Chapter 58 Noodle Needs His Water

Chapter 58: 58 - Noodle Needs His Water

(Yaya’s POV)

The trio didn’t dare return and scurried off for the rest of the night, leaving me with the tree gasums to keep me company. I walked to the fallen stick with wet clothes hanging on it, and fixed the garments so they’d dry properly.

My gaze shifted to the gasums as they snored away, curled up in a corner of the hollow. I should be celebrating, but the three morons would be back tomorrow. They were like boomerangs, always returning to hit me in the face, no matter how hard I tried to throw them away.

I gathered several hollowed fruit gourds from the branches outside. They were filled to the brim with rainwater. The water source might run out if the rain stopped, so I decided to stock up. Noodle needed his fresh water.

Using my knife and a sharp spike, I carved a funnel from a spikehog’s bone. Only a part of them could penetrate into the core’s pocket dimension, so I made the best of it. I pierced the core with the bone funnel and began filling the cores with water.

Once the gourds were empty, I hung them back outside to catch more rainwater. I carved a W into the cores to remember they held water. I repeated the process a few more times, storing as much water as possible. Each core could hold as much as the size of the beast it came from.

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Early the next morning, Nugget appeared at the hollow’s entrance and began to gather our supplies. "We have to move before another storm hits."

I crawled out of the hollow, carrying the gasums on my shoulders. The forest had transformed overnight. Murky water stretched between tree trunks like a lake. The water reached halfway up most trees.

Through the shifting current, a massive crimson snake glided into view. Noodle’s scales shimmered with an iridescent sheen that somehow managed to be both magnificent and utterly ridiculous as he bobbed along, his body creating wake patterns. Near the front of Noodle’s head, Dickhead sat cross-legged, enjoying Noodle’s body like a morning boat ride.

Nugget flew up and down, placing the supplies on Noodle’s back, then turned his attention to the gasums I was holding. "I will take these. You get on Kurus."

I didn’t argue and handed them over to him, letting him do his job as an errand boy. I climbed down the tree trunk, the bark slick under my palms, and carefully lowered myself onto Noodle’s back. Noodle’s scales were cool to the touch, and his movements were gentle as he adjusted to my weight.

Nugget landed beside me and released the gasums into the water. The gasums were happy to swim around us, as if used to this kind of weather. They jumped in and out of the water, sometimes landing on Noodle’s back and then leaping off again.

We set off, Noodle slithering through the flooded forest. Nugget took to the skies, scouting ahead, while Dickhead remained behind me, watching for any signs of danger. He seemed to have recovered from my beating yesterday and was back to his usual self. A brooding, silent shadow.

We should be on our way to the Beast Kingdom, and Nugget’s path led us that way. I recognized some trails along our route, noticing that many beastmen had been migrating in the same direction as us.

A primal’s corpse floated in the water, and a group of beastmen vied for its core. The primals usually migrated during flood seasons, trying to find higher ground to nest. The beastmen must have delayed this primal. They were taking advantage of the flood to hunt primals.

Diverse groups of beastmen mostly belonged to traitless females. These groups usually consisted of beastmen from various habitats, making it a weird sight to see a lion walking beside a raccoon. The females formed these groups to increase their chances of survival.

The primal core tempted many, but the predators lurking nearby kept the beastmen on edge. Predators like us, for example. We drew attention as we passed by.

Some trade would be nice, so I waved Nugget down and asked him to barter some goods with them. I had plenty of primal cores to spare, and the beastmen might have something useful for me.

Nugget landed before me, refusing to become my spokesperson. "They don’t see me as an elite patrol."

I wondered what he meant until I read their facial expressions and lip movements. They were wary of us, as they should be, given the rumors about me, but Nugget wasn’tpart of them.

"Forsaken fangs, did they kill another patrol and steal his uniform?" one of the beastmen muttered as we approached them, close enough to overhear their conversation. "It must be a bait. Stay back."

Another beastman squinted at me. They didn’t recognize Nugget, and he didn’t bother to correct them. The idea of a patrol and a coldblooded cooperating was too absurd for them to believe. A coldblooded wearing a stolen uniform and pretending to be a patrol was more believable.

"Would you like to trade?" I asked, bringing their attention to me. "I have primal cores. What do you have?"

"We are already mated!" They pointed to their mementos hastily. "You can’t have us! Our female is one of the Beast Kingdom’s top beauties! Do not provoke her, unless you want to be hunted down by her royal-rank mate!"

Royal-rank? Only one in five thousand beastmen reached this rank. Noodle was one, while Nugget had yet to achieve it. He was too young.

"Trade. As in exchange goods. I’m not interested in you."

"Liar! Vileborn females are known to lie! You can’t fool us with your words! We know your tricks! You killed the real elite and stole his uniform!" They began to retreat from me, as if I was a curse that could spread to them. "We will report you to the authorities! You and your coldblooded mates will face the justice of the Beast Kingdom!"

"Whatever." I wasn’t in the mood to argue, but I was in the mood to spread more rumors about me. "Get ready to hunt, Noodle. We will search their bodies for anything useful."

As the beastmen splashed away in response, Nugget decided to step in. "Ignore this female. She is not worth your time, so go about your business. I will take care of her."

"You better!" one of the beastmen said, thinking their numbers would deter the males on my side from acting out on my orders. "Our female is not one to be trifled with! She has connections with the elite patrols and the council!"