Monty was stunned, standing there dumbfounded, as if he had lost his wits, and then his eyes opened wide in excitement.
"Aisha, wake up, do you see the smoke on that mountain top? We have a chance to survive, we can live!"
His pupils opened wide, as if he had found a glimmer of hope in a sea of despair.
In this icy and snowy land, that smoke could definitely not be naturally formed; where there’s smoke, it means there are people.
Previously, Monty had heard from the elderly among the Beastmen that some Great Tribes, when needing to expand, would light a big fire on nearby mountaintops, creating huge columns of smoke, burning for several days and nights, representing the tribe’s intention to attract new members.
In this icy and snowy land, Monty’s feet were swollen and numb from the cold, staring in the direction of that column of smoke. For the first time, he felt alive, with a direction.
Aisha weakly blinked, already too exhausted to speak.
"Hold on, Aisha, brother will surely save you!"
Monty gripped his little sister tightly on his back, stepping slowly toward the distant smoking mountain top.
He did not rest, even though he was already very tired,
Surviving solely on roots and bark, Monty was almost at the brink of exhaustion.
He feared that if he sat down, he would never get up again.
And his sister Aisha, the only hope, was to reach that smoke-filled mountain top, find those Beastmen, and beg to join their tribe. Only then would Aisha have a chance.
He could not afford to delay even for a single moment.
His feet felt as if filled with lead, stepping through the thick snow, as if they might never come out, his sister on his back felt unbearably heavy, waves of fatigue washed over him, threatening to drown him.
But Monty’s steps never paused, his heart held only one breath, propelling him forward—to save his sister!
Step by step... step...
His vision began to blur, the biting cold penetrated from his feet up, bone-chilling, and Monty swayed in the snow, seemingly ready to fall at any moment.
Never had he felt the distance that lay ahead, so close yet so far. Follow current novᴇls on Novᴇ(l)Fɪre .ɴᴇt
His consciousness blurred, his body moved mechanically forward, driven only by the indomitable will deep within.
Time passed unnoticed, Monty didn’t know how long he had walked, how far he had traveled, until he reached a point near the mountain base, accidentally tripping over a stone buried in the snow, falling with a thud.
He was so close to the summit.
"Damn... ultimately couldn’t make it?"
His sight blurred, a profound unwillingness filled his heart, as Monty lay on the ground, facing the mountain top, reaching out helplessly.
Yet in the end, the hand fell, his consciousness plunged into darkness.
But in the final moment before his awareness slipped, he seemed to hear a voice.
"Captain, there seems to be someone there!"
Several days after the smoke rose, the mountain top attracted many stray Beastmen wandering in the Kawa Great Forest.
Kobolds, Jackal Wolf People, Goblins, Centaurs, among others, various types of Beastmen came; just five days saw nearly twenty Beastmen arrive, though they were mostly elderly, weak, and ailing outcasts, whom their tribes couldn’t support and had expelled.
Looking frail, skin and bones, it was clear they hadn’t eaten well, mostly old and weak, several Beastmen collapsed unconscious on the snow along the way, fortunately, the patrol saw them and brought them back.
Though these Beastmen were not in good physical condition, and Quik considered them a waste of food, merely adding burden to Dragon’s Nest Tribe.
Yet the Blue Young Dragon decided to take them all in, as after hunting the Blood Wolf packs, there was plenty for them to survive the cold winter, and fish from the frozen lake reservoir could provide adequate food.
For Austin, food was never an issue.
Furthermore, for his plans for the coming year, he needed a lot of manpower to solidify his strength, naturally, the more people the better, so he took in all Beastmen coming to the White Smoke Mountain, regardless of age or frailty.
Of course, they wouldn’t be directly integrated into Dragon’s Nest Village.
These newly allied Beastmen, after resting and regaining strength with enough food for a few days, underwent the same special training as those in Dragon Nest Village.
Only by passing similar military training could they fully integrate into Dragon Nest Tribe.
With the trained older Beastmen as instructors, new Beastmen, post-initial training, merged into the Dragon Nest Village’s Beastmen ranks, rapidly enhancing the tribe’s strength.
At this initial stage, Austin did not intend to implement any other governing methods, directly instituting a military state rule. In this world, there was no concept of human rights or freedom; as long as the Beastmen lived better, the subordinate forces would burst with strongest power.
As the white smoke column rose, numerous starved and cold wandering Beastmen gathered toward the signal mountain top, joining Dragon’s Nest Tribe’s ranks.
However, as time passed, the number of wandering Beastmen slowly decreased, until it stabilized at one or two joining daily, determined by the white smoke column’s visible range; initially quite attractive to many.
But once the wandering Beastmen within visual range were absorbed, further arrivals depended on luck to enter the smoke’s visible zone and be drawn in.
When the high furnace birthed a column of white smoke reaching the sky, it also produced quality charcoal; Austin promptly ordered Beastmen to build a wooden house beside it, storing charcoal there. When the time was right, and ore was available, refining copper and iron would proceed there.
Time flowed slowly by, the cold winter’s departure was imminent.
Newly joined Beastmen began arduous military training under old Beastmen’s guidance, after which they helped clear plain trees, and built their own homes. More physical tasks than any Beastman in any tribe did, only in Dragon Nest Tribe, everyone ate well, mostly having meat, which delighted new Beastmen, counting the moments to mealtime whether working or training.
With the influx of manpower, sufficient hands allowed Dragon Nest Tribe’s guard patrol numbers to increase, sometimes preemptively clearing local fierce wildlife, like tigers and leopards, ensuring Dragon Nest Tribe’s safety.