Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The closer they got to the Amos Icefield, the colder it became. The snow and ice were permanent fixtures in this northernmost tip of the Alen Continent. Beyond this point, there was only ocean. In the depths of winter, even the sea would freeze completely.
On the edge of the icefield, there lived some orc tribes. They subsisted by gathering the specialties of the region, including the antlers of Amos white deer and the fur of the ice bears. There were fish and shrimp under the ice layer, which were unique to Amos, as well as musk leopards. These were some of the most sought-after goods in all of the orc and human kingdoms.
Elia’s caravan would visit the icefield several times per year, in order to trade with the clans. He would bring them food, weapons, clothes and other daily necessities in exchange for their local products. It was an extremely lucrative trade.
It was now late fall, and the Amos Icefield had already descended into wintry weather. Even the borderlands were covered in a thick layer of snow.
The frosty winds sliced the faces of the travelers. Regardless, the caravan proceeded forward, braving the wild. The tracks of the carriages and the horses revealed the mud under the thin veil of snow.
Lu Zhiyu and Verthandi were wrapped tightly in thick fur cloaks. Finally, they saw buildings in the distance. As they approached closer, they saw that they were round buildings, stacked from stone. In fact, it was a little village of a clan!
The round forts were built at the base of a mountain. They rose and fell along its gentle slope, covering the entire valley. The snowy mountain was also dotted with black trees. But right now, the whole scene was dyed in a snowy white. This was the home of the local orc clan.
Elias waved for them to stop, as he saw two young man approaching from the front entrance tower. Soon after, a dozen hunters also approached, gathering together before Elias.
“Hey Elias! I knew it was about time for you to come! What took you so long?” A tall lion-man with golden locks approached and hugged Elias. He thumped his back twice, hard.
The power of his thumps was enough to knock the breath out of a normal person, but Elias was a knight, so he simply returned the favor to the lion-man. As he did so, it sounded as if he was pounding steel with a hammer!
“Hey, Ibu! I haven’t seen you in months. You seem to have gotten weaker. This time, I have brought you a lot of good things.”
“Haha, then I will have a good look at them later. Our young hunters also got us a great harvest, but it pales in comparison to last year’s, due to the other tribes and that evil dragon within the Icefield! We’re lucky to have you, or else our tribe would find this winter unbearable.”
The lion-man Ibu sighed and waved his hand. “Never mind with these troubles of mine. Let’s head inside and welcome our friends.”
This was a large orc tribe with tens of thousands of members. The caravan moved into this tribe, which was based at the foot of the mountain. Many orc children were watching them, as mothers and the elderly also came to spectate the arrival of these visitors and their goods that they brought. All of the villagers’ eyes were glittering with hope.
It could be clearly seen that a lot of the youth were wounded. It seemed as if this clan had recently been involved in an intense battle, which had caused all of the young people to walk away with injuries. Also, all of the children seemed sickly and weak, as if they had not eaten in a long time.
Unlike the orc tribes that Lu Zhiyu had seen before, this one was made up of completely different orc races. Specifically, the tribe was composed of lion-people, minotaurs, faun and even some boar-people.
This kind of harmony between different races in a single clan was very rare. This was not a major cultural center of a major kingdom. Here, the competition between each tribe was generally very intense, which meant that they were usually prone to war. As such, most of them relied on race and blood ties to hold their clans together.
Verthandi seemed to like it here quite a bit. She dismounted, then quickly passed two pastries to a gaunt little lion-boy. After the child took it, she lifted him up in a great big hug. It seemed that the little boy really liked her, perhaps because they were of the same race.
“Where are your parents?” she asked.
The little hand holding the cake stopped in mid-air. The little boy’s eyes then became teary and red. Verthandi immediately knew the answer.
The caravan started settling down, as Lu Zhiyu, Verthandi, and Elias entered the largest building. Each of the buildings looked like a mini-fortress, resulting in the entire village’s looking like the staggered mesh of a beast’s fangs.
If an enemy tried to invade them, it would be easy to surround them and retaliate from within the safety of these forts, the logistics of which made killing the enemies from the roofs or the windows effortless. This was a common structural setup for orc clans.
Inside, the food was already prepared. Elias and Chief Ibu chatted for awhile, then Lu Zhiyu was introduced to Chief Ibu by Elias. “This is baron Randhir Eranbell and his son Will. They are my old friends. Guess what they are here for?”
Lu Zhiyu and Verthandi nodded lightly to Ibu, who scrunched up his face, while looking at Elias. “They can’t have sent more people to come deal with the dragon, right?”
Elias shrugged his shoulders, then nodded. Ibu stood to his full height, showing a physique that could kill a cow with a single punch. “You want to defeat the dragon with just the two of you? Have you ever seen a dragon before? Do you know how terribly powerful it is?”
Lu Zhiyu smiled, then said, “We are very eager to see it!”
Ibu slammed the table in anger. “I’m afraid that you won’t be able to. You’ll perish on the Icefield. You have no idea how harsh of an environment it is. The evil dragon is also extremely sly. It is quite smart, maybe even smarter than most of us. We have tried countless times to find its lair, yet we have only returned in defeat.”
“Several times, we even designed traps to kill it, but all of them failed, leaving us with a high price to pay. It will seek revenge. I’ve seen many idiots, like you two, who rush blindly into the Icefield. Not a single one has returned alive..”
At last, Ibu looked Lu Zhiyu dead in the eyes. “I’m telling you, go back right now with your son. Don’t be stupid.”