Translator: Callis
Editor: Walker
When the Renault tribe was ready to join forces with the other tribes to exterminate the ancestral beasts, they found that a catastrophic extinction was looming. Fewer and fewer males were able to change shape within their population, and more young ancestral beasts were killed or abandoned. It resulted in an overall imbalance in the proportions of the population.
Taking an overview, the tribe was full of old and frail males and a large group of females. There were few strong, young males. They were the tribe"s main labor force. Without strong males, there wouldn"t be enough food or animals skins for warmth. Hunger and the cold were the only things waiting for the people of the tribe.
The Renault tribe was inevitably aging. The weak old males were unable to shoulder the responsibility of defending their people. Red crystals and other treasures were hidden on the tribe"s land. Naturally, they had become the target of several other tribes. After several b.l.o.o.d.y wars, the Renault tribe was destroyed and large numbers of red crystals were continuously transported to other tribes.
Behind the carnival, disaster spread quietly. The Renault tribe had already experienced the consequences of excessively using the red crystals. It was time for the other tribes to follow suit. Among them, the Bayan tribe was the main one.
Under Kun"s leadership, the Bayan tribe grew stronger and stronger. Not only had he won the position of tribe leader, he had also won over Eddie. He held supreme power over the tribe. Even the Shaman couldn"t interfere with his decisions. It was his idea to unite several other tribes and attack the Renault tribe; it had proved that his decision was correct. The red crystals had captured the hearts of the tribal warriors for him and they were loyal and would die for him.
"Kun, you united all the tribes in the eastern continent. You are the king of the eastern continent. Why do you tolerate the ancestral beasts that occupy the eastern forest? Go ahead and attack them. Bring back Xiao An Chun and the beautiful female"s skulls." Eddie coldly urged his partner. Not only had Xiao An Chun not died, he lived a nourishing life. The outcome made him feel like there was something stuck in his throat; it was hard for him to let go.
Kun"s heart constricted, but it didn"t show on his face. He didn"t dare tell Eddie the truth. He only said that he had been saved by Xiao An Chun and returned after the wound healed.
Even now, Eddie didn"t know how terrifying the golden lion and beautiful female were. An adult T-Rex could destroy the entire eastern continent, but the golden lion, who was far more powerful than the T-Rex, had united with the female. It was enough to destroy the world.
"C-Can"t go." Kun shook his head and refused. Seeing Eddie look doubtful, he quickly added, "You"re still pregnant with our children. How can I leave you at this time?"
Eddie was satisfied and gently touched his belly.
Two months later, under the clan"s fervent expectation, their little princes were born. Eddie was truly worthy of being the Shaman"s son. He was very fertile and had six pups at once, all of them male. Kun was wolf beastman. The six pups hadn"t opened their eyes yet. They curled up like little furb.a.l.l.s in a nest made of velvety moss, a low whine emitting from their noses. They looked very lovely.
Kun held them and touched them gently, his face emotional. His voice was soft, "When they transform in a month, I"d like to invite all the ancestors of the tribes to pray for them. My children will certainly receive the care of the beast G.o.d. When they grow up, they would surely become the kings of the eastern continent."
"Of course." Eddie smiled proudly.
For hundreds of years, the Bayan tribe had had only two ancestral beasts, so they never thought of whether or not their children could transform. A month later, none of the cubs had transformed. Kun and Eddie refused to accept reality and waited for another month, but the results were still disappointing.
Over time, it was confirmed that all six pups were ancestral beasts.
The tribe was waiting for their leader"s decision: allow them to stay or expel them?
Because the ancestral beasts had seized the eastern forest, the divide between them and the beastmen were deepening day by day. The original two ancestral beasts that were allowed to remain with the tribe had been expelled and the six weren"t supposed to remain.
Kun knelt before the statue of the beast G.o.d, looking very haggard. After all, they were his children, his blood running through their bodies. How could he abandon them?
"Don"t hesitate, throw them away! I, Eddie, can"t possibly give birth to ancestral beasts." Eddie slowly walked into the cave with a determined look.
Six ancestral beasts born at once, he had now become the laughingstock of the tribe. The females that were once jealous of him now only showed him contempt. He couldn"t stand the change, so the stain must be wiped out.
Kun suddenly turned around and stared at his partner with incredulous eyes. After a long confrontation, they finally compromised and he had no choice but to nod heavily. Eddie then went over, hugging and comforting him, "Don"t be sad, we will have healthy children. Forget them."
Yes, we are young and can always have healthy children.
Kun told himself that his hands were firmly tied to his partner"s waist.
They didn"t dare to appear personally, letting another female throw the six pups to the edge of the eastern forest.
They knew that ancestral beasts would take the initiative to take in the discarded pups, because they were the same. The six pups had stayed with their parents for more than three months. They were deeply attached and unwilling to leave with strange beasts, running back to the tribe several times only to be driven back out.
They hadn"t seen their parents, and naturally there was hope in their hearts. But their frequent visits were unbearable for Eddie. He wanted to forget the humiliation as quickly as he could, but the pups that wandered into the tribe reminded them of his incompetence. It made him more and more angry and unable to suppress the violence in his heart.
Once again, as the pups jumped out of the bushes and ran towards the tribe, he took them into the forest and cursed, throwing them one by one off the cliff. Cloud and mist-shrouded the bottomless cliff. There was no doubt that if someone fell in, they would die. Eddie huffed, and walked back as if nothing had happened.
Since then, no one had seen the six pups. Kun had always believed that they were living well; the ancestral beasts in the eastern forest never abandoned their own. They would take good care of them.
Soon after, Eddie became pregnant again and gave birth two months later. This time, he gave birth to a male, but the tragedy repeated itself. He was still unable to transform.
So-called "once new, twice ripe", Eddie didn"t need to ask for Kun"s opinion. He patiently raised the baby for two months. Seeing that there was no change, he threw him from the cliff.
n.o.body noticed the hawk darting through the clouds and fog, catching the baby that was about to fall to the ground.
Eddie was stubborn and never gave in. In order to wash away the shame, he became pregnant and gave birth over and over again. Not a single male that he gave birth to could transform, and he increasingly became the laughingstock of the tribe. The Shaman even suspected that he had been cursed and prayed for him for three days.
The position of a female cursed by the beast G.o.d could be imagined. He was originally a high ranking successor of the Shaman and was highly sought after, but now he had become a plague. Everyone avoided him. Likewise, Kun"s prestige had also been greatly reduced.
Over the past two years, there had been many pregnant females in the tribe. They usually gave birth to four or five pups at a time, but there were only one or two, sometimes not even one, that could transform. Few had given birth to female pups. The situation was getting worse and worse. Slowly, the females no longer dared to laugh at Eddie because they all lost the ability to produce healthy pups.
The Shaman and Kun were very anxious, but Eddie was incredibly happy.
As long as he wasn"t alone in his misfortune, that was enough.
n.o.body noticed that the eastern forests were rapidly expanding and their hostility towards the beastmen tribes were growing. Large-scale surges of beasts occurred several times a year. The young, strong ancestral beasts delighted in attacking the beastmen tribes. They were hot-blooded, their eyes full of astonishing hatred.
Three years later, the largest tide of beasts broke out, Kun rallied the major tribes to fight back. Waves of beasts scattered the beastmen warriors, and a group of wolves kept attacking Kun, their bites fierce and ruthless.
Even as an eight-cla.s.s warrior, Kun"s entire body was bitten bruised and b.l.o.o.d.y. The strongest of the wolves caught Kun"s neck and as long as his jaw clenched slightly, he could send Kun back to the west.
But at the last moment, he gave up and stared at Kun for a long time. There were hatred and pain in his eyes.
There came a tiger"s whistle nearby and the beasts responded, retreating like the tide and leaving behind the disabled beastman.
Kun hid his face and cried bitterly. He knew that they were his abandoned children. They hated him.
After returning to the tribe, Kun became depressed. Of course, he suffered the most serious injuries, badly mutilated and with broken limbs. Due to the abuse of red crystals, high-ranking warriors in the tribe sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain, seriously threatening Kun"s status. Seeing him lying down, many warriors were ready to move.
Eddie couldn"t sit still, and asked his father to give him a bowl of the divine blood. The status of the Shaman also depended on Kun"s support, nature had nothing to do with it. He sc.r.a.ped a bowl full of divine blood and sent it to Kun"s wood house.
"Don"t worry, you"ll be alright soon. The beast G.o.d will bless you." Eddie smeared the smelly blood evenly over Kun"s wounds and rubbed it in.
Somehow, Kun remembered the warning Xiao An Chun had given him many years ago. However, those alarmist words were replaced by his firm beliefs in a moment.
Eddie insisted on applying "fresh" blood once a day. The entirety of the wood house smelled rotten. Kun gradually felt that something was wrong. A fever erupted and he was powerless. The scarlet wound turned black and yellow pus bled out. To make matters worse, the wound widened, devouring his skin and muscle and turned it into thin blood. His bones were exposed and maggots were crawling inside.
The intense pain made Kun"s life worse than death and he found himself slowly decaying. Xiao An Chun"s warning came to his mind again and again, which made his liver and gallbladder crack.
"It"s toxic and can"t be applied to the wound."
"Believe it or not, I"m saving you. This blood isn"t divine, but some dirt. Smearing it on a wound would cause inflammation, then death."
"Do you know what inflammation is? It"s the red flesh turning into yellow pus, and dissolves and slowly diffuses bit by bit until you leg is completely rotten, leaving behind only the white bone. At that time, the only way to save you would be to amputate the rotten part. But then something even worse could happen, that the b.l.o.o.d.y pus would still spread. Your whole body is going to rot into white bones until you die in pain."
The nonsense that he once turned his nose up at had now come true, like a prophecy.
Kun opened his mouth and roared in despair.
He was wrong, and it wasn"t until this moment that he realized how wrong he was. It turned out that Xiao An Chun had saved him! Every word he said never missed their mark. The facts had long since proved it, han"t they?
No, no, no, I can"t die! I don"t want to die!
After his frenzy, Kun turned his head and shouted, "Eddie, where are you? Take me to the eastern forest. I need to find Xiao An Chun, I need to go find him!" Many of the tribespeople gathered when they heard the roar. Hearing Kun"s words, they looked mockingly at Eddie, whose face had drained of color.
After fighting for so long, he finally lost to Xiao An Chun. It really was a great pleasure.
"What nonsense are you speaking? Lie down!" Eddie pushed the struggling Kun back. He grit his teeth, "Look, you"ve lost all this blood, this is a blasphemy to the beast G.o.d!" He picked up the bowl and reapplied the blood.
"No, this is toxic! Don"t apply it! You"ll kill me! Isn"t it enough that you had already hurt me once? Leave, get out of here!" Kun overturned the wooden bowl and laid in the bed, breathing heavily. He no longer had the strength to leave the tribe on his own.
Eddie was so humiliated that he pushed open the door and fled.
Seeing the second warrior of the tribe come in, Kun weakly opened his mouth, "I can"t stand it, throw me away. Throw me to the edge of the eastern forest." Now he could only hope that Xiao An Chun would be as kind as ever and remember the friendship that they shared every day. He hoped that he would take him back and treat him.
He was right, everything he said and did was correct. He should have believed him a long time ago.
The second warrior couldn"t wait, and immediately sent someone to carry him out and throw him away. Eddie heard that he was already no longer the leader"s partner, but an abandoned female, one that couldn"t give birth to healthy pups anyways. None of the males wanted him, and the females shied away from him out of fear of catching his misfortune.
The Shaman was old and had to step down from his position soon. He had intended to pa.s.s on his position to his son, but the new leader firmly opposed it and replaced him with his own younger brother.
The father and son pair had no support and could only live by eating wild fruits. It wasn"t long before they starved to death.
On the day that the largest tide of beasts had attacked, Xiao An Chun finally developed a pill that could allow the ancestral beasts to transform. This was why Bai quickly called all the beasts back. Otherwise, the major tribes" casualties would be even greater.
Zhou Yun Sheng and Zhao Xuan stood far away and gazed at Xiao An Chun, who was surrounded by beasts. They waved, saying "He has already grown up. It"s time for us to go too. Let"s go back and get ready."
Zhao Xuan nodded and agreed to go back to the treehouse to pack. They didn"t have much to take away beyond the local specialties: dried and salted fish, bacon, dried dinosaur meat, and wild fruits and vegetables, all wrapped in fish skin and placed into the s.p.a.ce ring. The two stayed for a few more days to determine if the pills were effective.
Bai was the first to transform. His white hair and green vertical pupils gave him an extremely handsome appearance, leaving Xiao An Chun fascinated and dazed.
Zhou Yun Sheng had originally planned to help Bai celebrate. He climbed up their treehouse, but heard the fierce papapa sounds inside before shaking his head and leaving.
"They"re not free?" Although it was a question, Zhao Xuan"s expression was very determined. He picked his lover and placed him on his shoulder, heading towards the established coordinated.
In twelve hours, the army would come to pick them up.
As soon as they left the easter forest, they found Kun lying in the gra.s.s, his wounds festering.
He was very weak, but his strong desire to live prompted him to keep crying for help. "Where are you, Xiao An Chun? Please save me! I was wrong, I was wrong……"
"Oh, long time no see." Zhou Yun Sheng smiled and waved.
Kun"s cloudy eyes shone brightly and just as he wanted to open his mouth, Zhao Xuan had already walked away, leaving only his fading back. Kun violently coughed and his tears flowed down uncontrollably.
Not long afterward, several wolves gathered around his scent and sniffed him. They coldly stared at him for a long time, and finally slowly dispersed.
When Xiao An Chun found that the male G.o.d and the golden lion were missing, three days had already pa.s.sed. He walked out of the tribe and found Kun"s half-decayed body, but his firm face didn"t show any sadness. He said lightly, "Dig a pit and bury him."
Bai whistled, letting the tribe"s beastmen come and deal with it. Although they searched the forest for half a month, they couldn"t find them. But they believed that the husband and wife pair wouldn"t die. They would come back one day.
The tribe that they had built was henceforth called "Xuan Cheng", a h.o.m.onym for "Xuan Sheng", and it eventually became the most powerful tribe on the Beastman Planet.
And that"s a wrap! Though it"s the second TL project I started, it the first one I actually finished, so this has a special place in my heart. It"s only been a few short months, but I"ve gone from reader, to editor, to translator all within the short span of time, and now I"ve already got one project under my belt. FOD was one of the first BL and QT novels that I"ve read, so it"s an honor to be able to translate one of the extras ♡
Thanks to Kara (who edited the first few chapters), Walker (who stayed with me for the rest of them), Dragon (for suggesting that I translate this extra), Jostena (who got me into working on novels), and Dawn (for reading over some of the s.m.u.t chapters)! But most of all, thanks to you all for reading!!! I loved reading all of your comments speculating, reacting, about hating Kun, and loving Bai and Xiao An Chun!
As for what I"ve got coming up, check out my other projects: and
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Happy reading ♡
– Callis