Castle of Black Iron

Kurgan village was in a plain valley. A small river flowed by the village while the mountain slopes on both sides of the village were covered with Buckthorns.

The whole village was surrounded with wooden barriers and mounds as high as one adult person. On the side of those barriers and mounds were some simple yet practicable wooden embrasured watchtowers.

The sun was going to set off while some columns of smoke were rising from the village.

The moment Zhang Tie and the other teenagers and youths moved closer to the village, they were immediately seen by the watchdogs on the embrasured watchtowers.

”All the members of Evan’s team and Burman’s team are back! With 8 iron-teeth hyenas...”, one of the watchdogs had screamed with full of pleasure the moment he saw them.

Hearing this voice, some more sounds drifted from inside the village while many younger kids ran out; meanwhile, they kept calling ”brother”, ”brother”. When they came to search those who arrived, they started to pull the corners of those people’s garments; some of them even surrounded the iron-teeth hyenas on the backs of Evan’s team. Drooling, they even urged to make clothes with the furs of iron-teeth hyenas. What a boisterous scene!

All the villagers had coarse skins and robust figures. This was the feature of aboriginals who lived in Ice and Snow Wilderness for so long. Everybody here looked a bit shabby. All the rooms in the village were 1-storey cabins. 2-3 cabins being surrounded with wooden barriers would form a house with a courtyard. Although, it was still filled with cheers and laughter, especially after those hunters came back.

After being introduced how he saved 8 teenagers for Kurgan village, Zhang Tie undoubtedly became the most popular one in this village.

Uncle Zieg, the head of Kurgan village brought Zhang Tie into his own house. After that, the family members of the 8 teenagers sent their dried meat and Buckthorn wine there to express their gratitude to Zhang Tie.

The villagers here were too pure and simple which moved Zhang Tie to a certain degree. After taking around the village, Zhang Tie knew it was not rich here; however, the food that the villagers gifted him were the best that they could afford across the village.

Took dried meat as an example, on the way back to the village, Zhang Tie knew that Evan’s team were carrying those iron-teeth hyenas back to pickle their meat. For Zhang Tie, it didn’t taste good; however, for those residents in Ice and Snow Wilderness, it could not be wasted. Now, they kept those bad-taste meat of iron-teeth hyenas at home and brought Zhang Tie with the especially yummy meat of deer and pheasants.

Zieg, the village head of Kurgan was a tough man of 50-60 years old. After experiencing so much in Ice and Snow Wilderness, he looked elder than his real age. Therefore, Zhang Tie could not identify his real age.

There was a deep frown on Zieg’s forehead. However, he still stood straight; besides, he was taller than 2 meters with thick shoulders. Zhang Tie felt that he was a responsible person the moment he saw the village head.

After giving the food to his wife to process them in kitchen, Zieg started to chat with Zhang Tie at the stony table in the courtyard.

Zieg’s wife made two cups of hot water for them. Seeing the yellowish green leaves floating over the golden water, Zhang Tie blinked with an amazed look. ”Are they tea leaves? No way! How come tribes in Ice and Snow Wilderness be so luxurious?” A pack of tea leaves would definitely be much more expensive than one same pack in Blackhot City!’

Zhang Tie took up his cup and sniffed. It smelt a bit different from that tea water. However, it also had a faint plant scent. After blowing it, Zhang Tie took a sip but it felt a bit sour beside refreshness.

”Are they tea leaves?” Zhang Tie asked.

”These are not tea leaves from the east. These are the leaves of Buckthorns that we made ourselves!” Zieg narrowed his eyes as he also took a sip with a pleasant look, ”Both people and domestic animals would grow fat if they always eat it. With those Buckthorns over the mountain slopes outside the village, nobody of Kurgan village had starved to death during the past 200 years...people could always survive on Buckthorns!”

The village head of Kurgan said proudly.

”This thing really tastes nice!” Zhang Tie smiled. After sipping twice, Zhang Tie imitated Zieg as he chewed the Buckthorn leaves forcefully. Actually, Zhang Tie was not used to drink expensive tea drinks. He felt it being nothing different than the ”wild spring” that served by the senior of Huaiyuan Palace. Although a cup of ”wild spring” might be more expensive than all the Buckthorns over the mountain slopes, Zhang Tie didn’t think it was great as he didn’t measure the value of an item in terms of money. He had deeply formed this value since he was in Blapei.

Seeing Zhang Tie eating all the Buckthorn leaves without any hesitation, Zieg revealed a big smile as he erected his thumb towards Zhang Tie, ”You are the real friend of Kurgan village!”

Zhang Tie had almost figured out the personalities of these residents in the Ice and Snow Wilderness. All of them were very straightforward and generous as they kept gratitude deep in their mind. If you treated and respected them well, you would gain twice the simple respect and warm treatment; however, if you dared to find them trouble, you had better be ready for fighting them to death.

Zhang Tie liked them.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Tie decided to put it straightforward what he desired most in Kurgan village.

”Before I came, Evan told me that a member of school of patron had been here several days ago. Can you tell me about him? As I’m also a devoted follower of school of patron, it’s really out of my expectation to hear another member of the same school in Ice and Snow Wilderness!”

”Wuh, you’re a follower of school of patron?” Zieg, the village head glanced at Zhang Tie with an amazing look.

”Right, I was a devoted contributor of school of patron when I was in Norman Empire. When I saved Evan’s team, I told them I’m a devoted follower of school of patron; therefore, Evan told me about that one member of our school came here several days ago!”

Hearing this, Zieg didn’t doubt anymore, ”He was a powerful wild patron from school of patron; he was here to survey the animal tide over the Grey Hill!”

Hearing this, Zhang Tie was really shocked as it was his 2nd time to hear the title ”wild patron”. When he was attending the survival training in Wildwolf Valley, Zerom told him for the first time that wild patron of school of patron had a great ability to control animals. It was a very powerful and mysterious profession! Zhang Tie had not imagined that he could hear such a person here.

”Is there anything special with this animal tide?”

Now that it could attract a wild patron’s attention, this animal tide was definitely special.

”The last animal tide broke out 7 years ago; however, it breaks out now. That’s how it’s weird!” Zieg frowned his forehead.

”Why?”

”According to the record of animal tides over Ice and Snow Wilderness, the distance between 2 animal tides was about 12-15 years. Ice and Snow Wilderness was too huge that so many ferocious wild animals would increase their population greatly after a fixed period, namely animal tide. It was nothing strange to see an animal tide at all; however, this animal tide is only 7 years after the last one. That’s how it is strange! This had never happened in Ice and Snow Wilderness at all!”

”Only because of this?”

”Of course, there are some things more strange!” Saying this, the frown on Zieg’s forehead deepened, ”Previously, animal tides of different species didn’t break out at the same time. For instance, when iron-teeth hyenas broke out its tide, the other living beings such as huge wolves on Wilderness and hell-magical rats would not break out their tides at the same time; instead, they would break out by turns. However, this time, I was told that many living beings broke out their tides at the same time across Ice and Snow Wilderness. What’s more, the magic arts on the bloody territories outside many tribes and villages became ineffective...”

”Bloody territory?”

Realizing that Zhang Tie didn’t know what was bloody territory, Zieg started to explain to him.

’The alleged bloody territory is magic art that shaman flamen applied in Ice and Snow Wilderness with the fresh blood and lives of some wild and dangerous living beings. The only function of this magic art is to drive those dangerous living beings away from the villages where tribes live in and protect those villagers invisibly.

A magic art of bloody territory only targets at one wild beast. In the surroundings of some larger tribes, there are always multiple magic arts which could prevent some dangerous living beings from hurting commoners.

Taking Kurgan village as an example. Over 4 decades ago, a shaman priest once applied a magic art of bloody territory to iron-teeth hyenas which always appeared nearby the village, although we had experienced animal tides some times over the past 4 decades, we didn’t even see a single iron-teeth hyena within 10 km of our village.

However, this time, not knowing whether because the magic art lost its effect or those iron-teeth hyenas had been driven mad, 10 km was not a safe range for us to stay away from iron-teeth hyenas anymore.

Besides Kurgan village, many other places had encountered this problem.’