novelsite Chapter 27 To Fight or Not to Fight
Chapter 27 To Fight or Not to Fight
The one being chased chose to retreat to the northwest.
That direction leads to the edge of the old territory.
The odor density of the two males is relatively low, making it a temporary respite.
Chen Fei paused at the marker for a moment, saved the information of the stray animal into his file, and then continued north.
The eleventh marker is on the edge of a rock, which is the northernmost point of the eastern patrol route.
Chen Fei was able to determine this because the scent of the dark brown bristles covered this point twice as many times as at other points on the south side, and the marking density at turning points was always higher than that of straight lines.
He sat down and mentally mapped out a patrol route from all this data.
The dark brown mane follows an eastward arc.
Starting from the eastern part of the central section of the territory, advance north along the eastern edge to this rock, then turn west, connecting with the light western route, forming a closed encirclement outline at both ends.
The entire route takes about two and a half to three hours to complete.
But there is a gap in this route.
Northeast corner!
Between the ninth and eleventh markers, there is a section of about 400 meters where the marker density is significantly lower than in other sections, and the timestamps are also older than in adjacent sections.
This indicates that the dark brown mane moves faster, marks fewer markers, and stays here for the shortest amount of time when traversing this route.
The reason is not hard to judge: this area has open terrain and a good view.
There's no need to spend time marking the dark brown bristles here.
It trusts that its size is enough to deter others in open terrain.
This is a habitual form of disdain.
Chen Fei mentally marked this gap, outlining a rough time window—
Before the dark brown mane finishes the southern section and reaches the northeast corner, there is a gap of about forty minutes.
During this period, there were no active patrols in the northeast corner; the only method of deterrence was through scent.
Forty minutes is enough time to get a lot done!
A beetle crawled past his right forepaw, paused on the back of his paw, and he lifted his paw and shook it. The beetle flew away.
He stood up and walked back.
On the return trip, he took the western arc, which was further west than when he came, and he wanted to experience the smells along this route as well.
As he walked to the northern edge of the old territory, a scent suddenly entered his nostrils, and he stopped.
It is not a pair of males, nor is it a known individual, but it shares the same underlying characteristics as the scent at the seventh marker.
The same lion, or the same group of lions, were all young males with residual stress hormones, and were relatively small in size. They were about half a kilometer away from his current location.
It's not yesterday's smell, it's today's, lingering from a few hours ago.
They are in this area.
[Host: Chen Fei]
[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]
[Energy Points: 523↑]
The night wind turned from the north, pushing the scents from the depths of the grassland southward. Chen Fei stood still, turned his ear in that direction, and caught the scent in the wind for three seconds.
Half a kilometer away, there were two breathing frequencies, both suppressed, very low, like two animals deliberately trying to minimize their presence.
Chen Fei stood still, deep in thought.
The benefits of engaging with this are clear.
Even though the two wandering male lions are small in size and have limited combat power, they are still two fighting units that can stand up.
The two heroes' stats are there: Dark Brown Mane is around 2800 points, and Lightweight is around 2200 points.
If the team works well together, it's not as simple as just adding things together.
And what about our side's current combat strength—
Self: Unknown.
The Lion King was injured and had 60% of his strength.
Sel and Meimei are the lioness's fighting force.
Big Head's right leg is still in the recovery period.
This comparison isn't good.
There are too many unknowns.
Therefore, any chips that can be added to one's side are worth considering.
The risks are also clear.
The initial contact between unfamiliar male lions has a fixed probability of collapse.
If the other side overreacts and charges straight at him, he will have to fight an unplanned nighttime encounter on the edge of his old territory. The commotion will reveal his position and may even alert the low-lying areas.
He paused between the two variables for about ten seconds and concluded: Go!
But instead of getting close directly, he lets the other person smell him first.
He walked twenty steps upwind, stopped beside a low bush, and released his aura, letting the night wind carry his presence. Then he waited.
After waiting for about two minutes, the breathing rhythm of the two people half a kilometer away changed, speeding up and then pressing down again, but not as smoothly as before, with a slight fluctuation. This was the initial stress response after discovering a stranger. It hadn't reached the escape threshold yet, but it was already being assessed.
Chen Fei began walking in that direction, slowing down and landing lightly, stopping every ten steps to give the other party enough time to deal with his approach.
The moonlight cast the shadows of the tall grass on the ground. At the edge of the grass was a wide expanse of sand. He stopped at the edge of the sand and pushed his gaze forward.
Two silhouettes, curled up on the leeward side of a clump of tall grass, were indeed smaller in size, half a head shorter than him, with sparse, light-colored manes, typical characteristics of a sub-adult male lion.
On the right side, there was an old scar that stretched from his left shoulder to his foreleg, scabbed over but not fully healed. Both heads were looking at him, their eyes narrowed.
When male lions first meet, they have a fixed signaling system that is simpler than language, but more precise.
The first key variable is whether it's viewed from the side or from the front.
Standing facing forward signifies a challenge, while turning to the side signifies an assessment; the latter is a neutral signal that "I'm watching you, but I haven't decided whether to fight or not."
The second variable is the duration of the gaze: more than three seconds is a threat, less than one second is avoidance, and around two seconds is an equal probing.
The third variable is scent. Actively pushing your scent toward the other person is a declaration, while natural diffusion is neutral.
Chen Fei stopped at the edge of the sand, turned to the side, and lingered his gaze on the two stray lions for two seconds before looking away, landing on the grass to their right. He paused for three seconds before looking back.
It means: I saw you, but I didn't immediately decide how to handle this.
The one on the right, the one with the old injury, leaned its head forward a little and moved its nose, as if it were taking a sample.
The person on the left took a half step back, lowered their body, and assumed a starting position.
Chen Fei sat down where he was.
This action conveys more information than any odor signal.
A lion assessing a battle will not sit down in front of its opponent.
Sitting down meant that he downgraded the nature of this contact from "potential conflict" to "observation".
The breathing on the side with the old injury paused for a moment, then resumed, the rhythm a little slower than before.
The wandering lions formed a temporary alliance not out of emotion, but because of arithmetic.
Young male lions that roam alone have a mortality rate on the savanna that is almost twice as high as those that roam in pairs. When two lions are together, they can embolden each other when they encounter predators, and they are also more successful in stealing prey.
However, such alliances are extremely fragile and are based on the premise that both sides are evenly matched.
If a third party emerges that is significantly stronger than either of the two, the alliance will collapse within ten seconds.
Because at this point, the benefits of sticking together are lower than the benefits of each person running away.
Chen Fei is better than them.
Both sides are aware of this point.
So the essence of his sitting down was: I have the ability to suppress you, but I don't intend to do so now.
He waited on the sand for about five minutes.