Chapter 198: Let’s Run, Fox (XIV)

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Chapter 198: Let’s Run, Fox (XIV)

The younger beastfolk were wildly envious when they saw how impressive Mutu looked riding a mule ox. Mutu therefore decided to launch a cavalry-training plan and produce the tribe’s first mounted unit within the year.

The image of an entire troop of lions charging on bullback appeared in Shang Ke’s mind, and something about it felt deeply strange. Still, mule oxen might lack the elegance of fine horses, but they were huge, powerful, and intimidating. A massed charge would have tremendous visual and physical impact.

If the tribe later discovered other animals suitable for domestication, they could even develop specialized mounted units—climbers, swimmers, leapers, and so on. Of course, plans were one thing and reality another. Most beasts in this world were dangerous enough that simply capturing them was difficult, much less taming them. Mule oxen happened to be one of the relatively manageable species.

If the lion tribe truly managed to field a loch-bull cavalry, then at least in the near term they could probably sweep across Kaloch Mountain unopposed.

Because of the cavalry plan, wild mule oxen gradually became prized by the lion tribe. Before long they would even disappear from the lions’ menu entirely, entering beastfolk history not as food but as mounts.

For now, however, everything was still in its infancy. Before the lions could become competent riders, they first had to learn how to care for their mounts.

As the only person who currently had a mount, Mutu rode the mule ox he had unimaginatively named “Calf” around the settlement every day to show off.

Mutu had originally wanted names such as “Little Fox,” “Beloved Fox,” or “Big Tail,” but Shang Ke’s vehement opposition finally forced him to settle, with great reluctance, on “Calf.”

Calf was useful not only as a mount but also as a pack animal, capable of carrying several hundred kilograms without so much as breathing hard.

One day, just as Mutu returned with a hunting party, a tribesman hurried over to report, “Chief, we found seven injured outsiders in the forest.”

“Which species? How were they injured?” Mutu asked as he continued walking.

“Three lynx beastfolk, three fox beastfolk, and one bear beastfolk.”

At the word “fox,” Mutu instinctively glanced at Shang Ke beside him. Shang Ke’s expression remained calm, without any obvious reaction.

The beastfolk continued, “Their tribes were attacked by the Avani not long ago. They fled all the way here and are asking us for protection.”

As they spoke, they reached the center of the settlement and saw the seven refugees.

Mutu’s gaze first fell on the three foxes. Their leader was a young female with a seductive face and voluptuous figure. Reddish-brown hair spilled over her chest, and a matching tail swayed behind her. Her clothes were torn and travel-stained, but the dishevelment did little to hide her beauty. Most of the males nearby were staring at her.

Because of Shang Ke, many young lions had developed a particular interest in fox beastfolk. Plenty of them admired Shang Ke himself, but since he belonged to Mutu, nobody dared make a move. Now another fox had appeared—and this one was a beautiful young female. How could the hot-blooded lions not be excited?

Two young foxes clung to the female’s sides. They looked like twins, though one had white fur and the other red, and appeared to be around five or six years old. Huge eyes surveyed the strange surroundings with equal parts fear and curiosity.

Mutu turned, about to tease Shang Ke, when the two little foxes suddenly broke away from their mother, rushed straight at Shang Ke, latched onto one leg each, and cried in childish voices, “Papa!”

Mutu’s face darkened instantly, twin blades of accusation shooting toward the female fox.

A murmur of surprise rippled through the onlookers, followed immediately by expressions of shameless interest in the developing drama.

Shang Ke looked up at the female fox. She neither confirmed nor denied anything, merely gazing back at him in silence.

This development seemed a little off. Had the original Yanu actually been a fox with a lover and children in tow?

“Yanu, it’s been a long time. I’m so glad you’re still alive.” The fox woman stepped forward and looked at Shang Ke with gentle affection.

“Who are you?” Mutu asked coldly.

“Honored Lion King, my name is Kellona. I was once Yanu’s… lover.” The fox woman bowed to Mutu, but her gaze never left Shang Ke, overflowing with unmistakable affection.

“Yanu’s lover?” The surrounding beastfolk immediately began whispering. “Yanu actually had a lover?”

“Who doesn’t have a few lovers? The children are the important part!”

“Yanu already has children. Will the chief still form a household with him?”

“Hard to say. The chief likes him so much that he might make an exception.”

“But the chief is the Lion King. How could he tolerate his partner having someone else’s children? And if Kellona stays in the same tribe, then no matter whom she forms a household with later, Yanu would still be responsible for helping raise those two children.”

“I don’t think the chief will let Kellona stay.”

“Right. If he can’t bear to give up Yanu, then the only option is to drive Kellona and the children away.”

“But what about Yanu? Would he leave with Kellona?”

“Uh… surely not?”

“Stop talking. The chief looks like he’s about to explode…”

Shang Ke rapidly sorted through Yanu’s memories and the information supplied by the System. He could confirm that Kellona had once belonged to Yanu’s tribe, but that was all. Why was she lying about having been his lover? It was the kind of lie that could easily be exposed. Did she think he would acknowledge the relationship simply because they came from the same people?

While Shang Ke was thinking, Mutu’s deep voice cut through the discussion. “Arrange temporary lodging for them. Whether they stay will be decided after I speak with the elders.” His cold gaze swept across the outsiders with quiet authority.

With that, Mutu unceremoniously peeled the two fox children off Shang Ke’s legs, seized Shang Ke by the hand, and stalked away without looking back.

“Tsk, Yanu’s in trouble now.”

“I wonder how the chief plans to punish him?”

“Do you even need to ask? The most primitive method, obviously.”

“Hehehe…” The onlookers exchanged knowing looks and lecherous grins.

After that, nobody dared casually approach Kellona. They merely followed Mutu’s instructions and arranged lodging for the newcomers.

Mutu dragged Shang Ke into their room. His first words were not an interrogation but a declaration. “I don’t care who you were involved with before—lover, children, whatever. Leave all of it in the past. From now on, you belong only to me!”

Surprise flashed through Shang Ke’s eyes. He had expected Mutu to go berserk, not to be this unexpectedly reasonable. How rare.

Then Mutu immediately demanded in a rough voice, “Was that female really your lover? Did she actually give birth to your children?”

His tone overflowed with barely restrained jealousy and agitation.

There it was. That reaction suited him much better.

Shang Ke waved his hand in denial, indicating that he was still very much a single fox.

This time Mutu failed to understand him at all. He lowered his head and bit Shang Ke’s neck in frustration, leaving two shallow rows of teeth marks. He might have spoken generously a moment ago, but the mere thought that his fox could once have been intimate with someone else was unbearable. His possessiveness toward Shang Ke was far stronger than even he had realized. He wanted all of him—past, present, and future.

“Fox…” Mutu buried his face against Shang Ke’s chest and lifted him by the waist with both hands.

Shang Ke’s back pressed against the wall, his feet nearly leaving the ground. He wanted to explain, but without a voice he could only endure Mutu venting his jealousy all over him.

Just then, a sudden commotion erupted outside. Mutu stopped, exchanged a glance with Shang Ke, then set him down, straightened his disordered clothes, and went outside with him.

Several lion beastfolk dragged two Avani corpses into the settlement and dumped them on the ground. “We caught these two skulking around outside and spying on us, so we killed them.”

“Those bastards still dared set foot in lion territory!” someone snarled, kicking one corpse several times.

“Damn it! Do they really think the lions are easy to bully?”

“We should wipe them out and avenge our dead!”

“Revenge!”

The lions hated the Avani to the bone. Roars of agreement rose one after another, thick with murderous intent.

Mutu and Shang Ke came over, looked at the corpses, then glanced toward the refugees who had not yet settled in. The two Avani were likely tracking them. The Avani were notoriously brutal and treated hunting other beastfolk as entertainment; no one knew how many homes they had destroyed or how many people they had slaughtered.

The Avani had once tried to seize lion territory and plunder their food, only to suffer a disastrous defeat that badly weakened them. When the cold season arrived, they had responded by raiding other tribes even more viciously, surviving the scarcity by feeding on the flesh of other beastfolk.

All seven outsiders had escaped the Avani, while most of their own tribespeople had ended up as food.

Many other tribes had suffered the same kind of massacre. At least several hundred displaced beastfolk were now scattered across Kaloch Mountain. The lion tribe was probably the only force left with enough strength to stand against the Avani.

One lynx beastfolk said, “The Avani have a black liquid that catches fire instantly. The flames rise incredibly high and are almost impossible to extinguish. We barely had any ability to resist.”

The lions knew immediately that he was describing crude oil. They had experienced its destructive power firsthand, and the helpless terror of that fire was still vivid in their memories.

Murderous intent flashed through Mutu’s eyes. “From today onward, the entire tribe is on alert. Thirty warriors will patrol the perimeter every day. If you spot any Avani, kill them immediately.”

Shang Ke’s thoughts immediately turned toward the displaced beastfolk. If the lion tribe absorbed these refugees, his mission might become much easier to complete. But he could not rush the matter and risk creating chaos inside the tribe.

“Yanu.” A woman’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Shang Ke looked up to find Kellona approaching. A moment later, both legs became heavy as the two little foxes once again attached themselves to him without invitation.

“I’m sorry,” Kellona said first.

Shang Ke looked at her in surprise and confusion.

Kellona smiled bitterly. “For the sake of our old tribe, I hope you can forgive me. I’m alone with two children, and surviving on my own is difficult. I had no choice but to look for someone I could rely on. When I heard your name and learned about your relationship with the Lion King, I came up with this desperate plan. I wanted to borrow your name to obtain protection for myself and my children.”

Shang Ke found himself appreciating her honesty and could understand her fears. A physically weaker female entering a foreign tribe full of powerful beastfolk could easily be reduced to someone’s plaything or merely a means of producing children. And she had two young children with her—who could guarantee they would not be mistreated?

“Yanu, I can endure whatever happens to me, but please—protect my children.” Kellona looked at Shang Ke pleadingly.

Shang Ke considered it for a moment, then slowly nodded, accepting her request.

Kellona’s imagination of lion society was far darker than reality. Once she became familiar with the tribe, she probably would not need Shang Ke’s protection at all and could choose another male to form a household with if she wished. For now, acting as guardian to a mother and her cubs was no burden.

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