After eating their fill, the others prepared to head back into the mountains, planning to hunt more animals and replenish their stock of dried food.

Evelyn Ford took Serena Lynch to dig for medicinal herbs, while Ronan Kendrick, armed with his long blade, went hunting with the others.

Away from Evelyn Ford, Ronan Kendrick reverted to his usual cold and aloof nature. He closed his eyes, listening for the movements of animals to pinpoint their location.

"There’s some activity in a hollow on the other side of this mountain."

Judging by the sounds and the smell, it had to be dholes. Dholes are among the most savage and swift of wild animals. They’re incredibly fast and difficult to handle without a rifle.

Ronan Kendrick gripped his long blade and pointed to the left.

"This way."

Quincy and Officer Graham immediately followed, and the others didn’t hesitate.

Plants had begun to grow in the mountains, and with no shortage of animals, it was clear there was a water source nearby.

The group crested the mountain and began to descend into the hollow. Just then, Ronan Kendrick raised his long blade and glanced back at everyone.

"Groups of three," he commanded. "Spread out and hide. We’ll hit them from all sides and wipe them out as fast as possible." As he spoke, he gestured for them to disperse, and the others quickly scattered, hiding behind trees.

Ronan Kendrick took out a whistle and blew a long, sustained note. After a two-second pause, he began a series of short, sharp blasts.

Never mind the dholes; even a person would have found the sound of his whistling intensely irritating.

Just then, there was movement up ahead. Ronan Kendrick put away his whistle and looked toward Quincy and Officer Graham.

"There’s a lot of them coming. If you can’t handle it, run. Don’t worry about me; I’ll stay and deal with them."

Quincy...

"If we run off and you get eaten by dholes, Evelyn will kill us."

The corners of Ronan Kendrick’s mouth twitched. "Evelyn is fair-minded. Don’t you dare slander her."

’Quincy was at a loss for words. This was the most lovesick man he’d ever seen; he was completely incurable.’

’Quincy desperately wanted to ask Ronan Kendrick, ’Do you really know Evelyn?’ But he didn’t dare.’

"They’re here."

With those two words, Ronan Kendrick threw his blade. He had already covered more than ten meters in the time it took the weapon to sink into a dhole’s skull. He instantly yanked it free and swung at the dhole beside it.

The others had no time to marvel at his speed; they just rushed to surround the pack.

Ronan Kendrick had read his share of military strategy books, and he applied classic siege tactics directly to the pack of dholes. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

They looked larger than wolves, their yellowish-brown fur making them resemble lions.

Surrounded, the dholes let out furious roars. Realizing they were trapped, they began to frantically attack the people charging at them.

The blade in Ronan Kendrick’s hand seemed to have eyes of its own. With a casual flick, he lopped off the head of a dhole.

The pack consisted of over twenty dholes, with several other animals mixed in.

A dhole tackled Officer Graham, its jaws opening to bite down. In a flash, Ronan Kendrick threw his blade, impaling the beast to a nearby tree trunk. Not missing a beat, Officer Graham scrambled up and used his machete to cut down another dhole that lunged at him.

In just over ten minutes, the battle was over.

Although several of the younger men were injured, the massive haul made them forget their pain.

"Let’s get a count." Ronan Kendrick tore a strip from the hem of his shirt and wiped his blood-drenched blade clean.

The others were a little afraid of him, but mostly, they were filled with awe and envy.

Just now, Ronan Kendrick hadn’t seemed human at all, but rather a frenzied beast.

"Ronan, did you eat some spinach or something?" Quincy panted, coming up beside him. His arm was scratched by a dhole, and his blood-streaked face was a terrifying sight.

"Twenty-four dholes! Did we just wipe out the entire dhole population of the Serpentis Range? Plus three muntjacs and two gray wolves. Can that whistle of yours summon animals or something?"

Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow but didn’t reply. Instead, he walked over, hoisted two of the muntjacs, and headed straight down the mountain.

Officer Graham quickly directed everyone to carry the prey and follow Ronan. The group returned laden with their spoils, someone even humming a song in their excitement.

"Ronan, you killed at least eighty percent of these animals. You should take a few more," Officer Graham said, walking up to him.

"I know you and Evelyn are both very capable, but what’s yours is yours. We still have a long road ahead." Officer Graham saw Ronan as a younger brother and didn’t want him to get the short end of the stick.

"Okay, I understand." With Officer Graham, Ronan Kendrick dropped his cold demeanor and humbly accepted the advice.

"We’ve got a huge haul! Come and see the dholes and muntjacs we hunted!"

One of the young men ran ahead, shouting loudly as soon as the vehicles came into view.

The rest of the group, just as happy, began to cheer excitedly.

Just as Evelyn Ford and Serena Lynch were returning with their arms full of mugwort, they saw the group emerging from the mountains, shouldering their kill.

"Evelyn, they’re incredible! Look at how much they caught!" Serena Lynch exclaimed in shock, then immediately ran over to see the haul.

When Evelyn Ford saw Ronan Kendrick, she gave him a little wave. He dropped the muntjacs he was carrying and walked straight toward her.

"Ronan, you caught more muntjacs?"

"And dholes. More than twenty of them."

’Evelyn had always suspected he had some special ability to attract animals, and seeing this massive haul only strengthened her suspicion.’

"Incredible. Come on, show me what the dholes look like."

"I also heard the sound of water," Ronan Kendrick whispered, leaning in close to her.

"In the mountains?"

"On the mountain behind this one. It’s a bit far."

The two walked over to the vehicles, where all the game was laid out on the ground. The younger men were all talking at once, describing Ronan Kendrick’s masterful performance against the dholes as if he were a god descended to the mortal realm.

"Mr. Ronan Kendrick was incredible! He threw his blade, and it went right through a dhole’s neck, pinning it fast to a tree!"

"I saw him cover almost ten meters in a second! It was like he was flying!"

When the prey was finally divided, Ronan Kendrick received two muntjacs and three dholes.

After asking for everyone’s opinion, Taylor Vance made the final decision: they would stay for another week to hunt more game and, at the same time, search for the water source.

"Ronan heard the sound of water earlier," Evelyn said. "But he said it’s on the mountain farther back."

Taylor Vance hurried over. "Is it far from here?"

"It should be pretty far."

"We need water to process the prey anyway," Taylor said. "Let’s drive three kilometers farther up. It should be quicker to enter the mountains from there."

Taylor Vance immediately instructed everyone to load the game into the vehicles to drive three kilometers forward. No one had any objections, and they quickly began packing.

"I’ll drive," Ronan Kendrick said, eager for the chance. Evelyn Ford handed him the keys.

Once in the truck, Evelyn Ford took the passenger seat. Mina and Lola were still sprawled on the dashboard, not reacting at all as the two of them climbed in.

Quincy was still buzzing with excitement. He and Wyatt Vaughn had been allotted a muntjac to share. As the only woman in The Hunting Squad, Wyatt Vaughn’s performance had been outstanding; she had taken down that muntjac all by herself.

Ronan Kendrick was a steady driver; he’d learned simply by watching Evelyn Ford a few times. As the vehicle started down the road again, Evelyn took out the herbs she had gathered and began trimming them with a pair of scissors.