Building a Civilization and Raising Cubs in the Beast World – CH57

Chapter 57

Even though they had seen the sacred grain Bao Duo had grown, most members of the Leopard Tribe still firmly believed that sacred grain was unique to their tribe. 

They had thought the healer was merely using the Beast God’s name to cheat them out of their prey. But now, they realized that sacred grain wasn’t exclusive to their tribe—it could be grown by others as well.

With mixed emotions, the Leopard Tribe finished their meal. They were grateful for the rabbit tribe’s help but couldn’t help feeling envious that the rabbit tribe’s sacred grain yielded better results than their own. 

With these complicated feelings, the Leopard Tribe followed the wolves to the unclaimed territory.

Beastmen who left their own lands often had no choice but to seek out areas not claimed by other tribes. However, such unclaimed territories were hard to find. Many tribes, even those not actively using all their land, would claim surrounding areas preemptively.

The area bordering the wolf tribe had remained unused because it was rocky, with sparse vegetation and few prey animals. For the wolves, patrolling the area regularly was more trouble than it was worth, so they left it vacant.

It took a day to walk from the Snow Rabbit Tribe to that territory. Fortunately, they could stop by the wolf tribe’s settlement on the way for another meal. The Leopard Tribe didn’t linger—they ate, rested briefly, and then set off again.

Lang Qi personally led the escort team. 

Before Bao Duo and his people departed, Bai Tu gave them some extra melons, fruits, and corn seeds. 

Melons and fruits grew relatively quickly and could yield a decent harvest before winter arrived. 

While corn planted this late wouldn’t fully mature before the snow came, the fresh ears could still be eaten in various ways or stored as reserve food for the winter.

The rabbit and wolf tribes had also planted corn this season. While their current stock looked sufficient, Bai Tu believed in planting more. 

The more they harvested, the better. Corn could also be used as animal feed, so growing more was never a loss.

Bai Tu trusted Lang Qi to handle the arrangements. 

After the Leopard Tribe left, he calculated the remaining corn in the tribe’s stores. 

If the Leopard Tribe’s food supply wasn’t enough to last the winter, he planned to lend them some. They could repay it after winter once they started growing their own food again.

On the third night after the Leopard Tribe’s departure, Lang Qi and the wolves returned. But they didn’t come back empty-handed—they brought something with them.

“These stones were found on a mountain south of the wolf tribe’s territory,” Lang Qi said, getting straight to the point as soon as he arrived at the rabbit tribe. “They can burn. You might find them useful.”

Hearing this, Bai Tu’s eyes lit up. Without even seeing what was in the baskets, he was already excited. “Coal?” Stones that could burn—it had to be coal! When Lang Qi opened the baskets, Bai Tu’s suspicions were confirmed. It was coal!

Not just useful—coal was indispensable!

Bai Tu walked over, unbothered by the possibility of dirtying his hands, and picked up a piece to inspect it. The quality of the coal was excellent and would be perfect for smelting iron.

He had been planning to wait until winter to start iron smelting. Besides personnel constraints, the main reason was the lack of proper fuel. 

Currently, they were using wood and charcoal for firing pottery. 

Charcoal was made from wood, and both had the same issue: they didn’t burn long enough. 

Bai Tu had intended to look for coal at the next market to use as a fuel source, but he hadn’t expected the Leopard Tribe’s move to lead to this discovery.

“Is there a lot of coal?” Bai Tu asked eagerly. 

If there was plenty of coal, the children in the tribe wouldn’t need to spend their time collecting firewood, and the beastmen tasked with chopping branches could focus on other jobs.

Mining coal isn’t exactly a quiet activity, and frequent movement around the area could draw the attention of other tribes. 

Bai Tu immediately became concerned. “Is it far from here? Which tribe is nearby?” 

Even if the area had previously gone unnoticed, the discovery of resources would inevitably increase interest in the territory. If it was close to another tribe, they might need to take extra precautions.

“There’s a lot—several consecutive mountains full of it,” Lang Qi reassured him, sensing Bai Tu’s worry. 

He then explained the location in detail. “The mountains are situated between the Leopard Tribe and the Wolf Tribe.” Previously, they had served as a natural boundary separating the unclaimed land from the Ape Tribe’s territory. 

Now that the Leopard Tribe had moved nearby, the two tribes effectively surrounded the mountains.

Bai Tu’s eyes lit up. 

This setup meant there was no need to worry about exposure! 

While the wolf tribe had never shied away from conflict, Bai Tu believed that in this stage of development, avoiding unnecessary disputes was the better approach. 

The tribe had so much work to do—who had time for constant fighting? 

Fighting required time, effort, and resources. Instead of wasting time battling other tribes, it was far more productive to spend that energy mining coal.

“The iron smelting furnace should be built on wolf tribe territory…” Bai Tu started planning aloud. 

Since the coal mines were closer to the wolf tribe, it made sense to set up the iron furnace there. 

The rabbit tribe already had plenty of structures around their settlement, so this would help expand infrastructure in that direction. 

They would also need to build several brick kilns nearby. With the importance of iron tools to beastmen, guards would be essential to watch over the furnaces. Bai Tu still remembered Bai An’s shock when Hei Xiao had gifted him an iron knife.

Profit often brought trouble, so precautions couldn’t be overlooked. 

Bai Tu mentally calculated the number of people needed for the tasks. 

Fortunately, with the coal discovery, the beastmen who had previously been tasked with gathering firewood and making charcoal could now be reassigned. 

Preparing firewood for winter would no longer be necessary, saving everyone significant time and effort.

The wolf tribe’s efficiency was as astonishing as ever. 

While Bai Tu was still drafting his initial plans, the wolves had already begun work. 

The first priority was coal mining. The two tribes jointly allocated nearly fifty beastmen for the task. Because of the heat, the work was scheduled for nighttime, with the beastmen resting during the day.

Since coal was involved, Bai Tu decided to visit the site himself. 

When he arrived with the first batch of coal miners, he found himself looking at a mountain range that appeared no different from others at first glance—barren, slightly dry, and devoid of vegetation. Scratching his head, Bai Tu asked, “How did you discover this?”

He had assumed the coal might have been exposed through erosion, revealing its layer beneath the surface. However, apart from the small section currently being mined, there were no visible traces of coal in the surrounding area.

Lang Qi hesitated, looking as if the explanation might be a bit embarrassing. Before he could respond, Lang Zuo eagerly chimed in, ready to claim credit. “We discovered it!”

The mountains containing the coal were barren, as their name “bald mountains” suggested. 

The terrain was stark, with no vegetation, and even the soil looked less fertile than in other places. 

The mountain surfaces were bare, and no plants grew there. Prey animals avoided the area entirely, and the lack of game in the southern unclaimed lands was largely due to these barren mountains.

Beastmen have always followed the prey—where there’s game, they go. 

These barren mountains, devoid of prey, had long been dismissed by the wolf tribe. Moreover, it took over half a day to get there from the wolf tribe’s settlement. 

With such a long journey, they might as well hunt elsewhere and return with a full haul. Unless someone wanted to make their life difficult, there was no reason to come to this area to hunt.

Lang Ze and the young wolves had been here before, hoping to find something interesting, but there was nothing at all. 

The soft, unstable soil caused them to trip and fall multiple times. Without any vegetation to cushion their falls, it hurt quite a bit. From that point on, they blacklisted the area. Even for play, they avoided it, preferring the more exciting regions to the east, west, or north.

The discovery of coal this time was entirely by accident. 

While escorting the Bao Tribe to their new territory, Lang Qi led the wolves past these mountains. 

As usual, they planned to bypass them, as the loose soil made them unsuitable for climbing. 

The group had already been traveling for over half a day and stopped to rest nearby. The young wolves, spoiled by Bai Tu’s cooking, dawdled around the area, hoping to have a meal before continuing.

Lang Qi, though strict, wasn’t so rigid as to force his tribe to travel hungry. He took a small team to hunt while the others stayed behind to set up a cooking fire.

Bai Tu had provided some pottery to the Leopard Tribe, but they also had a number of stone pots. 

Unlike pottery, which had specially designed handles and could be propped up with sturdy branches, stone pots required proper stone supports. However, there weren’t many usable stones near the barren mountains. 

The young wolves, determined to find some, shifted into their wolf forms and began digging to unearth stones for use.

They found plenty of stones in various shapes and sizes, suitable for their needs. However, the stones were noticeably black—darker even than those found at the base of Black Rock Mountain—and left black stains on their fur. Not that it mattered to them; their fur was already black, so the stains weren’t visible.

When they shifted back into their human forms, they realized the stains were much more apparent on their skin. 

Unlike the soot from playing around with stone pots before, this dirt refused to wash off. Determined to make up for their messiness, the young wolves decided to boil water and prepare for Lang Qi’s return.

While pottery had handles for easier setup, the stone pots had to be supported by carefully placed stones. 

The young wolves worked together to construct the stone base, but once the fire was lit and wood was added, they noticed something strange—the stone support began to shrink.

Accidents with stone supports collapsing weren’t unheard of, so the young wolves ignored it, figuring they could still finish boiling the water. They frantically fed more wood into the fire to speed up the process. A little tilting wouldn’t stop them from cooking!

However, as the fire grew stronger, one stone pot after another toppled over. The young wolves froze in bewilderment.