The wicked female is extremely fierce, but she's pampered by her seven beast husbands.

Chapter 143 Attack on the Stone Forest
"You want to get beaten up?" Qingchuan frowned and pushed away Hui Dongling, who was following him around like a nagging old man. "If you want to die, don't bring trouble to me."

Hui Dongling was left behind. Looking at Qingchuan's dull appearance, she couldn't help but sigh softly.

He refused to believe that Qingchuan wasn't even slightly curious about the young clan leader's status in the Stone Forest.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go back to cook breakfast. We'll go out to work after breakfast." Suddenly someone patted him on the shoulder and quickly walked towards the campsite.

Because it was a long journey, they carried very limited supplies and prey. They had to spend a lot of time harvesting tree wheat every day, so they didn't have time to hunt. So, apart from sleeping and eating, they spent almost all their time harvesting.

Hui Dongling also realized that this was not a long hunting trip, so time was of the essence. He put away his playful attitude and hurried to the place where he had built the stove.

The wheat harvest at the southernmost point lasted for three whole days. Ling Chengen was rushing to the Shilin tribe with tons of dried tree wheat and white feathers, and he needed to bring back the food supplies the next day.

The two rushed back to the Stone Forest as darkness fell, and before they even landed, they noticed something strange about the ground.

Bai Qingyu hovered in the air for a moment, observing. Because his eyesight wasn't as good as Ling Chengen's, he turned around and asked, "Did you find anything?"

"No one is in the tribe."

As cooked food became more widespread, the orcs in the tribe, even the cubs, were no longer afraid of fire. Every night, while the area wasn't brightly lit, there were always a few campfires to be seen.

But strangely, it had only just gotten dark, and there wasn't a single campfire in sight, nor even the usual squawking of the cubs.

"Let's go check out Hanshan first."

Bai Qingyu did not land rashly, but turned around and flew with Ling Chengen towards the rugged peak not far away.

As soon as the two landed in front of the Cold Mountain Tribe's village, the orcs guarding the wooden tower jumped down from above, weapons in hand, watching the two land with wary expressions. Only when they heard the familiar voices did the warriors breathe a sigh of relief, hurriedly moving their weapons aside, and saying with some excitement, "Young Chieftain, you've finally returned!"

Bai Qingyu looked at the group of clansmen who had gathered around him and asked with a serious expression, "We just came from the Stone Forest and didn't see a single person. What happened?"

"The day before yesterday at noon, a group of people, all high-level orc warriors, suddenly appeared in the Stone Forest. They attacked anyone they encountered, killing more than a dozen people. Then, a high-level wood-element warrior suddenly appeared and immediately engaged the group in a fierce battle. After receiving the distress call, we immediately dispatched people to provide support..."

"The rest of the people from Shilin have all moved to our village. However, several soldiers who went to help were seriously injured because they were no match for the enemy."

“Brother Xi went there too. He wasn’t fully recovered to begin with, and then he got injured again.”

Ling Chengen and Bai Qingyu exchanged a glance, a serious look flashing in their eyes: "The one that came later must be Yu Heng."

"Those who attacked him must be his enemies. Why would they suddenly come to our tribe to cause trouble?"

Bai Qingyu turned to the tribesman who had spoken: "Where is Bai Xiren? Is he badly injured?"

“Brother Xi has been treated by the witch doctor and has now recovered most of his health.”

"Are all those who made the move dead?" Ling Chengen suddenly asked.

The orc from the Crane Clan paused for a few seconds, then shook his head and said, "We don't know about that. When we went to gather information last night, we found that many of the buildings in the Stone Forest territory had been destroyed, and there were about a dozen corpses, some from the Stone Forest and some from other places."

“This morning we took the orcs from the Stone Forest to identify the bodies and confirmed that the five corpses belonged to foreign races. All the corpses are temporarily kept at the Poison Valley and have not yet been taken away for burial.”

"Of the group that invaded the Stone Forest, there are probably only eight or nine left. Along with the last high-level wood-type warrior who appeared, they've all disappeared."

“We searched the area around the territory thoroughly, but found no trace of it.”

"but……"

The gray crane beastman who had spoken looked up cautiously at Ling Chengen: "However, the little winged dragon beast that Young Master Ling raised is gone."

Ling Chengen's eyelashes twitched slightly, but he didn't react in any other way. He just looked up and said, "Go in first. Go and ask Bai Xi about the situation. See if those beastmen who invaded the stone forest came from the south. I'll go check on my people."

“Young Clan Chief’s wife, I’ll take you there.” A round-faced crane clan boy suddenly raised his left hand, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Ling Chengen.

Ling Chengen was startled by his clear voice. After regaining his senses, he nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for your hard work."

The orcs who escaped from the Stone Forest were settled in the western ridge of Hanshan Mountain, where the vegetation was lush and suitable for hiding.

Ling Chengen followed the round-faced crane-tribe boy into Xiling. At first, the surroundings were very quiet, without even the sounds of birds chirping or insects chirping.

But as the boy raised his hand to his lips and whistled, several brownish-yellow thrushes suddenly flew out of the bushes, flapping their wings and landing on the branches high up.

Immediately afterwards, Ling Chengen heard a familiar roar.

A yellow tiger suddenly rushed out of the dark forest and pounced on Ling Chengen's shoulder, nearly knocking him to the ground.

Ling Chengen took a half step back, catching the tiger pounce that felt like Mount Tai pressing down on her. She raised her hand and ruffled Ling Xiaoxi's fluffy, soft short hair. Seeing that she was safe and sound, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister, why are you only coming back now?" Ling Xiaoxi put her two hind paws on the ground, put her paws on her shoulders, and rubbed her fluffy head against her neck and chest. Her voice was a little aggrieved and even a little tearful.

Ling Chengen waited for her emotions to calm down, then looked up at Kong Mingming standing not far away, and patted Ling Xiaoxi on the back: "Okay, take me to see the others."

"Where is Father? Wasn't he there when those people attacked the village?"

Ling Xiaoxi shook her head: "Father went out yesterday morning with a hunting team."

Because the main force went to the eastern region to work on the summer harvest, so many people would consume a lot of food every day. The food supplies they brought would only last for three or four days at most, and they would soon need to return to replenish their supplies.

Although several tribes had fought before and the other tribes were willing to hand over supplies after their defeat, the hunted animals were not properly disposed of because of the severe salt shortage in the previous two months. Also, the cold cellar in Hanshan was dug relatively late, so the stored meat could only last for ten to fifteen days at most. They could not simply sit and eat until the reserves were depleted.

"Hasn't he come back yet?" Ling Chengen frowned slightly.

Ling Xiaoxi shook her head and said, "Not yet."

Ling Chengen felt uneasy, but there was no other way at the moment, so he could only do what needed to be done.

Where are the others housed?

Ling Xiaoxi returned to human form, pulled up her animal skin skirt, and dragged her hand forward: "Everyone lives in the forest. Yao Luo and those beastmen dug a few caves, and we stayed in one last night."

Because it was a temporary relocation, the underground cave was built in a very simple manner.

You have to bend over to go in, as it's pitch black inside with extremely low light.

In the long passageway, only a few withered potted plants hung on the walls. The air inside the cave was not well circulated, so all sorts of smells mingled together: the fishy smell of soil, the smell of blood, the stench of sweat, and the stench of urine... all mixed together.

Ling Xiaoxi led her to the burial ground where the wounded lived. The burial ground was quite large, and the injured tribesmen could lie down, with thick layers of dry grass underneath them.

However, some of their injuries were more severe, and despite basic treatment, dried bloodstains could still be seen in the hay beneath them.

Ling Chengen crouched down and examined several of the more seriously injured orcs.

There are many lacerations, but they have begun to heal.

However, due to the unfavorable environment, coupled with issues with temperature and humidity, the not-so-serious wound began to show signs of suppuration.

"How is the witch doctor doing?" Ling Chengen asked Ling Xiaoxi, turning around.

Ling Xiaoxi sighed and said, "Grandpa the witch doctor is too old. He collapsed completely after treating them and hasn't woken up yet."

"Alright, stop crying, I know." Ling Chengen got up and patted her on the head. He then went to check on the clansmen who had been living in fear for two days. After comforting them, he left the cave and planned to check on Bai Xi's condition.

Bai Xi has been having really bad luck lately. Her injury hasn't fully healed yet, and now she's been hit hard again.

As she walked up the mountain path, she saw the two brothers coming side by side.

"You can get out of bed now?" Ling Chengen looked at Bai Xi, who was moving freely but had a pale face, with surprise.

Bai Xi opened her arms to her and spun around in place: "Don't listen to their nonsense, the injury isn't that serious."

"Where are you going?"

“I was originally planning to visit you, but since you’re alright, let’s go straight to Poison Valley,” Ling Chengen said.

"You want to see those people's corpses?"

Bai Xi vaguely guessed her thoughts, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't speak. She followed them to the Poison Valley, briefly explaining the situation from the previous day along the way.

"The group that launched the ambush yesterday was indeed from the south, but they shouldn't be exiled nobles. Their clothing and overall demeanor don't seem like those of beastmen who have lived in the Northern Wilderness for a long time, and they were extremely ruthless. If Yuheng hadn't held them back, the casualties would have been even greater."

Ling Chengen asked doubtfully, "What about Yu Heng? Can he handle this alone?"

Bai Xi couldn't help but gasp, and exclaimed, "I think you're underestimating Yu Heng. Even if there were dozens more beastmen like him, they would be like lambs to the slaughter in front of him."

"He must have taken the rest of them away; he definitely didn't kill them on the spot."

"The bodies of those who were killed were all left behind."

"I reckon he probably beat those people half to death and then took them back to the Underworld to deal with them."

“However, it’s not very safe in your Stone Forest right now, so I don’t recommend that you take your people back now.”

With a large number of people leaving, the defenses of Shilin are now at their weakest.

Although it's unclear how those people managed to target Shi Lin, if they could catch them off guard once, they could do it a second time!

Ling Chengen didn't say much from beginning to end, but listened very attentively to Bai Xi's account, especially the details of the battle.

After removing the boulder at the entrance of the Poison Valley, Ling Chengen took the lead and walked into the valley, looking at the now barren black earth.

Previously, all the weeds and poisonous plants that were taller than a person have been removed, and now the Poison Valley has been cleared out and planted with some simple plants.

The eighteen corpses were laid out on the flat ground, surrounded by insect and snake repellent powder, and around them were natural cooling stones.

The bodies of the Shilin tribesmen were placed together, while five bodies whose identities could not be identified were placed in the farthest corner.

Ling Chengen squatted down to examine the five corpses. However, judging from their facial features, the folds between their eyebrows and eyes were relatively low, and their features were not as deep as those of the native beastmen of the Northern Wilderness. Moreover, their figures were not as tall and strong as those of the northern beastmen. They looked rather thin overall. The material of their clothes was something she had never seen before. It looked complicated and gorgeous, with the cuffs and ankles tightened, and they were wearing very sturdy shoes.

However, judging from their appearance, it is clear that they do not often transform into beast form and usually maintain human form.

The difference between the southern orcs and the northern orcs is obvious at a glance.

Ling Chengen drew a bone blade from behind his waist and, without any hesitation, sliced ​​open the corpse's chest.

Remove the inactive heart stones.

"Twelve-tier Earth-based Core Stone".

With a flick of his knife, Ling Chengen sent the golden heart stone rolling to the ground.

Bai Qingyu also took a dagger and skillfully cut open the hearts of the remaining corpses.

“They’re all at least ninth rank.” Bai Qingyu looked at the five heart stones lying on the ground, wiped the blood off the dagger with a blade of grass, rinsed the dagger from head to tail with water, and looked at the five corpses with their eyes wide open in death. He sighed in a low voice, “That’s quite a large-scale operation, a dozen or so high-ranking warriors.”

"With this strength, they could easily wipe out a small tribe."

Ling Chengen wiped the blood off the bone blade, lowered his head in thought, and after a long while asked, "Tell me, how did these people find us?"

"Weren't all those people who went to the Netherworld to cause trouble dealt with by Yuheng?"

Bai Xi nodded and said, "I can guarantee that, not a single one escaped."

"But I'm not sure if they had some sophisticated means of communication to send a message out before the person died."

Ling Chengen: "Can Yuheng give them a chance?"

Bai Qingyu said thoughtfully, "If it were him, he would be more than happy for those people to spread the news, right? After all, he only wants revenge, and attracting more enemies would be the best thing for him."

Ling Chengen: "Then our Shilin is an innocent victim."

But Ling Chengen felt something was wrong. He took out a leaf from the animal skin bag at his waist and suddenly looked up at Bai Qingyu: "The Snow Wolf Tribe... I remember, Yuheng looked for Su Weihua and went to the Snow Wolf Tribe."

Is Su Kang still alive?

"Is it possible that he leaked the information to these people?"