Jacob was hiding within a tree branch as he impassively looked at an adult moose drinking water from a small pond.
However, he had no intention of attacking, as he calmly looked at the black moose like a predator waiting for his chance.
Right at this moment, the moose seemed to sense something as it rushed toward the thick woods. But before it could, five small silhouettes lunged from the tall grass from different directions and stabbed their claws at the large body of moose, which ran wild while shrilling.
These newcomers were crimson strip hyenas, an uncommon specie while the black moose was a common species, and Jacob was waiting for them to make a move before he does.
And just as those hyenas were struggling with the mosses, Jacob pointed his revolver at the biggest one in the group and then pull the trigger.
'Bang!'
The gunshot startled the animals, but it was too late for the targeted hyena as the bullet pierce into his brain, and it died within an instant.
The other three hyenas were shaken as they abandon the bleeding moose and ran for their lives, while the moose also ran wildly, but with all those wounds it won't be able to stay alive for much.
Nevertheless, it has nothing to do with Jacob, who was only interested in uncommon species, and he already got the heart and blood as well as his dinner.
After making sure no one was nearby, he jumped off the tree and quickly headed toward that bleeding carcass.
It has been ten days since he left the rain town for this spider hunting mission, and he was quite efficient in his newly found strength.
Not only his stamina has increased, but his speed and senses as well. That was why he could collect three uncommon hearts and blood, including this crimson strip hyena.
However, he was losing interest in hunting these uncommon animals and wanted to find a rare species to test his strength, and they were also more potent and can give a high percentage of the heart essence.
He even had the thought of heading toward the rare region for a moment before he brushed it off since it was still too dangerous, and it won't be too late to head there after he had A Rank strength.
He still hadn't forgotten about those mountain giants, and he wasn't sure if he could take a hit from them, even after becoming an A-rank mercenary.
Nevertheless, things were going extremely smoothly, and he was very close to the place where the nest of flora spiders was located.
"I wonder if spiders have a heart…" Jacob couldn't help but smirk at himself.
Another night pass,
The next day, Jacob was moved between trees as it has become his habit, and it was relatively safe to remain in these tree crowns as long as he didn't encounter any snakes or insects.
At this moment, his step came to an abrupt halt as he hid his presence and looked between those trees a few tens of meters away with narrowed eyes.
Thereupon voices of hoofs rang before a carriage covered in a black cloth pulled by three horses as a hooded man was controlling it and two more riders in dark hoods were following this covered carriage appeared.
They were slowly moving with the carriage.
'Three hooded persons and cover carriage in this remote location. Not suspicious at all.' Jacob thought as he deeply looked at the carriage.
His eyes were fixed on that metal part that wasn't covered with the cloth, and he couldn't help but think, 'Is this a cage carriage? But what is caged inside? Since they're moving this sneakily without any insignia or revealing their faces, they didn't want anyone to find out. I shouldn't get involved with these kinds of strangers.'
Jacob remain calm and let the carriage pass until he heard a reverberating voice which made him shudder slightly.
'Moooowwwwwwwww…'
Those horses staggered as well.
The hooded coachman shouted in panic, "Quickly, it's awake again, use the tranquilizer!"
One of the riders quickly sprang into action and dismount the trembling horse. He then pulled a tranquilizer gun from the bag pack hanging around the horse and lift the black cloth from the side.
There was indeed a cage and something was inside.
He shot the tranquilizer shot without any delay and that voice quickly calm down before vanishing.
The rider couldn't help but sighed in relief, "The effect of this rare grade tranquilizer is started to diminish on it. We need to hurry, or we might get spotted by someone. You know what will happen if someone were to find what we are doing?"
The coachman sighed and shake his head, "Do you think we have any other choice? Besides, you don't need to worry too much. This is the human kingdom. They didn't have many powerful beings in their ranks. As long as we remain careful, we can easily pull this off. Or we can just kill them if they get in our way." he sneered disdainfully in the end.
The second rider's voice also sounded in agreement, "Heh, as long as there isn't a B-rank mercenary blocking our way, we'll easily let this beast lose close to the lionheart city and enjoy the show!"
They were about to continue their journey again when a nonchalant yet icy voice rang through the silent woods.
"So, this means there's a beast in this cage?"
Those three were startled by this sudden voice and become alert as they started to look around and pull their weapons, which were quite advanced in comparison to what Jacob saw so far.
One of them was holding a shotgun, while the other two took out two pistols.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" the coachman shouted as he held the shotgun with both hands, ready to fire at any moment.
The voice rang again with a hint of ecstasy. "Oh, you delivered a beast and some excellent specimens for me. How should I thank you?"