Mythology: Ragnarok

Chapter 189 Scavenger Tribe

The giants, who were banished to Niflheim, were unwilling to be frozen like their Titan ancestors. So, for the sake of their race's continuation, Zeus's sister, Hestia, burned herself into sacred fire, releasing a million-meter-high mountain in Niflheim that had been frozen for a long time, which became the dwelling place of the giants.

To commemorate her, Zeus named the mountain Olympus. As for why he didn't use the name Hestia, I'm not quite sure. It seems that the transliteration of Olympus actually has a special meaning in the language of the giant gods, which can be translated as 'miracle from the mother' and 'the selfless dedication'. Anyway, the giant gods thought this name was better than Hestia.

The flames that Hestia transformed into were called the 'Olympian Fire', but other gods besides the giants preferred to call it the 'Eternal Fire'.

After that, the fourth generation of god-king, Odin, took over control of the World Tree and has ruled it ever since. However, the current structure of the World Tree is somewhat similar to the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty. That is to say, apart from Asgard, one of the nine worlds, the other eight worlds are actually 'vassal states' ruled by Asgard but not managed by Asgard.

This is why Baldr, as Odin's son, still needs to rule Alfheim personally. He even incurred his father's wrath and was severely reprimanded for it. After all, Baldr's actions almost provoked an attack from the other seven worlds. If it weren't for Agred's sudden appearance and diverting attention, there might have been another bloody war between the gods within the World Tree.

Alright, that concludes our discussion of the history of the World Tree. Let's now turn our attention back to the main storyline.

Argreed was overjoyed after pinpointing the werewolf's location. After all, it was the bloodline of an ancient nature god, and its value was self-evident. Argreed was able to recognize the bloodline fluctuations thanks to the wisdom he gained from Aio's Dragon God Treasury. Fortunately, otherwise he would not have been able to get such a great deal.

So Agreed immediately took flight and eagerly flew towards the distant hills, with the chimeras following closely behind, afraid of losing their powerful leader.

……

In the jackal tribes of the southern wilderness

Yorick, the newly appointed gnoll chieftain, stood atop a mound, gazing down at his tribe members. Ambitious, he was preparing to deliver a significant address to his 'carrion tribe,' provided that a settlement with fewer than a hundred adult combatants, including the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, could be called a tribe.

Yorick sat there without any regard for appearances, wearing tattered leather armor that he had scavenged from some human adventurer. Perhaps due to the food shortage in Huangnigang, he was not physically robust as the leader, and the armor that appeared to be only the size of an ordinary person was even a bit loose on him.

Yorick scratched his dirty, dark purple fur while glancing at his men below, contemplating the content of his speech. However, the dry air of Huangnigang and the constant hunger in his stomach prevented him from calming down and thinking quietly.

Yorick stretched out an arm and frantically tore at the thing on the back of his neck. As he struggled with himself, you could even clearly see his ribs. He was so emaciated from hunger that he had clearly displayed his physical structure to the world.

More than ten seconds later, Yorick finally pulled a tick, about the size of a soybean, from the tangled tuft of hair on his neck. Its mouthparts were deep under the skin, bulging from sucking blood, and a red streak of blood could be seen when it was pulled out.

"Grandpa, I'm so thin, and you're still sucking my blood." Warwick muttered, a helpless sneer flashing in his eyes. The next second, he threw the worm into his mouth. The parasite's mouthparts, joints, and hard shell were crushed by his sharp teeth, making a crunching sound.

Yorick chewed for a moment, then swallowed the 'food' in his mouth, licking his lips with a lingering sense of satisfaction. The parasites tasted unpleasant, even disgusting. But in this food-scarce wasteland, survival depended on eating anything edible. In fact, the entire gnoll tribe was now so hungry that they were doing just that; mothers were picking lice off their children and stuffing them into their mouths, even though it didn't fill their stomachs.

A few years ago, the scavenging tribe could still survive by searching for animal remains that hadn't been eaten. But this was, after all, the food-scarce southern border. Even these rotting corpses left over from being eaten were highly competitive. Some time ago, while scavenging for carcasses, they were unexpectedly attacked by wild vultures. Wild vultures are a ferocious species of vultures, possessing flying abilities and sharp talons that rival those of eagles. More than twenty jackalmen from the scavenging tribe were grabbed by the vultures during that attack and then thrown from the sky, turning into a bloody mess.

Although Yorick escaped with his men, the severely damaged gnoll tribe was finally on the verge of destruction. They hadn't had a proper meal in almost half a month, and even Yorick's brother, Warwick, the strongest warrior of the gnoll tribe, was starving.

More than twenty years ago, they weren't called the Carrion Tribe, but the Jackal Tribe. They had their own territory in the southern wilderness near the inner border, a place rich in resources with a small river flowing through it. Back then, the Jackal Tribe had no shortage of food or clothing, and every meal consisted of red meat. The cubs grew up to be incredibly strong and healthy, and when they grew up, they became brave and powerful warriors.

At that time, the entire Jackal tribe had more than a thousand warriors. Although they dared not say they were the overlords of that territory, if other clans or tribes wanted to take advantage of them, they would have to consider whether they had the strength to swallow a monster army of more than a thousand people or be taken advantage of by others.

Unfortunately, everything changed that night. For some unknown reason, a beast tide suddenly erupted in the southern wilderness. A large group of cruel and ferocious animals suddenly arrived, destroying the jackal tribe's camp and utterly annihilating the unsuspecting tribe. They not only seized the resource-rich land but also plunged the tribe into their current predicament. To make matters worse, many clans took advantage of their misfortune, relentlessly pursuing and attacking the jackal tribe. After several twists and turns, the severely weakened tribe arrived at Huangni Ridge, a desolate and barren place, where they eke out a living.

Warwick, roused by this thought, picked up the stone hammer and began banging it on the table. Then, in his hoarse voice from dehydration, he shouted, "If we can't find any other food sources, we might not make it through the summer."

These words made all the gnolls' eyes gleam with a green light; they were so hungry that they couldn't help but drool at the mere mention of food.

“I wonder if anyone still remembers the name of the Gnoll Tribe,” Yorick growled, trying to evoke fond memories of the past. Some of the older Gnolls frowned, seemingly searching for their former glory in their memories.

Yorick continued, “More than twenty years ago, we were one of the most powerful monster clans in the southern frontier. We slaughtered deer and pigs and ate meat every day. Dwarves and goblins were our slaves, and steppe wolves were our mounts. Our warriors were enough to terrify orcs. We were invincible, and even ogres had to fear us! That was the most glorious time for the great gnoll tribe. But now, we can only live a life of poverty and hunger in the barren Yellow Mud Ridge! The once fierce gnolls have been reduced to eating insects and carrion. Even weak humans would laugh at us.”