CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 37: A NEW DAY

While lighting a white smoke column to attract wandering Beastmen, the Fox-faced Man Quik also followed the Blue Young Dragon’s command to visit those small tribes he remembered. Unfortunately, aside from a very secluded Goblin Tribe with only about ten people left, the rest had disappeared, perhaps migrated or perished in this harsh wilderness.

However, even with just a dozen Goblins, combined with the wandering Beastmen attracted by the white smoke column, the population of the Dragon Nest Tribe had reached over seventy and was continuously increasing.

Sufficient manpower is the foundation for the great development of the territory.

Although the surge in population created some tension in food supply for the Dragon Nest Village, with enough hands, the elder Beastmen in the Dragon Nest Tribe organized teams to hunt the hungry and dangerous fierce Hunters within a ten-mile radius, ensuring the safety of the Dragon Nest Tribe while also increasing the tribe’s food supply to a certain extent.

Before this, Austin had already carefully scouted the area around the Dragon Nest Territory to ensure there were no overly dangerous Magic Beasts. With the battle power of the Beastman military formation that had been baptized in blood, exterminating mere beasts was no big deal.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Military training, tree felling and land reclamation, charcoal burning, fishing, house building, and the like became the daily tasks of the Beastmen in the Dragon Nest Tribe.

If it were any other Beastman Tribe, they wouldn’t venture outside during this time unless the food supply was exhausted. Some Beastman Race tribes would stay inside all day during winter to reduce heat loss, with the entire tribe’s dwelling as silent as a grave, activity tracks buried under heavy snow, silent as night.

But the Dragon Nest Tribe was different; since they could use knowledge from the past life to obtain enough food, Austin naturally wouldn’t allow the Beastmen to waste time. The tasks that could be completed during the cold winter were tackled during this period to prepare for the upcoming land reclamation and farming endeavors.

Even in this cold winter, the Beastmen kept busy, with the Dragon Nest Tribe covered in signs of their activities.

And the Beastmen didn’t tire of the heavy labor; they even enjoyed the process of working up a sweat in the icy weather. Not even the ice and snow could curb the enthusiasm of the Beastmen. When carrying logs that required teamwork, a group of Beastmen would even sing loud, simple songs.

Day after day, tides rise and fall.

Toot toot!

In the morning, as the sun just rose, the sharp sound of a whistle pierced the sky, waking up the entire Dragon Nest Village.

The whistle was made from a plant similar to bamboo, cut into a section that, when blown into forcefully, produced a strong whistle sound. It was very similar to the bamboo whistle from Austin’s previous life, so the Blue Young Dragon used it for the Beastman instructors to blow during drills and commands.

The whistle sound startled Meng Bi awake from his dream.

No longer was he in a cold snow pit, nor was his stomach growling with hunger; everything seemed like a dream.

The whistle outside sounded urgently. Reluctantly leaving the warm straw nest, even though his eyes were still sleepy, his body moved instinctively out through the door.

The other Beastmen in the same room also awakened, though their memories held few instances of Beastmen rising so early during the cold winter. Past winters were spent sleeping until naturally awakened, but under the various peculiar rules of the Dragon Nest Tribe, they dared not resist.

Nor did they want to resist, because those who were late would miss a meal for the day.

For these newly displaced, hungry, cold-stricken wandering Beastmen, food was more precious than life itself.

To obtain food, overcoming mere instinct was incredibly straightforward.

Meng Bi rushed out with the crowd, shivering as the cold wind blew, banishing any remnants of sleep.

But that wasn’t the end; they hurried to the trough in front of the house, picked up bamboo cups to scoop the warm water prepared by Kobold cooks when making breakfast, and began washing up. In the icy outdoors, water turned to ice, so the water for brushing teeth and washing up had to be pre-warmed. However, the warm water quickly turned cold in such weather, chilling to the bone upon entering the mouth.

For washing, they used something similar to willow wood, chopstick-sized, with one end chewed into bristles, which, used with warm water, was continuously brushed between the teeth.

Even this washing was one of the odd rules of the Dragon Nest Tribe.

Similar to resolving waste disposal issues in dedicated toilets despite the cold wind, Meng Bi often grumbled about how these ideas were just whims of Lord Austin to torment them.

Yet grumble as he might, deep within, he held immense respect for the Blue Young Dragon Lord who saved his life, especially since they also saved his sister Aisha’s life.

If possible, Meng Bi would even offer his life to repay Lord Austin’s kindness.

Recalling when he collapsed and thought it was the end, only to awaken alive, now sleeping on warm straw in a cozy house, with food on the table emitting enticing aromas.

He was revived, and his sister, with enough nourishment, also endured and eventually regained her health.

Meng Bi made a silent vow to himself, regardless of how the Dragon Nest Tribe would treat him in the future; he was determined to dedicate his life to them.

Thinking of his sister Aisha, Meng Bi looked across towards her.

These newly-joined Beastmen trained together regardless of gender, but their work differed.

Even among Beastmen, there was a difference between males and females, particularly for those like Meng Bi and Aisha who were underage, their living quarters were segregated by gender, though they regrouped for training.

At this moment, he saw his sister Aisha chatting happily with a Kobold girl while brushing her teeth. Meng Bi knew that Kobold girl, seemingly named Nina something, and was very pleased his sister had made a friend.

However, it wasn’t time for talking now. Seeing his sister was well, Meng Bi quickly finished washing up, rinsed his face with water, returned the bamboo tube, and swiftly went to the village’s open ground, standing in his spot in the queue.

The other Beastmen also quickly finished washing up and joined the lineup before the whistle ended.

"Attention! Align right, look left, count off!"

The stern Goblin Gulu instructor stopped blowing the whistle and barked out commands.

The entire team swiftly straightened and aligned into a neat, square formation.

After aligning, they would participate in a morning run, have breakfast, and then begin a new day of activities.