Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon, is extremely skilled at using Illusion to confuse its opponents.
Wild Zorua will transform into humans or other Pokémon, protecting itself from danger by hiding its true appearance.
In some special circumstances, Zorua will even transform into the exact likeness of its opponent, fleeing the scene while the other party is fooled and Astonished.
However, this particular Zorua's Illusion ability was clearly not well practiced.
In the time it took to take a breath, it had reverted back to its Zorua form.
It changed back!
Anna widened her eyes, which were filled with curiosity.
Just then, however, Anna suddenly saw Zorua's expression tighten. It crouched down, adopting a defensive posture again, and let out a series of low growls indicating a threat.
Seeing this, Anna was slightly startled, then looked at the creature with disbelief, thinking, "No way? Hey! I was the one who saved you!"
Suddenly, a chill swept over her from behind, and a massive shadow enveloped the girl and the Pokémon.
Only then did Anna belatedly realize that the creature wasn't growling at her—an enemy had arrived!
Realizing this, Anna spun around abruptly.
A creature nearly three meters tall, covered in a thick layer of white fur, had appeared behind them without her knowing.
It's a monster!
"Roar~ Woo!"
Beartic let out a roar, swinging its frightening sharp claws. The bone-chillingly sharp bear claws instantly ripped through Anna's cotton coat.
Pain... Adrenaline surged through her body. Anna only felt a stinging sensation before she instinctively grabbed the Zorua in front of her and ran forward desperately.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
Seeing its prey trying to escape, Beartic let out an angry roar and immediately gave chase.
The winter forest was covered in white snow. Although the snow had long stopped falling, the northern wind had blown the previously soft snow into a hard, slick surface.
Anna slipped. The next second, she and the Zorua in her arms tumbled rapidly forward.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!"
"Wuu—!"
The girl and the Pokémon looked ahead, faces full of terror.
At the end of the path was a treacherous cliff!
Anna only felt a sharp pain throughout her body before she completely lost consciousness.
*
Building log cabins was an extremely tedious and complex task.
After listening to the carpenter Tack's explanation, Draconis generally understood the process for building cold-proof cabins.
First, they needed to choose flat and suitable terrain, prioritizing construction in spots where the snow layer was deep and had been stabilized by the wind and snow, ensuring the foundation was solid enough.
Tack circled the area and quickly found a suitable site.
Over the course of the morning, thanks to the combined efforts of everyone, a significant number of trees had been felled.
These trees were carried out of the forest by the strong men, and then temporary carpenters with tools trimmed away the excess branches.
Next came the time for the actual construction of the cabins.
To minimize material waste and enhance insulation, Tack used a dome design similar to an igloo, fixing the logs together using mortise and tenon joints.
Finally, they used accumulated snow, raw logs, earth, and dead branches and leaves from the forest to fill the gaps in the cabin, preventing cold wind from penetrating.
No one wanted to die, so when faced with the severe survival crisis, everyone unleashed astonishing potential, and the efficiency of the cabin construction was shocking.
With dozens of people cooperating, the first cold-proof small cabin was completed in just one day.
At night, people lit a stove fire inside the small cabin. The warm light illuminated the entire room, and a pot was suspended over the flames, where a fragrant bowl of oatmeal was being cooked.
The gaps between the logs were tightly sealed. No matter how the fierce, bone-chilling wind howled outside, not a single trace of cold air entered the cabin.
The people who witnessed this scene firsthand showed excited and thrilled expressions, and a glimmer of hope simultaneously arose in their hearts.
This simple small cabin allowed them to see a faint chance of survival amid their desperate circumstances!
As long as they continued to work hard together, everyone could get a cabin like this and safely survive the cold winter!
Seeing that the cabin was effective, Draconis, though showing no expression, felt a sigh of relief inwardly.
"That's good. The cabin works. As long as we continue, safely getting through this winter shouldn't be a problem."
"Everyone has worked hard. Go back and rest early tonight, and let's keep up the effort tomorrow!" Draconis said to the crowd.
The people smiled and replied in unison, "Yes, Your Highness Draconis!"
Draconis smiled and prepared to go back and rest with Dratini.
However, just as he stepped out, he saw a woman running toward him with an anxious expression.
When the woman saw him, she seemed to find a source of hope and quickly pleaded:
"Your Highness Draconis, my daughter Anna is missing! Please save her!"
Anna... Draconis had some recollection of her. She was the ten-year-old girl who had led the response during his speech earlier.
"What happened? Speak slowly," Draconis said calmly.
The woman sobbed as she replied, "This afternoon, Anna returned to the tent from the physician Lila. She was reading quietly there. I went to the toilet for a moment, and when I came back, she was gone."
"At first, I thought she had just gone out to play, but Anna still hadn't returned even after dark... Your Highness Draconis, please, I beg you, help me find Anna!"
Her husband had passed away years ago, and she only had this one daughter left in the world. Now that Anna was missing, Aili felt like her world was collapsing.
"Ryan, go investigate the area near the tent."
After understanding the situation, Draconis calmly issued instructions to his personal guard knight.
"Yes, Your Highness Draconis!"
Ryan didn't ask any further questions; he simply turned and went to carry out the task.
Meanwhile, Draconis checked Anna's status via the territory panel.
[Commoners Name: Anna]
[Age: 10]
[Occupation: None]
[Special Ability: None]
[Loyalty: 99 (Max 100)]
[Life History: In the 138th year of the kingdom calendar, Anna was born.]
[In the 148th year of the kingdom calendar, Anna accompanied her mother and followed His Highness Draconis to the fief.]
Anna's name had not disappeared, which meant she was still alive.
Looking at the weeping woman in front of him, Draconis comforted her, "Don't worry, we will do our utmost."
Just then, Ryan returned. He immediately reported:
"Your Highness Draconis, footprints leading into the depths of the forest were found behind the tent!"