Above the mage!

Chapter 227 Tribes and Wolves
This is an abandoned land.

Under the vast sky, there is only white snow and the black tundra covered by the snow.

There is hardly any green to be seen in the vast wilderness.

The dilapidated camp, the ubiquitous wild beasts, and the extremely dangerous underground creatures that often appear, everything reveals a primitive atmosphere.

This is the North, the wild, rugged, uncivilized North.

A short, dark-skinned boy of seven or eight years old, wearing rough animal skins and with hair like dry grass, was carrying a huge backpack that was extremely disproportionate to his body, and walked step by step through the dirty and messy tents.

The backpack was filled with feces of herbivorous animals that he had 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 at all.

In the frozen soil of the tundra, you can find some weeds, wild peas, and berries including crowberry and cloudberry.

These are almost the only "green vegetables" that people in the North can eat on a daily basis.

Mosses and lichens are also very common, and these and the roots, stems and bark of certain plants are the staple food of herbivores.

The feces of herbivorous animals contain a large amount of plant fiber, which is easy to burn after drying and has a low ignition point. It is a common source of fuel for people in the North.

Walking back to his tent, Joey took off the backpack with great effort.

There was a burning pain in my shoulder.

Such hard work is still too harsh for a child who is not even ten years old.

But Joey had no complaints.

On the frozen soil, it is impossible to avoid hardship.

Every child in the North grows up this way.

Joey took out a glove, put it on himself, then reached into the backpack and started working on it as if kneading dough.

These feces need to be processed into cakes or small pieces by hand, and then placed in the sun on a nice day to dry naturally. After they are dry, the dung cakes formed will become ideal fuel.

Ever since his parents died in a snow wolf attack the year before last, Joey has been barely surviving by relying on the little food distributed by the tribe and his own frequent adventures out to turn the snow over and look for wild vegetables and weeds.

The tribe is small, but they will not abandon any of their members.

In the North, tribe members are the most important thing.

Although the tribe will not easily abandon children who have lost their parents, it does not mean that Joey can eat and drink for free.

The fact is, the North never keeps idle people.

Even the children have their own jobs.

And making fuel is Joey's job.

While working, Joey kept looking outside the tent.

He was waiting for the tribe's hunting party to return.

If he is lucky, the hunters in the hunting team will return with several prey, mostly big-horned deer, musk oxen, wild boars, etc., and Joey will be able to get a large piece of meat from the hunt.

That was Joey's happiest moment.

But moments like this don't always come.

More often than not, the hunters only had a meagre harvest, not even enough for everyone in the tribe to have a bite of meat.

At this time, the limited food must be supplied first to the men in the tribe who need strength.

Women, the elderly and children can often only drink the broth.

This is not the worst case scenario.

Going out hunting is always dangerous, injuries are common, and death is not uncommon.

There were also times when hunters carried back not the prey but the bodies of their companions.

At a time like this, going hungry for a few days is no big deal. The main thing is that for a small tribe like theirs, any large casualties may lead to the breakdown of the already fragile balance of the tribe - if the hunters are injured, they can't hunt, and if they can't hunt, there will be no food, and without food, they will not have the physical strength to find food.

Such a vicious cycle will eventually lead to the extinction of a tribe.

And stories like this happen every day on the permafrost of the north.

So, in addition to expectation, there was also worry in Joey's eyes.

Very contradictory.

In this environment where survival is the main theme, the so-called intrigue loses its meaning of existence. Everyone in the tribe is a community, which is very valuable.

Joey was lucky today.

When the hunters in the tribe returned carrying a huge big-horned deer, the whole tribe was boiling and filled with the cheers of children.

Soon, joyful laughter spread throughout the tribal camp.

Even Joey couldn't help but pump his fist in excitement.

"hunter."

Becoming an excellent hunter and bringing food and cheers to the tribe is the biggest ideal in little Joey's heart at this time.

After half an hour.

"Little Joey, this is yours." An old hunter in the tribe walked towards Joey's tent carrying a large piece of venison.

Joey had almost finished his work and was cleaning.

He took the heavy portion of venison and a small piece of offal that came with it and thanked the old hunter.

The diet of people in the North is mainly meat and fish, which account for more than 90%. Only very occasionally will they be supplemented with some wild vegetables and fruits.

In order to maximize the nutritional value of food and save fuel, the food is often eaten raw in an extremely barbaric way.

This seemingly "barbaric" way of eating is actually a way of survival for the people of the Northern Territory to coexist harmoniously with nature.

Joey carefully took out the special bone knife hidden at his waist.

Although it is a bone knife, it has become extremely sharp after being polished by him frequently.

Joey used a boning knife to gently cut the large piece of venison with skill and precision.

Slices of meat as thin as cicada wings were cut off.

Then Joey put the slices of meat into his mouth.

The cold meat melts in your mouth, tasting like ice cream, releasing a rich, delicious and sweet taste.

Joey immediately showed a satisfied look on his face.

He was already starving.

In fact, in the entire tribe, except for those hunters who go out hunting, they often eat until they are 80% full in order to ensure strength and physical strength, while most other people are generally half full.

Only during extremely rare festivals would people let go of their food hoarding and eat to their heart's content.

Hunger is also the norm for people in the North.

In this land, food is too precious.

woo~~~
woo~~~
Just as Joey was enjoying the food and looking forward to becoming a hunter in the future, a series of horn sounds rang out in the tribal camp.

Along with the sound of the horn, a hoarse voice with a hint of imperceptible fear was heard: "Snow Wolves attack! Snow Wolves attack! There are about thirty of them! They will be here soon!"

The owner of the voice was the leader of their small tribe and the only one with awakened Iceborn bloodline in the entire tribe.

When Joey heard the word "snow wolf", all the hairs on his body stood up.

Snow wolves are the most common earth creatures in the northern lands, and can be found in every corner of the permafrost tundra.

With a number of hundreds of thousands, and ranging from the lowest-level 0-ring snow wolf to the 5-ring frost wolf king, the snow wolf pack has become one of the most troublesome problems for the people of the North.

Snow wolves like to travel in groups, and when food is scarce, they will attack the tribal camps of the Northerners.

Joey's parents died in an attack by a pack of snow wolves.

This early experience not only made Joey hate the snow wolves, but also had a fear hidden deep in his subconscious. So at this moment, after hearing the news of the snow wolf attack, he was like a cat with its fur standing on end, and immediately entered the highest alert state, tightly grasping the bone knife in his hand.

A pack of thirty snow wolves would have about three ring-shaped ice wolves, according to common proportions.
Such a pack of wolves could not only destroy their tribe, but at least cause serious damage to it.

For such a small tribe, serious injuries often mean destruction.

They had barely survived the snow wolf attack the year before and had yet to recover much of their strength.

If this happens again, no one has confidence that the tribe can survive this winter.

"Beasts, these damn beasts, why are they coming for us?" A woman in the tribe was already hugging her infant baby, muttering 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's chief has decisively given the order.

Although the snow wolves are ferocious, they rarely attack human camps unless they are extremely hungry.

After all, for them, this is a very dangerous behavior, and it will result in many casualties among their companions.

Therefore, if we take out some food and feed these snow wolves until they are half full, there is a high probability that they will retreat.

This move is often referred to as the "Snow Wolf Tax", which means paying taxes to the Snow Wolf in exchange for peace with food.

Although they were somewhat reluctant, the tribesmen who had just received the venison quickly handed it over.

If the food is gone, there is still a chance to go hunting for it, but if the people are gone, then everything is really gone.

The hunters took the heavy pieces of meat from the hands of the tribesmen and threw them at the entrance of the tribe, as if they were tributes to the snow wolves.

Just as they completed all these actions, a group of ferocious, frost-white snow wolves rushed over without any concealment. They crossed the snow like white ghosts.

The snow wolf looks a bit like a dog, but is much more ferocious than a dog.

Their eyes flashed with a faint green light, as if they could see through the fear and anxiety in people's hearts.

The snow wolves stopped at the entrance of the tribe and looked at the piles of venison there.

The tribal hunters, who had already drawn their weapons, were staring closely at the pack of snow wolves.

There was tension in the air.

Every whistle of the cold wind seemed to trigger the tense nerves of both sides.

At this time, several low whimpers were heard from the snow wolf pack.

Immediately afterwards, three giant wolves with huge bodies and imposing momentum slowly moved forward.

They are the strongest in this snow wolf pack, three ice wolves in a ring.

They will determine the direction of the entire wolf pack.

The rest of the snow wolves, those zero-ring snow wolves, looked at the three one-ring ice wolves with awe.

The ice wolf came to the pile of venison and sniffed it with its nose twitching gently.

Then, there was a terrible sound of teeth biting bones, which made people feel cold all over.

The snow wolf's strong and sharp teeth are best at biting through hard bones and then sucking out the bone marrow.

The cold bone marrow has always been one of the snow wolf’s favorite foods.

After licking the marrow until not even a drop was left, the three wolves slowly raised their heads and stared at the hundreds of people in the tribe. Their dark green eyes gleamed fiercely, and they let out a long howl toward the sky with an astonishingly murderous aura.

The patriarch's face suddenly changed.

Although they couldn't communicate in the same language, the Snow Wolf's meaning was very clear: the meat was not enough and they wanted more.

"Greedy beast"

The number of wolves in the pack was not particularly large, only about thirty.

But their tribe was too small. Excluding the elderly, children and women, there were only thirty or forty people who were truly capable of fighting.

The people of the North have never lacked courage and strength, and are not incapable of fighting these snow wolves, but if they really fight to the death, they will inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

Then, how can we survive the coming winter?

A feeling of powerlessness rose in the patriarch’s heart.

This is the helplessness of a small tribe. They have no ability to resist risks, and a little bit of accident may lead to the destruction of the tribe.

"Laut, take some people to the warehouse and drag out another musk ox." said the patriarch.

"Chief, that's the food reserve for the winter." The hunter named Laut'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 Laut and several strong hunters.

Its huge body left a deep mark on the snow.

On the snow, the attention of the three wolves in a ring was instantly attracted by the newly appeared prey, and an even more greedy light flashed in their dark green eyes.

The people of the tribe watched the hunters drag the frozen musk ox to the entrance of the tribe, and everyone's face was filled with worry and reluctance.

"Being alive 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 put it down.

The three wolves approached slowly and circled the musk ox several times, as if they were inspecting the goods.

"Laut, be careful!!"

At this moment, a change occurred.

The tribal chief shouted with red eyes, trying to warn Laut.

But it was too late.

One of the three wolves suddenly attacked, jumped up, knocked Laut to the ground, and bit him.

Laut had no time to resist in such a hurry, he just turned his head away relying on instinct and courage.

The fangs that were heading towards its neck finally tore off a piece of flesh from Laut'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 Laut. Their abdomens, which were only wearing animal skin clothes, were directly cut 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 the hearts of everyone present.

"Beast!"

When the tribal chief saw this scene, his eyes were bloodshot.

Just as humans have various personalities, so do snow wolves.

The three wolves in front of him were obviously cunning and brutal, and did not follow the so-called "rules of the underworld" at all.

Here, the leader wolf became extremely ferocious, opened its bloody mouth once again, and bit Laut, who had been knocked down by it, with its fangs.

"No!" someone in the tribe screamed out.

Laut's face also turned pale, knowing that he might die here this time.

Whoosh!
As the sharp fangs of the ice wolf were approaching, and the other hunters in the tribe had no time to react, everyone heard a sound like an arrow piercing the sky.

As the voice came, a beam of blazing flame suddenly shot out from a tricky angle and headed straight for the wolf leader.

Then, the leader wolf suddenly let out a scream and was blown away in an instant.

Laut narrowly escaped death.

With his experience as a hunter, he instantly caught the direction from which the flame beam was coming, and he subconsciously looked over there.

Then, Laut saw a figure like lightning, wearing extremely long "shoes", quickly "sliding" down from the high slope dozens of meters away.

(End of this chapter)