Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 17 Bloodstained Cold Moon

They're all dead.

Sif's heart was pounding.

She squeezed the horse's belly with all her might, and the warhorse galloped wildly across the cold snowfield, its hooves kicking up a cloud of white dust.

The shouts of battle echoed behind them in the night, the howling of hunting dogs mingling with the screams of warriors.

Why? Why did it turn out like this?!
Just a few days ago, she was sitting in a warm tent, listening to her father recount the glory of the tribe, her brothers laughing and playing, and her mother gently tidying her hair.

She had always thought that she would be like her father, leading her people to conquer the snowy plains.

But that banquet completely destroyed everything.

Harold Frostmane, the father, suddenly collapsed at the banquet, convulsing and screaming in agony, dying in full view of everyone.

In the following days, my mother, brothers and sisters died one after another.

They were either executed or died in some mysterious "accident".

Their heads were hung from stone pillars, and blood dripped onto the white snow, a glaring red.

Her brother Siegel's words were still echoing in her mind.

“Sif, listen to me.” Siegel gripped her shoulders, his voice urgent: “Run south, and never come back.”

She shook her head frantically, her eyes filled with tears: "No! Brother, I..."

Siegel grabbed her by the back of the neck, forcing her to look up at him: "Listen! Run south! Don't come back! Don't even think about revenge!"

Without further ado, Siegel lashed his horse with all his might, then drew his battle axe and turned to face the pursuers.

"Drink!" he roared in a low voice, his blood boiling.

His eyes turned bloodshot, the totems on his body suddenly lit up, his muscles swelled like rocks, and he became like a raging war god.

Boiling Blood Berserker!
At the cost of their lives, they burned their own blood in exchange for temporary invincibility!
"Come on, you scum! Let's go to hell together!"

He laughed wildly, raising his giant axe to meet the enemies surging from the darkness.

Sif felt as if her heart was being torn apart. She wanted to rush forward and fight alongside her brother, but the warhorse had already carried her southward.

…………

The chill had not completely subsided, and the rivers on the western side of the Red Tide Territory still carried the lingering cold of winter.

Every spring and autumn, this river welcomes migrating schools of fish.

They swim upstream to lay their eggs in the shallows, and after the fry hatch, they return to the deeper waters with the current.

The indigenous people have known this natural law since ancient times, but their fishing methods are still at the stage of poking fish with wooden forks and scooping fish with bamboo baskets.

So while it might barely fill their stomachs, it's a drop in the ocean compared to the river's true potential.

So, on Louis's orders, one hundred fishermen set off for the riverbank and began an organized fisheries development program.

They built a makeshift dock using wooden stakes and stones.

Carpenters were also summoned to lead the fishermen in working day and night to build fishing boats.

Working tirelessly, they finally built ten fishing boats that could be launched into the water within two weeks, in preparation for the upcoming fish tide.

The local fishing industry has undergone a dramatic transformation in the past two weeks.

But no one expected that their first large-scale fishing would come so quickly.

The reason was that Louis received an important piece of intelligence in the daily intelligence system yesterday:
[1: Tomorrow, the rivers on the western side of the Red Tide Territory will see a large influx of fish.]

This news thrilled him, and he immediately ordered: "All fishermen, assemble at the riverbank dock and prepare to fish with all your might." The next day, the riverbank was bustling with people, and a hundred fishermen stood in neat rows awaiting the lord's orders.

On the simple but already well-established wooden dock, Lord Louis stood on high ground, surveying the crowd:
"Gentlemen! Today we will be launching the first large-scale fishing operation in the Red Tide Territory!"

Do you remember how desolate this place was a month ago? But look at it now, we have boats, fishing nets, and a dock. This is all thanks to your hard work.

We will no longer just wait for fate to bestow its blessings, but will use our own hands to take control of the future!
Today, everything is ready. All we need to do is reach out and take it, and we can let everyone in the Red Tide Territory know that the days of hunger are over!

May we return with a bountiful harvest!

Louis's words ignited the fishermen's fighting spirit, and they raised their nets and harpoons, shouting in unison, "Let's return with a full catch!"

However, Luke, the fisheries officer standing next to Louis, revealed an indescribable anxiety in his eyes.

“Will there really be fish?”

Over the past month, Louis's judgment has been proven time and again, forcing Luke and others to believe it.

The problem is, this is fishing!
Fishing is largely a matter of luck. Even the most experienced fishermen can hardly predict which day will be a bumper harvest and which day they may return empty-handed.

He was somewhat surprised when he received the notification from Louis yesterday.

Why is the lord so certain that there will be a great harvest today?
What if not?
If we don't catch much from the river today, that inspiring speech will just become a joke.

Moreover, the fishermen prepared with high hopes for half a month, but ended up with nothing.

The morale of the fishermen might be affected, but the most important thing is whether the lord will be enraged by this.

What should I do then?
What if the lord strips me naked and throws me into the river to make a nest?

Luke glanced at Louise and saw that the latter was not flustered at all.

He stood there with a faint smile on his face, as if he could already see the fish surging on the river.

"Is this the spirit of a lord..." Luke was somewhat lost in thought.

Just then, Louis interrupted Luke's reverie: "Is everything ready?"

“Ready,” Luke replied hastily.

Louis nodded. "Let's begin."

Luke took a deep breath, stood on the platform, and loudly gave the order: "Brothers, proceed as planned!"

The fishermen had been waiting for a long time and began to divide the work together.

According to Louis's plan, today's fishing operation will be divided into three groups to ensure maximum catch efficiency.

The first group is the main force, consisting of ten fishing boats.

The fishermen skillfully maneuvered their boats, setting up purse seines in the middle of the river to form a massive net barrier.

The second group is the small-scale fishing group.

The number of people is relatively small; they are responsible for casting nets in the shallow waters along the shore to catch fish that are close to the shore.

The fishermen were skilled and quickly cast their nets into the water, the mesh size of which was just right for catching smaller fish.

The third group was a team that used traditional fishing tools.

Armed with harpoons, they quickly probed the water, and once they spotted a school of fish, they swiftly and forcefully stabbed it to capture the fleeing fish.

Some fishermen also set traps along the coast.

These simple yet effective tools can effectively catch some fish that are unwilling to approach the fishing net, further supplementing the catch.

(End of this chapter)