Chapter 15
On the way to search for the young wolves, Lang Yan did not show it on his face, but in truth, it would be impossible to say he was not anxious. Otherwise, he would not have rushed over with his members without even waiting for Lang Qi to bring the prey.
Naturally, the black wolves were so anxious because there had been precedents.
A few years ago, several sub-adult male lions had accidentally entered the territory of another lion tribe. At the time, it had happened to be breeding season. By the time the sub-adult lions’ tribe members arrived, only some bones were left.
When food was scarce, some beastmen would not even spare members of their own tribe, let alone intruders.
All along the way, the best scenario Lang Yan could imagine was that the newly arrived Snow Wolf Tribe would take the Black Wolf Tribe’s numbers into account and only beat them, not kill them.
No matter what, he had never expected to rush here in such anxiety and see this scene.
If he had known it would be like this, he should not have bothered with them at all.
It was too late to regret it now. Lang Yan directly ignored the young wolves who were delighted by his arrival and looked toward the members of the Snow Wolf Tribe.
The first thing Lang Yan noticed was the youth beside the other side’s chief.
The youth had a thin frame and a pale complexion. He looked incomparably frail, completely different from the young man beside him who was obviously the chief.
Lang Shuo had originally been watching the sub-adult black wolves eat. He discovered that whether they were sub-adult black wolves or sub-adult snow wolves, they had many things in common. Their manner of eating was practically identical. They had absolutely no awareness that they were currently in another tribe’s territory. Their eyes held only desire for food.
Who would have thought that just as he was watching, a large group of black wolves would suddenly rush out of the forest? The sub-adult black wolves, who had originally looked sturdy, appeared much more docile in comparison with this newly arrived group.
Lang Shuo’s heart, which had just settled because the sub-adult black wolves seemed harmless, rose again.
A group of sub-adult black wolves was not enough to threaten the safety of the entire tribe. The Snow Wolf Tribe had only just migrated here, but in reality, the hunting party members’ combat strength had not weakened much. On top of that, they had been eating well these past few days, and the tribe members looked completely different from the day he woke up. They were not yet at the point of fearing a few black wolves.
Their initial worry had been because those staying behind here were the old, weak, sick, injured, and young—especially the cubs, who could not endure even the slightest fright. Once the hunting party returned, everyone relaxed.
But now that a whole group of black wolves had suddenly arrived, the situation was completely different. With more people, regardless of victory or defeat, once the two sides fought, there would inevitably be injuries and deaths.
Lang Shuo grew worried.
Lang Yan, who witnessed the change in his expression, frowned.
How did the Snow Wolf Tribe raise their young wolves? Forget not feeding them properly—how had they raised him to be so timid too? One look and it was obvious he had suffered grievances.
Lang Yan did not realize in the slightest that his train of thought had gone astray.
Only when Lang Yu noticed his gaze landing on his younger brother and turned sideways to block his line of sight did Lang Yan snap back to himself.
Knowing this was the chief of the Snow Wolf Tribe, Lang Yan’s attitude was friendly. “I came to pick up my lost members.”
Lang Yu, however, did not think he was friendly. He looked at the group of black wolves behind him with a displeased expression. His meaning was obvious. Did he need to bring this many people to pick up lost members? This looked more like he had come to start a group fight.
Lang Yan: “…”
For the first time in so many years, Lang Yan felt that he was in the wrong.
He could not exactly say that he had brought so many people because he thought the young wolves would be beaten half to death and had planned to carry them back.
But since he had already brought everyone here, he needed a reason. Lang Yan looked at the young wolves sitting on the ground resting because they had eaten too quickly with disgust. “They can’t walk anymore. We need to carry them back.”
It would be strange if Lang Yu believed him. Sub-adults who had eaten too much could recover fully after resting for a while.
But the Black Wolf Tribe was one of the largest tribes nearby. Lang Yu was not foolish enough to clash head-on with them. Even though the other side did not currently have many people here, beastmen of the same tribe were one whole. If this group of black wolves suffered losses here, there would be no need to wait until tomorrow morning—the rest of the black wolves could rush over in the middle of the night.
If it were only himself, Lang Yu naturally would not have so many concerns. But now, he had tribe members beside him, a younger brother who had not yet recovered from serious injuries, and cubs who had not yet transformed. All of them needed protection. Lang Yu had to ensure everyone’s safety as much as possible.
The two chiefs each had different thoughts, but their goal was the same: avoid fighting as much as possible and talk things out properly.
Since both sides had the same idea, things became simple.
Lang Yu expressed that the Snow Wolf Tribe had just arrived, and the Black Wolf Tribe’s lost members were only young wolves. It was not a big matter. They might as well skip over it, quickly take the young wolves away, and not disturb each other in the future.
Hearing this, however, Lang Yan did not immediately agree. “Our tribe will give two curved-horned beasts to thank the Snow Wolf Tribe for… taking them in.”
The Black Wolf Tribe never owed favors to other tribes.
He had originally wanted to say, “for showing mercy,” but looking at the young wolves whose stomachs were round from eating, he changed his wording. This was more than showing mercy. They had almost personally fed them.
Thinking of the way the young wolves had eaten just now, Lang Yan decided that this batch of young wolves would be retrained after returning. At the very least, they had to obey the rule of refusing food from other beastmen.
Lang Yu had been staring guardedly at the group of black wolves the entire time. Hearing Lang Yan say thanks, he immediately shook his head. “No need. They helped us catch two curved-horned beasts today.”
Lang Yu did not want to have too much involvement with the Black Wolf Tribe. He only wanted to drive them away quickly. With members of the Black Wolf Tribe here, the members of their own tribe could never relax. Everyone knew that the Black Wolf Race liked fighting. Even though the other side did not currently look like they would suddenly attack, they still remained on guard.
Lang Yan understood the meaning in Lang Yu’s words. His gaze paused in Lang Yu’s direction for a moment, then he nodded. “All right.”
After saying that, he looked toward the young wolves who were still sitting on the ground.
The young wolves, who had been bewitched by delicious food, had been excited for ages and finally attracted the chief’s attention. They hurriedly shared the good news they had just discovered. “Chief, the food here is especially delicious!”
Much tastier than their tribe’s food.
As the young wolves spoke, they glanced at the unfamiliar containers holding the food, feeling a little regretful.
If the chief had come a little earlier, they could still have shared some with him to taste. Unfortunately, the chief had arrived too late. They had already eaten all the food inside, and the chief definitely would not be willing to eat the remaining scraps.
Lang Yan did not know what these few brainless young wolves were regretting. Right now, he only felt his claws itching. He wanted to beat some wolves.
The young wolves’ brains usually could not keep up with their four legs, but their sense for danger was no worse than adult wolves’. They keenly sensed danger, raised their heads, and saw the fierceness in the chief’s eyes. They immediately stood up obediently and walked behind the group of adult wolves.
Lang Yan nodded in Lang Yu’s direction, barely counting it as a greeting. He originally wanted to look once more at the youth by Lang Yu’s side, but Lang Yu blocked him too tightly, and he could not see anything.
Not seeing the young wolf, Lang Yan somewhat regretfully left with the group of black wolves.
The Black Wolf Tribe came in a hurry and left in a hurry. Watching their figures disappear into the forest, the members of the Snow Wolf Tribe collectively let out a breath of relief. Unless absolutely necessary, they truly did not want to fight. With the black wolves here, they had to maintain a state of readiness at all times and ensure they could act at any moment in case the other side suddenly attacked. Fortunately, it had been resolved peacefully in the end.
Lang Yu looked back.
A thin young girl walked out of the cave and transformed into a white snow wolf slightly smaller than the other wolves. She followed the direction the black wolves had left and chased after them.
The girl was named Lang Nian. She had only recently become an adult. She had a special skill. In human form, she could move freely through trees, and in beast form, her movements were lighter than those of other members. When walking or running, she made almost no sound. Whether ambushing prey or tracking enemies, she was difficult to detect. Now that it was snow season, she had an extra layer of cover.
After Lang Nian left, Lang Yu instructed the remaining members to prepare food. But unlike the previous nights, tonight, one portion of members cooked or ate while the remaining members watched the surroundings. They ensured that at least half the members were always in a battle-ready state, in case the Black Wolf Tribe returned.
Eating this way was much slower, but not a single member complained. Everyone understood that this was to guarantee the tribe’s safety.
After most of the members had eaten their fill, Lang Nian returned, her expression somewhat conflicted.
“What happened?” Lang Yu saw her hesitation and took the initiative to ask.
Lang Nian said, “Not long after they left, they met another group of black wolves. That group of black wolves had brought two curved-horned beasts. The two sides said a few words, then placed the curved-horned beasts on those sub-adult black wolves. After that, the two teams of black wolves returned to the tribe together, leaving only the sub-adult black wolves behind.”
Afraid of being discovered, Lang Nian had not followed too closely. Because of this, she was not clear on what the Black Wolf Tribe’s chief and the other members had said. She only saw the group of wolves hand the prey over to the sub-adults before leaving, leaving only the group of sub-adults behind.
The sub-adult black wolves looked even more dazed than she was. They stood there blankly for a long while. When she came back, those sub-adult black wolves still had not recovered.
Lang Yu thought of the “thank-you gift” Lang Yan had mentioned and guessed that this was it. A thank-you to the Snow Wolf Tribe for not attacking and injuring members of the Black Wolf Race.
After thinking for a moment, Lang Yu called Lang Nuo and the others. “Nuo, go receive them.”
Lang Nuo, who had been called, immediately stood up. The sub-adults of the same age quickly followed.
“Are you afraid?” Lang Yu asked.
“Not afraid!” The sub-adults shook their heads in unison.
Forget that the other side was also sub-adults like them—even if they were already adults, they would not retreat.
Lang Yu nodded inwardly. Not bad. The hardships along the way had not frightened this group of sub-adults.
Seeing this scene, Lang Shuo had already guessed Lang Yu’s arrangement and felt a little worried. “Brother, will it be okay?”
In truth, Lang Shuo knew that sub-adults needed training. He understood the logic. But these past few days of getting along had not been fake. Lang Shuo still worried that they would get hurt.
“It’s fine,” Lang Yu explained. “That group of black wolves came over hungry. If they were truly planning to fight, they wouldn’t have appeared at this time.”
Although Lang Yu was somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that the Black Wolf chief had brought so many members, he could also tell that the other side had not come looking for trouble. After all, no tribe would attack another tribe on an empty stomach. When wolves were hungry, their combat strength was far below normal. The condition of those sub-adult black wolves also matched their explanation.
As for sending sub-adults over, on one hand, the Black Wolf Tribe had sub-adults deliver the curved-horned beasts. On the other, he wanted to train the sub-adults in their own tribe a little. Aside from that, there was another reason: the hunting party and gathering team had not rested all day, while these few sub-adults were actually the most energetic people in the tribe.
After hearing this, Lang Shuo hesitated for a moment, then pointed at the roasted food that had not yet been finished. “Then take these over. Treat it as our tribe’s return gift.”
Having one more ally was always better than having one more enemy. The two tribes were so close. It was hard to guarantee that something similar would not happen again in the future. It was definitely better to be friendly. Besides, the fact that the other side had proactively sent a thank-you gift showed that the Black Wolf Tribe was also particular about such things.
Returning some food was both polite and would give the other side something to pad their stomachs on the road. If he had not seen wrong just now, the Black Wolf chief’s gaze toward that group of sub-adult black wolves had been filled with murderous intent. He was definitely very angry.
Hopefully, for the sake of the food, the other side could calm down a little, Lang Shuo thought. Sub-adults were a bit mischievous, but sometimes they were quite cute too.
Hearing Lang Shuo’s words, Lang Nuo and the others looked at Lang Yu, waiting for his decision.
“Take it.” The hunting gains from these past two days had partly been thanks to the Black Wolf Tribe, and the other side was also sending prey over. Lang Yu was not stingy over one meal’s worth of food.
The sub-adults quickly packed a pile of food into a back basket, which Lang Nuo carried. In truth, they were a little reluctant to give it away. After all, it was food everyone had gone to the trouble of making. But on second thought, they were about to gain two more curved-horned beasts. Compared with that, this bit of food did not seem like much.
“Go,” Lang Yu said, pointing in the direction the Black Wolf Tribe had left.
The sub-adults ran out like a gust of wind. Their recent food had been good, and each one of them ran especially fast.
Lang Shuo watched the direction the group of sub-adults left. Even after the white figures merged with the snow, he still did not withdraw his gaze. Counting carefully, this was the first time the sub-adults had left the settlement since he woke up. It would be a lie to say he was not worried.
Lang Yu saw his younger brother’s concern and raised a hand to rub his head. “It’s fine. Right now, when they run, they’re even faster than us.”
The hunting party had spent the whole day rushing about and had consumed quite a bit of strength. Meanwhile, the sub-adults in the tribe had spent the whole day focused on figuring out food and were full of energy. Even if they discovered something wrong over there, they could run back.
Lang Nuo was not stupid. This group of sub-adults usually looked silly, as if they were not especially bright, but in truth, when something happened, their reactions were not slow at all.
Hearing this, Lang Shuo relaxed slightly and withdrew his gaze. However, he did not go deeper into the cave. Instead, he sat near the cave entrance. That way, when the sub-adults came back, he would be able to see them at once.
