YM778.TV Chapter 79: The First Snow
Oddly, where had this extra person come from?
Tia\'s eyes flashed with vigilance, a faint white glow emanating from her.
It was the sign of boar power being invoked.
Enzo waved his hand, gesturing for silence, and casually explained, "She\'s Dilly, claims to be from the Exile Organization. She sneaked into the camp during the chaos, attempting to steal loot, but I caught her. Apparently, she also has the ability to turn invisible."
Discussion erupted among the crowd.
Neville, however, looked astonished and turned sharply towards Dilly, asking, "Invisibility? You\'re the Exile Organization\'s Catcloak?"
Exposed before everyone, Dilly showed little fear. She chuckled lightly, "Well, you do have some knowledge. Surprising that you know my title. But mark my words, for your slander against Lord Logan, I\'ll remember!"
"And..."
Dilly turned to Enzo, her face defiant, "You\'re Enzo, right? Next time we meet, I\'ll make sure to knock your teeth out and make you beg for mercy!"
With that, Dilly\'s form became ethereal once more. Enzo reached out to grab her, but this time, he couldn\'t catch her, as if the Dilly standing before him were just a phantom projection.
Dilly\'s face twisted into a mocking smile. "Fool, did you really think you could catch me?"
Then, Dilly\'s figure vanished completely.
Enzo\'s face showed a hint of intriguing amusement as he muttered quietly, "Interesting. But do you think you\'ve really escaped?"
A green light flashed in Enzo\'s palm.
At this moment, Neville\'s expression grew more serious. "Lord Enzo, the Exile Organization is powerful. Their influence spans Plata Plain, Caucasus Mountain, with numerous supernatural members."
Enzo frowned, questioning, "Neville, what are you trying to say?"
Neville spoke with gravity, "Lord Enzo, I think it\'s best we avoid any dealings with the Exile Organization for now. I learned a secret message just before the Red Coral Tribe was attacked. It\'s said the Exile Organization has ties with some high-ranking members of the Gold Oak Tribe. Whether these ties are good or bad, we don\'t know."
"Gold Oak Tribe..." Enzo mused.
In the barren mountain region, especially for places like the jungle and Plata Plain, the Gold Oak Tribe was incredibly formidable—just hearing their name brought a sense of oppression.
However, Enzo was undeterred.
He had dealt with Freya, a candidate priestess of the Golden Lion Tribe, with audacity. Facing the supposedly weaker Gold Oak Tribe compared to the Golden Lion Tribe, he naturally felt no fear.
Yet now, as a priest of the Crimson Star Tribe, he had to consider the emotions of his people.
He could only reply offhandedly, "Neville, your concerns are unnecessary. As long as the Exile Organization doesn\'t stir trouble, I won\'t bother with them."
Soon after, the post-battle meeting concluded.
Upon Enzo\'s command to return to the Crimson Star Tribe camp, cheers erupted. They escorted surrendered slaves, dozens of slain Giant Bone Wolves, and dismantled hides from the Mpondo Tribe camp, loading them onto wooden carts to transport back to the Crimson Star Tribe.
This scene was witnessed by several pairs of eyes hiding in the shadows.
They dared not make any rash moves. Only after Enzo and his group departed did they breathe a sigh of relief. They then sprinted swiftly back to their own tribal camps, eager to inform their leaders of the Mpondo Tribe\'s demise.
...
Thorn Bush Tribe camp.
The leader of the tribe was a middle-aged woman named Linda. She possessed strong muscles, but the most striking feature was the two intersecting scars on her face, dividing it into four sections. This gave her a somewhat terrifying appearance, especially when the scars seemed to writhe like a crawling centipede when she spoke.
"Are you saying the Mpondo Tribe has been annihilated?" Chief Linda asked.
The scout who returned nodded frantically, recounting what he had witnessed, "... Mpondo Tribe\'s leader, Reg, tried to use his flame whip, but before he could strike, he was bound with vines and hanged in mid-air, strangled alive. His body is still in the camp; those people didn\'t take it with them."
After hearing this, Linda\'s expression turned grave.
As the leader of the Thorn Bush Tribe, she was well aware of Reg\'s strength.
However, if those people could easily kill Reg, then killing her would be just as simple.
Linda grew restless.
She quickly dispatched several tribe members, riding Giant Bone Wolves, to other tribes in Plata Plain.
In fact, Thorn Bush Tribe was not the only tribe to learn this news.
Almost every nearby tribe sent scouts to observe discreetly. Once they confirmed the Mpondo Tribe\'s destruction, they informed other tribes.
Overnight, this news spread across the entire Plata Plain.
At the invitation of the Thorn Bush Tribe, many tribes sent representatives to discuss how to respond to this event.
...
Meanwhile.
In the dense thicket not far from the Mpondo Tribe, Crue\'s face twisted in frustration. He couldn\'t help but curse aloud, "Damn Reg, bragging about how tough he was, yet couldn\'t even handle a single move from Enzo!"
"No, I can\'t stay here in Plata Plain any longer."
"It\'s not just Plata Plain. I can\'t stay around the jungle either. With the Crimson Star Tribe here, my plans are easily disrupted."
"Damn it!"
Crue was visibly shaken and enraged, his words coming out in a jumble.
He reached into his chest pocket and retrieved a blue crystal. In the moonlight, the crystal emitted a faint blue glow, within which countless tiny figures seemed to flicker. On closer inspection, these figures had no faces, only vague eyes and mouths, wailing in agony.
Muttering to himself, Crue\'s eyes shifted erratically. "I\'m just a few souls short."
With a sigh, he stealthily approached the Mpondo Tribe camp. After confirming no one was around, he boldly stepped forward, chanting strange incantations. He extracted souls from the deceased bodies and stored them within the blue crystal.
Upon seeing Reg\'s corpse, Crue couldn\'t contain his anger and kicked it several times.
"It\'s all because of you, you damned fool, that I wasted such precious Shimmering Scrolls."Crue muttered angrily.
After his outburst, Crue dared not linger any longer.
This time, he was prepared to leave the vicinity of the jungle altogether and seek out a place where conflicts were more intense. His plan was to manipulate these factions into fighting each other, causing substantial casualties, while he collected souls under the radar.
However, fate had other plans.
On the fifth day, just as dawn broke, pristine white snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
Considering it was only September, this early onset of winter was troubling news. Historically, such early snowfall meant hardship for many tribes.
For the Crimson Star Tribe, it was equally ominous.
The jungle dwellers did not welcome winter.
Winter meant cold, scarcity of food.
All those meant ultimately, death.
...
At the Crimson Star Tribe camp, many members who participated in the battle have brought back the spoils captured from the Mpondo Tribe, which are now being handed over to other members of the tribe for processing.
The slaves have been assigned tasks such as farming and transportation.
The bodies of the Giant Bone Wolves have been skinned, and their meat has been dried for storage.
In addition to this, almost every combatant has received a reward of 50 silver coins, which is a substantial sum for anyone.
This is enough for them to purchase many desirable items.
Especially with the continuous shipment of yellow iron ore being smelted into iron and crafted into various ironware and weapons by Brian and others, the variety of ironware within the tribe had become quite abundant. Enzo had also granted others the permission to purchase these goods, meaning that as long as they save up a bit, they could acquire the ironware they desired.
As a result, many people were motivated and working hard.
However, their fiery enthusiasm had been dampened by the sudden snowfall.
Enzo resided in a two-story bamboo house, with Tia holding a wolf cub tightly by his side. Tia, dressed in still-scarce clothing covered only with a thin piece of animal hide, held the cub that wriggles restlessly, seemingly disliking being held.
At this moment, Amy walked in.
She smiled and said, "Tia, are you really planning to raise a Giant Bone Wolf yourself?"
Tia replies earnestly, "This will be my future mount!"
Hearing their conversation, Enzo smiles and turns to Amy, asking, "Amy, what\'s the matter? With the animal skins brought back from the Mpondo Tribe, shouldn\'t it be enough to get the tribe through this winter?"
Amy noded.
Then Amy sighed, continuing, "Lord Enzo, that\'s exactly what I wanted to discuss. This unexpected snow has disrupted many plans of the tribe, and many crops that the people have planted are still in their growing season. However, the low temperatures due to the heavy snowfall have caused many crops to freeze to death."
Enzo sighed deeply.
Humans were so insignificant in the face of natural disasters.
Tia walked to the window, looking at the snowflakes still falling outside, and couldn\'t help but reflected, "In the past, the arrival of heavy snow meant death for many tribe members. But now, at least we don\'t have to worry about that, right?"
Tia\'s reassurance lifted the spirits of Enzo and Amy considerably.
In the warehouse, there were large quantities of potatoes and sweet potatoes stored, enough to sustain everyone through this long winter.
However, Enzo still harbored concerns.
The massive floods during the rainy season, and the unusually early winter... What did these anomalies signify?
Disaster?
Enzo couldn\'t be certain.
As he ponders these thoughts, a traveling merchant named Douglas from the Gold Oak Tribe and his companions encounter a serious problem.