Chapter 947: Battle in the Giant Tree: Rescue at Dawn

“Awooo—”

Deep in the forest, the Alpha let out a low, commanding growl. It sounded like both a warning to Xia Qing not to move and a response to the pitiful cries from the young wolf stranded atop the distant tree.

Xia Qing tightened her grip on the sniper rifle. She worried about the little wolf’s injuries inside the nest and feared it would get dehydrated under the blazing sun.

The giant raptor using the young wolf as bait didn’t just anger the Alpha—it also set Xia Qing’s wrath ablaze.

Today, she would blow its head clean off!

Why was Xia Qing so sure it was the giant raptor? Because this sneaky bird had used this trick before, baiting the Monkey Troop back when it survived in the Evolved Forest at Gui Five Base.

No wonder the Alpha had rushed to Section Three and called her over. With the little wolf snatched up into a nest over sixty meters high, there was nothing a pack of flightless evolved wolves could do but panic against a superfast, Brain-Evolved giant raptor.

Once Xia Qing was safely hidden, the Alpha left two huge wolves posted beneath the tree and darted away to ambush from a mountaintop on the east side.

Below the mountain, three little wolves huddled under a jutting rock. On the left, the black wolf twitched anxiously. On the right, Lame Wolf was even more restless.

“Awoo…”

The little wolf trapped up in the high nest let out another low, mournful howl.

“Awooo—”

When the Alpha growled again, Lame Wolf stopped obeying. She bared her teeth and roared,

“Awooooo!!!”

Xia Qing might not see her, but she knew Lame Wolf was there. That howl was far too familiar.

The young wolf stuck in the giant tree’s nest might very well be Lame Wolf’s own pup!

That meant the raptor that put the pup up there might be lurking nearby, waiting for the wolves to gather—then it would swoop in for another catch.

So where was it?

Where was the giant raptor—faster and smarter from brain evolution—using a wolf cub as bait?

Calming her breath and heartbeat, Xia Qing methodically scanned the Evolved Forest and sky.

She found Broken Back Wolf, suited up in a protective suit, on a tree about ten meters left of the nest. She spotted Handsome Huge Wolf crouched among the rocks on the other side, even caught a glimpse of the shivering Balding Weasel beside him. But the raptor? Nowhere to be seen.

The little wolf cried. Lame Wolf snarled. Xia Qing kept searching with steady nerves.

“Ribbit—ribbit—”

A newly-matured, light gray male tree frog squatted by a puddle on a branch below Xia Qing and croaked away, trying to attract a female’s attention.

“Sss…”

A snake’s signature crawl sounded. Beating the female to it, a snake slithered toward the male frog. By the sound, it had to be at least five meters long—a python.

Xia Qing judged the deadly clash below wasn’t a threat to her, blinked rapidly a few times, and went right back to her search.

“Thump—”

A familiar squirrel’s scramble shook the tree, ending in a leap. The frog’s croak turned into a scream as it became the squirrel’s unlucky prey.

“Hissss—”

Missing its target, the python paused. Flicking its forked tongue, it found itself a new meal. It started climbing the tree, slowly making its way up toward Xia Qing.

From below, a huge wolf howled up at Xia Qing in warning.

But the python didn’t care about wolves on the ground. It moved higher, hunting for food. If it could gulp down this feast, it could nap in the canopy for days.

Xia Qing stayed put. Her target was fixed on only one thing: the hidden raptor.

It wasn’t until the patterned python slid onto a nearby branch that Xia Qing even glanced at it.

Five meters long, thick as a leg—but it still wasn’t a match for that legendary Black Loach python at Python Pond on Hill Fifty-Five.

If this little python lived near the Evolved Forest by Section One of the North, it would know better than to mess with humans. But here, with no humans in its memory, it had no clue that the little creature ahead wasn’t so easy to swallow.

Xia Qing pulled a nearly two-meter-long leech from her backpack and laid it gently on a tree branch nearby.

She’d grabbed it along the way, just in case she ran into a situation like this.

Snipers hiding in the Evolved Forest often became targets for hungry beasts. To stay concealed, snipers had to come prepared with bait to lure predators away from their position.

The python’s thin, forked tongue instantly caught the scent of the leech’s fishy musk and switched targets, slithering over to swallow the leech instead.

“Awoo… awooo… awoo…”

The little wolf on the treetop howled again. Lame Wolf, beneath the rock, couldn’t take it anymore—she scrambled out, lifted her head, and howled furiously up at the tree. The black wolf, guarding the other pups, also roared in anger.

“Awooo—awo——”

The Alpha’s howl thundered through the heart, signaling the start of battle for the whole pack.

Broken Back Wolf launched herself from a lower branch, landing partway up the massive tree—just fifteen meters below the nest—then started leaping expertly upward.

But the last five meters below the treetop were all bare trunk, not a single branch—there was no way Broken Back Wolf could actually reach the nest.

So instead of saving the cub, it was clear she was using herself as bait—hoping to lure the raptor into revealing itself.

“Awooo—awo——”

The Alpha called the shots. Two more evolved wolves with strong legs began clumsily climbing. They weren’t half as agile as Broken Back Wolf—no help there.

Xia Qing cranked up her vision, sweeping the sky. In the far north, something black burst from the clouds—growing rapidly as it dove straight for Broken Back Wolf!

“Awooo—awo——”

The Alpha howled in rage. Handsome Huge Wolf and five more huge wolves leapt out to join in, all roaring in chorus, trying to disrupt the raptor with the force of their voices.

But that black spot in the sky kept barreling down, straight at Broken Back Wolf, perched more than fifty meters up on the tree.

Broken Back Wolf’s fur bristled. She planted herself against the trunk, ready to fight back.

“Awoo…”

“Awoo awooo—”

“Awooooo——”

The cub in the nest and the three pups below all howled at once. The Alpha and Handsome Huge Wolf joined in, their anger echoing.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Three bullets shot from the rifle, tearing through the raptor’s head. The little python in front of Xia Qing, still chewing on the leech, jerked back in fright and gagged.

She barely spared it a glance. Still clutching the sniper rifle, Xia Qing just kept squeezing the trigger.

“Bang bang bang…”

The giant raptor plunged from the sky. The little wolf in the nest crawled to the edge, teetering dangerously!

Xia Qing quickly fired a shot into the trunk of a thirty-meter-tall sapling just outside the cub’s reach, sending it crashing below.

Falling onto the trunk would hurt, but crashing onto the rocks would be fatal!

“Awoo—”

“Awooo—awo——”

The cub shrieked and tumbled from the nest as the Alpha’s urgent cry rang out.

Broken Back Wolf leapt, caught the cub in her jaws, then twisted in midair, landing four feet down but falling fast.

“Awooooo——”

The Alpha howled. Handsome Huge Wolf raced up the fallen sapling and launched himself up, catching the pup as Broken Back Wolf flicked her head and flung it to him.

“Crack—”

Broken Back Wolf landed on a branch of the fallen tree, then leapt again to a nearby rock. She stumbled, steadied herself, and howled—long, proud, commanding.

Handsome Huge Wolf landed beside her and gently set the rescued cub down before letting out a furious howl. Black Wolf and Lame Wolf rushed up with the other pups. The golden-eyed wolf cub climbed the rock and gazed up at Xia Qing in the tree.

Xia Qing slid quickly down the trunk, landing on the small python’s lifeless body. She steadied herself, didn’t even bother to grab her rope, and took off running toward the giant tree.