Monty was stunned, standing there dumbfounded, as if he had lost his wits, and then his eyes opened wide in excitent.
"Aisha, wake up, do you see the smoke on that mountain top? We have a chance to survive, we can live!"
His pupils opened wide, as if he had found a glimr of hope in a sea of despair.
In this icy and snowy land, that smoke could definitely not be naturally ford; where there’s smoke, it ans there are people.
Previously, Monty had heard from the elderly among the Beastn that so Great Tribes, when needing to expand, would light a big fire on nearby mountaintops, creating huge columns of smoke, burning for several days and nights, representing the tribe’s intention to attract new mbers.
In this icy and snowy land, Monty’s feet were swollen and numb from the cold, staring in the direction of that column of smoke. For the first ti, he felt alive, with a direction.
Aisha weakly blinked, already too exhausted to speak.
"Hold on, Aisha, brother will surely save you!"
Monty gripped his little sister tightly on his back, stepping slowly toward the distant smoking mountain top.
He did not rest, even though he was already very tired,
Surviving solely on roots and bark, Monty was almost at the brink of exhaustion.
He feared that if he sat down, he would never get up again.
And his sister Aisha, the only hope, was to reach that smoke-filled mountain top, find those Beastn, and beg to join their tribe. Only then would Aisha have a chance.
He could not afford to delay even for a single mont.
His feet felt as if filled with lead, stepping through the thick snow, as if they might never co out, his sister on his back felt unbearably heavy, waves of fatigue washed over him, threatening to drown him.
But Monty’s steps never paused, his heart held only one breath, propelling him forward—to save his sister!
Step by step... step...
His vision began to blur, the biting cold penetrated from his feet up, bone-chilling, and Monty swayed in the snow, seemingly ready to fall at any mont.
Never had he felt the distance that lay ahead, so close yet so far.
His consciousness blurred, his body moved chanically forward, driven only by the indomitable will deep within.
Ti passed unnoticed, Monty didn’t know how long he had walked, how far he had traveled, until he reached a point near the mountain base, accidentally tripping over a stone buried in the snow, falling with a thud.
He was so close to the summit.
"Damn... ultimately couldn’t make it?"
His sight blurred, a profound unwillingness filled his heart, as Monty lay on the ground, facing the mountain top, reaching out helplessly.
Yet in the end, the hand fell, his consciousness plunged into darkness.
But in the final mont before his awareness slipped, he seed to hear a voice.
"Captain, there seems to be soone there!"
...
Several days after the smoke rose, the mountain top attracted many stray Beastn wandering in the Kawa Great Forest.
Kobolds, Jackal Wolf People, Goblins, Centaurs, among others, various types of Beastn ca; just five days saw nearly twenty Beastn arrive, though they were mostly elderly, weak, and ailing outcasts, whom their tribes couldn’t support and had expelled.
Looking frail, skin and bones, it was clear they hadn’t eaten well, mostly old and weak, several Beastn collapsed unconscious on the snow along the way, fortunately, the patrol saw them and brought them back.
Though these Beastn were not in good physical condition, and Quik considered them a waste of food, rely adding burden to Dragon’s Nest Tribe.
Yet the Blue Young Dragon decided to take them all in, as after hunting the Blood Wolf packs, there was plenty for them to survive the cold winter, and fish from the frozen lake reservoir could provide adequate food.
For Austin, food was never an issue.
Furthermore, for his plans for the coming year, he needed a lot of manpower to solidify his strength, naturally, the more people the better, so he took in all Beastn coming to the White Smoke Mountain, regardless of age or frailty.
Of course, they wouldn’t be directly integrated into Dragon’s Nest Village.
These newly allied Beastn, after resting and regaining strength with enough food for a few days, underwent the sa special training as those in Dragon Nest Village.
Only by passing similar military training could they fully integrate into Dragon Nest Tribe.
With the trained older Beastn as instructors, new Beastn, post-initial training, rged into the Dragon Nest Village’s Beastn ranks, rapidly enhancing the tribe’s strength.
At this initial stage, Austin did not intend to implent any other governing thods, directly instituting a military state rule. In this world, there was no concept of human rights or freedom; as long as the Beastn lived better, the subordinate forces would burst with strongest power.
As the white smoke column rose, nurous starved and cold wandering Beastn gathered toward the signal mountain top, joining Dragon’s Nest Tribe’s ranks.
However, as ti passed, the number of wandering Beastn slowly decreased, until it stabilized at one or two joining daily, determined by the white smoke column’s visible range; initially quite attractive to many.
But once the wandering Beastn within visual range were absorbed, further arrivals depended on luck to enter the smoke’s visible zone and be drawn in.
When the high furnace birthed a column of white smoke reaching the sky, it also produced quality charcoal; Austin promptly ordered Beastn to build a wooden house beside it, storing charcoal there. When the ti was right, and ore was available, refining copper and iron would proceed there.
Ti flowed slowly by, the cold winter’s departure was imminent.
Newly joined Beastn began arduous military training under old Beastn’s guidance, after which they helped clear plain trees, and built their own hos. More physical tasks than any Beastman in any tribe did, only in Dragon Nest Tribe, everyone ate well, mostly having at, which delighted new Beastn, counting the monts to alti whether working or training.
With the influx of manpower, sufficient hands allowed Dragon Nest Tribe’s guard patrol numbers to increase, sotis preemptively clearing local fierce wildlife, like tigers and leopards, ensuring Dragon Nest Tribe’s safety.
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