The moment the attack landed, the outcome was almost decided.
The male rare-horned moose was more than twice the size of Mom and Dad, yet under their coordinated attack it had almost no chance to resist.
Dad's saber teeth had already pierced deep into the moose's neck. Blood start comming out from his neck as the giant animal struggled violently.
Despite its desperate thrashing, it could not shake the predators off. Mom and Dad pressed tightly against its body, their powerful forelimbs gripping with incredible force. Their claws dug deep into muscle and hide, locking the massive animal in place and preventing it from rolling over.
The moose cried out in panic, its voice echoing across the forest as if calling for help.
Not far away, the rest of the herd reacted quickly. Several large males raised their antlers and rushed forward. Smoke started comming out from their nostrils as they charged toward the two saber-toothed tigers with frightening momentum.
Mom and Dad had clearly expected this reaction.
Without hesitation, they released their grip and leaped away from the struggling moose.
They knew exactly how dangerous those animals were. A direct impact from a creature of that size could easily break bones or tear open a predator's body.
However, this retreat was only temporary.
Mom and Dad moved back about ten meters and stopped, watching the wounded moose carefully.
They had no intention of letting their prey escape.
The injured male staggered as several other moose approached and circled around him. They seemed to be checking on their companion, but the damage had already been done.
Dad had chosen his attack point carefully. His saber teeth had cut through both the trachea and the carotid artery.
Blood from the severed artery flowed directly into the moose's airway. Thick liquid quickly filled its throat, making breathing almost impossible.
The giant animal tried to inhale, but every breath only brought more blood into its lungs.
Within moments its struggles weakened.
The massive body trembled once more before collapsing completely. The light slowly faded from its eyes.
It was dead.
Mom and Dad watched carefully for a moment.
"Rrr—"
Both of them released low sounds as they slowly approached the fallen prey again.
The other moose finally realized their companion was beyond saving. Rather than continuing the confrontation, they turned back and returned to the herd.
There was no reason to fight two saber-toothed tigers over a dead animal.
Soon the rest of the herd retreated across the forest, keeping their distance from the predators.
When the last of them disappeared into the trees, Mom and Dad lifted their heads.
"ROAR!"
Their powerful calls echoed through the valley.
In the distance, James, Zack, and Zoe heard the sound and immediately became excited.
"The hunt succeeded… and it only took a few minutes."
James had watched the entire battle from start to finish, and he was completely stunned.
He had barely blink during the attack, afraid he might miss something important.
The saber-toothed tiger truly deserved its reputation as one of the most terrifying predators of the Ice Age.
Zack and Zoe immediately ran toward the fallen moose as soon as they realized the hunt was over.
James followed behind them.
Now that he stood beside the carcass, he could finally examine the wounds closely.
The first thing he noticed was the deep claw mark on the moose's hindquarters. A large piece of flesh had been torn open where Mom had grabbed it.
That single strike revealed the incredible gripping power of a saber-toothed tiger's forelimbs.
Thanks to the information from the system, James already understood part of the reason behind that strength. The internal muscles attached to the forelimb bones were extremely well developed. Their forearms were also shorter and thicker than those of most modern cats.
This structure allowed the forelimbs to release tremendous force in a short burst, clamping down on prey like a steel trap.
Another important feature was the body proportions. The front limbs of a saber-toothed tiger were noticeably longer and stronger than the hind limbs. That gave them tremendous upper-body strength, allowing them to drag down prey that weighed far more than they did.
The second wound was even more impressive.
Two deep punctures marked the moose's neck where Dad's saber teeth had entered.
Unlike modern big cats, saber-toothed tigers did not rely on bite force.
Their skull structure and jaw muscles were actually weaker than those of lions or modern tigers. In fact, the bite force of a full-grown saber-toothed tiger was only about one third that of an African lion.
Their strength did not lie in crushing power.
Their real weapon was the pair of long, razor-sharp fangs.
Those teeth were designed to slice through arteries and the trachea with surgical precision. By cutting the blood supply and airway at the same time, they could kill large prey extremely quickly.
Their jaws could also open at an angle of nearly one hundred and twenty degrees, far wider than most modern cats. Combined with their powerful neck muscles, this allowed them to drive their saber teeth deep into a target.
During this hunt, Dad had not simply bitten down.
Instead, he used his lower jaw to hold the neck in place while the saber teeth cut through the moose's throat and major blood vessels.
James slowly processed everything he had just witnessed.
"There's a lot more to this than I expected…"
He suddenly realized that the hunting style of saber-toothed tigers was completely different from modern big cats.
Lions and tigers usually killed their prey by clamping down on the throat and suffocating the animal.
Saber-toothed tigers, on the other hand, fought more like warriors using blades.
If the hunting style of lions was like a chokehold in combat, then the saber-toothed tiger's method was closer to slashing an opponent's throat with a knife.
But there was one problem.
"That knife is fragile…"
Those famous saber teeth looked terrifying, but they were actually delicate. If they struck bone or another hard surface the wrong way, they could break.
And once broken, they would never grow back.
In other words, the saber-toothed tiger's hunting style was incredibly efficient, but also risky.
One mistake could mean disaster for the rest of life.