The two of them kept walking down the spruce forest, and Hum Ke always found something to eat. He can pluck through dead spruce bark and find bugs hiding underneath, and he can find squirrel nests hidden behind branches. Although the squirrel was not caught, there were enough pine nuts in it to eat slowly on the road.

Siegel patiently observes Hum's actions, learns his behavior, and tries to understand the mental elements of surviving in the wild. He couldn't walk around this snowy pine forest like his own field like an orc now, but now in his eyes, the wasteland was not as cold and dangerous as it used to be, and there was life hidden everywhere.

Suddenly, the orc leaned down and motioned with his hand for Siegel to do the same. He pointed ahead, and Siegel spotted a beautiful long-horned deer hiding behind a pine tree, tugging at the branches on the ground, tearing open the outer skin and eating the tender core in the middle. The deer wasn't big, but it was a big meal for two people. I don't know why it's here alone, but I guess it's a blessing from nature.

The orc reached out and demanded the ice dagger in Siegel's hand. Siegel thought about it and gave him the dagger. As a mage, he also has enough stamina and energy to use spells, summoning ice and fire to strike enemies. So relatively speaking, the dagger is not an important weapon. He wanted to see how the orcs would act when they had a weapon, to determine whether they could trust him.

Hum Ke took the dagger, weighed it, and held it in his hand. He shoved a handful of snow into his mouth to hide the heat from his breath. The orcs crept closer to the longhorn deer, avoiding the direction of the upper wind and the deer's field of vision. He gradually approached, ready to charge.

Siegel watched from afar, but he wasn't idle. Using the pine nuts that Hum Ke found, he can use the power of spells to enhance the aroma of pine nuts and attract the attention of the deer. Siegel didn't know if the longhorned deer would be interested in pine nuts, but he only had this kind of thing at hand. The longhorn deer raised its head and sniffed in the direction of Siegel as it plowed the ground with its hooves. The mage hid behind a snowdrift, and the longhorned deer could not see him, but he was bewitched by the scent of pine nuts, and did not notice the orcs who were approaching behind him.

"Humph!" the orc lunged forward and grabbed the deer's waist. The longhorned deer kicked the ground, flailing its head back violently, trying to hurt its attacker with its horns. Hum Ke was prepared, and put his arm around the deer's neck, twisting its body back in half. Listening only to the click, the sound of bones breaking, the orcs settled the battle with brute force.

The orc beckoned to Siegel to hurry over. He sliced the veins in the deer's neck with an ice dagger, lowered his head and drank hard. Blood contains great power, represents the power of life, and is the best food in this wilderness. The orc took two sips, let out a long breath, and then gave up his place to Siegel.

Siegel also used to eat foods made from animal blood, such as stews made with blood sausage and blood clots. He bent down and began to drink, but he was surprised to feel uncomfortable. A convulsion welled up from his heart, making his breath short, his mind dizzy, and his vision spinning. For a moment, he felt that the blood was like poison to him, and he couldn't swallow it at all. Siegel hurriedly let go of the deer and lay down on the ground trying to calm his breathing. It's not a convulsions caused by the stomach, it's more like a deeper resistance from the body.

Hum thought that Siegel was not used to drinking deer blood, so he fell to the ground. He just shrugged his shoulders and lowered his head to drink himself. Food can't be wasted, especially in the midst of snow and ice. Hum was taught from a young age that any wasted food will bring bad luck, and that demons and evil spirits will target you, looking for an opportunity to kill and eat you.

After the blood clotted, the orcs began to skin the deer with their ice blades again. The skin of this deer was certainly not enough to make clothes for two people, but four warm boots were definitely more than enough. Siegel only gradually recovered at this time, and he finally figured out what caused the convulsions just now: in the Cave of the Imprisoned Dragon, when the blood mage tried to burrow into his body and pour blood into his mouth and nose, Siegel had this convulsion.

"What the hell is wrong?" Siegel thought and thought again, frowning. Fortunately, in addition to not being able to eat blood, no other abnormalities have been found for the time being. And the strength, speed, stamina, and casting ability are still the same as before. Siegel took this to heart and asked the doctor to examine it when he was able. Dr. Reese seems to have a good idea of how to treat blood disorders, and I hope to meet him again.

After sitting up from the snow, Siegel focused on his survival. He broke off the branches and found fluffy yellow vines, which he could use as a starting material for a fire by rubbing them. As a mage, he naturally didn't need to drill wood or hit flint to make fire, but only gathered the fire elemental in nature. In snow-covered lands, the air is actually very dry, and it is much easier to start a fire than in the rainforest. Siegel carefully held the tinder and quickly set the pine branch on fire. The flames burned happily, and pine oil continued to drip down and beep sounds.

With snow around the fire, Siegel went to collect the branches, peeled off the bark, and burned them separately from the branches. Hum threw over a few pieces of venison, as well as the dismembered heart and liver, and Siegel baked the precious ingredients over the fire. After a while, the aroma has already wafted out, and the smell makes people feel like they are in a fairyland.

The deerskin had been peeled off by this time, and Hum lay it on the ground, the hairy side up. So the two men sat on soft, smooth fur cushions, each holding steaming venison in their hands. When I took a big bite, the aroma was strong, and I only felt that every pore in my body was rejuvenated, and all the pain was driven away, which could boost morale more than any panacea in the world. Siegel had eaten dinners for princes, feasts for dwarves, and celebrations after becoming a nobleman, but they were not as good as what he ate today. They had large pieces of meat in their hands, some roasted on the fire, and a lot of unfinished snow on the side - this "harvest" felt better than anything else. The venison in the snow quickly filled the hungry bellies of the two men, and also added confidence and vitality to their actions.

Siegel had been working hard to make various plans for his escape, and he was mentally stressed and physically exhausted along the way. Constantly casting spells with inferior spell casting materials also greatly drained his physical strength and energy. In this ice and snow, he relied on his will to survive to constantly fight against nature, challenge his physical limits, and strive to care for the burning of the fire of life and keep it warm. After a night of extreme survival, only then can he stop to rest and take a good look at the place. Very few humans have made it to the north of the Walled Mountains, and only a few of them have been able to return and tell others what they have seen.

The sun rises in the east, and although it only brings a faint temperature, the golden glow still makes people feel close. If there are no clouds today, there will be no snow. As far as the eye can see, there is a beautiful clear sky overhead. Beneath the sky, the northern woodlands stretch as far as the eye can see, and the mountains that stretch down are full of pines and spruces. It's very quiet, but if you listen closely, you can still make out the sounds of animal activity. Siegel's black eyes swept through the woods, and he keenly caught a small herd of deer, two clouded leopards, and a squirrel jumping around on the branches. There was a very bright reflection at the foot of the mountain in the distance, and when you looked at it, it turned out to be a stream that had not yet frozen. Siegel was now resting on a warm deerskin, with a fire to keep warm and venison to eat, and his body told him that for now he just wanted to stay here and not move.

But after all, you can't stay here for long, the danger is not gone, and at the latest, after the eruption is over, the enemy will send a team to search - even if they are already on their way. Maybe the takin's footprints would confuse them, maybe the pine forest would be the best cover, or maybe Siegel would be able to kill all his pursuers with the power of magic, but he wouldn't dare bet. The two of them rested for a quarter of an hour in luxury, and then went their separate ways to get busy.

The benefits of studying under Sir Bill are evident, and Siegel has become adept at crafting simple combat equipment, especially with the help of magic. Peeling off the skin of the twigs to serve as ropes and wrapping them around the cut pieces of wood to form binding points, Siegel soon made improvised deerskin boots. With the blessing of the spell, the ice dagger is very sharp, and it quickly sharpens the antlers and splits them in half from the middle, just enough to be used as a dual-wielding multident. If you encounter enemies or predators, this weapon is much more useful than a short dagger. They filled the deer's bladder with snow, heated it through the deer's stomach, melted the snow, and put the warm bladder close to their bodies, so that they had a water bladder.

They used leftover deerskin as a bag and packed as much meat as they could. Using the deer's bones and the power of the flames, Siegel tried to summon the mount again, but the spell failed, and the out-of-control magical energy ran around him. The chance of casting a spell to fail is greatly increased until it subsides, so Siegel will not make similar attempts for the time being. The two of them leaned on their gifted legs, nibbling on the roasted entrails as they carried the booty down the hill.

They were targeting the stream in the valley, following the direction in which it flowed, and the chances of running into a settlement were much higher. Even if there are no villages, the streams can provide plenty of drinking water, and there may be edible fish in them. Many animals will go to the stream to drink, which can also increase the food source for two people. If you run into a predator, you can also use the Antlers and Siegel's magic.

They walked all day, without stopping on the road, and ate cooked venison that was close to their bodies—not frozen, but still cold and hard. They walked through the three valleys and slowly walked out of the mountains. In front of the two of them was an open field, and the snow spread all the way to the distant horizon. There are only a few round, gentle hills, on which there are already some drought-tolerant deciduous tree species in addition to pines and cypresses. Hum Ke pointed in the direction of the east, and many thin columns of smoke could be seen rising from behind the hillock.

"Humm!" he pointed to himself, "Humm!" he pointed to the pillar of smoke again, and smiled.

Siegel wasn't sure if the orcs were laughing, and the ugly face with its fangs and thick eyebrows was terrifying enough even if it was laughing. But Siegel could understand what the orcs meant, and the location of those pillars of smoke was their destination, the tribe of Hum.