Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Returning to the Homeland

Late at night, everyone gathered around the fire for warmth. Wendy was already asleep, and the rest of the group was getting drowsy. Ronan Kendrick and Evelyn Ford were on watch tonight. Evelyn had just taken Wyatt Vaughn to relieve himself, and her butt nearly froze solid.

"At most, we have another ten days. Ten more days of walking, and we’ll see the border," Taylor Vance said, calculating their route with conviction.

"If we could have taken a boat, we’d probably be back inside our borders by now," Quincy said while drying his shoes by the fire.

"Riding horses is definitely harder."

"So, where are we heading once we’re back? Are we still going to the Northwest?"

Everyone looked toward Evelyn Ford. She took a sip of hot water and said at a measured pace, "Let’s take it one step at a time. Right now, I can’t say for sure where is actually safe."

"Sigh... I wonder how the base in the Northeast is doing."

"It’s this cold. They’ve probably migrated to the Northwest, too."

Evelyn Ford lowered her head, lost in thought. The others chatted for a little while longer before, exhausted, they wrapped themselves in their quilts and went to sleep.

Evelyn Ford added more wood to the fire. Just then, Ronan Kendrick suddenly leaned in close to her.

"There’s a noise behind us. I’m going to check it out."

Evelyn Ford grabbed his arm. "I’ll go with you."

"I’ll be back soon. You stay here by the fire. I won’t be in any danger." Ronan Kendrick picked up his gun and immediately got up, heading toward the back.

"Be careful. Whistle if there’s any danger."

Ronan Kendrick nodded. "Got it. Wait for me here. I’ll be back soon."

Sparks POPPED and SIZZLED in the fire. Evelyn Ford picked up her cup for a sip of hot water, then pulled out her pocket watch to check the time. It was eleven o’clock at night.

Half an hour later, Ronan Kendrick returned. Evelyn’s eyes widened when she saw the two mammoths trailing behind him.

"Mammoths?"

"Yeah. They were making the noise. I found them in a small grove back there."

Ronan Kendrick handed the gun to Evelyn Ford, then found some rope and tied the two mammoths to a nearby tree stump.

"I thought mammoths were supposed to be hard to tame? How did you do it?"

Ronan Kendrick smiled. "I have my own way with animals."

The mammoths looked even taller and more robust than elephants. Evelyn went over and stroked their hairy coats.

"Holy crap, am I seeing things?" Quincy, woken by a full bladder, had just opened his eyes to see Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick whispering to each other a short distance away. And behind them stood two enormous mammoths.

Quincy’s startled cry woke the others. As they groggily came to and saw the two mammoths, they were all dumbfounded.

"You tamed them and brought them back?" Taylor Vance was so excited he trotted over. He wanted to touch the mammoth’s long, shaggy coat but was afraid the beast would kick him.

"Don’t be afraid. You can touch them. Ronan Kendrick has already tamed them; they’re very docile."

The moment Taylor Vance heard Evelyn say that, he immediately reached out to touch them.

"They really are mammoths... You two are incredible."

The others quickly gathered around, marveling at the mammoths as if they were the rarest sight in the world.

"Let’s go cut some wood and leaves for the mammoths to carry. They’re incredibly strong; carrying seven or eight hundred pounds is no problem for them."

Spurred into action, the group forgot all about sleeping. Grabbing their machetes, they were about to head into the woods to chop firewood and branches.

"Chopping it tomorrow morning won’t be too late. It’s too late now, everyone should get some sleep. Besides, the mammoths can also eat bark and dead branches," Taylor Vance quickly said, stopping them.

"Yeah, let’s chop it tomorrow morning. They’re not going anywhere. Now that we have mammoths, we can stock up on a lot more firewood."

Back by the fire, they all chatted for another half hour before finally closing their eyes to sleep.

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick kept watch all night. At five in the morning, Evelyn woke the others to go chop firewood.

When they set out, the mammoths, now thoroughly tamed by Ronan Kendrick, were incredibly docile. Laden with several hundred pounds of firewood, they followed obediently at the rear of the party.

Two days later, Miles Vaughn hunted down two moose. The group was reluctant to eat them, so they had Ronan Kendrick tame them instead. They continued their journey with the moose in tow, which carried two bundles of leaves—essentially packing their own food.

The group’s procession now included sixteen fine horses, two mammoths, two moose, two snow rabbits, two squirrels, one colorful bird, and one Red Bird.

’They could open a zoo.’

Evelyn Ford had been secretly adding supplies to the shipping container so that the others wouldn’t worry about food shortages and be afraid to eat their fill. You can’t travel on an empty stomach.

The grand procession crossed the frozen Argent River. Just as the temperature plummeted to sixty-three degrees below zero, they finally spotted the boundary monument marking the border.

In the vast, swirling snow, Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell leaped from their horses. They stumbled toward the boundary monument, and the two men, both in their fifties, embraced it and broke down, weeping uncontrollably.

’We’re finally back. Finally back on our native soil.’

In that moment, everyone was overcome with the same mix of elation and heartache.

Evelyn Ford wiped away a tear. When she looked back, she saw that everyone was crying—everyone except Ronan Kendrick.

Ronan Kendrick met her gaze and gave a polite, deliberate blink.

Taylor Vance took the machete from his belt and carefully scraped the packed snow off the monument. The familiar script of their homeland appeared before their eyes, and in that instant, a profound sense of reverence for the stone washed over them.

’Even though the world had collapsed, it still stood here, unwavering.’

The group stopped to rest. Evelyn Ford used a magnesium rod to start a fire while the others took out pots, bowls, and ladles to prepare dinner.

"Let’s have hot pot," Quincy suggested.

"We’re back on our native soil. We have to celebrate with hot pot."

"Alright, hot pot it is."

The iron tripod was set up with the large iron pot placed on top. Once the pot was hot, they added sesame oil.

"Miss Ford, why are the mammoths’ tusks so big?"

Evelyn Ford thought for a moment. "Because they’re a type of elephant. They’re called woolly mammoths."

Wendy nodded. "So, will they have baby elephants?"

"They can, but these two probably won’t. They’re both males."

Just then, a delicious aroma wafted over from the cooking pot. Holding Wendy’s hand in one of hers and Ronan Kendrick’s in the other, Evelyn led them back toward the boundary monument.

"Hot pot’s ready! Let’s eat!"

They had even added the white radishes Evelyn Ford brought back from Zaltar. Seeing the steaming hot pot, everyone quickly grabbed their bowls and chopsticks and crowded around.

"If only we had some lettuce and pea shoots."

"Why stop there? You might as well wish for beer and soda."

"It’s delicious as it is, and it really warms you up. Hot pot is definitely the best food for fighting the cold."

Everyone chatted as they ate, and in the end, the large pot of meat was picked clean. Not even a drop of broth was left.

They cleaned the pots and bowls with packed snow. With their bellies full, it was time to get back on the road.

After crossing the boundary line past the monument, they were finally standing on their native soil. The feeling was entirely different.

"It wasn’t easy. We took such a huge detour, faced death time and again, and we’re finally back. You know, this is actually my first time in the Northeast."

"I’ve been here once before. I never thought my next visit would be like this."

"We’re going home."

They couldn’t return to their homes in Corinth, but now that they were on this land, anywhere could be home.