Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains 134
Chapter 134
Three more days passed and the hunting party had not returned. Ake, who was initially just keeping an eye on the situation, couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.
As time passed, the unease and anxiety in Ali’s heart grew stronger, making it impossible for him to stay in the ironworks room any longer. After hastily handing over his tasks to Ayan and another female beastman, he ran to the city wall to keep watch.
In the end, after some discussion, Ake and Aze, along with a few other females, ventured into the forest to look for them.
“It will be fine,” Chen Qi reassured, pulling the restless and uneasy Ali into his home. He brewed him a pot of tea.
Ajing also came over, looking worried. Chen Qi patted his little head and said, “Go do your homework. Leave this to me.”
Ajing nodded and left with the little wolf cub in tow.
Aze’s absence stretched into two more days. The female beastmen of Qi Ze City put aside their tasks and were assigned to guard the watchtowers at the four city gates. Even though they knew no living creatures were likely to appear on the plains, everyone remained on high alert, ready for anything.
At sunset that day, someone suddenly shouted, “They’re back!”
Chen Qi quickly followed the direction the beastman was pointing to. The summer plains were lush and green, but Chen Qi’s eyesight weren’t as sharp as that of the beastmen. He couldn’t make out any movement in the indicated area.
After about a minute, Chen Qi finally spotted a few small figures slowly moving toward them. When they reached the base of the city wall, Chen Qi saw the disheveled and exhausted group led by Azhang.
Actually, Azhang and his group weren’t as disheveled when they were escaping the pursuit of the stegosaurus. However, after walking along the small river for another day with no sign of leaving the dense forest, they discussed it and decided to deviate from the river and head in the direction of the sun.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
To their surprise, they hadn’t gone far when they encountered another adult stegosaurus again. The stegosaurus’s sharp horns glinted coldly in the sunlight. This time, however, the stegosaurus didn’t attack them immediately. Instead, it stood in the distance, watching them as they tried to move forward. Azhang knew that if they dared to continue, the stegosaurus would undoubtedly crush them underfoot or impale them with its sharp horns without hesitation.
Feeling the threat of the stegosaurus, Azhang had no choice but to lead the group back to the riverbank. Strangely enough, even though they could occasionally hear the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects nearby, there were no signs of life on the road or in the water. Despite the sounds, no creatures appeared in sight.
After walking for another day and night, with their food supplies nearly exhausted and only wild fruits left to sustain them, they finally returned to the waterfall where they had encountered the pterosaur.
They then encountered another pterosaur that had followed the scent of its mate. This pterosaur was not merely looking to capture the beastmen, but sought revenge on the ones it believed had killed its mate. Knowing it stood no chance against the beastmen on land, it avoided direct confrontation, instead using its massive wings to whip up strong winds to block the beastmen’s path. When the beastmen tried to dodge, it would swoop down rapidly, using its sharp iron claws to leave horrific gashes on their bodies. Had it not been for Ake and the others, who noticed the commotion and came to investigate, their group would likely have been in an even worse state.
Seeing that Azhang appeared before him unharmed, Ali, who had been anxiously worried, finally felt a sense of relief. His eyes, red from the emotional turmoil, quickly rushed over to Azhang, carefully checking him from head to toe several times before he was truly at ease.
Azhang allowed the other to check him repeatedly, and when he finally stopped, he grabbed his wrist and whispered softly, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Ali took the backpack from behind him and nodded, “”En.”
It wasn’t the right time for Azhang and Ali to have a conversation. He called a few of the older females, along with Ayan and Chen Qi, to discuss the strange events they had encountered in the forest.
“A talking giant wolf-god?” After hearing Azhang’s account, everyone was shocked.
“Are you sure you didn’t hear it wrong?” asked the oldest, Acheng, in disbelief.
“I was there too. Those two giant wolf-gods really spoke,” Ashu added when he saw that the others weren’t quite convinced.
“But…” Acheng said, his words a bit hesitant, “The giant wolf-gods don’t eat beastmen.”
The giant wolf-gods do not eat beastmen; they are the only carnivorous creatures in this world that refrain from doing so. Legends passed down through generations have always stated that if a giant wolf-god ever consumed a beastman, it would be poisoned and die.
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Having grown up hearing this legend and passing it down to the younger beastmen, the shock that Acheng felt upon hearing this event was unimaginable.
“Devouring beastmen grants the same wisdom as the beastmen?” Chen Qi’s focus was clearly different from Acheng’s.
“Yes, that’s what they said,” Azhang replied, his expression equally grave.
Chen Qi tapped his chin thoughtfully, deep in contemplation. Ever since he arrived in this world, he had been pondering one question: why were the people here called “beastmen”? Even those like Aze, who grew out fur during the winter, still retained their humanoid forms. At first, he thought perhaps the term “beastmen” referred to those with some kind of beastly transformation ability. But after hearing Azhang’s description this time, a somewhat outlandish idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
Beastmen. Beastmen. Could it be they were beasts first, and then became humans?
Seeing Chen Qi fall silent for a moment and then suddenly turn pale, Aze worriedly squeezed his palm. “Are you all right?”
The familiar sensation brought Chen Qi’s drifting thoughts back to reality. He glanced at Aze sitting next to him, whose beautiful black eyes were filled with concern. Chen Qi shook his head, as if trying to shake off the ridiculous idea from his mind, or perhaps answering Aze’s question to reassure him that he was fine.
Regaining his composure, he turned his gaze to Aze and asked, “Aze, what do you think?”
Azhang glanced around at everyone. “Although we’re still not sure what the giant wolf-gods meant, I think it must be related to the strange happenings in the forest. It’s possible that the creatures in the forest might come out again to attack us.” He paused. “Or even attack other tribes.”
“I need to go back and inform my tribe so they can prepare in advance,” Aming said. “We encountered the corpse of an ironshell-drake on our way here. If that’s a sign that the creatures from the forest are starting to enter the plains, then this summer we can’t just assume that the plains are safe as we have in previous years, just because there are no creatures around.”
Ayan was silent for a moment before replying, “I also need to go back and inform our tribe about this.” The Flame-Hill Tribe was located very close to the forest, and if something unusual happened there, their tribe would undoubtedly be the first to bear the brunt of an attack by dragons, even before Qi Ze City. They had already lost many strong females this summer. If a few hyena-drakes randomly broke into their tribe, it would likely lead to severe casualties. With that thought, Ayan’s brows furrowed even tighter.
“The tribe’s defenses need to be strengthened as well.”
When it came to the issue of defense, Azhang asked Chen Qi, “Chen Qi, do you have any other methods to strengthen the defenses?”
Crossing to Live in the Wilderness Plains (CLWP) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
Chen Qi glanced at Aze and then explained the moat defense plan he had previously discussed with him in detail to everyone.
“This method sounds good, we can give it a try.” Even if it didn’t work out as well as Chen Qi suggested, it’s still a form of defense.
“We’ll need to return for the gathering again later. For now, I’ll be the one to go back and deliver the message, and the others can stay to help dig this thing called the moat.” Aming said after a moment of thought. The females from the Salt-Water Tribe he brought with him this time were all young females who had just reached adulthood. He would not feel at ease if he did not go back and explain such a big thing to the tribe leader himself.
Chen Qi had originally intended to have everyone help with digging the moat; otherwise, even with the manpower from Qi Ze City, it would take quite some time to finish the task.
Azhang was surprised upon hearing this and gratefully thanked Aming, “Then we thank you in advance.”
The group continued discussing the events in the forest late into the night before finally dispersing one by one.
After everyone else had left, Chen Qi nervously called out to Azhang. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “If the giant wolf-gods eat beastmen, then Little Wolf…?”
After living with the little wolf cub for so long, Chen Qi has long regarded it as a part of his family. If the situation called for it, he could reluctantly return the little wolf cub to the forest. What worried him more was that the beastmen might decide to have it killed. But considering the little wolf cub’s current condition, returning it to the forest might be as good as condemning it to death. A wild animal that couldn’t hunt for itself, even a giant wolf-god wouldn’t be able to survive long in the Loya Forest.
Seeing Chen Qi’s concern, Aze also looked at Azhang. He didn’t want the little wolf cub to be forced to leave Qi Ze City because of this situation either.
Azhang was taken aback for a moment, as he hadn’t considered this issue at all. Seeing the anxious looks on both of their faces, Azhang smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Even though the two giant wolf-gods I encountered were a bit unusual, one thing remains unchanged: the giant wolf-god will always be allies of the beastmen, so the little wolf cub will always be one of us.” During his time in the forest, Azhang could feel that without the guidance of the giant wolf-god, they would never have made it out of the forest safely.
Ali, who had been standing by, also comforted the two, saying, “The giant golf-gods are the guardians of the Sanchen River. Beastmen will never harm them.”
Hearing what Azhang and Ali said, Chen Qi finally let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the two of them with sincere gratitude and said, “Thank you.”
The next morning, after giving instructions to the others in his tribe, Aming set off for the Salt-Water Tribe, accompanied by one of his tribe’s females. Ayan left a day later than the two of them. He had spent an entire day talking with Azhang, and only left early the following morning.
Later, Chen Qi learned that Ayan and Azhang had spent the day discussing the possibility of merging the Flame-Hill Tribe into their own. This surprised Chen Qi. Based on his understanding, beastman tribes rarely chose to merge with others unless absolutely necessary. Although the Flame-Hill Tribe had suffered heavy losses this year, they had received food aid from the Salt-Water Tribe, and there was no issue with their development. Unlike Qi Ze City, which had only two strong males and a few healthy females while the rest were either disabled or elderly, the Flame-Hill Tribe’s male and female population was nearly balanced. With a little more time, they wouldn’t need to merge with another tribe.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: *hugz the smol little wolf cub*
Translator: Miiya
Editor: Yume
Proofreader: Yume/Miiya
Editor stepping into the realm of MTL translating, starting with CLWP. Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
