Chapter 220: Leader?

Damien stared at the endless stretch of golden-yellow plants spreading across the land.

Sora had described these strange plants as something extremely precious, almost like a miracle sent from the Heavenly God.

At first, Damien had been somewhat skeptical.

How could something so small possibly be more useful for filling one’s stomach than meat?

Yet the more he watched Sora, the more he realized that this Female truly understood things that other Beastmen could never imagine.

She seemed to know everything.

No.

It wasn’t just that she knew more than the average Female.

She seemed to know more than almost every Beastman in the entire Beast World.

Sora was truly extraordinary.

Damien couldn’t help but observe her more closely.

Under the warm sunlight, Sora bent down and carefully used a Stone Knife to cut the ears of rice.

Her movements were not particularly fast, but her expression was filled with joy.

She looked as though she had discovered something she had desperately wanted for a long time.

The sunlight fell across her face, making her black eyes shine brightly.

There was a determined light in those eyes.

Confident.

Bright.

Alive.

Damien found himself staring for a moment longer than he should have.

Sora seemed completely unaware that he was watching her.

All her attention was focused on the golden rice field in front of her.

The rice field was enormous.

Even with seven people working together, they spent half the day harvesting and still hadn’t managed to collect even one-third of it.

Perhaps the Supernatural Abilities possessed by Beastmen were simply more suitable for this kind of work.

Despite having a Water Elemental Ability, Sora was actually the slowest among them.

At the beginning, the others had been worried about her.

After all, she was pregnant, and everyone knew she had already been exhausted from dealing with the plague toxin.

They had repeatedly told her to sit aside and rest while they harvested the rice.

But Sora couldn’t stand simply watching everyone else work.

She felt too bored.

After insisting several times that she was perfectly capable of helping, the others finally gave in.

Still, Sora’s harvesting speed was pitiful compared with theirs.

She carefully cut each stalk while the others worked much faster.

After working for a while, everyone finally sat down to rest and eat.

Since they had planned to spend the entire day outside, Sora had specifically asked Lyra to prepare some potato pancakes for them to carry.

Although the pancakes had already become slightly cold, they were surprisingly delicious.

The only problem was that they were a little dry.

Sora chewed slowly and looked around absentmindedly.

Then her eyes landed on a tree growing not far away.

There were wild fruits hanging from its branches.

Her eyes immediately brightened.

She had been craving something sweet and juicy.

Sora was about to get up and pick some when she suddenly heard a strange rustling sound.

She paused.

"What is that?"

Following the sound, she carefully walked in that direction.

After pushing aside some vegetation, her expression changed.

A large group of Long-eared Beastmen were lying on the ground.

Some were curled into balls.

Others rolled weakly from side to side.

Painful groans escaped their mouths.

The sound immediately attracted the attention of the six Beastmen resting behind Sora.

They all stood up and looked over.

Sora quickly stepped closer.

Her expression became serious.

Some of the Beastmen’s faces had already begun turning black.

Others were breathing rapidly, their chests rising and falling heavily.

There was no doubt.

These were symptoms of the plague toxin.

Sora frowned.

Martin had already spread the Pox Scab treatment method throughout the surrounding Tribes.

Had these people not received the news yet?

Before she could say anything, she heard a weak voice coming from the group.

"Remember what I told you..."

A Beastman lying on the ground wore white animal skin.

His voice was extremely weak.

"After I’m gone, find a place farther away and live there. Stay far away from me... Otherwise, you will catch the plague toxin too."

A small Female beside him began crying.

"Priest, don’t say that anymore."

Her tears flowed freely.

"I know. Just rest. You’ll get better."

The Priest coughed weakly.

"Cough... be good..."

His breathing became heavier.

"The Leader is already gone... and I won’t be here for much longer either."

He looked at the little Female.

"You must protect yourself."

The conversation was filled with grief.

Sora couldn’t listen any longer.

She stepped forward.

"Don’t cry."

The little Female looked up at her.

Sora’s expression was calm and confident.

"I have a way to save them."

The little Female froze.

"Really?"

Sora nodded.

"Yes."

She immediately turned toward the six Beastmen behind her.

Within moments, all seven of them took out the Pox Scab cotton swabs they had prepared earlier.

Sora had ordered everyone to carry some emergency supplies with them whenever they left the Tribe.

She had never expected that they would need them so soon.

One by one, the seven of them began treating the infected Beastmen.

There were more than seventy people lying there.

Sora removed the Animal Skin Pouch from her back and opened it.

Inside were rows of prepared cotton swabs.

She took one out.

Then she controlled a vine and carefully extended it toward the Priest.

The vine carried the cotton swab forward.

A small amount of Pox Scab reached the area between the dying Beastman’s nostrils.

A moment later, he inhaled.

The treatment entered his body.

Sora carefully observed him.

Then she used another vine to check his body temperature.

Her expression became serious.

"He’s very sick."

She frowned.

"His condition is severe, so he needs to be watched carefully."

The little Female immediately listened.

"If his fever hasn’t gone down tonight, continue placing the Pox Scab near his nose."

The little Female stared at her with confusion.

She clearly didn’t completely understand.

But she understood one thing.

The Priest could still be saved.

She quickly nodded.

Sora realized she hadn’t explained the process clearly enough.

"Come here."

She patiently explained how the Pox Scab treatment worked.

She demonstrated how to apply it and how often they needed to observe the patient’s condition.

After explaining everything several times, Sora made sure the little Female understood.

Only then did she leave.

The other six Beastmen followed her.

The rice couldn’t be harvested in one day.

They still had an enormous field waiting for them.

After working until evening, Sora and the others finally returned to the Tribe.

The next day, they returned to the rice field.

Before Sora could even reach the group of Long-eared Beastmen, a little Female suddenly rushed toward her.

"Priest!"

Her face was filled with excitement.

"It’s her!"

She pointed toward Sora.

"She saved us!"

The Great Priest looked toward Sora.

Surprise appeared in his eyes when he realized that the person who had saved them was a Female.

However, he didn’t waste time questioning it.

He immediately stepped forward, lowered himself onto one knee, and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Female, for saving our lives."

His voice was sincere.

"If it weren’t for you, our Tribe would have been completely wiped out."

Sora quickly helped him stand.

"I only did what I could."

But the Priest’s people didn’t stand.

Instead, they looked at Sora with determination.

"Please, Female."

Their voices sounded together.

"Become our Leader!"

Sora froze.

She hadn’t expected this at all.

"This..."

She looked at the group.

"You should all stand up first. Then we’ll talk."

But none of them moved.

More than seventy Beastmen remained kneeling before her.

Sora’s head began to ache.

She had only come here to harvest rice.

How had things suddenly become like this?

After thinking for a moment, she finally sighed.

"Alright."

She pointed toward the rice field.

"Then help me harvest the rice first."

The moment they heard this, the group immediately stood up and got to work.

With dozens of extra hands helping them, the rice was harvested extremely quickly.

Before long, a huge mountain of golden rice ears had accumulated.

Sora looked at the enormous pile.

Then she clapped her hands happily.

"Alright."

She smiled.

"Your debt of gratitude has been repaid."

She pointed toward the rice.

"Thank you for helping me harvest everything."

Then she waved her hand.

"That should be enough. You can go now."

Sora turned toward her Beast Husbands.

"You guys, carry the rice ears back."

The six Beastmen immediately gathered the rice.

They bundled the golden stalks onto themselves and began walking back toward the Tribe with Sora.

However, halfway through the journey, Sora suddenly realized something.

She turned around.

The group of Long-eared Beastmen was still following them.

Sora sighed.

"What are you following me for?"

She looked helplessly at them.

"Go back and live your own lives."

The Great Priest shook his head.

"Leader."

His expression was firm.

"Wherever you are, we will be there."

Sora’s head immediately began hurting again.

So many people had appeared out of nowhere.

And now they were following her home.

When they finally arrived at the Wolf Tribe, their arrival immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

The Tribe members stared curiously at the large group.

Especially because the newcomers were carrying the same golden plants Sora and the others had brought back.

Someone immediately asked,

"kaelira, what is that?"

Another person looked at the newcomers.

"And who are these people?"

"They look like Dragon Beastmen."

Sora didn’t have the energy to answer any of them.

Her mind was already spinning.

How was she supposed to deal with this?

Managing five Beast Husbands was already exhausting.

Now she suddenly had more than seventy Tribe members following her.

She really didn’t have the energy to manage another group.

Just as Sora was beginning to feel overwhelmed, Martin approached.

He looked at the large group following Sora.

Then he looked at her.

"This is...?"

Sora’s eyes immediately brightened.

Father had arrived at exactly the right time!

"Father!"

She hurried toward him.

"These people say they want to join our Tribe."

She pointed toward the Great Priest.

"How about you manage them?"

Martin looked at the group.

Then he noticed the Great Priest staring directly at Sora.

He seemed to understand what had happened immediately.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"The person they have chosen to follow is you."

He calmly stepped back.

"So I won’t interfere."

Then he added,

"Besides, you can create the treatment for the plague toxin, and your leadership ability is excellent."

Martin smiled.

"Being a Leader suits you quite well."

Sora froze.

What?

Why would Father say that?

Wasn’t he supposed to help her?

Didn’t this make her situation even more troublesome?

Before Sora could protest, the Great Priest knelt down once again.

"Greetings, Leader!"

The dozens of Beastmen behind him immediately followed.

"Greetings, Leader!"

Their voices echoed throughout the area.

With such a grand display, Sora had no choice but to accept reality.

She was now their Leader.

Sora waved her hand helplessly.

"Fine."

She sighed.

"Then find somewhere to stay for yourselves."

Perhaps after living here for a few days, they would lose interest and return home.

That was what Sora hoped.

The Great Priest nodded.

He immediately began directing his people to construct houses.

By evening, the newcomers were already busy establishing their temporary settlement.

Meanwhile, Sora sat at the round table with her Beast Husbands and ate dinner.

The day had been exhausting.

All she wanted now was to finish eating and rest.

However, Ace had been pestering her repeatedly.

"Kaelira, let’s go back to the Wooden Hut."

Sora glanced at him.

She was about to answer when the Great Priest suddenly walked over.

He stopped beside the table.

His expression was respectful.

"Leader."

Sora looked up.

"Yes?"

The Great Priest smiled.

"Do you need me to select a Beast Husband for you from within our Tribe?"

Sora’s eyes widened.

"?!"

The entire table suddenly fell silent.

The other Beast Husbands turned toward Sora.

Their expressions became extremely strange.

And several pairs of eyes immediately began flashing with unmistakable jealousy.