Chapter 45 - Meeting With The Rest Of The Warriors
Max, who was sleeping, woke up when he could feel a little snow falling on his face.
Using his hand, he wiped his face and stood up from his little shelter as he stretched his aching body.
"It seems like the blizzard lasted all night; although I was able to rest, the pain in my arm and face hasn't subsided.
The only good thing is that as long as it does not get infected, I can take the pain, and the scars will be a good topic of conversation.
I guess to regain nutrients, I will have to start by making a bear meat broth. "
After saying those words, Max took some wood, alcohol, and flint to start a fire.
While this was happening, Sven and the rest of the warriors took all the things from the camp and followed Eskol to search the forest.
"We should be about two hours away, so we should get there well before noon."
Sven just held his crossbow in his hands and walked with the rest of the group through the snow-covered area.
The path was somewhat complicated as his feet had to walk on a snow layer that almost reached his knees.
Despite this, the two little cubs supported by ropes did not suffer from the snow since puppies were happy to play with the snow.
After a while, walking, Eskol, who was being the vanguard, stopped and raised his hand. "We have an adult bear in the distance."
Sven smiled and started to walk to where Eskol was; when he arrived, he could see the white bear whose fur on its mouth was full of blood.
With some discomfort, he tightened the grip of his crossbow and turned to see the warriors. "Prepare your weapons and battle formation.
In this small confrontation, you can only shoot the first line, and it must be in the head.
If the bear does not die then, everyone is allowed to fill the bear's body with bolts. "
All the warriors nodded, and with Eskol's guidance, began to form three lines.
Once everyone was lined up, Ansgar, a young brown haired warrior, pulled out his little flute and began to play a catchy tune.
While he was playing the flute, everyone began to advance in an orderly manner towards where the bear was.
The white bear that was walking towards its burrow could hear a high-pitched noise, so it raised its head.
He could then see some strange beings that walked on two legs, and that seemed to approach where he was.
Sven watched as the white bear raised its head and looked at them with curiosity, so he prepared his hand to give the order to stop.
When the white bear felt that those creatures were getting dangerously close to him, he decided to get up to show that this was his territory.
Seeing the white bear stand up in anger, Sven raised his hand, and everyone stood still as they took their positions.
When the white bear saw that his show of power had worked, he prepared to return to his burrow.
Sven took advantage of the fact that the bear seemed to want to retreat and ordered to shoot.
When the bolts flew out, they pierced the bear's head, who could only take a few steps before falling to the ground.
"That bear appears to be dead, but we can't be sure until we get close.
Ansgar, take three warriors and start to dismount the bear; we will continue our way to the forest.
Once we arrive, I will send a warrior to come for you. "
Ansgar nodded and walked over to two warriors, then drew an iron dagger from his chest.
"Derick and Elof, you guys will cover my back as I look to finish off the white bear.
Remember to have your crossbow on your shoulder and always be prepared to shoot the bear's face. "
Derick and Elof did the military salute they had learned in early morning training with Einar.
After this, the three of them began to walk through the snow towards the white bear that was on the ground.
For his part, Max had his hands full of blood as he was removing the bear's skin, which was a bit stuck in the bear's muscles as the corpse had begun to freeze.
While he was tearing the skin, he could hear a group of strange noises that seemed to be screaming, so Max took his crossbow and looked at the place where the sound was coming from.
When Max's crossbow was aimed at one of the trees, he could see a group of slender white foxes emerging from the snow that appeared to be led by a blue-colored fox.
Seeing the small animals, Max lowered his crossbow and took his knife to cut a piece of meat from the white bear.
With meat in hand, he bent down and waited to see what the little foxes were doing.
The bluish fox, who was curious about the meat in Max's hand, walked cautiously through the snow until he came close to Max.
Max could then see the blue fox give him a grateful look before biting into the piece of meat and leading it towards his pack.
A smile formed on Max's face. "I think it would not be a bad idea to adopt these foxes and bring them to our tribe.
A fox farm can give us a supply of fur, and if I introduce rabbits in the future, it could keep the population of them in check. "
The little blue fox that was eating the piece of meat raised its head cautiously, looking for where the feeling of danger was coming from.
When Sven and the rest of the warriors reached the forest, they entered quite cautiously because they did not know if they would meet a white bear.
Sven, who was somewhat worried, just walked through the trees until he could smell the aroma of burned meat, so he walked along with the rest of the warriors to where the fragrance came from.
Max, who was biting a piece of boiled meat, looked at the little foxes that were trapped in his shelter that he had turned into a small cage.
"Do not be afraid, little foxes; your future is to be fed, and you will be able to reproduce like rabbits.
So that at the end of your lives, your skin will be used to make amazing clothes. "
The herd of fifteen foxes just stared blankly at Max and continued to eat the hot meat on the ground.
When Max was about to put another piece of meat in his mouth, he could hear the sound of footsteps, so he took his crossbow and prepared himself for whatever was to come out of the trees.
Sven, who came out of the trees, could see Einar holding his crossbow, but what caught his attention was seeing his son's face.
Ignoring everything around him, he walked over to Einar and gave him a hug.