I've been transported to the orc continent.

Bai Ling is going to the Snow Mountain Tribe, and his father Feng and father Cang are also going to the Red Rock Tribe.

Feng's older brother, Lin, lives in the Red Rock Tribe. Lin's partner is expecting a cub next year, and Feng and Cang plan to bring Lin and his partner to the High Tree Tribe for the winter.

Not only them, but also the elderly and weak orcs from the surrounding tribes, as well as children and cubs, can come to the High Tree Tribe to spend the winter.

Bai Ling and his people had prepared heated brick beds in all five caves, which were more than enough to accommodate the orcs.

Of course, the orcs couldn't come to the High Tree Tribe for the winter for nothing; in addition to bringing their own food, they also had to give the High Tree Tribe some compensation.

As for how much compensation to give, it's not fixed; each tribe can give whatever amount they're willing to pay.

Today is a rare sunny day since the beginning of winter. The beastmen sent out are all large beastmen with relatively large animal forms. The beastmen are divided into several rows, with Bai Ling's side having the most beastmen.

The Snow Mountain Tribe had no cassava, so Zhan sent more than ten tribesmen to the Snow Mountain Tribe. These more than ten beastmen were all warriors in the tribe. They were huge beasts with strong carrying capacity. Except for Bai Ling, the other beastmen carried hundreds of kilograms of dried cassava on their backs.

Feng and Cang also transformed into their beast forms, carrying two baskets on their backs filled with animal meat and hides. These were not meant for Feng's brother, Lin, but for them to exchange with the beastmen of the Red Rock Tribe.

The tribes are quite far apart, and they don't usually have much free time to go out. This time, when they went to the Red Rock Tribe to pick up people, Feng and Cang took some things with them to exchange with the orcs of the Red Rock Tribe.

Just as they were about to set off, Feng and Cang ran over. Feng howled a few times, and Cang also let out a few low howls, as if they were reminding Bai Ling to be careful on the road.

Bai Ling made a "woo-woo" sound to indicate that she understood.

Feng's big head came over again, rubbed against Bai Ling's head, and then let out two low "woof woof" sounds before walking back to the other side of the line with its partner.

Bai Ling nodded, and when it was time to leave, he called out twice to his father and father before leaving with Yue.

Feng and Cang stood there until their son's figure grew farther and farther away until it disappeared from sight, then they called out together before chasing after their companion.

*

The Snow Mountain Tribe is located north of the High Tree Tribe.

The further north you go, the colder it gets. By the third day, fine snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

They didn't stop and continued their journey through the snow. One of the young orcs even got excited when he saw the snow and started howling.

As soon as it cried out, the other orcs joined in, their howls of wolves, lions, tigers, and foxes squeaking together, echoing through the valley.

The smaller animals, upon hearing the sound, were terrified and ran far away. Even those that couldn't escape hid and dared not show themselves. As for the larger wild beasts, they ran even further away.

If there were only one or two orcs, large wild beasts might dare to come and try their luck. But with such a large group of orcs in their enormous animal forms, even large, social wild beasts wouldn't dare to provoke them.

*

The Snow Mountain Tribe has a large territory. According to Yue, although everyone says that the Great River Tribe is the largest tribe in the vicinity, in terms of territory size, the Snow Mountain Tribe actually occupies a larger area. However, the Snow Mountain Tribe is a bit remote and doesn't have many people, so everyone thinks that the Great River Tribe is the largest tribe.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, they arrived at a blue lake. The orc leading the group stopped and roared.

The other orcs joined in the shouting, and soon after, several loud roars came from the other side of the lake.

Two animals came running from the other side of the lake. Their fur was grayish-white with black spots, their ears were semi-circular, their fur was long and thick, and their eyes were light brown and very bright.

Bai Ling recognized it at a glance; it was a snow leopard.

These two snow leopards were practically carbon copies of snow leopards on Earth, but they were several times larger. Bai Ling mentally compared them and found that their animal form was about the same size as the snow wolves of his own tribe.

The two snow leopards stopped about ten meters away from each other, their eyes filled with obvious questions. The orcs led by Gao Shu roared twice, flicked their tails, took two steps forward, and breathed hot air at one of the snow leopards.

The snow leopard looked at the orcs of the High Tree Tribe with a hint of disdain, but still barked twice at them before turning and running away.

The orcs of the High Tree tribe quickly followed.

*

A bonfire was lit at the entrance of the cave, and animal meat was cooking in a clay pot. The beastmen, wrapped tightly in animal hides, stood in a row around the bonfire.

There were four orcs in the Snow Mountain Tribe, and at this moment, their eyes were shining as they looked at the knife in Yue's hand.

Weapons made of metal are completely different from those made of stone. Even though these four orcs had never seen metal before, the moment Yue drew her sword from its sheath, the orcs of the Snow Mountain Tribe were completely captivated.

The slender blade, the mysterious patterns on it, and the occasional flashes of cold light from it all captivated the four orcs.

Seeing that they were attracted, the leader said smugly, "This is an iron knife, a knife forged from iron. It is much sharper than a stone knife. An iron knife can cut off the head of the prey in one stroke."

One of the orcs from the snow mountain tribe asked, "Moon, may I see your sword?"

Yue is considered a celebrity among the surrounding tribes.

She was not only the most beautiful female orc in the nearby tribes, but also a hero at the Chada Tournament. She was a household name in the surrounding tribes, and the four orcs from the Snow Mountain Tribe all knew Yue.

Yue handed over the knife in her hand: "The knife is very sharp. Don't touch the blade, or you'll cut your hands."

The orc was overjoyed to receive the knife. He placed it on his knee and tapped the blade lightly with his fingers. The sound was crisp and clear. He then gently stroked the blade with his fingertips. The blade was smooth and even, without any bumps or unevenness.

The orc touched the knife carefully a few more times before reluctantly handing it to his tribesman.

"Moon, do you have many iron knives in your tribe?" The orc seemed to have made up his mind and asked, "If your tribe is willing to exchange for this kind of knife, I will start saving up next year. In five years, no, ten years, can I exchange it for this knife?"

This knife was the most precious thing he had ever seen. If he could really exchange it for something, he would be willing to save up for twenty years, let alone ten.

The orc leading the group looked at Bai Ling, who smiled and said, "We've only just started forging, and we don't have many ironwares yet." Seeing the disappointment flash across the orc's face, Bai Ling added, "But I heard from the chieftain that if we have anything suitable, we can exchange it with other tribes."