CHAPTER 185: RETURN TO THE RED GRASS TRIBE

"This dish is called spicy dry-fried rabbit," Eric explained, his tone carrying a bit of a chef’s pride. "Let it cool down a little, it will be crispier and absorb the flavor better, only... it definitely needs a lot of chili."

Kevin was the most enthusiastic responder. His face was flushed red from the spice, sweat beading on his forehead, but his chopsticks didn’t stop picking up rabbit meat and putting it into his mouth, hissing from the heat while eating.

Max leisurely fed Eric a piece of meat while turning his head, his sharp eyes glancing toward Kevin:

"Don’t touch the two plates on the stove. Those are saved for Sam and Grass."

"Oh..." Kevin replied dejectedly.

How would he dare touch that portion? Sam wouldn’t say anything, but if Grass found out... Thinking of this, Kevin unconsciously shuddered. That female beastman was much more violent than Max.

"Ah, right, remember to leave a portion for Aunt Luci too," Eric said to Max while chewing a fragrant, spicy piece of rabbit meat. "She refused to stay, so whenever there’s something delicious, she doesn’t get to enjoy it immediately."

Max smiled slightly, his eyes warm:

"I’ll bring it over to Mom later."

Eric suddenly thought, in this freezing winter, food carried over a distance would get completely cold. The wooden lunch box at the communal dining hall suddenly gave him an idea. When he had free time, he would make some wooden lunch boxes, the kind with multiple tiers and a convenient handle. At least they would help keep the food warm to some extent and make it easier to carry.

From the direction of the dining hall, the smell of stewed meat had also wafted over, blending into the air. Eric, in his own yard, could also vaguely hear the excited cheers of the tribe members. This winter, with dried fish and dried meat fully stocked, no one had to worry about lacking food. Occasionally having fresh prey to improve meals—for the Snow Wolves, this was already an extremely satisfying life.

If it were previous years, the whole tribe would have faced the looming threat of hunger. Freshly hunted prey had to be prioritized for the children and elderly beastmen; the remaining warriors could only go hungry or survive on dry rations day by day.

They had even delayed transporting food to trade with the Ox-Head tribe for nearly half the winter just to refine salt. Such a risky move, they absolutely wouldn’t have dared to make in previous years.

But time had been delayed long enough; they had to speed up. After all, the dried meat and food in the reserve warehouse couldn’t last forever.

At the Red Grass tribe.

On the vast snowfield stretching for dozens of miles, several giant Snow Wolves were moving cautiously, carrying freshly hunted spoils on their backs.

"This giant python was really fast," a warrior said in a hoarse voice. "Luckily the cold weather made it much slower; otherwise, our efforts today would have been in vain."

Thomas, the leader, walked steadily forward. His giant wolf mouth opened and closed, revealing dagger-sharp fangs:

"But with this prey, we have enough to eat for a few days. Probably will still have leftovers by the time we return to the tribe."

Another warrior expressed doubt:

"The Dwarves haven’t finished forging weapons, and we haven’t transported the food back yet; I don’t know if the food in the tribe is enough."

"Don’t worry," Thomas reassured, his voice steady. "They are arriving soon. Besides, with the reserved food stocks, our tribe holding out for another month won’t be a problem."

Although he said that, he couldn’t help but worry inside. It had been nearly a month; why hadn’t that kid Eric and the others arrived yet?

The more he thought, the more uneasy he felt, fearing the three kids might have encountered something on the road.

They carried the giant python back to the Red Grass tribe. The Ox-Head tribe members passing by all greeted them in a friendly manner. This time, Thomas and his group had stayed quite long, occasionally going out to hunt, so the Ox-Head people almost remembered their faces.

As soon as they returned to the wooden house allocated by the Ox-Head tribe, Balu, with his characteristic reddish-brown ox head, came running hurriedly from afar, waving his thick arm vigorously.

"Thomas! Your little patriarch has brought people here!"

Thomas, who was tired, suddenly jolted awake. He took powerful strides to stand in front of Balu, lowering his head, his eyes urgent:

"Where are that kid Eric and the others?"

The other warriors hearing this also immediately understood. They bowed in unison, gently placing the giant python on the ground, then rushed with Thomas in the direction Balu pointed.

In an instant, the originally quiet road kicked up a cloud of dust under the claws of the Snow Wolf pack.

Although the Red Grass tribe had the appearance of a town, it didn’t have surrounding walls, so there were many entrances. This time, Eric and the others arrived from a different direction.

They had met Balu on the road. To Eric, apart from their color, the Ox-Head tribe members looked identical; he truly couldn’t tell them apart.

He also didn’t know how everyone recognized each other; after all, he didn’t recognize that this was the person who had given him peanuts last time.

Upon seeing Eric, Balu was so excited that his two large nostrils puffed out white smoke. Just as Eric jumped off Max’s back to greet him, Balu eagerly stepped forward, raising a hand as big as a cattail-leaf fan intending to pat his shoulder.

Fortunately, Balu remembered in time that the other party was just a small "cub," so the hand raised in mid-air stopped hurriedly.

It was also fortunate he withdrew his hand in time. Because Max’s front claw had slightly lifted, emitting a chilling aura. If that hand had really patted down, I’m afraid Max’s claw would have been pasted straight onto his ox head.

Kevin witnessed the whole event, secretly throwing the Ox-Head tribe member a "you’re really lucky" look. If that had happened, passersby would probably have thought they came here to start a war.

Balu was overly enthusiastic; after greeting them, he eagerly ran off to report the news to Thomas.

Having entered the Red Grass tribe’s territory, Eric didn’t climb onto Max anymore.

He walked side by side with Joseph. Departing this time, Eric had left Evan, the soundly sleeping A Mat, and Leo at the tribe. Before leaving, he had to comfort Leo, who was sobbing, for a long time.

Aunt Luci reluctantly had to take over the "fortune" Eric left behind: a human mage, two cubs, a Marble bird egg, and the injured white rabbit in the yard.

"Little Eric, don’t run around picking up stuff on the way anymore..."

At departure, Aunt Luci’s heartfelt advice made Eric not know whether to laugh or cry. She was afraid he would pick up another strange creature to bring home.

Before long, Thomas’s group rushed over. Seeing Eric, he excitedly transformed back into human form and gave him a tight hug.

"Worried me to death! Quick, come in! We just returned from hunting; you guys must be very hungry!" Thomas looked behind his son’s back, seeing he was safe and sound, the heart hanging in suspense for the past few days finally settled down. He also automatically ignored Max’s lengthening face.

Just giving the kid Eric a hug, was there a need to make a cold face? I watched this kid grow up! Truly a damnable brat! Thomas muttered in his heart.

The warriors behind also ran to Kevin and the others, happily touching their giant wolf heads together in greeting.

The group marched grandly into the center of the Red Grass tribe. Eric noticed that the number of beastmen from various tribes passing by was significantly fewer now. It seemed most tribes had already come to trade at the beginning of winter.

Balu had a special fondness for Eric; seeing him look around curiously, he grinned with his ox mouth, explaining:

"These are all tribes quite far from us, living almost at the edge of the Illusion Continent."

No wonder they only arrived now; Eric nodded to show he understood.

Just then, he saw a few familiar figures. His brows involuntarily furrowed.

"The Black Wolves still haven’t left?"

Eric slightly leaned toward Max. Understanding the signal, Max lowered his giant wolf head. Eric leaned close to his ear, whispering.

Max followed his gaze and indeed discovered a few conspicuous Black Wolves mixed in the crowd of passing beastmen.