Chapter 960 Blizzard Storm Region

"Besides the Ice Phoenix Tribe, have you been in contact with any other tribes? Or are you aware of any other tribes existing in the north, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Leon asked as they were traveling.

"It's hard to say. I heard a few beast tribes beside the Winter Cat Tribe several thousand years back before my time. However, I have never met any besides the Ice Phoenix Tribe. They may have all died off or migrated elsewhere," Duke Blizzardpaw replied.

"Over several thousand years ago, huh?" Leon uttered thoughtfully. Then, after contemplating for a bit, he asked, "Wouldn't it be easy for you to confirm whether other tribes still exist if you explored the north?"

"Perhaps," Duke Blizzardpaw vaguely.

"However, I didn't have time for such luxuries and idleness in the past. Even though our main diet—or rather, our only diet consisted of sea monster meat, they are not easy to hunt. At the very least, the Winter Cats cannot hunt sea monsters safely on their own."

"Unless I lead the hunt, the Winter Cats will undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties or be wiped out. After all, the sea monsters are numerous and never alone, not to mention their strength is not weak. At least these parts of the sea they are not."

"You have seen our situation, Lord Leon. So you should understand that I cannot bear to let my tribe starve for even a day, let alone every day I am away from the tribe. They already have to starve during the food crisis every year; I don't want them to starve on top of those periods."

"If you couldn't explore on your own due to such burdens, you could have at least sent other Winter Cats out to scout for you, no?" Faelyn joined their conversation with doubt.

"Ah, yes. I have thought of such an option long ago," Duke Blizzardpaw said with a sigh.

"During the first year of my reign as the new monarch of the tribe, I sent out a number of Winter Cats to scout. However, they never returned. When I sent out more scout to look for them, they didn't return either."

"After three scouting expedition attempts and sixty Winter Cats missing, I finally chose to leave the tribe and look for them myself. Can you guess what I found after a half-day trip east?" Duke Blizzardpaw asked.

However, Faelyn shook her head.

"A blizzard storm more freezing than the sacred ice mountain itself," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.

"There, I found the frozen remains of my kind. Even to this day, I believe they are still there, frozen eternally in ice. I got this frostbite scar when I tried to retrieve them. However, the freezing blizzard storm is too much, even for me."

"Did you tag along to warn us about this blizzard storm, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Leon asked with a thoughtful look.

It didn't make sense for anywhere else in the north to be even colder than the ice mountain, where the Celestial Ice Spark was located. That is unless there was another, higher quality Celestial Ice Spark in the north.

"Yes, and no," Duke Blizzardpaw replied.

"It was one of the reasons. However, I believe Lord Leon wouldn't be troubled by the blizzard storm. I figured if it's Lord Leon, you'll be able to traverse through the blizzard storm and find its source."

"I just wanted to take this chance to retrieve my frozen kin," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.

It was the only time he was free to leave the tribe.

The Winter Cats were all well fed, and he didn't have to worry about conserving his energy to hunt after the sea monsters returned to the sea.

"I see…" Leon uttered after hearing Duke Blizzardpaw's reasons.

"If the last monarch had warned me about the dangers of the blizzard storm, I might not have sent sixty Winter Cats to their death. Unfortunately, the last monarch passed away too abruptly before he could raise a proper successor. Thus, I learned the hard way," Duke Blizzardpaw added with a sigh.

"Things wouldn't be so difficult on you if the Winter Cat Tribe had another Paragon-level Winter Cat to share the burdens, huh?" Leon thought.

"Yes, I thought so too," Duke Blizzardpaw agreed.

"However, it is too difficult to raise another Paragon-level Winter Cat. Given the harsh environment we live in, all our energy and resources could only be spent on surviving. We never had the extra energy and resources needed to grow.

"How did you reach the Paragon level, Duke Blizzardpaw?" Faelyn asked curiously.

However, Duke Blizzardpaw didn't answer immediately. The Paragon-level Winter Cat was silent for some time, contemplating whether he should speak about it.

In the end, he chose to do so, albeit quietly.

"I secretly drank the blood of the last monarch and fed on his flesh. Due to that, I also endure great criticism from the rest of the tribe. It was taboo in the tribe. Even when the Winter Cats are starving, we do not eat from the corpses of the fallen," Duke Blizzardpaw said.

"Taboo or not, it was your choice that allowed the Winter Cat Tribe to survive for another thousand years, Duke Blizzardpaw," Leon stated.

"I doubt any Winter Cats will still criticize you for what you did back then."

Leon realized Duke Blizzardpaw didn't toil for so many years out of sheer responsibility as the monarch alone. It was also due to guilt.

"Not just surviving for a thousand years. The Winter Cat Tribe will only have goods days from this day forth," Faelyn chimed.

"I hope so," Duke Blizzardpaw said.

Sometime later, the group of three picked up the pace and eventually stopped on the outskirts of the blizzard storm region.

However, even the outskirts of the blizzard storm region were terrifying cold. Faelyn couldn't endure such coldness on her own.

Nevertheless, Leon created an ice-fire domain that controlled the temperature within and protected Faelyn and Duke Blizzardpaw from the cold outside.

"This is as far as we can go. Unless we have any special means to protect ourselves against the frigidity of the blizzard storms in the region ahead, we will freeze very quickly," Duke Blizzardpaw stated.