Chapter 805: A Brush with Danger

Mammoth children were very large, and even the smallest was over a meter tall.

However, the wolves weren't ordinary either. They were all very large, and most had the strength of mutated-grade lifeforms. There were even over a thousand superior-grade wolves. The mutated-grade ones were over two meters tall, and the superior-grade ones were taller.

Thanks to one mammoth warrior's momentary distraction, the wolves were able to snatch away a mammoth child. Instead of consuming that child immediately, several wolves gathered around the child and began to claw and bite at it.

They injured all four of its legs, leaving fresh blood running along the snow. Subsequently, they dragged the injured child, who was by then screaming and crying, in a large circle around the snow, leaving a trail of blood behind.

"My child!" The mammoth mother tried to rush out of the protective encirclement to save her son, but she was stopped by the warriors. "Please, save my son! Please!"

Instead of eating the mammoth child directly, the wolves tossed him on the ground and allowed him to moan and whine piteously while several wolves circled him to prevent his escape.

Subsequently, the wolves began to spread out, glancing mockingly at the mammoth herd to see what they would do.

These wolves had some amount of intelligence; they weren't simply hunting on bestial instinct. The wolves knew that they wouldn't be able to break through the mammoths' defensive perimeter, or that even if they could, they would suffer far too much in terms of casualties.

The wolves had never intended to destroy the mammoths' defensive parameter, but only to snatch away one of the weaker mammoths and have the mammoth herd break apart on its own.

"Please, save my son! You're all warriors from the herd, and you're the only ones who can do it! Please, don't let my son die right before my eyes!" the mammoth mother cried out, kneeling in front of one of the warriors.

The warriors looked at each other, unsure how to proceed. The wolves had clearly laid out a trap for them; the only reason the warriors were able to protect the herd was because of their defensive formation.

If any warrior were to break the formation now, the entire herd would suffer as a result.

The heart-wrenching sounds of mother and son simultaneously crying out for each other caused the entire herd to stir.

No one knew how to resolve the situation. Just as it looked as though all hope was lost, a voice shouted, "Let me through!"

The golden mammoth gave up on trying to kill the leader of the wolf packs and rushed back toward the mammoths with his heavy blade in hand, swinging it around and killing dozens of wolves in one go.

The wolves tried to stop the golden mammoth. Two of their strongest bit down on his hindlegs and clamped their jaws shut, two on his forelegs, and one on his shoulder.

Even so, the golden mammoth was far too strong for the likes of them. The wolves' teeth found no purchase; to them, the mammoth's skin was like impenetrable rubber.

The golden mammoth continued forging onward despite the wolves latched onto its body. He shook them off roughly, killing each with a single swing of his blade. He charged forward amidst a pool of blood, breaking through the wolves' encirclement and saving the battered child.

The mammoth consoled the child, "There's no need to fear. I'm right here!"

As an entire pack of wolves pounced on the golden mammoth together, he swung his froststeel blade in an arc, killing them all.

Fresh blood fell like rain as the wolves' severed limbs clattered to the ground. The golden mammoth raised his sword and shouted, "Come at me if you dare!"

The wolves were too frightened of this warrior to take the offensive. As the golden mammoth headed back to the mammoth herd, none of the wolves dared to bar his way.

The mammoth returned the child to his mother, who sobbed as she thanked him profusely.

Just as the golden mammoth relaxed, the leader of the wolf pack suddenly pounced toward the mammoth in a blur of white, fast as lightning.

The mammoth mother's eyes opened wide as she shouted, "Be careful!"

The golden mammoth, who was still focused on the herd, never noticed the attack from behind.

Just then, a beam of white light split the sky and landed straight on the leader of the wolf pack, causing his attack to miss the golden mammoth.

Realizing that he had been foiled, the wolf leader immediately pulled away, howled into the air, and scurried off with his pack.

Upon seeing the wolves leave for good, the golden mammoth breathed out in relief. He looked up at where the beam of light had come from, but there was no one in sight. Even so, he bowed deeply to express heartfelt gratitude.

After that incident, the mammoth herd finally united in strength once more.

After one final day's worth of walking, the mammoth herd finally reached the shelter that the former herdleader had set up.

The elder pointed at the valley in front of them. "It's right there."

Amidst wind and snow, the mammoths could see a thin, narrow path snaking down into the valley. Many of the mammoths began to cry and weep. After a hellish week, they had finally made it to their destination.

Just then, the howl of wolves caused the snow all around them to tremble. The wolf packs appeared once again. The golden mammoth shouted, "Defensive formation, now!"

It was only then that he realized how many other shadows had been hidden by the snow—not just the wolves, but also all sorts of other lifeforms.

"This is—" The golden mammoth turned pale. There were far more than wolves lying in wait for them. It was hard enough for the mammoths to defend against the wolves alone. If they had to defend against other predators simultaneously...

More and more shadows appeared from a distance. From above, it was clear that a massive group of lifeforms was converging on the mammoths' location.

The mammoth herd felt an overwhelming sense of weakness and despair, so much so that even the path to shelter, to their new home, had turned hazy. What covered and blinded their eyes wasn't snow, but tears. For what had they worked so hard?

The elder glared at the surrounding lifeforms. "It looks like they aren't going to forgive us!"

Genetic lifeforms were hardly devoid of intelligence. In truth, the strongest lifeforms, superior-grade and above, possessed intelligence on par with humans. Some peak-grade lifeforms even boasted human-surpassing intelligence, such as the leader of the wolf pack.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to deal with the mammoth herd himself, he immediately sought out the other lifeforms around with an offer of collaboration.

There were already a large number of lifeforms paying attention to the mammoths' movements, and the strongest among them quickly accepted the wolf pack's offer.

By then, the golden mammoth had come to a conclusion. "All warriors, give up on defense! Carry the young and elderly on your backs and head straight for shelter!"

If they were to stay and defend against the overwhelming number of lifeforms that surrounded them, everyone would die. If they managed to make it into the valley, however, they might have a fighting chance.

There was only one path into the valley, and it was surrounded by tall, unscalable walls. As long as someone could defend this path, the mammoth tribe might yet survive. The golden mammoth was confident that he would be able to do so.