Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Encountering a Black Bear

As he parted the bushes and got a clear look at the unlucky soul caught in the bark snare, the smile on his face instantly froze.

Broad, dark brown wings, yellow talons and a sharp beak, and those iconic white feathers.

It was this damn American again!!!

The Bald Eagle, one of its claws caught fast in the snare, heard the noise and flapped its wings in a panic. It tried to create some distance, but it could only circle the branch, hopping on the ground on one foot. The scene was utterly comical.

But Lin Chen wasn’t laughing.

’This thing is their national bird, a protected species. I have to let it go.’

’But... how am I supposed to set it free?’

The creature had a wingspan of about two meters and stood nearly as high as his knee. ’If I dare bend down in front of it,’ he thought, ’that sharp, hooked beak will probably split my head open.’

’So if I can’t get close, what do I do?’

He stared for a few moments at the bark snare around the Bald Eagle’s leg. To prevent prey from escaping, the bark ropes Andre had made were only about the length of a forearm, and Lin Chen had simply copied his design, making all his own snares to the same standard.

Now, that very design had become a thorny problem for him.

’Looks like it’s time to test the fruits of yesterday’s labor,’ he thought.

As the thought crossed his mind, Lin Chen’s right hand was already reaching for his quiver. He smoothly drew a fletched arrow, nocked it on the string, and raised his arms.

WHOOSH—

He hadn’t even fully raised the bow or taken aim when the arrow let fly with a sudden whistle, severing the bark snare in one clean shot. The entire process was as smooth and fluid as flowing water.

The freed Bald Eagle shook its leg a few times in disbelief. Realizing it was truly free to move, it didn’t dare linger. It hunched its wings, lowered its head, and scurried furtively into the distance, vanishing from sight in a flash.

He spent a little time making a new bark snare and baited it with a squirrel.

’Hopefully, that thing learned its lesson. Prey doesn’t just fall from the sky.’

The small rats in the last two traps were gone, but the traps hadn’t been triggered. This strange situation made him frown, unable to imagine what kind of creature could be so agile.

He had plenty of rations back home anyway, so he couldn’t be bothered to set up any more traps. He walked straight toward the final pitfall trap in the middle of the forest.

The situation here was identical to the other two traps: the bait was gone, but the trap hadn’t been triggered.

’Could it be some kind of very small, lightweight carnivore?’

For the snare traps not to be triggered, one could chalk it up to agility. But for a pitfall trap to remain unsprung, he couldn’t think of any explanation other than the creature being extremely light.

"I’m guessing it was probably something like a marten or a weasel that stole my bait. Forget it. We’ll just have to try a different method."

He didn’t dismantle the pitfall trap, figuring he’d leave it. Maybe some unlucky creature would wander by and fall in. He had to cross to the other bank to dig for potatoes regularly anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to check on it now and then.

After checking all the traps, he was about to head toward the river when his pupils suddenly contracted. He instinctively ducked behind a tree.

About twenty meters ahead of him, a dark shape was ambling leisurely on all fours.

Lin Chen held his breath and cautiously peeked out, his eyes tracking the dark shape’s movements.

After watching for a good while, he was finally certain.

’A black... a Black Bear?’

Adult Black Bears weren’t exceptionally large. Standing on their hind legs, they were only half a head to a full head taller than a person, and both their weight and strength were less than half that of a brown bear.

A younger Black Bear’s physical stats were even comparable to an adult human’s, making them a relatively manageable species of bear—provided you didn’t let one get close.

When food was scarce, Black Bears could even end up as a meal for a brown bear.

’If I can bring this Black Bear back,’ he thought, ’with that warm hide for a coat, I’ll be set for the winter.’

His gaze followed the Black Bear, and the impulse building inside him grew stronger.

’A pack of over a dozen wolves would be hard to deal with, but there’s only one Black Bear.’

’If I was wearing a bearskin, it would definitely intimidate the wolf pack.’

Besides, bear meat was once a delicacy in the imperial courts of northern Great Xia, and Alaska was overrun with bears anyway.

Thinking it over, he couldn’t come up with a single reason not to make his move.

’The only real problem, if he had to name one, would be hauling the carcass back.’

The thought of hauling it made him remember the lamb that had been snatched from him two evenings ago, and a fresh wave of anger surged through him.

’Damn it,’ he seethed. ’Let’s see them try and snatch this from me!’

His mind made up, he no longer hesitated. He drew an arrow and nocked it on the string.

This time, he didn’t rush his shot. His left hand holding the bow was relaxed. His thumb pressed into the grip, the heel of his palm braced against the riser, and his other fingers rested lightly on the front of the bow.

He increased the fingers on his draw hand from two to three: index finger above the arrow, middle and ring fingers below. The nock was settled in the space between his index and middle finger, his fingers touching only the string, not the arrow shaft.

As he drew the bowstring, the fingers of his loosely-gripped left hand slowly extended, relaxing his hold on the bow as much as possible. This prevented him from torquing the bow upon release, which would affect the arrow’s accuracy.

The Black Bear ambled slowly through the forest, glancing around occasionally. It didn’t seem to be looking for food.

As it ambled along, it suddenly stopped, its attention caught by a bush bearing red berries. It reached out a thick paw, pulled a branch over, and leaned in to sniff it. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’Now!’

Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed. His fingers tensed, pulling the bowstring taut to a full draw.

WHOOSH—

The arrow covered the thirty-odd meters in an instant. The Black Bear had no time to react before it was struck in its supporting foreleg, collapsing to the ground with a pained roar.

"A hit!"

Lin Chen gave a sharp pump of his forearm, hissing at the camera.

He could have gone for a headshot, but he ultimately decided against it.

’Killing a Black Bear in one shot after only a single day of practice would be too unbelievable,’ he thought. ’It’s better to use a safer approach.’

The wounded Black Bear thrashed on the ground for a few moments before staggering back to its feet. It glanced around in a panic, trying to locate the source of the danger.

Lin Chen didn’t bother hiding. As he stepped out from behind the tree, his second arrow was already nocked and being drawn.

"ROAR!!!"

The Black Bear roared furiously, charging toward him. But the excruciating pain in its wounded right foreleg meant it couldn’t bear any weight. After just two steps, it was forced to slow down, reduced to a painful hobble.

Lin Chen stood his ground calmly, showing no intention of running. In full view of the camera, he once again assumed a perfect archery stance.

Sensing the danger, the Black Bear halted. Its hind legs kicked powerfully at the ground, sending up clouds of dust as it suddenly scrambled two meters to the side.

Off-camera, a cold smirk played on Lin Chen’s lips.

He shifted the bow just a few degrees.

WHOOSH—

The dark shaft traced a graceful arc through the air, landing squarely in the Black Bear’s rump.