Chapter 50: Joining

North of the Northern Wasteland, in the Lotas Mountains, on an icy peak about three hundred kilometers from Su Lun’s Territory. The cold wind from the polar ice fields howled past.

It was already a world of ice and snow, with snowflakes drifting in the sky. The cold wind blew, swirling countless ice crystals into small whirlwinds.

“Thump!”

A nearly one-ton adult Wild Oxen was thrown onto the cliff. A strong gust of wind swept by, followed by a huge dark shadow descending from the sky. Its grayish-white body had a pair of fleshy wings, and its sharp claws seemed to be made of Refined Steel, easily leaving deep scratches on the rock frozen hard as iron. It looked very similar to a pterodactyl from the dinosaur era, but it was much larger than a pterodactyl.

Any Adventurer who had studied monster identification could recognize it at a glance as a Frost Wyvern.

Frost Wyvern.

A cold-type Lesser Dragon, belonging to a kind of wyvern. It looked like a wyvern but, due to impure bloodline, did not grow Dragon Scales, only having a layer of Dragon Hide. They had strong hind limbs, while their forelimbs were connected to the wing bones on their wings, which made moving on the ground very inconvenient.

Sacrificing ground mobility gave them stronger flight ability than pure-blooded dragons. Frost Wyverns usually lived in small groups on mountaintops in cold regions. The Frost Wyvern before them was a mature male wyvern that had just returned from hunting.

The one-ton Wild Oxen was already frozen stiff, but this did not affect the wyvern’s appetite. A female wyvern, similar in appearance but slightly larger in size, was tearing at the tenderest parts of the Wild Oxen meat with sharp teeth. This female wyvern moved with some difficulty, her abdomen visibly protruding. Clearly, this wyvern was about to lay eggs.

Dragon species reproduced with difficulty. Wyverns laid eggs about once every three to five years, producing three to seven eggs each time.

A dragon roar sounded, followed by the flapping of wings in the surrounding sky. Then, several Frost Wyverns landed on the cliffs around them.

…

In the early morning, when the first ray of sunlight entered the room, Su Lun woke up on time. He rubbed his forehead to shake off the drowsiness, put on his clothes, and walked out of the room yawning.

Running back and forth between the Territory and the Mine these days, although his body was not tired, he felt mentally weary. He needed more managers; otherwise, with so many things to handle alone, he had become a Lord to enjoy life, not to be surrounded by piles of official duties every day.

Breakfast was oatmeal cooked with some dried meat, wild vegetables, and other ingredients. The cooking was just right, and a large bowl of fragrant oatmeal directly awakened his taste buds. Su Lun drank two bowls in one go, patted his belly, and left the dining room.

After breakfast, Su Lun first checked the various construction sites in the Territory, handled some affairs, and then went outside the Territory to patrol.

Because they were mining, there were far fewer slaves cultivating land outside the town. By now, over six thousand acres of land had been cleared in the Territory, and hundreds of Serfs were planting Potatoes.

After patrolling the Territory, Su Lun headed to the Mine again. This time, he traveled by boat. Just yesterday, the Port on the White Water River was completed. Boarding at the Port, they could go downstream and reach near the Mine in just half an hour.

The flow of this section of the White Water River was not rapid, so even though the boats made in Su Lun’s Territory were of poor quality, they could still sail. Soon, Su Lun disembarked near the Mine. The Port had already become a construction site, with many slaves digging near the river. Since the river was still one kilometer away from the Mine, he planned to dig a canal here that would lead directly to the Mine.

“Beacon smoke!”

Just as he was about to go ashore, he suddenly heard a shout! Su Lun looked up and saw a plume of wolf smoke rising from a distant Beacon Tower against the blue sky.

“One beacon smoke means over a hundred people. I didn’t expect tribes to come offering themselves here.” Seeing the beacon smoke, Su Lun chuckled. “Perfect, we’re short on slaves here. Let’s capture them all for mining!”

The Barbarians beside him instinctively drew their weapons, looking eagerly toward the beacon smoke.

“Let’s go, straight there!” Su Lun took out his spear, pointed with the tip, and led several Barbarians in that direction. Soon, Su Lun and his group arrived at the Beacon Tower. The Beacon Tower was built on a mound, offering an unobstructed view from the top.

Looking out from above, they saw a group of about a hundred dark figures moving slowly toward them in the distant Wilderness. Su Lun shaded his eyes with his hand and stared for a while. Those figures were not Goblins or Kobolds but looked more like humans.

Time passed minute by minute, and the figures drew closer. Soon, Su Lun saw clearly that they were indeed humans—Northern Barbarians.

Northern Barbarians was the Florence Kingdom’s general term for humans living in the Northern Wilderness. Like the Barbarians under Su Lun’s command, who were one branch of the Northern Barbarians, these Northern Barbarians mostly lived in tribes. They were tall and lived a semi-nomadic, semi-agricultural lifestyle. In fact, each tribe was like a separate race, and no one knew exactly how many races there were.

Under Su Lun’s gaze, the group of Northern Barbarians stopped about three hundred meters from the Beacon Tower. Then, to Su Lun’s surprise, one of them walked forward holding a white flag on a long spear.

“Ding, congratulations, host. Admiring your bravery, a group of Northern Barbarians wishes to join your ranks.” Just as Su Lun was puzzled, the System’s prompt suddenly sounded.

“This is the effect of the Recruitment Token!” Su Lun’s eyes widened. He had almost forgotten about it, never expecting it to actually work.

“Boss, that person is coming over. Should we take action?” a Barbarian beside him suddenly reminded.

“No need.” Su Lun stopped the eager ones behind him and looked at the person.

“Do not attack. I am Jushi, chieftain of the Giant Bear Tribe. I come with goodwill and request to see Lord Su Lun.” Jushi placed his right hand on his chest and bowed.

This Northern Barbarian named Jushi was also a Barbarian, but the tattoo on his body was of a giant bear. As the chieftain, he was the strongest Warrior of the Giant Bear Tribe. He stood two meters thirty tall, no less imposing than Johnson, with solid, well-proportioned muscles that looked powerful.

However, their clothes appeared worn and shabby, mostly made of animal hides, looking dirty on the outside. Clearly, these people were not doing well.

“I am Su Lun. What business do you have with me?” Su Lun descended from the Beacon Tower, empty-handed, and walked over casually.