Chapter 264: Cooperation

"They're coming!"

Perhaps the foreign beastmen wanted to eliminate the trouble here earlier to resume their previous offensive, so even though Yun Li and her group had just retreated, those foreign beastmen came after them.

Sensing the familiar sour stench in the air drawing nearer, Yun Li pressed her body tighter against the trunk; she was standing on the lush main branch.

Because it was the dry season, aside from the evergreen trees and vines that could cling to the trunks, the ground vegetation—perhaps to resist the heat—was barely knee‑high to the beastmen, so it hid beneath; unless one had an exceptionally good blind spot, the foreign beastmen riding the ferocious beasts would easily notice anything amiss.

But staying in the tree was still a great risk for Yun Li, since those foreign beastmen knew well that the Silver Eagle Tribe had the most eagle‑beastmen, and they were highly vigilant about anything above their heads.

Yun Li had to be at her utmost alertness to ensure the foreign beastmen wouldn't spot her in the tree.

"Wait!"

Unclear what was discovered, the leading foreign beastman raised his hand in a gesture, and the others instantly halted their advance.

Then, quickly, one of the foreign beastmen leapt from his ferocious mount and began stabbing around with a stone spear.

It seemed they had learned from past lessons, letting someone scout ahead, but this time, aside from that big pit, Yun Li and the others did nothing else.

Just as that foreign beastman noticed fresh traces in the soil beneath his feet and was about to crouch to inspect, Gong Mei and her group appeared in the air.

A clear eagle's cry instantly drew the foreign beastmen's attention; the leading middle‑aged male gave the beasts below a glance, signaling them not to panic and to continue observing.

Then, under the middle‑aged male's orders, two more foreign beastmen leapt down, but they stayed close to their mounts, circling the nearby trees to look around.

Did they notice me? Or did they think there was someone hidden nearby who would strike a finishing blow while Gong Mei's group attacked them?

Regardless, Yun Li's hand had already slipped silently to her back.

"Screech!"

Before those two beastmen could focus on the tree, several eagles circling overhead instantly locked onto the target and dived down.

Although the foreign beastmen always seemed overly confident, when danger truly arrived, their reactions were still sharp.

Especially the middle‑aged male on the ferocious beast; the stone spear—no, more accurately a stone lance—in his hand almost thrust straight through the head of the attacking eagle.

Fortunately, Yun Li and two other beastmen had been watching the situation below, but their movement inevitably exposed their positions.

Probably confident that the middle‑aged male was guarding their rear, the three foreign beastmen closest to Yun Li swiftly leapt from below onto the tree.

Yun Li quickly tossed several hidden weapons; while the opponents were dodging, she instantly reverted to beast form and leapt onto another large tree.

"Capture her!"

A cold shout rang from behind, startling Snow Wolf into an instinctive turn, but she suppressed the impulse, then after jumping down the tree she sprinted away at full speed.

She didn't need to guess; just the rapid rush of wind in her ears told her that the command "Capture her" had already been carried out by those foreign beastmen.

What a mess—she hadn't expected this mishap; her plan never involved them chasing her.

……

On the other side, the patrol team beastmen that Shan Ye had found received help from the three people Yun Li had dispatched.

After a hard fight that killed two foreign beastmen, they abandoned the remaining ones and rushed straight toward Yun Li's side.

And while they were on their way, Yun Li, aided by the other patrol beastmen, barely survived and led those foreign beastmen to a spot not far from the big pit.

"A Li?"

"I'm fine."

Hearing Gong Mei's concern, Yun Li twitched the corner of her mouth, enduring the intense pain as she pressed her back against hers.

Their current situation wasn't good; they were almost surrounded by those foreign beastmen.

Yun Li gave Gong Mei a glance; Gong Mei lowered her eyes slightly, then seized Yun Li's arm and hurled her hard toward the middle‑aged male.

"Hmph!"

A disdainful snort rang sharply; as Yun Li scattered poison powder toward the central male, she distinctly felt a bone‑chilling cold surge up her spine—a primal response when life is threatened.

But Gong Mei and the others didn't betray Yun Li's trust; as Yun Li was flung away, an arrow followed, skimming her back and, through the constraints of her beast‑skin armor, pulling her out of the middle‑aged male's attack range.

Although this method inevitably worsened her injuries, the result was that the beastmen gained a breakthrough opportunity.

Yun Li and the others fled in disarray back to the spot where they had first set the trap, and the middle‑aged male, who clearly sensed something was wrong yet saw nothing amiss, felt his anger flare wildly.

Seeing those seven or eight beastmen repeatedly seize chances to slip away under his very nose, how could he not be angry?

Of course, the most important thing was that the poison powder Yun Li tossed made him feel he had been toyed with.

Then, with a moist, fetid stench spreading through the air, a huge green toad appeared on the spot.

When that stench rushed toward her at a speed Yun Li couldn't even react to, Gong Mei, who had been by her side, didn't hesitate to grab her and roll away on the spot.

But the green toad was clearly not easy to dismiss; just as Gong Mei and Yun Li steadied themselves, a long tongue shot toward them.

The speed was such that Yun Li and Gong Mei only managed to push it away forcefully; this saved a life, yet Yun Li was badly wounded and could no longer run on her own.

"Screech!"

At the critical moment, reinforcements arrived.

Seeing Shan Ye bring people over to clash with the foreign beastmen, Yun Li gritted her teeth, rolled into an inconspicuous corner, and nocked an arrow aimed at the green toad.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow struck the green toad steadily, and the next moment provoked a tongue attack.

Yun Li rolled to narrowly evade, continuously calculating the poison powder's activation time; her powder wasn't lethal, but once the target was wounded, the wound would bleed continuously.

On the chase by those foreign beastmen, almost every beastman had thrown something at them, so if the fight continued, the foreign beastmen would only sustain heavier injuries.

Moreover, with this weather—high heat and intense sunlight—the foreign beastmen probably hadn't yet noticed anything abnormal about themselves.

And Yun Li, watching the tremor on the ground, let out a soft laugh; she thought the big pit would soon begin to serve its purpose.