Pioneer Wizard's Notebook

The cold wind howled.

Snowflakes, as fine as goose feathers, fell softly.

The rangers' hooves trod across the ice and snow, leaving a trail of winding footprints.

Three days have passed since Linde and his group entered the Ice Mist Forest.

As they continued westward, they entered the valley region.

The dead pine trees in the surrounding area have disappeared, replaced by tall birch and spruce trees.

Their strong vitality allowed these trees to successfully survive the ice storm and thrive.

It also protects the various animal populations that inhabit it.

The Frostfang Wolf, scouting ahead, smelled the scent and excitedly wagged its tail.

Linde immediately understood what it meant, raised his hand, and signaled the rangers behind him to slow down and make a low profile by moving to a high vantage point with a clear view.

He looked down and saw a herd of reindeer grazing on reindeer moss on the rocks a kilometer away.

The lead stag would occasionally raise its head, look around, and be wary of any potential predators.

Lind's gaze was drawn to the stag's antlers.

It is not the common brownish-brown.

Instead, it is as clear as blue crystal, refracting dreamlike colors under sunlight.

Upon closer inspection, one can see the inside of the antlers, with its dense network of fine blood vessels resembling a spider web, a beauty that is both exquisite and alluring.

"My lord, that is an Ice Horned Deer that evolved from a reindeer. Its antlers can be used as extraordinary materials for forging and can also be used to make herbal elixirs. They are extremely valuable."

William spoke, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Icehorn Deer are rare, low-risk, yet high-reward extraordinary monsters in the Ice Mist Forest.

It rarely initiates attacks; even when encountering a weaker enemy, it will more often choose to run away and avoid them.

That's why even many ordinary hunters, upon discovering it, would want to try hunting it rather than flee in fear.

The only problem is that the ice horned deer have extremely sensitive senses.

They can sense danger within a kilometer in advance through those crystal antlers.

Once they sense something is wrong, they will quickly escape, making them difficult to track.

"Spread out and surround them."

Lind directed.

After scouting with Frostfang Wolves, it was found that there were no other threats nearby, so there was no need to worry about the risk of being attacked.

To hunt the ice horned deer, they must spread out into a net, slowly tighten it, and completely cut off its escape route.

The Rangers were divided into four teams, each led by Lind, William, Wayne, and Frostfang Wolves.

Surround the reindeer herd from four directions, approaching as quietly as possible and waiting for a signal to attack.

The horses' hooves stomped on the ice and snow, making a soft rustling sound.

Before even entering the range of the arrows, the Ice Horned Deer suddenly raised its head, its eyes revealing a look of panic.

Before Linde could give the order.

The ice horned deer immediately sprang to its feet and, amidst the bewildered expressions of the other reindeer around it, turned and ran off in a frenzy.

"Good grief, are you just abandoning your companions altogether?"

Seeing it abandon its companions and run away without a second thought, Linde was caught off guard and quickly spurred his horse to gallop, no longer bothering to hide.

"Chase it! Stop it!"

There was also movement from three other directions, as people tried to intercept the fleeing ice horn deer.

To Lind's surprise, the Ice Horned Deer did not choose the seemingly weakest side, Wayne.

Instead, it charged towards the Frostfang Wolves without hesitation.

"Awoo!"

The Frostfang Wolf roared excitedly to the sky, its back arching as if gathering power like a spring.

The next second, a shockwave exploded around it, accompanied by howling snow, and it pounced swiftly towards the Ice Horned Deer.

However, the result was quite surprising.

Faced with the attacking giant wolf, the Ice Horned Deer nimbly dodged to the side.

As it leaped forward, its hind hooves slammed into the Frostfang Wolf's head, sending it tumbling to the ground in a sorry state.

When the Frostfang Wolf leaped up in anger, ready to fight again, the Icehorn Deer had already run into the forest and disappeared.

"Well, no wonder they chose you; you've been completely played."

Unable to catch up, Lindelus stopped and helplessly covered his forehead.

The side effects of forcing growth by pulling up seedlings have become fully apparent.

Despite their powerful physique and strength, the Frostfang Wolf's hunting skills are terrible.

They have almost no ability to fight against extraordinary monsters of the same level.

When Linde saw Frostfang Wolf running over looking aggrieved, he wasn't angry at all. He patted its head and comforted it.

The vegetables were a bit mediocre, but they were still our own children after all.

Skills can be honed, but loyalty is something no amount of gold coins can buy.

Linde looked at William and the others.

After the ice horned deer escaped, the remaining herd of reindeer panicked and ran around like headless flies, allowing the hunters to successfully hunt down seven of them.

The knights and squires dismounted and began to deal with the reindeer carcasses.

The fur was removed, the internal organs were fed to the wolfhounds, and the venison was used to build a fire on the spot for lunch.

During the process, Linde's attention was drawn to the surrounding birch forest.

The knight's squire, Broad, was using an axe to chop down a birch tree.

Then, skillfully cutting open the bark, peeling off a section of birch bark completely, and making simple bark bowls and tableware.

The tree trunks were split into small pieces and put into the fire as fuel.

"Sir, is there a problem?"

When he saw Lind staring at him, a question mark appeared above Brod's head.

"Don't worry about it, go and get some rest."

Linde patted him on the shoulder with a smile, then carefully looked around at the birch forest, a satisfied expression on his face.

The diameter of ordinary birch trees is between 30 and 60 centimeters, but due to the impact of ice storms, the diameter of the birch trees here is almost all over one meter.

The bark is tough and warm, effectively blocking heat.

Furthermore, due to the unique characteristics of birch trees, their white, papery bark has distinct layers that can be peeled off in whole pieces, often used by hunters to make baskets and containers.

Lind remembered the heating pipes needed for the territory.

He could easily peel off the entire bark and then pour a layer of cement mixed with crushed stone aggregate onto it.

After solidification, a sturdy and durable concrete pipe is obtained.

It can solve the most troublesome hollow molding problem.

The inner layer of birch bark can also serve as insulation material, significantly reducing heat loss during heating transmission, achieving two benefits at once.

Linde took out a map and marked the location of the birch forest on it.

Although it was a pity that the ice horned deer escaped, the discovery of the birch forest made the expedition worthwhile.

After resting, the team continued its journey.

As they passed through a valley, Frostfang Wolf twitched its nose and swung its tail once more.

This time, however, in addition to whipping its tail, all the fur on its body stood on end.

This is a reaction to feeling threatened by a wild beast.

"Stay vigilant!"

"Linde said softly, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

After stepping over a fallen spruce tree obstacle, visibility improved.

A huge white bear with an ice-blue body came into his line of sight, and was now turning over fallen trees and rocks, as if searching for something.

"The polar bear transformed into an ice field demon is quite large."

Linde reined in his horse and looked at the monster in the distance.

It is about 3.5 meters long, which is actually shorter than the Frostfang Wolf.

But the Iceborne White Bear can stand up, and with its massive muscular physique, it gives an unparalleled visual impact, like a walking mountain.