Pillar of Yita

After the Day of Hibernation comes the Hunting Celebration, and after the Winter Hunt, it enters deep winter, and the Southern Region welcomes the last blizzard of winter’s end.

This blizzard lasted sporadically for seven days, the severe cold sweeping everything, almost freezing the tree branches in the wilderness. The breath exhaled turned into ice crystals in an instant, rustling to the ground. As for the coldest days, they were not suitable for travel at all, so Fang Hong could only wait patiently in the cave with Odin for the snowstorm to pass.

After the blizzard, although winter still lingered, it was the last phase of deep winter. Entering the middle of the Month of Revival (February), the climate began to warm up. By late February, the snow started to melt in lower altitude places. Streams formed from the melting ice and snow flowed gently across the land that had endured severe cold, where life began to sprout and grow unseen beneath the accumulated snow.

By March and April, everything was once again thriving with vigor. The mountains and wilderness were like green embroideries, with the last trace of white turning into the drizzle of early spring. Thus, the ancient Colin nurtured the hope of new life amid the silence and desolation of all things, completing the cycle under the sweeping snowstorms.

Of course, now it was still the end of January, and thinking too far ahead was not practical. It was just that on the last day of the snowstorm, Fang Hong still hadn’t managed to encounter the legendary Hunter—the Winter Wolf King, which left him somewhat disappointed.

Heading south from Dulun, in the northern branches of the Kudi Mountain Range, there were more legends about the winter mystique, one of which was about the king here—the King of the Winter Wolves. It was rumored that such a legendary creature existed within the Kudi Mountain Range.

It only roams the snowstorm, and you could only see its silhouette in the largest blizzard of the deep winter.

But few people have seen it.

On this particular night, the snowstorm was particularly fierce, and in the cave, the howling wind outside could still be heard faintly. At first, it sounded like the mere howl of the wind outside the cave, but upon careful listening, it seemed as if someone was loudly howling in the distant valley.

The sound of the wind seemed to hide a peculiar voice, rising and falling, plaintive and winding, almost making one think that it was the freezing ghosts carried by the icy wind. But Odin, looking through the campfire, told him, ”Did you hear that sound?”

Fang Hong nodded.

”It’s it.”

The Winter Hunter.

The following morning, in the vast snow mist, Fang Hong saw that legendary hunter. The Winter Wolf had a huge physique; he had once seen it from afar. An adult could be almost the size of a warhorse, but the scene before his eyes was even more shocking.

The legendary creature was walking on the treetops, with half its back crossing over the Pine and Cypress Forest, like a giant whale swimming in a vast white sea. Wherever it passed, the trees toppled, startling a flock of winter birds.

And when sunlight broke through the snow mist, the giant shadow seemed to melt away too, gradually dissolving into the winter sunlight.

The thin mist dispersed, the snowstorm ceased, and the forest returned to its original state.

Fang Hong gaped at this marvelous sight, feeling both tense and amazed, but more so, excited that the journey was worthwhile. He turned to Odin and asked, ”Can you beat it?”

The latter gave him a sidelong glance, responding succinctly, ”To date, there’s been no record of slaying the Winter Wolf King.”

”Does that mean the Guild tried?” Fang Hong couldn’t help but be curious.

”Yes, the Silver Weslan.”

”And then?”

”They didn’t encounter it.”

”Tch—”

”Actually, there are many,” Odin answered, ”but without exception, they all failed, and they were just nobodies whose names I can’t remember.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but look at his companion, thinking that sounded conceited, but considering it was Odin, and his guild was called Ragnarok, he felt relieved.

After a brief half-day respite from the snowstorm, it intermittently snowed again for two days. The two trudged through the Northern Kudi Mountain Range along Bristol Avenue. After crossing the ice and snow demarcation, the snowstorm gradually ceased.

Bristol Avenue is located north of Holy Bow Peak; it’s a sacred path once walked by the ancient Numelin Elves. But now, it remains just a long and narrow valley stretching east-west. The valley still holds some spires from the previous era, exposed to the elements, most eroded beyond recognition.

After the dissolution of civilization, the wilderness expanded again, leaving the broken path in the fragmented shape seen today, covered with shrubs and ravaged by ice and snow. It’s hardly a sacred path anymore.

After crossing Holy Bow Peak, you reach the geographical divide between north and south. Politically, Dulun belongs to the Southern Region, but it experiences the same severe cold in winter. But crossing the Kudi Mountain Range, the towering mountains block the cold air currents from moving south.

The farther south you go, the warmer the climate becomes—

Passing through the green Pine Forest verified that they had crossed the high-altitude regions of the mountains and began the downhill journey. The southern foothills of the Kudi Mountain Range gradually lower in altitude and terrain, and vegetation grows at different altitudes, showcasing different sceneries each day.

The Kudi Mountain Range is called such because a dragon dwells here.

A Cloud Dragon.

The beautiful creature has the appearance of a Silver Dragon, but it’s enormous, with delicate wings. They are high-altitude creatures, almost residing on the pinnacles of the highest mountains, where their nest is located. The mountain lies beneath the Dragon’s Lair, hence the name Kudi Mountain Range.

Moreover, the Kudi Mountain Range truly has underground caves, home to the region’s chronic afflictions—ogres, rat people, and demons. The rat people here differ somewhat from those of Andrett in Ande; they’re inherently evil, acting as bandits and robbers.