Chapter 41: Chapter 41 The Strict Hierarchy of the Wolf Pack.
Entering the cave,
Su Lin saw the rest of the Wolf Clan sleeping.
Their spirits were very low.
He even spotted two wolves with wounds still bearing traces of blood on their bodies.
This made the originally excited Su Lin somewhat puzzled.
Had there really been some Hunter bothering the Wolf Pack while he was away?
Soon,
he saw Wolf Mother among the pack.
Wolf Mother hadn't changed much,
she had just become as emaciated as Wolf Father.
Her fur had also lost some of its usual luster.
Seeing Wolf Mother like this, Su Lin felt a pang of heartache.
Wolf Mother, awakened by the howls, also saw that her once little pup had returned.
She howled softly in happiness.
"Aoou!"
Previously lying down to conserve Physical Strength, Wolf Mother also rose from the stone wall and walked towards Su Lin.
After coming over, she affectionately licked Su Lin's fur with her tongue.
Su Lin and Wolf Sister were the first litter of cubs for Wolf Mother.
Her affection for Su Lin and Wolf Sister was deep.
Especially for Su Lin,
who had grown into an Arctic Wolf rivaling Wolf Father in a short time, she was very proud.
Perhaps it was due to the inherent mindset under the polar night,
Wolf Mother thought that Su Lin probably hadn't had a good meal during this time either.
So she gave a low howl, signaling Su Lin to follow her to the spot where she had been sleeping just now.
She scratched the ground with her claws, uncovering a few Traveling Rats and some dark-looking berries.
Then with her nose, she pushed the food in front of Su Lin, urging him to eat quickly.
Su Lin knew,
that this might be the last of Wolf Mother's private stash under the polar night.
These Traveling Rats and dark berries might seem unremarkable, but they were filled with Wolf Mother's love for him.
This deeply moved Su Lin.
"Aoou!"
Seeing the hope and happiness in Wolf Mother's eyes, he didn't refuse,
he just silently bowed his head and ate one of the dark berries.
Members of the Wolf Clan belong to the canine family,
and while they can eat some wild fruits and insects to stave off hunger,
they only do so when they are extremely hungry.
Because in terms of the Wolf Clan's taste buds and stomach, the taste of wild fruits is truly not very appetizing.
Indeed,
these dark wild berries, whatever their kind, tasted somewhat bitter in his mouth.
They had very little juice and hardly provided any nutrition.
Eating these was barely better than nothing.
This made Su Lin feel,
even more acutely, how tough a time Wolf Mother had been through lately.
However, it was at this moment,
suddenly,
a faint grey message prompt appeared.
"Ding! Host has consumed Black Fruit Yan Gao Lan and obtained 6 Evolution Points."
This message took Su Lin by surprise.
"Hm? This works too?"
It seemed that he could not only obtain Evolution Points by eating meat, but it appeared that plant fruits could also do the trick.
Black Fruit Yan Gao Lan,
he had heard of it before.
It was a plant that grew in cold regions.
Able to survive in extremely harsh conditions,
it was cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and could thrive in poor soil; the plant had an extraordinarily strong ability to survive.
At the same time, its fruits had some medicinal and research value.
Now, under the gain of Evolution Points,
Su Lin ate a few more of the dark berries from the ground.
"Ding! Host has consumed Black Fruit Yan Gao Lan and obtained 5 Evolution Points."
"Ding! Host has consumed Black Fruit Yan Gao Lan and obtained 4 Evolution Points."
"Ding! Host has consumed Black Fruit Yan Gao Lan and obtained 3 Evolution Points."
...
The Evolution Points from plant fruits dropped more sharply,
after eating just five or six dark berries, they had already decreased to less than 1 Evolution Point each.
This made Su Lin stop.
Wolf Mother then nudged the Traveling Rats with her nose again, indicating that Su Lin should eat those instead.
Because she also knew how unappetizing those berries were.
She wanted to save the best food for her cubs.
This made Su Lin feel that a mother's love was truly the greatest love in the world.
At that moment, Xiao Hui dragged the fishing net to the cave as well.
Su Lin let out a low howl, telling Wolf Mother that he had brought her some delicious food.
Wolf Mother had probably never tasted such fresh and delicious fish meat.
This time, she would have a good meal.
The emaciation of Wolf Dad and Wolf Mom was clearly due to the scarcity of food,
it was caused by not having had enough to eat for a long time.
At this moment, Xiao Hui heard the Lead Wolf's low howl.
Very sensibly, he dragged the fishing net in front of Wolf Mother.
The fish had been violently slapped dead by Su Lin using his Wolf Claw,
emitting a strong scent of blood,
which caused the rest of the Arctic Wolves in the cave, who were in a deep sleep to preserve Physical Strength,
to get up instantly, their eyes shining bright.
They hadn't eaten for many days.
To them, the smell of blood was like the best aroma in the world.
Those green, ghostly eyes stared at the fish exuding the scent of blood, unable to help salivating.
"Wuu wuu!"
Wolf Father showed his teeth to the pack of wolves that were nearly frantic with hunger, emitting a threatening sound.
This settled them down a bit.
But looking at the fishing net with its strong smell of blood, they were still swallowing saliva like crazy.
This was not because Wolf Father had lost his authority as Lead Wolf,
it was simply that beneath the Arctic night, all the wolves were extremely hungry.
Recently, in extreme hunger, they had even prepared to hunt a Grizzly Bear that was wandering and provoking them in the Wolf Pack Territory.
The result was that the Grizzly Bear was not successfully hunted,
instead, two wolves were injured,
making the already difficult situation of the Wolf Pack even worse.
Now suddenly smelling the scent of food,
there was an extreme longing in their eyes.
Su Lin pulled out a Dogfish and the largest Salmon from the fishing net, together weighing nearly forty pounds.
That was enough for Wolf Dad and Wolf Mom to eat.
Then he let out a low howl, handing over the rest of the fish meat to Wolf Father to deal with.
"Ao! Ao! Ao!"
At this time, the wolves of the Wolf Clan, starving, began to howl pleadingly, hoping to get some food shared with them.
Within the Wolf Pack,
Wolf Father, as the Lead Wolf, had supreme authority, including the division of food.
This caused all the Arctic Wolves to beseech Wolf Father frantically.
Wolf Father bared his teeth again, and even swung his strong Wolf Claw, striking hard at two wolves that tried to come forward.
He was displaying deterrence.
Because in his heart, he understood all too well the preciousness of food during the Arctic night,
and that, as the Lead Wolf, without sufficient deterrence, chaos could very likely ensue.
At this moment, after getting a group of wolves in order,
he took out another fish from the not-so-bountiful net as a reserve supply of food.
The remaining four fish
were then distributed in turn to the other members of the Wolf Pack.
It wasn't that Wolf Father was soft-hearted,
but as the Lead Wolf, he had the obligation to lead the Wolf Pack to survive.
The hierarchy in the Wolf Pack was strict,
apart from the Lead Wolf, there were also the roles of Beta Wolf and Hai Wolf.
The Beta Wolf's combat power and status were second only to the Lead Wolf.
In the Wolf Pack currently led by Wolf Father,
there were two Beta Wolves, each with a Strength Attribute of Level 5.
Each of these two Beta Wolves got a fish,
weighing five or six pounds.
"Ao! Ao!"
After receiving their food, the two Beta Wolves excitedly howled repeatedly.
The remaining four Hai Wolves, however, were not treated so well.
The Hai Wolves were in the lowest position within the Wolf Pack.
Wolf Father simply threw two fish in front of them without dividing them specifically.
This caused them to instantly start a fierce fight over the food.
Might makes right,
and in this moment, it was once again distinctly proven.
The stronger wolves could eat more food while the weaker ones had to make do with leftovers.
But with Wolf Father's deterrence in place, even though the Hai Wolves' fight for the food was severe, they still kept it within bounds.