Chapter 38: Waiting Before the Escape

Hiss—

I don't know who suddenly let out a soft intake of breath; when Yun Li turned to look, Leng Xiu abruptly lowered his voice and said, "Quick, all beastmen, go!"

As soon as his words fell, Leng Xiu, holding Yun Li, rushed out first.

Leng Xiao closely followed, and the other beastmen, as if discovering something, quickly followed and started moving.

Yun Li, having broken through to the Red Stage, her vision was far better than before her cultivation; as Leng Xiu ran with her, she also saw what made them avoid it at all costs—a flock of flying raptors.

At first they were just scattered black dots, but soon they became a dense mass that instantly occupied the upper half of the distant sky.

"What's happening outside? Is the beast tide really coming?"

The chief and Gong saw Leng Xiu's group and immediately made space for them to enter first; as the outside commotion happened, a stone slab blocked the entrance.

The chief couldn't help asking about the outside situation; who would have known, the so-called earth tremor truly was as Yun Li said, triggering the beast tide.

"Hmm, and the scale is not small; we're likely to be trapped here."

Leng Xiu's face looked grim, not only because the crystal cores they had hidden were forced to be left below, but also because the beast tide triggered by the earth tremor far exceeded his imagination.

This made him inevitably feel a pang of regret: why hadn't he, before the beast tide came, taken Yun Li and fled with Mu Qing?

Moreover, Mu Qing, who went to check the beast tide, is missing; they, bringing A Li, are also forced to stay here, and the days ahead may very well face the predicament of starving to death.

Hearing Leng Xiu's words, the chief's face instantly showed some anxiety: "Trapped here? You mean we can't go out these days?"

"Outside there are many beasts that can fly, run, or swim; if we rashly go out, even A Xiu and them would get hurt."

"Unless we wait for this wave of beast tide to pass, especially for the flying raptors to leave first, and then leave before the next wave arrives; otherwise we'll just be waiting to die here."

The chief looked at the speaking Yun Li; his expression was complex, a young female understanding more than them, really hard to accept, even though her words "earth tremor will cause a beast tide" have now been verified.

This time without the Witch Doctor speaking for her, he first looked toward Leng Xiu, but Leng Xiu lowered his head to look at Yun Li and asked, "A Li, do you think the beast tide isn't just one wave?"

"Leng Xiu!"

Gong also couldn't overcome his prejudice against Yun Li, merely frowning at Leng Xiu: "As a Qing Rank beastman, would he really listen to his female's words so readily?"

Even if Yun Li had guessed right about the beast tide by sheer luck, this concerns the whole tribe of over four hundred beastmen—shouldn't he have his own opinion?

Seeing Leng Xiu believe her, Yun Li's originally tense expression relaxed a bit.

She lightly nodded and said, "Although I only saw a bit, A Xiu, you should have noticed too—those running in front are the kind of beasts that are usually very fast, even untrackable during hunts."

So I think, if beasts are like us beastmen, their speeds vary fast and slow, especially aquatic creatures—they need to run, but must first climb ashore.

And once ashore, they must also avoid the beast tide formed by land beasts; otherwise, if they catch up, it's also a death sentence.

Hearing that, a thought flickered across Leng Xiu's face, but he didn't immediately respond.

And behind him, Leng Xiao frowned, considering her words, then said softly, "A Li makes sense."

The chief's brows knit tightly, his voice full of worry, he said, "But this is just her speculation."

"But isn't there a worse situation than now? Outside there's a beast tide; we can't go out to hunt, food is being consumed day by day, we'll eventually starve to death here—rather than that, we should seize the opportunity."

"Moreover, whether my speculation is right or wrong, we can later send people to verify it; that's certainly better than just sitting idle."

What Yun Li still hadn't said was that while the tribe's food stores might be sufficient, what about water, the lighting firegrass and firewood? Without water or light, who knows if, while the beast tide hasn't passed, these many beastmen might not turn on each other over these things.

The chief was momentarily speechless; given the current dire situation, he also had to seriously consider how feasible Yun Li's words were.

"Then A Li, how many days do you think we should wait before going out to take a look?"

Leng Xiu is also someone unwilling to sit and wait for death; more importantly, he took Yun Li's words to heart, and since he knows better than her what beasts are outside, he already had in mind the answer to whether the beast tide would leave all at once.

Aquatic creatures that can climb ashore will definitely run, and they will be the last to run.

The only troublesome thing now is how to determine the timing of their departure.

Yun Li also anticipated that Leng Xiu would ask her this; after thinking, she didn't avoid but turned the question back to him: "Which fast-running beasts are from Heifeng Ya, and roughly how many days would they take to run from there to here?"

Leng Xiu pondered and said, "If we calculate based on the full-speed run of a swift wind wolf, they'd probably get here in about four to five days."

"And what about the slow-moving land beasts—like lizards, burrowing rats, spiders... and also those flying insects—if they also need to leave their original places, we should also be careful to avoid them."

"If, by ill luck, they happen to run into a ground full of spiders, or other flying poisonous insects, then wouldn't they just be poisoned to death as soon as they run out? Or be sucked dry by the man‑eating ants here as food?"

Thinking of that frightening scene, Yun Li's heart instantly shuddered.

Now even Leng Xiu couldn't answer; not just him, but the chief and everyone—who would think that burrowing rats and spiders would also be frightened enough to flee? When speaking of beasts, isn't the first thought always those most commonly on their hunting list?

"If it's just some burrowing rats, with so many beastmen, what is there to fear?"

"I don't know which male suddenly said that, but Yun Li immediately looked at him and said, 'One burrowing rat, even dozens aren't scary, but what about hundreds or thousands?'"

That male, though he couldn't imagine there being that many burrowing rats in Heifeng Ya, Leng Xiao at that moment actually stood up for his female.

"If a rat tide really appeared, do you think that so many burrowing rats emerging together would pose no danger? If so, then you should go out and try it?"

That male actually wanted to say "Let's just try it," but he feared that if he were thrown out by Leng Xiao and them, they'd ruthlessly expel him from the tribe.

So he sensibly kept his mouth shut; at that time he didn't realize that, even though in beastmen's eyes burrowing rats are tiny and harmless, once they appear in swarms they become something even giant terror beasts must avoid.

Because when those burrowing rats die, one after another, the other things they carry along the road are enough to fell a giant terror beast directly on the escape route.