Chapter 254: Playing Their Game

After Sora finished speaking, several of them instantly felt as though they had nothing left to do.

Ace yawned lazily and asked, "Then where are we going now?"

Sora looked toward the mountain valley in the distance before answering, "Let’s go to dead Valley first and meet up with Father. We need to tell him everything that happened and then discuss how we’re going to wipe them all out."

"Alright."

The moment Ace finished speaking, his body nimbly transformed into that of a White tiger. He landed directly in front of Sora and lowered himself.

Sora said nothing. She simply wrapped her arms around his neck and climbed onto his back.

Seeing Ace’s fawning behavior, Lucas silently despised him in his heart.

That damned tiger beat me to it again.

Lucas spread his wings, preparing to take off first.

However, before he could move, Damien’s pitiful voice came from behind them.

"Kaelira, are you not going to care about me anymore?"

Sora paused.

Only then did she remember that Damien was still injured.

She turned around and scanned the surroundings. Fortunately, she happened to see Lucas approaching.

Sora immediately pointed at him.

"Lucas, you carry Damien!"

Lucas’s heart instantly became bitter.

Not only had he failed to get the chance to carry Sora, but now he had to carry that heavy-as-lead Black Bear instead.

What if his feathers were crushed?

What if they broke?

However, this was Kaelira’s order, so Lucas did not dare disobey.

Fine.

For the sake of Damien having saved Sora, he would endure it.

Lucas reluctantly walked over and allowed Damien to climb onto his back.

Seeing Lucas’s dejected expression, Ace raised his eyebrows and gave him a mocking look.

He had only wanted to show off his skills in front of everyone.

Now his little scheme had completely backfired.

One should never become too smug as a beast.

Sometimes, the moment a beast became too pleased with itself, trouble immediately followed.

Meanwhile, in dead Valley, Martin had already settled down with the people of the Tribe.

As mealtime approached, everyone was busy gathering wood and building fires to prepare their food.

When Sora and the others arrived, they immediately saw thin curls of smoke rising from the cooking fires scattered throughout the valley.

The peaceful scene made dead Valley look almost untouched by the turmoil surrounding the Salt Well.

Sora looked around.

Then her eyes suddenly lit up.

Not far away, Clare was frying potato cakes.

The delicious aroma drifted through the air.

Sora’s mouth immediately began to water.

Without thinking, she jumped down from Ace’s back and hurried straight toward Clare.

Martin’s eyelids twitched when he saw her sudden movement.

"My little ancestor, be careful!"

He hurried after her.

"You’re still carrying a little cub in your belly!"

Sora stopped and rubbed her stomach.

"I’m being careful."

She sniffed the air again and looked toward Clare.

"But Clare’s food smells so good. I haven’t eaten all morning, and I’m starving."

Clare heard this and smiled.

She picked up a freshly fried potato cake and handed it to Sora.

"I never expected that one day, our Tribe’s Chef God would actually crave my cooking."

Sora accepted the potato cake without hesitation.

She took a large bite.

The crispy outside and soft interior immediately satisfied her hunger.

"It can’t be helped," Sora said while chewing. "Who told our Clare to make such delicious food?"

Clare laughed softly.

While Sora ate, Martin did not disturb her.

Instead, his eyes moved over the group that had returned with her.

The several Beast Husbands all looked energetic and did not appear to have suffered serious injuries.

Except for Damien.

The Black Bear was lying across Lucas’s back, his complexion noticeably pale.

Martin frowned.

"Is he injured?"

Lukan nodded.

"We encountered a bird that burned him."

Martin’s eyebrows immediately knitted together.

Damien’s Beast Rank was not low.

For him to actually sustain an injury meant that the enemy they had encountered must have been formidable.

Martin was about to ask what exactly had happened when Damien suddenly let out a weak groan.

"Ouch..."

He looked toward Martin with pitiful eyes.

"Father, hurry and divine an auspicious day for Sora and me so we can form a Contract Totem."

Martin’s expression froze.

His train of thought was completely interrupted.

He looked at Sora in confusion.

"Have you and Damien not formed a Contract Totem yet?"

This Black Bear had already performed Night Guarding for Sora.

Martin had assumed that the two of them had already formed their Contract Totem privately.

Sora’s hand paused halfway to her mouth.

Damien, however, looked surprised.

"Father, what do you mean by that?"

He turned toward Sora.

"Kaelira, she didn’t tell you..."

Sora’s expression instantly became guilty.

She hurried over and pulled Martin toward another area.

"Father, we’ll talk about that later."

She deliberately changed the subject.

"I have something important to discuss with you regarding the Salt Well Cave."

As for what she had previously told Damien about finding Martin and asking him to perform a divination, Sora had never mentioned it to Martin.

She had originally planned to stall for as long as possible.

Who could have expected Damien to bring it up today?

If she did not change the subject immediately, was she supposed to sit there and wait for Damien to cause trouble for her?

Fortunately, Martin’s attention was instantly captured by the mention of the Salt Well Cave.

He nodded.

"Come over here with me."

Martin had not forgotten Sora’s warning.

Since Red Frost was standing behind Clare, he immediately chose another place where they could speak privately.

Once they were far enough away, Sora explained her plan in detail.

Martin’s expression gradually became serious.

After listening, he nodded.

"That’s a good idea."

He looked toward Sora’s stomach.

"I’ll arrange for people to spread the news immediately. But you’re still pregnant with a little cub, so don’t move around recklessly. Be careful not to harm the pregnancy."

After saying this, Martin quickly summoned two Gray Wolf Beastmen.

He lowered his voice and instructed them.

"Go and spread the news that Serena knows how to Purify Salt."

He paused.

"Remember to find more rats on the land and more sparrows in the sky."

One of the Wolf Beastmen looked confused.

"I understand why we should find sparrows. They talk a lot."

He scratched his head.

"But why does the Chieftain want rats too?"

The other Wolf Beastman immediately rolled his eyes.

"You’re so stupid."

He crossed his arms.

"Don’t you know that rats love digging holes when they have nothing to do? They dig everywhere and wander around constantly. Anything that happens on this continent eventually gets leaked by them."

Martin ignored their argument and continued thinking about Sora’s plan.

Once the two Wolf Beastmen left, he looked back at Sora.

"Letting them fight each other first is a middle-tier strategy."

His eyes narrowed.

"We still need to gain control over the Salt Well Cave."

Sora gave him a mysterious smile.

She leaned closer and whispered several words into his ear.

Martin’s eyes immediately lit up.

He nodded repeatedly.

"I understand."

Then he looked toward the direction of the Salt Well Cave.

"I’ll send people down. Once they start fighting, we’ll make our move."

Sora nodded.

The plan was already taking shape.

Now all they had to do was wait.

Meanwhile, Ben had fled in defeat the previous day.

Today, he had gathered everyone in the Fire Jackal Tribe, preparing to fight a major battle against the Wolf Tribe.

He had expected a fierce confrontation.

He had expected bloodshed.

He had expected the Wolf Tribe to defend the Salt Well Cave with everything they had.

But when Ben and the Fire Jackal Beastmen finally arrived at the Salt Well Cave, they found something completely unexpected.

The cave was empty.

There was not a single Wolf Beastman in sight.

Ben stared for a moment.

Then he suddenly laughed loudly.

"Heaven is helping me!"

His voice echoed through the cave.

"It seems that firebird took care of them yesterday. This Salt Well belongs to us now!"

He had thought he would have to fight a difficult battle today.

Instead, he had occupied the Salt Well without spending a single soldier.

Ben glanced toward the Salt Well before waving his hand toward the Beastmen behind him.

"Notify the strong young Beastmen of the Tribe. Have them come inside and harvest the salt."

"Yes, Chieftain!"

Several young Beastmen immediately squeezed into the cave.

They were full of excitement, each one eager to begin.

But when they reached the Salt Well and looked down, their excitement slowly disappeared.

They scratched their heads.

The well before them seemed bottomless.

Finally, one Spotted Hyena Beastman turned toward Ben.

"Chieftain, how are we supposed to get the salt out?"

Ben looked at him as though he had asked the most ridiculous question in the world.

"How else?"

He pointed toward the well.

"Use your hands to scoop it out, of course. Do I need to teach you that too?"

The Beastman hesitated.

"But... Chieftain, this well is full of water."

Ben frowned.

Water?

His expression gradually changed.

Shouldn’t a Salt Well be full of salt?

Why was there water inside?

He walked toward the edge of the well and looked down.

The moment he saw the water filling the Salt Well, even Ben became confused.

"Where’s the salt?"

The cave fell silent.

Ben stared at the water.

Had Serena lied to him?

Before he could figure out what was happening, a Beastman suddenly rushed into the cave from outside.

He was breathing heavily.

"Chieftain!"

Ben turned around.

"What?"

The Beastman hurriedly reported, "News has spread across the continent that a Female named Serena knows how to Purify Salt."

Serena?

A cold smile slowly appeared on Beacon Fire’s face.

So that was it.

It seemed he absolutely had to find her.

Meanwhile, back in dead Valley, Sora stretched lazily after finishing her food.

The tension surrounding the Salt Well Cave had temporarily been pushed to the back of her mind.

She looked around, preparing to pick some berries to eat.

Before she could move very far, a familiar figure approached.

Damien’s handsome face leaned close to hers.

His dark eyes were filled with deep, lingering affection.

"Kaelira."

Sora looked at him.

Damien smiled.

"There’s no better day than today."

He leaned even closer.

"Let’s form our Contract Totem tonight."

Sora’s expression stiffened.

Damien continued innocently.

"The Chieftain is so busy now. I’m afraid he won’t have time to perform a divination for us."

Sora stared at him.

For some reason, she suddenly had a very bad feeling.

And Damien’s smile only made that feeling stronger.