Prime Originator

"If you are interested in these Frostjades, feel free to ask, Lord Leon," Monarch Blizzardpaw stated.

"If these Frostjades can give Paragon-level sharpness to Winter Cats' fangs and claws, they must be precious, no? Are you really willing to offer some of them to us?" Leon inquired.

"Frostjades are indeed important whetstones for sharpening our hunting tools. However, we have plenty to share. Although they are a little troublesome to gather, we have an entire deposit of Frostjades right under our tribe," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

Leon and the others were immediately astonished.

If they could gain such a large amount of Frostjades, they could upgrade the empire's strength by several notches.

Even if their soldiers fall short of Paragons, their weapons will have the potential to harm or even kill Paragons.

While Monarch Blizzardpaw guided Leon's group around the tribe, they saw a few interesting and unique building designs.

The Winter Cat Tribe might be primitively built, but even the Winter Cats have their had own creativity on construction.

Apart from the shelter-like cat houses, there were large spiral ice pillars and staircases.

Leon's group had taken one of these large spiral ice staircases down to enter the Winter Cat Tribe. However, there were more shelter-like cat houses on the other large spiral ice pillars.

Even so, not all of these ice pillars connected the frozen seafloor and the cave ceiling. Some only reached halfway, appearing like towers, but in truth, there were broken ice pillars.

As Leon observed those broken pillars, he assumed that the Winter Cats might have accidentally destroyed them due to the sharpness of their own claws.

After all, cats love to climb, and they use their claws to do so. The fact that the tribe isn't flat is proof of that.

Furthermore, there were numerous scratch marks on the edges of the ice pillars. Even the roofs of the cat houses there were stacked like mountains in some areas had quite a few scratches.

Simply put, there were cat scratches everywhere.

The ten thousand Winter Cats they saw on the surface were most likely all the Winter Cats that still had the energy to fight.

The rest of the Winter Cats in the tribe only did one of two things. They were either hibernating or sharpening their fangs and claws. Only the adults sharpened their claws and fangs upon a more detailed look.

Most of the younger Winter Cats were asleep.

"Most of the young ones are sleeping to conserve their energy. Why were you the only up and about, hm? Did you sneak out to try looking for food on your own?" Aria poked the Snowhisker's nose.

"Meow!" Snowhisker soft replied, feeling a bit disgruntled by the poke.

Nevertheless, Snowhisker was comfortable in Aria's warm arms. Thus, it let her get away with her teasing.

Although Winter Cats live in cold environments, the north was actually a bit too much for the younger Winter Cats to handle. As such, they built their home on the frozen seafloor, which was relatively less freezing due to its distance from the sacred ice mountain.

Shortly after saying a few words, Leon left with Aria and Darlene to distribute sea monster meat to the rest of Winter Cats in the tribe.

Although some adult Winter Cats had brought down some sea monster meat for their young, it was clearly not enough for everyone. Even if it was, they also had to feed themselves.

They piled a large mountain of sea monster meat in the center, and its pungent sea smell attracted all the Winter Cats in the tribe, both the conscious adults and the slumbering young ones.

"Meow, meow, meow~!"

"Meow, meow… meow!"

It was a stampede of Winter Cats as the young ones all rushed towards the sea monster meat mountain with an insatiable appetite.

Some even thought of Leon, Aria, and Darlene as food as well.

However, they were quickly scolded by the older Winter Cats that had received orders from Monarch Blizzardpaws to treat the humans with great respect.

While that was happening, Elizabeth was left alone with Monarch Blizzard.

"I'd like to check out the Frostjade deposit, but I supposed we should settle the arrangements for the Winter Cat Tribe first," Elizabeth said.

"Alright, Queen Elizabeth," Monarch Blizzardpaw nodded.

"You might know this yet, but soon, there won't be any more vengeful spirits in Extreme Misty Forest. Lynne—er, the Frost Goddess, is dealing with them. Once they are gone, it'll be easier to open a path through the forest and connect the south and north," Elizabeth mentioned.

"Is that true?" Monarch Blizzardpaw uttered with surprise.

"Definitely," Elizabeth confirmed with a nod.

"Once the south and north connect, we can expect a lot of interactions between humans, elves, and the Winter Cats. Of course, I don't expect this to be smooth sailing. However, I hope the conflicts won't affect our relationship."

"Of course, it won't. The Winter Cat Tribe will be in your care, Your Majesty," Monarch Blizzardpaw said.

Two continued to discuss for half an hour before they finalized the arrangements as such;

1.      All of the cold north would be considered part of the Winter Cat Tribe's territory, and Monarch Blizzardpaw would be the lord that governed this cold northern land.

2.      Monarch Blizzardpaw would also be given the nobility rank of Duke in the empire. As such, the cold north would be called the Blizzardpaw Dukedom.

The peerage was given out of respect for Monarch Blizzardpaw's strength.

However, it also serves as a form of protection for the Winter Cats. This indirectly prevents the Winter Cats from being exploited and abused by wicked people with power in the empire without the royal family's knowledge.

3.      Travels between the Blizzardpaw Dukedom and the rest of the empire are permitted to all.

4.      Humans and elves may choose to adopt Winter Cats from the Blizzardpaw Dukedom, whether as their pet, tamed beast, or simply a new addition to the family.

However, they must have the other party's approval and the adopting Winter Cat's willingness.

In other words, the Winter Cats also have rights.

Outside of these clauses, the Blizzardpaw Dukedom will trade Frostjades and other local specialties in exchange for food with the empire.