The Reckoning
"Alright, hurry up, everyone get up! If you want to sleep, wait until today..."
The shouts echoed across the plains.
One after another, the Calamity Beast rose from the ground.
They first glanced at the Black Rat Lord, who outnumbered them, and then their gazes were inevitably drawn to the few Calamity Beast lying around the Black Rat Lord.
Then, he paused, taken aback.
They looked at the Black Rat Masters with puzzled expressions.
They were somewhat worried, but not too afraid, because the Black Rat Masters didn't seem to have any particularly angry expressions on their faces.
He was even... smiling?
So, what's going on with those guys?
The same confusion arose in the minds of all the Calamity Beast.
Some of the Calamity Beast speculated that those guys might have been recently captured;
Some of the Calamity Beast speculated that those guys might have failed their mining tasks yesterday and tried to hide, only to be caught and brought back.
Some of the Calamity Beast even fantasized that perhaps the Black Rat were giving them an extra meal because they thought the rats were working too hard...
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long.
After all the Calamity Beast had awakened, the leading, enormous Black Rat slowly took a step forward.
"Recently, we've discovered a group of restless individuals at the mine!"
"They've been causing trouble for no reason since the mornings several days ago."
"A couple of days ago, we even discovered that some of them, after finishing mining at night, didn't come back and instead wandered around Black Stone Valley, trying to escape!"
"Note that it's not just one or two, but a whole group!"
"They think they're so clever, that scattering the Calamity Beast will solve everything?!"
"Idiot!!!"
"Normally, only one or two idiots would occasionally take advantage of that opportunity to go out, but these guys sent me a whole bunch of them in one day..."
A snicker rang out beside the enormous Black Rat.
Black Rat stood by, laughing as they scanned the Calamity Beast in the herd, trying to find the accomplices of the captured Calamity Beast.
Among the beasts, Calamity Beast wanted to laugh, but dared not, and even had to avoid the gazes of the Black Rat that swept over them.
Fortunately, after learning about the situation of those Calamity Beast, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, knowing that they were definitely not accomplices of those Calamity Beast, they had no need to worry about Lord Black Rat holding them accountable.
Of course, some people aren't worried, while others are.
The Calamity Beast that had followed Lord Feather Owl and Lord Profound Crystal Griffin were scattered among the beast herd. They tried their best to suppress their emotions, but many of them still couldn't help but show a certain amount of worry, fear, and trembling on their faces.
Similarly, the Steel-Mane Bear and the Black Jade Lion also stared ahead with grim expressions.
Did the Black Rat notice them because of the three Calamity Beast that died within a day during their first exploration?
They hadn't really thought about that.
After all, the constant labor, coupled with only half-full meals each day.
If those Black Rat are watching over them all day long, they won't find a chance to escape, so it's fine if no Calamity Beast escape.
But the road back from mining each day was completely unsupervised by Black Rat.
Even under such circumstances, not a single one of the thousands of Calamity Beast Calamity Beast to escape during that time!
Even if we can't escape successfully, we should at least try!
Not a single one?!
Somewhat incomprehensibly, the Black Jade Lion's gaze swept over the Calamity Beast that were staring ahead.
For some inexplicable reason, it sensed something strange.
It's as if these guys were born to mine here.
What do we do now?
An indescribable sense of solemnity came from the side.
The Black Jade Lion glanced sideways at the Steel-Mane Bear standing to the side, then shifted its gaze back to the Black Rat in front of it.
After pondering for a long time, he finally said:
"... Just you wait!"
wait?
Steel-Mane Bear turned his head and glanced at Black Jade Lion, whose expression was equally grim.
It didn't know... no, it did know that all they could do now seemed to be wait, wait until they were pointed out and the Black Rat came to catch them.
This might sound like a sign of giving up, but it's really all they can do right now.
The incident happened so suddenly that, apart from waiting, it seemed that the only thing they could do was to suddenly pounce on the Black Rat or try to escape.
but...
Steel-Mane Bear gritted his teeth, trying his best to control his expression as he looked at the Black Rat in front of him.
There were over thirty Black Rat, including one that was at Fifth Tier.
Given this situation, let alone them, even if all the Calamity Beast were to riot together, it would only be a matter of dying sooner or later.
Of course, waiting will also lead to death, but dying a little later is better than dying now, right?
Thinking of this, the Steel-Mane Bear couldn't help but look at the captured Calamity Beast again.
The Black Rat didn't capture all the Calamity Beast they had dispatched; they only captured a few, and they didn't see the Ridged Beast or the Blast-Armor Rhinoceros among them.
Were they killed because they resisted too fiercely?
Damn it, why weren't all of these guys killed...?
"... So, I'm giving you one last chance: come out yourselves!"
The sound gradually faded away.
A giant Black Rat stood on a slightly undulating hill, its gaze sweeping across the herd of beasts.
The other Black Rat nearby also smiled as they swept their gazes over the herd of beasts.
However, time passed.
A cold glint gradually flashed in the giant Black Rat's eyes.
It glanced at the herd of beasts that hadn't produced a single Calamity Beast, sneered, and continued:
"I'm telling you, this is your last chance."
"Now, come out. I'll only give you a beating, then kill you all, and tell the rest of you to think twice before you act!"
"But if you don't come out, and we find out later, it won't be a simple punishment!"
The threatening sounds echoed across the plains, but not a single Calamity Beast emerged.
"Fine, since you want us to find you out, then so be it!" The giant Black Rat's gaze grew even colder.
The sneers on the faces of the other Black Rat also disappeared.
The giant Black Rat shifted its gaze to the several Calamity Beast lying on the ground.
"You all probably already know what happened, right? Now, is there anyone who wants to tell us?"
After a pause and no response, several Calamity Beast raised their eyes to look at the herd, seemingly wanting to see if any Calamity Beast would come out to rescue them.
The giant Black Rat did not stop them, but simply watched silently.
However, the herd of beasts remained silent.
Not a single Calamity Beast emerged.