Chapter 248: Stolen Salt

Henry walked closer to the Salt Well and peered down into its seemingly bottomless depths.

He stared at the water below for a while before turning to Serena with a puzzled expression.

"This salt is dissolved in the well. How are we supposed to get it out?"

Serena glanced at the earthen pits nearby.

From their arrangement, it was obvious that Sora had collected the saltwater and poured it into these pits before leaving.

But Serena still couldn’t figure out how Sora had managed to draw such a large amount of saltwater from the Salt Well in the first place.

However, not knowing how Sora had done it didn’t mean Serena had no way of obtaining the salt herself.

She looked at the pottery jars they had brought along.

"Find some Vines and tie them around the pottery jars. Then lower them into the Salt Well and ladle the water out."

Henry’s eyes brightened.

"That’s a good idea."

He immediately turned around and instructed the Black Pig Beastmen to begin working.

The Beastmen quickly scattered to find Vines.

Serena watched them for a moment before turning her attention back to the earthen pits.

She pointed toward them.

"Pour the water you ladle out into these pits."

Since Sora had already prepared everything so conveniently, why wouldn’t Serena simply use it?

Sora had probably never imagined that the things she had worked so hard to prepare would eventually become useful to her enemies.

Thinking about this, Serena felt another wave of satisfaction.

Everything Sora had done seemed to be falling conveniently into her hands.

The Black Pig Beastmen began lowering the pottery jars into the Salt Well.

However, drawing water from such a deep well was far more difficult than they had expected.

Once the jars were filled, they became extremely heavy.

Several Black Pig Beastmen had to work together just to pull a single jar upward.

They strained their muscles as they hauled the pottery jar toward the surface.

After several rounds, however, something went wrong.

Crack!

The pottery jar suddenly developed a crack.

Water immediately began leaking from it.

Quite a large amount of the saltwater was lost before the Beastmen managed to pull the jar all the way up.

Mat watched the leaking jar with a troubled expression.

"If we were using the Wolf Tribe’s pottery jars, this definitely wouldn’t have happened. Their pottery is made very well. It’s incredibly sturdy."

The moment Serena heard this, she turned and gave him a fierce glare.

Mat immediately shut his mouth.

He realized that praising the Wolf Tribe’s pottery in front of Serena had been a terrible choice.

Serena looked at the wasted saltwater and frowned.

"Haven’t you eaten?"

The Beastmen froze.

"If you don’t have enough strength, then add more people."

She looked toward the large group surrounding her.

"There are so many people in the Tribe. Are you really going to tell me that we don’t have enough strength to pull up a few jars?"

"Yes, Madam!"

The Black Pig Beastmen immediately became energetic.

Several more Beastmen were assigned to each pottery jar.

With more people working together, the process became somewhat easier.

Slowly, the earthen pits began filling with saltwater.

Serena watched the process carefully.

Everything was going according to her expectations.

But soon another problem appeared.

After the water gradually flowed away, the salt remained behind.

The Beastmen tried placing the salt into Animal Skin Pouches.

Yet the moment they attempted to lift the pouches, they realized just how heavy the salt was.

One of the Beastmen struggled for a while before finally turning toward Serena.

"Madam, this salt is too heavy. What do we do now?"

Serena frowned.

Didn’t Sora simply place the salt into Animal Skin Pouches after the water drained away?

Why was transporting it so troublesome?

She looked at the heavy salt gathered inside the earthen pit.

She had never expected processing salt to be such a troublesome task.

If they couldn’t transport the salt, they could only refine it here.

But if they refined the salt here, they would leave traces.

And more importantly, they could expose their whereabouts.

Serena narrowed her eyes.

She thought carefully.

After a moment, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

It wasn’t impossible.

In fact, there was an advantage to doing it this way.

She wanted to get rid of the Wolf Tribe anyway.

If she could use this opportunity to cause trouble for them while obtaining the salt at the same time, then it would be killing three birds with one stone.

The more she thought about it, the more satisfied she became.

Serena turned toward the Black Pig Beastmen.

"Go gather some wood."

She pointed toward the pottery jars.

"Set them up here. We’ll Purify Salt on-site before we leave."

The Beastmen immediately followed her orders.

Henry, however, looked surprised.

"Serena, didn’t you say before that you were afraid of being discovered?"

He glanced toward the Salt Well Cave.

"You said we should take the salt back to the Tribe before purifying it."

Serena smiled.

She stepped closer to Henry and quietly whispered several words into his ear.

Henry’s expression gradually changed.

Serena’s voice remained low.

"If we do this, all these Salt Wells will belong to us in the future."

She paused.

"And with all this salt, Henry, we can exchange for even more things with the other Tribes."

Henry’s eyes immediately filled with approval.

"Serena, this method is great."

He smiled.

"We don’t even need to fight directly. We can simply sit back and watch them fight."

Serena smiled.

That was precisely what she intended.

She had watched Sora purify salt before.

She had paid close attention to every step.

Even though she had never personally done it before, she had already memorized the entire method.

Now that she had the opportunity, she immediately began following the process.

Before long, the saltwater began to separate.

The salt gradually precipitated.

Serena watched the process closely.

When the purified salt finally appeared, Henry’s eyes widened.

She had actually succeeded.

"Serena!"

Henry immediately moved toward her and hugged her excitedly.

"You’re truly too clever!"

He looked at the fine salt in amazement.

"This salt is even finer and whiter than the Purify Salt from the City-State!"

The Black Pig Beastmen also stared at Serena with admiration.

Their respect for her rose once again.

"The Chief’s Wife is amazing!"

"We won’t have to worry about lacking salt anymore!"

"The Chief’s Wife is amazing!"

"The Chief’s Wife is truly amazing!"

Cheers spread throughout the Black Pig Tribe.

Serena stood among them, listening to their praise.

A smug expression slowly appeared on her face.

This was the life she wanted.

This was the life that belonged to her.

She had found the Salt Well.

She had learned how to Purify Salt.

And now the entire Tribe looked at her with admiration.

The Black Pig Beastmen worked throughout the day.

By the time they finally returned to the Black Pig Tribe, they were carrying the spoils they had obtained from the Salt Well.

Meanwhile, back at the Wolf Tribe, Mark collapsed the moment he returned.

He had been working all day and had spent the entire night purifying salt.

As soon as he reached his room, he went straight to sleep.

Red Frost had wanted to find an opportunity to ask him some questions.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t get close enough to obtain any useful information.

Mark was simply too exhausted.

Sora and her Beast Husbands had also been busy throughout the entire day.

After returning to the Wolf Tribe, they likewise went back to their rooms to rest.

As for the dragons’ share of salt, Sora directly instructed Ace to carry it over to them.

When the dragons received the salt, they were amazed once again.

Ever since they had acknowledged Sora as their Leader, their lives had been improving continuously.

They had food.

They had pottery.

They had medicine.

And now they had salt.

Their Priest, Drake, had certainly made a wise decision.

Unfortunately, Drake wasn’t currently in the Tribe.

He had gone out to handle matters for Sora.

The Wolf Tribe’s salt was handed over to Martin by Mark.

Martin remembered Sora’s earlier warning.

Therefore, he didn’t distribute the salt immediately.

Instead, he placed it inside the warehouse and kept it hidden.

Although the Tribe members now ate separately, Martin still decided that the Females should come and collect the salt themselves.

He had not forgotten his suspicions about Red Frost.

If Red Frost really was problematic, then he needed to remain cautious.

That night, the entire Tribe was unusually quiet.

Everyone was exhausted from the day’s work.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that Martin suddenly realized something was wrong.

The Wolf Beastmen who had been sent to patrol the Salt Well Cave still hadn’t returned.

Martin’s expression immediately became serious.

He hurriedly called several Beastmen.

"Go and check what happened."

The Beastmen quickly left.

When they returned, however, they didn’t come back alone.

They brought back corpses.The moment Martin saw the dead Wolf Beastmen, his expression changed completely.

He immediately became alert.

Someone had discovered the Salt Well.

He quickly sent someone to call Sora.

When Sora arrived and saw the corpses of people who had still been working with them only a short time ago, shock flashed across her face.

"Father, what happened?"

Martin shook his head heavily.

"I don’t know either."

His expression was grim.

"Drake said they saw traces of burning inside the cave."

He paused.

"It looks like someone discovered the Salt Well."

Sora’s brows immediately tightened.

"I’m going to take a look."

She didn’t waste another moment.

She called Lukan to accompany her.

When the other Beast Husbands saw Sora and Lukan leaving the Tribe, they naturally followed as well.

Sora first went to dead Valley.

She carefully inspected the area.

Nothing seemed unusual.

There were no obvious traces that revealed what had happened.

So she immediately changed direction.

They headed toward the Salt Well Cave.

The moment Sora entered the cave, her expression became serious.

The entire cave was soaked.

Water covered the ground.

It was completely different from the way they had left it.

Based on the amount of time that had passed, the soil should have been nearly dry by now.

Instead, it was still wet.

And there were clear traces of fire.

Sora crouched down.

She examined the ground carefully.

Her brows gradually drew together.

"It seems this group of people not only knows how to collect salt..."

She touched the damp soil.

"They also know how to refine it."

Sora’s eyes shifted toward the ashes scattered nearby.

She reached down and rubbed some between her fingers.

Then she recognized it.

"This is Plant Ash."

Her expression changed.

In the entire Beast World, who else would know how to use Plant Ash for Purify Salt besides her?

A thought suddenly appeared in her mind.

Could another transmigrator have arrived?

But no.

There was another possibility.

Sora’s eyes narrowed.

Before she could think any further—

Whoosh!

A sudden gust of wind swept toward her.

Sora’s pupils contracted.

She barely had time to react before Xavier suddenly pulled her backward.

A powerful figure rushed into the cave.

Xavier immediately engaged the attacker.

Sora moved behind him.

Only then did she finally see what had happened.

More than a hundred Jackal Beastmen had swarmed into the Salt Well Cave.

The several Beast Husbands immediately joined the battle.

The number of Fire Jackals was enormous.

Among them were several Rank Five Beastmen.

The situation was clearly not simple.

Even though Xavier and the others were powerful, fighting against such a large number of Fire Jackals was not easy.

Still, they refused to give their opponents any advantage.

The cave instantly became chaotic.

Roars echoed against the stone walls.

The ground trembled beneath the force of the attacks.

Lukan’s leopard paws lightly scraped against the ground as his sharp gaze locked onto the Jackal Beastman standing before him.

"Ben."

His voice was cold.

"It’s been a long time."

He narrowed his eyes.

"You’ve actually become so despicable as to launch a sneak attack."

Ben sneered.

"Lukan, don’t make it sound so ugly."

His eyes swept across the cave.

"The Salt Well is such a valuable thing, yet you didn’t tell anyone else about it."

His voice carried obvious accusation.

"You occupied it for yourselves, didn’t you?"

He stepped forward.

"We’re simply here to take what we deserve."

Lukan’s expression became colder.

Before he could answer, Xavier’s voice rang out.

"Why waste so much time talking?"

His purple eyes were icy.

He flicked his tongue, and a flash of killing intent appeared in his gaze.

"Just bring it on!"

Ben’s pupils suddenly contracted.

In the next instant, his body changed.

He transformed into a massive Fire Jackal and lunged directly toward Xavier.

Xavier reacted immediately.

His tail whipped through the air.

It wrapped tightly around the Fire Jackal’s neck.

The Fire Jackal struggled violently.

At the same time, several more Fire Jackals rushed forward.

The other Beast Husbands immediately intercepted them.

The battle intensified.

Sora remained behind Xavier, protected from the attacks.

She watched the two groups clash with a focused expression.

There were simply too many Fire Jackals.

The cave was filled with Beastmen fighting from every direction.

Suddenly—

A fiery red bird descended from the sky.

It moved so quickly that Sora barely had time to look up.

The bird spread its wings and swooped directly toward her.

Sora’s eyes widened.

"Watch out!"

Before she could react, the fiery red bird opened its beak.

In the next instant—

It snatched Sora away.