Chapter 149

All the people of the Heaven Lion Tribe, after learning that the surrounding tribes had met with disaster, most began to silently lament. Meanwhile, some people instead started a new round of busyness.

Since the surrounding tribes all suffered disaster, and the Heaven Lion Tribe is the only tribe that escaped harm, it will surely draw the gaze of many tribes.

Thus, many will come seeking help, and it's not impossible that some tribes will band together to attack the Heaven Lion Tribe. After all, the Beast Tide Month has passed, and the cold season is coming.

Although the weather hasn't turned completely cold yet, it will soon become unpredictable. Moreover, due to the Beast Tide Month's effect, the edible fruits and wild vegetables on the nearby mountains have already been completely devoured by passing herbivorous beasts.

Food scarcity in the cold season is what frightens people most. That feeling of hunger sometimes drives people mad more than harsh weather does.

To prevent the tribe from suffering sneak attacks and invasions, Chief Fei Ji, upon hearing that the surrounding tribes had suffered disaster, immediately began calling on the male Beastmen of the tribe to join the guard team.

For easier management, the chief also sought Zhang Fan's opinion and established within the guard team a scouting squad responsible for gathering enemy intelligence, and a patrol squad responsible for patrolling the tribe.

Originally Zhang Fan proposed: each team would be further divided into ten squads, each squad into ten platoons, and a platoon would consist of about ten people.

But that would leave the tribe with insufficient male Beastmen! Upon hearing Zhang Fan's proposal, the chief couldn't help but worry. Seeing this, Zhang Fan quickly spoke up, suggesting that some females also join the force protecting the tribe.

Zhang Fan thought, since he is a member of the tribe, when the tribe faces a crisis he must not retreat!

One must defend the tribe with one's will and body; as a tribe member, one cannot merely accept everyone's protection without contributing anything to the tribe.

Upon hearing Zhang Fan's idea, the chief suddenly became anxious! After being agitated for a while, he steadied his emotions, held his forehead, and then spoke earnestly to Zhang Fan:

「Fan Fan! It's not that Uncle Fei Ji doesn't want the females to contribute to the tribe! But look…… what if we end up fighting the surrounding tribes? How could these delicate little females get involved? What would we do if they got hurt」

Upon hearing the chief's words, Zhang Fan became unhappy! What do you mean 'delicate little females'? I'm a pure man, alright? I'm certainly not some female!

「Uncle, do you know? The significance of females surviving in this world is not merely for the tribe's reproduction. As females, we are actually capable of many things。」

And on my homeworld—Earth, females can support themselves through their own abilities, can live well without relying on males.

「Of course, females there also go to the battlefield to fight, and their bravery is in no way inferior to males! Therefore, on our Earth, females and males stand on equal footing……。」

Next, Zhang Fan gave the chieftain many examples and finally succeeded in persuading him.

Since there was already a plan to recruit female guards, the chieftain no longer hesitated; he immediately shifted into beast form, flew up into midair, and used his innate voice to spread the news.

The chieftain's voice was loud; almost the whole tribe could hear him clearly. Thus, after a brief silence, the entire tribe—male and female alike—erupted at the same time! This was the first time this word had ever appeared in Beastmen history!

Everyone began to doubt their own ears, eager to confirm with those nearby, fearing they had misheard.

"Hey! Did you hear what the chieftain just said?" Female A

"Of course I heard it! Hey! You say, is this Female Guard Team really only open to females?" Female B

"The chieftain said it himself—how could it be false? But I'm also curious: why would we organize this so-called Female Guard Team?" Female A

"Exactly! Exactly! You say, aren't we females always the ones receiving protection? How come now we're being asked to join that guard team?" Female C

"Still, I'm really looking forward to joining the Female Guard Team! Then I can protect others too—how great!" Female D

Although many disagreed with what Female D said, no one voiced it openly; they just silently made their own calculations in their hearts.

Just then, Zhang Fan happened to overhear the conversation. He glanced at the females chatting animatedly, shook his head without saying anything, and turned to go find the chieftain.

Upon finding the chieftain, Zhang Fan had him announce that he himself had already joined the Female Guard Team.

Now that word spread that Zhang Fan had joined the Female Guard Team, the other females who had been hesitating also bravely stepped forward, demanding to stand together with everyone to resist foreign tribes!

Thus, nearly half the tribe's females approached the chieftain, asking to join the Female Guard Team. Seeing everyone so eager to join, Zhang Fan felt genuinely relieved.

Originally, Zhang Fan thought that recruiting even a full platoon would be difficult, but who knew that as soon as he announced his joining the guard team, nearly a thousand people signed up!

However, although many signed up, Zhang Fan did not accept them all. After all, besides quantity, quality matters too! Zhang Fan always believed quality must exceed quantity.

This is not only a responsibility to the tribe, but more importantly, it ensures the personal safety of the guard team members. Only with a strong physique can one protect oneself and the tribe.

So, after Zhang Fan's screening, the 1,300 applicants were reduced to a mere 800. Those he eliminated were mostly underage youths and some elderly females.

On this Beastmen planet where the average age is 220 years, those who meet the elder standard are all individuals over 200 years old.

After reaching 200, people's physiological functions and various bodily indicators plummet rapidly.

This also causes many Beastmen and females, upon reaching old age, to develop various illnesses; even a minor cold could possibly send them back into the Beast God's embrace.

Thus, even if the elders still hoped to be accepted, Zhang Fan, considering their health and the tribe's safety, could not admit them.

Nevertheless, Zhang Fan still arranged for these elderly females some simple mending and similar tasks.

Regarding this, the elderly females were somewhat reluctant, but after Zhang Fan explained his concerns, they gladly accepted his arrangement. After all, in their view, being able to contribute something to the tribe is already a good thing—even if it's just minor mending chores.

Zhang Fan looked at the eight hundred females standing before him like loose sand, whispering among themselves; he couldn't help but groan inwardly, yet outwardly he walked seriously into the crowd. After circling once, he returned to his original spot and stopped.

After a few light coughs, Zhang Fan put on a serious expression and began to speak.

"Everyone, please quiet down and listen to me for a moment."

As soon as Zhang Fan's words fell, the females immediately stopped talking.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Fan silently nodded in his heart, then continued:

"Great! It seems everyone has already entered their roles. Since that's the case, I won't waste more words—I'll keep it short and hope you all listen carefully."

When Zhang Fan finished speaking, the females below replied in unison: "Yes!"

Zhang Fan was even more pleased with this result! Hahaha! This really saves effort! However… the only shortcoming is the formation issue.

"Alright, let me begin. First, I'll talk about our formation problem. I hope everyone looks around front, back, left, and right, then lines up in order of short to tall, with twenty people per vertical row, and the rest similarly. Okay, let's start!"

As soon as Zhang Fan finished speaking, the females below began to move. In a short while, a neat formation stood before him. Zhang Fan nodded in satisfaction and then went on to talk about grouping.

"Since everyone's formation is settled, it's also time to discuss grouping. Originally I planned ten per group, but considering this is everyone's first time participating in tribal defense work, I've temporarily decided on twenty per group.

"This grouping will follow your formation: you are already in rows of twenty, so each row is a group. As for the squad leader, let you all elect them yourselves!

"You have one day to elect the squad leader; by tomorrow morning at sunrise, please gather again. By the way, the newly appointed squad leader needs to arrive early!

"Alright, my words are done—please disperse! It's also time to go home and cook. See you tomorrow!"

After saying that, Zhang Fan prepared to turn and leave, when Fei Er saw him, hurried over, grabbed his arm, and exclaimed excitedly:

"Fan Fan! You're incredibly impressive today! Hahaha! I never thought you could convince my father to let females join the guard team! Now we females can also contribute to the tribe!"

Zhang Fan looked at Fei Er's beaming face, smiled, and said: "Exactly! Fei Er, I didn't expect to successfully persuade Uncle Fei Ji either, nor did I anticipate things would go so smoothly!"

"Mm-hmm! Yes! Really smooth!" Fei Er agreed, and while speaking, she also pulled Zhang Fan toward his home, heading in that direction.

"Ah! I really hope the upcoming matters go as smoothly as today!" Zhang Fan gazed at the sky, looking wistful.

Fei Er looked at Zhang Fan's sorrowful expression, completely baffled, his face full of doubt, and asked: "What's wrong, Fan Fan? Could it be that what we have to do next will be very hard?"

Zhang Fan saw that this place wasn't secret enough, and without saying more, he directly pulled Fei Er toward his own home.

After entering the house, Zhang Fan had no intention of hiding anything, and directly said to Fei Er: "Yeah, Fei Er, you also know that we are supposed to be guards, which means that when the war breaks out, we will also have to go up (to the front)."

Whenever there is fighting, there will definitely be sacrifices, bloodshed, and such. Of course, this is what I least want to happen, but if it does happen, I also hope that the members of our Female Guard Team can avoid fleeing and shrinking back.

Regarding Zhang Fan's words, Fei Er also understood them fully, but he did not say anything about quitting. Instead, he slapped his chest and boldly said: "We females are not easy to bully!"

Seeing Fei Er's reaction, Zhang Fan became even more determined to train the females into a super-strong force capable of matching the male Beastmen! He must make those males who look down on females take a new look.

At noon, after Ba Ke Er returned home, Zhang Fan told him about his plan to train the Female Guard Team, and this naturally received Ba Ke Er's strong support!

Upon hearing that, Zhang Fan happily tossed the unprepared ingredients in his hand into Ba Ke Er's hand, then gleefully ran into the room, grabbed paper and pen, and began to list his training plan in detail.