Chapter 311: Winter’s Chill

Xiela’s actions didn’t align with Wu Qingsong’s wishes, but in some ways, they proved more effective than his initial plans.

The once-dominant power around the Icy Sea crumbled overnight. With most of their elders, shamans, and chiefs dead, only lesser-known warriors and minor tribal leaders remained. While some among them were capable individuals, none could quickly restore order or unite the remnants under such circumstances.

Everyone knew it was the mysterious newcomers they had attacked who were responsible. Yet, the crushing defeat during the day and the cold-blooded assassinations at night left even the strongest bearfolk paralyzed with fear.

The calls for vengeance were loud, and everyone spoke with righteous indignation. However, none dared to step forward to lead such efforts.

Instead, news of the events spread to nearby tribes, painting the new clan as both powerful and merciless. Several tribes that had once roamed the region packed up and left, retreating far beyond the newcomers’ reach.

The idea of using religion to establish a foothold was a complete failure. With no tribes in sight, there was no one to preach to, nor anyone who dared to approach their settlement for help.

On the other hand, the sudden void left behind provided ample space and time for Wu Qingsong and his people to consolidate their position.

Wu Qingsong made several visits to the nearby smaller tribes, but each time, he was met with extreme caution. The tribes would respectfully welcome him as though he were a walking calamity, nervously accommodate him, and then send him away as quickly as possible. 

Facing such attitudes, he couldn’t bring himself to utter phrases like, “We’ve come in peace and seek everyone’s happiness.”

Instead, his visits essentially boiled down to a silent declaration: This land belongs to us now.

Meanwhile, Feya and Ling became the busiest and most critical figures in Nagrand. Each morning, Wu Qingsong awakened their abilities, and they would fly westward in the silver airship. Feya used her powers to animate trees, transforming them into treants and directing them to march toward Nagrand.

The airship quickly became a symbol of Nagrand. 

Whenever Feya and Ling drove treants through the wilderness, beastfolk herding livestock or hunting would cautiously make way, clearing the path entirely.

Unfortunately, despite testing every beastgirl in Nagrand, Wu Qingsong found no one with talents akin to Ling or Feya.

Out of all the beastgirls tested, only sixteen were deemed to have significant potential. The rest either had talents too weak to awaken, lacked sufficient faith in Wu Qingsong to activate their abilities, or were too young to consider. Even with the pressing need for manpower, Wu Qingsong refused to place such responsibilities on children.

With Feya and Ling overburdened, Liuli and Alice took charge of training the gifted beastgirls, teaching them the spiritual exercises from Gale Island while deepening their faith and devotion to Wu Qingsong.

For the beastgirls who couldn’t awaken their abilities due to insufficient devotion, the pressure was immense. Even though Wu Qingsong repeatedly emphasized that it wasn’t their fault, their families and peers saw it as a disgrace. A weak talent was at least a testament to their loyalty to the church, but an inability to awaken was viewed as a lack of faith, bringing shame upon their entire household.

The psychological strain proved unbearable for some. Despite Wu Qingsong delegating the matter to Morin and Alice, a young houndgirl eventually took her own life, creating a massive uproar among the believers.

To quell the fallout, Wu Qingsong implemented a new rule. Potential testing for beastgirls would no longer be mandatory. Instead, it would be voluntary, with candidates pre-screened by the priests. Regardless of whether they failed due to weak talent or lack of faith, the church would keep the results confidential, publicly declaring that the individual simply didn’t qualify for the Beastgirl Sisterhood.

This policy shift helped stabilize the situation.

***

After nearly two months of relentless work, they had just finished building Nagrand’s temple and outer walls when the northern winds began howling. The air turned icy, and the first sleet of the season fell.

The wilderness withered almost overnight. The plants either shriveled or stood barren, devoid of any green. Animals migrated west and south toward warmer regions. The surrounding tribes followed the herds, abandoning the exposed plains.

All other tasks came to a halt as the community focused on surviving the winter. Most of them had never experienced such brutal cold before. Despite distributing winter clothing in advance, many people fell ill or suffered frostbite. If not for Nina and Alice, whose abilities could heal almost any injury, the situation would have been dire.

The Silvermoon Wolf Clan fared slightly better, partly because their territory lay farther south and partly because the native wolffolk they had assimilated shared useful survival knowledge, warning them in advance of the challenges to come.

“No one can survive the winter on the ice plains,” the locals told Daryl. “The Winter God will freeze all living beings who dare defy it, leaving their remains buried in the frozen ground.”

Daryl sent messengers urging Wu Qingsong to migrate south like the other tribes, but Wu Qingsong refused.

“We didn’t come here to be nomads. We came to settle and conquer this land,” he declared.

“Just because others can’t do it doesn’t mean we can’t,” he assured his people.

However, when the true cold wave hit, Wu Qingsong realized he had severely underestimated the northern wilderness’s harshness. As a southerner, he had assumed thick wooden walls and animal hides would suffice against the cold. But when the snow piled high, it became evident that the wooden structures couldn’t retain heat.

The temperature outside plummeted to at least -10°C. The Icy Sea was completely frozen over, and even with fires burning around the clock, the interiors of their shelters barely stayed above freezing.

All the sheep and horses perished in the cold. The dead animals had to be processed quickly, their meat distributed as food.

There was one silver lining. Feya’s summoned treants could haul large quantities of wood much more efficiently on the frozen ice. However, with the extreme temperatures, most people couldn’t work outdoors. Only the strongest men braved the elements to strip the treants of excess branches for firewood.