as if struck by a heavy hammer!
Like black-tailed deer, once startled, mule deer leap high on all four legs and start running upon landing.
"Got it! Definitely hit it!" Lin Yu’an excitedly murmured under his breath.
The mule deer began to madly dash deeper into the forest! Its gait was already somewhat staggering, yet its speed remained undiminished.
As it ran, it rubbed its injured body frantically against the underbrush, trying to rid itself of the sudden intense pain!
But the deadly arrow was already deeply lodged in its left side.
Only leaving the arrow tail and half the shaft outside the body, quivering as the mule deer brushed past!
Lin Yu’an quickly drew the second spare arrow from his left hand, nocked it on the string, but the target fled too quickly, leaving no opportunity to immediately follow up with another shot.
He kept his eyes glued on the direction the mule deer fled, watching its staggering silhouette disappear into the dense forest.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions, and then spoke into the camera, his voice slightly trembling.
"Unbelievable! Guys, I really did it!!"
Lin Yu’an’s adrenaline began to gradually ebb away, but the excitement from hitting the target remained palpable! However, his voice steadied as he continued.
"This big guy got hit in a vital spot by my hunting arrowhead, surely causing massive internal damage and continuous blood loss."
"Remember, never shout or immediately chase after hitting the target, as it will only cause it to run further in fear."
"It might even trigger its survival instinct, leading it to swim away in a river! Give it some time to let blood loss and pain weaken its strength."
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