Nature's blessings come from the Xia clan of the forest.

"I hate orcs."

Upon hearing what Freya the Ice Crystal said, the amphibious beastmen looked as if they had been severely injured, their faces turning ashen.

Jiang Yunlan sensed something was wrong and her mind raced, trying to figure out how to comfort them. Freya's past experiences meant she was unlikely to like orcs. But they had searched for nature for so long, only to find it dead, and now they were hated by nature's own kind—it was too pitiful.

The amphibious beastman chieftain, Lin Shui Wu Jiao, was the first to recover and spoke before Lan could come up with a way to comfort him: "I'm sorry we couldn't find you in time. You must have suffered a lot before you were rescued by the cubs."

Freya listened without responding or falling asleep, simply emitting a faint blue light as she watched her.

"Its condition has improved a lot since leaving the cave. Although it is still very weak, I can feel its strength is constantly increasing," Jiang Yunlan said to the amphibious beastmen.

Hearing this, they felt much more at ease.

Isdor is no longer here, and they hope that the nature that shares its origins can thrive.

“Cub, come with me. This open space is more suitable for you to rest.” Lin Shui called out to Jiang Yunlan and her group, leading Xia’s team to the most open area of ​​their temporary habitat.

That place was next to where the amphibious beastmen usually rested. If Xia's beastmen encountered any trouble, they could get there quickly.

After setting up their resting place, Xia's orcs took out supplies from the vehicle and were about to prepare dinner when suddenly a lot of unfamiliar pieces of animal meat appeared beside them.

They looked on in confusion. The amphibious beastmen who had attacked them earlier that day put down the food they had given them and returned to their own kin as if nothing had happened, picking up their own food.

Fire is difficult to preserve, so the amphibious beastmen wandered without carrying fire and ate raw food for almost every meal.

They finished their food quickly and efficiently, then closed their eyes and went to sleep in their beast forms. Every second of sleep at night was precious, as they would exchange watch duties with their kin during the latter half of the night.

Once the sun rises, they should leave their temporary habitat where they have been staying for some time and go explore other places. They need to get a good night's sleep to maintain their good mental state.

"Sizzle, sizzle~"

The aroma of roasting meat wafted over, waking the amphibious beastmen who were almost asleep.

Following the aroma, they opened their eyes and saw the Xia clan orcs cooking. The smell was so enticing that they couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling dazed. Could food cooked over fire really smell this delicious? How come they only discovered this today?

As they smelled the food, the amphibious beastmen felt their stomachs growling again, even though they had just eaten. Unable to sleep, they stared intently at the beastmen watching Xia.

As soon as Jiang Yunlan received her dinner and turned around, she saw countless blue eyes staring at her.

Looking into their eyes, which seemed to have been starving for decades and hadn't had a decent meal, she felt a strange sense of pressure. She turned to her people and told them to cook the food they had given Xia and distribute it back to them.

Upon hearing that the Xia clan was willing to share their fragrant food, the amphibious beastmen didn't hesitate for a second. They pounced over and obediently waited next to the Xia clan beastmen to be fed.

The beastmen who had fed liquid spiders in the breeding area were stunned. This obedient yet anxious reaction was all too familiar.

Xia's beastmen, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, looked at the amphibious beastmen with a gentler gaze and were no longer so hostile towards them.

Lying by the water beside Jiang Yunlan, he was already enjoying the delicious food.

The amphibious beastmen had already eaten dinner, and after a few extra bites, they were so full that they had to go back to sleep or keep watch. Their chieftain did not get up to go back, but patiently waited for Lan to finish her food.

“Young ones, where are you headed? We’ll escort you there,” Lin Shui said.

Their clan was also setting off for another place, wanting to see more of nature. Of course, it would be even better to enjoy a few more meals of summer-cooked food.

Jiang Yunlan listened to the question that Hati had helped translate and replied, "Go to the other side of the sea, that is, the land of the rising sun."

"Our birthplace?" Lin Shui asked in surprise.

She learned from Lan that the Chinese words for "sea" and "ocean" referred to places, and then said, "If you go to the sea, the birthplace of our people, we cannot send you there. Isidore has returned to the embrace of the sky and the sea. We have not avenged it yet, and we will not go back."

"It's alright, you can leave whenever you want," Jiang Yunlan said.

She knew that the amphibious beastmen only wanted to travel with Shado because they were worried about Freya.

The two clan chiefs were chatting, and Hati translated for them for a while before getting bored. He decisively picked out a wolf-orc from his group who could speak the language of amphibious orcs, and nimbly found an open space to lie down.

It's better for him to just lazily sleep.

The two orcs, one big and one small, chatted leisurely. 022 listened to their conversation, recording and deciphering the amphibious orcs' language in its mind, but it never expected that the topic would suddenly turn to it.

“Young cub, you and the nature above your head remind me of Istol. We were like that with Istol. It loved to look outside, and we would often transform into beast form, carry it on our heads, and take it to travel all over the continent.”

Jiang Yunlan blinked and asked them curiously how they came from the ocean to the mainland.

They are orcs born from the ocean and generally do not easily leave it.

“I’m not entirely sure of the specific reasons. But I heard from the previous patriarch that it was because Isidore chose us and asked us to bring it to the mainland that we left the ocean and became amphibious beastmen.”

Lin Shui vaguely remembered that the clan chief had said their original beast form wasn't like this. This body was one that had evolved to adapt to the continent.

She didn't care about that, and no amphibious beastman would care about that. Because they had answered Isidore's call.

"It seems that Istol sensed something. It said that the continent needs it, and it is coming here to bestow the blessing of snow upon places where heavy snow cannot fall." Many images of living with nature flashed through Lin Shui's mind, her heart ached, and hatred arose.

How could orcs possess the ability to plunder nature?

All orcs survived the Age of Calamity because of the existence of nature. Those hateful orcs, do they want the Age of Calamity to repeat itself?!

Lin Shui suspected that her clan hadn't spoken with the orcs on the mainland for too long. How could there be orcs who didn't know? Naturally, they should be protected by all races.

A terrifying killing intent and oppressive atmosphere emanated from Lin Shui. She suddenly remembered that Lan beside her was still a cub, and struggled to suppress the icy power that erupted along with her emotions.

Jiang Yunlan subconsciously glanced at the surrounding ice. The power she unconsciously emitted was very strong, even stronger than the ice and snow power wielded by Freya, who was a being of nature.

No wonder Freya has been asleep all this time.

"I'm sorry, little one. I couldn't control my anger just now and almost hurt you," Lin Shui said apologetically to Lan.

"It's alright, you controlled it very well, those ice crystals perfectly avoided me. Is your power also a blessing of nature?" Jiang Yunlan asked curiously, receiving a reply that was both expected and unexpected.

“Of course. Our clan is a clan protected by Istol. Orcs who are suited to the power of ice and snow can receive Istol’s blessing. Being blessed by nature is a very good thing, so only those who cannot adapt to the power of ice and snow cannot receive the blessing.”

When the conversation turned to nature and the people, Lin Shui's voice softened, and his furious aura calmed down considerably.

Hearing this answer, Jiang Yunlan finally felt normal again. The natural blessing that Lin Shui spoke of was different from the natural blessing that Feng Hong and the others spoke of, but it was more in line with her understanding of "blessing".

She still remembers the tense and anxious reaction of Feng Hong and the others when she first met Freya the Ice Crystal.

At that time, she couldn't understand why they were so worried. It was only later, after she could understand their language, that she learned from the orcs, such as Maple and Cotton, that they were worried about her "consuming" Nature.

They would actually think that? What a strange worry. There are no crystals in the orcs' recipes, at least not in hers or theirs.

She wasn't worried about the rocks and boulders she found in the forest consuming nature, but she was still worried about them receiving nature's blessings.

They say that orcs who receive nature's blessings are prone to dying or going mad. Mad orcs will indiscriminately use their gained power to kill all living beings.

They said they were afraid of her death, and even more afraid that they would have to kill her with their own hands.

The fact that a “blessing” would have such consequences made her think for a moment that she had mistranslated, turning “natural curse” into “natural blessing”.

“Indeed, accepting nature’s blessing won’t kill you or drive you crazy,” Jiang Yunlan said.

Upon hearing the wolf-orc speak on Lan's behalf, Lin Shui's eyes widened in shock. "Who told you that nature's blessing would bring bad things? Nature's blessing is nature giving us power. How could it possibly cause a blessed orc to die or go mad?!"

"Yes, I also want to know, who exactly said that?" What were those orcs who initially conveyed this message to the orcs trying to do, and why did they say that to obtain nature's blessing, one must "eat" nature?

Is it because they deliberately make the orcs afraid of nature, afraid to approach nature, and even hope that orcs who want power will actively harm nature... that they want more orcs to do the same thing so that they can obtain the power that belongs to nature?

Clearly, nature will protect the orcs. Clearly, as long as nature provides, the orcs can obtain the power of nature.

A new anger welled up within her, and Jiang Yunlan's eyes turned cold, the gentle smile on her face vanishing completely. She had already guessed it; it was those orcs who plundered nature who had done this "good deed."

The idea that one must "devour" nature to obtain its power is clearly a plundering of nature's power.

Their power was plundered, not given. They possess only "curses," not "blessings." They need the healing of the Zeran, which is why the bear-beastmen will stop at nothing to capture Aliya and his kin.

"The orc who said those words is despicable!" Lin Shui said bitterly.

Hearing her voice, Jiang Yunlan slowly exhaled the pent-up frustration in her heart and nodded in agreement.

Does wanting power mean you can harm other lives? Does wanting power mean you can harm the creatures that have always protected you? Jiang Yunlan disagreed.

She wouldn't allow this to happen so easily. One day, she would make those orcs pay the price.

After that night, Jiang Yunlan was sad for several days, and the smile that usually graced her lips faded considerably. The Xia's beastmen, observing Lan's reaction, understood that she was grieving over something natural.

They remembered that the night Lan talked with the amphibious beastman chieftain, he asked them why nature's blessing was a blessing.

They remembered Lan saying that nature is the one that shelters all living beings.

They remembered Lan saying that areas without nature would become like mountains.

They remembered all of this well. They will treat nature well, just as Lan said.

Lan, are you feeling any happier?

Jiang Yunlan seemed a bit happier today. She's always been good at regulating her emotions.

What has already happened cannot be changed; what she can change and create is the future.

She won't give up.

She was going to build a good summer, to make summer a place to shelter the beastmen, and to make summer a place to shelter nature.

"诱辱辱辘."

The amphibious beastmen followed Xia's group for a while and gradually became familiar with the surroundings. It seemed to be the way to one of their kind's habitats.

Lin Shui and the other amphibious beastmen were puzzled. Before they could ask Lan which beastmen he was looking for, they unexpectedly bumped into their own kind.

"Lan! You've finally arrived!" Yue·Unicorn, a land-dwelling beastman, saw Xia's group and excitedly ran over, followed by a group of unicorn beastmen.

He stopped beside the wooden cart Lan was sitting in, looked down at his fellow humans whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and said in the language of the sea, "Hornless Beastmen! Why did you come with Xia's beastmen? Did you come here especially to see us? That's wonderful, let us give you a good welcome!"

Yue didn't mention Isdor, fearing that the hornless people hadn't yet rediscovered nature and dared not bring it up.

A unicorn-man approached, followed by many more. They covered their skin and enthusiastically pushed Xia's orcs and their kind into the house.

The unicorns were so happy they almost started humming new songs.

Great! The Xia Clan has finally arrived!

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Author's Note: After finishing today's update, I've finally made up for all the word count I owed! That's great! Hope you all enjoyed reading it.

The matter of the Blessing of Nature can be discussed in Chapters 22 and 29. Maple Red and Rock Forest's attitudes towards the Blessing of Nature are revealed in these two chapters.

Because the names of Forest Nature's Alanya and Zelan Alia are too similar, I was worried that they would be difficult to distinguish when they appeared together later. So today I decided to write Alanya as Alanya. Little angels, please don't be confused when you see Alanya appearing later.