radicalducati Chapter 19 Frostclaw Tribe
Chapter 19 Frostclaw Tribe
The two stepped into the portal and disappeared.
Jiang Yuan felt his feet slip, and then the next second he stepped onto solid ground again.
The sole of the shoe sank into a soft material, making a slight "creaking" sound.
Before he could even see his surroundings clearly, a chilling cold draft rushed in through his collar.
Having just emerged from the sea of fire in the Spider Queen's Cave, still covered in sweat, the chill felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over me.
He suddenly jolted awake.
As far as the eye could see, everything was white.
This is a frozen snowfield.
Sunlight streamed down from the sky, but beneath our feet lay a thick blanket of snow, spreading out in all directions and stretching to the distant, indistinct mountain ridgeline.
On the nearby gentle slope, several giant trees grow.
The trunks are ridiculously thick; even the thinnest one requires seven or eight people to encircle it.
The bark is dark gray, and the crown spreads out only at the very top. The gray-blue leaves are huddled together in clusters, covered with icicles.
Hilu stood beside him, looking around. Her fluffy, snow-white tail flicked behind her, shaking off a few snowflakes that had just settled on it.
"Is this the Frostclaw tribe?" Jiang Yuan asked.
Hilu squatted down and dug around in the snow, revealing the frozen black soil underneath.
She looked at the soil, then looked up at the distant ridgeline, nodded, then shook her head, puzzled.
"When Hilu went in, it hadn't snowed yet; there was still grass on the ground then, but now it's all white..."
No snow? Jiang Yuan's heart sank.
Could that portal have sent them somewhere else?
Just as he was about to ask another question, Hilu's cat ears suddenly turned in a different direction.
Jiang Yuan also heard the noise and looked in the direction of the sound.
The dull thud of footsteps on the snow could be heard in the distance; it was more than one person.
The heavy soles of the boots cracked as they pounded the ice, accompanied by a low, hushed voice.
Jiang Yuan instinctively raised the crossbow, the movement aggravating the injury on his arm, causing him to wince slightly in pain.
Hilu, however, was not nervous.
Her cat tail twirled rapidly behind her, and her sky-blue eyes lit up. "They're from the tribe!"
Jiang Yuan did not loosen his grip.
Several figures emerged from behind the snow-covered hill in front.
Three people. Or rather, three cat-eared people.
They were all wearing rough leather armor, not very tall, about half a head taller than Hillu, with thin bodies and gray-white cat ears on their heads.
They saw this place the moment they turned out of the snow hill.
The three of them stopped in their tracks at the same time, their cat ears standing up in unison.
The one walking at the front looked to be in his forties, with an old scar on his left cheek that stretched from the corner of his eye to the tip of his chin, and a broadsword hunting knife hanging at his waist.
His gaze immediately locked onto Hilu.
"Hilu?" His voice was filled with shock. "You, what are you doing here—"
"Uncle Ke Shan!" hope Lu rushed forward.
She ran very fast, her footsteps leaving a trail of ice shards in the snow, her large tail swishing behind her like a small white flag, and in a few swift movements, she hopped in front of the three men.
The middle-aged man with gray ears watched her run towards him, the scar on his face contorting with a change in expression, his words a mixture of lingering fear and annoyance:
Where did you run off to?!
"Your father searched the entire mountain range, and you—"
He raised his gaze halfway through his sentence, and it fell on another figure that was approaching.
The other two patrolmen had already placed their hands on the hilts of their hunting knives at their waists, and their cat ears suddenly snapped back from their upright position.
"This, this is a human?" one of the cat-eared young men exclaimed in astonishment.
……
The group walked forward through the snow.
Three cat-eared people walked at the front, with Xilu and Jiangyuan following behind.
Ke Shan, who was at the very front, didn't make a sound, but occasionally glanced warily at the humans behind him.
Hilu has actually returned from the forbidden area! This is fantastic news!
As expected of a member of the tribe blessed by the Moon Goddess, has Hilu gained the Moon Goddess's approval once again?
But then, another human emerged from within? He was utterly baffled.
……
Jiang Yuan was on edge; he could sense that all three cat-eared people were very strong.
There is a kind of unease where people are the butcher and I am the fish.
If these cat-eared people, who are stronger than Hilu, were to suddenly make a move, he might not have time to open the gate to the realm.
I still need to improve my strength... Jiang Yuan gripped the magic core in his pocket.
This is the Spider Queen's magic core, which I haven't had a chance to use yet, and it's not advisable to use it now.
It took about fifteen minutes to walk.
The terrain gradually rises beneath your feet.
The snow changed from soft to compact, and the crunching sound underfoot became increasingly crisp, while the ice crust grew thicker and thicker.
The giant trees grew denser and denser, the distance between the trunks shrinking from a dozen steps to seven or eight steps, and the gray-blue needles intertwined to form a continuous dome high above.
Then, the Frostclaw tribe emerged from between the giant trees.
The first thing Jiang Yuan saw was the lights embedded in the tree trunks.
Instead of oil lamps and torches, they were fist-sized, translucent stone shells, suspended from branches and trunks by some kind of dark-colored vines.
An orange glow slowly circulates inside the stone shell, but the brightness is not dazzling.
As Hilu said, the Frostclaw tribe's houses were built in the trees.
Jiang Yuan walked and observed.
The trees here are unbelievably thick. The thinnest ones require more than a dozen people to encircle, while the thickest ones are like towers standing on the ground.
The tree trunk was hollowed out at a height of three or four zhang (approximately 10-12 meters) above the ground, creating irregular tree holes.
The entrance to the tree hollow was covered with a tightly woven curtain of bark and animal hides, and narrow steps were carved into the surrounding tree walls, spiraling upwards.
The most eye-catching thing is the largest giant tree in the very center of the distance. It is ridiculously thick and looks like it would take at least thirty or forty people to hug it.
Jiang Yuan and his group walked by.
Under a nearby tree, several cat-eared cubs were squatting by a campfire in a tree hollow, drawing something on the ground with small sticks.
A kitten-eared boy heard the approaching noises of Jiang Yuan and the others, looked up and saw them.
His ears snapped back against his head, and he took two steps back, hiding behind another little girl nearby.
"What is this?"
"It's human!!"
With a soft gasp, several cat-eared people peeked out from the surrounding tree hollows.
Those gazes fell upon Jiang Yuan, some with fear, others with curiosity.
Jiang Yuan walked along, looking at this novel place.
He saw a faint orange-red flame shining from a half-open tree hollow, and the air smelled of burnt metal.
Outside the tree hollow stood a smooth stone slab, on which rested several iron objects without handles.
Several strings of dry grass strung together with thin vines hung under a tree hollow. Several pottery jars were lined up at the entrance of the hollow, their mouths sealed with dry, hard animal hides, and their bodies painted with crooked symbols.
Jiang Yuan discovered that there are many young cat-eared people here, who are generally thin.
On the way, Xilu asked Keshan a few questions. Keshan said that "winter" had come early and they hadn't had time to store enough food. Now, all the food in the tribe had to be distributed sparingly.
Food shortage... Jiang Yuan withdrew his gaze and followed Ke Shan to a small tree hole near the central giant tree.
This tree was smaller than the surrounding trees, and the hole was only carved out one layer. The entrance to the hole was not high off the ground, and the bark curtain was half rolled up, revealing the dim space inside.
"Human, you wait here." Ke Shan turned around. "I'll take Shilu to see the chief."
Jiang Yuan did not refuse and bent down to crawl into the tree hole.
He still has a lot to learn from the cat-eared people about this world.
The tree hole wasn't very big.
The ground is a natural wooden base left after the tree trunk was hollowed out.
Inside, there was a low bed made of hay and animal hides, and next to it was a fire pit made of stones. There was no fire in the fire pit, only some cold ashes.
Two translucent, luminous stone shells were embedded in the tree wall, with orange light filaments flowing slowly inside, their brightness barely enough to illuminate the surrounding area.
He placed the crossbow beside his legs, sat down on the low bed, and let out a long sigh.
First, take out the grayish-white magic core from the Spider Queen.
It feels cool to the touch.
Previously, while in that cave, my mind was entirely focused on the suddenly appearing teleportation portal and the divine mark riot, so I didn't have time to deal with this thing.
He gripped the magic core tightly, his mind sinking.
A small, fluorescent blue text popped up in front of me:
[Absorbable magical energy detected - Extract?]
"Yes."
A cold, thin stream flowed from my palm, up my forearm to my shoulder, and then down my spine to my limbs and bones.
A few breaths later, the cold wave receded.
A fluorescent blue panel popped up:
[Name: Gangwon]
Occupation: None
[Level: 8→10]
[Abilities: Gate to Realms, Universal Knowledge, ???, --]
[Magic Power: 52/80 → 89/100]
I've reached level 10!
He clenched his fist. The force was even stronger than before.
The wound on my right forearm, pierced by spider silk, also healed faster, forming a thin scab, and when I moved my wrist, I only felt a slight soreness.
At the same time, and most importantly, that previously hidden ability has finally appeared.
Universal knowledge!
"And another ability is about to appear..." Jiang Yuan ignored the abilities that had not yet appeared and focused his gaze on [Universal Knowledge of All Things].