28: Chapter 28 Secret Coveting

The Tribesmen who had stopped were also looking bewildered; they had been running with such momentum.

Sang Qing took another bite of her fruit and pointed to the vines hanging from the large trees overhead. "vines. Get some vines so we can tie the crabs up."

They didn't have any rope, and without vines, there was no way to bind the crabs together. If they weren't tied up, each beastman could only carry two at most—one in the left hand and one in the right—and they wouldn't be able to transform into their Beast Form to head back. That would be pure nonsense and a waste of effort.

Mao Shuo suddenly understood and quickly gave the order, telling the Tribesmen to go up and gather vines.

After preparing dozens of vines, they set off once again.

This time it was very fast; it only took a few minutes for them to reach the riverbank.

Groups of crabs were lazily sunning themselves on the shore, moving their two large, brandishing claws, looking quite leisurely without any natural enemies.

Squatting in the grass, Sang Qing observed for a moment to see where it would be most convenient to start.

She was perfectly calm, but the Wildcat Tribe males behind her got goosebumps just looking at these monsters.

After observing for a while, Sang Qing told everyone to stay quiet and watch how she operated.

She picked out a lone crab, picked up her large iron hammer, and rushed toward the target while hunched over.

Aiming at the large crab that had its eyes narrowed and was completely unaware, Sang Qing raised her hand and brought the hammer down with a heavy blow.

She struck!

The large crab basking in the sun didn't even have time to make a sound before Sang Qing sent it to the afterlife with a single hammer blow.

The surrounding crabs didn't seem to realize danger was coming; they were still happily lying or standing there.

Dragging the crab that had lost its consciousness back, Sang Qing threw it in front of them. "Remember? Strike just like I did, and stay away from the crab's claws."

The males nodded with difficulty, thinking it was a good thing they hadn't offended Sang Qing; otherwise, one blow from her hammer would probably make their heads burst too.

Especially Sol; he hid behind his companions, unable to look Sang Qing in the eye ever again.

Mao Shuo looked at Sang Qing with approval and then explained their plan to everyone.

They would split into three teams: one team would lead the attack, focusing only on knocking the crabs unconscious; another team would be responsible for dragging the crabs into the grass; and the remaining team would be responsible for tying them up. This division of labor would be more efficient.

All the males nodded and quickly split into three teams.

Picking up the prepared wooden sticks, the group was ready to go.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang bang!

The rising and falling sounds of striking echoed across the riverbank. Sang Qing raised the iron hammer in her hand and excitedly struck down at a crab's head.

Stress-relieving, truly stress-relieving. Unfortunately, she didn't have much stress in this life; if it were her previous life, this might have given her an even greater thrill.

The unconscious crabs were quickly dragged back by the second echelon. Sang Qing looked around and quietly walked toward a distant part of the riverbank.

A good number of crabs had heard the commotion and chose to jump into the river to hide. The crabs on shore were becoming sparse, but there were still enough for them to strike for a good while.

"Chief, the vines are all used up." The team responsible for binding looked at the ground full of trussed-up monsters, scratched their heads, and asked Mao Shuo for instructions.

Why were they catching so many monsters?

Mao Shuo, who was overseeing the whole situation, was staring at the Tribesmen on the riverbank. Hearing this, he turned around.

After counting the number of Tribesmen he had brought out and looking at the crabs on the ground, Mao Shuo pinched his chin; this was still far below his expectations.

Glancing at Meng Qi, who was striking crabs with great enthusiasm, Mao Shuo pointed to a tribesman and gave an order.

"Lita, tell Meng Qi to stop striking and take a few Tribesmen to gather more vines."

"Dong, go back to the Tribe and bring back five more fingers' worth of males."

If he had known, he should have brought more Tribesmen out with him.

Fortunately, it was still early, and there was time to call more Tribesmen out.

He had to bring more river crabs back today because he knew that once the Tribe started eating crabs, the news wouldn't stay hidden. Other Tribes would definitely come out to catch crabs then.

It couldn't be helped; their Tribe wasn't a pure-blood Tribe. Although it was mainly comprised of Civet Beastmen, there were still females and males from other Tribes living there.

Sharing wasn't as satisfying as having it all to oneself. He could share with his own Tribesmen, but he couldn't share with other Tribes.

"Yes!" The two males went their separate ways.

Sang Qing's arms were sore from striking; after all, she was the only one using an iron hammer, which was much heavier than a wooden stick.

Really not wanting to strike anymore, she hid in the grass on one side to munch on fruit.

There were still many crabs on this stretch of the riverbank, impossible to finish them all. And some crabs were truly stupid; even though they knew there was danger, they didn't want to hide.

But this just made things easier for them.

"Help!"

Suddenly, a scream interrupted the busy Tribesmen. A Young Male was seen jumping up from the grass, running toward the clearing in a panic.

"Help, Chief! A monster is chasing me. Ow—!"

The male was shouting, and the stick in his hand had been flung away. The monster behind him was in hot pursuit, raising its two large claws as its form was revealed.

Whoa! Sang Qing quickly stood up, her eyes widening in surprise.

What a huge crab! It was more than two or three times the size of a normal crab. Those large claws waving about were terrifying to behold.

Mao Shuo saw that all the crabs on the riverbank had been startled and jumped into the river. He didn't have time to react and had to rush forward to save the beastman first.

The size of this crab was enough to make even Mao Shuo a bit afraid. Primarily, the monster's claws were immensely powerful; their own claws couldn't compare at all.

Mao Shuo had just rescued the Young Male from the large crab's claws when he saw the crab begin to attack other nearby males.

The males fled in panic, fearfully dodging the large crab's attacks.

"Ah!"

"Run, run!"

What was going on? The monster had gone mad.

"Stop screaming and get up the trees!" Mao Shuo shouted to stop the yelling Tribesmen, fearing they would attract other wild beasts.

Fortunately, he had a sudden flash of inspiration and thought of the idea to have them climb the trees.

The large crab rampaged across the riverbank with incredible speed. Its large eyes were filled with red light as it glared angrily at the beastmen who had climbed the trees.

In the grass, Sang Qing observed the large crab's movements and slowly approached it.

A crab this big would definitely have meat much more delicious than a normal crab.

Must take it back and braise it.

Mao Shuo's eyes widened in horror as he saw Sang Qing's petite figure approaching the large crab; his palms were sweating.

This child, why won't she listen?

He was afraid Sang Qing would get hurt, yet he also feared that shouting would provoke the large crab. So he prepared to climb down the tree to distract the crab's attention and then have Sang Qing climb up.

Thump!

Hearing the sound of someone landing, the large crab quickly lunged toward Mao Shuo. Sang Qing took advantage of its lack of preparation, dashed forward, and delivered a heavy blow right to the large crab's head.

She used all her strength. With a crack, the large crab fell to the ground, its brain matter shattered and splattered by Sang Qing's strike.

Its eight legs twitched once, and the large crab died with its eyes open.

Mao Shuo brushed the dust off his buttocks and came before Sang Qing in a rage. "You child! I told you to get up the tree, why didn't you? You scared me to death."

If something happened to her, how would he explain it to Meng Qi? Meng Qi would probably bash his own head against Mao Shuo's forehead until he died.

Sang Qing smiled apologetically and spoke coquettishly, "Chief, I was sure of myself. I wouldn't act recklessly."

Mao Shuo poked her forehead in lingering fear, then looked back at the dead large crab, his gaze finally landing on the iron hammer in Sang Qing's hand.

He had noticed this thing in her hand earlier. It was quite impressive; it could even shatter a monster's hard head. It seemed to be a good item.

Sang Qing silently hid the iron hammer behind her back; one look at the Chief's eyes and she knew what he was thinking.

Mao Shuo knew now wasn't the time for talking, so he didn't pursue further communication for the moment.

However... looking at the bare riverbank, Mao Shuo felt heartbroken.

This... there wasn't a single crab left. What were they supposed to catch now?

He went to the river's edge. The crabs in the water were blowing bubbles frantically as if in a show of force, waving their claws vigorously, but they wouldn't come ashore again.

There were so many crabs in the river they almost couldn't fit, but Civet Beastmen were afraid of water. A stream was fine since it was shallow, but they would never dare go into such deep river water.

"It seems there's no way to continue catching them today," Mao Shuo said with a sigh, his face full of regret.

They could only come back early tomorrow.

"Don't worry, Chief, I have a way."

Watching the gloating crabs, Sang Qing speechlessly raised a middle finger in her heart.

Did they really think she'd be out of options just like that?

She immediately had Mao Shuo order the Tribesmen to catch some small wild beasts in the forest.

After cutting the beasts into large chunks, Sang Qing used vines to wrap the meat tightly and then threw the end with the meat into the river.

The 'fishing' beauty was online; the crabs in the river better watch out.

Sure enough, as soon as Sang Qing threw the meat into the river, the smell immediately attracted the crabs' attention. They didn't even think before lunging straight for the meat.

"Whoa! Ah!" Holy crap.

The other end of the vine was clamped hard by several crabs. The massive pulling force caused Sang Qing's foot to slip. If Mao Shuo hadn't grabbed her collar in time, she would have nearly fallen into the river.

What exaggerated strength! Sang Qing gripped the vine tightly without letting go. Seeing this, the other males quickly stepped forward to help.

Mao Shuo pulled Sang Qing to the side; he couldn't let her take any more risks. It was making his heart leap into his throat.

He directed the Tribesmen to pull upward. Seven or eight crabs were fished up, and the Tribesmen holding sticks quickly struck their heads.

The Tribesmen coordinated with great tacit understanding. Other Tribesmen followed suit, picking up vines wrapped with meat and beginning to fish nearby.

The results of fishing were actually even better than the results of the surprise strikes. Mao Shuo's face lit up with a wide smile.

When Dong arrived with the other Tribesmen, the monsters piled up like a small mountain made them feel apprehensive.

What exactly did the Chief want to do? They were completely baffled.

Once they had caught enough crabs, Mao Shuo had everyone quickly pack them up and prepare to return to the Tribe.

If they caught any more, the Tribesmen he brought wouldn't be enough to carry them.

Just as they were packing the crabs, on the opposite bank of the river, a group of wild beasts with grayish-white bodies and complex patterns slowly emerged from the forest.

The leading beast transformed into a scrawny middle-aged male. He tightened the animal skin around his waist, his sharp leopard eyes staring at the activity on the other side.

"Which Tribe's beastmen are those?"

He hadn't seen them in the vicinity before.

They actually dared to take away things that didn't belong to them from the territory he had staked out.

"Great Elder, they don't seem to be beastmen from the surrounding Tribes." Behind him, a male with a face full of flattery looked over and responded airily.

Slap! The leading male slapped him across the face, a sinister light flashing in his eyes.

"I don't need you to tell me that nonsense! I'm asking which Tribe they are from."

Useless fool.

The male who had been slapped quickly lowered his head, his body trembling as he shook his head helplessly.

They had only been in this forest for about ten days and had only finished plundering the nearby Tribes; they hadn't had time to go to the more distant Tribes yet.

"Great Elder, it looks like they are beastmen from the Wildcat Tribe." Another Young Male shrank back with lingering fear in his eyes. He happened to have seen the transformation process on the other side and quickly added in a fawning manner.

"Wildcat Tribe?" The tall, thin male chewed on those four words, a glint appearing in his eyes. "I heard the Wildcat Tribe is very spacious. In a few days, we'll have to pay them a visit."

He said 'visit,' but it was actually to test them out and see the Tribe's strength. The Young Male heard the Great Elder's underlying meaning and frowned slightly, somewhat disagreeing.

He hesitated for a moment but still spoke of his knowledge of the Wildcat Tribe. "Great Elder, but the Wildcat Tribe has the most Third-Rank Warriors among the nearby Tribes. We might..."

It was true that their Gray Leopard Tribe was strong, but they shouldn't go out of their way to pick a fight with a powerful Tribe.

The Wildcat Tribe not only had many Third-Rank Warriors but also a large number of Tribesmen. Most importantly, the fertility value of the females in their Tribe was famous throughout this forest.

"Didn't they say one of their Fourth-Tier Warriors just died?" Violent Eye snorted coldly from his nose. After watching the beastmen on the other side of the river depart, he slowly walked to the riverbank to drink water.

No matter how strong the Wildcat Tribe was, could they really be stronger than the Gray Leopard Tribe? What use were many Third-Rank Warriors? It still depended on the number of Fourth-Tier Warriors.

The Young Male nodded and then shook his head, beginning a rational analysis. "One did die, but not long ago another one broke through. He's a male who just reached adulthood. It's said... it's said his chances of breaking through to the fifth rank are very high."

So against the Wildcat Tribe, their chances of winning weren't great, barely fifty-fifty.

Is that so? Violent Eye's agitated heart suddenly calmed down.

He drank a few mouthfuls of water, staring at his own reflection on the river's surface, his ambition completely impossible to hide.

It was impossible to just let it go. In his eyes, the Wildcat Tribe was a big, fat piece of meat; he wouldn't be satisfied until he devoured it.

At worst, he would plan for the long term. After they first established themselves in this forest, they would launch an attack on the Wildcat Tribe.

And he heard that the fertility value of the Wildcat Tribe's females was the strongest in the nearby forest. The females of their own Tribe could only produce one cub per litter, and the reproduction speed was too slow. If... In the spacious center of the Tribe, Mao Shuo signaled all the Tribesmen to put down the crabs on their backs.

"Sang Qing Child, what do we do next?" The crabs were brought back, but he didn't know how to handle them.

The crab meat Sang Qing gave him last time seemed to have been processed using a different method.