Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1051 - 1044: Old Grudges

Chapter 1051: Chapter 1044: Old Grudges

How could one describe the appearance of these people? From the neck down, they resembled ordinary humans, but their heads were those of wild beasts, and unlike humans, they had no hair on their heads, only thick fur.

Their faces were distinctive, particularly resembling that of a wolf’s head, but their noses were not as long, and their eyes were relatively parallel, with a circle of white fur running from their faces to their noses. Upon closer inspection, one could even discern features of the feline family.

Most of them were bare-chested, and starting from the back of their necks, along their spines to their tailbones, they were covered in thick fur, primarily dark in color.

They seemed to be cautious about something. Luo’er followed their gaze and saw a beastial man of exceptional stature. He had eyes like a wolf’s and was tightly holding a makeshift club made of metal and wood.

"Damn, they’re all Wolfmen!" Seeing this, Cheng Ziang was not frightened but instead smiled and joked.

Luo’er wasn’t in the mood to entertain him and looked down at Taran, then said, "Taran, try to communicate with them, see if you can make contact."

"Ah!" Taran looked at Luo’er somewhat panicked, took a deep breath to calm himself, then stepped forward, removing his hood and shakily speaking to these Wolfmen in their language.

The moment Taran removed his hood, Luo’er noticed the Wolfmen’s pupils sharply contract, but they quickly dilated again, their gazes fixed on Taran.

Following what Luo’er had taught him, Taran relayed the message in their language to the Wolfmen. The Wolfmen listened to Taran’s words and fell collectively into silence.

Having finished speaking, Taran hastily retreated, clutching Luo’er’s arm and looking at them in terror. It was unclear whether these people had understood Taran’s words as they all bowed their heads, sinking into a prolonged silence, seemingly lost in thought.

In such circumstances, Luo’er did not let his guard down, and the members of the Advance Team kept their guns ready, prepared to open fire should the negotiation fail, which would result in a fierce battle.

Their furry ears twitched, similar to those of the Beast-Ear Race. Like all members of the Sub-beast Race, their ears were positioned higher up on their heads rather than on the sides like other races.

After what felt like an age of silence, the Wolfman leader suddenly spoke on his own initiative, still in the Sub-beastmen’s language, of course.

However, seeing such a scene for the first time, Luo’er and his companions were still profoundly shocked, as the sight of these Wolfmen speaking was as if wolves had suddenly started talking. Such a breach of what was considered normal still astonished them.

Taran, hiding by Luo’er’s side, listened intently to the Wolfman leader’s words with wide eyes. After he finished speaking, Taran looked up at Luo’er and earnestly said, "He said, ’Who are you, why have you come to trespass on our territory, why have you taken our people?’"

"Tell him we are not enemies. We do not wish to be enemies. We simply came to investigate something concerning the Overturning Beast and hope for their understanding," Luo’er said.

Taran nodded, then relayed Luo’er’s words; although Luo’er did not understand the Sub-beastmen’s language, he could clearly sense that Taran was still somewhat unfamiliar with it, stuttering as he spoke.

After Taran finished speaking, the Wolfman leader pondered for a moment, then spoke coldly at length. Taran listened attentively and then told Luo’er, "He said, ’Since it’s a misunderstanding, release our people and then leave, do not infringe on our territory.’ He went on to say a lot of confusing things, some of which I couldn’t understand, but the gist is that they do not welcome us and want us to leave immediately!’"

"Tell them, please be accommodating. We indeed have no hostile intentions and are only here to conduct some research with no other agenda," Luo’er calmly said.

After Luo’er spoke, Taran once again relayed his words to the Wolfman leader. The leader listened to his stuttering speech and suddenly became angry, pointing at Taran and loudly speaking something. Although incomprehensible, his tone suggested he was likely scolding Taran.

After being scolded by the Wolfman Leader, Taran appeared very aggrieved, and his voice grew louder as he said something to the Wolfman Leader. However, his words only made the Wolfman Leader angrier, who rebutted Taran’s words with an even louder voice.

After several exchanges of biting words, the atmosphere became extremely tense. Taran sniffled, tears streaming down his face as he continued to speak through sobs.

The Wolfman Leader pointed at Taran, his eyes wide with fury as he shouted angrily. Judging by his gestures, he seemed very displeased with Luo’er and the others intruding into their homeland, apparently wanting to expel them all.

"Taran, stop crying, what exactly is going on? If you keep crying, we might really start fighting," Luo’er said, holding Taran’s arm anxiously and pressing him for an answer.

"He said, he said..." Taran sniffled, then said aggrievedly, "He said we betrayed them, betrayed the Scouring Sky Beast, left on our own to enjoy wealth and honor, and abandoned them in the deep mountains. I said we’ve also had a hard time, but he just wouldn’t believe it, insisting that we betrayed them for profit, so we deserved to be captured and eaten by the beastmen..."

"That’s too much," Luo’er sighed softly, then reached out and gently rubbed Taran’s ears, comforting him in a soft voice.

It seemed there was no small contradiction between the Beast-Ear Race and these Beastial Tribes. However, the specifics of their conflict were unknown to Luo’er. He only knew that when the Beast-Ear Race left the Kunzhou, these Beastial Tribes had not left but had always followed the Kunzhou.

If what Taran said was true, then they must have followed the Kunzhou and eventually arrived at the Namijiya Mountain Range, where the Kunzhou ultimately met its end, and the Beastial Tribe remained here for generations to protect it.

If the above theory was true, then Luo’er roughly understood why these Wolfmen harbored resentments. It was probably because the Scouring Sky Beast had taken great pains to bring them to the Western Continent, and after arriving, some people fled for their lives, completely disregarding the Scouring Sky Beast’s fate, with only these Wolfmen loyally following it.

But according to the village chief’s description, the situation might not be as such. The Scouring Sky Beast, knowing its end was near, had let them all flee for their lives. This meant that the Beast-Ear Race’s departure from the Kunzhou was not out of selfishness, but rather was intended by the Scouring Sky Beast.

Thus, the conflict between the two sides might simply stem from a mutual misunderstanding. The Wolfman Clan had guarded the Scouring Sky Beast generation after generation, so they also harbored resentment towards those who had left.

"Alright, Taran, stop crying. Listen to me," Luo’er pondered for a moment, then spoke to Taran, "From now on, no matter what he says, you translate it for me to hear, and you yourself should not express your own opinion. Let me speak directly to him. As they say, a bystander is often clearer-headed; it seems I, an outsider, need to sort this out."

"Eh, is that so?" Taran sniffled, raising his head to ask.

"Alright, Moving forward, I’ll speak a sentence, you translate a sentence; don’t wait until I’ve said everything before you translate all at once. Understood?" Luo’er asked.

"Oh!" Taran nodded vigorously.

"Everyone, first of all, we are not enemies, so there’s no need to be so cautious. Can everyone relax a bit?" Luo’er said, raising his hands and took a step forward. Seeing him coming closer, the Wolfmen stepped back warily.

Following closely behind Luo’er, Taran translated his words into the Sub-beast Race’s language, sentence by sentence. Hearing Taran’s translation, the Wolfman Leader stared at him skeptically.

"What exactly are you people, and what are you doing here?" Using Taran’s translation, Luo’er heard the Wolfman Leader’s words.

"I have already said that we are not enemies. You withdraw your people, I’ll release your people, and the two of us can have a good talk face-to-face. How about that?" Luo’er said calmly.