Ancient Fea steppe, Sheephorn tribe.

On the snowy field, the earth is covered with a layer of snow, which looks white, and the reflected light is even a little dazzling after looking at it for a long time, and a low hill does not appear obvious in this snow.

Because it is located in the north, every cold winter, it is also the most difficult time, the grassland grain production is not much, most of them are only pasture, every winter snow covers the earth can rely on the accumulation of grain to survive.

Since the orcs were driven here a long time ago, most of them have lived by herding, but in the eyes of humans this is actually a slightly strange thing.

For example, the cattle head people raise cattle, and the sheep people raise sheep, and the herdsmen have some wonderful resemblance to the livestock they raise. Occasionally, merchants or tourists who come here to trade here will be curious to ask, do you livestock think that these animals are of the same kind? Will you bear to kill it?

The answer is that they don't have any special feelings, just like raising chickens and dogs, and some orcs are bored by the question, and will ask rhetorically, do you humans think that you humans are the same kind as monkeys? The answer, of course, is no.

Rather than saying that orcs are like animals, they are actually closer to humans, and some scholars even say that humans are a branch of orcs. It's just that this statement is rejected by many people, and historical research has also proved that in the era of the Orc Empire, there were indeed no human tribes, and human beings seemed to have evolved or degenerated from another direction.

The snow-covered hills look unremarkable from the north, but when you turn to the south, you see a different story.

To the north of the hill is sheltered from the constant cold winds and drafts, while to the south is a basin about the size of 10 football fields. The basin was surrounded by a fence, and in the hillside below the basin were large tents, with occasional smoke rising from the cylinder in the middle of the tents, and outside the tents was a large fence, which was divided into several pieces, each of which was tightly packed together by sheep.

They keep warm, use their thick fluff to ward off the cold, and occasionally bleat, like a large flock of cotton, some of which are so thick that they even look a little yellow.

In winter, the days are exceptionally short, the sun is shining, but it is difficult to feel warm, and the air gets colder as it dips below the horizon.

A young girl walked forward in the snow-covered wilderness, wearing a leather jacket and hood, and the neckline and cuffs were tightly tied to prevent a cold wind from penetrating, except for part of her cheeks and the corners of her eyes that were exposed to the air, blown by the wind like knives, and her shoes made a slight sound when they stepped on the snow, and then revealed the black soil and grass below.

Sparse starlight dotted the sky, and the snow-covered earth snaked a trail into the distance.

Whew—

In front of the fence gate outside the basin, the girl shook the two copper plates hanging on them, and they hit each other, making a clear sound, and several dog barks began to come out in the night, echoing each other, making people not know which direction.

"Here we are."

An old voice came from a small wooden house not far from the fence, and then the wooden door opened, and an old man with a goatee came with a lamp, and he was a little thin.

"Is Nia back?"

"Yes, Grandpa Ketan, are you alone?"

As the fence gate opened, the girl walked in and said hello.

"Yes, everyone went out during the day and got some food, and they were all tired, so I'll stay here tonight."

"Is there still not enough food?" Nia shook the snow off her body and asked.

"Yes, in previous years, there would be caravans from the south, but this year, the west wind is in civil strife, and many roads have been cut off. If you really can't do it, you can only kill sheep. ”

"But it's a pity to kill the wool-producing sheep, and it's too luxurious to eat meat." Nia also seemed to sigh a little.

Their population is not large, only a few thousand people, and the strength is also weak, the biggest income of the year is from the trade of wool and a small amount of goat's milk, killing sheep and selling meat, in fact, it is not cost-effective, because of the smell of mutton, the rich and rich of human nobles do not like it, and the common people can't pay a high price, which is very embarrassing.

"Alas, everyone knows it, but there is no way, you can't let people starve to death." The old man also seemed to sigh.

"In the past, everyone said that those human merchants were greedy, but now without them, we can't live, it's really helpless."

"By the way, Niya, you go to the Hundred Tribes Dabi, what is the result over there?"

As a result, Niya touched the scar on her body, and she still has palpitations, if the axe light is a little stronger, I'm afraid she won't be able to come back.

The old man saw that Nia did not answer, and thought that he had spoken of her sadness, so he comforted her.

"It's okay, it's good to come back alive, and everyone won't blame you, after all, no one in our clan has been able to choose for nearly a hundred years."

"I made it."

"Okay, no...... What, did you pick it? The old man asked again in surprise.

"Well, yes. Although the process was a bit thrilling, I still chose it. Nia nodded, a smile on her cold, flushed face.

"Good, good, good." The old man's voice trembled a little with excitement.

"Our clan has finally produced a student of Amenas."

"Tomorrow, I'll tell you. No, just tonight, I'll tell you the good news tonight. ”

With that, the gray-haired old man took the girl by the hand, and walked inside, through the clearing where hay and debris were piled up, through the corrals full of sheep, and approached the herds of tents.

"Everyone is up, our village, no, our clan is out of breath~"

The hand that was as rough as the old bark gripped Nia's wrist tightly, and it was a dull and old blue-purple color, and the loud voice spread far and wide in the dark night like a gong.

"Nia, Nia, she was chosen, she can go to Amenas ~~"

The excited voice even had some crying at the end, and over the years, the regrets and long-cherished wishes of many generations have finally come true today.

"What?"

"Really?"

"Sister Niya is amazing!"

"Sleep and sleep, get up and make food, and celebrate our future heroes."

"That's it."

The originally silent tent group suddenly became lively, and the clansmen rushed to tell each other, and some old people wept and laughed after hearing this, and the young children did not know what this meant, but just followed the adults to be happy, because in this way they could eat delicious food again.

In the tall tent, Niya stood in the middle, the hood on her head had been taken off, revealing two small spiral horns, her immature face was a little cute, and the elders and the crowd gathered in the tent, one by one to see her, holding her hand excitedly, saying some blessings and words of celebration.

The eyes were full of hope and anticipation, and the hands were rough and calloused, but when they were held, they were particularly strong and heavy.