Chapter 40: Rescue

Yuan Lang glanced at the few middle-aged Beastfolk, turned and hissed low: "The remaining tribespeople, follow me, quick!"

The Beastfolk also understood the urgency; though extremely reluctant, they gritted their teeth, carrying the wounded tribespeople, and kept up with Yuan Lang's pace.

Having run not far, fierce beasts' howls came from behind, vicious and cruel.

The Beastfolk's faces were sorrowful; they tightened the bundles before them, suppressing the urge to look back, continuing to bury their heads in frantic flight—only the occasional drifting sparkling droplets revealed their unsettled hearts.

"Stop!" Yuan Lang hissed; from the forest ahead came a series of rustlings, apparently many wild beasts running.

"Roar!" A snow-white big tiger lunged from the forest, pouncing onto Yuan Lang and giving him a fierce wipe across the face.

Before he could react, the snow-white tiger leapt aside; amid a flashing halo, a sturdy middle-aged handsome Beastman appeared before everyone.

The middle-aged handsome Beastman laughed heartily, slinging an arm around Yuan Lang's shoulders: "Kid! Do you miss Father?"

From behind came Teng Kun and Teng Qian's suppressed laughter; Yuan Lang sidestepped, escaping from the Beastman's grasp.

From the direction the middle-aged handsome Beastman had just emerged, Half-Beast warriors began to appear one by one; seeing long-unseen tribesfolk, they were overjoyed.

"Kid, where's that old buddy Da Shi?" The middle-aged handsome Beastman looked around, but didn't see his old comrade, and a bad premonition arose in his heart.

Shi Lin from the crowd also hurried over: "Yuan Lang bro, where's my father?"

Yuan Lang was tightening the grip on his stone spear; hearing this, he looked at the two, waved to summon the uninjured tribespeople behind him: "Half-Beast warriors stay to tend the wounded; Beastfolk warriors follow me to fetch Uncle Da Shi."

Having said that, he took the lead and sprinted back toward the forest they'd come from.

Hearing this, the middle-aged handsome Beastman's face tightened; he called his old companion, and the two shifted into beast form, catching up with Yuan Lang's group ahead.

Shi Lin and the Half-Beast warriors surrounded the wounded tribespeople in the middle, mutually keeping watch.

Though the central part of the Polar Forest is not where ferocious beasts often roam, being close to the interior, they still occasionally appear.

Therefore, here one must never let down their guard.

As Yuan Lang's party drew nearer to the place where they had previously encountered the saber-toothed pigs, the battle noises grew clearer; the middle-aged uncle's furry face showed no expression, but his eyes were full of solemnity.

"Kid, what wild beasts have you met?" Hearing the battle commotion, their size must be considerable.

Yuan Lang felt he was about to be brainwashed by that "Kid" refrain.

"It's not wild beasts; it's a squad of ferocious saber-toothed pigs."

The middle-aged handsome Beastman and his companion sucked in a breath of cold air—ferocious beasts, and they're herd-dwelling saber-toothed pigs!

They hadn't run far to begin with, and returning was swift; the surrounding trees were caught in the battle, actually clearing a patch of open ground.

Fallen trees were littered with large bloodstains; the middle-aged Beastfolk and those who remained continued to fight stubbornly.

Yuan Lang roared and charged straight at a huge saber-toothed pig.

Behind him, the middle-aged handsome Beastman bellowed: "Kid, Father's here to help you."

The middle-aged Beastman Da Shi, whose face had drastically changed upon seeing Yuan Lang's group, instantly set his heart at ease when he saw that familiar old comrade—the tribe's reinforcements had arrived.

The two adult saber-toothed pigs were already wounded; now they were surrounded by a pack of fearless Snow Tiger Tribe folk, and the only outcome could be to howl in despair as they went to meet the beast god.

(End of chapter)