Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 190: Long way around

By the time the Ram tribe came to their sense, the people had long disappeared. While they were on their way back to the pack, the lady, whom the Ram tribe leader and priest were waiting for, had arrived.

They bowed to her respectfully when she entered the tribe leader’s tent.

"Where?" The voice was so melodious that it made the tribe leader feel as though spring had bloomed.

"We lost her, my lady." The priest was the first to speak up. He fell to his knees.

The woman didn’t argue. She simply left the tent. She could kill them with a flick of her wrist, but she didn’t. The howl had been performed. She thought it was only a matter of time before they would meet again.

There was one thing she was sure of: they would meet at the inter-tribe festival. A smile blossomed on her face. Her silk dress swayed in the wind. The sheer material clung to her curves. Though it was winter, this woman wasn’t cold.

Her fiery red hair curled around her face. She did not rush back. She decided to take her time. She strolled out of the Ram tribe.

Joruk and Hekit, who had not been punished, felt relieved.

"She left. We didn’t receive a punishment?" Joruk said incredulously

"You want to be punished?" Hekit questioned harshly.

"Of course not. It’s just..."

Hekit nodded. He understood what Joruk was afraid of. No punishment for a task they hadn’t completed. The lady was not a forgiving person. They couldn’t understand why she only walked away, allowing them to live.

Regardless of their understanding, she had already left.

The trio who had made their exit caught up with the rest of the pack.

"Is everyone alright?" Visha asked, stepping into view.

Nyx responded, "We’re all fine. What about you?"

"No need to worry," Visha said dismissively. "We do need to leave soon. Can everyone keep moving?"

Visha watched their faces. It was obvious some of them weren’t happy, but they said nothing. Roc approached the trio.

"Tribe leader, priestess, is there something wrong with the Ram tribe?"

His other beastmen heard him; their ears twitched, but they said nothing.

"The Ram tribe may not be what you believe it is. The Ram tribe leader seems to have an agreement with someone," Uri explained.

He did not include anything about Visha being ’blessed by the land’. They weren’t sure what that meant. Now was not the time to decipher the meaning. What they needed to do was get home.

"We need to head out. Now isn’t the time to talk about this," Xeno said.

And so their journey began. It was expected that they would arrive when the first snow began. Now, the journey is extended because of unforeseen circumstances.

The first snow had already begun when they were halfway there. The previous grumbles became louder. The people they had carried with them were mostly small cubs and females.

While the male cubs could transform, the female cubs had no such advantage. The place was becoming colder. More and more people were determined not to continue. They wanted to find a place to stay.

Some were complaining and wanted to return to the Ram tribe.

Today, the complaints were unbearable. Visha couldn’t help stopping the team.

"I’ve listened to your complaints," she said, standing in front of the group. "You have complained about everything from the length of time we have walked to the food we eat. Since the Ram tribe was so comfortable, why did you leave?"

Before anyone could say anything, Visha lifted her hand to stop them.

"I understand this might be hard to understand. But your loved ones are in our pack. We had no intention of being caught in the snow like we are now. We can only do so much for the time being."

"The moment we left the Ram tribe, you became a part of our pack. We do not wish you harm, but it doesn’t mean we will accept disrespect. If this were the Ram tribe, would you be acting like this?" The silence answered her question.

"We can all tell the snow is abnormally thick. It had only been a few days," Uri said. "Now is not the time to complain. We need to move faster. There are still a few more days before we arrive at the pack."

Uri’s cold stare held them in place. "If you truly want to leave, we will not stop you. But...we will not give you safe passage. "

He pointed to the white landscape. "If this is the beginning. The end may be worse. If you believe you can survive, you may leave."

"Why should we leave?" an annoyed voice said.

"If you do not wish to leave, then shut up and start walking." Xeno was not willing to keep up whatever pretext they wanted them to keep.

He had long been annoyed by these people. Had they not been partners for their pack members, he would have left them on the road.

Walking for another hour, they were able to find a cave.

It was at this point that Visha decided to cook. It was the vitality stew she used to make. She knew they needed to be nourished. She had Xeno make a stone pot.

When she saw it, the memories of when she first arrived became vivid in her mind. Her eyes went to Uri’s arm. The first time they met, he only had one. Now, by some miracle, he had both.

She remembered having to dig for ginger. The way she panicked when she first arrived. Now, a year has passed like this, and she has adapted. She could do things and see things she never thought possible.

She made the vitality stew. There were not many containers. The containers used were the water pouches her people carried. They could not feel everyone together, so they had to be refilled until everyone had something to eat.

"This is where we will stay tonight," Xeno said. "Tomorrow, we will leave early."

Uri was off to the side with his mapping equipment. He carried it with him everywhere he went. This was the reason they could move as smoothly as they have been.

He had mapped many areas during their journey to get to the caldera. Although he was not familiar with this section of the mountain. He had already asked Kaelen about the places he had been.

He was able to make a makeshift map of the places Kaelen had been.

He had also questioned Crosvil. The former cheetah tribe leader knew quite a bit about the surroundings as well.

From that, he remembered certain landmarks. So though he had not been to the Ram tribe, he was able to use the information to create a rough map.

From his indication, they were only a few days from their original path. The path they were on and the one they had walked met in the middle. After encountering their original path, they would only be a day away from home.

Late that night, Visha, Uri, and Xeno watched the sleeping people. They had not asked anyone to guard. Uri and Xeno decided to take charge of the watch even if others disagreed.

When they were sure everyone was asleep, Visha raised her hand. Tendrils of power left her fingertips. They coiled around each of the persons in the caves. IT did not take long before the tendrils were retracted.

"You do this for them every night. Will you really keep quiet about it?" Uri asked.

Visha’s back was pressed against the wall of the cave. "If I tell them, what difference will it make? They will still complain."

"You’ve kept them from freezing. The cubs are well fed, and they still complain," Xeno spat. "They don’t deserve it."

"They don’t know us," Visha replied. "We took them from the only home they know. They left because they wanted to see their partners. We can’t fault them for complaining."

Xeno scoffed.

"Stop complaining, little tiger," Visha said, poking Xeno’s side. "They will be our people in the future. No matter how we feel about them, they are our foundation."

"You do not care for them," Uri said bluntly.

This was a fact for the trio. They knew that, though Visha cared for the people closest to her. She was less compassionate toward those who were simply members in her eyes.

"Yet here I am." Visha laughed softly. "You both want to keep them, so we do."

"You both want to keep your family safe. I am a part of that family. I will make sure that within my power, I do everything I can to make your wishes come true."

"I’m going to check the system library. After what Uri did before, I think I need to figure out what is happening to us."

She didn’t wait for their answer. She closed her eyes and went to the library.

Outside, Uri and Xeno eyed Visha.

Xeno chuckled, "There’s a lot she doesn’t like but does for us."

"If we had not wanted our own territory, she would have simply stayed with us in our own world. But we cannot let her do that. We want a territory, and she needs to be around people," Uri stated.