Heavy clouds blanketed the sky, dark and oppressive, weighing down on everything below. It reminded
Feather-like snowflakes danced wildly through the air, and the mountains and rivers had long since been cloaked in thick white robes…
The sky was dim and murky. Though he could not see far into the distance, Lorist could still keenly pick up the distant roars of magical beasts carried on the wind and snow, along with the soft rustling of beast herds crossing the open plains and treading upon the snow…
After an indeterminate amount of time, the dark mass of magical beasts surged across the clearing below Maplewood Manor like a rising tide, spreading onward in the direction of the Funle Plains…
"My Lord, it was our negligence — we forgot that every winter, the beast herds from the Wasteland cross the Demon Dragon Mountains to forage within the Family's territory…" Bellunek and Patchico both stepped forward to apologize to Lorist.
Lorist's face was ashen, but he still waved his hand. "This isn't your fault. We were the ones who failed to conduct a thorough investigation before hastily drawing up the development plan…"
That was what he said, but Lorist's heart was burning with anxiety. This was the first winter since the Funle Plains development plan had been implemented. Roughly three hundred thousand people had already been settled across the plains for the winter, distributed among eighty-three villages and seven towns. Although preliminary defenses such as village walls had been constructed, what would happen if these beasts below went mad and attacked the villages?
These were all magical beasts from untamed wilderness never touched by humans, inherently extremely aggressive. They had never seen people, never understood humanity's terrifying nature, so as long as a human crossed the territorial boundary in their consciousness, these magical beasts would often launch attacks on their own initiative, sometimes even fighting to the death...
"The family records say these magical beast herds from the wildlands cross the Demon Dragon Mountains, passing below our Family's estate castle—Maple Forest Manor—as they travel to the wastelands, wandering and foraging from north to south. The herbivorous beast herds dig through the snowdrifts, gnawing on wild grass and lichen moss buried under the snow. Carnivorous beasts then roam around these herbivorous herds, hunting down stragglers and the sick or weak among them... Every winter, the Beast Tide sweeps across the Family's territory, estimated at no less than a million creatures...
As for why these beast herds come to our territory every winter, our ancestors conducted research and believed it was because our Family's lands are close to the sea. Although the Blade Mountain Range lies between, it cannot block the sea breeze that carries the scent of the ocean. As a result, the thick lichen moss growing on those wilderness plains carries a faint salty taste, and it is this lichen moss that attracts the beast herds.
To prove this hypothesis, our ancestors even conducted experiments. They placed feed and lichen moss together and discovered that domesticated animals would always eat the lichen moss first, only turning to the feed once it was gone. Then the ancestors caught some herbivorous beasts and prepared three piles of feed: the first was dry hay sprinkled with some salt powder, the second was lichen moss gathered directly from the wild, and the third was the normal feed used for livestock. The results showed that the salt-sprinkled dry hay was most popular among the herbivorous beasts, followed by the lichen moss, with the regular feed coming last.
Therefore, our ancestors concluded that the winter Beast Tide comes to our territory to replenish salt. This has become a deeply ingrained instinct among those wilderness beast herds. Unless the nearly million herbivorous beasts were exterminated, it would be very difficult to stop the winter Beast Tide's arrival. This is one of the reasons it has been so hard for the Family to establish new settlements and towns over the past two or three hundred years.
Fortunately, that wasteland is vast enough to contain these beast herds. After the Beast Tide recedes each year, the beasts left behind in the wasteland become the Family's prime targets for hunting and sources of fur. Previously, the Family often held hunting rallies in the wastelands, yielding abundant meat and pelts. However, many carnivorous beasts also sometimes remained behind in the wasteland, posing great danger to our hunting activities.
The family records state that when North Wilderness Town was first established, it was frequently harassed by winter beast herds, until most of the surrounding land was developed into farmland, at which point the traces of the herbivorous herds gradually disappeared. However, during the initial decade or so, the cultivated fields were constantly destroyed by the herbivorous beasts, causing the Family to suffer frequent famines during that period..."
The one reciting these family records was Miss Tess. She had come with Lorist to spend the winter at Maple Forest Manor, her primary purpose being to view the centuries of knowledge and written records the
Lorist felt like crying without tears. Everyone had worked hard all year, finally arranging everything before November, stocking all the settlement villages with winter provisions and ample fuel. They had built the villages' wooden palisades and houses, cleared considerable farmland, and after confirming everything was properly arranged, had granted everyone a long rest to recover over the winter before tackling the next big push in the spring.
But no one had mentioned that a magical beast herd of such scale would sweep across the entire wasteland during winter. Either they had been too busy and forgotten, or they had simply never considered the possibility. Not until Lorist brought a large group back to Maple Forest Manor to overwinter, and during the feast held to celebrate the season's first heavy snowfall, did a retired, disabled old Family soldier, invited as a guest, look at the sky and earth where heavy snow danced and murmur: "When the second heavy snow arrives, the Beast Tide will come too..."
After questioning the elderly members of the family and searching through all the Norton Family's written records concerning the winter magical beast tide, Lorist finally realized that the severity of the situation had far exceeded his expectations.
Heavy snow blocked every road, piling up to over a foot deep. Under such conditions, no one could hope to go anywhere. Lorist racked his brains and came up with skis, the ultimate tool for traversing snowy terrain. He had only just ordered the manor's carpenters to craft several pairs — before even he himself had mastered how to use them — when the second great snowfall arrived, and the magical beast tide followed close behind.
"Climbing demon antelope, great-horned barbarian sheep, iron-horned demon rhino, single-horned demon sheep, striped wild horse, green-eyed wild ox, red-backed demon wolf..." Lorist silently recited the names of the magical beast herds passing below the manor. The magical beast knowledge he had studied at
"Why are these magical beasts passing so peacefully below the manor instead of launching an attack?" asked Erle curiously, standing beside Lorist.
"The family records state that in the first dozen years after the Norton Family's founding ancestor established the family estate castle here, the manor suffered attacks from the magical beast tide every winter. But the beasts never succeeded, suffering heavy casualties each time. On one occasion, a large pack of winter wolves scaled the rocky slopes behind the mountain and breached the estate, killing a great number of livestock. After that, the family's predecessors devoted considerable manpower to shearing the entire rocky slope beneath the estate castle down into sheer cliffs, and such a thing never happened again. The beasts on the main mountain path could not breach the castle, and over time, they simply ignored its existence, passing by underneath instead." Before Beruniek could answer, Miss Tess — nestled in Lorist's embrace — recited yet another passage from the records, providing a perfect answer to Erle's question.
Beruniek could only shrug, thoroughly impressed by Miss Tess's remarkable memory and encyclopedic knowledge.
Lorist pulled Miss Tess a little closer, affectionately rubbing his cheek against the fur cap on her head...
"Heavens, what is that thing?" From beside them, Sharpshooter Josk — the keenest-eyed person among the group atop the castle — was the first to spot the massive figures approaching in the distance.
Lorist looked up and immediately cursed aloud: "Damn it, mammoth demon elephants — how can there be such creatures?!"
Dozens of colossal figures were slowly advancing from the distance, each standing five or six meters tall. The one leading the herd towered even further above the rest, its entire body covered in dark, shaggy fur. A long, powerful trunk hung from its face, and from the corners of its mouth jutted two enormous, curved tusks that gleamed coldly even amid the howling snow and wind...
These colossal creatures might have appeared to lumber along slowly, but their strides were enormous, and they were hardly any slower than the magic antelope bounding alongside them. One young mammoth demon elephant — clearly not yet fully grown at barely four meters tall — was still staring up the mountain path toward the Maple Forest Fortress when it suddenly raised its trunk and let out a long, resonant trumpet, as if issuing a challenge. It was only after the towering mammoth demon elephant behind it swung its trunk and smacked the youngster's rump that the young one reluctantly hurried to catch up with the departing herd...
Lorist slammed his fist against the crenellation of the castle wall. In his mind's eye, he could already see it — the wooden palisade fences of the scattered homesteading villages across the Fongle Plains shattering like paper before these enormous magical beasts, splintering and flying apart, and then whole packs of the creatures flooding into the villages. What a horrific scene that would be...
Lady Tessie, cradled in his arms, murmured thoughtfully, "Family records show that mammoth demon elephants haven't appeared in a magical beast tide for the better part of the last decade or so. In the past, they only showed up once every few years. I don't know why they've reappeared in this year's tide. Every time they show up, they cause especially devastating damage to orchards and farms. And what they hate most of all is anything built by human hands. One family record describes a stone mill out in the wild that they leveled flat to the ground. Those forest cabins or roadside shelters for travelers — they tear all of those apart without exception..."
Mammoth demon elephants. Omnivorous magical beasts. In the field of magical beast studies, they were classified alongside the most ferocious predatory beasts — and given that they were also herd creatures, provoking one was tantamount to provoking an entire swarm. They were also extraordinarily vindictive and wildly aggressive. Even carnivorous predators dared not tangle with mammoth demon elephants. Once you provoked a mammoth demon elephant, it meant a fight to the death.
In the annals of exploration in Galentea, the most infamous account involved a famous mercenary company that had accepted a bounty contract to hunt down several mammoth demon elephant tusks. They had ambushed a small herd of a dozen or so mammoth demon elephants along the edge of the Barbarian Wastes and successfully completed the contract. Seven years later, the same mercenary company took another job that brought them back to the border region of the Barbarian Wastes. That night, while camped for the evening, they were suddenly attacked by nearly a hundred mammoth demon elephants. Out of more than two hundred mercenaries, only a dozen or so quick-footed lucky souls escaped with their lives.
Based on the analyses of scholars and experts after the fact, the most likely explanation was that the mercenary company had failed to properly dispose of their discarded belongings and waste after completing the mammoth tusk contract, leaving behind a scent that the mammoth demon elephant herd caught wind of and tracked to the area. Seven years later, when the company returned to the same location, the mammoth demon elephants caught their scent again, summoned their kin, and gathered nearly a hundred strong to exact their revenge — thus was the tragedy of that mercenary company born.
"How many days does a magical beast tide like this take to pass through the Maple Forest Fortress?" Josk asked.
"Family records say that a massive tide of nearly a million beasts takes about fifteen days. For numbers smaller or larger than that, you can use that figure as a rough estimate," Lady Tessie replied.
"...only a quarter of them. And once these beasts enter the wastelands, they gradually disperse. They'll forage an area clean of lichen and moss before moving on to the next, so they don't advance very quickly. Family records say these beasts spend over a month wandering from the northern end of the wastelands all the way to the southern end, and then retreat back to the Barbarian Wastes before spring arrives..." Lady Tessie was well aware of her lover's anxiety and began to soothe him in a gentle murmur.
"Do the family records mention the rough range that the wastelands cover each time the magical beast tide passes through?" Lorist whispered to the woman in his arms.
Lady Tessie thought carefully before replying. "No, tracking the magical beast tide during winter is extremely dangerous, but we can roughly estimate the range it covers. We've divided the wastelands into seven zones. The first zone is the mountain city — that's the Morgan Hills, and the beast tide has never reached there. The seventh zone is Northfield Town; over the years, the land has been developed, so there's very little of the lichen and moss that the beasts need. Aside from a few stragglers that wander over, it's basically fine. The main concern is zones two through six — the beast tide passes through all five of those areas."
"Locke, we've made thorough preparations for getting through this winter. Don't forget that we've stationed a small squad of regular family soldiers in each of the farming villages, along with a silver-ranked swordsman to oversee things. Even if a pack of magical beasts were to attack a farming village in the short term, they should be able to hold. You need to trust your soldiers — they'll protect the farming villages. Everything will be fine."
Lorist shook his head. "That's not what I'm worried about. If the farming villages can't survive this magical beast tide unscathed, then everyone will lose the motivation and confidence to develop this wasteland. Even if we get through this winter, what about next year, and the year after that, when the beast tide comes again? We have to find a way to permanently put a stop to the magical beast tide. This is a war between us and the magical beasts for control of our family's territory. For the survival and peaceful lives of over five hundred thousand subjects, we must win this war!"
Lorist turned to address everyone standing atop the castle watching the magical beast tide. "There are still over ten days before the beast tide passes. During this time, all Family Knights and silver-ranked swordsmen must become thoroughly proficient in the use and techniques of skis. Once the beast tide has passed, regardless of whether the snow has stopped, we will head into the wastelands to ensure the safety of every farming village."
Everyone stood at attention. "Yes, my lord." (To be continued.)
PS: I've been down with a bad cold these past few days and have kept writing through it, but I feel like the quality has dropped a bit and isn't quite up to par. Please bear with me.
Regarding the maps — yesterday I heard from another author about finding a professional cartographer and illustrator on Taobao. After hearing my requirements, he said a full set of maps like that would cost at least five thousand, which is more than I can afford. Please be patient for a while; I'll slowly draw these maps out on paper and upload them so that everyone can gain a deeper understanding of the world of Galentea. Thank you.