Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 177
Chapter 177
Two months’ time was enough for the beast people in Qi Ze City to make a circle of siege crossbows for the whole ice wall, and the arrows dedicated to the siege crossbows were also placed in four watchtowers.
During this period, there were no signs of any dragon activity nearby, and it was unclear whether the hyena-drakes that besieged the Lion-Wolf Tribe had devoured the tribe or had been wiped out by it. If it were the latter, the Lion-Wolf Tribe should have sent news to the surrounding beastmen tribes.
Because they could not obtain exact news of the Lion-Wolf Tribe, even though Qi Ze City remained calm, they did not dare to relax their vigilance. Two days ago, a newly formed patrol team was arranged to check the situation near the Chishui River. Besides secretly catching many fish that had grown fat during winter and improving the tribe’s food, there was no other gain.
During these two months, the Dora Plains seemed to return to the silence of previous years. Apart from the occasional wind, there was no sound or trace of biological activity across the plain.
After the patients in Chen Qi’s home recovered, they moved out one after another. However, because of the previous relationships with a few small beastmen and the tribe’s preparations against potential hyena-drake attacks, Chen Qi converted his house into a temporary classroom, bringing in underage children from the Salt-Water Tribe and letting Ajing teach them basic knowledge.
It was unclear whether beastmen children were just particularly well-behaved, but apart from the mischievous Ayao, the other small beastmen behaved themselves. Even the youngest followed instructions when Ajing taught them to read and ate obediently when food was prepared. Some older children, seeing the very small beastmen unable to eat on their own, would feed them first before eating themselves. These small beastmen did not require worry; they were extremely well-behaved.
Sometimes Chen Qi kept these little beastmen overnight. Since he was not home during the day, he taught them crafts and puzzle games, such as building blocks in the evening. The small beastmen learned new things much faster than adults, which strengthened Chen Qi’s resolve to cultivate them. Indeed, education must start from a young age.
On the wooden shelf by the window, another batch of plants had been planted in pottery trays. A few heatgrass plants Chen Qi had replanted had reached the flowering stage. He did not plant all the remaining seeds at once, only using about half, leaving the rest to be planted in the yard in summer.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
According to the growth of other potted plants, indoor plants did not grow as well as those outdoors. Chen Qi worried that the medicinal properties of heatgrass might change, so he planted only a few trays as reserves.
Holding a light, clean brush, Chen Qi performed artificial pollination on several trays of heatgrass. Aze harvested the last few cabbages in the yard. Although the cold winter slowed their growth, after such a long time, the cabbages had grown old, but peeling off the outer layers revealed fresh, crisp inner leaves.
After handling the household matters, Chen Qi gave a few instructions to the small beastmen who were studying diligently and then went out with Aze. They were going to check the newly-made catapult on the city’s ice walls.
The catapult was larger than the siege crossbows, so it was transported in pieces onto the wall. Beside it, a large wooden box of ice balls had been arranged. These ice balls were not as hard as stone, and even when used against dragons, they could only interfere with their movements rather than cause significant damage.
When the two of them reached the city wall, the catapult had already been installed. Azhang stood aside listening to a female of the Salt-Water Tribe, who was mainly responsible for the construction. The catapult was surrounded by females such as Achu, who had helped make the ice balls and were curious about how to operate the catapult.
Seeing Chen Qi and Aze arrive, Azhang smiled and waved at them, “We’ve just been waiting for you to arrive to try out the catapult.”
Chen Qi first observed the situation outside the wall. Finding the city as calm as usual, he walked over and asked, “I take it there were no signs of hyena-drakes today.”
“None,” Azhang shook his head. For the past two months, he had guarded the ice city wall daily, worried that hyena-drakes might suddenly break in. He had witnessed the tribe being trampled by hyena-drakes and did not want the new tribe to suffer the same fate. “It will only take another half month. Summer will arrive then.”
When summer arrived, the hyena-drakes would retreat to the depths of the forest.
With a dull thud not far away, a white ice ball fell on the snow, scattering snowflakes.
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 distance is still a bit too close,” Chen Qi observed and commented on how the ice ball had landed.
“Can it be adjusted further?” Azhang asked.
“Yes,” Chen Qi nodded. This was the first trial use of the catapult. He instructed Ye Huo, standing nearby with pen and paper, to record every detail for adjustments later.
The main person responsible for building the catapult was a middle-aged female of the Salt-Water Tribe named Alu. He and his brother were very interested in such weapons and had shown talent when helping to make siege crossbows. They soon surpassed the beastmen of Qi Ze City, who had been assisting, so Chen Qi handed the catapult construction entirely to them.
This test did not use up all the ice balls in the wooden box. After only two or three shots, the Alu brothers disassembled the catapult and moved it back to the workshop for improvements. Before leaving, they did not forget to bring Ye Huo, who was responsible for recording the problems. They could not read yet, and now there was no time to teach them slowly, so both pictures and text had to be explained to them by Ye Huo.
Seeing the matter resolved, the chiefs of the two tribes, Azhang and Achu, returned to guard duty. They now stayed on the wall almost every day, except for going back at night to have a meal or wash with their mate. If anyone needed them, they had to go to the wall. Routine work in the tribe was left to Ali and Axu.
“Let’s go back first.” Chen Qi pulled up the hide mask he used to block the wind on his face. The mask had poor breathability and needed to be pulled down every once in a while to breathe; otherwise, it would become suffocating. On the short route from home to school, Chen Qi normally would not wear it, but on the city wall, if he did not wear the mask, his face would soon become itchy and painful from the cold wind. Even Azhang’s face would grow a layer of fur for warmth while on the wall.
“Wait.” Aze grabbed Chen Qi’s arm, stopping him from going back.
“What’s the matter?” Chen Qi looked back at him in confusion.
Aze’s ear tips twitched, and his eyes were fixed on the direction of the Chishui River. After a long moment, he suddenly picked Chen Qi up and ran toward the watchtower by the front gate.
To avoid disturbing the traps outside the city, the catapult test had been conducted at an angled location, some distance from the watchtower. But Aze was very fast, and Chen Qi was still stunned when Aze had already pushed open the thick wooden door of the watchtower.
“The hyena-drakes are here.”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Azhang, who had been discussing matters with Achu, was startled by Aze’s sudden declaration. He and Achu quickly exchanged glances and hurried outside. Azhang also instructed a female guard outside to notify everyone to take refuge.
To avoid attracting the hyena-drakes’ attention, they did not use their usual howling signal for taking refuge. Most beastmen were staying in the school, and those who were not had gathered in other houses to work together, so notifying everyone was not troublesome.
Several new cellar holes had been dug for refuge. Now, half of the school playground was almost empty, enough to accommodate three to four hundred people. Ali and Ka Luo led the non-combatant beastmen into the depths of the cellar, while Ahxu led the other females armed with weapons to the outermost ice wall.
“Ye Huo, count the people and see who hasn’t come in yet.” Ali handed a pre-prepared list to Ye Huo. All the names on it were meant to take refuge in the cellar. After that, Ali hurried to light the fires. The cellar was extremely cold, and many beastmen hiding inside could not assume beast form. He needed to light surrounding fires and bring in warm furs and food.
Ajing also arrived with the little beastmen, carrying the little wolf cub wrapped in thick furs.
The females in the tribe moved quickly. While Ka Luo was directing the beastmen into the cellar, they had already reached the wall. The battlements hid the beastmen’s figures, so they could not be seen from outside even without crouching.
“What’s the situation like?” As soon as Ake reached the wall, he leaned in to ask. His fur coat still had bonedust from making new arrows at home with several females.
Chen Qi was not the only one to hear Ake’s question. Even Azhang and Achu turned their attention to Aze. In the short time from when Aze declared the hyena-drakes had arrived to all the females assembling on the ice wall, no one but Aze had noticed any sign of the hyena-drakes.
“Wait a little, their speed is slow.”
“Are they coming toward us?” Azhang asked seriously. He had watched Aze grow up and naturally knew Aze’s senses were much sharper than those of an average female.
Aze nodded gravely. “Yes, their direction hasn’t changed.” At such a distance, the hyena-drakes could not have detected the beastmen tribe. The area was sprinkled with fig juice, and several fig trees were nearby. They should not have been able to detect the beastmen’s scent.
But this group of hyena-drakes seemed to have locked onto a target, heading straight for Qi Ze City. Aze distinguished faint chirping sounds of messenger eagles mixed with the wind. Had the messenger eagles discovered them? Was that why the hyena-drakes were being led in this direction?
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.
