Reinforcing the snow wall by digging a trench at the base of the wall and using the snow to pile up on the wall itself, making it stronger and taller. This helps fortify the wall and increases its height. Additionally, traps can be set under the trench to further deter any potential threats.
While the tribe members were busy with their tasks, Minh Vu began to ponder over the sudden wolf attack last night.
Wolves are incredibly smart creatures; they wouldn't foolishly target humans, especially a tribe with many people. Even if they were to win, they wouldn't be able to kill many.
Yet, last night, the wolves chose our tribe as their target.
During winter, food is scarce, but it's only the beginning of winter, and food shortage hasn't become critical yet.
The wolves wouldn't have attacked without a reason.
Minh Vu's mind started connecting the dots.
Wolves are pack animals with keen senses, capable of detecting the scent of urine from 2km away and tracking prey for up to 40km.
Their keen senses, strength, stamina, and pack mentality are their strengths. But what they crave the most is the scent of blood. However, the tribe has been extremely cautious lately, so there haven't been any injuries or bloodshed. But!
"Bang! Yesterday, Luca caught a fish! A big fish, and it bled a lot. After collecting the fish, out of excitement, he didn't clean up the blood and fish guts outside the camp!"
"That's it!" Minh Vu affirmed.
"Orc! Klu! Xem! Cas! Check the stream!" Minh Vu commanded loudly.
Hearing the urgency in Minh Vu's voice, Klu sensed that something was amiss and immediately, along with other tribe members, armed themselves and followed Minh Vu.
This time, Minh Vu and his team cautiously ventured outside the walls to prevent any surprise wolf attacks. So, they moved in a pentagon formation, with Minh Vu at the center. Orc and Klu took the lead with bows ready, while Xem and Cas guarded from behind with sharp spears.
As the five of them reached the stream where Luca had caught the big fish, they could still see bloodstains on the snow and fish guts hanging from branches, frozen but still emitting a faint smell.
Minh Vu's expression darkened.
"Who left the fish remains without cleaning up?"
"They left it as bait to lure the fish!" Klu replied.
"Pull up the fish remains! From now on, no one goes out without my permission!" Minh Vu's tone was stern.
The four men were a bit intimidated by Minh Vu's demeanor and didn't dare to argue. They quickly pulled up the fish remains left from yesterday.
The ropes were heavy, and from the jerking motion, one could predict that the remains would be full of fish. But when they pulled it up, Minh Vu was completely surprised. Inside were not fish but a creature with a gray exoskeleton and two large terrifying pincers.
"Shrimp?" suspicion arose in Minh Vu's mind.
Upon closer inspection, it was a freshwater crustacean, commonly known as river shrimp. Seeing the shrimp wriggling inside the remains, Minh Vu couldn't help but smile.
The harvest of five bundles yielded over 10kg of shrimp, indicating that the tribe had quite a feast today. After learning the reason behind the wolf attack, Minh Vu and his group quickly returned to devise a plan.
Back at the tribe, seeing the bounty in Klu's hands, the tribe members couldn't contain their excitement. They recognized the river shrimps, a delicacy they had caught during the dry season when the stream was shallow. The meat was sweet and fragrant, lacking the usual gamey taste due to the absence of blood.
Even in modern times, shrimp was considered a delicacy, especially large ones like these, valued as much as gold.
Shrimp could be prepared in various ways, but grilling with salt was an excellent choice.
Minh Vu assigned the tribe members to research ways to counter the wolf pack while he pondered over a suitable strategy.
In the following days, the tribe of Big Rock was on high alert. Besides the archers and hunters training outside, everyone else was confined within the walls.
Women, elders, and children all contributed, sharpening wooden sticks into small stakes. These stakes, with sharp points about 2-3cm long, were made in abundance, although the work was meticulous and tiring, it was necessary for the safety of the tribe.
However, Minh Vu wasn't rushing to execute his plan. Instead, he was trying to create the right conditions.
In the next few days, as the snowfall intensified, wolves were seen constantly prowling around despite the thick snow. Today, the tribe members enjoyed dried fish with relish, and Minh Vu ordered a large-scale fishing expedition to bring fresh fish back.
This time, 12 hunters and 10 archers were sent out, with the archers tasked with defense in case of a sudden wolf attack. The rest would be guarding the tribe.
With experience from the previous incident, this fishing trip was relatively easy. After breaking the ice and baiting the water, it didn't take long for fish to start biting. Within minutes, a large catch was made, with at least ten fish, but only six were brought back to the tribe. The rest were gutted, filleted, and scattered around, filling the air with the smell of blood.
Once everything was done, Minh Vu and his companions quickly returned to the safety of the cave, not daring to stay outside.
Klu was puzzled by the leader's actions. Last time, it wasn't their carelessness that led to the wolves' attack, yet now, the leader acted as if it were, and even went further.
Indeed, not long after Minh Vu's departure, three or four wolves approached the stream, their eyes wary and assessing the surroundings.
They sensed the lingering scent of blood in the air, making their hungry stomachs ache. However, being cautious creatures, they didn't directly eat but instead sniffed around, evaluating everything.
After a while, more than 40 wolves arrived, led by a large, imposing wolf with scars stretching from ear to mouth.
It surveyed the scene, then let out a low growl, and another wolf stepped forward, looking old and weak.
Approaching the remains, the old wolf began to eat without haste, savoring every bite and testing for any traps. Although it was merely eating without tearing, it still gulped down without chewing.
Indeed, these fish pieces were cut so finely, they were just the right size for easy consumption, no chewing required.
Seeing the old wolf not encountering any issues, the leader wolf let out a grunt, and more than 40 wolves descended upon the feast meant for them.