"Hey, hey, I've gotten stronger!"
Once the inscription was complete, Queling took some time to adjust. Then she activated the power of the Inheritance Spirit Rune and began sparring with the other Spirit Rune Warriors.
The more complete the Inheritance Spirit Rune, the greater its power. The Spirit Rune Warriors she couldn't beat before were now within her reach.
And this was only the beginning. Once she completed the rune, she would grow even stronger.
"Queling, come here!"
Suixiang beckoned the grinning Queling over.
Suixin had completed Queling's Inheritance Spirit Rune, and Suixiang had a gift of her own for the childhood friend she had grown up playing with.
She planned to teach Queling the Cat Clan Combat Technique she had learned from the Spirit Cat Skeleton Warrior.
"Wow! This is a combat technique that was lost to our tribe!"
Suixiang was teaching Queling a technique she had never seen before.
When Queling asked its name, she was so startled that her eyes widened.
Wasn't this the very technique their mentor had been longing for—the lost combat technique?
As she marveled, Queling stole a glance at the Spirit Cat Skeleton Warriors patrolling the city wall. Those skeletons looked a lot like Cat-man elders.
Sensing Queling's gaze, one of the Spirit Cat Skeleton Warriors turned and nodded at her.
Transcendental Skeletons possessed great intelligence, and they were quite friendly toward Cat-men, who shared their origins.
The Spirit Cat Skeleton Warriors understood Cat-man speech and could speak it, too. However, they couldn't pronounce the words accurately by vibrating the air, unlike the Spirit Cat Skeleton Warlocks, who could converse with others without difficulty.
Everyone saw the Queling Squad completing their Inheritance Spirit Runes and learning the lost Cat Clan Combat Technique.
The other Cat-men were very envious, but they didn't crowd around and complain. Under their elders' supervision, they remained quiet.
It was up to Suixiang and Suixin to decide who would have their Inheritance Spirit Runes completed and be taught the lost combat technique.
If Suixiang and Suixin hadn't called them over, then no matter how envious they were, they couldn't push in and demand a turn.
After surviving in Odyssey for so many years, the Cat-men knew better.
Kurd City belonged to the Necromancer, who liked Cat-men that were quiet and obedient. They needed to know how to follow instructions.
"I wonder how the tribe is doing..."
At lunch, as she ate the delicious Potato Stewed Fish, Queling began to miss home.
When the Slave Hunter Group captured them, Riddle had been fighting the chief of a hostile tribe.
They all knew Riddle was in poor health and wondered whether she could survive this time.
The Slave Hunter Group valued Cat-men as slaves and wouldn't kill them lightly.
The hostile tribe was different. They and the Spirit Cat Tribe were rivals competing for survival, and their hunting grounds overlapped.
If Riddle fell, the Spirit Cat Tribe would be slaughtered by the hostile tribe.
"We'll find a way to deal with this."
Suixiang and Suixin were just as worried about the Spirit Cat Tribe, afraid that Riddle would fall and the tribe would be destroyed.
But they knew their place. They had only reported what was happening to the Spirit Cat Tribe and hadn't asked Medivh for help.
Whether to step in and rescue the Spirit Cat Tribe was something Medivh had to consider; it wasn't their place to butt in.
To put it bluntly, they were only High Tower Maids. Their master's interests came first.
"You want me to be the Cat-men's savior?"
That day, Medivh smiled as he stroked Suixiang's cheek.
Over the past few days, Suixiang, Suixin, and the first Cat-girls to become part of Kurd City had tried every way they could to please him.
They hadn't begged for mercy in words; instead, they'd pleaded with their actions, hoping Medivh would take pity on them.
Medivh knew exactly what they were thinking: they wanted him to resolve the Cat-men's crisis.
"The Cat-men belong to Kurd City!"
Suixiang cried out excitedly, doing her best to draw Medivh's attention and make him channel his life energy into her.
Her thoughts had never changed. The future of the Spirit Cat Tribe lay in Kurd City.
Ever since she had received the Spirit Cat Skeleton's inheritance, she had wanted to watch Medivh conquer the Spirit Cat Tribe.
Now that the Spirit Cat Tribe was in crisis, this was the perfect opportunity for Medivh to step in, rescue them, and win their loyalty.
"I can give them a chance. Whether they're willing to move to Kurd City is up to them."
It really was a good opportunity, and Medivh didn't mind gaining another subordinate tribe.
He was willing to send soldiers to help the Spirit Cat Tribe move, so the Cat-men could settle in Kurd City.
"Thank you for your mercy, Lord Medivh!"
After Medivh offered to help, Suixiang's excitement doubled, and she reached the pinnacle of her life.
At dusk, Suixiang woke at her usual time, exhausted.
After greeting Medivh, she ran out of the High Tower and met up with the Skeleton Caravan outside the city. They hurried through the night.
The Skeleton Caravan took a remote route. As they traveled, Skeleton Assassins and Skeleton Rangers spread out to eliminate anyone along the way who might discover the caravan, keeping their journey concealed.
Skeletons didn't need rest. After ten days of nonstop travel, they reached the outskirts of the hill where the Cat-men lived.
"Lord Riddle, a group of skeletons is coming!"
The skeletons hadn't cleared out the Cat-men sentries, so word of the Skeleton Caravan's arrival at Spirit Cat Hill quickly spread through the tribe.
When the newly appointed middle-aged chief learned that several thousand skeletons, including nearly a hundred first-rank Transcendental Skeletons, had entered Spirit Cat Hill, he reported it to Riddle with a grave expression.
As he spoke, he couldn't hide the sadness in his eyes.
Everyone in the tribe knew Riddle was in poor health.
The middle-aged chief knew that Riddle's time had long since come. She had only held on through secret arts because she couldn't bear to leave the Spirit Cat Tribe, guarding it in a state that was neither truly alive nor dead.
After fighting the hostile tribe's chief a few days earlier, the air of decay surrounding Riddle had grown even stronger.
"I'm only old. I'm not dead yet!"
Riddle's body was withered, and her sunken eye sockets held none of the brightness of the living.
"We can't stay at Spirit Cat Hill. I'll hold those skeletons off. You take the tribe and move."
There was no emotion in Riddle's voice. This would be her final battle.
Without her protection, the Spirit Cat Tribe couldn't survive in this region. They would have to migrate as a tribe and find somewhere else to settle.
It would be an incredibly difficult journey. The Spirit Cat Tribe's decline had begun with their last great migration.
Riddle could still vaguely remember being only a few years old at the time. She had seen too many of her people die along the way.
The horrors she'd witnessed as a child were exactly why she had clung to life, unwilling to die. She feared that scene would happen again.
But her strength had its limits. Once more, the Spirit Cat Tribe had no choice but to migrate as a whole. She could only hope they would make it safely this time.
"Riddle, it's Suixiang! We're not here to attack Spirit Cat Hill!"
When Riddle brought the rear guard forward, Suixiang hurried to the front and shouted, hoping to prevent a clash between the two sides.
Queling and the other rescued Cat-men slaves ran out with her and called to the tribe as well.
"It's Suixiang!"
Some of the rear guard warriors recognized Suixiang or the other Cat-men who had come out to call to them, and answered.
"So you've come back to convince us to submit to the Necromancer?"
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up and the middle-aged chief learned why Suixiang had come, he was stunned.
From the Spirit Cat Tribe's perspective, this attempt to win them over seemed absurd.
"Yes. The Cat-men belong to Kurd City!"
Suixiang knew the root of the Spirit Cat Tribe's crisis all too well. The tribe had a future only if it went to Kurd City.
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