Above the mage

Chapter 229 This tea is poisoned!

Everything was actually over long after Gaode dealt with the three alpha wolves.

Just as the old clan chief was wary and troubled by the three Ice Wolves with one ring.

These zero-ring snow wolves have little power to resist a first-ring mage.

At the level of a first-ring mage, Gaode can easily kill these zero-ring ley line creatures by casting spells through ring-up casting, even if it's just a trick.

He cast spells rapidly, swiftly and decisively reaping the lives of these snow wolves with [Fire Arrow+].

【Magic Burst+】Although a single spell can damage two targets, and with the added effect of continuous tracking, it is more "intelligent" to use.

However, embarrassingly, its power was just a tiny bit short of instantly killing a zero-ring snow wolf.

Even such a small amount could very well lead to the snow wolf, barely clinging to life, being finished off by others.

Therefore, Gaode can only choose to use it as a single-target attack, but the power can reach 20 degrees with the [Flame Arrow+].

However, even with single-target attack spells, Gaode's efficiency in reaping these snow wolves was not low.

Before the wolves could react, another beam of fire shot out from Gao De's hand, killing another snow wolf.

Then, within five or six seconds, the third, fourth, and fifth snow wolves, a total of seven, died under the bombardment of [Flame Arrow+].

Seeing that the zero-ring origin points for [Snow Wolf] on the origin column were full, Gao De finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It was at this moment that the old clan chief finally returned and joined the battle.

Just like Gao De, ice-blue arrows kept being generated in his hands and shot at the snow wolves.

His ice elemental spells were barely effective against first-level ice wolves, but they were more than enough to deal with these zero-level snow wolves.

However, the results were clearly not as impressive as those of Gaode.

Even a snow wolf with zero rings moves extremely fast.

The [Flame Arrow+] skill allows for a trajectory adjustment, ensuring a near 100% hit rate for Gaode.

The old patriarch didn't have that ability, and spells sometimes failed.

Although Gaode slowed down his casting speed, he continued to cast spells to help deal with the snow wolves.

Therefore, this sudden battle ended quickly.

After such a dramatic turn of events, most of the people in this small tribe were still caught up in the emotions they had just experienced and had not yet recovered.

Gaode seems to be in a pretty good mood.

Another source of essence arrived, and even though it was only at the zero-ring level, he was very satisfied.

This trip to the North was definitely the right decision.

Because he was in a good mood, Gao De's expression looked very strange to the people in the tribe.

They all looked at Gao De with extreme tension, not at all unprepared just because Gao De had just killed the snow wolf to help them out of their predicament.

In the North, to encounter such a strange person of unknown origin, especially since the other party had just cast a fire elemental spell—it is impossible for the Iceborn bloodline to awaken fire elemental spells.

This suggests that the other party is most likely not from the North.

The people of the North harbored some unease about the humans from beyond their borders.

No one knew the other party's intentions.

After Gao De withdrew his attention from "Wind Spirit Moon Shadow", he noticed the expressions on the faces of these primitively dressed Northerners and roughly guessed what they were thinking.

Gaode Maps didn't seem to have any complaints about this.

These people living on the permafrost tundra are born worrying about food and survival, fighting against all kinds of ferocious wild animals, and battling the weather. It is normal for them to be highly vigilant.

"Let's save them first." He noticed that many people in the tribe had been injured in the battle, some even had their intestines ripped out and were barely clinging to life.

However, the hunters in those tribes looked at each other and did nothing.

It wasn't until the old patriarch stepped forward and addressed Gao De, saying, "****************"

A series of gibberish startled Gaode for a moment before he suddenly realized what was happening.

Yes, the language of the Northerners is not mutually intelligible with the languages ​​of other human races.

The language of the outside human race is called the Common Language and is the most widely used.

Even if the indigenous peoples in some areas still use their local languages, they often also master a common language.

Furthermore, due to the power of mages, many non-human races also learn the common language of humans in order to communicate with them.

However, due to the isolation of the North, the people of the North, although they are also human, do not have a common language. Instead, they use "Ace Language," which has been used since ancient times and is also known as "Northern Language."

Fortunately, he had already mastered the ability to speak languages.

[Proficient in Languages] (Prophecy, 1st Ring):

During the spell's duration (one hour), you will know the literal meaning of all the languages ​​you hear.

You can also read the literal meaning of the text by touching it, but it takes one minute to read each page in this way.

Some cryptic texts or graphics (such as an arcane rune) cannot be deciphered by this spell because they do not belong to the category of written languages.

The next moment, Gao De had a thought, and a drop of liquid mana in his body surged into the sea of ​​spells, flashing and disappearing on the spell model.

Immediately, a look of all-knowing understanding flashed in his eyes.

The old clan chief's rambling "heavenly scripture" was now easily understood by Gao De, as if it had been deciphered.

"I'm sorry, our people do not know the common language, nor do they possess the Iceborn bloodline, so they do not have the ability to understand languages," the old patriarch said.

Once someone possesses the Iceborn bloodline, they will gain the magical power to understand languages ​​once they reach the first level.

"It's alright. Let's save them first," Gao De said.

The old clan chief nodded, turned around and gave an order. The clansmen who had been looking at each other in confusion quickly sprang into action.

Then, the old clan chief turned around and said to Gao De with deep gratitude, "If it weren't for your timely intervention, our Duo'er border tribe might have been wiped out this time."

This small tribe is called the Duerbian tribe.

A name that has no real meaning.

"It's nothing," Gao De said honestly.

As he spoke, Gao De first pulled his feet out of the ice plate, and then removed the freezing effect of [Water Manipulation].

The old clan chief was secretly amazed when he saw this.

He only now realized that the person in front of him was able to appear from the hillside at such a rapid speed not because he could actually "fly," but because of those strange "shoes."

"Did you come from beyond the North?" the old chieftain asked again.

Gao De nodded; he knew that the people of the North were extremely hostile to outsiders.

But whether it's language, appearance, or temperament, the differences between myself and the people of the North are too great.

The people of the North have very rough skin and are exceptionally robust, a physique that helps them withstand the cold.

In addition, people from the North have long, narrow eyes and thick eyelashes, which can reduce the stimulation of the eyes by the strong light reflected from the extremely low ice and snow and protect their eyesight. They also have wider faces and thicker lips, which are also adaptations to the cold environment.

Of course, if they possess the Iceborn bloodline, their appearance and physique will be similar to those of humans from the outside world, because the power flowing in the Iceborn bloodline allows them to resist the cold naturally without needing any additional adaptation.

However, those with the Iceborn bloodline also have their own physical characteristics.

The most distinctive feature is that all Iceborn have a pair of blue eyes, and the stronger their bloodline power, the purer and deeper the blue of their eyes.

These physical characteristics made it impossible for Gao De to hide his identity as an outsider, so he never intended to hide anything from the beginning.

"Respected stranger, may I know your name?" the old chieftain said sincerely. "You saved the Duoerbian tribe today, and we will definitely repay you."

"My name is Gao De," Gao De replied after thinking for a moment.

"I am Ximo, the chieftain of the Dorbian tribe," the old chieftain introduced himself.

"Outsider, it's getting dark. Why don't you stay in the village for the night so we can properly thank you?" After introducing himself, he extended the invitation.

Although it was called a village, Gao De glanced at it and realized it was really just a small tribe consisting of a few fences and dozens of simple tents, with a total population of no more than two hundred.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you." Gao De's heart stirred, and without refusing, he agreed.

He also wanted to learn about the customs, culture, and geography of the North through this small tribe.

Seeing that Gao De agreed, Ximo also breathed a sigh of relief.

The people of the North are indeed extremely wary of outsiders, but to them, Goddard is not an outsider, but their savior.

In the minds of the Northerners, kindness must be repaid.

He also knew that with the strength that Gao De had shown and the situation of his own tribe, he couldn't offer any reward of equal value, but even just treating him well for one night would be good enough.

"Do you still need these snow wolves?" Himo asked hesitantly, pointing to the snow wolf carcasses on the snow.

"I'll keep the pelts of those two snow wolves, you can take the rest," Gao De said generously.

The taste of snow wolf meat is acceptable, but there are so many that Gaode simply cannot bring back many.

As for the snow wolf's fur, firstly, most snow wolves are already covered in wounds and their fur is incomplete when they die, and secondly, the fur of a zero-ring snow wolf is not worth much money. If he had a legendary "space ring", Gao De wouldn't mind using even a mosquito's leg, but unfortunately he didn't have one.

The two first-ring ice wolves, however, died from the energy beam of [Magic Energy Blast+]. Since [Magic Energy Blast] caused force field damage, there were no obvious external injuries on their bodies, and their fur was well preserved.

A single Ice Wolf pelt can be sold to fur traders for nearly 20 gold coins.

Even if you can't find a merchant to sell it in the northern territory for the time being, the warmth of the snow wolf fur makes it a good choice for personal use.

Of course, peeling is also a skill.

In any case, Gaode itself is not skilled enough to peel off a complete snow wolf skin.

But for the people of the North, this is a basic skill.

So Gao De was quite at ease leaving the snow wolf carcass to them for disposal.

"Thank you!" Simon exclaimed with delight.

There were at least twenty or thirty snow wolf carcasses on the ground. Their meat, along with the previously prepared food reserves, would allow the tribe to get through this year's harsh winter safely.

Although Gaode acted swiftly, seven people still lost their lives on the sidelines of Duo'er.

This included two hunters.

This is a huge blow to Dor's side.

As the clan leader, Simo felt extremely guilty. If it weren't for his orders, the two hunters wouldn't have been ambushed and killed by the cunning snow wolves.

The tribespeople did not blame Himo.

Everyone knew that this was a choice Shimo had to make.

Several years ago, the border area of ​​Duoer had already been attacked by a pack of snow wolves.

On that occasion, Ximo led his people in a fierce resistance and successfully repelled the wave of snow wolves, but the border region of Dor also suffered heavy losses as a result.

The former leader of the hunting party, another member of the Iceblood lineage in the tribe, also perished in that battle.

Often, choosing to resist or to compromise is not the right choice; it's simply a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.

The problem wasn't the choice itself, but the weakness.

According to the traditions of the Northern people, the tribes of the Dorn Frontier performed ice burials for them:

Prepare an ice cave, put the remains of the deceased tribesmen inside, cover them with animal skins, seal the entrance with ice, and then dig a small hole above the ice cave.

The people of the North believed that this would allow their souls to leave the ice caves, while their bodies would remain to nourish the land of the North.

Although the permafrost tundra is barren and cold, all the people of the North deeply love the land beneath their feet.

On that night in the border region of Duoer, Gaode undoubtedly received the warmest welcome.

In the evening, the Duoerbian tribe held a bonfire party that had not been held for a long time.

The fuel, which was usually used with great care, was brought out without hesitation and used to start a roaring campfire.

The clansmen, on the other hand, brought over all sorts of wild vegetables and fruits that they had treasured in their homes.

These are things they only take out as condiments to eat with meat during festivals.

Himeru even had the hunters kill a female musk ox that was kept in the tribe to produce milk, in order to entertain God.

Of course, the village also has other meat stored in its reserves, including today's snow wolf meat, which is all fresh.

However, snow wolf meat doesn't taste particularly good. For the Northerners living on the permafrost tundra, it's a precious food that shouldn't be wasted, but serving it to guests would seem too stingy.

"I've heard that among you outsiders, there's a drink called 'wine' at banquets. We in the North have limited resources, so this is all we have," Chief Himo said, bringing a ceramic cup to God.

A few dried leaves floated on the steaming water in the cup.

"This is ginger tea," Simon explained. "Ginger grass is a special plant that only grows on the permafrost. After being picked and dried, it is used to make tea, which has a unique flavor and also helps to keep you warm."

"Master~~~" A clear, delicate voice rang out from Gao De's chest.

Himo was startled, only to discover that a small head was peeking out from Gao De's chest pocket.

Gao De smiled slightly, "Chief Ximo, I am not alone, but traveling with a companion. Please trouble you to pour my companion another cup of tea."

After taking a few more glances at Flora, who had already flown out of God's pocket, Simo went to fetch another ceramic cup.

He had chosen the smallest cup he could, but it was still too big for Flora.

"It's nothing," Gao De said, facing Ximo's slightly apologetic gaze.

A thought flashed through Gao De's mind, and a glint of inspiration appeared in his eyes. After confirming that the tea was harmless using [Detect Toxicity], he said to Flora, whose curiosity was already bursting:

"Lady Flora, please go first."

Flora immediately flew to the ceramic cup, placed her hands on the rim of the teacup, bent down, and like a kitten drinking water by the river, stuck out her tongue and gently licked it.

The next moment, Flora jumped up like a cat with its fur standing on end, shaking her head and retreating to Gaode's side.

"Master, be careful! This tea is poisoned!"

"Probably not."

"Oh~~ It doesn't seem to be poisonous after all." Flora, sticking out her tongue, fell into deep thought. With her abilities, how could she not sense poisonous plants?

Although the two were communicating telepathically, Flora's sudden backward "disdainful" movement still made Simon's eye twitch slightly.

Upon seeing this, Gao De smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

A faint herbal aroma wafted over, and as the tea flowed down my throat, an incredible burning sensation washed over me, instantly warming my body—it was truly a wondrous experience.

However, it tastes extremely spicy, and most people really can't drink it.

"Good stuff," Gao De exclaimed.

Seeing that Gaode Maps had approved ginger tea, Ximo couldn't help but smile with relief on his wrinkled face.

"You will always be our most honored guest in the Duerbian area."

Because the people of the North spend most of their time and energy foraging and survival, their sense of right and wrong is actually quite primitive.

Or rather, it's quite simple and unpretentious.

If you have done them a favor, they will regard you as the most honored person and will not have any other ulterior motives.

(End of this chapter)