Wolf Dad patrolled the cave.
On one hand, he was marking it with his scent, declaring the territory.
On the other, he was checking for intruders.
Especially under the polar night, desperate Hunters could do anything when hunger drove them mad.
After Wolf Dad left the cave, Little Gray, who had been crouching nearby, no longer felt restrained.
It started acting mischievous again.
It had spent a long time with the wolf pack.
It knew all the wolves in the pack.
While its boss and Wolf Mom were chatting, it bounced over to several Last Wolves.
Little Gray was currently second only to Wolf Dad in size within the pack, not much smaller than the two Second Wolves.
Its towering body appeared before several Last Wolves.
The Last Wolves were clearly somewhat nervous.
After Little Gray arrived,
it first went to check on the two injured wolves who had failed to seize any food.
Little Gray knew these two wolves well.
One was Gray-White Little Wolf's Mother, and the other was Cousin Sister's Mother.
They had originally been among the weakest members of the pack. Now that they were injured as well, they were in a truly miserable state.
Little Gray did not want to watch them go without even scraps.
So it snatched the fish meat, of which less than half remained, from two other Last Wolves.
Of course,
it took some effort.
But Little Gray's current strength was comparable to that of a Level 5 Arctic Wolf, and its combat power was even greater.
With just a few swipes of its claws, it already wielded seventy or eighty percent of Wolf Dad's force.
It quickly taught the two Last Wolves that they needed to live in harmony.
All wolves needed to survive.
If they were not given any food at all, Gray-White Little Wolf's Mother and Cousin Sister's Mother would very likely fail to endure this polar night.
Little Gray's intelligence was now far beyond that of ordinary wolves.
Within its tiny head, hazy emotions such as sympathy had begun to emerge.
Gray-White Little Wolf's Mother and Cousin Sister's Mother were now wolfing down the scant fish scraps.
They also let out low whines of thanks to Little Gray.
But soon,
Gray-White Little Wolf's Mother accidentally got caught on a fish bone.
She had been eating too hastily and failed to notice it, letting it lodge in her throat.
She rolled about the ground in agony.
She looked utterly miserable.
This caused Little Gray to start teaching her how to cough up the fish bone with dry coughing.
Gray-White Little Wolf's Mother coughed dryly for quite a while before finally coughing up a bloodstained fish bone.
"Awoo!"
Though her fate seemed rather tragic, she still endured the pain in her throat and let out a low howl to thank Little Gray.
Little Gray merely shook its head adorably, signaling that she should eat fish slowly.
At that moment, Su Lin stirred and walked over.
When he reached the two Female Wolves, he motioned for Little Gray to stand guard at the cave entrance. "Awoo! Awoo!"
Little Gray obediently gave two low howls before running to the cave entrance.
As for the injured Gray-White Little Wolf's Mother and Cousin Sister's Mother,
Su Lin also took a look at their injuries.
He found that they were badly hurt. The wounds were deep, and who knew how many days had passed without even a sign of scabbing.
"Awoo!"
Su Lin let out a low howl, asking what had caused their wounds.
The two Female Wolves had fairly average intelligence.
They could express themselves even less clearly than Wolf Mom.
After howling repeatedly,
Su Lin finally understood the gist of it.
Their howls repeatedly mentioned a grizzly bear.
Indeed,
only a large hunter like a grizzly bear could likely inflict wounds like these.
During the food-scarce polar night, wolves could become desperate enough to hunt Grizzly Bears.
Grizzly Bears could likewise become desperate enough to kill a few Arctic Wolves to fill their bellies.
Mutual slaughter among Hunters
had become an extremely common occurrence.
Of course,
everything was simply for the sake of survival.
The weak were prey to the strong; natural selection prevailed.
Nature had always been cruel.
After learning the details, Su Lin turned and returned to Wolf Mom's side. He tore several pounds of fish meat from the remaining half of the dogfish and carried it over to Gray-White Little Wolf's Mother and Cousin Sister's Mother.
The two Female Wolves let out delighted low howls.
Their wolf howls were filled with gratitude toward Su Lin.
They knew that all the food they had eaten today had been brought by Su Lin.
Besides,
they had been worrying about their cubs all this time, but they could finally set their minds at ease.
After all, if Su Lin could bring food to help them, then the wolf pack under his leadership surely would not need to worry about food.
Su Lin merely returned silently to Wolf Mom's side and lay down.
Yet he was considering which grizzly bear in this area had clashed with the wolf pack.
Bears held grudges, and their sense of smell was even sharper than that of wolves.
At any moment, one might follow the scent to the cave.
Killing one was killing; killing two was killing too!
Bear meat tasted good anyway, and it would make excellent stored provisions.
Wolf Mom, beside him, did not know what bold and reckless thoughts Su Lin was having.
If she knew, she would certainly try her utmost to stop him.
Because Hunting a grizzly bear was extremely dangerous for a wolf pack and had an exceedingly low chance of success.
Of course,
Wolf Mom also did not know that her cub, who was only a little over half a year old, had already hunted a grizzly bear all by himself!
"Awoo!"
Wolf Mom let out a low howl, signaling Su Lin to stay with the pack for a few more days.
Su Lin thought of the little cubs in his cave and still refused.
However, he had already decided that he would come check on Wolf Dad, Wolf Mom, and the others from time to time.
He would also bring them food and supplies.
Hearing Su Lin's response, Wolf Mom felt somewhat reluctant to part with him.
But she did not force him to stay. She merely licked Su Lin's fur affectionately once more.
After that, Su Lin and Wolf Mom stayed together a while longer.
After Wolf Dad returned,
Su Lin took Little Gray and bid farewell to the wolf pack.
"Awoo!"
"Awoo!"
"Awoo!"
At the cave entrance, Wolf Dad and Wolf Mom's long howls carried both reluctance and comfort at seeing their cub grow up.
Su Lin, who had already walked some distance away, turned back to look at Wolf Dad and Wolf Mom at the cave entrance, then answered with a long howl.
Little Gray also howled in reply beside him.
Because Little Gray had been picked up by Wolf Mom from the freezing snowfields, it could be considered half a cub to Wolf Mom and Wolf Dad.
"Awoo!"
"Awoo!"
The two clear wolf howls echoed through the pitch-black night.
Immediately afterward,
Su Lin and Little Gray darted swiftly through the darkness.
They soon vanished from Wolf Dad and Wolf Mom's sight.
The road back remained silent as well, with only the faint sound of wolf claws stepping on ice and snow accompanying them.
Su Lin had been hunting in this area for half a year now.
After observing carefully, he had gained a rough understanding of the other Hunters in this area.
Aside from the ice sheet,
there were not many Hunters within this hundred-mile radius worth mentioning.
So far, he had observed nine wolf packs and five Grizzly Bears.
As for Lynxes, Snowy Owls, Arctic Foxes, and the like, they posed little threat.
Su Lin had not paid them much attention.
Among the nine wolf packs, only one Large Wolf Pack was stronger than Wolf Dad and Wolf Mom's pack.
The other packs were merely scattered groups of two or three, nothing to worry about.
However, that Large Wolf Pack was at the edge of the area.
Under normal circumstances, the two sides did not cross paths.
As for the Grizzly Bears,
they appeared in this area quite frequently.
Before you continue