Violent Bear Clan

At dusk, the dark yellow sunlight still retained a trace of warmth as it fell from the sky, melting into the deepening twilight.

The pungent scent of sulfur permeated Conifer Valley, while rising hot mist refracted the afterglow of the setting sun into distorted ripples.

Six adolescent Dire Bears sat around a boiling, high-temperature Sulfur Pool, their thick fur crusted with pyrite crystals like heavy suits of stone armor.

The Dire Bear Chief, Gor the Broken-Toothed, was among them.

He was the largest of them all. His dark yellow fur was streaked with dark red, numerous scars were faintly visible across his body, and one of his fangs had broken.

They were proof that he had fought powerful ferocious beasts and magical creatures.

Among the Earth Violent Bear clan, they were symbols of courage and glory, badges to be proud of.

Gor included.

All the Earth Violent Bears were stirring the sulfurous water with their claws.

The young Dire Bears had added a special metallic mineral sand to the pool, continuously strengthening its peculiar effects.

Bronze-green bubbles kept bursting, releasing corrosive hisses.

This was the "Claw Tempering" that this Dire Bear clan had carried on for decades. The sharper and harder a bear's claws were, the longer it could endure in the Sulfur Pool. Once tempered and recovered, its claws would become even more formidable.

Several cubs poked their heads out from atop a boulder at the northwest corner of the hot spring, watching intently.

Gor caused the greatest disturbance as he stirred the pool. The ripples spreading from him resembled whirlpools, far beyond what the other Dire Bears could match.

As time passed, one adolescent Dire Bear after another felt agonizing pain in its paws and could no longer hold on. They withdrew from the pool, lowered their heads slightly toward the chief in reverence and respect, then turned and left after receiving Gor's low growl of acknowledgment. Only old Gor continued tempering his claws in the Sulfur Pool, even pouring the corrosive water over his body as it hissed and sizzled.

While the chief was still in the Sulfur Pool,

Raymond, a male Dire Bear two years away from adulthood, furtively crept into the area where the female Dire Bears stayed. Baring his teeth, he tossed a Thunderbird wing that he had hidden behind his back toward one of the females.

In Earth Violent Bear culture,

females were not faithful to a single mate and would accept courtship from multiple males at once, but the right to mate had to be purchased with food.

The female Dire Bear glanced at Raymond but neither accepted the Thunderbird wing nor looked at him again.

That meant rejection.

Though she was not faithful to a fixed partner, she had to be faithful to the strongest Dire Bear.

Chief Gor monopolized all the female bears and strictly forbade them from mating with other male Dire Bears. If he discovered it, he would beat the male nearly to death and drive him from the territory. As for the female, he would punish her by cutting off her food supply for a long time.

The love-struck male did not leave. Instead, he shamelessly sat beside the female Dire Bear.

His tail brushed against her hind leg from time to time, teasing her.

It was mating season, and under Raymond's provocation, the female bear gradually found herself unable to restrain her own agitation.

Seeing no sign of Chief Gor nearby, the female bear finally swayed her plump rump, signaling for the male to follow her into a more secluded thicket.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

The bushes began to shake and tremble.

Ten minutes later,

the male bear Raymond rose onto his hind legs and stepped happily out of the thicket, only to run straight into the Dire Bear Chief.

The Dire Bear Chief looked calm, but a dangerous gleam flickered in his brown eyes.

"Raymond, you crossed the line."

A thunderous growl rolled from his throat.

"Chief, please let me explain!"

The male bear was horrified.

Before his words had even faded, a massive bear paw slammed into him.

The adolescent Dire Bear, more than seven meters tall, flew backward like a kite with its string cut. The fur on his chest was in disarray, his flesh deeply caved in, and even his bones had been shattered.

The Dire Bear Chief strode forward with cold, heavy steps and launched a savage assault on the rule-breaking male. The male did not dare resist and could only howl and beg for mercy.

The other male bears were silent with fear.

Within mere minutes, Raymond stopped moving altogether. Even his life force had vanished—he had been beaten to death alive.

Such things had rarely happened before.

When faced with an adolescent Dire Bear who broke the rules, especially one of his own offspring, Chief Gor would usually beat it half to death and throw it out of the territory rather than kill it outright.

The old bear seemed especially irritable today.

"Whoever else dares defy me and challenge my authority—"

"I'll wring its neck!"

The old Dire Bear let out a low roar, his fur bristling as the other Dire Bears did not dare make a sound.

Only after seeing fear flash through the eyes of the other Dire Bears, especially the males, did he nod in satisfaction.

As he aged, old Gor's fur was no longer as glossy and bright as it had been in his prime. More gray-white, lifeless strands had appeared across his body, and he could feel his strength gradually declining, his physical attributes weakening. Even this Claw Tempering session had been slightly shorter than before.

Time's blade was a hundred times sharper than a ferocious beast's fangs.

Not every creature could grow stronger in every aspect with age like dragons. Gor had already passed his peak, and from this point onward, his strength would decline with every passing day.

This made him restless and uneasy.

To preserve his ruling position within the clan, he had decided to use crueler methods in his agitation, killing even his own descendants without mercy.

Suddenly,

a rustling sound came from the coniferous forest ahead. The old Dire Bear instantly pricked up his ears, rose upright, and turned to look.

Another Earth Violent Bear pushed aside the vines and branches blocking the way and appeared before the old bear.

"My dear father, you're becoming more and more brutal."

Mobel said this as his gaze swept over the corpse by the old Dire Bear's feet.

"Mobel, my foolish offspring who once defied me. You're still alive."

The old Dire Bear grinned, revealing the obsidian embedded in his toothless gums.

He sensed no threat from Mobel.

He might have grown old and weaker, but that was only compared to his own prime. He was still far stronger than an ordinary Dire Bear.

"You came before me. What do you want?"

"To challenge my authority and position, or to seek death?"

A vicious light flashed in his eyes as blade-like claws sprang out one by one.

Mobel bared his teeth, stood upright with his arms akimbo, and said in a rough voice, "Of course I came to beat you to death, replace you, and then take all your female bears!"

At that, Gor flew into a rage.

His back arched and his hind legs braced against the ground as he prepared to pounce and kill this rebellious son.

However, the moment Mobel finished his declaration, he turned and ran. Dropping to all fours, he sprinted wildly as several runes on his limbs lit up, making his body lighter and faster.

"You can't escape! I'll slaughter you!"

The Dire Bear Chief roared, his paws smashing apart the ground as he charged like a cannonball, brutally knocking aside every obstacle in his path as he pursued Mobel.

The other Dire Bears exchanged looks but did not follow.

This challenge against the chief was not a battle against outside enemies, so the other Dire Bears had no need to interfere.