Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 171
Chapter 171
Thanks to those unsuspecting hydrochoerus dragons who somehow broke into the trap, Qi Ze City had harvested a lot of fresh meat during this period. Together with the food that had been stored for the winter, every household now had enough supplies to last until summer, with plenty still left over.
Because the fish in the Chishui River were not caught by the beastmen this winter, and the beastmen often threw a good amount of animal hides and bones into the river as feed, it was believed that the fish could fatten up nicely through the cold months. By the time summer arrived and they went fishing again, they would be able to catch plump and tasty fish once more.
“Didn’t they say antelope-dragons had been appearing nearby lately? Why did they suddenly become so scarce again? Did they all go back into the forest?” Chen Qi hung his cloak on the rack by the fire to dry and asked.
Aze took a bright red wild fruit out of his pocket and handed it to the little wolf cub, replying, “It’s still unclear why. Tomorrow morning, we plan to follow them and see whether they’ve gone back into the forest.”
The little wolf cub sniffed the fruit with his nose. Recently, he had become the center of attention in the family. Anything tasty or nourishing would first be placed before him, in hopes that he could regrow his coat of fur faster. The fruit Aze brought back was a type that only ripened during winter — a bit astringent, but he had seen many dragon species enjoy eating it. Unfortunately, it was quite difficult to find.
Although the little wolf cub had “Wolf” in his name, he was not entirely carnivorous. After being raised by Chen Qi and the others, he could no longer eat raw meat at all. He wasn’t picky about vegetables or wild fruits either — as long as it was something beastmen could eat, he would eat it too. Fortunately, Chen Qi and the others already planned to raise him for life; otherwise, a giant wolf-god that couldn’t eat raw meat wouldn’t survive long in the wild.
“Be careful when you go out,” Chen Qi reminded before changing the topic. “These past few days, we’ve improved the crossbows and made a handheld version. It’s a bit more convenient than wooden bows and a little more powerful, though not very accurate yet. It still needs some adjustment. Once it’s ready, you can replace the wooden bows with these. Even if you can’t win a fight, it’ll improve your chances of escaping.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Some dragon species in this world practically existed like bugs. Aside from the females’ sharp claws, the cold weapons Chen Qi tinkered together couldn’t even break through their defenses. For example, against an ironshell-drake, those weapons would probably feel no worse than a tickle.
Chen Qi sighed. “I really wish summer would come sooner. At least then we could make some iron arrowheads.” The current temperature simply couldn’t melt iron.
“Summer will be here in a few months. Don’t worry,” Aze said, patting Chen Qi’s head comfortingly.
“Awoo.” The little wolf cub carried the wild fruit — now with a small bite taken — over to Ajing, motioning for him to eat too.
The two little ones now ate and slept together. The little wolf cub refused to eat anything unless he shared a bite with Ajing first. Ajing took a small bite of the fruit, and a strong astringent taste filled his mouth. His little face immediately scrunched up.
Seeing Ajing’s expression, the little wolf cub tilted his head, not understanding why the other disliked the fruit. To him, the wild fruit tasted much better than usual. When Ajing refused to eat any more, he swallowed it whole, chewed a few times, and gulped it down. Though it tasted sharp at first, his stomach soon felt pleasantly warm — wonderfully comfortable.
Amused by Ajing’s scrunched-up expression, Chen Qi poured him a cup of tea to rinse his mouth.
While the people of Qi Ze City were energetically tinkering with various defensive weapons, a distant small tribe had just gone through a bloody battle — or rather, a one-sided slaughter. In a single night, a tribe of several hundred had become food in the bellies of the hyena-drakes.
The hyena-drake leader lay lazily on a small rise, licking the blood from its claws. Ever since the beastmen of the Salt-Water Tribe had escaped from it, the leader had burned with rage, as if it had been slapped hard across the face — the sting still hot and humiliating.
Since reorganizing the pack, this was the first time the hyena-drake leader had encountered something beyond his control. He had to teach those beastmen a lesson. But after waiting by Salt-Water Tribe for days without seeing them again, every attempt to find other beastman tribes had ended in failure.
Tonight, finally finding a small tribe still inhabited, the hyena-drake leader didn’t lounge idly aside as he once did. Instead, he personally led the attack. As warm, delicious blood slid down his throat, the violent fury that had burned inside him for days finally began to subside.
“You seem to be in a good mood.” The giant wolf-god walked slowly to the hyena-drake leader’s side. Its condition had improved greatly lately; except when traveling long distances, it no longer needed other hyena-drakes to serve as mounts.
The leader of the hyena-drakes cast a sidelong glance at the other party and continued to lower his head to clean his fur.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
The giant wolf-god looked down at the hyena-drake leader from above and asked, “Where do you plan to hunt for your next meal?” He had to admit that the hyena-drake leader’s size was far from what a hyena-drake should look like. Even lying down, he was only half a head shorter than the giant wolf-god.
The hyena-drake leader tilted his head and thought for a moment, then countered with a question instead of answering, “Where do you think they went?”
The giant wolf-god, who had been following him for some time, naturally knew what he was referring to. Other than the Salt-Water Tribe, which had escaped right under their noses, every tribe they had passed in recent days seemed to have discovered their presence in advance and evacuated beforehand.
“They’ve probably gone to join one of the larger tribes,” the giant wolf-god replied perfunctorily.
The hyena-drake leader stood up and said, “Then let’s go and take a look at that large tribe.”
The giant wolf-god sneered. “Are you overestimating yourself or underestimating the beastmen? With a group like yours, if those beastmen were to unite, do you think you’d be the one to die under their claws, or would you be the one to devour them?”
“Heh.” The hyena-drake leader fixed his eyes on the giant wolf-god and asked playfully, “Are you worried about me?”
The giant wolf-god rolled his eyes. “I’m worried about why you aren’t dead yet.”
The hyena-drake leader let out several loud laughs, his laughter devoid of emotion. The other hyena-drakes, who had been cleaning up the battlefield, froze at the sound and looked up toward the small hill where their leader stood.
The laughter lasted nearly a full minute before the hyena-drake leader finally stopped. “Then let’s go see it — the beastmen’s great tribe.” With that, he took the lead and descended the hill.
The Lion-Wolf Tribe had been in chaos lately. From all directions came the same message: a large pack of hyena-drakes was attacking every beastman tribe they encountered on the plains, and several tribes had already been wiped out and devoured.
Although a few beastmen had managed to escape from some of the tribes, no one knew how many smaller tribes had perished without being able to send out a warning.
Many small tribes living along the Dosa River and its tributaries fled toward the Lion-Wolf Tribe. Unable to resist such a vast number of hyena-drakes, they hoped to seek protection or merge into a large tribe like the Lion-Wolf Tribe.
However, the Lion-Wolf Tribe was situated between three rocky mountains, and the space between them was already limited. There was no way to accommodate so many sudden arrivals. Later, someone came up with the idea of building three new rings of ice walls outside the original one. Aside from males and children, all newly arrived females — whether injured, weak, or elderly — were placed within these outer ice walls. Their resting areas were no more than a few crude huts made of firewood and straw, offering scant shelter from the snow and none from the bitter wind.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Yet, even under such harsh living conditions, more and more beastmen continued to pour in, seeking refuge. There was no choice — the hyena-drakes on the plains had become increasingly brazen. They no longer bothered to conceal their tracks; instead, they would attack any beastmen they spotted, just as they had in past years. The difference this time was that the hyena-drakes seemed far more organized, more ferocious, and greater in number.
“Dad, we can’t settle our people here,” Axu said after circling the Lion-Wolf Tribe once. Their tribe had many elderly females — former warriors who had once defended their home. If they were made to live for months in the snow with nothing but crude straw huts, a few blizzards would be enough to wipe them out before winter’s end.
Dark shadows hung beneath Achu’s eyes. Over the past few months, fearing encounters with hyena-drakes, their tribe had traveled along the waterways. Many had fallen ill from the icy waters. They had barely managed to reach the Lion-Wolf Tribe, hoping to find safety, only to discover that the reality was far from what they had imagined.
“Qi Ze City may have fewer people,” Axu continued, “but their defenses aren’t weak — and our sick tribesmen can’t wait any longer. You’ve seen it yourself; there’s no treatment here, not even a place to block the wind. How could they possibly survive the winter like this?” Seeing the hesitation between Achu’s brows, Axu pressed on.
“Ai.” Achu sighed. “You’ve seen how many hyena-drakes there are. Even if Qi Ze City’s defenses are strong, how could a small tribe of less than a hundred possibly withstand them? I can’t risk the lives of our entire tribe.”
“Dad, does that mean you’re going to abandon the sick and the elderly warriors?” Ashu took two steps forward and protested. They had already been told that only males and children could enter the newly dug caves within the Lion-Wolf Tribe; everyone else would have to remain outside. Even those allowed inside — the males and the children — would easily fall ill or freeze without proper care in such a winter.
Achu looked at his two stubborn sons. Of course, he understood their reasoning. Staying in the Lion-Wolf Tribe would at least ensure the survival of the males and children. But going to Qi Ze City meant gambling with the lives of the entire tribe. Though he had interacted with the beastmen of Qi Ze City before and knew they possessed some strength — and the travelers who had returned from there had brought back many novel things — that alone was not enough to convince him that they could survive against such overwhelming numbers.
In the face of absolute power, everything else was meaningless.
Axu understood his dad’s concerns. He had discussed the matter with him many times along the way, but in the end, they had still come to the Lion-Wolf Tribe first. Although he wasn’t completely confident that Qi Ze City could withstand the hyena-drake horde, he firmly believed that the tribe’s chances of survival would be higher there than here.
Seeing Achu still frowning and unable to decide, Axu finally offered a compromise. “Dad, why don’t we let the tribesmen decide for themselves — whether to go together to Qi Ze City or stay here in the Lion-Wolf Tribe, even if it means living in two separate places?”
Ashu nodded repeatedly beside him. “Yes, Dad. If you can’t make up your mind, then let everyone choose together.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: 2 of 3 for the week.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomKnight73
Proofreader: Yume
Editor stepping into the realm of MTL translating, starting with CLWP. Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
