Strange Man

Wind swept across the rolling Gray Hills before them, and the meadow grass on the hills rippled into waves of green. Everything seemed tranquil and harmonious.

By afternoon, the sun hung high overhead. Several adult Wilderness Horned Deer wandered beneath a patch of low sea buckthorn shrubs at the edge of the meadow, heads lowered as they enjoyed the sweet berries. For every animal surviving in the Ice and Snow Wilderness, this was the best season of the year.

The wind blowing over the meadow made the waist-high wild grass rustle, and it also carried other sounds and scents from within the meadow.

As if sensing something, the Wilderness Horned Deer feeding there abruptly froze, lifted their heads, and looked around. Then they all bolted in panic.

The deer had barely begun to run when several javelins whistled through the air and planted themselves in the ground around where they had just stood. One Wilderness Horned Deer was struck in the neck by a javelin, let out a mournful cry, and collapsed on the ground.

Seven or eight youths clad in animal hides suddenly burst from the meadow like leopards and began chasing the two Wilderness Horned Deer that were sprinting away.

"This one can't get away! Everyone, go after the ones ahead!" shouted the youth running at the very front, directing the others. At his words, all the youths swiftly swept past where the deer had been, snatched up the javelins stuck in the ground, and pursued the fleeing Wilderness Horned Deer.

These seven or eight youths were only thirteen or fourteen, yet they had already grown remarkably sturdy. Especially when running, their explosive strength and speed over short distances were astonishing. The Wilderness Horned Deer, which had only just started running, were unable to completely widen the distance