Chapter 23: Chapter 14: I Love You

Before they had a chance to escape, disaster struck—a massive, once-in-a-century Beast Tide had erupted in the Rubel Forest!

Star Beasts and Beastmen preyed on each other. Every year before winter, the Beastmen, retaining their primal instincts, would hoard food for the season. In turn, starving Star Beasts would form a Beast Tide to attack nearby Beastman tribes and plunder their supplies.

In the decades since its founding, the Kordo Tribe had faced Beast Tides before and had measures to deal with them. But the scale of this one was utterly unprecedented!

Over a thousand Star Beasts, driven mad by hunger, had the entire tribe completely surrounded.

No one could get out alive.

The Kordo Tribe fought desperately against the Beast Tide, but in just one night, they suffered nearly a hundred casualties.

The old Clan Leader came to them personally and knelt on the ground, begging Lan Cang to stay and protect the tribe, to help the Kordo Tribe fend off this threat of annihilation.

He was cashing in his final favor, hoping to buy the Kordo Tribe a chance at survival.

Lan Cang didn’t agree right away. He went to the backyard to discuss it with Sang Luo.

War had indeed broken out in the Rubel Forest, just as they’d expected. But she hadn’t thought it would be a war against Star Beasts.

’The Rubel Forest is truly unsafe now. Every moment we stay here adds to the risk.’

Sang Luo saw the conflict in Lan Cang’s eyes. She knew he was a man who valued loyalty and relationships above all else; it was precisely why she had fallen in love with him.

“Stay,” she said. “Let’s help the Kordo Tribe fight off this Beast Tide. Then we’ll leave.”

’To be honest, after staying in the tribe for so long, she’d grown attached to the Beastmen here. Li Man and Ayia were in the tribe too, and Sang Luo couldn’t bear to watch them die in the Beast Tide.’

“I understand.”

“Lan Cang, you have to come back safely. Once this is over, we’ll move to a city. And when our lives are finally stable, I’ll…”

Lan Cang’s gaze was scorching as he looked at her.

Sang Luo gave him a playful smile, then took his hand and placed it on her stomach.

“And maybe someday, when I’m in a good mood, I might even have a cub for you.”

’This wasn’t about assimilating, nor was it for some Talent Ability. Sang Luo genuinely loved Lan Cang. She truly wanted to be with this man, to have his children.’

’If she could ever return to the modern world, she would find a way to take him with her.’

’And if she couldn’t, she would spend the rest of her life with him.’

’She had to admit it: she had new ties in this Otherworld.’

No Male Beast could resist such sweet words about having cubs.

He kissed her hard on the lips. “Good. I’ll be waiting!”

Lan Cang then agreed to the Clan Leader’s request to stay and fight the Beast Tide.

He was gone for the next several days. During that time, the number of casualties in the tribe dropped sharply. Sang Luo heard from the Clan Leader and others that Lan Cang was leading with incredible bravery, slaying countless Star Beasts. The Kordo Tribe, which shouldn’t have been able to hold out for even three days under the siege, had somehow managed to last for nearly half a month.

Unable to conquer the small tribe after so long, the Star Beasts seemed to have grown wary. They stopped their frenzied assaults and switched to a war of attrition. Still, they showed no signs of retreating; in fact, their numbers only grew while the Beastmen’s ranks dwindled each day. Their disadvantage was becoming clear…

Every few days, Lan Cang would squeeze out some time late at night to rush back and see her.

Each time he returned, the reek of blood clung to him, impossible to disperse. He had taken to wearing all black, so she couldn’t see his wounds, but Sang Luo could guess they were growing more severe with each visit.

This Beast Tide was a grueling fight.

Just before winter, a storm of rain and snow broke out over the Rubel Forest. The temperature plummeted. Oppressive black clouds gathered, and the sky outside flashed with lightning and roared with thunder. Though it was daytime, it felt as if night had fallen in an instant, leaving no trace of light.

A deafening crack of thunder suddenly split the sky in two, illuminating the entire world as bright as day for a split second, like the apocalypse in a horror film.

A tall, familiar, blood-soaked figure appeared outside her window.

Sang Luo’s breath hitched. She rushed to open the door, and a bone-chilling gust of wind, snow, and the stench of blood assaulted her senses. Lan Cang practically collapsed into her arms. His face was terrifyingly pale, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His clothes were in tatters, revealing countless wounds that stained more than half of her dress red.

Tears instantly welled in Sang Luo’s eyes. She hugged him tightly, choking on sobs, unable to form a single word.

No matter how badly he was hurt, Lan Cang never let her see it. But this time, he had returned covered in blood, without even a moment to tend to his wounds.

The moment Lan Cang shut the door, he pulled her into a desperate embrace. His icy lips crashed against hers, kissing her with a devouring hunger.

Feeling his desperate, passionate longing, Sang Luo was too stunned to even think of resisting.

“Your wounds…”

“Don’t talk, Luoluo,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Let me… just feel you. One more time.”

This time, he wasn’t gentle or patient like before. He was raw and fierce, as if trying to pour all the longing for a future he’d never have into this single moment, giving her everything he had. It was almost too much for Sang Luo to bear, and she drifted into a deep sleep, unaware of when it ended…

In a daze, she felt a kiss on her forehead.

“If I don’t come back… find another Male Beast, one stronger than me. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Luoluo, I love you.”

When she woke up, Lan Cang was gone. Next to the bed was a full bag of Beast Crystals. An immense, inexplicable panic seized Sang Luo’s heart, as if a part of her had been carved out.

Someone was pounding frantically on the door, sounding as if they were about to break it down.

Sang Luo quickly stuffed the bag of Beast Crystals into her clothes and ran to open the door. It was Li Man and the others.

Li Man’s eyes were red and swollen; she had clearly been crying for days. Three of her mates had died in the battle.

She grabbed Sang Luo’s hand and cried out, “Luoluo, we have to run! The Kordo Tribe is doomed! We can’t hold it! If we don’t go now, it’ll be too late!”

Outside, it wasn’t just Li Man. There were many other female Beastmen and cubs from the tribe that she recognized. They had all packed their belongings. The number of Male Beasts with them had clearly been cut by more than half, and most of the ones remaining were wounded.

Sang Luo suddenly shook her head frantically and grabbed the hand of Ayia, who was standing nearby.

[What about the other Beastmen of the tribe? Aren’t there still many of them fighting the Star Beasts outside? When they come back and find the tribe gone, with no one here, where will they go to find us…]

“There are no Beastmen left… outside the tribe.”

Ayia and her mate exchanged a look, and Kemu spoke with a heavy heart.

The blood in Sang Luo’s veins ran cold, and she staggered back a step.

’Impossible. Lan Cang hasn’t come back yet. How could this be…’

Kemu knew what she was about to ask. His own tense body trembled as he spoke. “Lan Cang… he charged into the Beast Tide alone this morning. He’s missing… he never came back…”

He didn’t dare say more. Everyone present knew the unspoken truth: no one could possibly survive after being swallowed by the Beast Tide.

[How could this be?]

“We encountered a Seventh Rank Peak Star Beast King. It’s the same one that nearly killed Lan Cang all those years ago. But this time, it’s even stronger. It’s far beyond what Beastmen at our level can handle…”

“There’s no way Lan Cang is alive!”

Sang Luo nearly collapsed. ’So that was it. When he rushed to see her last night… he was saying goodbye.’

’No wonder he was acting so out of character.’

“Luoluo, there’s no time for grief!” Li Man urged. “The Kordo Tribe is about to fall, and the Star Beasts will find us soon! This morning, half of the Beastman Warriors sacrificed themselves to secure a secret passage leading out of here. We have to pack our things, escape through it, and seek refuge with another tribe!”

“The larger tribes and the cities have defensive walls that can withstand a Beast Tide! We’re running out of time. We have to go now! If the Star Beasts find us before we leave, we’ll be trapped here for good!”

Li Man was so frantic that she had one of her Tiger Clan mates shift into his beast form, then pulled Sang Luo up onto his back.

The remnant group of Beastmen traveled day and night, leaving the fallen Kordo Tribe behind.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep