Chapter 540

~13 min read 2,481 words

He lifted a beastskin bag with his mottled hand and said, "Our salt is almost gone; if we ask to leave now, do you think the Snow Tiger Tribe will still trade salt with us?"

Now, the burly male's face turned completely white, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, and even the female soothing the young cub lowered her head, her face ashen.

Perhaps life in the Snow Tiger Tribe had been too comfortable, for they had forgotten their identity as members of the smaller tribes; this helpless situation is now the reality of their lives.

Perhaps sharing the same thought as that burly male's tribe, not a single tribe chose to leave the Snow Tiger Tribe.

Although the news of the beast tide had long been known, after such a solemn notice from the two shamans, everyone still felt a pang of panic, and the tribe's atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Even the chiefs of the smaller tribes ran to the Snow Tiger chief to ask if there was anything they could do to help.

'Many hands make light work' is no empty saying; the Snow Tiger chief, without hesitation, nodded and assigned tasks to the members of the smaller tribes.

Days passed, and everyone wished they could split themselves in two to keep busy; finally, the beast tide arrived on the morning after a day of frantic work.

When the sky was still dim, Wu Yue rolled out of bed, brought Lan Pangzi, and came to the tribe's storeroom, where the females were already busy.

Everyone processed the food into a state ready for boiling, then sorted and stored it.

Seeing Wu Yue arrive, some females who had been helping nearby hurried over, drying their hands; these were the females Wu Yue had specially selected to learn simple wound‑treatment methods.

Because the tribe now had bows and arrows, the pure humans could also join the fight; compared to the physically powerful Beastman Warriors, the pure humans were far more fragile, and if they were injured and not treated promptly, they could easily die.

As time ticked by, the tense atmosphere began to spread through the storeroom.

"Yue, have you ever experienced a beast tide before?"

Qingcao's chubby little face scrunched up; although she was asking Wu Yue, the fear in her eyes poured out unabashedly.

Wu Yue pressed her lips and shook her head: "I've never seen one; the tribe I lived in before was too small, with few people, so every beast tide we hid in a cave, blocking the entrance with huge rocks, and my father A Mu never let me go to the cave mouth to look, so I really am seeing a beast tide for the first time."

I have to say, the original host's father A Mu protected the original host too well; in this beast world, the original host truly has no survival ability at all.

People were chatting in low voices when suddenly a huge roar swept through the entire tribe, shaking even the storeroom where they were.

Not to mention the other females, even Wu Yue was frightened by such a commotion.

A few grandmothers, having experienced beast tides before, were much braver than the young females; they hurried to the storeroom entrance, and after a while came back with slightly pale faces, meanwhile closing the storeroom door.

Following behind the grandmothers, Wu Yue's expression grew solemn; on the open ground not far from the storeroom lay several huge bird‑like beasts.

That beast was huge, looking like a vulture, fierce in appearance, its wide beak filled with fine, sharp teeth, and its wings spread out even longer than a Beastman Warrior lying down.

Several more of these ferocious bird‑like beasts circled in the sky, while the ones facing them were precisely the Beastman Warriors of the Flying Eagle Tribe who had stayed behind.

One of the Beastman Warriors had lost his beastskin garment, deep claw marks scoring his shoulders, looking horrifying, but thanks to the Beastfolk's strong regenerative power, the bleeding had already stopped.

Just then, a Beastman Warrior from the Snow Tiger Tribe ran in and said, "On the first day of this beast tide, flying beasts have already come; you must absolutely not go out—there are too many flying beasts, and the Flying Eagle Tribe's Beastfolk can't look after you; if you're seized, it'll be trouble."

The females nodded solemnly; facing the ferocious beasts, the pure‑human females, who had little attack power, could really only ensure their own safety first.

As for the Beastfolk females in the tribe, Wu Yue turned her head to look out the window...

Seeing one sturdy figure after another swinging their fists faster than any Beastman Warrior, she couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy.

"What's there to envy? Train hard in the body‑refining art awarded as the mission reward; later you'll far surpass these Beastfolk females, and you won't end up looking like a muscle‑bound Barbie like them."

Wu Yue ruffled Tongzi's round head: "You still look down on those Beastfolk females, don't you? Different places have different tastes, and these Beastfolk females are quite popular with the Beastman Warriors; moreover, their formidable combat strength and physique give them fighting power not inferior to the Beastman Warriors, making them far superior to us females who can only wait here."

Having said that, she poked Tongzi's little nose: "And you, you're even stronger than that."

Tongzi scrunched up his face: "I'm just not convinced—I'm outstanding too, right? Isn't it because I don't want to go out and slaughter everything? I just want to stay here and protect you, my host."

Wu Yue looked amused at the small‑statured Tongzi, wondering who was actually protecting whom.

The sky kept echoing with the sharp cries of the bird‑like beasts, and the females could only observe the outside through the small window above the storeroom.

The beast tide on the first day lasted until dusk before it was considered over; the beasts and wild animals that had attacked all day were finally summoned by a loud, low roar, they picked up the carcasses of nearby wild animals and beasts, and rumbled back to the distant forest.

Looking at the ground outside the city wall dyed red with blood, several tribespeople wore solemn expressions.

"The Beastman Warriors who have just rested are going out to retrieve the spent arrows; the rest of the tribe should head to the storeroom to rest, for the beast tide hasn't ended yet."

The wild animals and beasts carried away all the corpses, leaving only those bird‑like beasts in the Snow Tiger Tribe; although their numbers are fewer than the beasts that died outside the wall, they are still enough for everyone to have a meal today.

The members of the smaller tribes, seeing such a fierce beast tide for the first time, all felt weak in the knees; especially since it was their first direct encounter with the beasts, not having pissed themselves already shows they're of good quality.

"Chief, will we come back tomorrow?"

A male from the smaller tribes came trembling to his own chief's side and asked in a quivering voice.

"Of course we'll come; the Snow Tiger Tribe has already issued us weapons—just stand on the wall and shoot arrows. Look at how timid you are; are you even one of our tribe's people?"

After being scolded by his own chief, the male trembled back, but he felt a bit of confidence; since the chief hadn't given up, what reason did he have to say no?

But what he didn't see was that after seeing the male off, the chief covered his face with both hands for a moment, then rubbed it hard until his face turned red, finally letting out a heavy sigh.

Don't be fooled by his fine words just now; earlier, when attacking the beasts, he had almost stuck his hand‑bow into himself.

Fragrant, delicious food was brought out pot after pot, offered openly, letting those resisting the beast tide eat their fill.

Meanwhile, the gathered leaders began to tally today's casualties.

"Thanks to the wall's protection, our casualties are far fewer than in previous years."

Xuehu Wu laughed and shook his head: "It's just that after the vulture beast broke into the tribe and killed some pure‑human warriors, only the Half‑Beast and Beastman Warriors suffered no casualties."