It’s been more than ten days since the arrival of the cold winter. The heavy snow in the sky, initially driven by the turbulent magic power tide, has now settled down, no longer carrying the fierce momentum that seemed to bury the entire world.
Nonetheless, the entire land is wrapped in a blanket of silver, completely covered by the vast expanse of white.
Though the snow in the sky continues to fall, it has become much lighter. Meanwhile, the thick clouds that covered the sky for over ten days are starting to dissipate and thin out, suggesting that perhaps in a few days, the Kawa Great Forest, frozen for nearly half a month, might see a short period of sunlight.
"Gulu, it’s really comfortable!"
Swallowing the steaming, mushy food from the rough clay bowl, Otto hurriedly stuck out his tongue to lick the remaining warmth off the bowl’s surface to avoid wasting any food.
Finally, after licking away the last bit of mush, Otto sat down on a log, letting out a comfortable moan, his mouth lingering with the faint aroma of food and the taste of salt.
"I never thought a place exists in the world; my gratitude to the great His Highness Austin..."
Otto is a ratman. In a world like the Kawa Great Forest, governed by the raw law of survival of the fittest, the ratmen, a weaker race even compared to the kobolds, certainly do not fare well.
Physically weaker than kobolds, as timid as goblins, they are not only incapable of fighting on the battlefield but also flee when encountering formidable prey during hunts. Their survival can only be maintained by foraging for wild fruits, grains, or even gnawing on bark. Such races, even lowly slaves, are often despised by some tribes.
Ratmen have avoided extinction due to their rodent-like habits, breeding rapidly. Being omnivorous, during famines, they can gnaw on anything, even bitter tuber roots and bark, surviving even in the stench-ridden gutters. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt
From the time Otto could remember, his memories were filled with lowly hunger; chewing on grass and tree roots countless times. Having several days of wild fruits and yams is already a rare harvest for the tribe, allowing these lowly beastmen a chance to eat such leftovers, especially for a humble ratman.
Often, when the tribe’s harvest was poor, he’d lie on the grass, munching on bitter roots, fantasizing that the happiest life in the world would be to eat the sweet fruits and yams until full, without worry, alongside a piece of dried meat.
According to some elders, when one dies and returns to the embrace of the gods, they’ll lead a life of perpetual happiness in the Divine Kingdom of the Beast God.
Otto has never died, naturally unaware of what the Divine Kingdom of the Beast God is like, but he feels his current life is the best he ever imagined.
"Thanks to the tribe for driving me out, thanks to His Highness Austin’s benevolence."
Not long ago, with the arrival of the cold winter, Otto’s original tribe began a new round of purging the old and useless population. This year, the tribe’s harvest wasn’t good, so more "weak beastmen" were purged than usual, Otto being among them.
Those old and weak expelled population were considered useless or of little value by the tribe. Such is common among the beastman tribes surviving in the Kawa Great Forest, seen not as cold-blooded cruelty but as wisdom gleaned from survival struggles.
As for the expelled old and weak population, their fate was left to nature. A group of old, weak, sick beings wandering outside is virtually as good as dead, and nature uses such brutal ways to control the beastmen population within the Kawa Great Forest.
Initially expelled along with the old and weak, Ratman Otto was in despair. Without the tribe as a backup, the approaching cold winter aside, even the lurking dangers in the forest were enough to annihilate them all.
But fortunately, when they encountered danger, they stumbled upon a formidable hunting party, which brought them here, commencing a new life.
In this tribe, they were disbanded and regrouped with those beastmen who heard about the Dragon Nest Tribe and voluntarily sought refuge, undergoing military training transformation together.
Though the military training was arduous, with instructors often resorting to hitting and scolding, at least their bellies were never empty, even for the old and weak beastmen.
Not only could they eat to their fill, but the food compared to the grass roots and bark Ratman Otto used to eat was infinitely delicious, and these delicacies even had salt!
This was simply unbelievable. For a while, Otto felt uneasy, suspecting some sinister scheme among the Dragon Nest Tribe’s beastmen, worrying about being reared as livestock among other absurd thoughts.
After over half a month, as the military training progressed and Otto lived longer in the Dragon Nest Tribe, he finally put his mind at ease and developed an incomparable sense of belonging to the tribe.
Beastmen instructors told them that everything they now possessed, the wonderful lives they currently enjoyed, were all bestowed by the great His Highness Austin.
They should devote all their efforts to loving him, admiring him, revering him from the depths of their hearts.
Initially, Otto doubted these words, but as time passed, comparing the miserable past lives recounted openly by beastmen during military training to their current wonderful lives, the shared resonance led Otto and all beastmen to develop immense praise and worship for the great His Highness Austin.
Now, Ratman Otto even feels he would willingly die for his Highness.
"Bless you, great His Highness Austin."
Ratman Otto silently uttered in his heart, then placed his rough clay bowl back in a nearby basket filled with used dishes by his companions, these dishes cleaner than when first washed.
At this moment, a long whistle sounded across the snowy ground, signaling the start of military training again.
The beastmen gathered one by one, Otto quickly joined them. Before the cold winter began, they’d train while working, but now with fewer chores during winter, their training volume has doubled, seemingly to make up for the days they escaped training.