Chapter 479

"Looks like whether we obtain the totem pole or return to the opposite bank, we will have to join the competition in this forest."

"Just now, while speaking, I already let the Half-Beast of the East Mulberry Tribe know what they needed to know; once back at the tribe, he will surely tell the East Mulberry tribe chief, and the news will gradually spread through this forest, so we no longer need to hide our identity."

Several people, upon hearing this, nodded in unison.

"Well, I thought I could loosen up my muscles, but it ended without me even throwing a punch—how boring."

Teng Qian shook his head and sighed.

Wu Yue chuckled: "When the competition ends and we cross the river, you can swim across the Forest River—it will definitely be exciting."

Teng Qian's face stiffened; recalling the terror of the last river crossing, he instantly felt awful, gave Wu Yue a resentful look, got up and walked toward the cave entrance: "You all rest; I'll take watch."

Meow, indeed a woman's heart is the most poisonous; she has no sympathy for such a handsome man like me.

That afternoon, the entire small tribe's members, carrying their belongings, arrived at the Snow Moon Tribe's settlement, having left the tribe they had always lived in and come to an unfamiliar place; the tribespeople's hearts were filled with apprehension.

Although they had heard from their own tribe members that this newly joined tribe possessed powerful Beastman Warriors and a great Shaman, after the initial enthusiasm faded, they began to worry again.

What status would they have in this new tribe—ordinary members or... slaves...

In a forest whose combat strength was never particularly strong, four powerful Beastman Warriors suddenly appeared, and there was even a mysterious Shaman said to be able to communicate with the Beast God, as legend has it.

Such important news made the Half-Beasts of the East Mulberry Tribe dare not stay any longer; the next morning they bade farewell to Wu Yue and the others, preparing to return as quickly as possible.

But when he tactfully suggested taking the remaining members of Fu Er's small tribe along, it was, as expected, rejected.

Ying Yan surveyed the surroundings of the settlement, his eyes showing the absolute pride of a Beastman Warrior: "From now on we will live on this territory; we need many people to work for us, and these people will not be given to you."

You can go back and directly tell your tribe chief that we have claimed these people; if he still wants them, let him come attack us.

The Half-Beast warrior's face turned green instantly; his own tribe only had two Beastman Warriors, which was nowhere near enough to match these few.

Although there might be a few more Half-Beast warriors, but...

He felt the intense pressure emanating from the Beastman Warrior before him and couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile.

Moreover, there is still a noble Shaman capable of using mysterious shamanic power who has not yet acted.

The Half-Beast no longer mentioned taking Fu Er's group away; after bidding farewell to Wu Yue and the others, his figure flickered and vanished into the forest already showing hints of green.

At this moment, on the tribe's settlement, Da Man and the others stood with their chins raised behind Teng Qian and his companions, their arrogance undiminished even when facing the chief of the small Half-Beast tribe.

Are Half-Beasts so impressive? Right now they are no different from those Pure Humans, kneeling on the ground with those apprehensive little eyes, just like before—looking at them is simply too satisfying.

Are half-beasts that great? Even now they're no different from those pure humans, kneeling and sitting on the ground, looking at those nervous little eyes, just like they were a while ago—simply too satisfying to watch.

The little thoughts of those few pure-human males are obvious as can be, and Wu Yue and the others find it amusing.

But it's clear that Da Man is still a very sober person; after being smug for a few minutes, he quickly sobered up, pulled a couple of idiots beside him into the cave, shouldered his work tools, and continued clearing tree stumps around.

From getting along over this period, he could see that these beastman warriors and that esteemed shaman were not hard to get along with, bore no killing intent toward them, and as long as they worked well, they could each day eat food until their bellies were round—something they never dared imagine before.

Just think: if they were still in the Wuke Tribe, they'd probably have to wait for their squad leader to finish eating a Ye Cai Zi before they could nibble at it, then pick up the leftovers.

Yuan Lang sat on the open ground in front of his cave, carefully tending the bow and arrow in his hand; although this bow and arrow weren't as good as the ones he made back in the Snow Tiger Tribe, they were sufficient for hunting ordinary beasts.

Wu Yue sat beside him, her expression calm as she looked at those small-tribe people.

Standing before them were Teng Qian and his two brothers, along with Ying Yan.

Those small-tribe people were all feeling nervous at the moment; they had already heard from the clan chief about the tribe's situation, and that female who looked powerless turned out to be the legendary esteemed shaman.

"I don't care which tribe you came from; from the moment you entered this territory, you are already members of this tribe."

Teng Qian coughed lightly twice and announced unwillingly: "The shaman is merciful; she does not wish you to become slaves, but to become mighty members of the Snow Moon Tribe."

However, if the Snow Moon Tribe discovers tribespeople who betray the tribe or are lazy and shirk work, it will absolutely punish them severely.

As soon as we discover them, we will throw them into the Forest River to feed the water beasts.

The faces of the small-tribe people instantly turned pale; the beastman's words really make one's emotions swing wildly.

Fu'er and Ayun exchanged a glance; Fu'er, the tribe's sole half-beast warrior, clenched his fists tightly, then gathered courage to look up and ask: "Mighty beastman warriors, are our tribe's people the same?"

Teng Qian heard him, glanced at him, and said: "I've said it before—no matter which tribe you came from, you're all the same."

Fu'er, Ayun, and the tribespeople behind them seemed to have a spark of hope ignited in their eyes; those who have never been slaves cannot know how precious freedom is.

The people of this tribe have developed a sense of belonging to the Snow Moon Tribe for letting them regain their freedom.

With the addition of these two tribes, the size of the new settlement began to increase at a visible pace.

After one week, the expansion of the settlement stopped; the dry grass, shrubs, and trees previously broken and destroyed on the ground were gathered by the tribespeople and piled to one side.

"These adults say they're treating us as ordinary tribe members, but so far we have no place to live; each day we just spread some dry grass on this open ground and squeeze together, and if a fierce beast shows up, our lives could be over."

A female tied up dry grass while whispering complaints to her companion beside her.

For the people of this world, caves are the safest places to dwell.

"Ah, never mind; having food to eat is already not bad, but the cliff face on this settlement is only so big, and we can't dig out enough caves for us to live in."

Although their voices were low, they were heard by Da Man, who was quietly dragging a log past nearby.

His brows furrowed; he gave the two females who had just spoken a very dissatisfied look, set down the log in his hands on the open ground, and then walked toward the cave where Wu Yue and the others lived.

Today Teng Qian and Ying Yan took the males out hunting, while Wu Yue, Yuan Lang, and Teng Qian stayed in the tribe.

As Da Man walked over, the two powerful beastmen and that esteemed shaman were then playing in the mud, the shaman's face even smeared with several mud spots.

She appeared more lively and approachable like an ordinary female, less the lofty shaman.

Hearing footsteps behind them, several people turned to look.

After glancing at the two beastmen hard at work, Wu Yue rubbed the mud from her palms and stood up: "Da Man, what's up?"

After Da Man gave a respectful salute, he then repeated to her the words of the two females he had just heard.

Then he cautiously glanced up at the esteemed shaman; seeing she wasn't angry, he continued: "Shaman, why not let us give up our small cave for them to live in? We're males, our bodies are strong."

Wu Yue glanced at him and nodded approvingly: "You've done well; there's no need to give up the cave—I'll arrange their lodging later. Go work hard."

Hearing that, Da Man sighed in relief, bowed and stepped back a distance, then turned and continued walking into the forest.

Although his initial encounter with these several adults wasn't very pleasant, the time he has spent alongside them has been the most satisfying days of his life since birth.

Thus, unbeknownst when it started, Da Man and his companions gradually stopped talking about the Wuke Tribe; their ability to stick together is also because they have no parents or relatives in the tribe.

Moreover, those few who joined the hunting team hadn't been there long; they hadn't even had time to gather food and find a partner, truly leaving bare-handed with not a shred of attachment.

The next morning, aside from those hunting and gathering, everyone else gathered in the open space of the camp.

Wu Yue stood on a stone, looking down at the tribespeople: "Today, you will split into two squads."

She pointed to a pile of molds carved from whole logs beneath Teng Qian's feet: "The tribe needs you to cut the dry grass, mix it with soil, then slam it into this mold, place it on level ground to dry—this is what you will be doing for the coming period."

The tribespeople below were puzzled—what use could the shaman have for mud clumps made of soil? They'd be better off gathering food and hunting.

Although they knew they must not disrespect the mighty beastman warriors and the noble shaman, they still harbored some resentment at being told to play in the mud by the shaman.

With this time, they had no idea how much food they could have obtained.

Among those dissatisfied, most were the original members of the small tribe, whereas the Fu'er group, chased to the brink of extinction by the East Mulberry Tribe, had no objections.

To them, Wu Yue's party were the ones who could restore their freedom; as long as it was an order from the great shaman or the mighty beastman warriors, they would strive to fulfill it.

Wu Yue naturally saw the expressions of those small-tribe members, for they could hardly conceal their emotions; even when they quickly lowered their heads, the displeasure in their eyes was still caught by her.

She inwardly snorted, thinking they were utterly ignorant of heaven's height and earth's depth.

"If anyone refuses to go, I have other tasks for you."

Her voice was soft, no different from when she spoke before.

Upon hearing that, the small-tribe members who had shown displeasure began exchanging glances; Wu Yue naturally noticed their little movements, yet she remained silent, standing there without a word, only her gaze growing colder.

Shortly after, seeing that Wu Yue had not taken back her words, a dozen or so small-tribe members, somewhat shrinking, raised their thin hands.

"Come forward."

Among them were both males and females, many of whom, having enough food in the new tribe, still looked gaunt but were far more spirited than before.

"From today on, you are no longer members of the Snow Moon Tribe."

Wu Yue's words struck like a thunderbolt in their heads; they had no mind for politeness, and all at once lifted their eyes to the not-so-tall figure standing ahead.

Only now did they finally see the icy gaze of the noble shaman, as if countless snowflakes poured down from above, chilling them to the core and making their whole bodies tremble.

"From today on, you shall be slaves of the Snow Moon Tribe."

Having spoken, she no longer looked at their despairing eyes, sweeping her gaze over the stiffened crowd below: "Making you members of the Snow Moon Tribe is a boon; I need obedient tribespeople, not those who harbor resentment toward me."

The people bowed lower and lower; though the shaman released no pressure, each solemn word weighed on their spines like a boulder, causing them unconsciously to press their foreheads to the ground.

At this moment, they no longer found the shaman easy to talk to; their awe of this mysterious, noble shaman far surpassed that of the several beastman warriors.

Wu Yue knew that mere kindness would not earn their respect; conveniently, these small-tribe folk had come knocking to give her prestige, so she would naturally not waste the opportunity.

Kneeling at the rear, Da Man's heart was filled with shock; yesterday, when he told the shaman what those two females had said, seeing the shaman not angry, he had assumed she didn't care—who knew today would bring this.

He couldn't help but feel relieved; the four of them had first submitted under the mighty beastman warriors' strength, then after being taught a lesson, they harbored no other thoughts, focusing solely on work—perhaps that's how they escaped punishment.

Thinking this, he furtively glanced at the companions kneeling around him, seeing in their eyes deep dread.

Thereafter, the tribe heard no discordant voices; each consciously chose a responsible leader, received the thing called a mold, and then set to work diligently.