Chapter 60: The Snow Wolf Clan’s Difficult Choice

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: The Snow Wolf Clan’s Difficult Choice

Amy drooped her head despondently. Bead-sized tears rolled down her cheeks, making her look incredibly aggrieved.

She didn’t have any ulterior motives; she just felt terribly sick. In the past, whenever she was ill, her mother would always stay by her side. This time, she just wanted her mother to hold her. Instead, she was told that such an action would only make her mother hate her.

Seeing the little female cub looking so wronged left a bitter taste in Laxus’s mouth. However, Tyler’s resolute stance made it clear that there was no way they were going to see Ophelia today.

Laxus felt troubled. What were they supposed to do? After all, this was his sister’s biological daughter. He couldn’t just leave her be.

"That damn Loki! He has no sense of responsibility whatsoever. He isn’t fit to be a father." Laxus furrowed his brows in anger, feeling indignant on Amy’s behalf. But right now, he was all talk and couldn’t take any substantive action.

No matter what, the Amy in his arms was his own niece. Even if Ophelia didn’t care, he, as her uncle, couldn’t bear to abandon her.

The surroundings fell into absolute silence. Amy carefully tugged at Laxus’s sleeve, her tears having long soaked through the animal hide on his chest.

"Stop crying. You just broke your mother’s heart, but it will get better in the future," Laxus said helplessly. Softening his voice, he gently coaxed the little female cub in his arms, hoping she would stop weeping.

But his words only made Amy cry harder. Eventually, she abandoned all restraint and began to bawl. "Neither Father nor Mother wants me anymore! WAAAH..."

"Your uncle wants you. Please, don’t cry, okay?" Laxus broke out in a frantic sweat, completely at a loss on how to handle her. He cast a pleading look at Tyler for help.

Tyler’s expression darkened. "Don’t let her cry here. It will only annoy Ophelia to hear it."

"But Amy still has a fever. We can’t just let her stay like this," Laxus said, looking helpless.

"WAAAH... Uncle Laxus, save me! I don’t want to die yet!" Amy whimpered. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her little hands anxiously clung to his neck. It was as if he were her very last lifeline.

Tyler glanced at the flushed Amy and said coldly, "Take her to the clan doctor for treatment first. Don’t let her appear in front of Ophelia again."

Staying here would only irritate the Princess.

"Alright. I’ll take her away for now." Laxus sighed, left with no other choice but to agree.

Watching Laxus’s retreating figure, Tyler sighed. Laxus and the others had no idea that their actions would break the Princess’s heart. Even her closest kin felt that she should forgive Amy. Feeling so misunderstood must be incredibly draining for her.

***

Snow Wolf Clan.

Loki rushed back to the clan, immediately grabbing a male and demanding the Clan Leader’s whereabouts. "Where is my father?"

"The Clan Leader is leading a team to dig drainage ditches," the male answered truthfully.

"Go tell him to wait for me in the council hall. I’ve found a medicine that can cure the fever." Loki didn’t bother to keep his voice down as he relayed the news to the guard, allowing several nearby clan members to overhear him.

"Loki, is it true?"

"Did you really find medicine?"

"Does this mean we’re saved?"

The clan members instantly swarmed him. Right now, a cure for the fever was what they needed most.

"Everyone, calm down. I still need to discuss the details with my father and the elders before making any decisions." Loki struck a lofty pose, stepping forward to pacify the crowd and maintain order.

Seeing this, the clan members fell silent and obediently returned to their homes to await further news.

Soro had just taken his seat at the head of the council hall when he saw his son walk in, looking ecstatic.

"Father," Loki stepped forward excitedly.

"I heard you found a medicine for the fever?" Soro was equally concerned about the matter. A significant number of their clan members were currently waiting for this medicine to save their lives.

"Yes." A gleam flashed through Loki’s eyes as he shared the information he had gathered. "The Golden Dragon Clan has medicine that can cure the fever, but they want us to trade our territory or our little females for it."

At Loki’s words, Soro instantly fell silent. The Golden Dragon Clan was demanding the very future of the Snow Wolf Clan. If they lost their territory and their little females, how were they supposed to survive and reproduce?

Soro’s expression grew heavy.

"Father, the lives of our people are what matters most right now! Everything else is secondary," Loki argued passionately. If they couldn’t survive the fever, let alone a future, their very existence would be extinguished.

"I cannot make this decision alone. Give me some time. I will discuss it with the elders, and I’ll let you know as soon as we reach an answer," Soro sighed. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the logic, but the sacrifice was simply too steep. To put it bluntly, the Golden Dragon Clan’s goal was obvious—they wanted to use this opportunity to weaken the Snow Wolf Clan’s power.

Soro dismissed Loki and convened a meeting, gathering all the elders together.

Upon hearing the Golden Dragon Clan’s conditions, the Great Elder was the first to object. "We cannot, Clan Leader. Isn’t this clearly driving us to our deaths?"

"It is, but we are out of options," Soro sighed. He was truly backed into a corner.

"Should we just agree?" a tiny voice murmured from the group.

"How can we bow down to the Golden Dragon Clan?"

"Exactly! I refuse."

"But do any of you have a way to cure the fever?"

With that question, the elders all fell into silence.

"Stop arguing for now. I’ll have someone fetch the clan doctor. Let’s ask him before we make a decision." Soro decided to assess the clan’s current medical situation first. If there really was no other way, then they would have no choice but to...

The clan doctor arrived swiftly. "Clan Leader, elders, did you need me for something?"

"Have you found a way to cure the fever?" Soro fixed his gaze on the doctor, who was the clan’s only hope.

The clan doctor shook his head, explaining, "Even if there is a way, with my medical skills, I can only figure it out slowly. I’m afraid the clan members simply cannot afford to wait."

The longer this dragged on, the more danger their lives would be in.

"Is there really no other way?" The elders exchanged dismayed looks, but none of them had a solution for the fever.

"Go fetch Loki." Left with no alternatives, Soro could only pin his hopes on his son.

Loki had been waiting by the door and had managed to overhear bits and pieces of the argument inside.

"Is it true what you said—that the Golden Dragon Clan has a medicine for the fever?" the Great Elder asked first, needing to confirm the legitimacy of the claim.

"It’s true." Loki nodded and explained everything he knew in full detail. "Miche drank the Golden Dragon Clan’s medicine, and her fever broke in just one night."

"So as long as we agree to trade our territory or our little females, they are truly willing to give us the medicine?" Soro asked, choosing his words carefully.

"Yes." Loki nodded with absolute certainty.

As it stood, this was the only way for their people to survive. They had no other choice.