The wolf howls outside the cave suddenly changed tone.
The long, probing howls from before had now turned into dense, short roars, like countless rusty stone knives scraping frozen earth, making eardrums tighten.
Alex gripped the burning hardwood branch, his knuckles white from the force,
He stared intently at the darkness outside the cave entrance—on the snow patch barely illuminated by the firelight, several pairs of green eyes finally appeared, like will-o’-the-wisps in the dark night, fixed firmly on the cave entrance.
“Everyone, raise your branches higher!
Don’t let them get close!”
Alex shouted in a low voice, his tone devoid of any panic.
He knew that his composure was the Tribesmen’s reassurance; if he showed fear, the already taut defense line would immediately collapse.
Several young men immediately raised the burning branches high, and the orange-red firelight shone a little farther, also revealing the wolf shadows lurking in the darkness more clearly—there were at least seven or eight wolves, their bodies larger than the wild wolves Alex had seen in modern times, their gray fur dusted with snow.
Their mouths were slightly open, revealing stark white fangs, and saliva dripped onto the snow, instantly freezing into tiny ice pellets.
Leading them was an exceptionally robust black wolf, likely the leader of the pack.
It crouched in the snow about three *zhang* away from the cave entrance, its head slightly lowered, constantly sniffing the air, seemingly assessing the number of people and weapons inside the cave.
Suddenly, it sharply raised its head and let out a fierce howl towards the entrance,
The wolf pack behind it immediately grew restless, moving forward slightly, their claws digging deep marks in the snow.
“They are going to attack!”
The Old Shaman’s voice was tinged with urgency.
He stood beside Alex, leaning on his wooden staff, his other hand tightly clutching a sharply ground stone shard.
“Guard the entrance, don’t let them rush in!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the black wolf leader suddenly leaped, like a black bolt of lightning, pouncing toward the cave entrance!
Its speed was astonishing,
Snow pellets were sent flying by its claws, and its stark white fangs were aimed directly at Mark, the young Hunter in front.
Mark froze in fear, instinctively swinging his stone axe forward, but due to nerves, it missed its target, only cutting the air beside the black wolf.
Using the momentum of its leap, the black wolf’s front paws were nearly resting on Mark’s shoulder.
A foul, rank wind hit his face; Mark could even see his own terrified reflection in its eyes.
“Quick, dodge!
Stab its eyes with the branch!”
Alex was quick-witted and fast-handed, thrusting the burning branch forward.
The tongue of fire “whooshed” and licked toward the black wolf’s face.
The black wolf feared fire the most and instinctively recoiled, its pouncing momentum immediately halted.
In that instant of pause, Mark finally regained his senses and slammed his stone axe hard onto the black wolf’s hind leg.
With a muffled “thump,” the black wolf cried out in pain, letting out a sharp howl, and stumbled back into the darkness.
“Well done!”
Alex shouted to Mark, then immediately turned to the others,
“They are afraid of fire!
As long as the fire doesn’t go out, they won’t dare to rush in!
Everyone take turns adding firewood, don’t let the fire in the fire pit diminish!”
The close call just now made the Tribesmen’s hearts leap into their throats, but Mark’s counterattack also gave everyone confidence—wolves were not invincible, as long as they dared to fight, they could hold the line!
Several women immediately got up and added a large handful of dry firewood to the fire pit.
The flames “crackled” and leaped higher, illuminating the cave entrance as bright as day.
Those green wolf eyes retreated significantly, clearly intimidated by the stronger firelight.
But the calm lasted only for a moment.
The black wolf leader shook its injured hind leg and let out another howl,
Immediately after, two smaller wolves circled around from the sides, no longer focusing on the main entrance, but moving toward the ventilation opening on the other side of the cave—that opening was only half a person’s height, normally used for ventilation, but currently only blocked by a few loose stone slabs, clearly the weak point the wolf pack had found.
“Oh no!
They’re coming through the ventilation opening!”
Yuna’s voice suddenly rang out.
She had been guarding near the ventilation opening and was the first to spot the wolves’ movement.
As soon as she spoke, a stone slab was scraped down by a wolf’s claw, falling to the ground with a “clatter.” A gray wolf’s head immediately poked in, its fangs flashing coldly.
The ventilation opening was far from the fire pit, and the firelight couldn’t reach it, so they could only rely on the branches in their hands for defense.
Alex’s heart tightened, and he immediately shouted:
“Ashi!
You come with me to guard the ventilation opening!
Everyone else watch the main entrance, don’t let them take advantage and rush in!”
The young man named Ashi immediately raised his burning branch and ran toward the ventilation opening with Alex.
Seeing people approach, the gray wolf did not retreat; instead, it leaped violently inside, its front paws already touching the cave floor.
Alex didn’t have time to think; he thrust the branch in his hand directly toward the gray wolf’s eye, shouting at the same time:
“Ashi!
Hack at its paws!”
Ashi reacted extremely quickly, slamming his stone axe hard onto the gray wolf’s front paw.
With a “crack,” although the bone wasn’t severed, it caused the gray wolf to yelp in pain, and its body instinctively recoiled.
Alex seized the opportunity to press the burning branch against the ventilation opening.
The tongue of fire licked the edge of the opening, preventing the wolves behind from daring to approach again.
“Quick!
Stack the stone slabs and seal the gaps with wet mud!”
Alex shouted to the women beside him while watching the wolf shadows outside the ventilation opening.
Two women immediately ran over, picked up the stone slabs from the ground, stacked them one by one in the ventilation opening, and then dug some wet mud from the corner of the cave to plaster into the gaps between the slabs.
Quickly, the ventilation opening was tightly sealed, leaving only a tiny gap for air.
Just as the ventilation opening was sealed, a commotion erupted at the main entrance.
It turned out that when Alex went to guard the ventilation opening, the fire power at the main entrance had weakened, and the black wolf leader took the chance to charge forward a few steps with three other wolves.
One of the wolves’ claws was already resting on the edge of the cave entrance, nearly jumping inside.
“Throw the charcoal from the fire pit out!” Alex immediately shouted.
Mark, who was guarding the main entrance, reacted, grabbing several pieces of glowing red charcoal and throwing them toward the wolves.
The red-hot charcoal landed on the snow with a “sizzling” sound, and the splashing sparks burned the wolf’s paws.
That wolf immediately retreated, and the others shrank back as well.
Alex took a breath, just about to adjust the defense, when the System prompt suddenly sounded in his mind:
[Host detected successfully organizing Tribe defense, repelling the wolf pack’s first wave of attack, and protecting the safety of the Tribesmen.
This meets the “Civilization Progress – Survival Defense” standard.
Reward Civilization Points: 20 points.
Current Civilization Points: 120 points.]
The System’s prompt invigorated Alex; it seemed organizing the defense could also earn points!
He didn’t have time to think much and immediately readjusted the division of labor:
“Listen up, everyone!
Leave three people at the main entrance, holding burning branches, and keep the stone axes and spears close by.
Stab them with the branches and smash them with the stone axes if the wolves get close!
Leave two people at the ventilation opening, guarding the stone slabs carefully, don’t let them pry them open!
The rest of you take turns adding firewood to the fire pit, ensuring the fire stays strong!”
The Tribesmen immediately acted according to Alex’s instructions, everyone performing their duties, the initially chaotic defense becoming orderly. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
The flames in the fire pit burned stronger and stronger, the burning branches at the main entrance formed a wall of fire, and the ventilation opening was tightly sealed.
Although the wolf pack still howled outside the cave, they could no longer find an opportunity to attack, only pacing restlessly in the darkness.
Time passed slowly, and the night outside the cave gradually faded, a faint fish-belly white began to appear on the horizon—dawn was approaching.
The wolf pack clearly knew time was short; once daylight broke, they would not only struggle to launch a sneak attack, but might also encounter Hunters heading out.
The black wolf leader paced anxiously in the snow, occasionally howling toward the entrance, but still daring not to launch another attack.
Just then, a familiar shout suddenly came from afar:
“Alex!
We’re back!”
It was John’s voice!
Alex’s heart lifted, and he immediately ran to the main entrance, lifting the animal hide to look out.
He saw John, Mark, and three Hunters in the distant snow, carrying several frozen wild rabbits on their shoulders, and dragging a small deer, running toward the cave.
They clearly saw the wolf pack outside the cave and quickened their pace,
John even raised the stone axe in his hand and shouted loudly toward the wolf pack, his voice full of deterrence.
Hearing John’s voice and seeing several able-bodied men holding stone axes running over, the wolf pack panicked.
The black wolf leader glanced at John and the others getting closer, then looked at the tightly closed cave, finally letting out a reluctant howl, turning the pack around, and quickly disappearing into the distant mountain forest.
“The wolves are gone!
The wolves are gone!”
The Tribesmen at the entrance cheered, their tense bodies finally relaxing, some even sitting directly on the ground, gasping for breath—the Battle of the Watch this night had exhausted all their strength.
John quickly led his men into the cave, and seeing that the Tribesmen inside were safe and sound, though bearing fatigue on their faces, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s great!
You’re all okay!”
He put the wild rabbits and small deer from his shoulder onto the ground, a smile appearing on his face,
“We found a rabbit nest in the eastern valley, and we were lucky enough to run into an injured small deer.
It wasn’t a wasted trip after all!”
The Tribesmen’s eyes lit up as they looked at the prey on the ground; their previous exhaustion was instantly replaced by hunger and joy.
The Old Shaman walked up to John and patted his shoulder:
“Thanks to Alex, when the wolf pack besieged the cave last night, it was he who led everyone to guard the entrance and drive the wolves away.”
John looked at Alex in surprise, then showed a look of admiration:
“Alex, you saved the Tribe again!”
Alex smiled and shook his head:
“It wasn’t just my credit; everyone held the line together.
Now that dawn is approaching, let’s quickly process the prey, roast some meat to eat and replenish our strength, today we still need to teach everyone how to drill for fire and find water sources.”
The Tribesmen nodded one after another and started to get busy—some went to process the prey, some added firewood to the fire pit, preparing to roast meat.
The cave was once again filled with vitality.
Alex leaned by the fire pit, watching the busy Tribesmen before him, and glancing at the 120 Civilization Points on the System panel in his mind, he silently thought:
“This night, we not only held the cave, but we also protected the hope of the Tribe.”
The fish-belly white on the horizon grew brighter, and the first ray of sunlight finally shone through the gap in the cave entrance, falling onto the prey beside the fire pit, and onto the smiling faces of the Tribesmen.