Welcome to the distant village of summer, now it's the village of storm...
The news of the elected leader spread throughout Xia's villages and towns.
Of the thirteen leaders, at least one should be an elf, one from Zeran or a dragon and Miman, and one from a behemoth or other intelligent beast. The remaining ten leaders could all be orcs of other races.
Xia's orcs accepted the idea after hearing it. They didn't know who these leaders would ultimately be, but the chief leader would definitely be Lan.
"Then there's no problem. With Lan around, whoever the other twelve leaders are, they'll definitely become excellent leaders." Xia's orcs puffed out their chests confidently.
Maple Syrup City Lord and Ink Velvet City Lord were both personally trained by Lan, so trusting Lan is the right thing to do.
More than the matter of the elected leader, they wanted to know when Lan would arrive in their town/village! The orcs stared intently at the bulletin board, looking left and right, trying to find information that Lan was about to arrive.
Unfortunately, their expectations ultimately could not accelerate Jiang Yunlan's progress.
She wouldn't be constantly on the move during her inspection of Xia's various habitats. She remembered that Albero and the others wanted to find their kind, so they often stopped in places where giant beasts were said to roamed, and only left after leading Albero to explore those places.
And so, a team that originally consisted of only one giant beast gradually gained a second, third, and fourth one.
When Jiang Yunlan discovered the third colossal beast, the Ice Beast, a group of orcs followed it. These blue-haired, blue-eyed orcs were an amphibious orc race she hadn't seen in a long time. Lin Shui Wujiao and her people, unusually, were in human form, each hanging themselves from the Ice Beast's long tail.
Upon seeing Albero, the ice beast stopped its journey and slowly approached him. The amphibious beastmen noticed Jiang Yunlan and her group, waved to them with delight, and quickly jumped off the ice beast's tail, walking steadily toward them.
"Lan, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to have grown taller than me." Lin Shui looked up at Jiang Yunlan with a gentle expression.
Looking at her unexpectedly calm expression, Jiang Yunlan suddenly understood why she looked different from before.
The amphibious beastmen, whose appearances hadn't changed much, were less repulsive. They no longer looked like hateful beastmen.
“The orc who killed Istol is dead,” Lin Shui said, gesturing for Lan to look at the ice beast not far away. “This is what Erin told me. It said that there are no more beings in this world that can harm elves, and those beings that it loathes no longer appear in its sight.”
After a long separation from Jiang Yunlan, the amphibious orcs encountered the ice beast Erin. They helped the injured Erin and, through their time together, learned that Erin had been fighting against the orcs who harmed nature.
From that day on, the orcs, including Lin Shui, followed Erin to hunt down the hateful orcs who had harmed the elves.
Scenes from the past flashed through her mind. As she looked at the ice beast and the wood beast chatting happily by the water, she couldn't help but glance at her remaining twenty clansmen one by one.
She asked, "Lan, does your clan still accept new members? We and Elin are looking for a place to live."
“Of course, welcome to Xia. Xia will not refuse any living being to join us.” Jiang Yunlan said firmly, pausing for two seconds before telling her about the changes in Xia in a conversational manner.
Xia had changed so much that it couldn't be summarized in just a few words. Jiang Yunlan decided to talk to Linshui Wujiao as they traveled to the next village. The other amphibious beastmen were also curious about Xia and followed behind Lan, listening and occasionally asking questions they wanted to know.
At this point, the Summer Beastmen would gather around them, chattering away and enthusiastically satisfying their curiosity.
“However, there are many orcs who are afraid of giant beasts in the place we’re going to this time. Their original tribe, the Apocalypse Tribe, was frequently attacked by giant beasts, and their companions would often die because of the arrival of the giant beasts, so Erin is often neglected,” said a Summer orc.
The orcs in the village they visited last time kept avoiding Albero until two days before they left, when things started to improve. For those two days, the orcs were able to cautiously pass through streets where Albero was present.
The amphibious orcs didn't see this as a big problem; it was perfectly normal for orcs to be afraid of strange behemoths. They and Erin were both used to strange orcs running away at the sight of Erin. If they hadn't seen the Wood Beast in Xia's party, their chieftain, Linshui, wouldn't have immediately asked if they could join Xia.
Erin is their companion, and they will not abandon Erin to join Xia.
Xia's party arrived at the new village amidst cheerful conversation.
Before even entering the village, Jiang Yunlan could see the warriors leading a group searching for food in the woods outside the village. Half-grown orcs were also among the supply-gathering group. With their youthful faces, they earnestly dug for wild vegetables.
She gazed at the gathering team, which included some young adults, and recalled the documents submitted by this village. The resources of the Apocalypse Territory where they lived had been depleted, so after Xia took over, the beastmen urgently migrated here, settled down, and built a village from scratch.
After reviewing the intelligence he had read, Jiang Yunlan rolled up his sleeves and led half of his teammates to help them, while the other half accompanied the two giant beasts into the village, and also settled the supplies and amphibious beastmen in the vehicle.
As soon as she stepped into the forest, a low, angry roar reached her ears. She looked over in confusion and saw a warrior with a red bandage wrapped around his left arm lecturing a small orc.
"Azure Feather Crane! How many times have I told you, you're not allowed to eat unfamiliar wild fruits! If you dare to eat any wild fruits that aren't on the list again, I won't let you join the outing team next time."
The thin, feathered crane-like beastman apologized sincerely, glancing cautiously at his captain's expression out of the corner of his eye. He pleaded, "Captain, don't be angry. Your injuries haven't fully healed yet. The healer said getting angry is bad for your health. I just saw that the fruit was growing so much, that the whole area was covered in it, and I was really hungry, so..."
He saw the captain's expression darken, his voice grow softer and softer until it faded away.
"Ha, you went to eat strange wild fruits because you were too hungry? You're really something. I know that before the Apocalypse Orcs were captured, they forced a lot of strange food on you and you developed some resistance to toxins, but—cough cough." The warrior captain turned his face away and coughed a few times, then looked at the helpless Feathered Crane Orc again.
She took a deep breath and tried to soften her tone, saying, "But you can also feel unwell, get sick, or even die from eating poisonous fruit. And you shared half of your food with the injured orcs?"
The blue-feathered crane remained silent.
The captain understood and sighed, "But we can't eat unfamiliar wild fruits. I don't want to see my men suddenly die in front of me."
"Azure Feathered Crane, listen to me. Lan sent us here, and we will definitely ensure your survival." She finished speaking and added in her mind. If she were to send a half-grown beastman to take on danger, how could she face Lan?
The Azure Crane lowered its head and nodded.
Seeing that he was genuinely reflecting on his mistakes, the captain of the soldiers felt a lump in his throat and asked, "How long ago did you eat the fruit? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
"I'm not feeling unwell. I ate it when I passed through the wild fruit grove," he said obediently.
The soldier captain was stunned. They had passed through the wild fruit forest that morning, and now half a day had passed.
"Arashi? It's Arashi, I see Arashi!"
"Yes. I'm too ashamed to face Lan..." The warrior captain paused for a second, then suddenly realized what was happening and looked around frantically, saying, "Eh? Has Lan arrived here?!"
Did Lan see what just happened? She looked at Lan, who had just walked up to her, and was extremely nervous.
The Azure Crane, having made a mistake, was equally nervous and dared not look up. But instead of a reprimand, he felt a very light pressure on his head, which quickly disappeared.
"It's so good that I wasn't poisoned." Jiang Yunlan breathed a sigh of relief.
He froze, awkwardly looking up. A squirrel-like orc with a transparent slime on its head stood before him. He realized the orc who had just examined his condition was the King. But he dared not utter a sound. He didn't call out "King," nor did he say "Lord Lan," a title he often used.
His flustered reaction was all too obvious, so Jiang Yunlan gave him a reassuring smile and asked in a calm tone, "May I see the wild fruit you ate?"
Tianqing Yuhe hurriedly took out half a wild fruit that the captain had found from the basket on his back and presented it to Jiang Yunlan with both hands.
The wild fruit he handed over was the same kind of fruit forest Jiang Yunlan had seen on her way here. 022 said that this kind of fruit is edible when it first bears fruit, but if left for a long time, the outer surface will harden, and the entire fruit will become a sealed space for cultivating seeds, at which point it cannot be eaten.
The team member t picked a lot of these fruits to eat along the way, leaving the team's original food for now.
“It hasn’t hardened yet, so eating it won’t upset your stomach. Where did you find this wild fruit forest? From now on, these will be one of the food sources for the village.” Jiang Yunlan handed the fruit she had examined back to the Feathered Crane Beastman, glancing at the warrior captain who was receiving treatment.
The captain's pale face had regained some color, indicating that his wounds had fully healed.
Jiang Yunlan withdrew her gaze and listened as Tian Qingyuhe carefully described the scenery of the wild fruit forest, noting the several routes leading from the village to the forest. After asking a few more questions, Tian Qingyuhe unsuspectingly revealed his true purpose for stealing the wild fruit.
"If I don't feel unwell after eating these fruits, then they are edible. Then everyone will have new food again," the semi-adult Azure Crane said with a smile, its ruby-like eyes sparkling, its ear feathers swaying with joy.
Hearing his answer, Jiang Yunlan wasn't surprised. He was relatively resistant to poison, and his secret act of eating unfamiliar wild fruit was more likely because he wanted to test for poison than because he was hungry. If he were afraid of being hungry, he wouldn't have shared his food with the injured beastmen, nor would he have eaten unfamiliar wild fruit whose potential for poison was unknown.
The basket on his back clearly contained non-poisonous food.
The warrior captain beside him overheard his thoughts, frowned, and slapped his arm. "I think you're trying to drive me crazy. Why didn't you tell me beforehand that you were doing something so dangerous? At least wait until the healer's wood power was restored before trying it."
“But if I told you beforehand, you definitely wouldn’t let me try. I know there’s not much food left in the village, and there won’t be enough food until the healer recovers. In that case, we’ll still have to risk our lives to test for poison. It’s better for me to eat now so that everyone can have something to eat sooner.” As Tian Qingyuhe spoke, she quickly moved behind Jiang Yunlan, her ear feathers nervously half-covering her eyes.
Jiang Yunlan immediately understood that something unexpected had happened in the village, resulting in them having less food reserves than they had reported, which wouldn't last until the arrival of the supply team for the hot season.
She sighed, "Let's gather food first, and everyone can go back to the village to rest tonight."
The soldier captain nodded obediently and followed Lan to her side. While digging for food, he explained why the village had no food. The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he became. "We were attacked by a group of monkeys not long ago. They stole our food, injured our companions, and damaged some of our crops in the fields."
"Lan, there are just too many of them. We were almost driven out of here." She finished speaking, sniffing, her fox ears drooping. If they hadn't just had a fight a few days ago, they would probably have had another fight with the monkeys when they came here to collect supplies.
This village has few guardians, only two guardians of wood power, one skilled in healing and the other in farming. Their combat strength is roughly equivalent to two excellent warriors; they can't easily wipe out a large pack of beasts.
Jiang Yunlan understood the situation here. However, the fighting force of the soldiers she sent was not weak, indicating that the monkeys here were numerous and intelligent.
“I will handle the monkey population issue. You can focus on developing here without worrying about food; we brought plenty of food with us,” she said.
The orc, having caught the word "food," perked up and peered at Lan. "Is there as much as one supply wagon?"
“That’s enough for three supply trucks,” she replied with a smile, adding silently to herself. This food didn’t include the food she and her teammates needed to get to the next village.
The beastmen in the village calculated the remaining days of the flowering season and subconsciously exclaimed in surprise, "Then we have enough food to last until the supplies for the hot season arrive."
The beastmen immediately perked up and worked even harder to gather wild vegetables. They wanted to finish gathering the vegetables in this area as soon as possible so they could go back and see what food Lan had brought.
The excited group of orcs, along with Jiang Yunlan and her group who had come to help, completed their gathering task before dusk and happily headed back together. Perhaps because they had gathered supplies together, the orcs in this village were less reserved and more friendly towards Jiang Yunlan and her group from the start.
Tianqing Yuhe and his captain followed Jiang Yunlan on either side.
The warrior captain was a fox-beastman from the grassland habitat, originally a fish hunter. She actually wanted to ask about the main city, but she hadn't protected the village well, and many words she wanted to say were swallowed back. She worried that her questions would make Lan think she wanted to return to the main city.
She didn't want Lan to misunderstand her; she wasn't some orc who deserted in the face of battle. Guarding this place would indeed be more tiring and more likely to result in hunger and cold than staying in the main city, but she wasn't afraid. She had promised Lan she would guard this place. Besides, the orcs here needed her more.
She kept her mouth shut and didn't mention the main city. But she was an orc sent by Jiang Yunlan, and Jiang Yunlan knew that her kin and family were in the main city, so she took the initiative to talk to her about the main city.
She listened very attentively.
“I don’t know much about your family situation, but we have some letters your family sent you here. Don’t forget to go and collect them from the orc in charge of collecting the mail when you get back,” Jiang Yunlan said with a smile.
The original hunter was stunned, his mouth agape as he asked, "For...for me?"
“Many orcs have them. We’re still recruiting new messengers. We’ll be delivering the mail during this flowering season, but the messengers will come after the hot season. They’ll come with the supply team,” Jiang Yunlan explained.
Orcs from the main city and other places got excited, blinking their bright eyes as they leaned closer to Lan and asked, "Do we have them too?"
“Let me think,” she paused deliberately, glancing around at the orcs who approached her, then said with a smile, “I remember all of you. I remember your names, and some orcs have sent you letters.”
Several orcs were stunned, overjoyed and excited, and almost couldn't help but shout.
They had only met Arashi once or twice, but Arashi still remembered them!
Jiang Yunlan, whose mental strength had become very strong due to constantly using the power of nature, and whose memory had also become superb, looked at them with a smile.
They must have been overjoyed to hear that orcs had sent them letters. Fortunately, she had sent a notice before setting off saying that she would deliver letters from the grasslands/mountains/forest lakes to each summer's territory.
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Author's Note: *This is the Beast World Information Station
The former raven/sparrow/crane orcs came from the same clan and were hermaphroditic orcs. Later, they split into different clans, and thereafter, all hermaphroditic orcs belonging to the sky would end their names with the character "feather" to distinguish themselves from the non-hermaphroditic sky orcs.
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