With a carriage, Yuan Chen and the others no longer had to travel through the wilderness like before. Instead, they simply rode along with the main group.
Yuan Chen was used to seeing this sort of thing. Not because he had gotten used to it or anything, but because Vastaya weren't uncommon in Ionia.
Though they often lived in secluded settlements in the mountains, farming and living off the land, in places like Placidium, the heart of Ionia, Vastaya weren't the only unusual sight. Demons disguised as ordinary people could even be found hunting for prey in the marketplaces.
In the past, whenever Yuan Chen noticed demons like that, he'd hide and avoid provoking them. But now...
Once he returned, he figured the demons would be the ones who had to hide from him.
After all, demons could grow stronger by devouring one another. And as a retainer of Oshirresh, a Nascent Demon, Yuan Chen held a very high standing among demons—though it wasn't as if demons cared much about such things.
As for Nedeli, there was even less to say. Though the cougar carried her and she didn't have to walk, felines simply weren't built to carry people.
Even with animal hides and hay placed on the stretcher to cushion the ride, the improvement was barely noticeable.
Now, though, whatever else could be said about them, these Meat-toothed Beasts had installed plenty of shock absorbers to keep the jolting from damaging their war machines, such as their ballistae.
Lying on one of the carriages, Nedeli had a terrible impression of the Meat-toothed Beasts, but she still closed her eyes in comfort.
Compared to Yuan Chen, who was perfectly relaxed, and Nedeli, who was focused on recovering, Milio was much more curious.
He didn't even sit on one of the carriages pulled by Pack Beasts like Yuan Chen. Instead, he dashed around the caravan, curiously sizing up these Fleshfang Hunters he'd never heard of before.
Everything in this world was mysterious and fascinating to Milio. Especially during the time he'd spent with Yuan Chen: he'd met a big sister who could turn into a giant cat, and now he'd seen a whole group of giant cats carrying knives!
With the eager curiosity unique to a young boy, Milio couldn't help asking them what the Outside World was like.
The Meat-toothed Beasts were quite gentle with the boy, especially Naduo, a Fleshfang Hunter skilled with a hand axe. He eagerly shared his spoils with Milio.
A necklace—a string of teeth from different prey. It was popular among the Carnivore Beast Tribe. Veteran hunters could tell at a glance which beast each tooth came from, so the necklaces were also a symbol of status.
After all, you couldn't carry a whole collection of specimens around to show off your abilities, but carrying a lot of teeth was no problem.
"You're amazing! You've killed so many beasts! I want to grow up to be a great hero like you!"
"Haha! I'm still a long way from being a hero~"
Hearing Milio's praise, Naduo chuckled and rubbed his nose. He said he still had a long way to go, but the look on his face made it clear he was pleased.
"What about this tooth?" Milio asked, pointing to another necklace around Naduo's neck. That one was also a necklace of teeth, but Naduo had tucked it inside his leather armor, leaving only a tiny corner visible.
At Milio's question, Naduo froze. A hint of sadness flickered in his eyes, but then he laughed and said, "It's nothing! Just a little trinket... Here, let me show you some of my other treasures!"
As he spoke, Naduo took more of his keepsakes out of his pack to share with Milio.
Watching them get along so well, Yuan Chen didn't give the little necklace a second thought. He casually said to Mordas, "Who would've thought you Meat-toothed Beasts were so good with kids?"
"What are you talking about?" Mordas replied, looking exasperated.
"We Meat-toothed Beasts have parents too, you know. What do you mean, 'good with kids'...? But it is a good thing. Isn't there a saying that communication is the first step toward building civilization?"
"Heh. How come you didn't communicate before?" Nedeli jeered from the flatbed wagon.
"You were pretty quick to start swinging those knives!"
"Uh... we were definitely in the wrong there..."
Mordas rubbed his head, troubled. He didn't say it, but Yuan Chen could more or less guess what had happened: the young hunters under Mordas had wanted to prove themselves and had attacked on their own...
Unfortunately, they hadn't proved anything. Nedeli had taken down their entire team by herself, forcing all thirty-odd hunters to slink away from the ideal grassland campsite and choose a relatively level patch of forest instead, where they cleared a place to set up camp.
They'd barely settled in before Yuan Chen talked them into moving again. He could only imagine how much the Meat-toothed Beasts doing the work had been grumbling to themselves.
Just then, Naduo, who had been walking alongside the caravan and bragging to Milio, stopped in his tracks. His brow furrowed as he twitched his nose, sniffing the air around them.
Mordas's expression changed. He put a hand on the hunting machete at his waist and asked warily, "What is it, Naduo? Did you notice something?"
It wasn't just Mordas. Everyone in the caravan, Yuan Chen included, went on alert. Even Nedeli, with both arms broken, forced herself to lift her head and keep watch. The only exception was Milio, who didn't have a clue what was going on.
Naduo blinked as if he'd realized something, then took the hand axe from his waist and swung it at a nearby tree trunk.
With a crack, a swarm of bees poured out.
Without a word, Yuan Chen sent a ball of water at them, soaking the bees and knocking them to the ground, where they couldn't fly. As soon as the swarm was out of the way, a rich honey fragrance filled the air.
Naduo stuck out a finger, not bothering about the few bees still clinging to it—
Meat-toothed Beasts feared insects like these least of all. They were naturally more resistant to poison than humans, and their thick manes alone were enough to keep a bee's stinger from piercing their skin.
With his finger covered in Tree Heart Honey, Naduo popped it into his mouth and smiled blissfully.
"Haha! I knew it! My nose is the best!"
As he spoke, Naduo cut into the hive again with his knife, took out a piece of honeycomb, and handed it to the curious Milio. "Give it a try, human boy! The elders in our tribe say Tree Heart Honey is the best honey there is!"
Milio eagerly took it and bit down, savoring its sweetness. The other Meat-toothed Beasts came over too, each cutting off a piece of honeycomb to enjoy.
Yuan Chen wasn't surprised by this—
Tree Heart Honey, huh? It could be found in the primeval forests along the border of his homeland in his previous life, too. Bees built their hives inside the hollow cores of ancient trees. The honey there was highly concentrated, tasted great, and had a faint medicinal fragrance. In short, it was worth a lot.
The Dense Forest of Ixialia was rarely visited by people, so it was only natural to find Tree Heart Honey there.
Seeing that it was only honey, Nedeli relaxed. She nodded toward the honeycomb and said to Yuan Chen:
"Get me some... This is a useful medicinal ingredient. It might come in handy when we're hunting."
"Okay."
Yuan Chen nodded and controlled the Dancer Blades to slice off some honey, much to Mordas's astonishment.
Normally, whether it was the Meat-toothed Beasts, Yuan Chen, or Nedeli, they would have left some honey behind so they could return to collect more later. But considering how difficult and dangerous the Dragon Hunt would be, nobody held back. They gathered all of it.
As he collected the honey, Yuan Chen remembered that Nedeli's Herbalism was Level 6. He'd have to ask her for advice when he got the chance—
He'd be traveling all over Runeterra in the future. He didn't need to learn how to make medicine, but he should at least learn how to recognize poisonous plants, so he wouldn't die after digging up wild vegetables when he was starving someday.
"By the way, why is there honey inside a big tree?"
Milio had finished the honey in his hand. He still wanted more, but seeing his Master Yuan Chen collecting it, he more or less guessed that it might be useful to save for later. So he didn't ask for any more and instead asked in puzzlement:
"Don't they build their hives on tree branches? You know, those huge, swarming ones..."
"Uh... I'm not really sure about that either."
At Milio's question, Naduo scratched his head—
He knew how to eat honey and how to collect it, but asking him to research why bees built their hives inside trees was a bit beyond him.
"The bee mother puts it in there." Yuan Chen grinned at that and teased him:
"When some little bees leave the hive, their mother worries they might go hungry, so she secretly stuffs honey into the heart of a tree. Then, when her babies can't find anything to eat and get hungry, it flows out by itself."
"Really?" Milio looked surprised, innocent, and curious.
"Really?" Naduo looked foolish, uneducated, and ignorant.
"Of course it's true. Would I lie to you?" Yuan Chen said cheerfully, still enjoying the joke.
"Back in my hometown of Ionia, there's even a local expression that praises this kind of motherly love. It's called 'secret honey stuffing.'"
"Oh! So that's how it works!" Milio nodded, looking enlightened.
"Oh! So that's how it works!" Naduo looked foolish, uneducated, and ignorant.
Listening to Yuan Chen's nonsense and seeing Milio's innocent credulity, Nedeli, who knew this wilderness well, could only stare at the sky in exasperation—
If her arms weren't broken, she'd at least rub her brow and cover her face. But then again, Yuan Chen had been the one to break her arms, and he could heal them. She still had to thank him...
Her already sour mood grew even more complicated.
Does anyone else get this?
With a little joking around, the caravan continued slowly along the road. They'd set out after getting ready at sunrise, and it wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that the group finally spotted the village in the darkness.
The villagers had been waiting for them for a long time.
The village gate stood open. The blacksmith, stonemason, fishermen, and farmers had gathered in a group in front of it, holding farming tools enhanced by the Yuan Chu Axiom and staring nervously at Yuan Chen and the others.
At the very front stood the village's strongest person—and quite possibly the strongest human in the surrounding area: Lupe, former elder of the Yuentar.
Wearing a Vydalian Robe, Lupe stared solemnly at Yuan Chen and angrily demanded, "What are you doing, Yuan Chen? Why have you brought these beasts back after going out to drive them away?"
Though her voice was angry and accusatory, Lupe gave Yuan Chen a subtle look to let him know she wasn't truly against him. She just had to consider what the villagers would think.
As members of Ixialia's ruling class, the Yuentar knew that many civilizations existed beyond their borders, and that some were every bit as advanced as Ixialia.
So although Lupe was somewhat surprised by the arrival of the Meat-toothed Beasts, she wasn't especially nervous.
The villagers were different. Because Ixialia had kept information tightly controlled for so long, they saw the Meat-toothed Beasts as nothing but wild animals and believed they would bring chaos and ill fortune.
Yuan Chen subtly nodded at Lupe, then raised a hand and said, "Everyone, don't worry! I've already spoken with them, and after negotiating, I secured a valuable opportunity for everyone!"
"A valuable opportunity?"
Hearing Yuan Chen, the blacksmith, who'd been all smiles toward him just a few days earlier, merely snorted. He held up the red-hot hammer he'd heated with fire breath and said warily, "Is the valuable opportunity bringing these beasts to our village? I trusted you, and even made those strange weapons for you! These are the beasts that took our cattle and sheep! What is there to discuss with beasts like these?"
Before Yuan Chen could speak, Mordas stepped forward and explained:
"My apologies, everyone. We didn't mean to take your cattle and sheep. We were short on food and forced to hunt in an emergency. To earn your understanding, we're willing to help the village hunt for free!"
As he spoke, Mordas glanced at Naduo.
Naduo nodded, then called to the hunters behind him. They took a large number of pelts off the flatbed wagons.
Dragon Lizards and Drake Hounds from the eastern jungle, Drüvask Boars and Thunderhorn Beasts from Freljord, and even Hairy Tail Beasts native to Ixialia, among others.
Mordas had clearly prepared this in advance. Before long, pelts were piled across the open ground in front of the village.
Even in a place like Ixialia, these valuable, cured hides were worth a great deal. Well-worked leather from high-quality hides was always in high demand among the native people of Ixialia, especially for making leather armor.
"We're willing to compensate the village for the losses we caused. We only hope everyone here will forgive us for our earlier mistake..."
Mordas's humble attitude worked remarkably well. The blacksmith, who'd been looking thoroughly displeased, looked surprised when he saw the pelts. After walking over to check their quality for himself, he couldn't help giving a couple of grunts.
"Hmph. At least you've got a good attitude..."
The villagers' hostility also faded considerably once they saw the tangible compensation. Lupe seized the moment and said:
"That attitude is acceptable... But Yuan Chen, bringing them back isn't the test I set for you.
"What's this opportunity you mentioned? If they can't earn our approval, we won't just accept them so easily!"
At that, Yuan Chen gave them a gentle smile.
"What if I told you this opportunity could let everyone in the village become respectable members of the prefecture? What would you say to that?"
Before you continue