Chapter 137
If the rogue beastmen had better tempers, they wouldn’t have killed so many beastmen in the first place. The only reason they hadn’t slaughtered more was because of Bao Ren’s orders—to leave survivors who could be taken back to the Black Forest Tribe as laborers.
They had already been holding back their resentment. They did all the dirty work, took all the blame, while the Black Forest Tribe reaped the benefits. The beastmen they attacked would later be “rescued” by the Black Forest Tribe, making them seem like heroes.
The rogue beastmen had long been frustrated with the arrangement. Now, learning that Bao Ren had been planning to eliminate them all along only fueled their rage.
They hadn’t even confronted Bao Ren about everything yet—and he wanted to kill them?
If that was the case, they might as well strike first. They had already set their eyes on the Black Forest Tribe’s territory and resources. If they eliminated the high-ranking beastmen of the tribe, the land and the enslaved low-ranking beastmen would be theirs.
For the first time, the normally scattered and disorganized rogue beastmen united with a single goal.
“Let’s go! Kill Bao Ren! Kill all the Black Forest Tribe beastmen!”
If the Black Forest Tribe had made the first move, they had no one to blame but themselves.
The surrounding rogue beastmen quickly echoed the sentiment. These beastmen had spent their lives attacking other tribes—raiding had become second nature to them. Even when unnecessary, they would still launch surprise attacks just out of habit. Now that the Black Forest Tribe had turned against them, there was no reason to hold back.
With ferocious determination, the rogue beastmen charged toward the Black Forest Tribe. The beastman who had delivered the message pointed them in the right direction before slipping away to the side.
One of the rogue beastmen attempted to grab him, but another stopped him. The second beastman glanced at the messenger and reasoned, “He helped us by delivering the message.”
“So what? He’s still a Black Forest Tribe beastman. We should kill him along with the rest of them,” the first beastman snapped. “Lei, what’s wrong with you? Every time we try to kill someone, you stop us.”
The one called Lei shook his head. “Killing wastes time. We need to deal with the Black Forest Tribe first.”
“Fine.” The first beastman backed off, realizing that settling the score with the Black Forest Tribe was indeed the priority.
As soon as he withdrew, Lei discreetly loosened his grip and wiped his hand on his animal hide clothing. Out of sight from the others, he subtly gestured to the messenger to leave quickly.
The messenger, realizing he had narrowly escaped death, felt his legs go weak. Clutching the small wooden plaque hanging around his neck, he steadied himself against a tree before quickly turning and running.
Amidst the chaos, Lei glanced back at the fleeing figure before shifting his focus back to the enraged beastmen charging toward the Black Forest Tribe’s territory. He followed along at a steady pace.
Once the rogue beastmen were gone, the messenger doubled his speed. He circled around the Black Forest Tribe’s land, searching for the main forces.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Hu Wan and his group were already making contact with the enslaved beastmen within the Black Forest Tribe. Unlike before, when they had to be cautious, this time, they took a direct approach—killing the guards they encountered.
They then gave the enslaved beastmen a choice: join them in seeking revenge against the Black Forest Tribe or leave.
Some were terrified after witnessing the killings. Having been oppressed for so long, they had forgotten what it meant to resist. Instead of thinking about escaping, they hesitated, afraid they would be punished if they tried to leave.
Others, however, recognized Hu Wan. Remembering their fallen tribesmen and their own years of suffering, they chose to follow him—determined to take revenge.
Surrounding the Black Forest Tribe’s territory, different groups launched attacks from various directions, pushing further into the tribe’s land.
At the foot of the mountains where the Black Forest Tribe resided, everything had already descended into chaos.
Bao Ren had no idea what had gone wrong with the rogue beastmen. When Wu Xi had first claimed that the rogue beastmen attacked the shaman’s group, Bao Ren had thought it was impossible.
But then, the leader of the rogue beastmen had immediately attacked Wu Xi—and then tried to attack him.
It wasn’t just the leader of the rogue beastmen attacking Bao Ren—his entire force had turned against the Black Forest Tribe. As the leader of the largest tribe in the Eastern Continent, Bao Ren refused to let anyone challenge his authority or threaten his tribe. Without hesitation, he summoned every beastman in the settlement who wasn’t out hunting.
The Black Forest Tribe’s beastmen were used to flaunting their strength. Though they rarely left their territory, whenever they did, other tribes treated them with nothing but respect. Now, faced with an enemy bold enough to attack them, they had no intention of holding back.
They didn’t care whether they recognized the rogue beastmen or not—whoever stood in front of them was an enemy, and they attacked without hesitation.
The rogue beastmen were outnumbered, but each one had fought countless battles. Meanwhile, the Black Forest Tribe’s beastmen had lived in comfort for far too long. They had tempers, but when it came to real combat, they were nowhere near as strong as the rogue beastmen.
Bao Ren quickly realized things were going wrong. He couldn’t afford to waste time and shouted, “Call back the lower-ranking beastmen! Now!”
Almost all the physical labor in the tribe was done by the lower-ranking beastmen, while the higher-ranking ones spent their days feasting, drinking, and managing their subordinates. With their privileged lifestyles and the prestige of being from a famous tribe, they had never once imagined that anyone would dare attack them.
For the high-ranking Black Forest beastmen, the most physically demanding thing they did was beating and punishing the lower-ranked beastmen.
When they shifted into beast form, they always thought of themselves as imposing, their massive frames making them feel powerful. Many of them were nearly twice the size of the lower-ranking beastmen, and in the beast world, bigger was often seen as stronger.
But they had forgotten something crucial—other beastmen were big because they hunted and fought to survive. Their size was a result of their physical strength and skills.
The Black Forest beastmen, on the other hand, were large simply because they had an endless supply of food provided by their enslaved workers. Their size had nothing to do with their own abilities—it was all thanks to the efforts of the lower-ranking beastmen.
As the fight broke out, both sides shifted into their beast forms. The Black Forest beastmen found themselves completely outmatched.
Earlier, they had easily subdued a few rogue beastmen because they had numbers on their side—several times more than their opponents—and had the help of the warriors who had escorted Wu Xi.
But now? While they still had more fighters than the rogue beastmen, it wasn’t by an overwhelming margin. The rogue beastmen were vicious and seasoned fighters, each swipe of their claws leaving deep wounds. Meanwhile, the Black Forest beastmen could barely land a hit.
If the fight continued this way, they were doomed to lose.
Bao Ren started to panic. He had always known the rogue beastmen were powerful, but he had seen that as an advantage—something he could use to attack other tribes. He had even been excited by the idea, dreaming of becoming the most powerful chief on the Beast God Continent.
But now, as he watched his warriors collapse one after another, he regretted ever making a deal with the rogue beastmen. Their strength had been a great asset—until it was turned against him.
Hearing Bao Ren’s orders, a few beastmen who hadn’t joined the fight immediately turned and ran.
The rogue beastmen were too caught up in their battle to notice—or if they did, they didn’t care. Their goal was Bao Ren. As long as they killed him, they could take over the Black Forest Tribe.
As for the handful of beastmen who managed to escape? Let them run. What could they possibly do? Normally, they might have hunted them down just for sport, but right now, the real fight was happening here, and they weren’t about to miss it.
Fueled by battle rage, the rogue beastmen fought even harder. More and more Black Forest beastmen fell, their numbers dwindling rapidly.
Bao Ren was growing increasingly desperate. He ordered every remaining beastman in the tribe to join the fight.
But despite the carnage around them, neither Bao Ren nor the rogue beastmen paid any attention to the wounded.
Bao Ren’s only concern was protecting the tribe from complete destruction—if the rogue beastmen wiped them out, he would be blamed for it. His position as chief would be lost. He could not afford to let that happen.
The rogue beastmen, on the other hand, weren’t interested in anything other than finding a way to kill Bao Ren. Everything else was a distraction.
Not far from the mountains, the beastmen following Lang Qi, as well as those convinced by Hu Wan, were waiting for the right moment.
When the escaped Black Forest beastmen came sprinting out in terror, Hu Wan and his group knew the time had come.
The beastman who had come looking for reinforcements was in such a panic that he failed to notice anything unusual about the large gathering of lower-ranking beastmen—especially the fact that not a single guard was with them.
Despite his fear, when he saw the lower-ranking beastmen, his confidence returned. Speaking with newfound arrogance, he ordered, “The rogue beastmen are attacking the tribe! Come with me inside!”
Hu Wan responded affirmatively, and the surrounding lower-ranking beastmen quickly followed suit.
Seeing so many of them together, the Black Forest beastman finally began to relax. But then, belatedly, a sense of unease crept in. Where were the guards?
“Where are the beastmen who were watching over you?” he asked suspiciously.
Hu Wan had long prepared for this. He replied smoothly, “They heard strange noises coming from the rogue beastmen. They thought something was off and went to check it out. They told us to wait here.”
The Black Forest beastman hesitated, then accepted the explanation. After all, there were so many lower-ranking beastmen here—surely they wouldn’t all dare to rebel? No, they wouldn’t dare. Fully convinced of their own tribe’s superiority, the beastman dismissed his doubts and led the group of lower-ranking beastmen back toward the tribe.
By the time they arrived, the first large-scale battle between the rogue beastmen and the Black Forest Tribe had just begun.
The rogue beastmen were still at a disadvantage due to their smaller numbers. They were outnumbered four or five to one, making it difficult to fully utilize their combat skills. Initially, the Black Forest Tribe had been caught off guard, but they quickly figured out how to hinder their enemies.
The Black Forest Tribe had absorbed many smaller tribes before changing their name. Among them were high-ranking beastmen from over ten different species, including several with massive body sizes.
These large beastmen were normally slow and clumsy due to their excessive eating, but they had one major advantage—once they pinned down a rogue beastmen, it was extremely difficult to push them off.
At first, the Black Forest beastmen hadn’t realized this tactic. But the moment one of them accidentally discovered it, they immediately began using it to their advantage.
No matter how strong the rogue beastmen were, if they were pinned down or restrained, they could only fight at half their usual strength. Gradually, the number of injured and even dead among them began to rise.
The Black Forest beastman who had brought Hu Wan’s group pointed at the rogue beastmen and commanded, “Those are the rogue beastmen! Go fight them!”
He shouted as if eager for battle, but in reality, he didn’t dare go in himself. Instead, he kept pushing the lower-ranking beastmen forward.
But they weren’t fools. The battlefield was complete chaos. Charging in now would be suicide. They hesitated, refusing to move.
Bao Ren noticed the lower-ranking beastmen standing in the distance. Seeing their reluctance, he quickly called out, “Whoever goes in and fights will get three large bundles of medicine!”
One bundle of medicine was enough to last a person several days.
Still, the lower-ranking beastmen remained silent.
Before encountering the Black Forest beastman who had led them here, they had already heard Hu Wan’s explanation of everything that had happened. They knew they were only one step away from true freedom.
The lower-ranking beastmen all remembered how good the medicine felt when they took it, but they also remembered how awful they felt whenever the guards deliberately withheld it. It was clear that the medicine wasn’t as harmless as it seemed.
Seeing that the lower-ranking beastmen still refused to move, Bao Ren increased his offer—five bundles of medicine. Yet, there was still no response.
This was not normal behavior. Bao Ren looked at them in disbelief. What was going on? No matter how much he threatened or tempted them, none of them budged.
Just as he was about to add even more medicine to the offer, someone in the crowd moved.
Bao Ren sighed in relief—he knew that if he kept pushing, they would eventually give in.
But something was wrong. The direction the lower-ranking beastmen were moving in wasn’t toward the rogue beastmen.
Bao Ren immediately shouted, “Not those! Not those! I didn’t tell you to attack our warriors—I told you to attack the rogue beastmen!”
However, the lower-ranking beastmen completely ignored him. No matter how loud he yelled, they did not change direction.
Something was very wrong.
For the first time, the lower-ranking beastmen were openly defying his orders.
This had never happened before. From the moment they had started taking the medicine until now, Bao Ren had never seen them resist like this. Something was different this time.
For a moment, he was stunned.
Then it hit him. The medicine had come from Wu Jiu. And now, Wu Jiu was barely clinging to life on the other side of the battlefield.
Bao Ren’s expression darkened. He suddenly turned toward the warriors next to him and demanded, “Where are Wu Jiu’s apprentices? Where are the beastmen who came in with him?”
The warriors protecting Bao Ren shook their heads. A moment ago, those beastmen had been fighting alongside them against the rogue beastmen. But at some point, they had disappeared.
And that wasn’t the only problem.
The lower-ranking beastmen had not only refused to attack the rogue beastmen, but they had begun attacking the Black Forest Tribe’s warriors instead.
From outside, the thunderous sound of movement echoed through the mountains.
The approaching footsteps were numerous—far too many for it to be just a small group.
Bao Ren’s face twisted in fear. “Who went outside?!”
If it was their own beastmen, then this was good news…
But fate was not on Bao Ren’s side this time.
The beastmen entering the Black Forest Tribe’s territory were complete strangers.
As he saw the sheer number of approaching warriors, Bao Ren’s vision went black.
The tribe had already lost a significant portion of its strongest warriors in the battle against the rogue beastmen. The lower-ranking beastmen had turned against them.
And now, even more unknown warriors were flooding into the Black Forest Tribe’s land.
One crisis after another, each worse than the last.
But there was no time to think. Neither the rogue beastmen, nor the lower-ranking beastmen, nor the outsiders were going to give him that chance.
Desperate, Bao Ren kept screaming for his warriors to come down and fight.
But fear had already taken hold.
Even in the strongest tribes, there were always cowards.
A battle with an uncertain outcome was one thing. But a battle they were sure to lose?
That was something else entirely.
Within a single day, the Black Forest Tribe was completely shattered.
Some warriors had died. Others were severely wounded.
Many had fled.
The rest hid in the mountain caves, too afraid to come out.
At least one-third of the tribe was gone.
Those who remained were either too weak to fight or too scared to resist.
For a long time, the high-ranking beastmen had lived off the labor of the lower-ranking ones. Now that their power had crumbled, they were terrified.
The moment their dominance disappeared, they no longer had the courage to hide their crimes.
The first to confess were Bao Ren’s closest warriors.
Having been by his side for years, they knew everything.
And now, to save their own lives, they didn’t hesitate to betray him.
They threw all the blame onto Bao Ren and Wu Jiu, distancing themselves completely.
But Bai Tu, Bai Qi, and the others didn’t believe a single word.
Not only Bai Tu, but even Bai Qi and the rest of their group had heard these excuses before.
Yet, outwardly, they pretended to believe them.
They nodded along, encouraging the beastmen to keep talking.
Seeing their reactions, the traitors grew bolder.
Thinking their lies were working, they became even more eager to expose Bao Ren and Wu Jiu’s crimes.
This was a perfect demonstration of what it meant to “scatter like birds when disaster strikes.”
Each one raced to speak first, afraid that if they hesitated, someone else would shift the blame onto them.
They pushed every crime onto others, thinking that if they completely erased their involvement, or if they hid the worst of it, they could escape punishment.
But when they finally finished spilling every detail…
The warriors around them did not let them go.
Instead, they began gagging them one by one.
One of the captured beastmen, terrified, struggled and shouted, “We already told you everything! Why aren’t you letting us go?!”
The others desperately nodded, eyes wide with panic.
Bai Qi, who was in charge of tying them up, looked genuinely confused.
“When did we ever say we were going to let you go?” he asked.
That question sent a chill down their spines.
When had they ever been promised freedom?
Never.
From the beginning, Bai Tu had been clear—the Black Forest Tribe’s warriors had committed far too many atrocities.
If they were allowed to escape, they would only become the next group of rogue beastmen.
Not to mention, they had only defeated the Black Forest Tribe for now—there were still many unresolved matters, so it was impossible to let anyone go.
Bai Qi glanced inexplicably at the beastman who had spoken, waved his hand, and signaled for the person in charge of gagging to hurry up and shut them up.
Bai Qi led his people in capturing the beastmen who were fleeing in all directions within the Black Forest Tribe, while Shi Su’s team guarded the surrounding territory to prevent any escapees.
Meanwhile, Lu Hui led the beastmen in searching for possible hiding spots within the Black Forest Tribe’s land. They had come with the intent to wipe out the entire tribe, leaving no survivors, so they conducted their search meticulously.
Bai An and several older leaders organized the detention of the captured beastmen. Some stray beastmen who were still alive were also captured.
Since they didn’t have enough rope to bind all the captives, they had to manage them differently. beastmen with low combat ability and young ones were locked in a cave with no back exit, while the stronger ones were tightly bound. Even before launching the attack, they had already assigned tasks, and although they encountered more captives than expected, they managed to maintain order without panic.
Their success was also due to the help of another group of beastmen—the ones deceived and lured into the Black Forest Tribe. These beastmen had been oppressed and beaten by the tribe’s members while still being forced to hunt for survival. Beyond their own will to live, they had another concern—their mates and young ones had been taken away by the Black Forest Tribe within half a month of their arrival and had been missing ever since.
Some beastmen overheard the guards’ conversations and learned that their mates and cubs were still alive, though they didn’t know where they were being held.
This hope made them more willing to follow Hu Wan’s persuasion. After taking down the Black Forest Tribe, they wanted to find their families.
Meanwhile, Bai Tu and Lang Qi had already led their team up the mountain after extracting information about the shaman’s location from the captured beastmen.
In the Red Eagle Tribe, the shaman Wu Lai preferred living in caves near the ground, always choosing the lowest levels. However, the Black Forest Tribe’s shaman did the exact opposite—residing in high places to assert their status. Living up high had its advantages: when danger arose, they were never the first to face it. Even if the enemy managed to attack the mountain, they could hold out for a while since high ground was easier to defend.
But the disadvantage was equally obvious—once surrounded at the base, there was no way to escape.
Bai Tu and Lang Qi had no intention of a prolonged siege and chose to attack directly.
Two shamans, ranked slightly below Wu Jiu, had stationed all their protectors along the mountain path, adopting a “one warrior blocking a thousand enemies” strategy. Meanwhile, they themselves, along with their apprentice shamans, hid in the caves at the mountain peak, refusing to emerge no matter what happened outside.
Their plan seemed clever, but they overlooked one crucial detail: the tribes attacking the Black Forest Tribe were not limited to those from the Eastern Continent.
After subtly extracting details from the captives, Bai Tu confirmed that all the guards were positioned on the mountain path. With this knowledge, even though only a few dozen members of the Black Hawk Clan had accompanied them to the market, it was more than enough. The Hawk Clan was unaffected by terrain—no matter how many guards blocked the mountain path, they could easily bypass them by flying up from the steep cliffs at the back of the mountain.
As the two shamans congratulated themselves on their “brilliant” strategy, a swarm of dark figures suddenly burst into their cave, capturing them without a word.
By the time they were dragged down the mountain, the two shamans and their apprentices still couldn’t understand how they had been caught so easily.
It wasn’t until they saw the captors retract their wings.
“Feather Clan! It’s the Feather Clan!” One of the shamans cried out in terror. No wonder they had been captured despite hiding in the highest cave—the attackers were from the Feather Clan!
The Black Forest Tribe also had Feather Clan members, but they were the least favored among all tribes. Regardless of their species, as long as they had wings, Wu Jiu despised them.
The Black Forest Tribe had always followed the preferences of the shamans and the chief—whatever those two disliked, the others naturally disliked as well. Since Wu Jiu hated the Feather Clan, the rest of the tribe naturally treated them with disdain. Given the great distance from the Southern Continent, the tribe never had to worry about attacks from the Feather Clan, making them even less valued within the tribe.
At first, they were simply ignored, but over time, a hierarchy of contempt formed among the beastmen. Four-legged beast-form beastmen looked down on the two-legged Feather Clan, sometimes even comparing them to the low-ranking beastmen who had been deceived and lured into the tribe. Unanimously, the tribe regarded the Feather Clan as less useful than those so-called inferior beastmen.
The two shamans also despised the Feather Clan, never expecting that they would end up being captured by the very people they looked down on.
Led by Ying Quan, the Black Hawk Clan ignored the shamans and their apprentices, delivering them to Bai An’s group for detention before immediately flying back up the mountain. Coordinating with Lang Qi’s warriors, they quickly subdued all the remaining guards protecting the shamans.
With that settled, they turned their attention to finding the beastmen and cubs hidden by the shamans.
However, it wasn’t just the deceived beastmen and their cubs that were unaccounted for—there was something strange about the overall population of the Black Forest Tribe. The number of cubs was unusually low, and nearly all the beastmen they had encountered so far were males. In a normal tribe, females made up about a quarter to a third of the population, but here, they accounted for only about one-fifth.
A bad premonition arose in Bai Tu’s heart. Could these beasts have abandoned even their own children?
Unfortunately, reality was far worse than Bai Tu had imagined. Within the Black Forest Tribe, normal mate relationships were rare.
Bai Tu, Lang Qi, Lang Ya, Ying Quan, and Lu Hui led their search team to the backmost mountain, where they began to hear faint noises.
“Cubs,” Lu Hui and Bai Tu immediately identified the sound. Their sensitivity to cubs’ cries made them the first to notice.
Bai Tu focused on a blocked-off cave. The beastman guarding it had fled when Bao Ren was captured. Beyond the cries of the cubs, other sounds could be heard inside.
Wasting no time, Bai Tu confirmed there were no traps and ordered his people to open the cave.
The entrance was sealed with a massive, thick stone, even heavier than the ones they typically used. It took dozens of beastmen working together to slowly push it open.
When the stone was halfway open, the scent of blood already filled the air. And when they finally saw the inside, everyone was stunned.
Cubs, pregnant beastmen—not just female beastmen but also sub-beastmens. A rough estimate put the number of captives in the cave at two or three hundred.
The enclosed cave was oppressive enough on its own, but cramming so many into a single space made it suffocating. Bloodstains from childbirth were visible on the ground, and there were more streaks of blood on the rocky walls.
The entire cave was a scene from hell.
No one knew how long these beastmen had been imprisoned there, but many had already lost their sanity. They didn’t react to the sound of the stone being moved, nor did they acknowledge the people entering.
The newborn cubs on the ground had clearly only been born recently. Bai Tu spotted two cubs with their umbilical cords still intact.
He immediately turned and asked the beastmen behind him, “Does anyone have scissors?”
After successfully crafting sharp knives, the tribe had developed various tools, including scissors.
A knife could be used to cut the umbilical cords, but scissors were much more convenient.
“I have one,” Lang Ya responded, pulling a pair of scissors from his leather pouch and handing them to Bai Tu. Once again, Bai Tu wondered if Lang Ya’s outfit was truly made of animal hide or if he was carrying a treasure chest.
Before Bai Tu could say anything else, Lang Qi had already stepped into the cave and carefully carried out the two cubs with umbilical cords still attached.
The nearby beastmen showed no reaction, as if they were completely numb. Even their own children being taken away didn’t elicit a response.
The others in the cave seemed similarly detached, their vacant eyes staring blankly, either lying down or sitting motionless.
“Hui, call more people over to help clean this place up,” Bai Tu instructed Lu Hui, his hands moving swiftly as he disinfected the scissors with alcohol.
He hadn’t expected Lang Ya to carry alcohol as well, but it was undeniably useful now.
The alcohol had been his own creation, developed alongside soy sauce and vinegar, though it had taken two months longer to refine. The concentration wasn’t very high, and in the end, they had only managed to extract a small amount of pure alcohol, which had been diluted with purified water to make a few bottles of disinfectant.
He wasn’t the type to pour alcohol directly onto wounds like some shamans did, but tools needed to be disinfected. Before setting out, he had given Lang Ya a bottle of alcohol, never expecting him to carry it around the whole time. Now, it was coming in handy.
Bai Tu carefully cut the umbilical cords of the two wolf cubs, then used a towel to wipe the blood off their bodies. He glanced at their mother, hesitated for a moment, and then handed the cubs to Lang Ya.
“Hold them for a while. I’ll arrange for food.” Even newborn cubs needed to eat, and these weren’t the only cubs in the cave. Cubs were far more fragile than adult beastmen—if they remained hungry for too long, it would become a serious issue. Everything else could wait; feeding the cubs was the first priority.
As the group entered the cave to check on the other wolf cubs, a beastman searching nearby suddenly shouted, “There’s another cave here!”
The Black Forest Tribe shared a habit with the Red Eagle Tribe—they liked to imprison beastmen and cubs in pitch-dark caves. The stone blocking the entrance was so massive that no one would have suspected it was used as a door. However, beastmen had two sharp senses: smell and hearing. No matter how tightly sealed a place was, even the slightest gap allowed them to catch a trace of scent and locate the entrance.
The second cave was even more hidden than the first. Its entrance was well concealed, and it took a few moments before they found it. Like the previous one, the entrance was sealed with a massive stone that required several beastmen to move.
When the second stone was finally pushed aside, the reason for the silence inside became clear—every beastman inside was bound, their mouths stuffed with animal hide, preventing them from making a sound.
These beastmen were slightly more conscious and had resisted, which was why the Black Forest Tribe had locked them up separately.
Their bindings were crude and brutal, with some vines digging deep enough to leave bloody marks. One beastman’s leg was already turning purple. There was no time to dwell on what had happened here—everyone quickly used knives and scissors to cut the captives free.
Even though they had regained some freedom, the beastmen inside remained highly alert. Some even shifted into their beast forms.
One of the beastmen who hadn’t transformed eyed them warily and asked, “Who are you?”
“We are all from the Eastern Continent tribes. We came to the market and discovered the Black Forest Tribe was deceiving people, so we came together to rescue you,” Bai Tu explained. This attack on the Black Forest Tribe and the rescue of the imprisoned beastmen had been a joint effort by all the tribes present at the market.
“Is anyone here from the Yellow Tiger Tribe?” Bai Tu continued. Since these captives were still somewhat aware and able to communicate, he took the initiative to ask, “Does anyone know Hu Wan?” He then listed several other beastman names and instructed Ying Quan to fetch Hu Wan and his group.
After all, they were strangers. Words alone wouldn’t be enough to gain complete trust—it was better to have familiar faces from the same tribe confirm their intentions.
A beastman hesitated for a long moment before finally stepping forward and asking, “I’m Hu Shen’s mate. What happened to Hu Shen?!”
Hu Shen was Hu Wan’s younger brother and one of the first beastmen to escape to the market. Since they had found someone from a known tribe, things would be much easier.
“It was Hu Wan and Hu Shen who told us something was wrong with the Black Forest Tribe—that’s why we came,” Bai Tu reassured him. “Everyone, don’t panic. Untie all the vines on your bodies and move your hands and feet slowly.”
The cave was extremely damp due to its hidden location. Staying here for too long would only deteriorate their health further. However, Bai Tu also knew that these beastmen had been tied up for a long time. If they rushed out too quickly, they might not be able to adjust immediately, so he advised them to stretch and move around first.
The beastmen were still somewhat skeptical of Bai Tu’s words, but on second thought, these people had at least freed them, while the Black Forest Tribe had kept them bound. Their wariness remained, but they did not attack.
Once Ying Quan brought Hu Wan and the others over, Bai Tu left them to reunite with their people.
As the rescue continued, they uncovered two more cave entrances. In total, four caves had been used to imprison beastmen. Unlike the first two larger caves, the latter two had been divided into smaller rooms, each holding only a few individuals.
The total number of imprisoned beastmen across the four caves reached six to seven hundred. And that was excluding the cubs—if they were included, the number was even higher.
Most of these beastmen had been deceived and lured into the Black Forest Tribe. Many of them, like Hu Shen’s mate, had been separated from their kin shortly after arriving and had been locked away ever since.
“A lot of people have died.”
Seeing their family or tribe members again, the imprisoned beastmen finally let down their guard and began sharing their experiences.
Their situation was very similar to that of the beastmen captured by the Red Eagle Tribe, with one key difference—there were more sub-beastmen here than female beastmen.
Over the years, the Black Forest Tribe had hoarded a significant amount of supplies. Bai Tu had no intention of being polite—he immediately ordered his people to bring out the stockpiled animal hides so that the freed beastmen and those forced to hunt and labor every day could clean themselves up and change clothes. Everything else could wait until they had rested properly.
As for the cubs’ food, it was assigned to the beastmen from the Snow Rabbit Tribe and the Blood Wolf Tribe, who were responsible for cooking. Most of them had some experience preparing food for cubs, though the quality varied. But at this moment, no one was picky—some cubs had already gone far too long without eating.
Once everything was settled, Bai Tu gathered a few representative leaders to discuss what to do next. With so many people, they obviously couldn’t leave them here, but taking all of them away wasn’t practical either.
However, before they could begin their discussion, a guard reported that Bao Ren was demanding to speak with someone in charge. He was particularly agitated—even after being tied up, he refused to calm down. And the moment he moved, many of the other imprisoned beastmen became restless.
For someone who had already been captured, he still held considerable influence. Instead of letting the situation escalate, Bai Tu simply ordered his people to bring Bao Ren over to see what he wanted.
What no one expected was that as soon as Bao Ren was brought in, he blurted out, “If you let me go, I’ll give you twenty beauties!”
Bai Tu: “……”
Bai Qi’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Was Bao Ren really offering Bai Tu women right in front of Lang Qi? Did he have a death wish, or was he just suicidal?
However, Bai Tu picked up on something else—his words suggested that there were still people imprisoned somewhere that they hadn’t yet found.
Thank you for the update!