Chapter 49: The Rage Bear Clan

At dusk, the residual warmth of the dim yellow sunlight spilled from the sky, turning into heavy twilight.

The pungent scent of sulfur permeated the conifer valley, and the rising hot mist refracted the afterglow of the setting sun into distorted ripples.

Six sub-adult Rage Bears sat around a boiling, high-temperature sulfur pool, their thick fur encrusted with pyrite crystals, resembling heavy rock armor.

The Rage Bear leader, Broken-Tooth Gore, was among them.

Its build was the most massive; its fur, besides deep yellow, was intermingled with dark red, with numerous scars faintly visible on its body, and one of its fangs in its mouth was broken.

These were proofs of battles fought against powerful fierce beasts and demons.

Within the Earth Rage Bear clan, they were symbols of valor and glory, medals worthy of pride.

Including Gore.

All the Earth Rage Bears were using their claws to stir the sulfur pool water.

In this sulfur pool water, the young Rage Bears would throw in a special type of metallic ore sand, constantly enhancing its special effects.

Copper-green bubbles kept exploding, emitting a hissing sound like corrosion.

This was the 'Claw Tempering' that this Rage Bear clan had continued for decades; whoever's Xiong Zhao was sharper and harder could endure longer in this sulfur pool water, and the claws tempered through this process would become stronger after recovery.

On the rock blocks at the northwest corner of the hot spring, several small bears were poking their heads out, stopping to watch.

Gore's stirring of the pool water was the loudest, the ripples it raised swirling like a vortex, far beyond what the other Rage Bears could match.

As time passed, one by one, the sub-adult Rage Bears felt excruciating pain in their paws, could not hold on, and withdrew from the pool water; at the same time, they bowed their heads slightly to the leader, expressing their awe and respect, and after receiving Gore's low growl of acknowledgment, they turned and left. Only old Gore continued to temper his claws in the sulfur pool water, even pouring the corrosive pool water over his own body, making a hissing sound.

While the leader was still in the sulfur pool.

A two-year-old male Rage Bear named Raymond, who was about to reach adulthood, sneaked around stealthily and came to the area where the female Rage Bears were staying, then bared his teeth and grinned, throwing a thunderbird wing he had hidden behind his back at a female Rage Bear.

In the culture of the Earth Rage Bear clan.

Females were not faithful to a fixed mate, accepting courtship from multiple male bears simultaneously, but they had to use food to buy the right to mate.

The female Rage Bear glanced at Raymond, did not take the thunderbird wing, nor did she look at him again.

This meant rejection.

Although she was not faithful to a fixed mate, she needed to be faithful to the strongest Rage Bear.

Leader Gore monopolized all the female bears and strictly forbade the females from having relations with other male Rage Bears; once discovered, he would beat the male bear half to death and expel him from the territory, while punishing the female bear by cutting off her food supply for a long period.

The male bear, whose heart was stirred, did not leave; instead, he shamelessly sat down beside the female Rage Bear.

He used his tail to rub against the female Rage Bear's hind legs, barely making contact, to tease her.

It was currently the mating season; the female bear, provoked by Raymond's teasing, gradually could not hold back and became restless.

Because she did not see Leader Gore anywhere nearby, the female bear finally wiggled her plump bear hips, signaling the male bear to follow her into more secluded bushes.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

The bushes began to tremble and shake.

Ten minutes later.

The male bear Raymond stood upright on his hind legs, walked out of the bushes with a joyful gait, and then bumped straight into the Rage Bear leader.

The Rage Bear leader's expression was calm, but a dangerous light flickered in his brown eyes.

"Raymond, you have crossed the line."

A low growl like thunder issued from his mouth.

"Leader, listen to my excuses!"

The male bear was greatly alarmed in his heart.

Before the words had fully left his mouth, a huge Xiong Zhang slapped down onto his body.

This sub-adult Rage Bear, over seven meters tall, flew backward like a kite with a broken string; his chest fur was disheveled, his flesh and blood deeply sunken, and his bones were shattered.

The Rage Bear leader coldly took heavy steps and launched a fierce attack on the rule-breaking male bear; the male bear dared not resist, only wailing and begging for mercy.

The other male bears fell silent as if frozen.

In just a few short minutes, the male bear Raymond stopped moving, and his life force completely vanished; he had been beaten to death alive.

Such an event rarely happened before.

Because when facing a rule-breaking sub-adult Rage Bear, especially one who was his own offspring, Leader Gore would often choose to beat him half to death and cast him out of the territory, rather than killing him directly.

Today, the old bear seemed exceptionally irritable.

"Whoever dares to disobey or challenge my authority again."

"I will twist their neck!"

The old Rage Bear let out a low growl, his fur surging, making the other Rage Bears dare not make a sound.

Seeing the fear flashing in the eyes of the other Rage Bears, especially the male bears, he nodded in satisfaction.

With the passage of time, old Gore's fur was no longer as glossy and bright as in his prime; some gray-white, lifeless fur had appeared on his body, and he also felt his strength gradually declining, his physical attributes weakening; this time, the duration of his claw tempering was even shorter than before.

The knife of time is a hundred times sharper than the fangs of fierce beasts.

Not all creatures can become stronger in all attributes as they age like the Dragon kind; Gore has passed his peak, and from now on, his strength declines every single day.

He felt irritable and uneasy because of this.

To maintain his ruling position within the clan, the irritable him decided to adopt a colder method, killing even his own offspring without mercy.

Suddenly.

A rustling sound came from the conifer forest ahead, causing the old Rage Bear to instantly prick up his ears, stand his body upright, and turn his head to look.

Another Earth Rage Bear pushed aside the blocking vines and branches and appeared before the old Rage Bear's eyes.

"My dear father, you are becoming more and more brutal."

Mober said, his gaze sweeping over the corpse at the old Rage Bear's feet.

"Mober, the foolish offspring who once disobeyed me, you are still alive."

The old Rage Bear grinned, revealing the obsidian embedded in his toothless gum.

On Mobe'er's body, it felt no threat.

Though it was somewhat old and had grown weak compared to its peak, it was still far stronger than ordinary Rage Bears.

"You come before me—what do you seek?"

"Do you wish to challenge my authority and status, or simply to die?"

Its eyes gleamed with ferocity as razor-sharp claws snapped out one by one.

Mobe'er bared his teeth, stood upright, placed his arms on his hips, and growled, "Of course, to kill you, replace you, and then claim all your female bears!"

Hearing this, Gore flew into a rage.

It arched its back, planted its hind legs, and prepared to pounce and kill this rebellious son.

But the moment Mobe'er's declaration ended, he turned and fled, sprinting on all fours; runes on his limbs flared, making his body lighter and his speed faster.

"You cannot escape; I will slaughter you!"

The Rage Bear leader roared, its claws shattering the ground as it charged like a cannonball, smashing every obstacle in its path while pursuing Mobe'er.

The other Rage Bears exchanged glances but did not give chase.

This challenge to the leader was not a defense against an external enemy; the other Rage Bears had no need to intervene.

(End of this chapter)