Free Web NovelChapter 150: Chapter 150: Terrible Sub-Beast
In the oak forest, on a large ancient tree.
Colton lay face down on Damian’s body, letting Damian apply the mugwort leaves to his back and massage him. Both of them remained silent; the space was so quiet that they could clearly hear every insect’s chirp.
A long while later, Colton slightly raised his body, looking deeply into Damian’s face. His hand gently caressed the beastman’s face, as if wanting to engrave it into his mind. Damian grabbed his wandering hand, using his large hand to cover the Sub-Beast’s small hand, and gently planted a kiss on it.
Colton’s heart seemed to tighten.
If I’ve already decided not to mate with him, then it’s better to be decisive.
Colton took a deep breath, softly saying:
"Damian, we have to leave in two days..."
Damian was slightly stunned. Although he knew this day would come, he still felt reluctant. He pressed the Sub-Beast’s small hand against his cheek, nuzzling it a few times:
"Are you all planning to go to the Beast City? Dropping Ian off there and then returning? Or how about you wait for me, I’ll go back to apply for a discharge order and then we can go together?"
Colton was slightly taken aback: "A discharge order?"
Damian smiled and said: "Our tribe has a rule; any warrior beastman who reaches the mid-level can apply for a discharge order to leave the tribe. We can join a Mid-level City, a High-level City, or the Beast City. I can go with you to the Beast City, and then go stay at your tribe permanently."
Colton lowering his eyes and saying: "We’ve only known each other for two days, slept together twice, and you’re already abandoning your tribe to follow me? How can you be so easy?"
Damian smiled, pulling Colton into his embrace, affectionately saying:
"I am twenty-eight years old this year. For twenty years of my life, I only knew how to fight, train, and level up, never knowing what love was. Actually, when we first met, I eavesdropped on the conversation between you and Ian.
When I heard you say you wanted to kidnap me to be your mate, my heart was already moved. Colton, you might feel that we are moving a bit fast like this, but we still have plenty of time to get to know each other. Allow me to pursue you, okay?"
Colton felt suffocated. He could spout frivolous teasing words, he could sleep with this foolish Snow Wolf beastman he just met for the first time, but he didn’t dare to take things any further. He left Damian’s embrace, looking at him intently, then leaped down to the ground.
In an instant, Damian felt incredibly panicked. He hurriedly jumped down to chase after Colton, holding his shoulders and saying frantically:
"What’s wrong, Colton? Did I say something wrong?"
Colton tightly gripped the mask hanging at his waist, a flash of absolute resolve appearing in his eyes. He raised his head, coldly telling Damian:
"Damian, I don’t want a mate, nor do I want a lover. I just want a casual fling. Since you slept with me, you also know that I am no longer an innocent Sub-Beast. You are just one of the people I’ve slept with."
Damian’s face turned pale, shaking his head profusely: "No, how could that be? You clearly said at that time that you wanted to snatch me to be your mate... Colton, I don’t mind how many people you’ve been with..."
Colton shook Damian’s hands off, pretending to be disgusted as he waved his hand: "That was just a joke. Whether you mind or not is your business. I already told you, I don’t have feelings for you, I just wanted to have some fun for the moment!"
Saying that, he strode past Damian, only to be tightly grabbed by the arm again. Damian’s voice rang out, choked up, its tone trembling slightly as if he was about to cry:
"But you already slept with me... We Snow Wolves only do intimate things with our mates our entire lives. Colton, it’s okay if you don’t like me, I will try to make you like me. Give me a chance, okay? I’m begging you..."
The beastman was already humbly begging to this extent; Colton’s eye sockets were stinging. But he couldn’t let his tears fall, cruelly saying:
"There are plenty of people begging me for a chance, forming a line stretching across the Southern Continent without end. If I don’t like you, I don’t like you; once we break up, I won’t turn my head back to look at anyone a single time. Let go, otherwise, I will kill you!"
Colton’s coldness had made Damian lose all hope, only able to loosen the hand holding Colton’s arm. Colton turned his back and walked away; Damian stood rooted to the spot, watching his straight back.
Colton returned to the campsite carrying a sense of loss, surprised to see a large fire in the middle of the clearing and a group of people chatting animatedly. Ian was sitting in his tent growing mushrooms; hearing footsteps, he guessed it was Colton returning, so he lifted the curtain to check.
Colton turned his head and asked in confusion: "What happened?"
Ian smirked: "Ah, going out to swindle people’s money." He crawled out of the tent and sat down by the fire. Colton also sat down beside him, staring blankly at the sparks flying in the air.
Ian threw a piece of firewood into the fire and asked softly: "Did you say it?"
"Yeah."
Colton replied with one syllable, then fell silent again. Ian let out a sigh and didn’t say anything more either, just staring blankly at the fire like two wooden statues.
A long while after Colton had returned, Damian finally trudged back. He looked at the noisy scene in the clearing, said nothing, and just quietly returned to his tent.
An observant Crimson beastman noticed Damian’s lonely, isolated figure, then turned his head to look towards his own squad’s campsite, and saw that his captain had indeed also returned. Given this atmosphere, it seemed the two of them really went their separate ways. He leaned close to his companion’s ear and whispered something. In just a moment, the people of both tribes knew that the two captains couldn’t become a couple.
An Oakstone beastman nudged the ribs of the beastman named Brayden: "Remember to keep your mouth shut, don’t poke at the captain’s pain."
Brayden glared unhappily but still took it to heart. He lowered his head and asked: "Could it be that because neither of them was willing to compromise and go to the other’s tribe, they couldn’t become a couple?"
His companion immediately shook his head: "No, I don’t know about the Crimson tribe, but doesn’t our Oakstone tribe allow mid-level warrior beastmen to be discharged? Damian probably wouldn’t argue with that Sub-Beast over this matter."
The Leopard clan Sub-Beast asked curiously: "Why does your tribe allow mid-level warriors to be discharged? Isn’t it that the more mid-level warriors a tribe has, the stronger it is?"
Brayden pouted: "Of course, it’s out of fear of power decentralization from the Chief’s hands..."
The companion beside him immediately kicked his calf. Brayden knew he misspoke, so he shut his mouth. The Crimson tribe didn’t mind their actions; on the contrary, they felt incredibly surprised. The Tiger clan beastman couldn’t help but blurt out:
"What kind of mindset is that? Our tribe actually wishes for the warriors to be as strong as possible. Our Chief even wishes for someone more capable than him to take over his work, so he can leisurely take his mate traveling around the entire continent."
The Leopard clan Sub-Beast immediately chimed in:
"That’s right, back when the tribe hadn’t developed yet, the Chief even wished he could turn into an accessory to hang on the High Priest’s body. Once the tribe started undergoing reforms, the two of them became so busy they only saw each other a few times a week. The Chief’s face was as long as a wooden ladle."
Only now did the beastman Brayden dare to ask the questions he had wanted to ask for a long time:
"Um, has Ian joined your tribe for a long time? Is he... doing well?"
The Crimson group secretly rolled their eyes in their hearts, but maintained smiling faces outwardly:
"It’s been a long time, since last winter. That year, our tribe migrated to the other side of the demonic beast forest. After settling down, we immediately came to this side to see if there were any refugees, and coincidentally met Ian’s group seeking shelter in a stone cave."
The Oakstone beastmen looked at each other. They had thought this tribe only took Ian in after the hunt-and-kill order was lifted, in order to exchange him for two thousand mid-grade magic cores. Unexpectedly, they had accepted Ian early on. Compared to Crimson, Oakstone truly paled in comparison.
The words stuck in the Oakstone beastmen’s throats, and no matter what, they couldn’t come out anymore. The Crimson tribe’s people secretly exchanged meaningful glances. The Leopard clan Sub-Beast immediately smiled, scooted closer to Brayden, and asked:
"Why did you guys want to welcome Ian back? I heard you guys wanted to kill him before?"
It was Brayden’s first time sitting close to a Sub-Beast, and he felt a bit lightheaded. All the secrets in his heart spilled out completely:
"You guys know the Temple’s order too, aren’t you guys also on your way to take Ian to the Beast City to bring back two thousand mid-grade magic cores?"
"Oh, so you guys planned to bring Ian back and then take him to the Beast City to exchange for magic cores?" The Leopard clan Sub-Beast’s voice dropped a pitch, but the flustered Brayden completely failed to notice, saying awkwardly:
"Well, you can’t blame us. After Ian escaped, our Young Chief had a huge argument with the Chief, and then also immediately left. He is a level six warrior; all the tribe’s magic cores were earned by him leading the squad. Now that he’s gone, the resources in the tribe have become scarce."
Another beastman sitting beside him also said: "Anyway, going to the Beast City for training is a good thing; it’s not a loss for Ian either."
The Crimson group felt their fists itching, really wanting to pin this bunch down and beat them up. It was the Leopard clan Sub-Beast who maintained a bit of clarity, smiling falsely and saying:
"It’s a pity Ian joined our tribe early on; those two thousand mid-grade magic cores have no affinity with you guys. It’s getting very late, we should rest too. Let’s dismiss, everyone!"
Saying that, he immediately stood up, leading his companions away. The Oakstone beastmen regretfully finished gnawing on the pieces of meat in their hands before returning to their tents. That beastman Brayden still asked naively: "Could we invite them back to the tribe to stay for a few days? After all, our tribe isn’t too far from the Beast City."
"Forget it, don’t you know what our Chief’s personality is like?"
"Exactly, they are so strong, the risk is too high."
On the other side, after returning, a few beastmen in the squad angrily punched heavily against the tree trunks.
"I’m so angry! I want to break those bastards’ necks!"
Seeing his squad members so furious, Colton also snapped out of his brokenhearted state and asked:
"What happened? Weren’t you guys happily swindling their money just now?"
The Leopard clan Sub-Beast puffed his cheeks and recounted the information he had dug out from the Oakstone beastmen. Colton’s face darkened, and Ian’s wasn’t much better either. Ian sneered:
"When I was at the tribe, they used my Divine Energy to harvest resources. After the Temple’s order came down, they all demanded my execution. Now, just for two thousand mid-grade magic cores, they compromised and invited me back. What a beautiful dream!"
Colton lowered his voice and said: "Right now their tribe’s resources are scarce, there’s no telling what they might do. Although they say their level six beastman has left, who knows what hidden cards remain in their tribe. Now, everyone immediately pack up the tents inside, leave the ones on the outside, and pretend we are still here. We leave right now."
The whole group nodded, immediately going to prepare. After all, their group consisted entirely of warrior beastmen and Divine Energy warriors, and there were no demonic beasts here, so traveling at night was completely devoid of danger.
After packing up, they wrapped thick cloth around their feet and quietly slipped away. Every certain distance, the people walking at the very back would sprinkle deodorizing powder once, ensuring those people wouldn’t discover their tracks.
The next morning, the Oakstone guard beastmen yawned lazily while looking towards the oak forest, asking his companion in surprise:
"Huh, did those guys oversleep? At this time yesterday, they were already up cooking breakfast?"
"Probably. After all, they are mostly Sub-Beasts; staying up so late last night, their bodies probably couldn’t handle it."
"Then again, even though their Sub-Beasts are truly strong, they still can’t compare to beastmen. I don’t understand why their tribe lets them run around outside like this?"
"Probably to broaden their horizons. After all, they’re heading to the Beast City; even I want to go there."
The few beastmen resting in the tents had also woken up. They gave a long yawn and said:
"We’ll go hunt some fresh prey to return their favor for last night’s meal."
The few beastmen informed Damian, then invited each other to leave.
The sky grew brighter and brighter, yet there was absolutely no movement from the other side of the oak forest. The Oakstone beastman group increasingly felt it was strange and hurriedly ran to report to Damian. Damian immediately led people to rush over, only to discover that besides the tents on the outside, the inside was completely empty.
Damian immediately shouted: "They definitely couldn’t have gone far, quickly chase after them!"
However, they chased for a half day, not even seeing a shadow. Furthermore, there were no footprints on the ground, no traces on the trees, and absolutely no scent lingering around.
Damian angrily punched heavily into a massive ancient tree the size of two people’s embrace, causing the tree to snap in half and crash down with a rumble.
Colton, you are truly heartless enough!
