Chapter 227 Tribe and Wolf
This is an abandoned land.
Under the vast sky, there is only white snow and black tundra covered with white snow.
On the vast wilderness, there is almost no green color.
The dilapidated camp, the ubiquitous beasts, and the extremely dangerous earth-line creatures that often appear, all reveal a primitive atmosphere.
This is the North, the barbaric, rough and uncivilized North.
A little boy of seven or eight years old, dark and thin, wearing rough animal skin clothes, with hair as dry as grass, carrying a huge backpack that was extremely inconsistent with his body, walked step by step through the messy tents. Crossed over.
The backpack contained the droppings of herbivores that he picked up on the snowfield.
Mainly musk ox dung.
Although there is little green in the northern land, it does not mean that there is no grass growing.
In the frozen soil of the tundra, you can find some weedy vegetables, field peas, and berries including rock crows and cloudberries.
These are almost the only "green vegetables" that humans in the north can eat daily.
Mosses and lichens are also very common. These, together with the roots, stems and bark of certain plants, are the staple food of herbivores.
The feces of herbivores contains a large amount of plant fibers. These plant fibers are easy to burn after drying and have a low ignition point. They are a common source of fuel for people in the north.
Walking back to his tent, Joey took off the backpack with difficulty.
There was a burning pain in my shoulder.
Such heavy work is still too harsh for a child who is not yet ten years old.
But Joey didn’t complain at all.
On the frozen soil, it is impossible not to endure hardship.
Every child in the north grew up like this.
Joey took out a glove, put it on himself, then put it into the basket and started working it like kneading noodles.
These excrements need to be processed into cakes or small pieces with your hands, and then placed in the sun to dry naturally on a good day. After they dry, the resulting dung cakes are ideal. of fuel.
Ever since his parents died in the snow wolf attack the year before, Joey has been relying on the little food distributed by the tribe and often venturing out to dig through the snow to find wild vegetables and weeds, barely surviving.
The tribe is small, but it will not abandon every tribesman.
In the North, tribesmen are the most important thing.
It's just that although the tribe will not easily abandon children who have lost their parents, this does not mean that Joey can eat and drink for free as a matter of course.
The fact is that the North never raises idle people.
Even children have their own jobs.
Making fuel is Joey’s job.
While working, Joey kept looking outside the tent.
He was waiting for the tribal hunting party to return.
If you are lucky, the hunters in the hunting team will return with several prey, most of which are elk deer, musk ox, wild boar, etc. Then Joey will be able to get a large piece of meat from the hunt. piece.
That was Joey's happiest moment.
But moments like this don’t happen all the time.
More often than not, the hunters only harvested very little, not even enough for each member of the tribe to eat a bite of meat.
At this time, the limited food must be given priority to the men in the tribe who need strength.
Women, the elderly, and children often can only drink broth.
This is not the worst case scenario.
Going hunting is always full of dangers. Injuries are common, and death is even more common.
There are also times when the hunters bring back not the prey, but the corpses of their companions.
At this time, it is not a big deal for them to go hungry for a few days. Mainly for a small tribe like theirs, larger casualties may cause the tribe's already fragile balance to be broken - if the hunter is injured, he will not be able to hunt, and he will not be able to hunt. There would be no food, and without food there would be no energy left to look for food.
Such a vicious cycle will eventually lead to the demise of a tribe.
And stories like this happen every day on the permafrost tundra in the north.
So, in addition to expectation, Joey's eyes also contained worry.
Very contradictory.
In this environment where survival is the main theme, the so-called intrigues lose their meaning. Everyone in the tribe is a community, which is very valuable.
Today, Joey has good luck.
When the hunters in the tribe returned carrying a huge horned deer, the whole tribe was filled with cheers from children.
Not long after, joyful laughter spread throughout the tribal camp.
Even Joey couldn't help but wave his fist excitedly.
"Hunter."
Becoming an excellent hunter and bringing food and cheer to the tribe is the biggest ideal in little Joey's heart at this time.
Half an hour later.
"Little Joey, this is yours." An old hunter from the tribe walked towards Joey's tent carrying a large piece of venison.
Joy has almost finished his work and is cleaning.
He took the heavy piece of venison and a small piece of offal that came with it, and expressed his gratitude to the old hunter.
The diet of northerners is mainly based on meat and fish, accounting for more than 90% of the diet. Only occasionally will it be accompanied by some wild vegetables and fruits.
And in order to retain the nutritional value of food to the maximum extent and save fuel, the eating method is often extremely barbaric and raw.
This seemingly "barbaric" way of eating is actually a way of survival for northerners to coexist harmoniously with nature.
Joy carefully took out the special bone knife hidden in his waist.
Although it is a bone knife, it has become extremely sharp after his frequent polishing.
Joey used a bone knife to gently scratch the large piece of venison, with skillful and precise techniques.
Slices of meat as thin as cicada wings were cut off.
Then, Joey put these pieces of meat into his mouth.
The cold meat melts in your mouth and tastes like ice cream, releasing a rich delicious and sweet taste.
Joey's face suddenly showed a look of satisfaction.
He was already hungry.
In fact, the entire tribe, except for those hunters who want to go out for hunting, often eats eight full to ensure their strength and stamina. Most of the others are usually half full.
Only on very few festivals will people hoard food and eat extravagantly.
Hunger is also a common occurrence for people in the north.
In this land, food is too precious.
Woo~~~
Woo~~~
While Joey was enjoying the food and looking forward to the scene when he became a hunter in the future, he felt more and more nervous. The sound of horns sounded in the tribal camp.
Along with the sound of the horn, a hoarse voice with a hint of imperceptible fear came: "Snow wolves attack! Snow wolves attack! There are about thirty of them! They are coming soon!"< br>
The owner of the voice is the leader of their small tribe and the only one with an awakened ice bloodline in the entire tribe.
When he heard the word "Snow Wolf", the hair on Joey's body stood up.
Snow wolves are the most common terrestrial creatures in the northern lands, found in every corner of the permafrost tundra.
The number of hundreds of thousands, and from the lowest level 0-level snow wolf to the 5th-level frost wolf king, make the snow wolf group one of the most troublesome problems for the people of the North.
The snow wolves like to appear in groups, and when food is in short supply, they will launch attacks on northern tribe camps.
Joey's parents died in an attack by a pack of snow wolves.
This early experience not only gave Joey a deep hatred for Snow Wolf, but also a fear hidden deep in his subconscious. So at this moment, after hearing the news of the attack by the snow wolves, like a cat with explosive hair, he immediately entered the highest alert state and firmly grasped the bone knife in his hand.
A pack of thirty snow wolves, according to the common ratio, will have about three heads and one ring of ice wolves.
Such a wolf pack cannot be said to be able to Destroying their tribe would at least make their tribe crippled.
And for such a small tribe, breaking the bones often means destruction.
They barely survived the snow wolf attack the year before last, and they had not yet recovered much strength.
Once again, no one is confident that the tribe can survive this winter.
"Beasts, these damn beasts, why are they coming at us?" A woman from the tribe had hugged her infant child tightly and muttered to herself, her tone full of despair. and sadness.
"Everyone, take out the venison you received today and throw it at the entrance of the tribe." The tribe leader has given the order decisively.
Although the snow wolves are ferocious, they rarely attack human camps unless they are extremely hungry.
After all, this is a very dangerous behavior for them, and many companions will be killed or injured.
So, if you take the initiative to take out some food and feed these snow wolves half full, there is a high probability that they will retreat.
This move is often called the "Snow Wolf Tax", which means paying tax to the Snow Wolf and exchanging food for peace.
Although they were a little reluctant to give up, the tribesmen who had just received the venison quickly handed it over.
If the food is gone, there is still a chance to hunt for it. If the people are gone, it is really gone.
The hunters took the heavy pieces of meat from the hands of the tribe, and then threw the meat at the entrance of the tribe, as if it were a tribute to the snow wolf.
Just after they completed all these actions, a group of ferocious, frost-white snow wolves rushed over without concealment. They were like white ghosts, crossing the snow.
Snow wolves look a bit like dogs, but are much more ferocious than dogs.
Their eyes are shining with green light, as if they can see into the fear and uneasiness of people's hearts.
The snow wolves stopped at the entrance of the tribe and looked at the venison piled there.
The tribal hunters who had already taken out their weapons were staring closely at the snow wolves.
The air is filled with tension.
Every howl of the cold wind seems to trigger tense nerves on both sides.
At this time, several low whimpers came from the snow wolves.
Immediately afterwards, three huge and imposing giant wolves slowly moved forward.
They are the strongest among the snow wolves, three ice wolves with a ring.
They will determine the movement of the entire wolf pack.
The rest of the snow wolves, those with zero rings, looked at the three ice wolves with one ring in awe.
The Ice and Snow Wolf came to the pile of venison, gently moved his nose and took a sniff.
Then, there was a terrible sound of teeth biting bones, which made people shiver all over.
The snow wolf's strong and sharp teeth are best at crushing hard bones and sucking out the marrow.
The cold bone marrow has always been one of Snow Wolf's favorite foods.
After the three wolves finished licking the bone marrow and sucked out every drop, they slowly raised their heads and stared at the hundreds of people in the tribe, their green eyes revealing With a fierce light, he looked up to the sky and let out a long roar, which was shockingly cruel.
The patriarch’s face suddenly changed.
Although they don't understand the language, Snow Wolf's meaning is clear. This meat is not enough, and they want more.
"Insatiable beasts"
The number of wolves is not particularly large, only about thirty.
But their tribe is too small. Excluding the elderly, children and women, there are only thirty or forty people who are truly capable of fighting.
Northerners have never lacked courage and strength, and it is not impossible to fight these snow wolves, but once they really fight for their lives, they will inevitably suffer heavy casualties.
How will we survive the coming winter?
A sense of powerlessness arose in the patriarch's heart.
This is the helplessness of a small tribe. It has no ability to resist risks, and a little accident may lead to the destruction of the tribe.
"Laut, take someone to drag a musk ox out of the warehouse." The clan leader said.
“Chief, that is the food reserve for the winter.” The hunter named Lauter’s face changed drastically and he said anxiously.
"Listen to me!"
"It's the clan leader."
A moment later, a huge frozen musk ox was dragged out of the warehouse by Lauter and several strong hunters.
Its huge body left a deep mark on the snow.
On the snow, the attention of the three alpha wolves with one ring was instantly attracted to the new prey, and their green eyes shone with an even more greedy light.
Everyone in the tribe watched the hunter dragging the frozen musk ox to the entrance of the tribe. Everyone's face was filled with worry and reluctance.
"Life is more important than anything else." The patriarch's voice was not loud, but extremely firm.
Laut and others quickly dragged the musk ox in front of the wolves and then put it down.
The three wolves slowly approached and circled around the musk ox several times, as if inspecting the goods.
"Laut, be careful!!"
At this moment, a change occurred.
The tribe leader shouted with red eyes, wanting to remind Lauter.
But it was too late.
One of the three wolves suddenly jumped up, threw Laut to the ground, and bit him down.
In his haste, Lauter had no time to resist, so he turned his head away with all his strength and instinct.
The fangs aimed at its neck finally tore off a piece of flesh from Lauter's shoulder.
Laut let out a scream.
On the other side, the other two ice wolves also attacked at the same time.
The other two hunters were not as lucky as Lauter. Their abdomens, which were only wearing animal skins, were directly scratched by the sharp claws of the ice wolf, and their intestines flowed out of their stomachs in an instant.
The painful screams of the two hunters whose stomachs were slashed were like a knife stabbing into the hearts of everyone present.
"Beast!"
When the tribe leader saw this scene, his eyes were about to burst.
Just as humans have various personalities, so do snow wolves.
The three wolves in front of us obviously have that kind of cunning and ferocious character, and they don't follow the so-called "rules of the rivers and lakes" at all.
Here, the alpha wolf showed great ferocity. He once again opened his big mouth and bit his fangs at Lauter, who was knocked down by him.
"No" someone in the tribe had already cried out.
Laut's face also turned pale, knowing that he was probably going to die this time.
Whoosh!
Seeing the sharp fangs of the ice wolf so close, before the other hunters in the tribe had time to react, everyone heard a sound like an arrow piercing the sky.
As the sound came, a beam of blazing flames shot out from a tricky angle and headed straight for the wolf.
Then, the wolf suddenly let out a scream and was instantly blown away.
Laut narrowly escaped death.
The hunter's experience allowed him to instantly capture the direction of the flame beam and subconsciously looked over.
Then, Lauter saw a figure that was like lightning, stepping on extremely long "shoes" and quickly "sliding" down the high slope dozens of meters away.
(End of this chapter)