Xia, who had come to the Deer Beastman Clan and become part of the Xia Tribe, would...
Having met the orcs of the Wise Clan, 022 had long since learned their language from Cloudwing Sparrow, so he could naturally understand the meaning of the name of the western orc tribe.
“Lan, if we look at it in the language of the Sage Clan, that name means ‘Apocalypse’.” 022, sitting on Jiang Yunlan’s head, confirmed her guess.
She softly repeated the name of the tribe, her expression complex, "Apocalypse, it really is it."
She didn't really want to suspect a tribe that had disappeared because of the giant beasts, but the coincidences before her made her think more deeply. The orcs who could write the Sage Clan's script were connected to that organization, and the name of the orc tribe at the western end just happened to be in the Sage Clan's language.
That organization is clearly the Apocalypse Tribe.
She could almost picture in her mind the Qi clan of orcs going to the western end of the continent, settling down, developing there, changing their name to Tianqi, and becoming a tribe with orc clan vassals.
One day, the herd of giant beasts reached the westernmost point, severely weakening the Apocalypse tribe. They secretly retreated and established themselves elsewhere, then, posing as victims, handed over the giant beast encyclopedia to the surviving weasel-men and other beastmen. What a clever scheme! It seems that before the Apocalypse tribe was severely weakened, some dragons had already sensed something and had even launched a campaign against them.
Jiang Yunlan clenched her hands tightly, a bad premonition rising in her heart.
The dragons that fought against the Apocalypse Organization—could they be Greysien's parents? Thinking of this, her face darkened further, and she listened expressionlessly as Bai Youyouge confidently asserted that her clan had done nothing wrong.
"Our clan searched for several days after discovering the giant beast's tracks, and finally managed to corner the red giant beast. What a rare opportunity this was! It's a giant beast! If you're not going to help us, then don't help us. Why are you going to heal the giant beast instead?" Bai Youyouge's voice sounded extremely aggrieved.
After he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Yunlan, who was looking down, silently radiating a low-pressure aura. He subconsciously moved one step to the side, then another, carefully and quickly tidying up the encyclopedia with both hands and stuffing it into his arms to protect it. He kept a distance from Jiang Yunlan, afraid that if he didn't keep a close eye on her, the clan's giant beast encyclopedia would be ruined in his hands.
He pondered this, and realized he hadn't said anything wrong. The behemoth had destroyed their clan's habitat and killed so many of their people; he would never forgive it. Even if the Xia tribe, possessing the power of nature, wanted to protect that red behemoth, they wouldn't back down.
The huddled weasel orcs became alert again, their suppressed fighting spirit surging outwards.
The orcs of the Xia tribe didn't even glance at their reactions, their eyes filled with worry as they looked at the dejected Lan. They could smell the sadness and anger emanating from Lan.
"Lan, something's wrong with you. Did you discover something?" 022 reached out and gently patted Jiang Yunlan's forehead, waking her from her thoughts.
She blinked, loosened her numb hands, and didn't voice her guess. Now wasn't the right time to bring it up; there was a weasel-like beastman from the Apocalypse Tribe nearby who seemed to trust them. They might even have connections with the Apocalypse Tribe.
"We'll talk about it after we leave here." She looked up, her gaze towards the weasel beastmen still friendly.
It wasn't their fault that they were deceived by the orcs of the Apocalypse Tribe, but she didn't want them to continue treating dragons as giant beasts, and she especially didn't want them to go after Ilovian. She needed to explain this to the weasel orcs.
Regardless of whether the weasel orcs are from the Apocalypse Tribe, the priority is to win them over to our side.
“As you all know, only beastmen have human-shaped bodies. The giant beasts you speak of are beastmen with human-shaped bodies, beastmen just like us.” Jiang Yunlan said, while subtly observing Bai Youyouge and the other beastmen.
If the weasel beastmen do indeed have connections with the Apocalypse Tribe, but they can't be persuaded to come over, that's alright. She can use Bai Youyouge and other beastmen to send some messages she wants to convey to the Apocalypse Tribe.
Listening to the conversation between Lang An, Bai Youyouge, and the other beastmen, Jiang Yunlan glanced at the nearly one hundred weasel beastmen in front of her, but couldn't see anything wrong. All the weasel beastmen looked at her with disbelief at their ears.
They didn't believe the dragon was an orc, and for a moment they couldn't control their voices, arguing noisily with Wolf Ann.
A few minutes later, Wolf An, having won, proudly raised his head and ran three steps to Jiang Yunlan's side, laughing cheerfully, "They say that if they can see a dragon transform into human form with their own eyes, they will believe that dragons are not giant beasts. Greysien can do that too, even if Ilovian doesn't want to see them. Lan, should we agree to their request?"
“Agree to their request. Otherwise, if they stay in the forest and Ilovian runs into them again, we'll be in trouble.” Jiang Yunlan hadn't forgotten the scene she'd witnessed not long ago; their weapons were powerful enough to wound Ilovian.
Judging from their reckless behavior not long ago, they were truly determined to fight to the death, even if it meant dragging Ilovin down with them. Jiang Yunlan didn't want to speculate on what would have happened to Ilovin and the weasel beastmen if she and Sveta hadn't arrived in time.
It's too malicious of the Apocalypse Tribe to deliberately exploit the Weasel Orcs. How could the Weasel Orcs possibly suspect the Orcs, who are also victims?
Hopefully, the presence of the weasel orcs outside the cave didn't waste too much of Ilov's time, allowing him to catch up.
Ilovian caught up, but not entirely. Nine days wasn't too difficult for the sick orcs; their kin had brought them herbs to alleviate their ailments. However, the deer-orc chieftain, while gathering herbs, led his people and hedgehog-orcs out, but they encountered a venomous snake and were unfortunately bitten. Almost the entire group of orcs who went out perished.
The deer-beastmen, accompanied by Greysien, returned to their clan after an outing. Before they could even share the good news they had brought back, they were suddenly struck by the news of the clan chief Qiu Manzhi's death.
"The clan chief left on the night you went out."
When the three deer-beastmen heard what their tribesmen and hedgehog-beastmen, who were still barely able to move, said, their minds went blank. They opened and closed their mouths and managed to utter a sentence with difficulty: "Didn't we find the antidote herbs before? Why did our chieftain die?"
"That medicine was for our treatment, and the place you went to this time is an area we've never been before. The chieftain was worried that if you remembered their affairs, you would be disturbed and attacked by wild beasts, so she told us not to tell you." The deer-beastman who stayed in the clan looked at his kin who had returned from outside, his eyes filled with tears.
The deer-beastman who had gone out couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground, weeping. The hedgehog-beastman who had gone out was equally bewildered, speaking haltingly about Ilovin, his voice weak and indifferent. They had only gone out for a short while; why had they received news of the death of their kin?
Greysien had never dealt with such a scene alone before. He stood frozen in place, silently watching a hedgehog-like orc approach the weeping deer-like orc.
The thorny beastman chieftain, Duoci, comforted the grieving deer beastman, mimicking Qiu Manzhi's usual actions. Before leaving, Qiu Manzhi entrusted her with the care of the remaining deer beastmen, and she agreed. From then on, the deer beastmen were also her people.
A sound came from the sky, and the sad deer-beastmen and hedgehog-beastmen looked up to see a red dragon descending from the sky.
Ilovian folded his wings, lowered his head, and released his beak. Half a branch of a certain tree piled up on the ground along with the herbs, forming a small mountain.
She stretched out her paw and flipped through them, dividing them into two piles according to the illnesses of the deer-beastmen and hedgehog-beastmen, and pushed them to them for use.
The sick orc received treatment, and Ilovian also heard from Duoci about the deaths of Qiu Manzhi and other orcs. She nodded sullenly, wanting to squat in her nest and be alone for a while, but she remembered that there was an immature dragon beside her.
She was puzzled as to why Greysien had such a strange aura. It took her several seconds to convince herself to lower her head and get closer to Greysien. The cub in front of her was a fellow creature, not some unfamiliar being. Even if she was uncomfortable getting close to a creature she had just met, she needed to know about the cub.
"What...what did you encounter before? Why is there a scent emanating from your body that doesn't belong to a dragon?" Iloven frowned, his expression worried.
If it weren't for her exceptional talent in this area—the ability to instantly discern whether a flower is newly opened or about to wither—she probably wouldn't have been able to distinguish the aura within Greysien that resembled nature itself. It was the power of nature, yet not entirely the power of nature.
Greysien blinked, his gaze innocent. As a dragon who had been abducted before he was even born, he had no idea what his situation was.
“My mother also said that there’s a strange aura in my body. I don’t know what it is. Lan said that once we find that organization, she will help me find out what happened to me,” he said.
Ilov typed a question mark in confusion. After listening to his experiences from birth to the present, he angrily spat out a flame that disappeared into the air before it even hit the ground.
How dare they bully our young! The protective dragon was enraged, its expression turning ferocious, and it almost snatched the cub and flew back to its habitat to wag its dragon.
The thought of Dragon Island disappearing made Ilovian, who hadn't been back for fifty years, instantly want to retreat to her nest and shut herself away. She'd only been away from her homeland for fifty years; how could such a vast place suddenly vanish?
The red dragon crouched in a corner where it wouldn't bother the deer orcs and hedgehog orcs, and remained secluded for a while before hearing the voice of its old friend, Sveta.
"Ilovian! Does your wound still hurt?" Sveta asked anxiously as he saw her from afar.
When Sveta first met her, she was only a young adult. Young dragons are least willing to show their weakness, and of course, they wouldn't reveal their fear of pain, unlike now.
"It still hurts," Ilov said aggrievedly, lowering his head to complain to the forest spirit in Lan's pocket about the weasel beastman. "I should have used more force when I whipped my tail before, this time it really hurts."
She knew her beast form was taller than some large beasts, which could easily frighten unsuspecting orcs. Many orcs would run away or attack her with weapons as soon as they saw her. This was normal; she was used to it and knew how to dodge.
She'd experienced those harmless attacks countless times before, never imagining that the weasel beastman, after launching a completely ineffective attack, would actually pull out a weapon capable of hurting her. She truly hated seeing strange creatures; the deer beastman and hedgehog beastman she met for the first time had given her food, much cuter than the weasel beastman.
Upon hearing her words, Jiang Yunlan took out some ointment from her bag and placed it beside her feet, saying earnestly, "We've already thought of a way to prevent them from coming after you, so you can focus on recovering."
From now on, the Xia tribe's level of friendliness towards the weasel beastmen will depend on how the weasel beastmen treat Ilovian after they learn the truth, and also on Ilovian's own thoughts. Ilovian is a friend of the Xia tribe, but the weasel beastmen are not yet members of the Xia tribe.
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