Eric cast the fishing net into the river first. He would have to wait a while before retrieving it anyway, so it wouldn't be too late to go get help then.
A group of beast cubs followed Leo to stand at Eric's feet, standing upright on their hind legs and curiously watching the river's surface, like a pack of meerkats.
The scene was so adorable that Eric truly wanted to pick up each cub to kiss, hug, and lift them high, but he was afraid of being called a pervert and had to try his best to restrain himself.
The Snow Wolf people disliked eating river seafood. They felt that fish were not only bony but also had an unpleasant smell, and that other river creatures were too ugly to be edible.
This also led to the fish and shrimp in the river being incredibly bold and without a shred of vigilance, completely unaware that someone could be so treacherous as to use food to lure them into a trap.
The magic beast's entrails were large and had a strong smell, quickly attracting a great number of fish and shrimp.
He watched as the wooden floats on the water's surface began to shake violently, not expecting to attract fish to fight over the bait so quickly.
Eric grew a little anxious, pacing back and forth on the riverbank. He didn't notice that Flower had already snuck off towards the tribe's settlement.
He tried to pull the net from the bank but couldn't move it. The fish in the net were either too numerous or too big; they were so strong that they almost pulled him into the river.
Had he known, he would have made the net a little smaller. At least then he would have been able to pull it in. Just how many fish had he caught? With his current strength, pulling an object weighing several hundred catties was no problem, yet he couldn't haul in this fishing net.
Leo also took on his human form, grabbed one end of the net, and pulled with all his might alongside him.
It seemed a large fish was caught in the water. It thrashed violently, pulling the two of them to the ground. Standing on the bank made it difficult for them to exert force, whereas the fish in the water could do so more easily.
If it weren't for the fact that Eric couldn't swim, he would have been angry enough to jump in and beat that big fish to death.
With a *splash*, Eric thought Leo had fallen into the water and quickly turned his head to look.
Leo was still in the position he had fallen, his small bottom covered in mud and water, with even a few drops of mud splattered on his face.
Just as he felt relieved, he saw a head emerge from the water, shouting at him, "What are you spacing out for? Pull with me!"
Before he could get a clear look at the person's face, he heard her shout and instinctively stood up to pull with all his might.
Flower had brought several other beast cubs with her. They stood in a completely naked line, grabbing the vine rope in the water and pulling hard.
The Snow Wolf person in the water gathered the net from the other side while Eric and the cubs on the bank pulled it up. The range of the net gradually shrank, and they could vaguely see the flashing white bellies of leaping fish.
Eric was overjoyed; it seemed the harvest was substantial. As the net was pulled in, he finally got a clear look at the Snow Wolf person in the water.
It was a female beastman. Her long, silver-white hair was tied carelessly behind her neck, her brows and eyes were sharp and heroic, and her figure was slender. The muscles on her arms bulged as she exerted herself.
With her help, they finally managed to pull the fishing net ashore.
Flower rushed forward, shouting, "Big sister, you're so amazing!"
The female beastman came ashore, shook out her soaking wet hair, and flicked the water droplets from her body. Her fiery figure made Eric not dare to look too much. This was especially true since the female beastmen of the Snow Wolf tribe also used only two pieces of animal hide to cover themselves.
She gave Eric a cold glance, then turned to Flower and said, "Alright, I'm done helping. I'm leaving."
Flower chased after her sister's retreating figure for a short distance before running back.
*So cold,* Eric thought to himself.
This female beastman's name was Grass. In the original owner's memories, she was very much disliked.
Grass was powerful and often went out hunting with Max. The original owner had always been hostile towards her, even more so than towards Michael.
As a warrior who frequently fought side-by-side with Max, Grass was one of the few female beastmen with whom Max had regular contact.
However, Grass only had admiration for Max's great strength and a competitive spirit that refused to admit defeat. Faced with Eric's frequent provocations, if not for the fact that he was still a cub, Grass would have taught him a lesson long ago.
Even so, when Flower asked for her help, Grass had agreed to come. Her heart was quite kind.
The ground was covered in large, flopping fish, the smallest of which was one or two meters long.
Among them was a giant black fish that looked a bit like an Earth catfish, with two barbels at the corners of its mouth. It seemed this was the one that had nearly pulled the two of them into the water. Even after being netted ashore, it remained defiant, slapping the ground with its large tail.
Eric fiercely lifted a large rock and smashed the black fish until it was unconscious. He patted the black fish's belly; with such a plump body, its meat was sure to be incredibly rich and fatty.
The beast cubs all squatted to one side, tilting their heads and curiously watching his actions.
He began to scale the black fish from its tail. A big fish meant big scales; each one was the size of a palm.
He first scraped off all the large scales, then took one of them and sharpened its edge.
It was a case of using the fish's own tools for the job. With this large scale, Eric cleaned off the remaining small scales in a flash.
After scraping the scales clean, Eric gutted the large fish, carefully using his hands to remove the internal organs and gills. A Snow Wolf's claws were quite sharp, so he carefully retracted them. If he wasn't careful and broke the fish gall, the fish would no longer be delicious; the gall was extremely bitter.
Using river water to rinse the inside of the fish's belly, he took the scale and scraped away the black membrane inside. This scale was quite handy. Eric decided to keep these large scales; they were much better for scraping things than a Snow Wolf's claws. They could also be used as a vegetable knife; the size was just right, and they would be very easy to use once sharpened.
After processing this largest fish, Eric lifted it up and rinsed it completely with river water. Leo had already proactively gone to pick many large leaves. Eric placed the fish on the leaves and then began to slowly process the other fish.
The other fish were much easier to handle than the large black one. With a convenient tool in hand, he finished processing one with just a few scrapes of the scale.
Besides these fish of various sizes, there were also quite a few large, human-height shrimp. Overjoyed, Eric quickened his pace.
Seeing that the cubs disliked the fishy smell and were standing far away, Eric told them to go pick wild onions. Leo recognized wild onions, so he led the little ones to go pick them.
He himself then carried the fish back to his home, one by one. The fishy smell made the Snow Wolf people poke their heads out to look, wondering what Eric was up to now.
The piece of magic beast meat he had been given today was quite fatty. It was perfect for cutting all the fat off into small pieces and putting them in a pottery jar to render.