North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 227 Yellow Lightning!
Leading the Blackfoot tribe, the Giant Stone skillfully butchered hundreds of enormous North American bison into large chunks of beef.

Under the extremely skilled hunting knives of these Native Americans, the butcher skillfully dissects the ox, fully breaking down and utilizing everything from the beef, hide, offal, blood, and bones.

For Native Americans, every North American bison was a rare gift from nature, and no one would waste it.

If these bison fell into the hands of white people, most of them would be wasted and discarded, except for the hides and the best cuts of beef.

Azu, Bismarck, and Duke Joseph all obtained the largest bull heads, which, after being carefully preserved as specimens, would become prized possessions in their respective living rooms.

The carcasses of the bison were all placed on the horses' backs, ensuring that the Blackfoot tribe would not lack meat for the next few months.

After tidying everything up, Boulder walked over to Azu and asked, "Li, are you sure you still want to go hunt cougars?"

Azu nodded: "I always keep my promises."

"Moreover, the Duke Joseph and his family have come from afar, so we must not spoil their fun."

Boulder said seriously, "Pumas are extremely cunning and cautious hunters. Our large group scared them away from a great distance."

"Then you mean...?"

Boulder replied, "Only by breaking up the large group into many smaller groups can we possibly hunt down the cougar."

"No problem, just go ahead and make the arrangements!"

……

A moment later, the boulder indeed dispersed the large group of hundreds of people into dozens of smaller groups, each with no more than ten people.

Duke Joseph led one contingent and went straight to the left. Bismarck led another contingent and went straight to the right.

Azu also led a team that included Jushi, Youma, Princess Sissi, and several other independent regiment cavalrymen.

Led by the boulder, Azu's small team ventured deeper into the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Along the way, the boulder silently approached its prey by tracking the puma's footprints and droppings.

After a full day and night, the boulder suddenly leaped off the horse, picked up a pufferfish dropping with its hand, and smelled it to check its odor and moisture content.

He tossed aside the boulder piled high with cougar dung, then looked up at the dense bushes ahead: "Everyone be careful, we're very close to the cougars, we could encounter them at any moment...!"

As he spoke, Jushi took the spear and hunting rifle off his horse and silently walked to the front.

The bushes ahead were too dense for the horses to pass.

Azu, along with Youma and Qianqian, dismounted and followed closely behind the giant rock.

Behind Azu and his men, several cavalrymen followed closely.

Everyone gripped their rifles tightly, wary of the cougars that might appear at any moment.

Once inside the incredibly dense thicket, Azu and his companions were not only hunters, but could also become prey at any moment!
"Creak, creak, creak...!"

In the silent bushes, there were no birdsong or insect chirps, only the soft footsteps of a few people.

The deeper they went into the tall bushes, the more tranquil and eerie the atmosphere became.

At this moment, Xixi, who was walking on the left behind Azu, suddenly noticed a pair of terrifying, eerie blue eyes hidden in the dense bushes a few meters away.

"what……!"

Shocked, Sisi didn't have time to greet the others before she raised her shotgun to aim.

"Roar……!"

The well-hidden, massive, and agile figure suddenly leaped up from the dense bushes!

This enormous and agile figure was incredibly fast, soaring through the air like a yellow lightning bolt!

In the blink of an eye, the yellow lightning bolt traversed several meters, accompanied by a howling, bloody wind, and pounced on Sisi, who seemed to be the weakest among the crowd.

At that moment, Sisi had just raised her gun...!
"boom……!"

With a crisp gunshot, Sisi's shot missed in her haste, the bullet grazing the lower abdomen of the yellow lightning bolt before flying away.

"Roar……!"

The yellow lightning bolt, leaping through the air, let out a fierce and unrestrained roar, instantly knocking Qianqian to the ground, its sharp claws pressing down on Qianqian's shoulders.

Almost instantly, this ferocious cougar opened its foul-smelling, blood-red maw and was about to bite into Princess Sissi's throat!
At the same time, Azu, who was two steps ahead, immediately realized what was happening.

Without hesitation, Azu raised his hunting rifle and fired a shot at the cougar that was pouncing on him.

"Click...!"

At the crucial moment, the shotgun jammed!

"Holy shit...!"
Seeing that Sisi had been knocked to the ground by the cougar and was in imminent danger, there was no time to reload the bullets!

Azu turned the gun around, gripped the barrel with both hands, and with the heavy butt, slammed it into the head of the cougar that had pounced on Sisi!

"Boom...!"

The butt of the gun landed squarely on the cougar's head.

"Roar……!"

In pain, the cougar forgot about tearing at Sisi's throat and instead turned its fierce gaze to glare at Azu, who was standing right next to it.

Without any fear, Azu stared directly at the ferocious cougar at close range, and swung the butt of his gun at the cougar's head again.

"Roar……!"

The cougar had no choice but to release Sisi, whom it had knocked down, and instead, with a quick leap, dodged the gun butt and pounced on Azu, who was right next to it.

"Fuck you...!"

Ah Zu cursed loudly and used the hunting rifle in his hand to block in front of him.

"Roar……!"

The cougar roared again, and Azu felt a foul wind and a fishy smell hit his face...!
Ah Zu felt an overwhelming force surge towards him, and the muzzle-damaged hunting rifle in his hand was broken in two by a ferocious pounce from the cougar.

"Plop...!"

Like Sisi, Azu was tackled heavily to the ground. "Roar...!"

The cougar pounced on Azu, opening its foul-smelling, blood-red maw and revealing its long, pale white fangs, poised to tear at Azu's throat.

Ah Zu reacted extremely quickly, and casually shoved the broken gun barrel into the gaping maw of the cougar.

"Crack...!"

The cougar bit down hard on the gun barrel, breaking two of its teeth.

"Ouch...!"

In pain, the cougar let out a painful howl.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ah Zu pulled out a hunting knife more than a foot long from his waist.

"Pfft...!"

Without hesitation, Azu plunged his hunting knife into the cougar's neck from the side.

"puff……!"

"Ouch...!"

Blood spurted out, covering Ah Zu's face and body.

At this point, the others also realized what was happening.

"Click, click...!"

Several shotguns were aimed at the cougar that was pinning Azu down.

"Don't fire...!" Youma shouted urgently, "Don't hurt Azu...!"

As he spoke, Youma drew his hunting knife first and pounced forward.

The giant rock at the front, also holding a spear, rushed back.

At this moment, Azu felt blood covering his eyes, mouth, and nose, and he couldn't tell whether it was his own blood or that of the cougar!
"Pfft, pfft, pfft...!"

Azu simply used his hunting knife to stab the cougar that was pinning him down.

"Awoo... Awoo...!"

The cougar's roar gradually grew low and weak.

Having lost too much blood, his heavy body, weighing over 200 pounds, finally gave way, his limbs went limp, and he collapsed onto Azu.

"Azu...!"

At this moment, the puma pounced on the cougar and began wildly stabbing at its neck and back.

Until the boulder rushed up to him and grabbed his sister.

"Stop poking it... This cougar is already dead...!"

With that, Jushi put down his spear, grabbed the cougar by the fur around its neck, and lifted the massive cougar, which weighed over 200 pounds, up.

"Azu...!" Youma quickly knelt down in front of Azu, frantically cradling his head in his arms: "How are you? Are you alright...?"

"call……!"

Ah Zu wiped the blood dripping from his face with both hands and finally let out a long breath.

"Blood...so much blood...Mr. Azu, are you...are you alright?"

Despite the numerous bloodstains on her body, Xixi, disregarding her own pain, knelt down beside Azu and spoke in a trembling voice, filled with deep concern.

Azu wiped the blood off his face again and said calmly, "I should be fine. This is all cougar blood...!"

As he spoke, Azu sat up and checked himself over.

Apart from the bloodstains from being scratched by the puma's claws, there were no serious external injuries.

Yuma and Qianqian also examined Azu's body and breathed a sigh of relief after finding that he was really alright.

"Ah Zu, you...you scared me to death...Waaah...!"

As he spoke, tears welled up in Youma's eyes.

"Mr. Azu, I...you scared me to death too...Waaaaah...!"

As she spoke, Sisi's tears fell continuously, like beads on a broken string.

"Hehe!" Azu reached out and put his arm around the two women's slender waists, saying nonchalantly, "Why are you crying? I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Wow...!" Upon hearing this, Sisi burst into tears instantly: "Auntie, you risked your life to save me... Waaaaah... No one has ever been so kind to me before...!"

As she cried, Sisi buried her entire head in Azu's arms.

Azu smiled and gently patted Qianqian's back: "Alright, alright, it's nothing... my little princess, don't cry!"

……

After a long while, Sisi and Yuma finally managed to stop crying.

Only after comforting the two women did Azu have the opportunity to clean the blood off her body.

Upon receiving the news, Archduke Joseph and Bismarck both led their respective hunting parties to the scene.

Looking at the cougar on the ground, its body riddled with blood, and hearing Sisi sobbing as she recounted what had happened, Duke Joseph couldn't help but gasp.

"I never imagined that cougars could be so ferocious!"

Joseph wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken: "The hunter became the prey. Sisi and the Count almost died in the mouths of the cougars."

With that, Joseph grasped Azu's hands in both, expressing his deepest gratitude: "Earl of Gold Mountain, thank you for saving Sissi's life!"

"Our family owes you an enormous favor again!"

(End of this chapter)