I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 76 Bear Hunting (I)

On the Agate River, two rafts floated on the water, one in front and the other behind, heading towards the lush forest on the opposite bank.

Luc and Ryan stood on the old raft, Ryan was paddling, and Luc was squinting his eyes to look ahead. He had a wooden bow slung across his back, a dagger on his waist, and little Charlie, who kept sticking out his tongue, was lying tightly at his feet. Apart from that, there was no other iron tool.

The old raft was the first to break through the waves and gradually approached the shore.

After a while, another raft approached, and One-Eyed Jill and Robert, plus an unarmed man, jumped off from it.

"Master, everyone is here!"

Luc nodded, ignoring the last person and turning his attention to the other three.

The three people are of different heights and ages, but compared with before, without exception, they all have one new feature in common.

--tidy!
very neat.

So neat that it doesn't seem like someone from this era.

Ryan was fine, as he had been asked by Luc to do so, but the sweat odor from One-Eyed Jill and Robert had also disappeared.

Luc smelled the fresh air and nodded with satisfaction. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

Of course, it’s not that I’m a germaphobe; this is just part of the preparation for the bear hunt.

Luc has two plans for bear hunting.

The first set is to set up blood food to actively lure the bear over, because the bear's sense of smell is very sharp, even better than that of a hunting dog. As long as the bear takes the bait, a trap will be dug on the path it must pass. Luke and others will hide in the dark, waiting for it to fall into the trap, and then everyone will rush up and kill the bear in the pit.

But precisely because bears have a well-developed sense of smell, it is necessary to wash off the odor on everyone so that the bears will ignore their existence to the greatest extent possible.

Otherwise, the bear is likely not to be fooled and may even head straight for the group.

In addition, the clothes they wore, including Luc's, were not ordinary linen, but linen that had been seized from bandits, carefully washed, and then placed in sacks filled with pine branches overnight, which made them smell like part of the forest.

"Okay, take your weapons and follow me!"

Luke held little Charlie by the hand and waved his hand. The three people behind him immediately followed. Gil, who was at the back, held a long-handled blade in one hand and pushed the unarmed man with the other, "Hurry up and leave, Martin!"

The man was none other than the captive Martin.

Martin's face was pale. Ever since Luc asked him to follow the bear hunt, he had been in a state of confusion. Now that he had finally reached the shore, he felt like his legs were filled with lead with every step he took. If his hands had not been tied with ropes and held by Jill's hands, he would have wanted to run away immediately.

Martin wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he was quite clever. While others were armed with sharp blades, he was tied up like a human beast. He couldn't help but think of the blood bait Luc had just mentioned.
"Ok?"

Seeing that Martin refused to leave, One-Eyed Gil immediately pressed his long-handled blade against Martin's lower back, which made Martin, who looked like a bereaved man, move forward.

Luke was walking in front, and little Charlie, who was one body length ahead of him, kept looking down on the ground, and finally found a piece of brown bear feces in a corner of the forest.

Little Charlie immediately stopped and raised his legs to pee next to the tree, but Luc quickly pulled him back. With a "tsk" sound, little Charlie immediately held back his urine and ran to the side with his tail between his legs.

Leaving urine, doesn't that leave a strong smell to the brown bear?

"That's it. It's almost noon, and the brown bears probably won't come out until it's cooler. You, take the shovel and dig a hole here!"

The place where Luke and others were located was surrounded by dense woods, and there was a gap in the woods, which was perfect for digging a trap.

Luke nodded at Martin with his chin, and Ryan immediately pulled Martin over. Seeing Martin sweating profusely, Luke said with a smile:

"We are hunting bears, why are you so nervous?" "I"

"Okay, I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, we won't use humans as bear bait. Just grab your shovel and dig a row of trenches as quickly as possible."

Seeing Martin hesitating, Luc was unwilling to talk to him more. Ever since Martin was captured, Luc had never regarded him as a member of the forest, and even did not count him when counting the number of people.

Therefore, the purpose of Martin's existence is to do the heavy work for the mountains and forests, and by the way, let the people of Ward Village vent their anger on him occasionally.

Of course, if he wasn't exhausted to death and had no other ulterior motives, over time, Luc might consider slowly accepting him.

But, there may not be that opportunity now.

Seeing that Martin had freed his hands and picked up a shovel to dig the soil hard in the designated area, Luke leaned against a tree and looked at Martin coldly.

Martin was a shrewd man, but unfortunately he lacked some real wisdom.

His words to persuade Jill last night did, to some extent, eliminate some of Jill's hatred. Unfortunately, he miscalculated a little. He never expected that Jill would turn around and tell Luc all these words.
After hearing this, Luc immediately understood that Martin could not stay for long.

Although he kept telling Jill that he was a poor farmer who was forced to do something, Luc didn't believe a word he said.

Would the poor person who was forced to flee use the bandits behind him as a scapegoat when escaping?
Seeing Martin working hard, Luc was unmoved, but began to adjust his bow and arrow. This time, not only did he not carry any extra iron tools, but Ryan and Robert also did not carry swords, shields and other weapons except for the butcher knives on their waists. These weapons could not hunt brown bears, and using swords and shields to fight the bear head-on was something only a fool would do.

So before hunting the bear, Luc specially made a batch of new weapons

--javelin!
At this time, Ryan and Robert each had three long and thin javelins in their hands.

The javelin has always been one of the magic weapons of human hunting. Compared with the spear that directly pierces, the javelin lengthens the distance between humans and animals, which not only increases the hunter's concealment, but also improves the effectiveness of the weapon. Luc wanted to make a batch of javelins very early, but because there was no iron tool, the javelins made were often easy to break and not cost-effective.

Of course, the spearheads in Ryan and others' hands are still not made of iron, but sharp triangular stone cones with tiny serrated barbs on both sides. They were sharpened by Luke and the peasant woman in her spare time.

The tail of the javelin is specially filled with bird feathers.

However, to be on the safe side, Luc still asked Jill to carry a long-handled blade just in case.

Luc sat cross-legged, while Ryan and the other two surrounded Martin, watching the only real slave digging the trench.

Dust was constantly raised. Unlike the pit dug when killing wild boars and red deer, this pit was not deep, but rather long, and had no wooden thorns. After all, Luc still wanted the bear skin. Martin was sweating profusely from exhaustion, but his movements were not slow at all. Instead, he wheeled very quickly.

For some reason, compared to Jill, Martin was inexplicably extremely afraid of Luke and the young attendant Ryan beside Luke.

He dared to speak glibly to Jill, but was a little hesitant in front of Luc. He always felt that these two people seemed to be more vicious than the bandit leader Carl.
After digging from morning to afternoon, Martin finally finished digging the trench exhausted. Luc threw a piece of bloody meat wrapped in layers of leaves into the trench, covered it with several logs and poles, and then sprinkled branches and leaves to cover it.

Little Charlie had been sent back to the forest by Jill at noon, and he just happened to be back now.

Little Charlie's mission was accomplished. If he stayed there, it would only hinder the hunt and he might even die at the hands of the brown bear.

Several people dispersed, and two people hid in a dense forest to cover their bodies.

Martin, and Luc made him climb a nearby tree.

Several people walked from the afternoon until dusk, and finally heard a faint roar deep in the forest.

coming!

Several people held their breath.

(End of this chapter)