Chapter 222: Chapter 221: Is This How He’s a Captain?

This was the seating area for the Iron-eating Beast Clan. With Zhi Zhan watching over the kitty and a few Spirit Plants standing guard, Si Shuo didn’t pay it any more mind and went to her own seat.

Guangshou City had twenty-four Beast Soldier Camps in total, with a combined force of three hundred seventy to three hundred eighty thousand troops. Fifty thousand of them were participating in this Beast Soldiers and Generals competition.

Si Shuo and her group hadn’t arrived particularly early. By now, all the Beast Soldiers were already standing in formation. Each Beast Soldier Camp had its own color and plant totem, and twenty-four banners fluttered and snapped in the wind.

With the solemn, menacing beat of war drums—BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—more than twenty imposing Beastmen walked onto the high platform.

Ji Liang leaned in and explained to Si Shuo, “The City Lord of Guangshou City is chosen every five years, and the decision is made during this Beast Soldiers and Generals competition.

“Little Shushu, see that dazzlingly golden one standing in the middle of the platform? That’s Ni Jing of the Golden Python Ni Family, the great-grandson of Ni Chang’s own brother. This is the last year of his term…

“On his left are the Beast Generals—three Emperor Generals and six King Generals. On his right are the Beast Masters in charge of Guangshou City’s affairs… All of these people are backed by the thirteen great families and eight tribes of Guangshou City…”

Si Shuo nodded in understanding. ’Of course,’ she thought, ’managing the city’s affairs involves a lot of benefits. Everyone wants a piece of the pie.’

Wei Ce’s father, Wei Jin, was standing in the second position among the Beast Masters. He was one of the three great Imperial Masters!

The one who began to speak was Guangshou City’s High Priest, a black cuckoo Beastman. A few black tail feathers with a blue sheen were stuck in his hair, and his expression was cold and aloof. He first led the crowd in kneeling to worship the Beast God, only then infusing his voice with Spiritual Power to deliver the opening remarks: “…The Beast Soldiers and Generals competition serves as a reminder to our Beast Soldiers to never forget their primary duty of guarding the Beast City, and to never forget the hardships our ancestors faced while living in the jungle…”

Next, the City Lord, Emperor Generals, and Imperial Masters each said a few words, and then the Beast Soldiers and Generals competition officially began.

Twenty-four Grand Generals walked onto the stage to draw bamboo slips. There were twelve numbers in total written on them. The two Beast Soldier Camps that drew the same number would become opposing camps and enter a Training Array powered by Crystal Stones to fight!

Si Shuo wasn’t particularly interested in the fighting itself, but she was focused on her Beast Husbands. The North Third Camp, where Zhi Le and the others were, was pitted against the East City Five Camps.

Zhi Qi frowned slightly. “Kitty, the recruitment standards, training methods, and general culture differ among Guangshou City’s various military camps, which leads to disparities in their overall strength.

“Team competitions are all about the chemistry and coordination between the Beast Soldiers and Generals. Individual strength plays a part, but with so many participants on a team, it’s no longer the deciding factor.

“Most of the Iron-eating Beast Clan members serve in the North Third Camp. They are all formidable, and in previous years, their camp’s overall strength ranked fifth. The East City Five Camps, on the other hand, has held the top spot for three consecutive years…”

“Hiss… I didn’t expect the North Third Camp to draw such a tough opponent in the very first match,” Ji Liang added, raising an eyebrow.

Si Shuo grew nervous as well. “What happens to us if they lose the first team match?”

“The Clan Leader of the Iron-eating Beast Clan will be demoted from an Imperial Master to a Royal Master,” Zhi Qi said flatly.

One step back meant giving up many benefits. Si Shuo’s azure eyes turned to the plaza. She believed in her males!

Guangshou City was the largest and most prosperous city on the Central Continent, and it held deep influence over the other cities. There was no shortage of powerful and extraordinary individuals here, nor was there a lack of rare and precious treasures.

Twelve Secret Realm Stones were thrown down, and the vast plaza was instantly divided into twelve different scenes. The Beast Soldiers lined up in their squads and entered through six small paths in their assigned training scene according to their drawn numbers. The moment they stepped inside, their bodies shrank, becoming little more than colorful moving dots that even the front-row audience could barely distinguish!

Si Shuo couldn’t help but call out to her system, “System, I want to see what’s happening in the third Training Ground.”

System: [Host, you need to spend one thousand Beast Coins to activate spectator mode. However, I recommend you spend five thousand Beast Coins to purchase the seven-day unlimited access service!]

Si Shuo’s heart ached at the cost. ’Beast Coins are hard to earn, but they sure disappear fast.’ But there was no way she could just sit in the audience, completely blind to what was going on. Her damned curiosity wouldn’t allow it.

“Fine! Activate it for me…”

The moment she finished speaking, five thousand Beast Coins were deducted from her system store. At the same time, a clear image of the third Training Ground appeared in her mind, and she could even change the viewpoint at will just by thinking.

Si Shuo pressed her lips together, burrowed into Zhi Qi’s arms, and mumbled something about catching up on sleep. Then, she cheerfully began to spectate!

All six of her males were in this Training Ground. With Wei Ce, who had participated in the Beast Soldiers and Generals competition seven or eight times, present, the group was very familiar with the entire process and its challenges. They had also gathered at night to discuss numerous strategies for dealing with opponents. Their initial goal was to eliminate as many enemy Beast Soldiers as possible, while their later goal was to protect their own side.

Zhi Le led his ten-man squad, arms linked tightly, into the Training Ground. The scene before them changed instantly. Towering trees blotted out the sun, and the chirping of birds and insects was occasionally pierced by the roars of Fierce Beasts. It was indistinguishable from a real, deep forest, giving the Beastmen an unfounded sense of lurking danger. Moreover, there was a threefold time difference between the inside of the Secret Realm and the outside!

“For these three days, no one is to leave the team. First, we’ll scout the Training Ground’s terrain and look for any Beast Soldiers from the Fifth Camp who are trying to regroup…” After briefly instructing his teammates, Zhi Le transformed into his Beast Form and took the lead, running forward.

The ten behind him also transformed into their Beast Forms. All of them had a Combat Power between Level 10 and the Twelfth Level, and their Beast Forms were quite powerful. They followed close behind.

However, the Snow Leopard’s speed was simply too great. In the tree-filled jungle, he nimbly and deftly dodged one obstacle after another, soon leaving his teammates far behind.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he abruptly changed course and dashed in another direction.

“Where’s Zhi Le?” After running for about ten minutes without seeing any sign of the Snow Leopard ahead, the fastest of the group, a black panther, spoke with fury, his green eyes like chips of ice. “Is this how he leads a team?”

“Could he have been ambushed by someone from the Fifth Camp? Or did we take a different path from him?” The other Beastmen started to panic. Without their captain to lead them, they had no idea what to do next.

A brown bear with a notched ear scratched his face and said in a simple, honest tone, “Why don’t we stop running? Let’s just wait here for him to realize we’ve fallen behind and come back for us.”

A short-tailed gray wolf nodded in agreement. “I think that works. We’ll leave four people here to stand guard, and the other six can form two teams of three to scout the terrain nearby. Don’t go far. Who wants to be on my team?”

He said that, but he quickly exchanged a look with two others, a flash of what looked like regret and anger in their eyes.

With the captain gone and someone taking the lead, the other Beastmen naturally had no objections. The ten of them were split into three groups: one to stay behind and two to scout the surrounding area.

Little did they know that Zhi Le had already circled back, Concealing his Breath, and was now hidden in the dense canopy of a tree. He watched with cold eyes as those three Beastmen put on a hypocritical act and, while the others were completely off guard, easily eliminated them!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep