As soon as Tess climbed into the sleigh, she refused to come down, and even tried to climb onto the back of the deer, only to pout and give up the plan to ride the deer under Norvi's helpless reprimand. Howl's sleigh was big enough, and the two reindeer had enough strength to climb up to it.

Hal asked Ed, who was out of breath, to sit on him, and he could follow him, but Ed refused. He was weak enough in Nutka's eyes, but he didn't want to get any worse.

Even though he gasped loudly like bellows, he talked to Hal as he went. Hal was kind and talkative, definitely better than Nutka, who would allow him to learn more about the barbarians, and even learn a few words of the barbarians' language.

But Hal's gaze always drifted unconsciously to Nutka.

“...... Do you like her?" asked Ed quietly.

Hal was taken aback by the question, and he denied it.

"That's impossible!"

"Why?" if you straighten your hair and beard, Hal is also a good-looking man, and Ed thinks he's a good match for Nutka.

Hal smiled wryly, "I'm a half-breed. ”

Ed was silent for a moment, this inferiority complex born purely by blood seemed to him to be as unnecessary as the inferiority complex born of status and identity among human beings.

"Maybe the forest is more suitable for you to live in. He said to Hal, "I know a ...... The priest, he was a nice man, and he was very respected among the people of Anktan. He can help you settle there, and you won't have to rob someone else's village or be looked down upon by anyone...... You're much stronger than humans. ”

"Thank you for your kindness. Maybe one day we'll actually go back to the forest, though...... We grew up on the ice fields......" Howl's voice lowered.

The situation of the half-breeds was very difficult, and most of them were the children of the snatched Anktann women, who were accepted neither by the barbarians nor by the humans. But they have grown up among the barbarians, and if they can, they would still like to find a place in the barbarian colonies.

Deer Lake is located in the middle of the ice field, and the melting snow and ice on the Giant's Ridge injects water into it, making it the largest lake on the ice field and one of the sources of the Vinez River. In spring and summer, a large number of fatty prey gather there, and after many years of fighting, the tribes of the ice fields finally came to a consensus to use the area around Deer Lake as a hunting ground owned by all barbarians. In the summer, they also hold a grand tournament on the south side of Luhu Lake, and for ten days, each tribe sends its best warriors and hunters to compete in horseback riding, archery, gladiatorial fights, and even drinking, which is a carnival that every barbarian will not miss. But in winter, the lake is completely frozen and there are few human tracks on the snow.

"Isn't anyone fishing in the lake?" asked Ed. The Vinez River also freezes in the winter, but that doesn't stop people from digging through the ice for fishing, and Ed tried a few times, and it wasn't easy, but it was fun.

"Barbarians don't eat fish. Hal explained to him, "Legend has it that when the last giant fell on the moor, no animal touched his corpse, but his foot fell into the water, and the fish in the water ate one of his toes." From then on all fish were cursed and could not be eaten. ”

"Oh, I guess the barbarian's curse probably doesn't work on humans, can we go fishing and eat it?" exclaimed Tess, her eyes green, she hadn't eaten anything new in a long time, let alone fish.

"No, I can't. "We're not welcome guests here, and it's best not to break any taboos." ”

"Can't you eat it secretly?" Tess wailed.

"If you can really kill that ice dragon, you will become the most respected guest. Hal laughed and said, "Even if you eat the fish, no one will blame you." ”

Tess kept her mouth shut, glad Hal couldn't see the face of Naria sitting behind him.

Naria turned her face to the side, looking distraughtly at the white snowfield. It wasn't Hal's fault, nor was it Nutka's, or even any barbarian's fault - it was definitely Silver Fang who collaborated with the necromancers, but Silver Fang was dead.

How can she convince people that her Isis is not evil at all?

Deep down, she knew she was starting to waver. It's not that I think Isse will really hurt anyone, it's just that day by day I realize more and more clearly that all their efforts may end up in vain.

"Be careful!" Noway suddenly reminded, "there's someone up ahead." ”

They slowed down and watched as a group of barbarians came into view, and when they spotted them, they changed direction and rode their horses.

They were surrounded by a dozen barbarians on horseback, their suspicious gazes unfriendly, and their loud shouts and constant movements that kept the horses approaching were menacing. Although the elves were not much different from humans in their eyes, such a group of people—barbarians, half-breeds, humans, and two women—was not normal by any one looking at it.

Norway quietly gripped the hilt of his sword and watched as Nutka stepped forward and opened his mouth to negotiate with the men.

"What are they talking about?" Ed asked in a low voice as he leaned in closer, but Hal only shook his head nervously, as if he didn't dare to act as an interpreter for them in such a situation.

"'Who are you?' What are you doing here?' What else can you ask in this case?" Narya repeated what Ed had said without much energy.

Tess watched the barbarians with gusto.

"They don't even need a saddle on their horses!" she said, "and I thought that only elves who loved to show off their natural agility did not need to saddle." ”

The barbarian's horse was tall and majestic, with a long untrimmed mane, and looked wild and untamed, snorting impatiently, scraping the snow on the ground, and moving to and fro incessantly.

"They are people of the Blackmane Tribe. "Hal finally whispered, "Growing up on horseback, there is no tribe in the whole plain that is better at riding horses than them." ”

He paused for a moment, lowering his voice so low that only Ed, who was half leaning on his shoulder, could hear him.

"No tribe is more warlike than theirs......"

"At times like these, belligerence may not be a bad thing. Ed comforted him in the same voice, "You've got a bunch of undead monsters to deal with." ”

Hal gave him a wry smile back.

After a few moments, Ed finally understood the meaning of that smile.

"They let us go somewhere else. Nutka frowned, obviously not expecting such a situation either, "Go to their camp, not the Black Deer Tribe." They set up another camp in the southwest of Deer Lake, and also gathered all the barbarians to deal with the monsters and ice dragons. ”

It took her some time to convince the Blackmane tribe that she had paid for the adventurers, not suspicious people, and that the half-breed they had met on the road was looking for a suitable place for the survivors of the Winter Wolf Tribe. It sounded like the men were more interested in Howl, and they had pulled the half-breed aside and began to ask how many companions he had, where he was now, how many barbarians were left at the mouth of the Kuz, how many were in the Castle Forest, and if they could bring more......

Nutka shook his head. Obviously, the chieftains of the Blackmane tribe are more interested in expanding their power, and it would be better if they could defeat the enemy and establish their prestige by the way.

"We're just trying to find out, and it doesn't make much difference which camp we go to. Norway said.

The voice behind them suddenly became louder, and they turned around to see a barbarian raise his hand and punch Hal hard. The half-breed, who was no shorter than the other, took two steps back, lowered his head, and touched his face without a sound.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Ed shouted, rushing over.

Nari couldn't help but shake her head: "He knows he can't even hold a sword, right?"

"To be precise, he would, Norvi taught him. Tess grinned, "But that's what he does." ”

Although they couldn't resist making fun of it, they followed suit.

Ed was pushed by a barbarian and slammed backwards into Akan's body, and the big man held him up and roared unhappily, the hammer in his hand already raised.

"Akan!" Noway stopped him, grabbed the two girls, and stood with Nutka between the barbarian and his companion.

"What the hell is going on?" Ed, who was pushed, was not so angry, and asked Hal as Nutka raised his voice, as if to question something.

The half-breed smiled wryly, "They told me to take their men to my companions and clansmen at once, and go to their camp together...... I'm just saying I can't make decisions for everyone......"

"So you turned them down, well done!" If it weren't for standing on tiptoe and not reaching it, Tess would probably pat Hal on the top of the head like she did with Akhan.

"But I'm worried about ......" Hal's uneasy voice was accompanied by the sound of the weapon unsheathed, and Nutka drew his broadsword as soon as the other man drew his weapon, and roared angrily.

A peculiar whistle sounded, long but sharp, and the dozen or so savage horses suddenly jumped up in fright, raised their front hooves, neighed, or shook their heads desperately backwards, and several of the savages who were still sitting on their horses almost fell, and they shouted loudly to silence the horses. Howl's reindeer jumped in horror, trying to get rid of the harness on their backs, and when the chaos had finally subsided, everyone looked at Norway in disbelief.

It was the elves who whistled that strange wist.

"It's up to Hal to decide where he wants to go. "I think your chief's order is 'to gather' rather than 'coerce,' and there are more barbarians on the ice field, and they probably won't like this way of summoning, and your chieftain won't like the final result." ”

Nutka glanced at him and repeated it again in their language.

Norway judged their leader from the eyes of the Blackmane tribesmen, a man with black hair and black beard still sitting on a horse. He moved quietly, and if he had to do it eventually, capturing the leader with a single blow would be the quickest way to solve the problem.

"I ...... I'd like to go to the Blackmane tribe's camp first......" Behind him, Hal spoke a little apprehensively, the conflict over him that made him feel very uneasy, and he almost habitually compromised.

"And we'll go with him. ”

Nutka announced. She didn't like half-breeds, but she hated the blackmane tribe's arrogance.

No one has any objection to this.