The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 195 Taming Beasts and the Twin Moons (10,000 words, please subscribe and vote!)

"I want to go back to my tribe."

Shyvana looked around at the mist, knowing she could easily get lost in the forest, and finally looked at Tang Qi.
"I remember this place. We appeared here when that person teleported us here."

She gave me an eye, saying it would help me navigate the forest without getting lost, but the eyeball is now missing.

Tang Qi then realized that Stella seemed to have left behind construct eyeballs when she left.

Perhaps due to the continuous depletion of her spell slots, her mental exhaustion made her forget about it.

Fortunately, with the expertise of a guide, I no longer need to worry about getting lost.

However, Tang Qi remained cautious about returning to the tribe:

"Don't you understand? Long Jincheng never intended for your tribe to survive from the very beginning—"

We lured you here only to use you to flatten Xingmei Town.

You've been away from the tribe for at least half a month, haven't you? Do you really expect that disorganized group to maintain unity after losing you as their chief?
Given the nature of orcs, they might have already split apart and killed each other due to food shortages, or lost their way while hunting in the forest and died under some tree...

"With that old hag Barbaya around, the tribe won't fall apart."

Sivana said with certainty,

"Although she's a wicked old mushroom, ugly and smelly, she's a master at winning people over."

"Is it that old goblin you guys were talking about?"

"I'm struggling to sit up," Sha Shi suddenly asked.

Tang Qi exchanged a glance with him and quickly understood his thoughts.

He then looked at Shyvana:

"It seems like you and her don't get along very well?"

“That old woman is not capable of being a chieftain, but she always wants to seize power in the tribe—if it weren’t for the fact that she can still maintain the balance between goblins and orcs by relying on her prestige, I would have kicked her out of the tribe long ago.”

"If that's the case, then it's not impossible to go back."

Tang Qi gripped the hilt of the only remaining knife in his hand.
"I still have a score to settle with her."

Recalling the fireball that exploded in the camp and the magic energy explosion that nearly cost him his life, Tang Qi felt that leaving like this would be rather frustrating.

He was able to escape from a legendary paladin, so why would he be afraid of a third-circle sorcerer?
After forcefully drinking a mouthful of the life-saving potion and feeling his vitality restored, he couldn't help but curse:

"I want to see just how capable that old goblin is! If he's not good enough to chop down, I'll definitely piss on Black Serpent's grave!"

"No, you can't kill her."

Sivana quickly said,

"The tribe still needs her to maintain the balance—"

"What's it to us?"

Tang Qi sneered.
“That’s not my tribe, isn’t it good that it’s scattered? It’ll save you from always talking about those orcs when you leave with me.”

"Leave? No, I won't leave with you."

Shyvana gritted her teeth and said firmly,

"Only you can join my tribe."

"Snapped--"

Tang Qi slapped her across the face.

For Shyvana, the force of the slap felt like a tickle.

But she still felt a burning pain in her cheek—

A deep-seated sense of shame, like kindling, ignited a fire of humiliation and anger.

"What the hell-"

She instinctively raised her fist in protest.

It should at least hit Tang Qi's mocking face!
But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, his arm, which he had just raised, froze in place as if petrified.

Before she could react, Tang Qi slapped her across the other side of her face.

"Snapped--"

"Any comments?"

"I kill you!"

"Snapped!"

"You damned earthworm!"

"Snapped!"

"Once I tear that piece of paper to shreds, I'll definitely cut off your head and use it as a chamber pot!"

"Snapped!"

Tang Qi reached out and covered her mouth and nose, pinching her chin, and said in a cold, threatening tone:

"It seems you still don't recognize your own identity, do you?"
Doesn't your tribe also keep a few trolls? When you and that old goblin are discussing which direction to direct the Celestial Tortoise to stomp, do you ask the trolls for their opinions?
"Will those trolls, whom you've bound and made to act as your vanguard, also hinder the slave owners' decisions like you do?"

"Who the hell is your slave—"

Shyvana tried to open her mouth and bite Tang Qi's finger.

But whenever she had the thought of attacking Tang Qi, a petrified stiffness would freeze her in place.

The unfair contract clearly states that she has no right to harm Tang Qi.

"no?"

Tang Qi chuckled, released her mouth and nose, and turned to look at Chen Xi, who had changed into a shirt and put on plate armor.

After being infused with magic, the plate armor could be worn independently without Tang Qi's help.

"Chenxi, take her over there."

Tang Qi gave the order, then looked at the rubble.

"Protect Anbi, keep an eye on that sleeping orc, and don't let anyone get close."

Shattered Stone raised an eyebrow, seemingly realizing what Tang Qi was about to do, and couldn't help but curl his lip: "You really have a lot of free time."

"Don't misunderstand, I just want her to understand her situation."

Tang Qi quickly waved his hand, instructing Sui Shi to set up camp on the spot and keep an eye on the little girl, before turning and stepping into the thick white fog.

Born in the wilderness, Shyvana possesses the strength of a wild bear.

Just like the sturdy fir tree in front of us, all it takes is a slight tilt of the shoulder and a moment of gathering strength to easily snap the trunk in two.

But this strength was no match for the dawn.

Her hands were forcibly restrained by the dawn. She tried to break free, but no matter how hard she tried, she could only struggle within a small area and could hardly move.

Tang Qi drew the broken sword of Dawn and said softly:
"You don't accept your own identity, do you?"
Then I'll give you a chance to understand the contract—

Next, I will use this broken sword to slash your skin.

"If you refuse, I will sheath it, tear up the contract, and set you free."

Shyvana frowned, still trying to struggle.

However, the arms that were being held by the morning light were forcibly pulled up her back at Tang Qi's instruction, forcing her to bend over.

She was indeed different from ordinary orcs—

Her stronger human bloodline made her waist as slender as a willow branch.

The oppression filled her with panic, and she roared, about to unleash her fury and awaken the totem of the savage bear.

Tang Qi, however, infused the broken sword with the emotions of a 'sage,' and slashed her arm first.

Shyvana instantly realized that not only was she unable to resist, but even her anger was suppressed in an instant!
"Why……"

Why can't she even muster the anger to resist?

Was she truly bound by the contract, her reason shattered, and willingly become a slave?

Hesitantly, she turned to look at Tang Qi:

"what are you up to!?"

"I'm wondering when those dire wolves and bats you orcs tamed finally came to terms with reality?"

Animal taming is no easy skill.

Tang Qi thought.

After all, most wild animals are extremely ferocious.

Not to mention the kings of those tribes.

Even as wild beasts, they possess the pride of being the overlords.

So if you want to tame the overlord and make it face reality, you should first shatter its pride.

Throw it from the lone cliff into the damp soil.

Pinching its arms, and then scratching its outer skin.

It will be angry, fearful, and howl recklessly.

Then it needs to be shackled and muzzled to prevent its sharp teeth from harming innocent bystanders and to prevent it from biting off its own tongue while struggling.

This shows that it still has self-respect.

We haven't hit rock bottom yet.

not enough.

Inject the emotion called 'fear' into the blade.

Slide the blade again, scraping against the beast's soul, branding it with the scars of cowardice.

The beast will remember this moment in pain.

It would feel ashamed.

The shame of actually feeling fear—

Although it cannot perceive that it was given by humans, as a king, it will still not submit.

It hunts in the wilderness, rolls through thickets of thorns, and pain is of utmost insignificance to it.

Pain will not drain its spirit.

Both sides are well aware that this will ultimately be a long struggle.

The game continues until one side concedes defeat.

It doesn't yet.

Not yet.

He only noticed the knife marks on the back of his hand in the mud, and hesitated before choosing silence.

Because it realized that it had never roared 'no'.

Because it cannot open.

Did that "contract" truly imprison its thoughts and its soul?
……

After feeding Shyvana a life-saving potion to heal her injuries, Dawn, who had been tossed into the tent, hesitated before glancing at Tang Qi:

"Why do I have to do this?"

"Because you are strong enough to subdue her."

Tang Qi explained,
"This allows her to ignore the fact that she can only 'verbally refuse'."

"I feel guilty, like an accomplice to an executioner."

"Don't think like that, I didn't do anything to her."

It was simply a matter of using the emotion of 'fear' to make her realize that she couldn't 'refuse,' thus making her doubt whether she was truly bound by the contract.

Tang Qi admitted that this method was somewhat excessive.

But his purpose was to deceive Shyvana and make her feel that the contract was real.

Fear alone is not enough to control this wild Pallas's cat.

"Don't you even think about how many people she killed along the Southern Great Wall? This entire town was reduced to ruins because of her and the orcs' iron hooves..."

Let's view this as a challenge we have to face in order to control the orcs.

"It seems to make sense. But I haven't figured out the reason why I should do it."

Could torture make her realize her mistake?

Compared to the savage orcs, Dawn values ​​thought more.

"This has nothing to do with right or wrong. For them, so-called killing, violence, and chaos are just the laws of natural survival."

We can't expect to reason with a guy who comes from a barbaric background.

Tang Qi expressed his thoughts.
"For them, the concepts of transactions and win-win situations are meaningless."

Their brains simply don't support their ability to think so much; they just blindly act according to their own instincts.

In other words, they might even become arrogant about it and subconsciously look down on you.

Therefore, they will never listen to what you have to say.

Therefore, if you want to use her, you must shatter her pride.

Let her know that you are someone she can talk to as an equal, someone she even needs to look up to.

Only at this time will she be willing to listen to what you have to say.

Therefore, I must make her understand the importance of contracts.

We're doing this now so we won't have to do it again later.

"So that's it."

Chenxi suddenly realized,

"I thought you simply took pleasure in the suffering of others, which is somewhat different from the image I had of you."

"I am a poet, not an executioner."

My hands were shaking when I was using the knife...

But I need her to help Amby, and to get her to obey, I have to do this.

Regardless of whether Chenxi believed it or not, Tang Qi could only sigh and offer his explanation.

He couldn't change Shyvana's mind or force her to obey.

We can only try to gain as much control as possible over their discourse.

Otherwise, if you say go east, Shyvana will insist on going west, and you won't be able to lead the team.

This time, the 'Blade of Fear' should give her a clearer understanding of the 'contract'.

After that, there's no need to use such extreme methods anymore.

"Oh right, it will probably get dark outside the forest in about two more days and nights."

"I see."

Chenxi patted the shield on his back.

"I will keep watch and will not allow any beastmen to set foot in our camp."

"I believe you, but what I mean is to distinguish between friend and foe. Don't point your sword at Amby."

As Tang Qi said this, he walked toward the recovered Shi and Anbi.

It is clear that it is currently morning.

But currently in this forest where day and night alternate every four hours, night does indeed dominate.

Instead of giving the order to advance, he simply ordered the rubble to set up camp in the open space.

This is the starting point for the orc tribe's advance.

Considering that Sivana was unfamiliar with the geography, she wandered around in the forest and ended up taking a long detour.

The guide's intuition told Tang Qi that even if they set off now and went at full speed, it would probably take five days to complete the journey.

Then we might as well find a place to spend the night of the double moon first—

Even though Ambly seems to be keeping her rationality.

But when the twin moons arrive, no one knows if she can break free from her animalistic instincts.

As day turned into night, the group was able to sit around the newly built campfire and enjoy the tranquility that came with escaping Dragon Gold City.

As dawn broke, the camp remained vigilant, keeping watch over its surroundings.

Pebbles chewed on rye bread, trying to get his emaciated muscles back to normal as soon as possible.

Kuru buried himself in his books, seemingly eager to master a brand new spell.

Anbi, like a little wolf cub, knelt and lay prone on the grass, resting her chin on Tang Qi's thigh:

Will Ambi turn into a monster?

"will not."

Tang Qi gently stroked her ear, trying to play the role of Catherine and hopefully reassure her.

“Anbi wasn’t afraid before. At this time of year, she could just lock herself in the cage in the basement, with her sister by her side. She would feel better the next day if she went hungry for one night.”

You could tell she was really nervous.

After all, she had already endured twelve similar nights.

“But this time, Ambi was really scared, because, because—Ambi had this feeling.”

Tang Qi knew what she meant.

She was able to pass the night of the double moon peacefully only because she was carefree.

At that time, she was still able to deceive herself into believing that her parents had only left her temporarily.

When I open my eyes one day, I will still see them sitting by my bedside, bringing me a bowl of hot oatmeal porridge.

However, in the three months that followed, she not only realized the truth, but also felt confused about her own existence.

After being hunted by the beastmen, he spent nearly a month alone, huddled in a prison cell...

The mental stress made her increasingly weary of her humanity.
"If I become a wild beast, will I no longer have to think about anything?"

"If you keep saying that, I'll have to teach you a lesson on behalf of your sister."

"But Ambition doesn't understand..."

That big bad guy said that it's not a father's job to make Ambition suffer other people's cold looks.

Ambi's birth must have been a mistake, right?

Ms. Marian said the answer could be found in her story, but Amby still didn't understand..."

Thinking of the orphanage director, Tang Qi also wanted to ask:
"what story?"

Ambi felt that her memories were somewhat fragmented.

My head is spinning.

I can only continue the narrative intermittently.

Tang Qi is a good listener, which often makes him think and try to find the truth in the story.

But the brainstorming sessions sometimes made him overlook external factors.

Just as he came to his senses and was about to tell Ambly the answer.

The deep blue and scarlet luster penetrated the fir and the forest leaves almost simultaneously.

The light shone down on the little girl in his arms, whose body was soaked in cold sweat.

Forced to scream in her struggle—

Two moons have arrived.

(End of this chapter)