Without giving Shen Nong time to think, he rushed back to the Mu tribe, keeping an eye on whether any birds were circling overhead.
As they approached the Wood Tribe, Shen Nong caught a glimpse of a hawk flying overhead in the forest not far from the tribe. Observing the direction the hawk flew in, she realized it matched the direction the orc at the watchtower had described as the location where the unfamiliar orc warrior had been spotted.
"Go to the military guard."
“Partial transformation is the same as full transformation, except that instead of dispersing your qi and blood throughout your body, you concentrate your energy on the part of your body that you need to transform.” Tiger Roar stood on the military guard’s training ground and demonstrated to the beastmen. “Watch closely, I’m only transforming my legs now.”
Orcs have always transformed their entire bodies, with only individual limbs transforming. They had never imagined it could be done this way. Tiger Roar hadn't thought of it either; it was only a few days ago that Ze came to him, saying that the priest wanted everyone to practice transforming individual limbs.
Upon hearing this, Tiger Roar immediately thought it impossible. Orcs transform their entire bodies; which orc could only transform part of their body? Although he had seen Ze transform into wings while retaining his human form, Ze was a divine beast warrior, while they were just ordinary orc warriors. How could they be compared?
Who knew that after practicing according to Ze Shuo's method for a few days, Hu Xiao could actually transform into only a part of his form.
The individual form possesses the power of the transformed form, making up for the fact that the human form is not as powerful as the beast form, and due to its smaller size, it is even faster.
In a battle, that would be invincible!
Mastering localized transformation requires intense concentration and a truly free mind. This is no easy feat; the orcs of the guard practiced for many days, but only a handful succeeded.
The orcs from Beast City were concentrating on their training when they were interrupted by a voice from nearby, "Fox Mountain! Wolfwood! You few from Beast City, step forward! The High Priest wants to see you!"
Upon seeing the people, Shen Nong asked directly, "You said before that everyone from Beast City is here, is that right?"
Fox Mountain and the others looked bewildered, wondering why Shen Nong would suddenly ask these questions. They nodded in varying degrees; the orcs from Beast City were indeed all in the Wood Tribe.
Shen Nong knew that these people had no reason to lie to him, but the people from Beast City arrived too quickly. Beast City was far from the Wood Tribe, and there was no map or navigation available.
At this speed, it's clearly impossible that no one was guiding the way.
Thinking of this, Shen Nong finally realized what she had overlooked before. "Hu Xiao, have you found the corpse in the snake forest where you led Fox Mountain and the others?"
Tiger Roar shook his head. "No, we only found out the day after we captured Fox Mountain and the others that Snake Forest had led them there. We learned from them that Snake Forest had been shot by our arrow and was seriously injured."
When the tribespeople went out to search for his body, they found a large amount of blood and animal tracks on the ground, but did not find Snake Forest's body. Since wild animals roamed the night, they assumed Snake Forest was too badly injured and had been eaten.
After hearing this, Shen Nong had a guess in her mind: "She Lin probably didn't die. I wonder how he survived."
He relayed the message from the eagle circling above the Wood Tribe and the news from the watchtower, instructing the orcs of the guard to prepare for battle.
…
Lion Thunder, who had been waiting a hundred miles away, finally spotted Eagle Mountain. "What did you see?"
Yingshan transformed into human form, his expression grave, and said, "Captain, I suspect that the orcs who came from Beast City have betrayed Beast City."
"What do you mean?" Shi Lei asked.
Yingshan recounted everything he had seen: "The Namu tribe, like our Beast City, is enclosed by stone walls. I don't know what method they used, but the stones are flatter and higher than those in our Beast City."
Their tribe also built stone houses, and the stones were very smooth, even better than those in Beast City. The stone paths were paved with single, solid white stones. If the orcs from Beast City hadn't told the Wood Tribe, would they have known this?
Lion Thunder thought it made sense and nodded seriously, "This time we not only need to bring the divine blood back to Beast City, but also bring back the orcs who betrayed Beast City and hand them over to the High Priest."
Snake Forest listened from the side. The orcs of Beast City didn't know, but he did. Before the orcs from Beast City arrived, the Wood Tribe had begun building stone walls. However, he wasn't very familiar with the stone houses and stone roads, since he couldn't fly and couldn't see what the Wood Tribe looked like inside.
I didn't see this stone path last time I came; it must have been paved later.
"No matter how much the Wood Tribe imitates Beast City, it's still just a small, peripheral tribe." Lion Thunder shouted, "Listen up! We are a hunting party from Beast City. We've come here on the orders of the High Priest to search for divine blood. If the Wood Tribe dares to disobey, we'll wipe them out!"
"yes!"
Snake Forest remained silent, hiding to the side. He didn't deny that the orcs from Beast City were strong. But he also had to admit that the Wood Tribe was not weak.
It's really unlikely that just a few people can wipe out the Wood Tribe. Snake Forest had a plan in mind, thinking about how to escape from the battle without being implicated and killed by the orcs of Beast City.
Late at night, on a watchtower near the Wood Tribe, the guards of beastmen stared into the distance.
The orc warriors of the military guard also patrolled the city walls with the guards. The crossbows were set up, the city gates were closed, and the drawbridges were taken down.
The night wind is quite strong tonight, making the water in the moat gurgle and splash.
The Wood Tribe beastmen sensed the approaching danger and quickly went on alert.
The moat blocked Lion Thunder and his men's advance. Most of the orcs were good at swimming. Since the moat of the Wood Tribe was relatively wide, Lion Thunder had Eagle Mountain lead the flying orcs to transform and fly across the river to provide cover for them.
Eagle Mountain led the flying beastmen, circling above the Wood Tribe. More and more torches were lit below, and the beastmen of the Wood Tribe could be clearly seen running around on the stone wall.
Eagle Mountain merely snorted coldly, showing no disdain. He was an orc who could fly in the sky; what use were high-level orcs on the ground if they couldn't harm him in the slightest?
Eagle Mountain let out a long howl, signaling the other flying beastmen to prepare to attack the Wood Tribe.
Just as they were about to dive, an extremely dangerous, never-before-seen voice rang in their ears.
"puff!"
"ah!"
The orcs on the watchtower drew their bows taut, and arrows shot through the air, the iron arrowheads piercing the bodies of the orcs flying in the sky, the intense pain rendering them unable to take flight again.
When have Eagle Mountain and the others ever encountered anything like this? How could something possibly harm them while they were flying in the air?!
More than doubt, panic gripped their hearts. The instinct for survival drove the orcs who had not yet been hit by arrows to fly higher. The orcs of the Wood Tribe who could stand on the watchtower were all top-notch archers. They never missed their target and hit them one by one before Eagle Mountain and the others flew far away.
The orcs in the ballista convoy adjusted their direction and aimed at the moat. With a series of "whoosh" sounds, clumps of blood floated on the surface of the moat.
Snake Forest swallowed hard, hiding in the shadows. He had deliberately lagged behind the Beast City orcs, not going into the water with them. Watching the Beast City orcs thrashing about in the water, Snake Forest thought to himself how lucky he was that he hadn't acted impulsively.
If you were hit by a wooden arrow from the Wood Tribe while in the water, you would be completely helpless.
Lion Thunder clearly hadn't expected Eagle Mountain and his group to fail, let alone that the Wood Tribe would possess such powerful weapons that could actually bring down flying orcs.
The orc beside him was struck by an arrow, letting out a scream before sinking to the bottom of the water. Lion Thunder, dodging the constant stream of objects thrown from the stone walls of the wooden tribe, reached out to pull the sinking orc. He ended up grabbing the "wooden stick" embedded in the orc's body, and, losing control of his grip, yanked the "stick" back up.
The orc sank, and Lion Thunder knew there was no way to save him. He raised his hand and looked at the "wooden stick" in his hand. Under the moonlight, the tip of the "wooden stick" gleamed coldly.
Lion Thunder reached out and squeezed it, finding it incredibly hard and sharp. No wonder the beastmen who were hit by it either died or were severely injured and unable to move.
When the guards noticed something was wrong, they sent someone to the courtyard to inform Shen Nong.
Upon hearing the news, Shen Nong and Ze rushed to the city wall. There, over forty crossbow carts were lined up side-by-side, raining down wooden arrows towards the moat. Confined by the water, the beastmen had no way to escape; even if they dove underwater, the arrows would still pierce the surface and strike them.
"There's one level eight orc in the moat, another twenty-two orcs, and the seven orcs we shot down—all level seven orc warriors." Ze Jiang relayed the orc level information he had sensed to Shen Nong. Shen Nong looked at the wide moat and sighed inwardly. If it weren't for this barrier, today would have been a tough fight.
Ze looked towards the woods across the moat. "There's another level seven orc over there; it's Snake Forest."
Snake Forest was currently clinging to a tree, craning his neck to observe the movements in the moat. Due to the wide field of vision and excellent night vision at night, he could see Snake Forest's every move.
The fact that the Wood Tribe was targeted by the Beast City so early on can be attributed entirely to Snake Forest leading the way.
Shen Nong truly believed that the Snake Forest was a slippery snake. On the day the Salt Tribe was destroyed, it managed to escape right under Shen Yi's noses and even made its way to the Beast City. It managed to escape again after suffering such severe injuries last time, and this time it has brought even more and stronger Beast City orcs to make a comeback.
Level 7 orc warriors were ultimately not something that ballistae could defeat. Lionlight led the orcs who were still able to move and retreated. Once they were outside the moat, the wooden arrows fired by the ballistae could no longer truly harm them.
On land, they were able to avoid vital points and dodge wooden arrows.
A series of long, drawn-out bird cries filled the air. The few bird-like orcs who had been shot down by arrows earlier, those whose injuries weren't too severe and who were still able to move, had somehow already flown across the moat. Moreover, their beast forms had grown several times larger. This was the true physique of a level seven orc warrior in human form.
The orc warriors of the Beast City reacted quickly, leaping onto the backs of the bird-like orcs and flying away into the distance.
Snake Forest knew that if he stayed, the Wood Tribe orcs would not let him go. As the bird orcs took flight, he swiftly grabbed the ankle of the orc closest to him.
Upon seeing that it was a snake forest, the orc suppressed his anger and stopped swinging his arms.
As dawn broke, Eagle Mountain, who had been flying for most of the night, finally spoke up: "Lion Thunder, should we go back to Beast City now?"
Looking at the sky that was just beginning to brighten, Shi Lei said, "If we go back now, all that awaits us is the High Priest's punishment, and we might not even survive."
Eagle Mountain knew that they hadn't achieved anything yet and were being utterly defeated by a small tribe like the Wood Tribe. If they went back like this, the High Priest would certainly not let them off easily.
"Where do we go then?"
"Let's go to the seaside tribe, the same sea tribe where we took the orcs before." Lion Thunder gritted his teeth and said with a determined look, "We'll capture some orcs who can swim in water after they've transformed. I don't believe the Wood Tribe can hurt me this time!"
——
Daylight had broken, and in the Wood Tribe's work area set up by the sea, white smoke billowed from the chimneys of the food-making team, wafting the aroma of meat. The beastmen from each team emerged from their dormitories to wash and groom themselves.
In the morning, they drink fish soup with meat patties. Even after all this time, the beastmen of the seaside tribe still wolf down their food every time they eat. They're afraid that if they're a step too slow, they won't get any.
Since the glass factory was established, Shen Er not only had to handle matters such as fishing at sea and producing dried goods, but also had to manage all the affairs of the glass factory.
On the way from the dormitory to the glass factory, Shen Er appeared to be looking straight ahead, but in reality, he was observing everything that was happening around him.
A little beastman slipped and fell in a sandpit, the ceramic bowl he was holding flying away and spilling fish soup all over the ground. Shen Er rushed over immediately and helped him up. The little beastman sniffled and whimpered softly.
"Did you hurt yourself?" Shen Er squatted down, expressionlessly patting the sand off the little beastman. If it weren't for the fact that he was really gentle, just looking at his face and movements, you would think he was hitting someone.
When the little beastman saw that it was Shen Er, he quickly suppressed his crying and sobbed, "Captain, I... I'm not in pain. Waaah, I spilled Grandpa's fish soup, so Grandpa won't have any fish soup to drink today."
Shen Er stood up, stiffly took the little beastman's hand, and walked to where the pottery bowl had fallen. He bent down and picked it up. "Don't cry, I'll take you to the food preparation team to get another bowl."
The little orc looked up at Shen Er, his eyes filled with trust and admiration. He nodded emphatically and said, "Yes!"
At this moment, Shen Er opened the message platform and left a message for Shen Nong: "Priest, the daily good deeds task you assigned has been completed today. I helped a little beastman who fell down and even took him to get a new bowl of fish soup for his grandfather."
After getting another serving of fish soup with the little orc, Shen Er looked at the other's thin back and followed him.
He took the bowl of fish soup, still hot, from the little orc's hand with one hand, and took the little orc's hand again with the other, saying, "I'll take you there so you don't fall again."
The little orc's wrapped hand moved slightly. He lowered his head somewhat shyly and chuckled.
Along the way, he couldn't help but look up at their captain, thinking that the captain was the best person.
Ignoring the little beastman's furtive glances along the way, Shen Er left another message for Shen Nong: "After he received the fish soup, I carried it for him and took it to his grandfather. Priest, I've done two good deeds today, so tomorrow's can be offset."
Shen Nong opened the message platform and was both amused and exasperated to see Shen Er's two messages, one after the other.
Shen Nong came up with this rather unconventional idea to try and soften Shen Er's cold demeanor. Little did she know that this very task would cause Shen Er daily headaches. After the task was assigned, Shen Er declared he would only do one task a day, and absolutely would not do a second one. If he did, it would count as the next day's task, allowing him to rest for a day.
Shen Nong learned a profound lesson from Shen Er: forced relationships are never sweet.
The little beastman's grandfather was too old to move; in every coastal tribe, there were several in this situation. Shen Er didn't know how the tribes had dealt with them before, but judging from their tendency to seek advantage and avoid harm, these old people wouldn't have a good ending.
Fortunately, the various tribes along the coast have no shortage of food and drink, so feeding and watering these elderly people who are unable to move is not a problem.
The old orc, toothless and with a perpetual smile on his wrinkled, tree-bark-like face, drank the fish soup the little orc carefully fed to him. Shen Er listened as the little orc occasionally asked, "Grandpa, is it hot? Grandpa, is it good?"
Every time the little orc asked a question, the old orc's smile would deepen.
Shen Er walked toward the glass factory, still unable to understand why a bowl of ordinary fish soup could make someone feel happy.
Chapter 115
Shen Er