Chapter 172

The Entrance No . 1, was located quite a distance away from the Vulture Cliffs . It was towards the north eastern direction . When I finally arrived in the vicinity of the Entrance No . 1, I could already see groups of Corpse Dogs running about . 'There are about 30 of them, next to the entrance . I don't know how many are inside but my guess is that, the amount will not be a small one' I thought .

I took out my bow and arrows . 'Long distance is the best way to figure out their forces . When I kill couple of them, more should show up . I can either grind them with arrows or I can take them on in close combat, depending on the numbers' I thought and started shooting .

I was about 300 metres away from the Entrance No . 1 . With a few arrows shot, the Corpse Dogs started to die . I then heard some howls and more Corpse Dogs crawled out of the entrance . 'There are about 100 of them now . I can't deal with this number in close combat . I also don't know, if all those dogs are the same . Maybe there are some elites mixed in' I thought and shot more arrows .

The Corpse Dogs finally figured out where my position was and the whole group ran at me . I decided not to linger and simply run . 'There are still about 85 of them left, that is a large amount . I also have only 30 arrows left . This seems to be the best tactics but I will need more arrows' I thought, as I ran away at full speed . The Corpse Dogs had no way of catching up to me and I lost them after a while .

'I need more arrows . I wonder if those dead trees will be good enough to make shafts . I can use some rocks as arrowheads . I don't have enough ore, to waste it on arrowheads . The performance will be much worse but with my strength, I should be able to kill the Corpse Dogs anyway, even with makeshift arrows' I thought and took out a hatchet from my bag .

I didn't have to search for trees as those were everywhere . The only thing was that, they weren't densely packed . I also ran towards the direction of Dead Forest . This would allow me some cover in case the Corpse Dogs relentlessly chased after me . I swung the hatchet at the tree and got a bit surprised . 'This trees seem to be dying and rotting but it's actually quite hard . This will make very good arrow shafts!' I thought .

I cut down a few trees and started carving those arrow shafts . I needed a lot of them, if what that Avian said is correct, the Den would have around 1000 of those Corpse Dogs . I didn't want to create 1000 arrows at once but about 200 for the start, should be enough . I was also more experienced creating arrow shafts, due to the visit to my "home" village . Creating 200 shafts wouldn't take that long for me anymore . The problem was arrowheads .

'I will need sharp stones of a decent size . I will probably need to carve them as well and I don't know how long this will take . Although this land is reach in stones, not every stone will be suitable' I thought . This would take me a while but I had to finish the shafts first .

I spend the rest of the "day", carving the shafts . I made about 180 of them and decided it would be enough for now . I still needed arrowheads . I decided to rest first and then focus on that . Sleeping in the North was not that simple though . This place was potentially very dangerous and had very little protection . While I slept, I was vulnerable to all attacks . A Black Sludge could creep up on me and try to a.s.similate my body .

I came up with an idea of an early prevention mechanism . I set up ropes around the area I was camping at and tied that to myself . If a creature touches the rope, it would potentially wake me up . I didn't know if I could be woken up, when I was dreaming about the Dark Traveller but at least, it was something . This only work for creatures such as Corpse Dogs but for something like Black Sludge, it would have no effect .

The solution to that was medicine . I found out that besides fire, smell of medicine was also nemesis of the Black Sludge . I had loads of herbs and medical liquids, so spreading some around my camp was not a problem . What I found out, when experimenting with the bit that was left after the Black Sludge burned, as well as the one I retrieved from the sea of Black Sludges, was that the medicine worked on it like poison . On the other hand, poison was something of a medicine to it . I guessed that not all poisons would work that way but the weaker ones, would actually heal the Sludge, instead of harming it .

This was also apparent when I met the Crow guy . He ate the food without much of a worry . He knew that any poison I could potentially add into the food, would not affect him, or he was very naive . With that set up, I could now go to sleep at the top of a tree .

The next "day", I started collecting the stones . Not every stone was appropriate as an arrowhead but because there were so many of them around, I quickly gathered a pile of stones . 'Time to grind some stones, I guess' I thought and started carving .

This went on for another two "days", when I finally had enough arrowheads to create 180 arrows . Carving those stones, was not easy at all . I had to carve them to specific size that was one thing . The other thing was a ridge or a hole that would slip onto the arrow shaft . That was why, it took me so many hours just to create 180 arrows .

When all the arrowheads and shafts were attached, using some small strands of a rope that I sacrificed . I was ready to tackle the Entrance No . 1 again . I traveled back and arrived at the entrance to the Den .

There were again, around 30 or so Corpse Dogs running around it . I took out my bow and positioned myself . 'It's time to test my new arrows, I expect that their performance will be much worse compared to the arrows I already had but as long as I can kill Corpse Dogs, I don't care about anything else' I thought and aimed at the group .

"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"

I shot 3 arrows, one after the other and fortunately, they managed to hit their targets . Although the arrowheads were made from stones, their speed covered for the substandard materials used to make them . The arrows pierced right through the Corpse Dogs, I targeted and all 3 died . 'Good, the arrows work . Now to grind them down' I thought and started to release arrows one after the other .

The Corpse Dogs were dying left and right when finally, reinforcements arrived . This time, the reinforcements numbered over 100, so the number altogether was around 150 of Corpse Dogs . I shot arrows like crazy at the pack or rather a herd of Corpse Dogs, that was getting closer . I stood up and ran . I didn't have the skills to run and shoot arrows at the same time but there was nothing stopping me from trying that out .

My aim was kind of all over the place but my accuracy was about 80% . It was all thanks to the size of the group that was chasing me . It was hard to miss it . I used up over 50 arrows and killed about the same amount of Corpse Dogs from that group .

With so many deaths, they chased me for quite some time . I decided to lose them first and then reorganise . I wanted to grind them down, not kill them all in one go . I lost them and hid my presence . I learned that these Corpse Dogs, although stupid, had very good sense of smell, probably even better than mine . There was an easy solution to this . Just smear some dirt onto myself . This would mask my smell quite well and adding in the distance, the Corpse Dogs would not be able to find me .

I managed to lose them but I didn't let go of that group so easily . I knew they would return to the Den but I wouldn't let that happen . I ate some food to restore my energy and went after them . The herd of Corpse Dogs running back to their Den, was the exact thing, I was searching for . I took out the bow and started shooting again . The Corpse Dogs turned towards me again and ran . I killed around 40 of them this time and only about 50 were left, from that whole herd .

I repeated the process one again and then, finished off whatever was left, by utilising the close combat . 'Around 150 Corpse Dogs died . There are potentially 6 times as many of them left . There could be more though . I need to collect back my arrows, I can't just make new ones every time' I thought and went around collecting arrows . Some arrows broke apart, while others managed to stay intact and would be still usable . I managed to retrieve around 80 arrows but that was not enough for another raid . I had to make more, so my grinding resumed .

. . . . The Entrance No . 1, was located quite a distance away from the Vulture Cliffs . It was towards the north eastern direction . When I finally arrived in the vicinity of the Entrance No . 1, I could already see groups of Corpse Dogs running about . There are about 30 of them, next to the entrance . I dont know how many are inside but my guess is that, the amount will not be a small one I thought . I took out my bow and arrows . Long distance is the best way to figure out their forces . When I kill couple of them, more should show up . I can either grind them with arrows or I can take them on in close combat, depending on the numbers I thought and started shooting . I was about 300 metres away from the Entrance No . 1 . With a few arrows shot, the Corpse Dogs started to die . I then heard some howls and more Corpse Dogs crawled out of the entrance . There are about 100 of them now . I cant deal with this number in close combat . I also dont know, if all those dogs are the same . Maybe there are some elites mixed in I thought and shot more arrows . The Corpse Dogs finally figured out where my position was and the whole group ran at me . I decided not to linger and simply run . There are still about 85 of them left, that is a large amount . I also have only 30 arrows left . This seems to be the best tactics but I will need more arrows I thought, as I ran away at full speed . The Corpse Dogs had no way of catching up to me and I lost them after a while . . . I need more arrows . I wonder if those dead trees will be good enough to make shafts . I can use some rocks as arrowheads . I dont have enough ore, to waste it on arrowheads . The performance will be much worse but with my strength, I should be able to kill the Corpse Dogs anyway, even with makeshift arrows I thought and took out a hatchet from my bag . I didnt have to search for trees as those were everywhere . The only thing was that, they werent densely packed . I also ran towards the direction of Dead Forest . This would allow me some cover in case the Corpse Dogs relentlessly chased after me . I swung the hatchet at the tree and got a bit surprised . This trees seem to be dying and rotting but its actually quite hard . This will make very good arrow shafts! I thought . I cut down a few trees and started carving those arrow shafts . I needed a lot of them, if what that Avian said is correct, the Den would have around 1000 of those Corpse Dogs . I didnt want to create 1000 arrows at once but about 200 for the start, should be enough . I was also more experienced creating arrow shafts, due to the visit to my home village . Creating 200 shafts wouldnt take that long for me anymore . The problem was arrowheads . I will need sharp stones of a decent size . I will probably need to carve them as well and I dont know how long this will take . Although this land is reach in stones, not every stone will be suitable I thought . This would take me a while but I had to finish the shafts first . I spend the rest of the day, carving the shafts . I made about 180 of them and decided it would be enough for now . I still needed arrowheads . I decided to rest first and then focus on that . Sleeping in the North was not that simple though . This place was potentially very dangerous and had very little protection . While I slept, I was vulnerable to all attacks . A Black Sludge could creep up on me and try to a.s.similate my body . . . I came up with an idea of an early prevention mechanism . I set up ropes around the area I was camping at and tied that to myself . If a creature touches the rope, it would potentially wake me up . I didnt know if I could be woken up, when I was dreaming about the Dark Traveller but at least, it was something . This only work for creatures such as Corpse Dogs but for something like Black Sludge, it would have no effect . The solution to that was medicine . I found out that besides fire, smell of medicine was also nemesis of the Black Sludge . I had loads of herbs and medical liquids, so spreading some around my camp was not a problem . What I found out, when experimenting with the bit that was left after the Black Sludge burned, as well as the one I retrieved from the sea of Black Sludges, was that the medicine worked on it like poison . On the other hand, poison was something of a medicine to it . I guessed that not all poisons would work that way but the weaker ones, would actually heal the Sludge, instead of harming it . This was also apparent when I met the Crow guy . He ate the food without much of a worry . He knew that any poison I could potentially add into the food, would not affect him, or he was very naive . With that set up, I could now go to sleep at the top of a tree . The next day, I started collecting the stones . Not every stone was appropriate as an arrowhead but because there were so many of them around, I quickly gathered a pile of stones . Time to grind some stones, I guess I thought and started carving . This went on for another two days, when I finally had enough arrowheads to create 180 arrows . Carving those stones, was not easy at all . I had to carve them to specific size that was one thing . The other thing was a ridge or a hole that would slip onto the arrow shaft . That was why, it took me so many hours just to create 180 arrows . When all the arrowheads and shafts were attached, using some small strands of a rope that I sacrificed . I was ready to tackle the Entrance No . 1 again . I traveled back and arrived at the entrance to the Den . There were again, around 30 or so Corpse Dogs running around it . I took out my bow and positioned myself . Its time to test my new arrows, I expect that their performance will be much worse compared to the arrows I already had but as long as I can kill Corpse Dogs, I dont care about anything else I thought and aimed at the group . Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! I shot 3 arrows, one after the other and fortunately, they managed to hit their targets . Although the arrowheads were made from stones, their speed covered for the substandard materials used to make them . The arrows pierced right through the Corpse Dogs, I targeted and all 3 died . Good, the arrows work . Now to grind them down I thought and started to release arrows one after the other . The Corpse Dogs were dying left and right when finally, reinforcements arrived . This time, the reinforcements numbered over 100, so the number altogether was around 150 of Corpse Dogs . I shot arrows like crazy at the pack or rather a herd of Corpse Dogs, that was getting closer . I stood up and ran . I didnt have the skills to run and shoot arrows at the same time but there was nothing stopping me from trying that out . My aim was kind of all over the place but my accuracy was about 80% . It was all thanks to the size of the group that was chasing me . It was hard to miss it . I used up over 50 arrows and killed about the same amount of Corpse Dogs from that group . With so many deaths, they chased me for quite some time . I decided to lose them first and then reorganise . I wanted to grind them down, not kill them all in one go . I lost them and hid my presence . I learned that these Corpse Dogs, although stupid, had very good sense of smell, probably even better than mine . There was an easy solution to this . Just smear some dirt onto myself . This would mask my smell quite well and adding in the distance, the Corpse Dogs would not be able to find me . I managed to lose them but I didnt let go of that group so easily . I knew they would return to the Den but I wouldnt let that happen . I ate some food to restore my energy and went after them . The herd of Corpse Dogs running back to their Den, was the exact thing, I was searching for . I took out the bow and started shooting again . The Corpse Dogs turned towards me again and ran . I killed around 40 of them this time and only about 50 were left, from that whole herd . I repeated the process one again and then, finished off whatever was left, by utilising the close combat . Around 150 Corpse Dogs died . There are potentially 6 times as many of them left . There could be more though . I need to collect back my arrows, I cant just make new ones every time I thought and went around collecting arrows . Some arrows broke apart, while others managed to stay intact and would be still usable . I managed to retrieve around 80 arrows but that was not enough for another raid . I had to make more, so my grinding resumed .