"That's good. Distribute the food first," Nina sighed. Seeing the blizzard a few days ago, she had reduced the food rations; otherwise, they wouldn't have lasted until today.
She turned her head and looked at the several emaciated cow beastkin sitting nearby. They used to be elites, but now they had all been starved thin.
Nina was a twenty-three-year-old tiger beastkin and formerly the personal bodyguard of the Queen. Following orders from the King, she and the others had stayed in the Rocky Mountains to guard the treasure.
"Then Lady Nina should go eat a little as well," Rex said with some concern. He could clearly see that Lady Nina had also lost quite a bit of weight.
"By the way, no one followed you back this time, right?" Nina shook her head and asked.
"No. We are very cautious every time we go out. As for..." Rex scratched his head and said embarrassedly.
He saw Nina looking at the beast meat jerky; the quantity was clearly less than before.
"Did the hunting not go smoothly? The food is getting less and less each time," Nina turned her head and stared at Rex.
"No, we didn't encounter any interference. It's just that we didn't dare wander too far for fear of delaying our return for too long. There isn't much prey left in our usual hunting grounds," Rex said ashamedly.
"It seems we'll have to eat even less, otherwise we won't last until your next return." After inspecting the food, Nina's expression turned somewhat solemn.
"This..." Rex looked at Nina, hesitating to speak.
"It's fine, speak," Nina said, seeing Rex's expression and somewhat guessing what he was about to say.
"Lady Nina, we have already waited for the Eldest Princess and the Young Princess for six years. Who knows when they will come? We've gone from over two hundred people in the beginning to just over twenty now."
"I really don't know how much longer we can hold on. Without food in the Rocky Mountains, we won't last much longer before starving to death. How about..." Rex's eyes were moist by the time he finished speaking.
"Enough." Nina directly interrupted what Rex was about to say. She sighed and said stubbornly, "Yes, we have waited a long time. But this was the old King's order; we must continue to wait."
"I know prey is hard to hunt right now, but we have to persevere. We must wait until the Eldest Princess and the Young Princess arrive."
After Nina finished speaking, she scanned the beastkin who were currently adding firewood and distributing food, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes.
In truth, she didn't know when this would end either. Perhaps the Eldest Princess and the others would never return. But she couldn't say that out loud. She was the backbone of this group; she had to stay strong.
"I wonder where the Eldest Princess and the Young Princess are now, and if they're safe," Rex thought of how long the two princesses had been gone and couldn't help but worry.
"They're fine. There shouldn't be any major problems. What we need to solve right now is our food issue," Nina deflected the topic.
"Although there are plenty of wild fruits this season, I'm afraid that once winter comes and the Forbidden Mountains are also covered in snow, our days will become even harder to endure," Rex said in distress.
"Then pick more wild fruits and store them well in the ice and snow, and we can slowly transport them over later. Not having meat to eat isn't a huge problem, as long as we don't starve to death," Nina sighed helplessly.
"That's all we can do," Rex said bitterly. Without meat to eat in the winter, they wouldn't last long.
"By the way, during your recent trips to the Forbidden Mountains, have you encountered any other beastkin?" Nina asked. She suddenly thought that the beastkin who fled because of the winter would all pass through the Forbidden Mountains. Perhaps some had settled down there.
"Yes, there are a few small beastkin tribes that fled from the Valtoria Kingdom previously," Rex replied in a deep voice.
It was precisely because of those small tribes that the wild beasts on the outskirts of the Forbidden Mountains had decreased significantly, making hunting much more difficult.
"Then how are their lives over there?" Nina was a bit curious.
"They're doing reasonably well. After all, gathering wild fruits and hunting in the Forbidden Mountains is much more convenient for them than for us. Furthermore, they've even reclaimed some farmland to plant seeds they brought with them, saving it for the winter." Rex shared everything he knew.
"I see!" Nina began to ponder.
"Right, we can take some gold coins from the treasure to trade with them!" Rex said with some excitement.
"No, absolutely not. That is the treasure the old King left for the Eldest Princess and the Young Princess. We absolutely cannot touch it." Nina's voice was noticeably louder.
"Lady Nina, we'll just take a little bit to exchange for food, so we'll have enough to survive the winter," Rex said anxiously.
"..." Nina didn't say anything, resting her chin on one hand and supporting her elbow with the other as she thought.
"We just need to take a few gold coins. I believe the Eldest Princess and the others wouldn't blame us. If we don't survive, there won't be anyone left to guard this treasure." Seeing Nina hesitate, Rex continued to persuade her, "If this continues, Lady Nina, you and everyone else won't be able to hold on."
Nina thought for a good while before silently nodding, "Alright then, just this once. Go take a hundred or so gold coins to exchange for wheat and animal skin coats."
"Mm-hmm, just this once," Rex hurriedly nodded, breathing a sigh of relief in his heart.
"Wait, that's not right." Nina frowned. She thought for a while, and upon seeing an ox beastkin grinding his sword in preparation for the next hunt, her eyes suddenly lit up, realizing what she had missed.
"Lady Nina, is something wrong?" Rex asked in confusion.
"Since they've settled in the Forbidden Mountains, it means gold coins are already useless to them," Nina said suddenly.
"Then what do we do?" Rex also just realized it. Food was more important right now; gold coins were actually useless.
He followed Nina's gaze and saw the beastkin grinding his sword. He suddenly gasped, "Weapons?"
"Mm, exactly. What they lack are weapons for hunting and defense. The spears they make from wood surely can't fend off larger beasts." The corners of Nina's mouth curled up slightly.
"Weapons... but we only have enough weapons for ourselves." Rex fell into worry again.
"You forgot. When the old King left the treasure, he also conveniently left behind a batch of spears and bows," Nina said evenly.
"Oh right, how could I have forgotten?" Rex slapped his forehead in sudden realization.
"When you leave tomorrow, take some weapons with you to trade. I don't think they will refuse." Nina turned her head to look deep into the cave and instructed, "Be careful not to leave tracks."
"Yes," Rex replied respectfully.
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