Chapter 68
“Borrowing people to go fight,” Lang Ze replied, giving Tu Cheng a quick glance. He wasn’t very impressed—sure, this guy knew where the Mad Lion Tribe was, but he seemed kind of dumb.
Lang Ze mulled it over and decided it might be better to leave Tu Cheng behind. After all, he’d already memorized the location. If Tu Cheng was lying, he could just deal with him later.
Tu Cheng was still frozen in shock.
The way things were unfolding was completely different from what he had planned! None of the reactions from the tribe’s beastmen, and especially Lang Ze, matched what Shi Peng had told him.
Tu Cheng’s plan had been to trick Lang Ze into leading a small team into the Mad Lion Tribe’s territory.
Even though the Mad Lion Tribe was smaller now, they could still handle a single wolf squad. Lang Ze’s reckless actions would anger Lang Qi, and the wolves, loyal to their squad leader, would start to resent Lang Qi. If the wolves fell into disarray, the Mad Lion Tribe could strike whenever they wanted, targeting either the Snow Rabbit Tribe or the Blood Wolf Tribe.
What Tu Cheng hadn’t anticipated was that Lang Ze’s first reaction to hearing the information was to run straight to Lang Qi!
As the pack leader, Lang Qi could command all the wolves in the tribe, unlike Lang Ze, who could only lead his own squad. Realizing the sheer number of wolves that might be mobilized, Tu Cheng turned pale.
Tu Cheng couldn’t even process how things had spiraled so far out of control. Desperately, he tried to think of a way to salvage the situation.
“Isn’t it a bit rushed? Maybe we should wait a bit before heading out,” Tu Cheng suggested, forcing himself to look as calm as possible.
If Lang Qi really decided to launch an attack on the Mad Lion Tribe, the beastmen there would be doomed. Cold sweat broke out on Tu Cheng’s back as he regretted everything he’d just said.
“There’s nothing else going on, so let’s go take a look!” Lang Ze said with excitement.
After being scolded by Bai Tu for chasing off those lions two days ago, he hadn’t been allowed to leave the area except for nighttime hunts.
His only long-distance trip had been this morning, patrolling the coal mines on his brother’s orders, and even that had been uneventful. Now, he finally had something to do—something important! How could he not be excited?
Lang Ze, riled up by Tu Cheng’s suggestion, ignored his protests entirely.
In just a few short exchanges, Lang Ze had already decided to stop by the Blood Wolf Tribe first to gather reinforcements.
Since the Blood Wolf Tribe was closer, he could gather a larger group before reporting to Lang Qi. After all, Lang Ze didn’t have the authority to lead wolves from other squads out of the tribe’s territory without Lang Qi’s approval.
“Ze, it’s too dangerous! Let’s wait a little longer!” Tu Cheng’s tone grew increasingly frantic.
Seeing Lang Ze so determined, he was utterly terrified.
This is bad—this is really bad! he thought. It’s all Shi Peng’s fault for feeding me false information!
Tu Cheng was now deeply worried that Lang Ze might actually lead the entire wolf tribe to attack the Mad Lion Tribe. He cursed Shi Peng over and over in his mind. If it hadn’t been for Shi Peng’s false claims, he never would have so carelessly revealed the Mad Lion Tribe’s location.
“You really don’t know how to behave!” Lang Ze snapped, visibly annoyed.
Yet another beastman who doesn’t understand anything. The last time he’d encountered someone like this was that lion who hung around Bai Tu.
Lang Ze thought about it for a moment and decided it had to be because the Mad Lion Tribe’s prey tasted awful—eating bad food must’ve made them all dumb.
Deciding Tu Cheng was too foolish to be worth his time, Lang Ze shifted into his beast form and sprinted off toward the Leopard Tribe without a second thought.
Tu Cheng was scared out of his wits when Lang Ze mentioned borrowing people from Lang Qi to start a fight.
He tried to dissuade him with a few hurried words, but not only did it fail, Lang Ze dismissed him as annoying.
Watching Lang Ze leave sent Tu Cheng into a panic, but no one at the coal mine paid him any attention.
Whether it was the other beastmen working alongside him or Tu Guang, who oversaw the mining area, they either ignored him entirely or couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Tu Cheng’s earlier attempts to get some feedback had at least been met with curt replies, but now, they wouldn’t even acknowledge him.
While Tu Cheng was fretting and working himself into a frenzy, Lang Ze had already sprinted to the Leopard Tribe’s territory.
As part of the Blood Wolf Tribe, which had helped the leopards settle in this area, Lang Ze enjoyed the same privileges as the Snow Rabbit Tribe—he could freely come and go within the Leopard Tribe’s lands.
During his journey, Lang Ze relied on his beast form to run at top speed. But as he approached the Leopard Tribe’s settlement, he shifted back to his human form and donned his beast hide.
Bai Tu had recently come up with a new method of sewing beast hides that involved adding two buttons.
With this design, a beastman could transform into their beast form without needing to remove the hide.
The hide would expand at the buttoned areas, turning into a flowing cloak when the beast form was activated.
When the beastman returned to their human form, they could simply re-button the hide for full coverage.
It was incredibly convenient, though it did use up more buttons than before. Still, the design resolved the common issue of damaging beast hides during frequent transformations or struggling to carry them while traveling.
“Boss, why are we here?” Lang Zuo asked, confused. “Shouldn’t we go back to the tribe and gather people like Bai Tu said before we start fighting?”
“We’re here to ask the Leopard Tribe for reinforcements first,” Lang Ze replied confidently as he strolled up to the mountain base where the Leopard Tribe resided. “Bao Duo! Bao Duo! Come out and fight!” Lang Ze shouted casually, as if he were calling on an old friend.
Since there were already many people involved, Lang Ze figured more would only make it better. Leading a team to fight was exciting, but leading a big team to fight would be even better.
The Leopards didn’t have a fixed schedule for hunting, but at high noon, very few beastmen ventured out.
Most were resting or working within their settlement.
At that moment, Bao Duo was inside with the tribe, discussing what they should bring to the upcoming market fair. Having recently relocated to the area, their supplies were limited, and their hunting had yet to yield much.
Fortunately, about half of their tribe was assisting the Rabbit Tribe in crafting tools, which helped alleviate some of their food shortages.
Compared to their previous circumstances, life had already improved considerably. Back then, even when they caught prey, half had to be given away as tribute. Now, every catch belonged entirely to them.
The nearby tribes were the same as before, but the circumstances were completely different.
Now, instead of taking their food, the surrounding tribes were actively helping the Leopard Tribe. This kindness inspired the leopards to work even harder, doing their best to assist the Rabbit Tribe in return.
Hearing Lang Ze’s voice, Bao Duo initially thought it was about some new tools to make. He, along with the leopard beastmen responsible for crafting tools, came outside. When Lang Ze mentioned fighting, the leopards froze in surprise.
Bao Duo eyed Lang Ze and the wolves behind him, swallowing nervously. “Ze, what kind of fight are you talking about?”
Even though the Leopard Tribe now had a similar population to Lang Ze’s squad, they knew they couldn’t match the wolves’ strength in a fight.
The wolves were bigger and stronger. While most wolf and leopard beastmen were about the same size, the Blood Wolf Tribe clearly exceeded that standard.
Thanks to their ample food supply, their physiques were at the upper limit of what wolves could achieve.
Recently, Bao Duo noticed that Lang Ze’s squad had grown even bulkier than the wolves he’d seen at the market.
He’d also heard that just a couple of days ago, Lang Ze had led his team to chase off a group of lions.
Bao Duo didn’t dare challenge Lang Ze. Still, he was puzzled—why had Lang Ze suddenly shown up to pick a fight? Was the Blood Wolf Tribe dissatisfied with Bai Tu’s recent attention to the Leopard Tribe? Did they feel their standing was being threatened?
Such speculation wasn’t baseless.
Rumor had it that a few weeks ago, the Horse Tribe had approached Bai Tu, only to be sternly warned by Lang Qi. Since then, the horses had kept their distance from Bai Tu, even choosing to rest in the farthest mountain caves when delivering supplies to the Snow Rabbit Tribe.
Bao Duo fretted over whether he should explain the situation to Lang Ze. But with the wolf brothers’ personalities, wouldn’t explaining just make them angrier?
Lang Ze, oblivious to how his reputation had been influenced by Lang Qi’s actions, enthusiastically responded to Bao Duo’s question. “We’re going to fight the Mad Lion Tribe—the ones who’ve been bullying the Snow Rabbit Tribe all this time! I found out where they’re living, and this time, we’ll wipe them out completely!”
Bai Tu had explained that “wiping them out completely” meant capturing every last one of them and leaving no one behind.
Hearing that the fight wasn’t with them but rather that they were being invited to join a fight against someone else, Bao Duo breathed a sigh of relief.
Technically, they shouldn’t involve themselves in conflicts between other tribes, but given how much the Rabbit and Wolf Tribes had helped them, they felt obligated to assist.
Fighting always carried the risk of injury. Bao Duo carefully selected over half of their young adults for the mission, leaving the remaining third to guard the tribe. The rest followed Lang Ze.
After gathering the Leopard Tribe, Lang Ze headed to the wolves’ camp. None of the hunting squads had left to hunt yet, and to Lang Ze’s surprise, his brother was actually there!
The moment Lang Ze spotted Lang Qi, he let out an excited howl and sprinted over.
Hearing the familiar call, Lang Qi, who had been discussing plans with two hunting squad leaders, several gathering squad leaders, and other key tribe members, paused mid-sentence.
Waving for the others to disperse, he turned his attention to Lang Ze. His gaze briefly swept over the leopards Lang Ze had brought along.
“What are you planning now?” Lang Qi asked, his tone calm but wary.
“Brother!” Lang Ze shifted into his human form, his face glowing with excitement. “Let’s go fight the Mad Lion Tribe!”
Hearing this, Lang Qi’s eyes darkened. His sharp gaze swept across the gathered wolves, causing them to nervously shake their heads, signaling that they hadn’t said a word to Lang Ze about this.
Lang Ya, the gathering squad leader and Lang Ze’s sister, stepped in to take over. “Ze, what’s got you wanting to fight the Mad Lion Tribe all of a sudden?”
Lang Ya and Lang Ze were siblings, but they were separated when they were younger due to the high number of pups born that year.
As the leader’s children, either one of them could have become a squad leader, so they were split up—Lang Ya managing the gathering squad, and Lang Ze managing a hunting squad.
Despite this, their sibling bond remained strong, and Lang Ya was one of the few beastmen who could occasionally persuade Lang Ze.
Hearing her question, Lang Ze puffed out his chest and proudly announced, “I just feel like it! Sis, are you coming or not? I found out where the Mad Lion Tribe lives!”
Since Tu Cheng had told him, Lang Ze figured claiming the discovery as his own was basically the same thing. He was already thinking about telling Bai Tu and asking for extra rewards.
Lang Ya glanced at Lang Qi, and after receiving his silent approval, she replied, “Ze, we have something to do tonight. We’ll go deal with the Mad Lion Tribe tomorrow.”
“What is it?” Lang Ze asked, confused. “How come I don’t know about it?”
“You just got back, didn’t you?” Lang Ya replied casually. “Brother’s taking us on a long-distance hunt. You’ll stay here and guard the camp. Tomorrow, we’ll join you in settling things with the Mad Lion Tribe.”
Lang Ze frowned, feeling that something was off, but he knew better than to question Lang Qi’s decisions, even as his younger brother. If Lang Qi said no, then it was no. Frustrated, Lang Ze scratched his head. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone to get Bao Duo.”
“It’s fine. Bao Duo can come with us tonight,” Lang Ya said, covering for Lang Qi. “You go rest. Tonight, you’re in charge of guarding the camp—don’t wander off.”
“Fine,” Lang Ze reluctantly agreed. Guarding the camp was just as important as hunting, and the territory needed to be well-protected.
Lang Qi subtly let out a sigh of relief. Without Bai Tu around, Lang Ze was more likely to listen to Lang Ya.
Feeling dejected about not being able to fight, Lang Ze trudged back up the mountain to rest and prepare for his night watch.
The others quickly began counting their numbers, preparing to head out. Just as everyone thought Lang Ze had resigned himself to staying behind, he suddenly came bounding back down the mountain.
“Wait a minute!” Lang Ze shouted, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. He circled around the group and then pointed an accusing finger. “Are you all planning to sneak off and fight without me?!”
