So, what is a king? He will be sung about by bards…
"Lan, look! That strange beast, I've dragged its carcass over!" Feng Hong, carrying an iron hammer in one hand and a large beast in the other, rushed straight towards Lan.
Upon hearing Feng Hong's voice, Jiang Yunlan stopped writing down the casualties and turned around to look.
The bird-wolf-scaled beast's body was dragged along and thrown in front of her, yet it still retained its powerful aura from its lifetime. The aura of a powerful ruler of a region washed over her, and Jiang Yunlan reached out and touched its head, vaguely feeling as if she could see it locking onto her through a telescope again.
"Is this what this beast was originally supposed to look like?" Jiang Yunlan wondered, turning her head to look at 022 floating in the air.
She felt something was off. This beast-like creature, with its insatiable hatred that seemed to pierce through a telescope, made it hard for her not to overthink things.
"The energy flow within its body is somewhat strange, making it impossible to determine its original form," 022 said, touching the bird-wolf scale-tailed beast's body and stating the information it had detected.
Jiang Yunlan turned back to stare at the large beast before her, turning its body over but finding nothing wrong. She had no choice but to temporarily set aside checking on the bird-wolf scale-tailed beast, instructing her tribesmen to take the beast's body away for safekeeping, and then sent Feng Hong to treat its wounds.
In this beast tide, 34 of our people died, and almost all the orcs on the battlefield were wounded.
The orcs brought back their fallen kin from the battlefield, their faces showing a mixture of regret and sorrow.
They were already used to death on the battlefield and could calmly lead their dead kin back, but they still couldn't help but think, "If only they could have survived too."
“I’ll go to the next campfire gathering for you.” Rockflower squatted down next to Wolfflame and said to her, watching the wolf beastmen carry her and the other dead wolf beastmen to their resting place.
In summer, there is a resting place cleared out last snow season, where the deceased tribespeople go to return to the embrace of nature.
"Lan".
Hearing the call of the morning sun, Jiang Yunlan looked in the direction of the voice and learned about the birds and beasts from him.
"Are they all like this? They often can't control their bodies and will attack any living thing in their field of vision indiscriminately..." Jiang Yunlan suddenly realized.
As expected, the bird-wolf scale-tailed beasts' hatred was justified. Who could have turned them into that form? Orcs? That's why they hated orcs, and why they chose to hunt them when they were hungry.
These beasts killed 34 of her people. She hated them. But she hated just as much the creatures that made them who they are now.
Jiang Yunlan closed her eyes, then slowly opened them, reached out and rubbed Zhaoxia's head, revealing a gentle smile, "Zhaoxia, don't be sad, we will find the group of beings that took away their freedom."
"Lan, I want to become strong, as strong as my former kin. That way I can protect everyone." Little Chaoxia said this, her eyes shining with a simple and easy-to-understand longing.
He didn't want to see other birds and beasts lose their freedom, nor did he want to see everyone get hurt while protecting him.
Jiang Yunlan smiled and encouraged him, watching him run off to treat the wounded members of his tribe.
He finally accepted that the Xia beastmen were his own people, and was willing to use the energy he had accumulated since his birth to heal the most severely injured beastmen. He also healed the wounds of Mian Shengsheng and Yan Dahe.
The cub of Zelan was active in the medical team. Jiang Yunlan saw that he did not show any discomfort, so she wanted to look away. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hati, whose wound had been bandaged, walking over.
The promise she had made echoed in her ears. Jiang Yunlan remembered that she had hoped Hati would stay and said she would protect the orcs in the clan.
But she failed to save 34 of her people, including Wolf Flame and other wolf-beastmen, from the beast tide. Did she truly fulfill her promise to Hati? She didn't know, and could only anxiously wait for Hati to come to her.
"Lan, let's celebrate tonight! Let's celebrate that we've completely wiped out the beast tide!" Ha said excitedly, the emotion in her voice completely different from what she had imagined.
She nodded blankly, then subconsciously revealed her original plan: "We've withstood the beast tide, so we should have a good get-together to celebrate that everyone survived."
Hati turned around with satisfaction, preparing to slip away to an open space to lie down and rest, when he heard Lan's voice from behind.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save Langyan and the others. Next time I'll try my best to save more of my people, and then we'll celebrate together the elimination of the beast tide," Jiang Yunlan said apologetically.
The alpha wolf turned back in confusion, his tone surprised: "Of course I want Wolf Flame and the others to live, but Lan, why are you apologizing? When the beast tide appeared, only 34 members of our tribe died, which is much, much better than before. However, I really liked what you said at the end."
"Let's celebrate together again after we wipe out the next beast tide, Chieftain."
Jiang Yunlan was caught off guard when she learned that she had been accepted by Hati.
She belatedly realized that losing 34 members of her tribe was an acceptable outcome. Those were the lives of 34 people.
The bewilderment lingered until the celebration ended, and she returned to her lodgings, her gaze falling upon the recliner everyone had given her. She vaguely sensed the voices of the fox-orc archer and Wolfflame echoing in her ears.
They smiled and said, "We'll help you with anything that's bothering you, Lan!"
"...I really can't get used to it."
Ending the beast tide requires the deaths of 34 members of her tribe? She refused.
Everyone only has one life, and she couldn't convince herself that this was a necessary sacrifice.
“From now on, our goal for clearing the beast tide will be to ensure everyone survives,” Jiang Yunlan said, picking up a blanket from the bed and lying down in the recliner. After covering herself with the blanket, she turned to 022 and said, “022, I need your help. You will help me, right?”
“Of course. Lan, I’m your partner,” 022 replied.
She gently curved the corners of her mouth into a smile, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
After a day, summer returned to normal.
In the room to the right of the central building, a new page of paper recording the beast tide has appeared, along with a list of beastmen who died protecting Xia.
Their sacrifices and contributions are etched in the history of Xia.
They are warriors that all orcs of Xia can be proud of.
"But because of my injury, I can't do anything. It's so boring!" Feng Hong wailed. Forced to stay idle for a day, she was about to lose control of the primal power within her.
Yan Duoyu hadn't been forced to stay idle for a long time due to her injuries. It was just injuries to both hands, plus some minor cuts and bruises all over her body; she didn't need to be in bed. Why did Lan forbid them from going to Mo Rong to take on missions?
Hati, who was lying on the ground in human form, also had his hands wrapped in thick bandages. He couldn't move if he used his beast form now.
“Lan, she used a new language before, it’s ‘King.’ Lan said she would explain the meaning of this word after the beast tide ends. But Lan is too busy, and she hasn’t told me what it means yet.” Ah Bai squatted down with them, her injured hand obediently resting on her knee.
"Huh? What? Lan mentioned this too?" Feng Hong suddenly turned to A Bai, her eyes full of eagerness. "Great! Now I have an excuse to go see Lan!"
A group of beastmen, bored because of hand injuries. (Scene changes) They wanted to chat with Lan. (Scene changes) Curious about the meaning of "King," they came together to the area below the central building, splitting into two rows and sitting on either side of the stone path, chatting idly.
As soon as the door of the central building was pushed open and Jiang Yunlan walked out, everyone turned to look at her with curiosity in their eyes.
"So, Lan, what exactly does 'King' mean?" The beastmen looked at Jiang Yunlan, who came out of the central building, with bright, sparkling eyes.
Jiang Yunlan: ?
How come so many people in the tribe know about the "King"?
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Author's Note: Sorry, my little angels. I've been quite busy these past few days, having moved to a new province, and haven't been able to update at 10 PM as usual (I couldn't finish 3,000 words today, only 2,000 QAQ). But I'll try my best to get back to my normal update schedule as soon as possible!
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