Chapter 250: Guessing the Truth

Xavier and Ace, who had just rushed over, instantly launched attacks toward the sky. Unfortunately, the mysterious bird was already flying at incredible speed, and their attacks failed to injure her.

The two immediately wanted to give chase, but Lukan stopped them.

"Don’t get drawn into another fight. Check on Kaelira first."

Hearing this, Xavier and Ace lowered their hands.

Ryan hurried toward Sora, his face filled with concern.

"Kaelira, how are you? Are you hurt?"

Sora shook her head.

"I’m fine. Damien was injured saving me."

The moment she said this, Lukan carefully sized her up from head to toe. He checked her expression and movements, making certain she truly hadn’t suffered any serious injuries.

Only after confirming that Sora was unharmed did he finally relax.

Lukan then transformed into his gray wolf form and stopped in front of Sora.

"This place isn’t safe anymore. We shouldn’t stay here for long. Put Damien on my back. Let’s leave first and discuss everything after we’re somewhere safer."

Sora nodded.

She reached out to help Damien up, but Lucas immediately stepped forward and took over.

"You’re still carrying a little cub. I’ll do it."

Seeing Lucas move, Ace quickly came over as well and helped support Damien.

Nick Wilde transformed into his Red Fox form and stopped directly in front of Sora.

"Kaelira, get on. I’ll carry you."

Lucas and Ace supported Damien between them. The two exchanged a glance, both secretly feeling that Nick Wilde was being rather opportunistic.

Still, they knew he genuinely wanted to help Sora, so neither of them said anything.

Ryan stood nearby and looked toward Lukan.

"Where are we going now? Back to the Tribe?"

Lukan shook his head.

His expression became serious.

"If we return to the Tribe right now, the Salt Well Cave might be occupied by the Fire Jackal Tribe."

Ace nodded.

"Although we heavily injured Ben just now, judging by the nature of those Fire Jackals, I’m afraid they won’t simply give up."

"Then are we going back to the Salt Well Cave?" Xavier asked.

Lukan thought for a moment before answering.

"Ace, Ryan, Lucas—you three go back first and tell Martin what happened at the Salt Well Cave. Tell him to remain on high alert. I’m afraid Ben and the others might go directly to the Tribe to cause trouble."

"The rest of us will return to the Salt Well Cave. We’ll guard it and investigate everything carefully."

His gaze swept over the others.

"In just two short days, several groups have already appeared around the Salt Well Cave. I don’t know whether the existence of the salt cave has been exposed. If it has, we need to be even more careful."

The three nodded.

"Alright."

"If necessary, have everyone from the Tribe come over," Sora added. "Don’t worry about the dragons for now."

Ace, Lucas, and Ryan had no objections.

They immediately set off toward the Tribe.

Lukan carried Damien in the lead. Nick Wilde followed closely behind with Sora on his back, while Xavier stayed at the rear of the group, constantly watching their surroundings.

Sitting on Nick Wilde’s back, Sora’s mind was filled with countless thoughts.

Fortunately, Damien had only been injured. His life wasn’t in danger.

Otherwise, she truly wouldn’t have known how to face him.

That bird-person from earlier had been incredibly powerful.

Even with her Level 7 Water Elemental Ability, she hadn’t been able to defeat her.

That made one thing painfully clear.

Her own strength was still too weak.

In the past, Sora had focused almost entirely on the conquest missions. She had believed that as long as she completed enough missions, the system would continue rewarding her with powerful abilities, useful items, and all kinds of advantages.

But now she realized that she had gradually been lulled into a false sense of security.

She had been relying too heavily on the system.

She hadn’t truly cultivated her own strength.

There was also a significant difference between supernatural abilities in the Apocalypse and abilities in the Beast World.

Her Level 7 Water Elemental Ability would certainly have been extremely powerful in the Apocalypse.

But the Beast World was different.

The Beastmen here could freely switch between their human and beast forms. They possessed powerful bodies, physical strength, speed, instincts, and abilities that weren’t limited to supernatural powers.

Sora couldn’t even transform between human and beast forms.

If she encountered someone stronger than herself again, she might not be so lucky next time.

She had to find a way to become stronger.

And then there was that broken system.

Why had it been offline for so long?

Sora’s brows tightened.

She had a bad feeling that something might have happened to it.

Furthermore, the people appearing around the Salt Well Cave were becoming increasingly suspicious.

Three different groups had appeared over the past two days.

She knew a little about the Fire Jackals, but she was completely ignorant about the other two forces.

That ignorance was dangerous.

She needed to investigate them as quickly as possible.

Before long, the group finally arrived at the Salt Well Cave.

They had left in such a hurry that they hadn’t brought any animal-hide bedding.

Since Damien was injured, Sora had no choice but to sit directly on the ground and let Damien rest his head on her lap.

Xavier stood nearby and watched the scene.

His expression became slightly strange.

He hadn’t even rested on Sora’s lap before.

Why did this Black Bear get there first?

Xavier pursed his lips slightly.

"Kaelira, you’re still carrying a little cub. Holding Damien like this must be tiring. Why don’t you let me take over?"

Sora shook her head.

"No need. You focus on guarding the salt cave. I can handle this small task."

She was the weakest among them.

It was only natural for her to handle something as simple as taking care of an injured person.

Xavier would be far more useful if he remained free to react to any danger.

Hearing her answer, Xavier had nothing else to say.

He could only nod.

Nick Wilde had originally wanted to speak up as well, but after seeing Xavier get rejected, he wisely kept quiet.

After a moment, Xavier looked toward Sora.

"Did you see what that bird looked like clearly?"

Sora recalled the woman’s appearance.

"She was completely red. Her wings were surrounded by flames, and her tail feathers were forked before stretching into a long tail. Her claws were golden."

"A red bird with golden claws?"

Xavier frowned.

"Other than Wild Chickens, I’ve lived here for so long, and I’ve never seen a bird with such a bright color."

"Perhaps she’s not from any nearby Tribe," Lukan said thoughtfully.

"When she carried Kaelira away, she didn’t even spare the Salt Well Cave a glance."

He paused.

"Besides that, did she say anything else?"

Sora thought back to the encounter.

"She seemed very resentful toward me. She also said something about Brother Lucas not being worthy."

"Lucas?"

Nick Wilde immediately reacted.

"Could it be related to Lucas your beast husband?"

"It’s possible," Lukan said.

"She might have come specifically for him. Lucas is a bird, and the female bird who appeared today is also a bird. We’ll ask him when he comes back tomorrow."

Sora nodded.

Her gaze slowly fell toward the gray ash scattered across the ground.

"The killing of the Wolf Tribe members left behind here might have been caused by Serena."

"Serena?"

Lukan’s expression changed slightly.

"You saw her?"

Sora shook her head.

"No. It’s just a guess."

She pointed toward the gray ash.

"I saw traces of salt being purified inside the cave. There was also gray Plant Ash scattered on the ground nearby."

"When I demonstrated the technique for Purifying Salt in the Tribe before, she saw it."

"Moreover, it’s possible that she was the one who discovered this salt cave."

"Although Martin never told her the exact location, she at least knew that the Salt Well Cave existed."

Lukan’s expression became increasingly serious.

"That does make sense."

"She really can’t be ignored."

Nick Wilde’s eyes narrowed.

"If that’s the case, her heart is becoming more and more malicious."

Sora remained silent.

Nick Wilde continued.

"And I have a bold guess."

"The location of this Salt Well Cave may also have been revealed to the Flower Jackals by Serena."

Xavier’s eyes turned cold.

"You mean she wants to become the third party benefiting from the conflict?"

"Exactly."

Nick Wilde’s voice carried a trace of coldness.

"She lets us fight with the Fire Jackal Tribe. Once both sides have exhausted their strength, she can simply appear afterward and take advantage of the situation."

"It’s a good scheme."

His gaze sharpened.

"Unfortunately, she chose the wrong people to use it against."

Lukan’s expression darkened.

"When Beast Father was still alive, we had already dealt with the Fire Jackals before. They aren’t the kind of people who let something go easily."

He glanced toward the Salt Well Cave.

"And this Salt Well is extremely valuable."

"If word spreads about it, it could attract even more forces."

"More people may come here to fight over it."

"If that happens, things will become troublesome."

Lukan frowned deeply.

"Not necessarily," Sora said.

Everyone looked toward her.

"The Fire Jackals might want to keep the Salt Well for themselves. They may not tell other Tribes."

Nick Wilde nodded.

"The Fire Jackals might not tell anyone."

"But Serena, the person hiding behind them, may not think the same way."

Sora’s eyes became cold.

"It’s not impossible that she intends to use the same trick again."

The cave fell silent.

Sora looked toward the dark entrance of the Salt Well Cave.

She had thought the appearance of the Fire Jackals was already troublesome enough.

Now there might be another force hiding behind them.

And if her guess was correct, Serena wasn’t simply watching the conflict from a distance.

She was deliberately pushing both sides toward each other.

Let the Wolf Tribe fight.

Let the Fire Jackal Tribe fight.

Let both sides weaken one another.

Then, when everyone was exhausted, she could step forward and reap the rewards.

A third party benefiting from the conflict.

It was a simple strategy.

But the more Sora thought about it, the more dangerous it seemed.

Because the Salt Well wasn’t an ordinary resource.

Whoever controlled it would possess a tremendous advantage in the Beast World.

Salt could be used for food, preservation, trade, and countless other necessities.

If other Tribes learned that the Wolf Tribe possessed such a resource, they would inevitably become interested.

Sora’s fingers tightened slightly.

She couldn’t afford to underestimate anyone anymore.

The mysterious red bird was already powerful enough to overwhelm her.

The Fire Jackals had appeared unexpectedly.

Now Serena might be manipulating events from behind the scenes.

And she still didn’t know who the other forces around the Salt Well Cave were.

The Beast World was becoming more dangerous by the day.

Sora slowly raised her eyes.

Her gaze was deep and thoughtful.

Whatever happened next, she couldn’t allow herself to remain passive.

She needed to uncover the truth before the situation became completely uncontrollable.