Volume One: Friendship of Ice and Snow

Chapter One: An Old Friend Comes in the Snow

Is it history that makes heroes, or heroes that make history?

This has always been a difficult relationship to untangle. But, starting from Red Moon Year 203, looking at Amy Harper, who entered the history of the Amy Continent as a small-time mercenary, for the first 10 years, it was history forging the hero; for the next 10 years, it was the hero dancing with history.

—Research notes of Neil Harper, twelfth-generation descendant of the continental historian Amy

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"Woooo—" "Woooo—"

A series of urgent ox-horn blasts sounded from the north side of Haike Village. Accompanying the horn, a hoarse voice called out, growing closer: "Snow wolves are coming—snow wolves are coming, about 20 of them! Everyone, hide quickly, they’ll be here in 10 minutes!" A panting hunter appeared at the north entrance of the village, riding a snow deer.

Everyone working in and around the village stopped what they were doing. Regardless of age or gender, they hurriedly unhitched the snow deer from their tools in the fields, herded the snow chickens under the eaves into their cages, and scooped up the feeding snow pigs into baskets... Every household rushed to get their livestock inside or carry them indoors, all lifting the bedding from their beds in unison, opening an iron plate beneath, and tossing the animals into a large hole. Then everyone climbed down into the hole, locking the iron door behind them.

"Amy, come in quickly!" an elderly voice called from a small thatched hut on the south side of the village. "The snow wolves are almost here!" The old man’s voice grew more urgent and stern.

"Wait, Grandpa, I’m coming! The two little snow chicks that just hatched yesterday ran into the grass!" came a childish voice from outside the hut’s fence.

"Awooo—" The sound of wolves echoed from afar.

A tall figure burst out of the house—an old man with white hair and beard. He rushed to the yard gate, grabbed a little boy by the scruff from the low grass, ignoring the boy’s kicking, hitting, and shouting, "Grandpa, let me go! I almost found them! Otherwise, they’ll be eaten! Waaa—let me go, Grandpa!" The two figures also hid in the hole under their bed. As the iron door was just locked, the snow wolves had already burst into the house. The paw of the largest, most robust snow wolf was already trying to pry open the iron plate, while several other wolves sniffed around it, their white breath blowing down onto the metal.

"Waa, Grandpa, the chicks must be dead," the child in the hole sobbed, paying no attention to the noise above.

"Amy, be good. We can hatch more chicks next time, and there will be even more," the old man comforted his grandson helplessly.

"Grandpa, why are there so many hunters in the village, but no one goes to kill the snow wolves? Last time we went to hunt the snow bear together, and snow bears are much fiercer than snow wolves. We could kill them, so why not the snow wolves?" Amy asked between sobs.

"Sigh—" The old man let out a long sigh. "Snow wolves can’t be killed. If someone kills one, they must pay with their life."

"Then why did those outsiders last time kill snow wolves—over 30 of them?" Amy protested.

"They’re mercenaries. Mercenaries are allowed to kill them," the old man replied, not wanting to explain further to his grandson.

"When I grow up, I want to be a mercenary too—" Amy clenched his fist.

Haike Village is located on the east side of the Warmwater River on the Frozen Continent. According to the border division between the Amy Empire and the Hamian Kingdom, this area should belong to the Hamian Kingdom. But the Hamian people have always been accustomed to living in the cold and snow, while the source of the Warmwater River is a hot spring lake (Snow Moon Lake) formed after a volcanic eruption. The area around Snow Moon Lake and along the Warmwater River is the only place on the Frozen Continent without ice and snow.

In the 500-year history of the Amy Empire, they have repeatedly tried to acquire the Snow Moon Lake and Warmwater River region through diplomacy, war, and extortion, but have never succeeded.

In Red Moon Years 3, 12, 35, 47, and 52, within just 50 years, two generations of Amy Empire emperors launched five large-scale wars for the Snow Moon Lake and Warmwater River region, deploying all military units including dragon cavalry. Yet every war ended in the same defeat.