Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 400: Setting Out
Evening.
Liu Fei and the Yang Family Brothers returned.
The two brothers had already scouted and learned the general location of the wolf pack and its approximate numbers.
"This pack is led by an alpha wolf, all are adult wolves. From the footprints and traces left on the mountain, they are settled on the rocky slope outside North Mountain."
Yang Da said, taking out a few chicken feathers he had just picked up on the road and handed them to Qin Yao, "This is what we found on the road, it should be the wolf pack you are looking for without a doubt."
"Wolves have a keen sense of smell, Yang Er and I didn’t dare get too close, fearing to alert them, so we could only estimate an approximate number, which should be between fifteen and twenty."
The number of wolves in a pack usually isn’t too many because a single alpha wolf can only control around ten to twenty other wolves.
Moreover, the distribution of wolves near North Mountain is quite scattered, and their numbers aren’t large. An alpha gathering a pack of twenty wolves is already a significant achievement.
Forest wolves and prairie wolves are different.
Forest wolves are more agile and have better stamina, often skilled in climbing, so they have many escape routes. Without being professional hunters, catching them is very difficult.
But these animals have a very annoying trait, a strong desire for revenge, so passive defense and eviction are hard to thoroughly solve the problem.
The Yang Family Brothers had already learned from Liu Fei about Liu Family Village’s plan to exterminate the wolves, and after their field investigation, they just felt a headache.
Unless all the villagers in Liu Family Village were professional archers, otherwise, killing the wolves at close range would be too much of a disadvantage for humans.
But Yang Da was well aware of the cost of a single arrow, the villagers simply couldn’t afford it.
"Miss Qin, what are you planning?" Yang Da curiously asked.
As far as he knew, the only person in the entire Liu Family Village who owned a bow and arrow was Qin Yao.
It was impossible for her to handle it alone, right?
She only had two hands, shooting one arrow at a time, even if she never missed, she wouldn’t be able to shoot more than three to five arrows before the other wolves would run away.
And the next time, it would be the villagers facing a fierce retaliation from the wolves who could return at any moment!
Qin Yao, knowing what he was worried about, calmly said, "My initial plan was for me to attack, and for the others to defend and block."
As long as her arrow speed was fast enough, the wolves wouldn’t have a chance to break out of the encirclement.
Yang Da and Yang Er exchanged a shocked glance, and Yang Er hurriedly asked, "Do you have enough arrows?"
A quiver holds ten arrows, and Qin Yao probably didn’t even have two quivers worth.
Qin Yao picked up the knife she had just polished, "If there aren’t enough arrows, I’ll make up for it with the knife. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."
She also planned to have Ah Wang take Da Lang along, giving the child some practice along the way.
Da Lang previously mentioned that working behind closed doors just wouldn’t suffice.
Such a great opportunity couldn’t be missed.
Yang Da and Yang Er were speechless, wanting to ask if they could lend a hand, but in the end, they kept silent.
Although they felt the people of Liu Family Village weren’t as professional as themselves, they got the impression that if they opened their mouths to offer help, Qin Yao would despise them.
So, they kept their mouths shut.
"It’s getting late, should we head back?" Yang Da tentatively suggested.
Qin Yao nodded, thanked them for the information they brought, and had Liu Fei drive them part of the way.
The brothers laughed helplessly, figuring they’d come to Liu Family Village again tomorrow to see the excitement.
As soon as Liu Fei departed with the Yang Family Brothers, Qin Yao instructed Liu Ji to notify the members of the Wolf Killing Team.
After just distributing protective gear, she let everyone go home to eat and replenish their strength.
Now that they were full, it was time to go out and get moving, work off the meal!
Liu Ji put down his rice bowl without delay, grabbed the old gong borrowed from Liu Qi, and headed out.
As the copper gong sounded, the entire village became excited.
The members of the Wolf Killing Team quickly gathered sticks and protective machetes and assembled by the village well.
Qin Yao calmly waited for Ah Wang and today’s on-duty Second Lang and Sanlang to wash the dishes and clean the tables and chairs before getting up to call Ah Wang and the kids to head out.
Second Lang, Sanlang, and Si Niang stayed at the old house.
Only Ah Wang and Da Lang followed her to the village well, standing beside the Wolf Killing Team.
Ah Wang, dressed as usual, carried an extra short stick.
He wasn’t responsible for killing wolves or blocking the wolf pack; he only needed to look after Da Lang. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
And Da Lang, having changed into a sturdy set of old clothes, had his wrists wrapped with thick grass rope for protection.
But to avoid affecting the use of his small dagger and little bow and arrow, no other protections were made, so as not to impede his reaction speed.
The young boy was more excited than anyone else present.
Afraid?
Not at all.
When Da Lang looked back, he could see Ah Wang.
Looking ahead, he saw his parents.
It felt like a group of champions taking a newcomer through an introductory quest.
Once the headcount was complete, Qin Yao instructed everyone to double-check their own protective gear, and once everything was confirmed to be in order, she shouldered her bow and arrow, hoisted her broadsword, and with a sweeping gesture, led the Wolf Killing Team toward North Mountain.
The sky gradually darkened.
For the team members, the progress became somewhat challenging, and they only reached the not-too-distant rocky slope after night had fully descended.
The wolf pack had shown no movement yet, and Qin Yao gathered everyone in front of her, expertly forming small units of two, ordering them to spread out and encircle the entire rocky slope.
Ah Wang and Da Lang were a team, standing far outside the crowd, practically invisible.
The members of the Wolf Killing Team had already forgotten those two were still behind them.
Liu Ji and Liu Bai were grouped together, placed by Qin Yao on the northern high ground, tasked with observation and ready to report any movements of the wolves and the team at any time.
It was a very important position, not usually given to someone like Liu Ji, who was somewhat unreliable, but he was the loudest!
Once the team members were in place, as the torches were lit, the shadows of gray wolves suddenly appeared before them.
The reflective light from their eyes glowed a ghostly green. Dozens of wolf eyes appeared simultaneously, causing Liu Zhong and others to gasp in shock.
It turned out the wolves hadn’t remained still but had noticed the humans’ presence.
They had gathered in the dark, leading to this unexpected face-off when the torches were lit.
While the members of the Wolf Killing Team gasped in amazement, Qin Yao’s voice rang out in the night.
She shouted loudly, "Everyone, enter defense formation! Immediately tighten the encirclement!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Zhong and the others, who were unsure how to respond, suddenly had a direction for their actions.
Holding torches, they slowly moved towards the center.
The wolves let out howls as the alpha wolf stood atop a high rock, angrily issuing a gathering command.
The wolves scattered among the rocks immediately jumped down to the ground, quickly assembling in front of the alpha.
After the alpha wolf howled, its fierce eyes locked precisely on Qin Yao, as if recognizing her. It raised its head again and let out a piercing screech.
This was the attack command, and in an instant, several wolf shadows sprang towards Qin Yao.
Liu Ji, observing the scene from a higher vantage point, shouted nervously, "Miss, be careful!"
