PESTS

Chu remembered watching a nature documentary one night back on earth.

It was one that showed life in the African continent. Farms that were cultivated near the edges of the forest and rivers were ravaged overnight.

The villains were not humans but wild animals living nearby. Hippos would wreak havoc on crops, wild hogs would damage root tubers and deers would decimate leafy vegetables.

Back then it was no real concern to him. The convenience store was always open late at night and had boasted well stocked shelves. He never suffered a loss of that kind.

Now he finally felt the sorrows of those villagers. Only when you experience it does the bitterness become more apparent.

He felt helpless looking at Clod. The guy had turned into an old broken back farmer carrying a world of worries.

The teen would be walking around with a wooden staff and a sheathed sword like a robust farmer. This time he did not have a grass stalk in his mouth or that cheerful face.

Mr Thomas and Lucy soon returned from conducting their investigations.

Chu waited until Clod and the others circled around.

"No doubt about it, it was an Inyoni mob. Came from the south over the grasslands."

Thomas raised his hands and pointed to the south.

Chu was standing with his mouth open still confused.

'Mob of Inyoni?'

'Was this some bandit group or something?'

Mr Thomas gave a wry grin. The boy may be sharp in certain aspects but he was still lacking in worldly experience.

Sometimes he felt the boy displayed a mentality of a six-year-old when it came to common knowledge. It was like he had spent his early years in some isolated jail.

"Inyoni, large birds that can't fly. They roam the grasslands during the summer months and head south during the winter. A pack of them is usually called a mob."

He looked at Chu and continued.

"Normally they stay away from people but they have a tendency to use hit and run tactics on isolated farms. There is a rather large stretch of grasslands between us and the next group of farms to the south. There are large swaths of empty grasslands until you reach the interior of the Empire."

"So what does this have to do with us?"

Chu asked.

"Most likely this area was abandoned for a period of time. Also its like a free meal for these birds. Once they see an opportunity they would take it. Seems like our farm falls within their feeding range."

Chu grimaced at the reply. This was their first summer on the barn. He really had no idea of what to expect. Worse yet those damn neighbors did not warn them of this.

Maybe they were not aware of it or just too afraid of confronting the creatures at night. Farmers out in the frontiers don't make a habit of venturing out after sunset.

He glanced at Clod who had that sorrowful look.

"How do we catch them?"

Mr Thomas gave a forced laugh.

"Boy you really are a pup in this world. Do you know what Inyoni meat sells for in the city?"

"Huh?"

"It sells by the pound, one silver piece per pound."

"Why do we have to care how...What?! One SILVER?"

"That is correct, one silver per pound. A normal sized Inyoni weighs about two hundred pounds. Do you want to know why such a large flightless bird is so expensive?"

Chu nodded his head. It was indeed strange for a bird that large to cost so much. He might understand the cost of a Snow bear. Those suckers were huge but they were rare and too dangerous.

"Speed."

"Speed?"

"Yes speed, they can run faster than a horse and have endless stamina. They have a keen sense of danger. Since they move in a group you can imagine the difficulties one has to take to ambush them."

"Why don't somebody just find the eggs and raise them?"

Mr Thomas scoffed.

"You think nobody thought about it? Those birds are hard to track and have an entire kingdom to hide a nest. A few times scouts came across the eggs, five pounds and worth its weight in gold. Unfortunately it needed some link between the parents before it can hatch. A captured and raised Inyoni can never reach the quality of those in the wild. And they do not breed or lay in captivity."

Chu nodded as he soaked in this information.

He looked across the vast expanse of grasslands stretching to the south.

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'Holy Shit!'

An epiphany!

Did he not have all this grasslands as his own? If he could form a large stockade and funnel these suckers into a corral. Would he not be rich?

He gave a deep look at the wolf cubs trotting around the perimeter.

'Didn't he have his own brand of sheepdogs?'

Given the right incentive the boss and her thugs would do anything.

This had the making of a profitable adventure so it required some thought.

Hehehehe.

But first this bird mob had to be dealt with. They had to know this was the wrong turf to waltz into.

He walked over to Clod and picked up a ball of young corn.

"Clod, I swear by this piece of corn. Those birds are going to pay the moment they decide to set foot here again. If I cannot catch them before winter then next summer I will milk them for all the gold they...I mean I will milk those pest!"

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Clod was grateful that Chu was so adamant on seeking revenge for him. As a simple farmer, those words offered comfort during this disaster. He really misunderstood those fanatical dollar sign eyes.

The survey of the damages were completed and they spent the entire day tending to the farm.

A corner of the corn field was totally destroyed, not a corn cob could be found. Some parts on the inside were damaged. Clod estimated that about an eighth of the harvest was gone.

It seemed like a small portion but considering that the yield of that lost piece could feed someone for the winter it was marked as a huge loss.

This was a heavy blow to the boy who dedicated his time and effort in managing the farm work. The farm was his only means to prove his worth to the others.

Luckily for him, he underestimated his companions. Chu would never let him wallow in self defeat, Clod received support that would make any psychiatrist proud.

Chu's first priority was to secure the remaining crops. It would be devastating for them if all their hard toils were to be in vain. Especially when the time was nearly ripe for harvesting.

'Now is the time that the supervisor jumps in to pacify and calm the subordinates.'

"I want first dibs on all large animals caught. If Lucy bags any predators then the heart, head and liver are all mine. The book says I need the kidneys and the lower spine to make a concoction to strengthen a Hounds 'spine'. I want Sue and Clod to help me get the herbs needed."

"Deal. I will consider the foxes Lucy caught as a down-payment."

The girl nodded simultaneously along with three other heads. Chu could swear these bastards were like modern-day gangs. It was like negotiating with ruffians who were trying to extort you.

He was noticing a clear pattern, this girl was always accompanied by her wolves whenever she had to conduct business. Mafia, he was raising a godfather.

"Fine. Just to be clear, we are acting as a deterrent only. If anything besides those birds appear, my wolves are not going to risk their lives."

"Yes, yes. Now go get some rest, I want your troop fresh for the night."

The night passed by uneventful.

***

In the evening Chu brought out two stuffed dolls before the archery training.

"Today Elder and I am going to talk about using ranged attacks on different and tougher foes."

"Ahem...yes, yes. But Chu what are those stuffed cloth things for? Are we doing a guessing game?"

"Wait until I finish. Now pay attention. Elder please..."

Mr Thomas got up and went to the front. Today his class contained all of the battle fanatics.

Chu placed the first stuffed cloth doll beside him. It had the likeness of a wild boar. He had commissioned this from Sakura and Amanda. It was large like a barrel.

"We have practised our archery and even our sword skills. I have no doubt you kids can hit or strike a target. However it is time I teach you about the real world."

Chu placed the other stuffing beside the fence. This time it had the likeness of a human.

"Beast will take your life in a flash. But out in the real world there are somethings even more deadly you have to face."

"People."

After much discussion with Thomas, Chu decided to get everyone familiar with fatal points for both beast and humans. This was because of what he remembered that day when facing the boar.

Sure everyone knew about aiming for a target, most of all aiming for the head to kill.

But did they understand why or the reasoning behind it?

It was time to learn about the weak spots of animals and humans. Sooner or later they will have to face and maybe kill other humans.

Chu knew without some form of training and preparedness that would be a daunting task.

Most of this training was for him as well. To take a person's life was not something that could be done easily. At least not for the faint hearted. A moment of hesitation could lead to one loosing their life.

As for the beast in this world, it was time to start learning to figure out their weakness. Most kills were accomplished because of Lucy's flawless execution. The boar would have simply lumbered off that day if it was not for her.

Knowing when to aim at the heart or weak places in the head was a must. Once he remembered something he had to share it. Better late than never for something useful.

Chu took over and gave a brief run down on the vital points. He also pointed out the places he remember from his memory. Thomas nodded and even asked some questions to clarify some issues.

The Military did not have training programs like this. Most of the information was from word of mouth by veterans.

'Shoot the eyes.'

'When large cats pounce slice under the exposed necks'

This was a first for him, and it was a very good experience for new trainees.

When Chu pointed out the reasons for shooting the ears instead of the eyes of the boar he was surprised. More so, when the boy got a bleached skull of a Jaga to prove his point.

Chu marked the places of interest on the animal figure with a large ink dot for reference. He did the same on the Human figure.

Mr Thomas took over and explained his experience in dealing with bandits. He shared some stories of how his companions nearly died when they left ruthless people alive.

"The heart is the place to shoot just like an animals. However people, especially ruthless people are cunning. Some of them even have a small iron breastplate under a leather armor.

That wasted shot can be the difference between life and death."

Chu felt the children might have become depressed having to learn this sort of things. He was mistaken though, they were more than enthusiastic in soaking in this knowledge.

He finally understood that he was not raising some sheltered kids.

These were roughnecks who took pleasure in stalking and ambushing beast more dangerous than them. It dawned on him that nearly every few days Mr Thomas or Clod were butchering and skinning some type of beast.

Nearly everyone in this household had personally killed an animal. Even Amanda was sometimes covered in blood when she helped in the butchering. Somewhere along the line they were all hardened by the sight of blood because of their lifestyle.

The small storeroom near the stables was filled with stacks of pelts. They did not hunt daily, but it was far more frequent than other villagers along the forest. Now that he thought about it, there were few instances when they actually ran from something.

He realized that maybe it was him who was so naive.

His kids had already grown up.

'I need to turn these savages into vegetarians.'