Chapter 474: line with translation of chapter title

The competition slots aren't stipulated to require being a major tribe to participate, right?

Wu Yue frowned and said.

Time is insufficient; if the tribe develops too quickly, many problems will arise.

Teng Qian scratched his head: "That wasn't mentioned; probably there's no such rule."

Maintaining health is important; tribal affairs can be discussed later, there's no rush. Now food is scarce, having more tribe members isn't a good thing.

Several beastfolk nodded in unison; indeed, the tribe members here are mostly pure humans, with low hunting ability, finding food is a major problem.

At night, sleeping in her own small cave, covered with thick animal hides, Wu Yue felt a sense of tranquility; although life was difficult, compared to the busyness and fatigue of her previous life, her mind felt rare relaxation and steadiness.

Host, you've fallen; think for yourself how long it's been since you last meditated?

The pleasant atmosphere was instantly broken; Wu Yue raised her hand to wipe away the black lines on her forehead, wishing she could drag out Tongzi, who ruined the mood, and give him a sound thrashing on his butt.

But thinking of her current body, she still obediently crawled out of the warm blankets.

Shamanic power flowed through her limbs, continuously nourishing her body poisoned by toxic herbs and repairing her injuries.

Help!!!

A wonderful day began with a heart-rending howl.

Several people put on animal hides and walked out of the cave, amusedly watching a few pure-human males being chased by a wild boar, running everywhere, tears and snot smeared on their faces, miserable yet pitiable.

Tsk tsk tsk, I was just dreaming about what to eat, and this food has been delivered to our door.

Teng Qian leapt forward; the killing intent on the beastman's body was instantly sensed by the wild boar chasing the pure-human male, and its pair of ferocious, black-bean-like eyes turned toward Teng Qian.

Grunting, it bared its ferocious tusks and charged over.

Teng Qian twisted his body to dodge the boar's attack; as he waved his right hand, his sharp claws traced a circle around the boar's neck.

The grunting boar surged forward two meters, then let out a wail and flopped onto the clearing, collapsing to the ground, its four hooves twitching continuously; moments later it ceased breathing.

The leading pure-human male gulped hard, "Damn, that's ferocious—just a moment ago I was being chased by that pig like a dead dog, but in the next instant the fierce boar was taken down."

In a flash of thought, the pure-human leader immediately employed the flattery skills he'd honed beside the half-beasts, leaping up with a swish and calling his lackeys over to the already-stiff boar carcass.

Beastman Sir, you've worked hard slaying this boar; we can handle the cleaning.

Having said that, he furtively glanced at Teng Qian; seeing no refusal, and even a satisfied look from him, he felt reassured.

Well done, this flattery finally hit the mark.

He immediately turned, began directing his lackeys to work, kicking a few nearby ones: "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and help me carry this boar to the riverbank to clean it."

Then he turned to the scrawniest male: "You go gather firewood; later the adults will need to make a fire to roast meat."

Tsk tsk tsk, I never expected this pure-human to be so perceptive, not much worse than the eunuchs around the emperor.

Teng Qian stood in the clearing, arms crossed, clicking his tongue.

You talk as if you've seen the emperor's eunuchs.

Wu Yue looked amused at Teng Qian's smug expression.

Being looked down on by a little female—can we tolerate that?

Teng Qian puffed his chest: "I've seen the emperor too, alright? When I followed the general to palace banquets, I saw plenty of eunuchs; the favored ones practically wanted to spit flowers from their mouths."

What's the point of saying all that nonsense? Go patrol the surroundings and bring Ying Ze back.

Yuan Lang stood at the cave mouth, his gaze toward Teng Qian carrying a hint of warning.

This guy can't keep his mouth shut; if he tells Yue about how I fell off a cliff after being entangled by a princess and ended up in this world, I'd lose face completely.

Wu Yue amusedly watched the listless Teng Qian walk away, then turned to the tall, sturdy beastman warrior: "Since we've decided to establish a tribe here to compete for the slots, shouldn't we give this tribe a name?"

Yuan Lang lowered his head to look at her: "What do you think, Yue?"

Wu Yue tapped her chin, then sheepishly scratched her head: "I'm hopeless at naming; you should think of a name for this new tribe."

Yuan Lang frowned briefly: "Let's call it Snow Moon Tribe."

Lowering his head to look at Wu Yue, a smile touched his lips: "Snow Tiger and Witch Moon."

Wu Yue gave a dry laugh twice, as if cooperating, she clapped her hands: "Not bad, not bad, very good, very good!"

Good thing you didn't suggest calling it Tiger Moon!

In a forest several kilometers from the Snow Moon Tribe, a group of gaunt figures, their bodies wrapped only in dry vines to cover their vital parts, slowly walked through the woods.

The elders, young ones, and females walked in the middle, while all the males were on the outside; leading the way was a Half-Beast Warrior, on whose back he also carried another Half-Beast whose whole body reeked of a foul odor.

"Amù, how is the chieftain?"

A gaunt female approached, holding a large leaf; inside the leaf was some murky water.

The female brought the water to the lips of the unconscious Half-Beast, then she extended her dirty finger, dipped it in the water, and smeared it on his lips.

"The chieftain has been unconscious for many days; he can't eat or even drink water—what are we to do?"

The female's eyes welled up; the chieftain and Amù are the tribe's hope for survival, but now the chieftain has fallen, and Amù is still not of age, leaving the tribe's future bleak.

"There's nothing we can do; several powerful tribes are seizing nearby territories, and many half-beasts and beastman warriors from other tribes have been forced to join those tribes."

"But..."

The Half-Beast gazed into the distance behind him: "The East Mulberry Tribe slaughtered so many of our people, refuses to accept the remaining members into their tribe, and wants to make both me and the chieftain part of their tribe, giving our tribe no hope of survival."

"I will return; I will surely become a powerful Half-Beast Warrior, retake our tribe's lands, kill the people of the East Mulberry Tribe, and avenge our fallen kin."

After all, he is still young; the Half-Beast said, his voice already choking up.

His father, A Mu, died in this tribal conflict; the chieftain also suffered grave injuries while letting the tribespeople escape, and now it seems he won't survive.

"We must keep moving forward; my father once said that if we continue in this direction we will reach the Wuke Tribe's territory, and the Wuke Tribe is just as powerful as the East Mulberry Tribe—perhaps they can heal the chieftain."

"Even if I am later required to become a member of the Wuke Tribe, the chieftain will then be able to protect our people."

The two continued talking as they walked forward, while most of the tribespeople behind them wore blank, numb expressions.

Since leaving their homeland, too many tribespeople have died; even the mighty chieftain remains unconscious and has not awakened, leaving them unable to see any future direction.

Yet they still mechanically followed the tribe's main contingent as it pressed forward.

At noon, the Half-Beast youth walked to a big tree, set down the chieftain on his back, instructed the few males nearby to take good care of the chieftain, then he gripped his stone spear tightly, preparing to go out hunting.

The female who had just given the chieftain water hurried forward, handing him a fruit shell: "Bring some water back; our water is running low."

The fruit shell was as wide as a Beastfolk's body, with two holes dug on the side and a vine threaded through to fix it, allowing the Half-Beast youth to carry it on his back.

"I don't know if the Dong Sang tribe is still chasing us from behind, so we can only fetch water this once; if we linger too long by the river, they'll surely spot me."

The female's eyes were full of joy, she nodded repeatedly: "Once is enough; we can all drink a little less and give some to the young and the old."

The female and the chieftain of this tribe were about to become mates, but the sudden attack by the Dong Sang tribe delayed it; now the chieftain is severely injured, and it's unknown whether he will survive.

But to the female, as long as the chieftain lives, she is his future mate and bears the responsibility of caring for the tribe's people.

The Half-Beast boy took the fruit shell and slung it over his shoulder, then led a few still-energetic pure-human males deeper into the forest.

"Fuer, come quick, there's a small patch of wild greens here!"

The male's cry rang out in the woods; the young Half-Beast Fuer, who was pouring water into the fruit shell, and the two male Beastfolk guards beside him instantly turned their heads, a green light unconsciously flashing in their eyes.

They were truly starving, constantly chased by the Dong Sang tribe, with no time to stop and search for food and water; many in the tribe had already died because of it.

Fuer sped up his movements, knowing there was food; his hand gripping the fruit shell trembled with excitement.

The two male guards kept tiptoeing to look toward the tribespeople, gulping their saliva.

Although they weren't allowed to eat the food they found, just smelling it would be nice—it was precious food.

"All right, let's go."

As soon as Fuer's words fell, the two males beside him shot off with a swoosh.

The next moment, beside the not‑large patch of wild greens, two heavy breaths and suppressed excited cries appeared.

"With this much wild greens, it's enough for all our tribespeople to eat for two days."

As Fuer approached, he too was stunned by the expanse of tender green wild greens; after fleeing for so long, it was the first time they'd seen so much.

His mouth involuntarily curled up, and he crouched down to start gathering.

Perhaps because they were excited, they actually failed to assign tribespeople to stand watch.

So, when a group of people who clearly looked stronger than them surrounded them, several of them were dumbfounded.

The young Half-Beast, his heart full of hatred, lifted his gaze to the leading male: "Huh?"

They weren't the Dong Sang tribe coming to pursue us, were they?

"We're just passing through during our migration, coming out to look for some food; if this is your territory…"

He painfully set down the large handful of wild greens he had just gathered: "We'll leave these wild greens here; please let us go."

The young Half-Beast warrior knew that if the wild greens they gathered belonged to this tribe's territory, they would be in danger.

"Who knows if you ate any while gathering? You'd better come back to our tribe with us."

The leading Half-Beast spoke coldly, his words brooking no doubt.

The surrounding males, hearing their leader's words, stepped closer again to the young Half-Beast and his companions.

The finely crafted stone spear in their hands was already less than a palm's distance from their bodies; any slight movement could pierce them at any moment.

"We've recently found a great new campsite and happen to need some human slaves."

The speaking pure-human male chuckled, moving to the Half-Beast leader's side: "Why not just bring these people back to our tribe? Larger tribes all have slaves."

Slaves!

The young Half-Beast's fierce gaze instantly shot toward the speaking pure-human male; struck by that look, the pure-human male's body shuddered, a chill running up his spine.

"This brat's gaze is truly terrifying; once they become our tribe's slaves, I'll definitely find a chance to give him a good beating."

The pure-human male couldn't help but curse in his heart.

The Half-Beast leader naturally also saw Fuer's fierce gaze, snorted coldly: "Take them all back."

The surrounding pure-human males surged forward, seizing several of them to take them away.

Fuer and the others felt their hearts sink; if they were taken away, the people left in the tribe would truly have no hope.

"Wait a moment!"

Fuer hurriedly called out to stop the Half-Beast leader ahead.

"We still have some tribespeople in that forest over there; we need to go together."

Having said that, his heart filled with bitterness; leaving those few behind, the tribespeople in this dangerous forest could not possibly survive.

The Half-Beast leader lifted his chin, which was only slightly fuller than the surrounding tribespeople's: "Lead the way."

After stumbling their way to the unfamiliar tribe, the young beastman, seeing the tribespeople around him grow increasingly numb, finally realized once more that they had truly become slaves of this tribe.

They were each driven to different corners by the wall; the young Half-Beast stared numbly at the sky above, wondering if, as slaves, they still had any hope.

"Fuer, Fuer!"

A familiar voice rang in his ears; Fuer's body jolted, he turned his head, and in the next instant his eyes were full of self‑reproach and guilt: "Sister Ayun, I…"

The female was precisely the one who had been caring for the tribespeople, the future mate of the chieftain.

Seeing Fuer's guilty expression, Ayun could only sigh: "Don't think too much; our tribespeople have survived to this point entirely because of your protection—without you, how much longer could we last?"

She turned her head to glance at this strange tribe: "Even if we're slaves, it's enough that we stay alive together."

"Sister Ayun…"

Fuer's eyes burned with tears; making the entire tribe's people slaves, he felt himself the tribe's sinner.

But Ayun's words made Fuer's heart ache all the more; someone understood him, could feel the pain of his decision, and shared his suffering.