When a lot of the residents in Stronghold 61 heard about this, they went to take a look. Some of the Wang Consortium officials who were people pleasers reported this to Wang Shengzhi, saying this was a good omen. They were implying Wang Shengzhi had managed the Wang Consortium’s strongholds really well, so everyone’s stomachs were filled, and there was no lack of clothes to dress the residents. As such, the Heavens sent this auspicious sign to them.
Wang Shengzhi laughed it off.
The refugee workers who were building railroads and highways in the Northwest were still busy with their work. The weather gradually getting colder did not seem to have much of an effect on them. Everyone was used to it, and besides, this was not the coldest time of the season.
However, the Northern Plains were already covered in snow and ice. This was an area situated outside of the Alliance of Strongholds that bordered Stronghold 176.
Stronghold 176 was also an independent stronghold not controlled by any organization. However, their reputation was usually not as prominent as Fortress 178’s, probably because they rarely encountered any external threats.
A howling wind blew across the grasslands. Not only was there heavy snowfall, even the snow on the ground was getting swept up layer after layer by the wind. In the end, newly fallen snow covered the ground again.
The entire world was gloomy. The dark clouds in the sky resembled a black dragon roaring loudly, while the snow seemed like it would never end.
On the plains, over a thousand gigantic wolves were advancing in the snow step by step as they headed eastwards. Every once in a while, the wolves on the inside of the pack would come out to take positions on the outer perimeter of the group while the ones that were bearing the brunt of the blizzard’s wind earlier would return to the center of the pack to keep warm.
After The Cataclysm, the weather was constantly bad. Even the thick fur on these wolves could not help them withstand the cold for long.
The wolf pack continued moving east, leaving behind their elongated pawprints on the snow, which were then covered again by the blizzard’s snowfall.
Within the wolf pack, Yan Liuyuan was sitting on the back of the Wolf King. He was wrapped up in layer after layer of thick leather hides, turning him into a fat man. Only by doing this could he barely keep himself warm enough.
After the wolves caught their prey, Yan Liuyuan and Xiaoyu would skin them for their hide. As there were very few humans in the Northern Plains, and they were mainly scattered across a very large area, the other living creatures were able to flourish. So the wolves did not have to worry about not finding food out here.
When Yan Liuyuan saw that winter was about to arrive, he started collecting the fur-lined hides of the wolves’ prey. But without any sewing tools, he could only wrap it around himself in a paltry manner.
Behind them, the wolves were also carrying rolls of sun-dried fur hides on their backs. Those were all of Yan Liuyuan’s current “assets.”
Yan Liuyuan turned around calmly and looked to the side. Xiaoyu was also similarly sitting on the back of a wolf like him. Xiaoyu asked, “Liuyuan, are you cold?”
“I’m not cold.” Yan Liuyuan pulled down a scarf made of fur and smiled wryly. “Big Sister Xiaoyu, you’ve already wrapped me up into this state, so how could I still feel cold?”
At this moment, they noticed a pale yellow flame burning in the distance. That yellow-orange color exuded a sense of warmth in this gloomy world.
Yan Liuyuan said, “That should be the northern nomads. It’s probably a small tribe, I think we should start with them.” Then he patted the Wolf King below him. “Let’s head over there and have a look, we might be able to get some grain from them. I’m a little sick of eating meat every day.”
With that, the wolves started sprinting on the snow-covered ground. The sight of a 1,000 wolves running with their fur blowing in the strong winds was spectacular to behold.
The firepits inside the several dozen tents of the small tribe were burning, and there were small, metal, black pots over the fires with things cooking in them. The contents were gurgling in a subdued way that sounded very “textured.”
But the people sitting in the tents were shocked. They could hear strange sounds mixed with the blizzard wind blowing outside.
Immediately after, the sharp howl of wolves pierced through the wind and reached everyone’s ears.
The howling of wolves caused the expressions of the herdsmen in the tent to change. They often came across wolves out here in the north, but they had not met a pack of wolves that caused such a huge ruckus before.
Someone shouted in a tent, “Round up the horses and sheep! Don’t let the wolves scare the animals. Quick, hurry and get our tribe’s guns!”
As he spoke, the tribal chief drew an old pistol from his belt. He lifted the tent flap and was about to rush out to scare the wolves away.
The wolves in the Northern Plains would naturally retreat as long as you fired a few shots to wound some of their pack members.
But this time, as soon as the tribal chief ran out of his tent, he was rooted to the ground in a daze. He saw countless huge wolves standing quietly outside the tent. They were much larger than the grassland wolves he had seen before. In fact, they were so large they could even be mistaken for cows!
The tribal chief was so shocked he froze. He knew full well that the wolves in front of him were different. No matter how many shots he might fire at them, it would definitely not scare them away.
He had seen wolves before, but he had never seen such a huge group of dire wolves before. With so many of them, this was not a force they could fight against!
The tribal chief said in a trembling voice to his tribesmen behind him, “Tell the women and children to leave. All the men are to stay behind to buy time for the rest to escape. Ride on the horses and leave.”
At this point, the tribal chief was in despair. How could the horses possibly outrun the wolves in this snowy weather?
Just as he was ready to die, the terrifying wolves in front of him actually parted ways and opened a path between them. Two even larger wolves carried a man and a woman on their backs as they slowly padded over.
All the herdsmen in the tribe were stunned. They could not understand anything. The wolves were actually controlled by someone?
Furthermore, the boy sitting on the back of the Wolf King even had a silver glow flowing through his veins. It made him look like he was a young god.
There had always been legends of gods being told in the grasslands, but the herdsmen had never actually seen one before. If this person in front of them was not a god, what other explanation could there be?
The herdsmen behind the tribal chief were all stunned. In this snowy weather, this unexpected scene made them temporarily lose their ability to think rationally.
The flames in the firepits inside the tents were swaying due to the strong winds outside. The women in the tents were hugging their children tightly and shivering in fear.
Meanwhile, the young man sitting on the Wolf King’s back and the woman at his side looked really mysterious and powerful.
However, the tribal chief was unable to understand something. Could it really be that the gods had descended upon them?
Yan Liuyuan sat on the back of the Wolf King and came before the herdsmen where he looked down upon them. When the herdsmen no longer dared to look at him directly, Yan Liuyuan finally smiled and said, “The north is too cold. Submit to me and I’ll bring y’all south to spend your next winter there.”
