Chapter 236: Night Watch In The Wild

Ace looked at Sora expectantly, clearly thinking she would choose him.

Instead, she merely glanced at him before walking past and climbing onto Drake’s back.

Ace froze.

Why would she choose a newcomer she had never ridden before?

His expression immediately became complicated.

However, Sora’s reason for choosing Drake was actually very simple.

She was his Leader.

By choosing him, she was officially acknowledging that she had accepted the position of Leader of the dragon Tribe.

Although the people of the Dragon Tribe had already understood that she had tacitly accepted their allegiance over the past few days, she had never formally responded to them.

This simple action was her way of officially acknowledging her role.

Besides, although her Beast Husbands were not outsiders, there was still a subtle distance between them.

Sora had always been cautious.

Especially now that she was pregnant.

She couldn’t afford to place all her trust in people simply because they cared about her or because they were her Beast Husbands.

If her Black Bear Foster Mother suddenly appeared one day and exposed the fact that she was not the Original Owner, Sora needed to have somewhere else to turn.

The Dragon Tribe could become that safety net.

That was why she had deliberately chosen Drake.

It wasn’t because she favored him.

It was because she needed to establish her authority over the Tribe.

Unfortunately, the others didn’t know what she was thinking.

Lucas was greatly puzzled when he saw Sora choose Drake.

He had thought the competition would be between Lukan and Xavier.

He had never expected them to lose to an outsider.

And not just any outsider.

A newcomer who had only recently become part of their group.

Xavier saw Sora climb onto Drake’s back and shot her a meaningful glance.

Sora pretended not to notice.

In truth, she had noticed.

She simply chose not to respond.

It had been intentional.

Lukan was also slightly surprised.

However, when he saw the dozens of dragon Beastmen gathered ahead of them, he quickly understood.

He stepped back a few paces.

If Sora wanted to use this opportunity to establish herself as the Leader of the Tribe, he wouldn’t interfere.

Although Damien had revealed his true form, he hadn’t really expected Sora to choose him.

He was mostly participating for the sake of being involved.

After all, he knew Sora was still wary of him.

He was simply surprised that she hadn’t chosen Lukan.

Ryan felt a little disappointed as well.

But then he remembered that his fish body wasn’t particularly convenient for carrying someone over land.

Compared with the land Beastmen, he had no real advantage in this situation.

So he quickly accepted it.

Meanwhile, Nick Wilde looked utterly dejected.

He had never expected to lose to the latecomer, Drake.

He had arrived prepared to spend time with Sora.

Instead, he had been completely outmaneuvered.

---

Sora had visited the Red Land several times before, so she was no longer unfamiliar with the place.

Compared with the nervousness she had felt during her first few visits, she was much more relaxed this time.

The dragons didn’t look particularly too large, but sitting on Drake’s back was far more comfortable than she had expected.

His scales was soft and fine, without the roughness or prickliness she had imagined.

More importantly, Drake ran very steadily.

Sora felt almost as secure as though she were standing on flat ground.

Still, because she was carrying a little cub, she instinctively paid more attention to her balance.

She didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

Her body was more sensitive now, and although her pregnancy wasn’t yet advanced enough to prevent her from traveling, she knew she couldn’t be careless.

She held on lightly to Drake whenever the terrain became uneven.

The journey itself was surprisingly peaceful.

It had been quite some time since Sora had last come here.

As the seasons changed, the scenery had transformed.

The lush green trees that had covered the land previously had gradually turned yellow.

Some leaves had even become bright red.

From a distance, the entire jungle seemed to have been painted with layers of different colors.

Sora couldn’t help admiring the scenery.

At the same time, she carefully observed the surrounding environment.

After her previous trips outside the Tribe, she had realized something important.

One couldn’t stay inside the Tribe forever.

Sometimes, simply looking around could lead to unexpected discoveries.

The Beast World was enormous.

There were countless plants, animals, minerals, and resources she hadn’t encountered yet.

Perhaps another useful discovery was waiting somewhere nearby.

Sora became so absorbed in the scenery that she didn’t notice Drake approaching a small crater.

The moment he crossed it, his body dipped slightly.

Sora’s body lurched forward.

She almost slipped from his back.

Her pregnancy made her instinctively more cautious, and she immediately grabbed Drake’s neck.

Her arms tightened around him as she steadied herself.

Drake’s body stiffened slightly.

He had been moving forward diligently when he suddenly felt the pressure around his neck increase.

Then a faint, pleasant fragrance drifted into his nostrils.

His eyelashes fluttered.

For a brief moment, his usually calm expression changed.

But he quickly returned to normal and continued walking.

Sora didn’t notice his reaction.

Once she was steady again, she loosened her grip.

"Sorry," she murmured.

Drake didn’t turn around.

"It’s fine, Leader."

His voice remained calm.

---

After walking for a while longer, the group finally reached their destination.

They found an open area and stopped.

Before beginning their work, everyone ate a few bites of the rice cakes that Sora had instructed them to prepare in advance.

Sora was careful not to overeat.

She had learned that during pregnancy, hunger could come suddenly, but so could exhaustion.

She needed enough food to keep her strength up without making herself uncomfortable.

Once everyone had finished eating, they began working.

Because there were so many people, Sora stood in the middle of the Red Land, dug some Red Clay from the ground, and began explaining.

"First, you need to roll this red clay into long strips."

She demonstrated slowly so everyone could see.

"Then you layer the strips one by one. Make sure each layer is firmly attached to the previous one."

The dragon Beastmen gathered around her attentively.

They watched every movement.

Sora repeated the process several times, correcting their mistakes whenever necessary.

Nick Wilde listened especially carefully.

He wanted to learn everything Sora taught.

Not far away, however, he wasn’t the only one trying to gain her attention.

Nick took a strip of clay and attempted to shape it.

Unfortunately, he quickly discovered that pottery wasn’t as easy as it looked.

He squeezed closer to Sora while holding his crooked strip.

"Kaelira, what’s the next step for this?"

Before Sora could answer, he quickly followed up.

"Kaelira, is this how I make the bowl?"

Sora turned toward him.

But before she could respond, Damien squeezed in from the side and blocked him.

Sora was busy teaching the dragon people, so when she heard someone asking a question, she simply looked toward the voice.

Seeing Damien holding his pottery, she examined it carefully.

"Not bad."

Damien’s eyes brightened.

Sora continued.

"But the base of the bowl should be a little thicker. That will make it more resistant to heat."

Damien immediately nodded.

"I understand."

Nick Wilde’s expression darkened.

He had been trying to get closer to Sora, only to have Damien casually cut him off.

He glared at Damien.

But Damien didn’t even look at him.

Nick Wilde reluctantly returned to his pottery.

Then he looked toward Sora again.

Only to discover that she was now looking toward Drake.

Nick Wilde’s heart sank.

This was supposed to be his chance to spend time with Sora.

Instead, he had been competing for her attention the entire time.

---

After teaching for a while, Sora bent down and began making clay pots herself.

Because she had to make several of them, she didn’t want to waste unnecessary time.

Lukan occasionally handed her prepared clay strips from nearby.

This greatly increased her efficiency.

Originally, Sora had planned to make only seven clay pots.

But after thinking about it, she decided to make three extra ones.

Unexpected situations happened frequently in the Beast World.

It was better to have spares.

So she eventually made ten clay pots.

Once Sora finished shaping them, Xavie, Lucas, and Ace immediately became busy preparing the kiln.

None of them needed to be told twice.

They already knew what needed to be done.

Because there were so many people this time, Sora didn’t specifically prepare everyone’s food herself.

Instead, she asked everyone to bring their own salt.

Then she had the Beastmen catch fish from the stream below the Red Land.

The fish could be cooked directly over charcoal.

The seasonings had been brought from the Wild Kitchen, and Sora mixed a simple sauce on the spot for everyone to share.

Charcoal-grilled fish didn’t require constant supervision.

It only needed to be flipped occasionally.

That saved Sora a considerable amount of effort.

With her pregnancy, she was especially grateful for anything that reduced unnecessary physical work.

The dragon Beastmen focused primarily on making pottery.

They made pots, bowls, ladles, and other basic cooking utensils.

Because there were so many of them, the quantity they produced was astonishing.

After everyone finished eating their grilled fish, they continued working.

No one stopped until the moon had risen high into the sky.

As usual, the kiln still needed to be watched throughout the night.

Therefore, the group decided not to return to the Tribe.

Sora remembered the embarrassing situation from the previous trip, when several people had forgotten to bring animal-hide bedding.

She had learned her lesson.

This time, she had specifically notified the Dragon Tribe and Nick Wilde one day in advance.

Everyone was required to prepare their own bedding.

Fortunately, this time nobody forgot.

All the animal-hide bedding arrived safely.

Sora found a relatively quiet empty spot and spread out her bedding.

She checked the ground carefully before sitting down.

Because she was pregnant, she didn’t want to sleep on a sharp stone or an uneven patch of earth.

Once everything was comfortable, she prepared to lie down.

Then she noticed a figure slowly approaching.

Sora looked up.

"Ryan, is something wrong?"

Ryan shook his head.

"I was just wondering if it’s okay for me to put my animal-hide bedding here."

Sora blinked.

Here?

She had deliberately chosen this spot because it was just large enough for herself.

She had wanted to avoid the overly enthusiastic Beast Husbands crowding around her during the night.

If Ryan slept here too, there wouldn’t be enough room.

Where would he sleep?

Sora hesitated.

Then she tactfully said,

"Ryan, why don’t you find another spot?"

Ryan froze.

He looked at her with slight confusion.

"Why? Isn’t it my turn for Night Watch today?"

Sora’s expression changed.

"Ah?"

Night Watch?

Had the rotation already gone through everyone again?

She had genuinely forgotten.

Because so many things had happened recently—her pregnancy, the Tribe, pottery, rice, the Black Bear Foster Mother, the plague toxin, and the countless problems caused by her Beast Husbands—she hadn’t kept track of the schedule.

Ryan didn’t say anything else.

Sora looked at him.

She couldn’t very well tell him to leave if it was genuinely his turn to perform Night Watch.

After all, he wasn’t asking for special treatment.

He was simply doing his duty.

Sora sighed inwardly.

"Fine."

She moved slightly to the side.

"Come over."

But just as she was about to tell him where to put his bedding, her eyes suddenly swept across the surroundings.

She froze.

There were people watching them.

A lot of people.

The other Beast Husbands were staring.

Damien was watching.

Nick Wilde was staring with extraordinary concentration.

And even the Dragon Tribe members were looking in their direction.

Their expressions were filled with curiosity.

They looked like spectators watching some kind of grand performance.

Sora’s lips twitched.

What was this feeling?

It was almost like they were watching an open-air movie.

She especially noticed Nick Wilde.

His gaze was so focused that it was almost impossible to ignore.

Sora immediately understood.

If Ryan simply lay down beside her here, the entire Tribe would probably spend the whole night watching them.

That was the last thing she wanted.

She was already tired.

And being pregnant made her even less tolerant of unnecessary chaos.

Sora looked at Ryan.

Then she thought for a moment.

"How about we move somewhere else?"

Ryan froze.

His heart suddenly skipped.

Was Sora inviting him to go somewhere alone with her?

Before he could say anything, he noticed something strange.

Sora was frantically winking at him.

Ryan followed her gaze from the corner of his eye.

Only then did he realize that practically everyone nearby was watching them.

The Beast Husbands.

Damien.

Nick Wilde.

The dragons.

Everyone was staring as though they had discovered some rare spectacle.

Ryan finally understood what Sora meant.

He nodded quietly.

Without saying another word, he transformed and carefully carried Sora away from the crowd.

In an instant, the two disappeared from their original spot.

The spectators were left behind.

Silence descended.

Then several expressions changed at once.

The night had only just begun.