Pursued by the Chinubi Tribe and what appeared to be the army of the Northern Barbarians, Esdeath led the remaining seven tribesmen toward the remote northwestern highlands.
A torrential snowstorm began that night, but the eight of them dared not stop.
Braving the wind and snow, enduring their freezing bodies, they traveled through the night, pushing dozens of miles deep into the mountains.
“Esdeath, everyone is about to reach their limit.
We must find a place to settle down.”
Esdeath knew that if they continued like this, the tribesmen would freeze to death.
However, across the vast, snow-covered plains, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but snow, a few tall trees, and weeds—there was not a single place to shelter from the wind and snow.
“Roar!”
“Awooo!”
On the snowy plains at night, besides the cruel natural weather, there were also dangerous beasts.
Just as they climbed another hillside on the plateau, seven or eight Level 3 Danger Beast Snow Wolves locked onto this exhausted group from three directions, stealthily charging through the snow from the hillside under the cover of night.
From fifty meters away, using the positioning map unfolded by her Eye of True Sight, Esdeath discovered the wolf pack immediately and shouted, “Everyone, be careful!
There are Snow Wolves!”
It was harder to lock onto the fast-running Snow Wolves with her eyes at night, but Esdeath could lock onto the wolf pack by using the positions of their lives on the Perception Map.
She took down her bow and shot the wolf closest to them.
In the time it took to loose that arrow, the wolves behind were already only a dozen meters away.
Esdeath shot another one, but the pack lunged at them.
Unable to control the horses due to the intimidation of the fierce predators, the tribesmen had to dismount and fight the wolves with their bare hands.
“Ah, die!”
Knowing that the battle was unavoidable, the Barutesu Tribe members fought fearlessly, desperately hacking and slashing at the attacking Danger Beasts with their swords.
Esdeath unleashed her strength, cutting down the two Snow Wolves closest to her before moving to help the other tribesmen.
After a minute or two of effort, the group finally killed all the attacking Snow Wolves.
Wiping the wolf blood from her hand, Esdeath exhaled, “Everyone, it’s not all bad.
At least we have food for tonight.
Although wolf meat doesn’t taste good, in times like these, we’ll just have to make do.”
After finding the spooked horses, they dragged the four wolf carcasses along and continued searching for a place to stay.
After traveling another kilometer, most of the remaining tribesmen were already at their physical limit.
“I can’t do it anymore.
I really can’t move…
My body is freezing stiff.”
“Me too.”
There was no other choice.
Esdeath looked around and finally found a thicket against a cliff face that could provide some shelter from the wind and snow.
“You all start a fire and rest here.
I’m going to look for a place to stay.”
“I’ll go with you.” The speaker was Barus.
His condition was better than the other tribesmen’s.
Seeing that Esdeath, a thirteen-year-old girl, could still move in such a situation, he didn’t want to rest with the others.
“Fine.”
The remaining tribesmen dug a pit in the snow and gathered firewood to start a fire.
As the flames slowly rose, the warm light gave the fleeing tribesmen a little comfort.
Esdeath and Barus ventured deeper to see if they could find a cave or a platform that could shield them from the wind and rain to serve as a makeshift shelter.
“Esdeath, is the Barutas Tribe really down to just us?” Barus asked.
“Why did Bali betray the tribe?
How much did Agl offer him…
And those people pursuing us, they don’t look like Chinubi Tribe people.”
Esdeath said, “I think they are the army of the Northern Barbarians.
They probably joined forces with the Chinubi Tribe for the sake of these Northern Territories, and Agl also wants to be the King of the North.”
Barus didn’t quite understand; it was clearly just a dispute between the various tribes of the North, so why did it involve the Northern Barbarians?
However, because the Northern Territory of the Empire was located on the border, it was indeed frequently subject to raiding and attacks by the barbarians.
If the enemy was the Northern Barbarians, then only the Empire could deal with them.
“Barus, Agl won’t kill the other tribesmen for now.
I don’t think he wants the tribe he leads to have no population.
The original tribesmen will probably have a harder time, but there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
Thinking of her subordinates left behind in the tribe, Esdeath tightened her grip on the reins.
As long as she was still alive, sooner or later, she would return.
“Esdeath, look!
Is that light ahead?” Barus’s voice rang out in surprise.
Esdeath looked closely and, sure enough, saw a warm firelight in the snowy night.
The two rode their horses over, and only when they got closer did they realize the place emitting the light was actually a small wooden cabin.
“Someone actually lives in this place?”
The presence of people was a good thing; a small wooden cabin was much better than a crude platform or a cave.
“Esdeath, what should we do?
Should we negotiate with the people in the cabin, or just directly…”
Ever since Esdeath led them in their escape, the seven of them, including Barus, had vaguely taken Esdeath as their leader, asking for her opinion on everything.
The system also appeared: “As a villain, you must solve problems with villainous methods.
Requisition the cabin in front of you by force, and you will be rewarded with ten villain points.”
Ten villain points were better than nothing, though Esdeath had intended to act that way anyway.
Esdeath approached the cabin and unfolded the detection map of her Eye of True Sight.
There were two life points inside, both humans, and judging by the life aura fed back, they were not strong.
“Go straight in.” Esdeath dismounted and knocked on the door.
Bang, bang, bang!
Bang, bang, bang!
A minute passed, and no one opened the door.
Esdeath heard the crisp sound of a bullet being chambered from inside the door.
That made sense; people living out here had much higher vigilance than ordinary people.
After a long while, a man’s voice came from behind the wooden door: “Who is it?”
Esdeath raised her voice and said, “We are lost travelers looking to hide from the snow inside the house.
We have no malicious intent.
Please open the door; we can pay one hundred keton as compensation.”
Whispered voices came from inside, then the wooden door opened a crack.
A man poked his head out, and seeing that Esdeath was a young girl, his tense expression visibly relaxed.
Esdeath grabbed the door frame, forced it open, and barged into the room.
The strength of her grip was something the man couldn’t stop.
“Hey, you!”
Click.
The other person in the room was a woman who looked to be in her twenties, pointing a shotgun at Esdeath.
Esdeath didn’t care at all, glancing at the burning fireplace and the simple but complete facilities in the room: “Madam, sir, I am requisitioning your house for the time being.
I believe you won’t mind.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Esdeath burst into speed, arriving beside the woman holding the gun almost instantly and knocking it away.
Esdeath’s sudden outburst made the man react, and he lunged at her.
Esdeath knocked the woman unconscious with a hand strike, caught the man’s fist with one hand, and to his surprise, pulled his arm, bringing his body along, and struck the back of his neck with another hand strike, hitting the pressure point accurately and knocking him unconscious.
When Barus entered, Esdeath had already finished.
System: “Mission accomplished.
Reward: ten villain points.”
Esdeath looked around the room.
The house was quite large, with a kitchen, beds, an underground storage room for food, and a small loft on the second floor for storing sundries.
“Barus, you stay here and watch them.
I’m going to bring the tribesmen back.”
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”