Chapter 30

A new day arrived, and the weather was even colder.

The moment he logged in, Su Wangchuan felt the breath he exhaled turn visibly whiter. His hands and feet trembled slightly from the cold.

Stepping out of the wooden house, he saw heavy snow falling outside. The ground and rooftops of the village were already buried beneath a thick blanket of snow, easily knee-deep.

“Wangchuan, you’re up?”

“Morning, Brother Lin.”

Su Wangchuan exchanged greetings with Lin Dahai at the door, then became completely captivated by the snowy scenery of the game world.

A vast expanse of white.

Everything looked like something straight out of a fairy tale—no matter where he looked, it was pleasing to the eye.

“So beautiful.”

“If my wife could see this, she’d lose her mind.”

Lin Dahai smiled.

Su Wangchuan took a deep breath and then stepped into the snow, leaving behind a trail of deep footprints.

Even for adults, it was hard not to feel lighthearted and joyful when facing the first snowfall of the year.

“Let’s go.”

“Time to train.”

Although he wanted to immerse himself in the scenery, his training had finally begun to show results yesterday. He wanted to master spear techniques as soon as possible, so he hurried over to Wang Dalang to buy wolf meat jerky.

“Wangchuan, morning. No time to train today.”

Wang Dalang greeted him proactively and added a reminder.

Su Wangchuan froze, pulling the jerky away from his mouth.

“Why?”

Wang Dalang breathed out warm air and pointed toward the village. “The snow is too heavy. Once it freezes, wolves and other beasts will be able to climb straight into the village. The village chief discussed it with Captain Zhao. Today’s top priority is clearing snow.”

“That’s fine. This much snow should be cleared quickly.”

Su Wangchuan did not take it seriously at first.

But he soon realized things were not that simple.

Captain Zhao Heiniu was directing the militia atop the earthen wall, ordering them to shovel off accumulated snow, while issuing snow-clearing tasks to players who had logged in.

Completing one basket of snow earned two Copper Coins.

Players who had gone several days without income immediately became excited.

The distance to dump the snow was not far—just transport it thirty zhang outside the village.

But once they actually started, everyone began to complain bitterly.

Packed snow was far from light, and moving through knee-deep snow was much harder than climbing a mountain…

They could only clear a main path first, then slowly transport the snow outward.

Within ten zhang outside the village’s earthen wall, there could be no snow at all.

Dozens of people worked the entire morning, only managing to clear the snow from the village ground and rooftops.

Su Wangchuan asked his master, Blacksmith Sun, and learned that snow and frozen ground could not be allowed inside the village. Slippery terrain made combat extremely difficult and greatly increased danger.

Snow near the village also had to be cleared as much as possible, to prevent beasts from using it.

Everyone worked energetically until six in the evening. They all earned a bit of money, finally clearing the snow inside and outside the village completely. Exhausted, they ate wolf meat jerky with smiles on their faces and logged off one after another.

No standing in formation, and money to earn—not bad.

Su Wangchuan did not log off.

He stayed behind to continue practicing stabbing.

Just as he finished eating and prepared to train, he noticed Captain Zhao Heiniu standing atop the earthen wall, staring into the distance with a solemn expression.

Su Wangchuan did not think much of it and focused on training.

The snowfall had stopped, and visibility improved slightly.

In Zhao Heiniu’s field of view, tiny black dots appeared in the direction of the mountains and the mining area.

The village chief and several militiamen also noticed the distant black dots.

“Wolves, or wild boars?”

“Hopefully wolves.”

Zhao Heiniu spoke gravely. “The wolf pack took heavy losses and probably won’t attack again. If it’s wild boars, that’ll be troublesome… Fortunately, we cleared the snow in advance, so there shouldn’t be immediate danger.”

After a pause, he glanced at the sky and added, “As long as it doesn’t keep snowing, we can repel a boar herd.”

“Everyone, take advantage of the time we have and rest up.”

Zhao Heiniu ordered, “There may be a fierce battle tonight.”

The guards and hunters gathered around the braziers beneath the earthen wall to warm themselves and rest.

Blacksmith Sun brought a wooden bow and a quiver to Su Wangchuan and said, “Don’t overdo it.”

“There may be danger tonight.”

“Yes, Master. I know.”

After responding, Su Wangchuan continued training.

Knowing there might be real combat tonight—and another chance to raise 《Archery》 experience—he was more excited and eager than anyone else.

Two hours passed.

Night fully fell.

Yet visibility across the snow remained excellent.

The black dots had moved much closer, now within thirty zhang of the village.

Captain Zhao Heiniu and the guards confirmed it—a herd of wild boars.

Around fifty or sixty of them, each one round and powerfully built. Tusks jutted from their mouths like sharp bayonets. They were far more ferocious than the wild boars encountered during the autumn harvest, snorting heavily as they tried to push the snow piled outside the village—like small hills—toward it.

Wave after wave of snow slowly advanced toward the village.

Whenever they encountered compacted ice blocks, they simply used their tusks to pry them up and fling them into the open ground near the village before continuing.

The guards atop the earthen wall turned grim at the sight.

“Damn it!”

“These boars… they’re practically sentient.”

“In weather this cold, how are they not frozen to death?”

More than sixty wild boars were pushing massive waves of snow closer and closer to the village.

At that moment, large snowflakes drifted down, landing in Zhao Heiniu’s palm.

He looked up.

Heavy snow was falling again.

Everyone’s faces turned pale.

Disaster truly never comes alone.

This was bad—very bad.

“Old Sun!”

“Bring out all the Armor-Piercing Arrows from the shop!”

The village chief knew that iron arrowheads posed no threat to fully grown boars. Only Armor-Piercing Arrows could injure them.

Blacksmith Sun’s stock of Armor-Piercing Arrows was finally turning into money.

But he felt no joy at all.

More than sixty adult wild boars posed a terrifying threat.

“Wangchuan!”

“Stop training. Come back with me. Light the fire and make Armor-Piercing Arrows.”

Blacksmith Sun shouted.

Su Wangchuan did not dare delay. He put down the spear, picked up his wooden bow and quiver, and was about to leave.

Then Zhao Heiniu spoke from the wall.

“Old Sun, leave Wangchuan with me. I’ll need him tonight.”

“Armor-Piercing Arrows aren’t urgent for now. Send them all to me.”

Su Wangchuan stopped and waited for Blacksmith Sun’s decision.

Blacksmith Sun waved his hand.

“Forget it. Go help Captain Zhao first. We still have a few hundred Armor-Piercing Arrows—should be enough for one night. If not, we’ll make more tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

Su Wangchuan eagerly turned toward the earthen wall, joining Captain Zhao Heiniu and the others to observe the wild boar herd outside the village.

He watched as the boars used their tusks and heads to push huge clumps of snow beyond ten zhang from the village.

The snowballs rolled down the slope, tumbling and crashing to a stop at the base of the earthen wall.

Su Wangchuan’s smile vanished instantly.

He swore that this was the smartest pig he had ever seen in his life.