On the other side of the river, in the territory of the bears. The bear King was listening to the reports with a gloomy expression.
"One hundred have fallen?" he asked through gritted teeth.
The scout reported the matter succinctly, but his expression was clearly upset, "it hasn't been confirmed, but none of the group that crossed the river have come back".
The bear King was filled with anger and disbelief. He chose to attack the wolves because he was afraid if he waited for summer, the wolves would take the initiative to attack them at their weakened state, after hibernation. He knew it would be a tough battle. The wolves have always had terrifying battle prowess, but a hundred of his tribe are most likely dead? In one morning?
Although the bear King was trembling with anger, he wasn't stupid. If the report was true, and those bears had fallen, than the wolves must have used some means to deal with them. He didn't know how many casualties the wolves had suffered, but he didn't want to lose many more.
He would hold back his tribe for now, and tomorrow he would send teams to scout out the wolves territory. This failure was a warning for him. The bears although cautious, have become too reckless. He hopes that this loss, will let his tribe see the situation clearly.
Arzhen, on the other hand, was currently in the cave talking to the chieftain.
"It's best if we use the night to our advantage. The bears lack the ability to see, so it will be easier for us to use the same trick as with the lions." Arzhen stated.
"The bears have always been more defensive, I doubt there will be an opportunity to attack like you did with the lions" the chieftain replied hesitantly.
The other wolves listened to the conversation between the two. They were very excited with how the first day went, but they knew it wasn't the time for celebrating just yet.
"I'm not expecting such a result. What I want is to pester them. Being too cautious can also be a disadvantage. If we send some wolves to trouble them at night, when they're at their weakest, than they won't be as energetic during the day, and if they are awoken by these false attacks every night, then they will believe it's just a false attack every night, leaving us the opportunity for a real one".
The chieftain had to agree with the monsters methods. If they worked, it would have a great effect on the bears. The chieftain decided to follow her words. He set up a few small teams, no more than a dozen each, and sent them across the river to make as much noise as possible.
This tactic was continued every night. The bears not only had to carefully map out the wolves terrain, but they were constantly awoken by the wolves at night. The bear King could feel the growing dissatisfaction of his tribe, and he knew they just wanted this to end. However, he had seen the tricks the wolves were using on their territory and he didn't dare to rush in, just in case their was a repeat of the first group.
He couldn't think of any way to solve this predicament. His tribe was tired. Usually they would have begun hibernation, but he chose to let them go against their nature for this battle. He had guessed by the methods of the wolves, that they were in no condition to fight. Days had gone by and he hadn't seen a single wolf, he knew there were probably not a huge number of wolves left. He decided that he would try to push to the caves tomorrow.
It was at this time that the normal noises made by the wolves had started around the bear tribe. They kept those that were on guard there, but this night was not the same as those before. Behind those few small groups was a much larger horde. They walked without a sound, their yellow eyes glowing treacherously in the dark, snow filled night.
The chieftain wanted to deal a decisive blow to the bears, so he took over a thousand of his tribe across the frozen river. He didn't know if they would chase like the lions, so he ordered new pots to be dug right on their side of the river crossing. The wolves knew where the pits were, so if they needed to flee back, they could do so without the danger of falling in.
The bears who were guarding had grown tired of listening to these wolves making trouble every night, they simply kept a perfunctory attitude towards the sounds. They didn't believe the wolves would change up the methods to attack them.
Unfortunately they were wrong, the wolves charged in. Leaving only time for them to roar in disbelief, trying to awaken their kin behind them.
The wolves didn't care, they knew the bears were blind at night, so they charged right in. The attack was fierce and bloody, both sides had advantages. The wolves had numbers and clear sight. The bears had tyrannical strength, and great defense.
The bear King watched in dismay as the wolves attacked, he ripped apart any wolf that he could get his hands on, but he couldn't catch many, their speed was too fast, and they avoided him to attack the others.
He saw a large shadow rushing towards him. The speed was faster than those wolves, so he launched himself towards it. He thought that like the other wolves, this shadow would dodge too, but when he locked claws with it, he felt his paws were numb. Being in close proximity he saw the hulking figure, and knew it must be that giant wolf that he had heard of.
Although he was aware of the wolf's existence, but he never really thought that a wolf could outgrow a bear, but the strength of the wolf in front of him was definitely not low. He knew that this wolf would be the most troublesome opponent he would have to face.