"Tell me! Where did you take the cubs?"
Niu Li stomped on the orc's chest, interrogating him in a rough voice.
As soon as he finished speaking, shouts rose and fell behind him.
"Speak quickly!"
"If you don't talk, I'll break your limbs and gouge out your eyes!"
The orc nearly coughed up blood as the boulder-like bull's hoof stomped on him, snapping several of his ribs with a series of cracking sounds.
"I...I don't know what you're talking about. What cubs? I really don't know..."
He was trembling all over, whether from pain or fear, blood, tears and sweat mixed together, and a foul stench emanated from beneath him.
Despite being kicked more than a dozen times, the orc still wouldn't let go.
Niu Li was at his wit's end and came to Bai Hu with a worried look on his face.
"Your Majesty, this orc is too tight-lipped. He won't reveal a single word. We can't get anything out of him. I've never seen such a hard mouth to pry open. If we keep fighting, we'll kill him."
He frowned and asked tentatively:
"Your Majesty, could it be that he really doesn't know where the cubs are?"
They finally managed to capture an orc from the group of traitors, hoping to interrogate him to find out the whereabouts of the cub, but the orc refused to utter a single word.
Hu Shen transformed into human form, donned the black animal skin handed to him by the orcs, and looked down at the traitor on the ground. His deep eyes were devoid of any emotion, making it difficult to fathom his thoughts.
Before Hu Shen could speak, Ying Jie, whose eyes darted around, quickly interjected:
"Impossible! Who else but those heartless traitors would kidnap a cub!"
He turned to Hu Shen anxiously, "Your Majesty, this guy must be lying. He definitely knows where the cub is. If they capture the cub, they will keep it with them to threaten Your Majesty. Why don't we just attack back and take down Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, then we can find the cub."
Upon hearing this, Hu Shen glanced at Ying Jie.
Ying Jie's heart tightened, as he felt an invisible claw pressing against his back, against his lifeline.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Just as he was regretting speaking so impulsively, Hu Shen finally opened his mouth.
"Only by catching them can we find the cubs?"
His calm tone made it unclear whether he was asking Yingjie a question or talking to himself.
Yingjie sensed a glimmer of hope and quickly nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty, the cub is still young and in a dangerous situation. If we don't find it soon, its life may be in danger. Those traitors certainly won't treat the cub well; they might be torturing and abusing it right now."
Hu Shen's sword-like eyebrows instantly furrowed into a deep frown.
His deep, beastly eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light, and a killing intent emanated from his body, causing the surrounding orcs to tremble.
"Pass down the order to take inventory of the orcs. Those who are seriously wounded shall remain in the camp. The rest of the orcs shall come with me to the Mountain of Ten Thousand Beasts tomorrow."
The deep, resonant voice was incredibly penetrating, like a sonic boom reaching the ears of every orc.
Upon hearing this, Ying Jie's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
Great! The king is finally preparing to take the initiative!
"yes!"
He straightened his back and immediately responded loudly.
Ever since those traitors killed the old beast king, the king has been in a slump, suffering defeat after defeat at the hands of those damned traitors, and has been forced to retreat into the depths of the forest to hide, where he has even been seriously injured.
Even after his injuries improved, Wang remained unwilling to launch an attack.
Although this time it was for the cubs, at least the king cheered up, so how could he not be happy!
In Yingjie's mind, Wang Cai was the only orc qualified to lead Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, and he could not tolerate Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain being occupied by that group of despicable traitors for even a moment.
Upon hearing that they were going to attack and retake Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, the beasts below immediately cheered, their excited roars rising and falling. Even the wounded beastmen seemed to regain their spirits.
Only the orcs on the ground were on the verge of tears, their expressions one of utter despair.
These guys clearly want to attack Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, but they insist on finding an excuse to beat him up first. If they're so capable, they should give him a quick death!
Niu Li scratched the back of his head, looking at the backs of the beasts, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. He muttered to himself, "I have a feeling this traitor really doesn't know..."
...
It took Lin Xia and Su Guodong one or two hours to butcher a big black cow. By the time they finished cooking dinner and the family sat around the fire eating the fragrant roasted beef, the moon and stars were already shining brightly.
Su Tang and the others buried themselves in drying meat, with only the crackling of the fire and the sounds of them chewing loudly filling the air.
Daqing ate with particular gusto. He didn't look strong, but his appetite was astonishing. He finished the whole cow leg and then gnawed on a cow's head, leaving hardly any bones behind. His eating process was comparable to a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey.
"Daqing, eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you," Su Tang said to him, unable to bear watching him eat.
He's such a skilled hunter, and he doesn't seem to be starving. So why does it look like someone is stealing his food?
"Oh." Daqing stopped holding the bull's head with both hands, looked at Su Tang eating, and tried to eat slowly like her.
Within seconds, he resumed wolfing down his food.
It wasn't because he was too hungry, but because he had grown up in the forest alone since childhood, and if he didn't eat his prey quickly after catching it, it would be snatched away by other wild animals.
Over time, this became a habit.
Seeing this, Su Tang gave up trying to persuade him and let him go.
The family finished eating late at night.
Lin Xia directed the males in the house to move the remaining meat to the tall wooden shelf.
After this meal, Hei Niu ate a third of the food, and Lin Xia planned to save half for tomorrow and try to store the other half.
Hunting is unpredictable; you never know when you might not be able to catch anything. She really wouldn't feel at ease if she didn't store some meat.
Su Tang comfortably went to the toilet, wiped the kittens whose faces were covered in grime from rolling around in front of the fire, carried them back to their nest, and went to sleep.
Su Guodong was still worried about Daqing and wanted to guard the door for his daughter, but as soon as Daqing finished eating, she went into her straw shed and couldn't be called out.
He doubted that even if an earthquake or tsunami struck now, Daqing wouldn't come out of the thatched hut.
...
The next morning.
As soon as it was light, Su Jianyuan got up, counted his wooden arrows, and prepared to go hunting.
Su Tang is also going up the mountain with him today to look for clay for making pottery and to see if there are any new seeds. The third plot of land on the farm is waiting for the fruit of the new seeds to be unlocked.
The cubs can now walk unsteadily, and when they see Su Tang about to go out, they stumble and fall behind her.
Su Tang stopped walking, and before the five cubs could react, they bumped into each other and fell to the ground, looking innocent and adorable.
"Don't follow me. I'm going out to find something today. Go back to your nest," Su Tang said to the cubs in a stiff tone, her head bowed.
It's so dangerous outside, she can't take the cubs with her.
These little creatures aren't even enough to fill a wild beast's teeth.
After Su Tang finished speaking, she continued walking out.
"Awoo~ Awoo~"
The five cubs whimpered and followed Su Tang around her feet, chasing her like hunters, completely oblivious to her meaning.
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