Chronicles Of Primordial Wars (Ch. 271-500)

ch. 425-426

Chapter 425

The fact that these wild ducks chose to build their nests in the forest near the tribe meant they had accepted and adapted to the environment. Perhaps the fat duck was part of the reason. No matter what, to the tribe, it was not a bad thing. 

Now, the daily patrol teams expanded their patrol area to the forest near the tribe. In the past, they would only go there once every two days. Now, they would slip into the forest every day. 

The patrol team had another hobby– looking for eggs. 

After finding all the different nests, they would bring back the cracked or eggs that had shattered after falling on the ground. If they were edible, they’d eat it, anything else was used as fertiliser for the Thousand Grain Gold. These broken eggs would likely not hatch chicks. 

Shao Xuan wanted to check if every egg contained an embryo but when he looked at it against the sun, he could not see anything. These eggs weren’t translucent so he gave up, only telling the rest to bring back broken eggs. 

The patrol team were careful not to scare the ducks in the forest too. They usually approached the nests if the ducks had left or they would not go near. 

These ducks were very smart, the ones who had their nests amongst tall grass would cover their eggs with grass. At a glance, it did not look like there was a nest here. It was only when a few of the warriors followed the ducks secretly when they discovered the nest. 

Compared to the hard working mothers, that bright green, fat duck was living a very carefree life. Of course, it would patrol around the forest. Whenever a wild rat or smaller animals appeared, the ones that it could defeat, it would go into a defensive mode. It could become a battle duck in a second. However, when it saw an animal that it could not beat, it would start screaming. When the warriors on patrol heard its screams, they would rush over to save the ducks. 

The tribesmen were always enthusiastic about beneficial, interesting activities. They had time to spare anyway. Many children didn’t have much to do so they would catch insects for the ducks to eat. 

Perhaps sensing that this was a safe area, the mother ducks grew more relaxed. 

One day, new sounds could be heard from the forest. 

Grey, yellow and patterned balls of feathers could be seen. 

Although there were people on patrol duty, they could not watch every corner all the time. The fat duck definitely couldn’t watch everything at the same time either. When these ducklings hatched, they attracted predators too. There were several unavoidable incidents of ducklings caught by predators, sometimes even the mother too. 

Shao Xuan sent people to bring the ducklings who had lost their mother back to the tribe and reared them in a pen. The fat duck was unbothered as usual. In reality, once the ducklings were born, he was generally uninterested in them. Although he still patrolled the forest, he did not stop to look at the ducklings. 

As for the ducklings, everyone in the tribe was very enthusiastic. There was a huge duck pen built at the foot of the hill. Shao Xuan even led a team to build housing for the ducks. 

Then, one day, Shao Xuan received a report that the fat duck had moved into the house on its own, even barring the ducklings from entering. 

When he saw how the fat duck’s stubborn face, Shao Xuan had no choice but to build a smaller shed next to the duck housing. He laid dried grass inside and was finally able to lure the fat duck over. 

Previously, Shao Xuan had already discovered the poison-neutralizing abilities of the duck eggs brought back. That was why he paid more attention to the ducks reared in the tribe. As for the ducks still in the forest, he did not tell his people to catch them. This was their first time feeding and rearing ducks, it was best to have a control group outside. Then again, with their lack of experience, it was not a good idea to rear so many ducks at once either. Might as well let the adult ducks rear their own younglings.