"No holding back! Just as the tribe had barely moved 50 meters, a pack of wolves stormed in, starting a gruesome feast with a scent of death. With three days of no food, they fought tooth and nail for every morsel, with no regard for decency.
It would take at least 4 to 5 days for this pack of wolves to perish gradually. During this time, it wasn't entirely safe to venture out, so apart from the skilled hunters, everyone stayed in the secluded cave to learn.
Today, Minh Vu would teach them how to make bricks. This marked the first step in their civilization's development.
Bricks were essential building materials; walls made of bricks were incredibly sturdy and, given their current level of skill, challenging to break through.
But making bricks was relatively simple; it mainly involved putting clay into a frame, compressing it tightly, then letting it dry before firing it for about 8-12 hours.
With bricks, they could construct solid structures like walls, houses, warehouses, bridges, and more.
So today, Minh Vu began his role as a teacher. Since they lacked clay for experimentation, Minh Vu used snow as a substitute, instructing everyone accordingly.
The tribe endured consecutive days of hardship, with no sign of any wolves around anymore. It seemed the pack was starting to dwindle away.
Minh Vu didn't rush to collect their corpses from the forest; it was too risky. They might just weaken, and cornering them would lead to mutual destruction.
Two days later, the Klu group couldn't stay calm; they were eating dried fish to the point of disgust. Moreover, there hadn't been a single wolf sighting lately, further convincing Klu that their leader had killed them all.
Klu's reverence for Minh Vu grew. They hadn't exerted any strength, fired a single arrow, shed any blood, yet the entire pack of wolves was gone.
After some bitterness, Minh Vu agreed to let them venture out, but cautioned them to return immediately if they encountered live wolves, against his orders.
Hearing this, the hunters were ecstatic, swiftly gearing up for the forest expedition with bows, arrows, ropes, and more.
The forest party comprised ten members, led by Orc and Klu, along with two skilled archers, Ashi and Caty, both women.
Their inclusion was simple; their archery skills were exceptional, and after days of training, they had proven themselves as brave warriors.
Seeing the group disappear into the forest's depths, Minh Vu felt extremely anxious. Yet, he knew accompanying them would not only be futile but also burdensome, so he silently prayed to the spirits.
Despite his inner conflict about spiritual beliefs, Minh Vu needed an anchor in times like this, and the spirits were the first thing that came to mind.
From early morning until late evening, there was no sight of the hunting party anywhere, and Minh Vu's anxiety burned like a raging fire, pacing back and forth on the rocky ledge, despite the howling wind.
In the pitch-black forest, flames flickered incessantly.
"Yes! They've returned!" It was the first time he felt such happiness awaiting someone's return.
Half an hour later, the weary Klu group returned to the tribe, but their faces were filled with excitement.
"On the mountain! Many wolves! Too many! We couldn't bring them all, so we buried some under the snow!" Klu exclaimed breathlessly.
Though he said that, he was carrying three wolf carcasses on his shoulders, as did almost every hunter, except Ashi and Caty, who had a bundle each.
It turned out that upon reaching the mountains, they unexpectedly found many blood trails on the snow. Following them, they discovered a wolf den near a rock outcrop, not far from the tribe's location.
Surrounding the den were numerous wolf corpses, estimated at over 70, large and small, but all were emaciated, with no flesh left. Yet, the other items on the wolves were of value, so they brought them back to the tribe.
However, there were too many wolves to bring back at once, so Ashi suggested burying them under the snow and retrieving them the next day.
Even more surprisingly, while the hunters were digging the snow, Ashi and Caty were circling around and stumbled upon three wolf pups whimpering in a crevice.
Since their mother had been dead for 1-2 days, the pups were starving. Moved by maternal instincts, Ashi decided to bring them back to their leader.
Hearing this, Minh Vu was overjoyed; wolf pups meant they could be tamed.
But suddenly, he remembered the Husky he once had—a bit of a wild dog, to say the least—and couldn't help but smile nostalgically.
While the whole tribe rejoiced over the wolves' demise, Orc remained skeptical, "The leader lied! The wolves are dead! No meat! No delicacies!"
Hearing Orc's words, the tribe burst into laughter, then looked at Minh Vu with eager anticipation.
"Fine! When you all return tomorrow, there will be a feast!" Minh Vu chuckled, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
A peaceful night passed with no incidents. Outside, the wind howled relentlessly, while inside, there were only sounds of heavy breathing.
From early morning, the tribe began their work. The hunters went to the mountains to collect wolf carcasses, with a large group of nearly 24 people, including young women assisting Klu's group.
The rest helped Minh Vu prepare for the grand feast to celebrate their victory over the ferocious wolves.
To prepare delicious food, they needed good ingredients; fresh food was the best choice.
They prepared four fresh fish, gutted them, and made two dishes: traditional fish porridge and grilled fish—nothing fancy, just everyday food.
It's not that he didn't want to make something new, but the ingredients were scarce.
They also harvested five traps, which yielded quite a lot of shrimp. These shrimp were the ingredients for today's delicious meal.
First, they boiled stones and potatoes, then mashed them, kneaded them until smooth, and then let them ferment in an earthen pot.
Next was the wolf meat, chopped into small pieces, seasoned with salt, then steamed. The shrimp were prepared in the same way, steamed until cooked, then ground into a paste.
To have the women do these tasks, Minh Vu went to a nearby clay house and started digging out snow, then used the clay to build a temporary oven.
The oven was constructed quite simply, based on the structure of a brick kiln, with the only difference being that the bottom was built solid instead of having beehive holes like a pottery kiln.
Once everything was prepared, it was already afternoon, and the hunters began to return. Since there were many people today, everyone looked composed and wise.
It was estimated that they had brought back about 40 wolf carcasses today. Altogether, they had nearly 100 wolf skins from previous hunts. A great harvest for the winter.
Upon returning, they didn't rest but gathered around the newly built oven.
Seeing each piece of meat stuffed into layers of mashed potatoes and stone flour, everyone's mouths watered, and they eagerly waited for their turn.
Observing the greedy eyes focused on their every move, Minh Vu felt like a fresh piece of meat about to be torn apart by a pack of hungry wolves.
In contrast to the Klu group, since Ashi had captured three wolf pups, her mind was solely focused on them. Minh Vu had entrusted Ashi with their care.
These were still nursing pups, so Ashi asked for some milk from the nursing mothers in the tribe. She followed the leader's instructions.
The pups were initially frightened, but due to hunger, they reluctantly ate. Over time, they began to see Ashi as their mother. But that was a story for later; for now, Ashi was still struggling with these little rascals.
Outside, as the sun's light faded, it was time for the tribe's dinner. The crucial moment had arrived. Minh Vu lit the oven, and a delightful aroma filled the air, spreading around.
The bread loaves were brought out—over 20 large loaves, golden and shiny, each exuding a crispy, fluffy texture.
With the scent spreading, Minh Vu was quite pleased with his masterpiece.
Twenty loaves were divided into four different types—some filled with wolf meat, some with shrimp.
The overall presentation was quite eye-catching.
Despite seeming like a lot, with a tribe population of over 100, they had to ration carefully to ensure everyone got a share."