Chapter 69: Speechless

Chapter 69: Speechless

Bran sat cross-legged, resting with his eyes closed. While chatting around the campfire, sitting like this wasn’t noticeable. But when the other boys also prepared to rest, they noticed Bran sitting there completely still, and the sound of light snoring came from him. Then they realized that the occasional hums or replies Bran made during their earlier conversation were likely just subconscious reactions from being asleep, which was somewhat infuriating.

At night, Bran gently woke up a few of the boys, signaling them to be careful, and then he and Huahua disappeared into the night. The boys were quite alert and soon noticed something was wrong. But how did Bran notice the danger before the White Wolf did? Wasn’t he sleeping the whole time? Full of questions, the boys stayed cautiously on guard.

Bran did not know what these troublemaking kids had done. This was clearly retaliation, revenge from wild beasts.

…

A night of alarms but no real danger passed. Bran now sat among the Lion Pride, with a lioness lying beside him, licking him from time to time, helping to clean the blood off him.

Bran’s Lion Pride had been following him from a distance. After Bran became the new Lion King, the pride treated his subsequent travel route as a new Territory boundary marking. Along the way, Bran hunted suitable prey whenever he wished, taking only the two strips of meat from the back, leaving the carcasses for the Lion Pride following behind to share. When he was surrounded and attacked last night, the pride noticed the disturbance, saw it as a Territory dispute between two groups, and charged over roaring.

The Lion Pride’s size had grown somewhat. Some young lions wandering alone had joined as the pride passed by. Even two very young male lions had quietly mixed in with the pride. When these two males saw Bran, they showed submission, rolling onto their backs and exposing their bellies as he passed. In other words, Bran’s position as Lion King was still quite secure.

He also figured out the reason for the attack. Those troublemaking kids had raided a lizard-bird nest and taken a few eggs. If they had just taken a few eggs, there would have been no problem. But perhaps suffering a compulsive urge, they smashed every egg they could see, one after another…

When the hunting lizard-birds returned and discovered the disaster, they went into a collective frenzy. They tracked the scent all the way, planning a fatal strike at night.

Now the matter was settled. Bran’s three cousins stopped calling him an Idiot after the Lion Pride appeared. This was a good sign, at least for Bran.

Now Bran had one last thing to do for the Lion Pride: lead them to completely clear out the lizard-bird nest, which would then become the pride’s new base.

…

“Idiot, how did you get mixed up with a Lion Pride?” Dia asked.

Bran was completely speechless. The moment they left the Lion Pride, his cousins immediately slapped the Idiot label back on him, completely dropping the caution and respect they showed among the lions. Not wanting to deal with this troublemaker, Bran remained silent.

“How can I make a Lion Pride obey me?” Lia put her arm around Bran’s shoulder, acting all close like sisters.

Out of gratitude for her not calling him an Idiot, Bran answered: “Defeat me in front of the Lion Pride.”

“Do you think I’m an Idiot? You think you’re the Lion King?”

Bran had a bit of a headache. “I don’t think you’re an Idiot.” Then he added a mental note: you are an Idiot. Unfortunately, he didn’t dare say it out loud. Facing cousins he couldn’t hit or scold, he was helpless.

“Then tell me, how do I make a Lion Pride obey me?”

“Just kill me,” Bran started grinding his teeth again.

“What’s the use of killing you, you Idiot? Hurry up and tell me the secret of how you make the lions obey you.”

“See the Starlight swirling around me? I’m a Wizard. It’s one use of my ability.” Bran pointed at the Starlight around him, making up a reason, and finally managed to convince his three cousins.

…

“A few years ago, didn’t they say they would use you for a marriage alliance with Nobles from outside?” Sia began gossiping.

“You know about that?” Bran was somewhat surprised.

“Yeah, we live far away, so there wasn’t much need to hide it. Don’t change the subject. Have you taken a liking to any young lady?”

“Liking my foot! Those bastards really dared to negotiate at a price for buying an Idiot. Then, when I started acting a bit more normal, those bastards realized they hadn’t brought nearly enough capital, so they stalled.”

His cousins patted Bran’s shoulder sympathetically. It was hard to tell if they were genuinely comforting him or secretly gloating.

…

“So you’re just heading into the Wasteland like this?” Bran asked the question he truly cared about.

“No, family Warriors are waiting for us near the mountains. We have Snow Falcons; we’ll find them naturally when we get there.”

“What about you?” Dia asked Bran in return.

“I came out alone, but there should be someone following behind me.”

“You came out alone?” Dia found it hard to believe.

“Yeah, and you probably know my general situation before. No choice, had to use this journey as training.”

“How’s the effect?” Sia took over the conversation.

“Better than not training at all,” Bran shrugged.

“Oh right, how’s your Sister Lily?” Lia chimed in.

“Right now, the three of you together wouldn’t be enough for her to fight,” Bran casually provoked his three cousins. Back in the Castle, his sister used to call him an Idiot while clashing noisily in fights with these three cousins. Later, the four cousins were pulled aside together and each got a good scolding from their parents. Thinking back now, his sister really fought hard for him back then.

Maybe Bran’s words stirred up old and new grievances for his cousins, as they almost said in unison: “You’re bragging!”

With a sense of sweet revenge, Bran explained: “She had an Awakening. A strength-type Wizard.”

He felt greatly satisfied by the envy and resentment on his three cousins’ faces.

…

“That night, how did you spot the danger? Even sooner than the White Wolf.” Sia asked.

“Thought about going further away to pee, so I spotted it,” Bran said casually.

“I have a feeling you’re lying to me.”

“How did you get that feeling?” Bran was curious. Given how his cousins looked at him, they should only think he was weak.

“The White Wolves’ attitude towards you…”

“Oh, my family’s White Wolf treats me even better. That’s probably also an effect of my Wizard ability,” Bran explained haphazardly.

“Right, you’re still a Wizard. You haven’t said what your specific ability is yet?”

“In the Northlands, we don’t focus too much on Wizard abilities. So I’m not really sure what my ability is exactly. Probably just being good with animals.”

Seeing his cousins looking convinced, Bran thought to himself, it’s really not easy to satisfy you all…

…

To keep his three cousins more satisfied, Bran spent most of the following journey just watching the fun, tagging along for free food and drink. This was a process of observation and learning. After all, Bran had too little contact with peers from the Northlands. He had a natural disadvantage in cooperative action. Although he believed more in the power of a group, cooperation isn’t just about wanting it; it’s an action that needs polishing through practice. Over the years, Bran had always stayed on the fringes of any group, peeking at their flaws, occasionally using these to set traps, making those who called him an Idiot suffer misfortune for no apparent reason.

At the same time, he knew his three cousins couldn’t have truly run all the way from the Western Territory to here just for something to eat, and just happen to get ahead of him. If the newcomers weren’t his cousins, Bran might have believed it was a chance encounter. With strangers, Bran could just turn and leave; they had no excuse or reason to pester him. The falcons and wolves weren’t just companions; they were superb tools for tracking. Since everyone wanted to play their part, it was fine to keep playing. Bran didn’t want to expose it.

He was sure someone following him—Danny or someone else—had left markers, allowing his cousins to find him easily. And those people were probably following them from a suitable distance now.

His mother must have been worried about Bran. Probably, after confirming she couldn’t stop her son from going alone, she had already sent a letter via Snow Falcon flying to the Northlands’ Western Territory. Maybe it was luck, or perhaps the wonder of fate, but his three cousins also heard the call during this period. If this was meant to be, Bran didn’t want to change anything. Let it be. He had to admit, his cousins had a tough time, running such a long distance in a short time.