Chapter 428

The poison shaman's face was grave as he remained silent, the air in the house oppressive to the point of suffocation.

Entities: Poison Shaman. Also maybe 'house' is generic house, not named.

After a moment, just as the beastfolk was about to be unable to breathe and faint, the oppressive aura emanating from the poison shaman suddenly vanished.

Entities: Beastfolk, Poison Shaman.

The beastfolk seemed to have just crawled out of the water, his whole body drenched, the ground where he knelt soaked with sweat and darkened.

Entities: Beastfolk.

A feeling of tightness in his chest made him gasp heavily; the loud, ragged breathing drew a glance from the poison shaman, who snorted derisively, as if mocking the beastfolk's incompetence.

Entities: Poison Shaman, Beastfolk.

"Going to the Polar Forest hasn't taken long, and not a single one of their numbers is missing, which shows that the Super Tribe's people have not managed to control the four tribes of the Polar Forest."

Entities: Polar Forest, Super Tribe. Also maybe 'four tribes' generic.

"So..."

No entities.

The poison shaman's narrow eyes slightly narrowed, the corner of his mouth curling into a sinister arc: "Take a few of your clansmen to scout the direction of the Rock Salt Tribe, don't follow too closely."

Entities: Poison Shaman, Rock Salt Tribe.

The beastfolk wondered: "Shaman Sir, what if we don't follow closely and they aren't actually heading to the Rock Salt Tribe?"

Entities: Beastfolk, Shaman Sir, Rock Salt Tribe.

The territory of the Chiyan Plains is so complex that it's easy to lose track.

Entities: Chiyan Plains.

The poison shaman gave him a cold glance: "Don't think if you have no brains; just do as I say and get out."

Entities: Poison Shaman.

The beastfolk's body trembled, and he hastily bowed and retreated.

Entities: Beastfolk.

After a moment, the poison shaman's thin lips parted: "Summon the clan chief."

Entities: Poison Shaman, Tribe Chief.

As his words fell, the sound of retreating footsteps came from outside.

No new.

Moments later, the drenched Poison Scorpion Tribe Chief hurried in: "Shaman Sir, did you summon me?"

Entities: Poison Scorpion Tribe Chief, Shaman Sir.

Toward the chief, the poison shaman remained somewhat courteous: "There is an important matter I need you to handle."

Entities: Tribe Chief, Poison Shaman.

Having said that, he then relayed the information the beastfolk had gathered and his own speculation.

Entities: Beastfolk.

"If there really is a conflict between the Super Tribe and the Rock Salt Tribe, then this is an opportunity for our Poison Scorpion Tribe."

Entities: Super Tribe, Rock Salt Tribe, Poison Scorpion Tribe.

You lead half of the tribe's beastfolk warriors out; first do not approach, gather clear intelligence before acting, and be sure to wait until the Super Tribe's selection squad departs before taking action.

Entities: Tribe (generic), Beastman Warrior, Super Tribe.

His gaunt fingers toyed with the poison insect in his hand, his voice flat and unchanging, yet his narrow eyes brimmed with excitement.

The scorpion beastfolk chieftain's face was also filled with wild joy: "Shaman Sir, let me handle this."

The Poison Shaman nodded and waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

Though this chieftain isn't the brightest, he obeys orders, so I'm still at ease leaving this matter to him.

Two days later, the Rock Salt Tribe.

The Rock Salt Shaman finally understood what his bad premonition was.

Gazing at the chaotic tribal grounds littered with the corpses of his clansmen, his grip on the shaman staff trembled uncontrollably.

"Why..."

His hoarse, aged voice grew ever raspier, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the familiar figures ahead.

Weren't we just holding a selection ceremony in our own tribe not long ago?

The leading beastfolk even rolled around in a cave with the shamaness, and that Poison Shaman was quite fond of her—so how did things turn out like this?

"Where is the shamaness?"

Among the beastman warriors surrounding the old shaman, several were the partners of the Rock Salt Shamaness; after the melee, they still hadn't seen their partners, leaving them uneasy.

The messenger beastfolk captain burst out in an angry laugh: "Shamaness? You still dare to mention her.

That wretched woman deceived us, luring us into the Polar Forest to spite a powerful super tribe in order to avenge herself—we've already thrown her into the Polar Forest to feed the feral beasts."

"A super tribe?"

Hearing this, the Rock Salt Shaman shouted hoarsely: "Impossible—there are only four major tribes in the Polar Forest; there's no such thing as a super tribe. You must have been deceived."

The healing shaman stepped forward slowly: "You know the strength of the super tribe—the Huaxia Tribe has more than two great shamans, one of whom is young and possesses immensely powerful shamanic power, something we cannot afford to offend."

His gaze remained indifferent: "Moreover, the Huaxia Tribe, like us, lies hidden behind the scenes protecting the Polar Forest; the forest's tribes don't know us, and we don't know the Huaxia Tribe."

You should know that even if we let you go this once, when that great shaman of the Huaxia Tribe returns and tells his tribe, your Rock Salt Tribe will meet the same doom.

The shaman staff in his hand glimmered with shimmering shamanic power as he lifted his indifferent eyelid: "So, your Rock Salt Tribe cannot escape annihilation—this is also the Kumá Tribe's explanation to the Huaxia Tribe for intruding into the Polar Forest."

Radiant shamanic light enveloped all the fighting super-tribe beastfolk, their minor wounds and fatigue visibly diminishing at a noticeable pace.

The super-tribe beastman warriors roared again and charged toward the opposing Rock Salt beastman warriors, the battle about to erupt.

At that moment, a scorpion beastfolk hiding in a large tree outside the Rock Salt camp clung tightly to the thick trunk, watching the Rock Salt Tribe shift from bustling liveliness to deathly stillness.

Finally, as the sun set, the super-tribe's forces departed, and the bloody stench hanging over the Rock Salt clearing drew countless wild beasts.

They tore and howled, as if holding a grand feast, greedily enjoying this hard-won meal.

"Too... too terrifying..."

The scorpion beastfolk's teeth clicked together, emitting a constant "gek-gek-gek" sound that was especially chilling in the quiet night.

After closing his eyes and waiting a moment, he jumped down from the tree, his steps somewhat disordered as he ran toward the tribe.

The Rock Salt Tribe has been slaughtered to the last; I must quickly inform the Shaman Sir.

"Who!"

Perhaps because he was too panicked, the usually skilled hunter forgot to conceal his tracks and was discovered by the pursuing scorpion chieftain and his entourage.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the scorpion beastfolk nearly burst into male tears.

"Chieftain... chieftain, the Rock Salt Tribe has been wiped out by the super tribe—not a single soul remains alive, not even the Rock Salt Shaman."

Although the Rock Salt Shaman detonated his own shamanic power at the end, because the opposing side had four shamans stronger than him, that intense shamanic surge was merely like scratching an itch for the super-tribe members.

After the itch passed, they just went on doing what they were supposed to do.

The scorpion beastfolk captain's body jolted; he felt his throat dry: "All... dead?"

The beastfolk, eyes full of dread, nodded: "All dead, not a single one left."

In the end, the beastfolk still couldn't leave; after waiting three days, once all the corpses on the Rock Salt grounds had been devoured by the arriving wild beasts, they finally stepped onto this land already reeking of rot.

The former bustle was long gone; even the stone houses symbolizing tribal strength had been smashed and shoved aside by something.

The entire tribe lay in utter ruin, causing the scorpion beastfolk to sigh with sorrow.

Their hearts were filled with both excitement over the Rock Salt Tribe's destruction and fear of the super tribe's might.

After this bloody lesson, they finally truly saw the gap between ordinary tribes and super tribes that only they could see, like an insurmountable mountain.

Everyone searched the Rock Salt Tribe's camp for a day before finally finding the place where the Rock Salt Tribe gathered salt in a hidden cave behind the camp.

"So much salt..."

Beastfolk looked at the coarse salt with a slight blue-black tint before them, their faces flushed red as they rushed over.

They lay on the cave wall and directly stuck out their tongues to lick the crystals on the cave wall.

When the salty-bitter taste entered their mouths, the beastman warriors exchanged a glance and began howling "ao ao ao" in the cave.

It belongs to them, this much salt makes it theirs.

"Chief, will the super tribe's envoys not come back?"

Having witnessed last night's massacre, the beastman warrior scouting for news was still a bit timid, furtively glancing outside the cave and speaking worriedly.

The Scorpion Tribe chief gave him an annoyed look: "When have you ever heard of the super tribe lacking salt?"

The beastfolk stared, then gave a dry laugh while scratching his head: "Yeah, that's right."

"Alright, quiet down, let's first scout around the Rock Salt Tribe here, in case any Rock Salt Tribe members have escaped..."

In the Scorpion Tribe chief's deep eyes, clear killing intent surfaced: "Our Scorpion Tribe will eliminate them for the super tribe's envoys."

"Then we will clear away all the corpses on the camp, and from now on our Scorpion Tribe's territory will be here."

"Ho ho ho!"

"Ao ao ao!"

The beastfolk's howls echoed throughout the Rock Salt Tribe's camp.

Meanwhile, in a small cave in the distance, more than a dozen elderly beastman warriors with reddened eye sockets were looking at the young ones inside.

"Our tribe has been annihilated by the super tribe; we have no tribe left, but you must remember, we are still members of the Rock Salt Tribe."

The middle-aged beastfolk's voice trembled slightly: "We are no match for the super tribe; you are the hope of our tribe's legacy, the shaman hopes we lead you to live well elsewhere, passing on our Rock Salt Tribe's heritage.

"Forget the tribe's destruction, unless we have the ability to take revenge..."

The young ones clenched their fists tightly, even the female sitting innermost grit her teeth hard.

"Uncle, are we really just going to flee like this? I'd rather die with our clansmen."

A not-yet-adult beastfolk cub growled low, his face ferocious.

His entire family died under the claws of the super tribe's beastfolk; besides him, there is no one left alive.

The hatred in his heart seemed like a towering wave about to drown him.

"We're all dead, the Rock Salt Tribe is completely gone."

"Doesn't the middle-aged beastfolk hate?"

"Their families and clansmen also all died at the hands of the super tribe."

"But compared to their own hatred, the tribe's legacy is more important."

"Rest well, we'll depart tomorrow leaving Chiyan Pingyuan; if those Scorpion Tribe people find us..."

Although he didn't finish his words, everyone present knew what they would face upon encountering the Scorpion Tribe's beastfolk, and they all fell silent.

Meanwhile, in the Scorpion Tribe's poison witch hut that they feared, the beastfolk who had gone to scout had returned and was kneeling below, reporting the events of the day the Rock Salt Tribe was slaughtered.

"What did you hear them say?"

The poison witch had calmed his somewhat excited mood, although he guessed that the super tribe going to the Rock Salt Tribe would not bring anything good.

But he never imagined it would actually be to kill the entire Rock Salt Tribe's people.

He had previously thought that if something happened to the Rock Salt Tribe because of the super tribe, letting the Scorpion Tribe chief take people to take advantage of the chaos to do something.

If he could severely damage the Rock Salt Tribe, that would naturally be best, but he never expected to pick up such a great boon—truly the beast god's blessing.

"You said not to get too close, so I was just crouching on a big tree outside the camp.

I didn't hear the earlier words, but when that super tribe's shaman sir spoke using witchpower, I roughly caught some.

It seemed he said there is also a super tribe behind the Polar Forest, and that super tribe is even stronger than the one protecting us.

Because earlier the Rock Salt Tribe's priestess brought the super tribe's envoys to the Polar Forest, angering the super tribe behind it, so they wanted to annihilate the Rock Salt Tribe to appease that super tribe's wrath.

The poison witch, who had just been calm, could no longer sit still and suddenly stood up.

"You didn't mishear? The super tribe's shaman really said that?"

Perhaps because his face was too ferocious, the beastfolk were frightened, shrinking their heads, their voices trembling a bit.

"Yes... yes, that shaman also said, even if they don't annihilate the Rock Salt Tribe, the Chinese Tribe will come to annihilate them.

"So it's just like giving an apology to that super tribe called Chinese Tribe."

Hearing this, the poison witch's bluish-black face grew even darker; just moments ago he had been glad the Rock Salt Tribe was wiped out, allowing the Scorpion Tribe to dominate Chiyan Pingyuan.

But he never expected to hear such terrible news.

Thinking of what he had done in the Polar Forest with several tribes before...

His body shuddered, feeling that he was unwell.

"Quick, let the tribesmen come back, don't pack up yet, we'll continue staying in our own territory."

He paced back and forth on the ground irritably, his mind in turmoil.

Suddenly there was a feeling like a herbivorous beastfolk picking up a pig's trotter—can't eat it, can't bear to throw it away.

"Go again to the Rock Salt Tribe, have the chief and them return, and bring more salt."

Having said that, seeing the beastfolk still trembling while kneeling on the ground, he flared up and kicked him: "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go!"

"Not the slightest hint!"

One month after the Rock Salt Tribe was annihilated, the Scorpion Tribe merely cautiously probed the outskirts of the Rock Salt Tribe's camp, allowing the spacious camp to be used as a toilet by wild beasts, yet they dared not move in.

The poison witch waited anxiously, a month passed but still no news.

The vexed poison witch was like a ferocious beast baring fangs and claws, lashing out at anyone who displeased him with torment.

The entire Scorpion Tribe was plunged into a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere.

Even the Scorpion Tribe Chief, who wanted to retain some dignity before the Poison Shaman, dared not casually step forward.

"Chief, our tribe's Beastman Warrior has returned, wearing a strange beast hide that looks even finer than those shamans from the earlier messenger team."

"Our Beastman Warrior? Who is it?"