Chapter 803: Difficult to Fathom

The mammoth herd continued traipsing through wind and snow.

Suddenly, a mammoth shrieked, "Beasts! There are beasts incoming!"

The golden mammoth turned toward the direction of the voice and indeed saw a wolf-type lifeform approaching from afar.

"As expected," the mammoth elder murmured. The mammoth herd was approaching the ring of land in which other lifeforms lived.

Once the mammoths discovered the wolf, it immediately vanished from sight.

The golden mammoth shouted, "All warriors, be on the alert! Prepare for an ambush!"

The mammoth warriors immediately got into position.

The herd had traveled in an orderly procession. Following the elder's arrangements, the mammoth warriors were positioned along the outer boundary, while the elderly, children, and women were within.

Those warriors who still had their shields lifted them toward the outside of their defensive perimeter, while those without served as scouts on high alert for their enemies.

The lifeforms that had appeared in sight were nothing more than scouts; the main party of beasts would soon appear.

Fortunately, the herd consisted of many skilled warriors, who would be able to defend even against an ambush lying in wait for them.

The herd warily inched forward, their progress slowing to a crawl. Suddenly, as a wolf howled, packs of wolves appeared from all over. The golden mammoth unsheathed his froststeel blade from its back.

As he howled, he waved the plain, unadorned sword with his trunk with enough force to split a mountain, with a will honed by thousands of swings. A single swing flung up ice and snow all around the herd and killed an entire swathe of wolves.

The mammoth warriors charged forward, each an experienced fighter after years of hunting. They knew how to fight off packs of wild lifeforms, and it would be straightforward for them to each handle multiple enemies at once.

The golden mammoth's froststeel blade danced in the frosty air. The mammoth's long mane was stained red, and he advanced like a god of death.

Upon seeing how ferociously the mammoths were counter-attacking, the wolves were forced to retreat as a number of mammoth warriors began to cheer.

The golden mammoth, on the other hand, didn't seem at all happy.

The wolves that had just rushed over were nothing more than cannon fodder for the main army of lifeforms that were heading toward them. The true fighting force and the leader of the beasts were observing the mammoths fighting from a distance, far enough away that the mammoths couldn't detect them.

Over the next three days, the mammoths were harassed time and again by the beasts—in the morning, afternoon, and night. Some of the beasts they found while forging ahead toward their shelter, while others were clearly charging toward them. The moment the mammoths forced them back, they hurriedly ran off.

The mammoth warriors did fine even under such stress, understanding the nature of hunts. The harassment had only been ongoing for three days, and they were still able to hold out against their enemies.

However, the non-combatant mammoths found themselves being startled almost every hour, and they suffered under the mental and physical toll their exodus had brought. Immediately after losing their home and quite a few of their loved ones, they now also had to deal with incessant attacks from enemy lifeforms.

The wolves and other creatures continued harassing the mammoth herd, making a ruckus in the distance or revealing themselves to the mammoths. They did so for two reasons: in order to threaten the mammoths and make them feel as though their lives were constantly in danger, and to frighten the mammoths, particularly the non-combatant mammoths, and induce a state of panic among them.

Some of the warriors tried to chase off the lifeforms, but they clearly didn't intend on giving up on such promising prey as the mammoths. If the warriors had been by themselves, they would have laid an ambush for these arrogant upstarts, but with the rest of their kin with them, the warriors didn't dare to do anything that could put them in danger.

As time passed, the situation worsened. Even the warriors grew fatigued, and the non-combatant mammoths suffered most. Because of the constant strain and fear, all of them grew visibly weary and slowed down their pace.

A journey that would originally have taken five days was now projected to take eight. The mammoths still had three more days of travel to go.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

This was undoubtedly a nightmare for most of the mammoths present.

The golden mammoth commanded that all mammoths who had to urinate or defecate had to do so in groups of three in case any of the weaker ones among them were picked off by the enterprising vultures. They had learned this lesson only after some of the older or younger mammoths were picked off in this fashion.

The warriors and golden mammoth sighed and gritted their teeth. Despite their family's begging, none of the warriors made a move. They understood that, at this point, the herd couldn't split up. The moment they did so, they would become a prime target for the predators.

As the number of deaths grew and grew, morale dropped to a breaking point.

The golden mammoth finally understood what Li Feng had told him: traveling with a group of non-combatants was truly a draining process.

"You're all warriors—you have to protect us!"

"Why aren't you going to rescue those mammoths that were taken away by the beasts?!"

"We can't fight! You have to fight on our account!"

"Where's my son?!"

"Be more serious! You're the only ones we can count on!"

The warriors had once considered protecting the herd their responsibility, and the non-combatants respected the warriors' sacrifice.

Given their circumstances, however, all the mammoths were starting to grow physically and mentally weary, and that respect and relationship between the two factions began to fray.

All the mammoths became irritable and prone to fits of emotion. It was easy for them to grouse and complain about each other, and their thinking became sluggish.

This was the first time the warriors realized just how small-minded and petty the rest of the herd was. Were they truly obligated to protect them at the cost of their lives? They were only warriors, not gods.

By the fourth day, some warriors, unable to bear the tension, had quietly left the herd. They were strong fighters, and easily able to brave whatever danger came their way. With their territory gone, what obligation did they have to protect the rest of the herd?

By the fifth day, more and more mammoths were breaking away from the main party.

The golden mammoth was, for the first time, sensing the stress of his position.

He turned to the elder and asked, "How can I resolve this problem?"

The elder only smiled sadly at him. "This is your first test as our herdleader, and you have to resolve it by yourself."

"But elder, I don't know what to do! If I don't do anything, the herd will surely fall to the lifeforms skulking around us!"

"This is hardly the only danger our herd has to face. You'll encounter many such situations in the future, and you need to start learning how to deal with them."

The golden mammoth sucked in a deep breath. "Elder, the lives of the herd are in danger! This is far too high-stakes for a simple test!"

"Look around you at the ice and snow. There's no one here to help us but ourselves. We have to rely on each other to stay warm, to stay healthy, to stay sane. Most of the mammoths in the herd are tied to others by blood or marriage, and there's no way for them to sever those relationships so easily. Those mammoths that have left are those with the fewest obligations and ties to the herd, and it's only natural that they would want to leave. Their departure will cause some consternation, but the herd isn't at its breaking point yet."

That was exactly why the situation was perfect for a trial for the golden mammoth.

Even if the golden mammoth were to fail and the herd began to crack apart, the elder would be around to save the day. Losing a thousand mammoths from the herd would hurt, but it was far less impactful than having a strong, insightful, and experienced herdleader.