A deception

"At first... then... and then..."

The narration echoed in the hall.

The Black Rat, some lying down, some sitting, weren't initially very interested, but as Black Spine narrated, they all stopped what they were doing and looked over.

After a while, the sound faded away.

One of the Black Rat immediately followed up with, "So, there are nearly 100 Calamity Beast trying to cause trouble this time?"

The other Black Rat also kept a close eye on Black Spine.

"Yes, that's right!" Black Spine nodded without hesitation.

"Wow, there are so many?"

"What kind of Calamity Beast was leading it again?"

"There doesn't seem to be a leader, but there are seven at Tier 3."

"This guy dares to cause trouble? Not even one of them has broken through to the Fourth Tier!"

"You have to be understanding of them, they have to mine every day at the mines, you're letting them..."

"But that's how it is..."

"But they're quite clever; they even knew to send out a portion first. When I heard that news yesterday morning, I thought those guys had sent out all their members, so I wasn't interested. I didn't expect they only sent out a portion. If Black Spine hadn't specifically asked, they might have missed some!"

"Yeah, if I'd known, I would have gone yesterday when they were talking about it. This is the first time I've ever seen so many Calamity Beast causing trouble..."

The hall erupted in chaos as one Calamity Beast after another discussed the matter animatedly, not a single Black Rat showing any concern whatsoever.

And that is indeed the case. Not to mention the less than one hundred Calamity Beast that caused trouble today, even if all the Calamity Beast enslaved in the entire Black Stone Valley were included, they would not pose any threat to them.

Of course, there will still be troubles.

After all, including the Calamity Beast in the encirclement, there are tens of thousands of Calamity Beast enslaved throughout Black Stone Valley.

If they don't foolishly charge at them, but instead spread out, dealing with this number will be quite troublesome for the enemy.

However, it only reached the point of being troublesome.

The discussion continued, and seemed to grow increasingly heated.

Such interesting things are rare in this monotonous valley, and each Black Rat was somewhat excited.

This continued until that slightly weary voice rang out.

"Alright, let's stop for a bit!"

The discussion gradually subsided, and then everyone turned to look ahead.

There, a slightly aged figure with a lot of gray and white hair was quietly watching them.

"Chief!"

The Black Rat were squeaking.

The Black Rat Chief nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Black Spine.

"Black Spine!"

"Exist!"

"You said earlier that the captured Calamity Beast initially confessed to the Blast-Armor Rhinoceros and the Gray-Clawed Xingxing, but neither of them has been found, right?" the old Black Rat asked.

"Yes, that's right, but things went smoothly after that, and all the Calamity Beast involved were found!" Black Spine replied proudly.

"Hmm," the Black Rat Chief nodded nonchalantly, then continued, "Did you go looking for the Blast-Armor Rhinoceros and the Gray-Clawed Xingxing afterward?"

Uh... no!

Black Spine replied hesitantly.

Having said that, it seemed to understand what the clan leader was thinking and quickly replied:

"Those Blast-Armor Rhinoceros and Gray-Clawed Xingxing were tricks by those guys; they don't actually exist. You can see that from what happens later on."

"Back then, when one of the Calamity Beast was captured, it immediately claimed it didn't recognize the Calamity Beast that had identified it. But our tribesmen who were supervising it at the mines revealed that the creature had spoken to the Calamity Beast that had identified it just a few days prior!"

"So, what these guys say is completely unreliable!"

"They won't tell the truth unless they're truly about to die!"

Nearby, many Black Rat nodded in agreement.

What those guys said is definitely not credible!

The Black Rat Chief did not refute this either; it simply stated:

"So, you think that at that time, the Iron-Mane Beast that confessed to the Blast-Armor Rhinoceros and the Gray-Clawed Xingxing believed it was still alive?"

"..."

There was no response. Black Spine opened its mouth, unsure how to respond.

The scene from that time seemed to appear before its eyes.

The Iron-Mane Beast confessed under torture, and they made it clear at the time that even if they eventually revealed the Calamity Beast involved in the operation, they would still die in the end.

Therefore, its purpose at the time was merely to avoid being whipped as punishment.

In this situation, is it... lying? Or is it feeling it hasn't been punished enough?

Can...

Black Spine felt like his brain had turned to mush, and he didn't know where to start thinking.

Ahead, the Black Rat Chief, seeing Black Spine's state, paused for a moment, then asked again:

"Then, many other Calamity Beast, after being captured, have been insisting that they are not part of their group?"

"Uh, yes..."

Black Spine looked at the clan leader, hesitated, and nodded.

"Like I just said, after one of the Calamity Beast was captured, it claimed it didn't recognize the Calamity Beast that had identified it, only to be seen chatting with it just before it was actually spotted!"

"Yes, I know that, but are there many others who disagree?" The Black Rat Chief nodded.

"Uh, yes..."

Approximately how many?

"About... 80%?"

Even at the very end, some of the Calamity Beast were still shouting that they weren't accomplices of the Calamity Beast that were trying to escape.

"Uh, yes..."

Without asking any further questions, the Black Rat Chief remained lost in thought above.

The other Black Rat looked at each other, bewildered.

The chieftain's series of questions made them realize that there seemed to be something wrong.

However, the specific issues...

"Um... Chieftain, are you doubting me?" Black Rat Moya looked at the chieftain hesitantly.

Upon hearing this, the other Black Rat also turned their gazes in that direction.

There was no immediate response; the Black Rat Chief sat there quietly.

After a long while, it seemed to have figured it out, and lowered its gaze to look at the Black Spine.

You got scammed today.

"We... we were tricked?" Black Spine said in disbelief.

"Um."

"But how is that possible? Everything went smoothly today, except for the beginning. Those Calamity Beast have all recruited their own accomplices!" Black Spine stood up and said, straining slightly.

"What will happen if they don't tell us?" the Black Rat Chief asked.

Upon hearing this, Black Spine stiffened.

"Hmm? What will happen?" the other Black Rat asked.

Looking at the people of his tribe who were all staring at him, Black Spine hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Those who don't speak will be whipped to death; those who do speak will die instantly!"

"Um..."

After a pause, the other Black Rat looked at their chieftain with some confusion.

"Chieftain, is there a problem with this?"