Raised From The Wild-Chapter 226: The Way To Win

A butcher cut the boar’s neck. An attendant was holding an elaborately designed wooden bowl to catch the first few drops of blood that fell from the boar’s wound on its neck. An elderly priest took the bowl. He let the king and the queen kneel on the ground and face east. He uttered some words using the ancient Ra-Iyan dialect and then smeared blood on the forehead of the king and queen.

Zanzara was disgusted by the blood and it showed clearly on her face. The priest frowned at her and it was only then that the queen adjusted her facial expression and wore a gentle smile.

"This ceremony is to remember the first King of Ra-Iya who was a great hunter." The priest had a small wooden drum in his hand. He circled the kneeling couple three times while lightly beating the drum. He said that it was to ward off the evil spirits.

Two priestesses placed a garland of flowers around the couple binding them together. The elderly priest asked them to stand up and make four bows, one bow to the east, then to the north, then to the south, and finally to the west.

The king and the queen were then escorted to their tent to wash up. It signaled the start of the hunting competition.

The king’s official read the rules in front of the contenders. Points would be assigned for every prey that will be brought back. There will be individual scores. The total scores of the individual members of the team will be totaled and become the team score. The individual with the highest score will be rewarded with a promotion of one rank higher than his current post. The winning team will be financially rewarded.

"The points will depend on the number and the size of the animals that you kill. The bigger the animal, the higher the point. If you capture animals that are categorized as elusive, then your points will be doubled. The elusive animals are the alpha wolf, lynx, pangolin, black rhino, platypus, red panda, and the white stallion."

The hunters surveyed the hunting ground before them. It was a safe haven for smaller and common forest animals. Can they find those elusive animals in the hunting ground? Of course not!

Beyond the hunting ground, were mountain ranges that divided Ra-Iya from the other three countries of Aesiana. Because of Ra-Iya’s challenging geographical location, the mountains were left untouched.

Amaya studied the mountain ranges with interest. Marx threw her a worried look.

"If you are brave enough, you can venture into the depths of Mount Paraiso and capture the three mythical creatures..." The official paused for emphasis. "They are the Unicorn, the Minotaur, and Griffin." The official intentionally raised his voice to catch the attention of the hunters. "If you capture any one of them alive, then you win automatically."

"Are you fooling us? Those animals are myths. They do not exist." A contender from the Capital commented sarcastically.

The official smiled meaningfully. "I don’t force you to believe."

"Where is Mount Paraiso?" One of the hunters from the Defense Ministry asked.

"It is that mountain over there." The official pointed to a tall mountain whose peak was covered by clouds. "Of course, I just mentioned it earlier, but you are forbidden to go to that place because it is too dangerous, and as you said earlier, those are just mythical creatures."

Princess Amaya studied Mount Paraiso. It looked scary and she felt a sense of foreboding just looking at it. The one who named the mountain was thinking about antonyms.

"You have two days to hunt. Stay within the perimeter of the hunting ground." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Excuse me. I would like to set a condition. The reward for the first prize winner does not apply to me. So if I won, the animal I captured alive will belong to me." Princess Amaya said sternly.

"Uh..oh.." the official hesitated before he agreed. Who is he to deny the princess’s wish?

Amaya and Marx checked their backpacks to ensure that they had everything they needed.

"You don’t have to do this Aya." Marx tried to dissuade her.

"It is alright, Marx. I missed hunting." Her voice was filled with longing.

Marx sighed deeply. He was not confident because jungle survival was not his specialty.

Amaya asked for a bow and arrows. She also has a few knives safely hidden in the inner pockets of her hunting garb. Marx took her backpack and stuffed a few black and orange pouches inside.

"Those are torches and lighters with a burn time of a month. The ones in orange pouches are food and medical supplies."

Marx handed the backpack to her. "Do your grandpa and your father know that you are joining this hunting competition?"

Amaya shook her head. Previously, they were supposed to leave Ra-Iya in the evening but her Uncle Sapiro decided to participate and she also wanted to participate. She looked at Mount Paraiso with narrowed eyes. The mountain seemed to beckon to her as if it was calling her.

Marx did not like the way she eyed the mountain.

"That’s a big backpack you have Princess. What is inside?" Sofia shamelessly stood beside Amaya and she tried to touch the backpack. "It looked very light. You did not carry much?"

"It contains necessities." Amaya paused and scanned Sofia from head to toe. Her vest and her skirt were similar to hers. "That’s a nice outfit you have there, Lady Sofia."

"He he he. Thanks to you. This is patterned after your dress. I hope you will not sue my designer for plagiarism."

Amaya looked blankly at her. Plagiarism was a word she had not heard from her Daddy Ibrahim or even when she arrived in the civilized world.

"Plagiarism means copying one’s work and taking credit for it," Marx explained.

"Oh, I don’t mind it. This is Daddy Ibrahim’s design and a replica was placed in the museum and posted online. It is ok for other people to copy it." Amaya said casually. She tightened the buckle of the backpack around her body and was ready to go together with Marx and Vasquez.

"Lady Sofia, you heard the rule. Individual points will be tallied to form the team’s score. You can hunt separately. We will not be responsible for your safety." Marx told her blatantly.

Sofia laughed. Her laughter was laced with subtle seduction. She approached Marx and she reached out to touch his face.