Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Large Wolf Pack.
For the playfulness of the two pups,
the members of the den had long since grown accustomed.
Moreover,
the successful hunting of the musk oxen,
added another eight or nine hundred pounds of food for the wolf pack, which made each wolf feel even more secure.
As the daylight outside faded, nightfall descended.
Su Lin began to sleep and rest, leaning against the cave’s stone wall.
The polar night was over,
and up next were two months of alternating day and night,
followed by the real midnight sun.
But the midnight sun is different from the polar night,
for during the abundant food supply of the midnight sun, the hunters do not have a difficult time.
….
The next day,
when Su Lin woke up,
he found that the Little Lone Wolf in the den had also woken up early.
The injuries on the body of the Little Lone Wolf had almost healed,
the serious ones being from the fall caused by the musk oxen yesterday.
It was now gnawing on a chunk of ice and snow at the entrance of the cave.
Gnawing on the ice and snow brought moisture that could better aid in the recovery of its wounds.
This was also because the Little Lone Wolf was a Variant Species with strong vitality.
A regular Arctic wolf sustaining such a harsh fall would have likely broken its spine.
“Awoo!”
Upon seeing Su Lin awake,
the Little Lone Wolf quickly stood up, wagging its tail and howling softly.
Its ferocity only surfaced during fights and hunting.
In the presence of the wolf pack that had taken it in and provided ample food,
the Little Lone Wolf had always been friendly to all members.
Towards Su Lin, it was especially respectful.
Su Lin replied with a sound,
then took the Little Lone Wolf and Xiao Hui out to patrol around the cave.
There were two wolfesses patrolling the territory,
but around the cave,
Su Lin still preferred to patrol himself.
With the warm season approaching,
there were also a few scattered birds flying around near the cave.
Thanks to the cave’s high and steep location,
the safety was excellent,
so many birds chose to build their nests near it.
Next,
when almost done patrolling the cave,
Xiao Hui caught sight of an Arctic fox in the distance poking its head and tail out as it dug out Traveling Rats from a snow burrow to eat.
It crept forward rapidly, using piles of ice and snow to conceal its approach,
hoping to capture the Arctic fox, to give the wolf pack something fresh to taste,
and to prove to the boss that it was still useful.
However,
the Arctic fox’s agility was second to none.
While Xiao Hui was still far away,
the Arctic fox, carrying two Traveling Rats, quickly fled.
Leaving Xiao Hui with only a fluffy white view of its back.
Failed again.
Xiao Hui hung its head in dejection all the way back, not daring to look up at its leader.
As for Su Lin,
he had long become accustomed to the blunders of the simple-minded Xiao Hui.
Though Xiao Hui was a Variant Species, strong in power and potential,
its temperament was far too different from the Little Lone Wolf’s.
It was not fit for leading,
only suitable for following by Su Lin’s side and lending a hand.
Su Lin couldn’t be bothered to scold Xiao Hui anymore,
and the three wolves returned to the cave.
Su Lin then gave a low howl and began to feed on the musk ox meat again.
As always, Su Lin ate first.
While the Lead Wolf was eating,
the rest of the Wolf Clan could only keep watch and wait.
If they advanced, it would be interpreted as a challenge to the authority of the Lead Wolf.
Su Lin had great digestive power,
the meat from yesterday’s musk ox had been completely digested.
This time he ate seventeen or eighteen pounds until he was six or seven parts full before stopping.
Two consecutive times, feasting on the musk ox meat,
he had satisfied his hunger and craving.
Meanwhile, Xiao Hui and the Little Lone Wolf,
being Variant Species, did not lack in digestive ability either.
They too fed again on seven or eight pounds of musk ox meat,
in the bountiful provision of food,
As variant species, their growth rate was still very fast.
Xiao Hui was close to breaking through to level 5, and it was just a matter of time.
And the Little Lone Wolf was also not far from level 4.
After they had finished eating,
the two little cubs also came over to feed.
However, the two little cubs still hadn’t completely digested what they ate yesterday.
Today, they only ate half a pound of Musk Ox Meat,
and their little bellies swelled up roundly.
“Awoo!”
After having her fill, Wolf Sister let out a tender howl,
then hopped and skipped over to Wolf Brother’s side,
It had been a long time since she had played with Wolf Brother.
Moreover,
she missed Wolf Mother.
She wondered when Wolf Brother would take her to see Wolf Mother.
Now, Wolf Sister had only a small body measuring seventy to eighty centimeters in length.
To Su Lin,
she appeared very small and thin.
Su Lin’s wolf tail was fifty to sixty centimeters long.
“Awoo!”
Wolf Sister pounced into Su Lin’s long fur and began to howl tenderly.
And Su Lin simply let Wolf Sister play as she wished.
Next,
after playing with Wolf Sister for a while,
the two Wolfesses on patrol came to the cave to report their daily observations.
The Wolfesses’ intelligence, unlike that of Xiao Hui and Little Lone Wolf,
meant their howling could only convey some simple notions.
But having been reborn as a wolf for a long time,
Su Lin could already understand the communication within the Wolf Clan intuitively.
In the report from the two Wolfesses,
the Musk Ox Group was just as he had expected.
They hadn’t migrated, still grazing on moss and shrubs in the same place.
After all, for them, the Hunters’ reduction in numbers due to being hunted
was as normal as birth, aging, sickness, and death.
Within the Musk Ox Group, a brutal struggle for the leadership role had likely already begun.
Another group of Reindeer,
was wandering within the territory without settling down completely.
However, right next to Su Lin’s territory was Wolf Father’s territory.
So the Reindeer Group couldn’t escape the Hunting range of the Wolf Pack.
Unless they moved further north to the colder regions, which were the territories of other wolf packs.
But it was colder there, and food was even scarcer.
If the Reindeer Leader had any sense, it wouldn’t migrate north.
Besides these daily matters,
the two Wolfesses also reported to him
that a number of Lone Wolves had gradually appeared on the outskirts of the territory.
For the Lone Wolves,
if they had good potential,
Su Lin was open to accepting them.
The appearance of this batch of Lone Wolves
had been noticed by him during the Hunting of the Musk Ox Group.
It was likely caused by the expansion of the large Wolf Pack to the west
with the arrival of the warmer season.
The expansion and the absorption of some smaller wolf packs and territories
left those unwilling to join becoming wandering Lone Wolves.
The strength of that large Wolf Pack was terrifying,
even under the polar night, they retained a number of forty to fifty wolves.
Now, as they began to expand their territory further,
the number of wolves in their pack would correspondingly increase substantially.
Moreover, once the scale reached that of a large Wolf Pack,
a true Wolf King would emerge within the pack.
The Lead Wolf of a small pack was the Wolf King,
but a large pack was comprised of many merged small packs, containing more than one Lead Wolf.
The strongest among those Lead Wolves could become the Wolf King,
and the real ruler of a large Wolf Pack.
But they probably wouldn’t expand towards Wolf Father’s and his territory,
since there were limits to a Wolf Pack’s rule.
A too-large territory simply couldn’t be managed effectively.
Of course,
if they really did expand this way,
Su Lin wouldn’t mind teaching them some rules.
“Awoo!”
“Awoo!”
…
After reporting to Su Lin, the two Wolfesses lingered for a while before reluctantly leaving.