Free Web NovelChapter 28: Chapter 27: Entering the Tribe
Mumu’s Minotaur Tribe was a small one, with few people and a small territory. Li Ziyu could go inside, but the other Undead could only wait at the Tribe’s perimeter. They couldn’t enter the Tribe itself—not only was there not enough room, but it would easily cause a panic.
In truth, even waiting on the outskirts, the Undead gave the Minotaurs quite a scare. A horde of several hundred Undead silently surrounded the Tribe, their Soul Fires flickering erratically—a terrifying sight in the dead of night.
The Minotaurs who had gone with Mumu knew their Tribe had formed an alliance with the Undead Race, but the elders and children left behind didn’t. Seeing so many Undead arrive, they thought their Tribe had been defeated in battle and that their Clan Leader and the others were being brought back as prisoners.
Just as they arrived, they saw a group of elderly Minotaurs struggling to hold up Totem Poles, blocking the way in front of a group of children. They stared nervously in their direction, their expressions making it perfectly clear: if Mumu gave the word, they would fight the Undead to the death, even if it cost them their lives. At the very least, they had to get the Tribe’s children to safety; they couldn’t let everyone die here.
The children hiding behind the elderly Minotaurs peeked out to look at the Undead, unable to conceal the terror in their eyes.
Seeing this, Mumu immediately realized it was a misunderstanding and took a quick step forward. "Put your weapons down! They aren’t enemies!"
The deeply wrinkled Minotaur Elder gripped his Totem Pole tightly. He scanned the Undead warily before looking at Mumu. "Clan Leader, don’t you worry. We’re ready. Just say the word, and we’ll fight them! We will protect the children. We Minotaurs aren’t afraid to die! Not even against the Undead!"
According to legends passed down for ages, the Undead were evil incarnate, the enemies of all living things. Because of this deep-seated belief, the Minotaurs in the Tribe assumed their Clan Leader had been coerced and was forced to do the Undead’s bidding.
Mumu shook his head and slammed the Totem Pole from his shoulder onto the ground with a THUD. "I hold the Totem Pole! I said, they are not enemies, you’ve misunderstood! These Undead are our allies. This is my new friend, the Undead Lord, Li... what was it again? Oh, Li Ziyu!"
Looking at the Totem Pole planted in the ground, the Minotaurs who had remained in the Tribe hesitated. A Totem Pole was no simple Weapon. Though it looked like it was made of just wood or stone and was, at best, simply large, it was imbued with Ancestral Power once a totem was carved onto it. For Minotaurs, it was a far more natural and effective Weapon than any other.
If the Undead were truly enemies, Mumu, with the Totem Pole in his hand, would never be so cooperative.
"If it’s a misunderstanding, then come over here!" The Minotaur Elder, still not entirely convinced, shouted in Mumu’s direction.
Mumu turned and gave Li Ziyu an apologetic smile, then led the other Minotaurs into the Tribe and over to the Elder.
Seeing that the Undead had no intention of stopping them, the Minotaur Elder relaxed considerably. As Mumu approached, he pulled him aside. "They really aren’t forcing you? What in the world happened? How did we end up in an alliance with the Undead?"
Good grief, this was just surreal. They fought a battle with Demonized Minotaurs and came back with a pack of Undead.
It was just absurd.
"There was no coercion. I was the one who wanted to ally with the Undead."
"Mumu, have you thought this through? Those are Undead!"
"I have. They’re stronger than the Demonized Creatures."
"Sigh... You’re the Clan Leader. Do as you see fit. I can’t stop you. I just hope you don’t lead the Tribe into the abyss."
The Minotaur Elder shook his head. What a bizarre turn of events. From ancient times to the present, no one had ever heard of allying with the Undead. They were Death itself; an alliance with Death made everything unpredictable.
Times had changed. If he were still young, he would never have made the same choice as Mumu. Even if it meant leaving their homeland to escape the Demonized Creatures, he would not have chosen to ally with the Undead.
But now Mumu was the Clan Leader. All matters in the Tribe were for Mumu to decide. He, as an Elder, had the right to give advice, but not to make the final decision.
After Mumu sorted things out with the Elder and the other Minotaurs, he led Li Ziyu into the Minotaur Tribe.
It was Li Ziyu’s first time entering a settlement of the Natives, and he looked around curiously.
The Minotaurs lived in thatched huts. They would build a conical frame with four thick logs and then fill it in with dried grass. It was very much in the style of the tribes from his previous life, except that in his previous life, such huts would have used Beast Hides, whereas the Minotaurs’ were filled purely with grass. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Mumu explained that, in fact, large Tribes didn’t build houses like this. They would use wood and stone to construct their homes. Only small Tribes with few members, like theirs, did it this way. Besides being simple to build, the dried grass could also become their rations when food was scarce.
Li Ziyu couldn’t help but feel moved. Small tribes truly had their own ways of survival.
Even as the Clan Leader, Mumu’s house was also a thatched hut. It simply used more logs and was stuffed with more dried grass, making it more spacious inside.
The inside of the thatched hut was dry and cool, with a faint scent of grass. A pit had been dug in the center of the hut to serve as a fire pit.
After taking their seats, the two parties engaged in a cordial and friendly conversation. Based on the principles of mutual benefit and bilateral friendship, they reached a consensus on the future direction of their development. During this time, Li Ziyu asked the Minotaur Race Leader Mumu a critical question: "Are there Races like the Fox People or Snake-men, and what do they look like?"
After he asked this question, the look Mumu gave Li Ziyu became even stranger.
’As the Lord of the Undead Race, why does he always ask such basic questions?’
’Still, he asked, so I have to answer.’
Only after the Minotaur’s explanation did Li Ziyu realize how wrong he had been.
Beastman was a vast Category, containing far more classifications and Races than he had ever imagined. The major Categories alone were divided into three: Half-Beastman, Beast-headed People, and Pure Beastman.
Half-Beastmen were further divided into two types. One was the primal type, with green skin, a grotesque face, and Tusks, similar to the Half-Beastmen he knew of. The other type of Half-Beastman was a crossbreed of Beastmen and Humans.
Races like the Minotaurs and Lizardmen belonged to the Beast-headed People Category of Beastmen. They were humanoid, but very different from Humans. The biggest difference was their heads, which still retained the form of a Wild Beast.
As for Pure Beastmen, they were the ones who were almost indistinguishable from Humans, at most having fox ears, rabbit ears, tails, and so on.
These three categories were collectively known as Beastmen!
The Fox People and Snake-men Li Ziyu spoke of existed in all three categories of Beastmen.
After learning all this, Li Ziyu felt relieved. ’Mmm, I guess there’s a beautiful future to look forward to after all.’
After chatting pleasantly for a while and deepening their bond, Li Ziyu announced his departure. He still needed to use the remaining time to hunt; the development of his Mobile Fortress could not be delayed. As for everything else, there would be plenty of time in the future. Time would prove everything.
Before leaving the Minotaur Tribe, Li Ziyu handed Mumu a skull.
Mumu carefully took the skull and looked at Li Ziyu in confusion. "This is?"
"If you need anything in the future, you can use this to contact me. Just speak directly to it. However, contacting me will consume your Soul Power," Li Ziyu explained.
This skull was basically an Otherworld-version of a cell phone, something he had redeemed from his system.
The amount of Soul Power consumed varied depending on the distance.
