Who Wins, Who Loses
The bet had just been settled when the Calling Deer Tribe heard almost nothing but negative feedback.
The giant Beastmen would occasionally come to their camp to mock them, while Beastmen from the Flame Tiger and White Lion Tribe would also stroll around, partly to offer advice and partly to watch the spectacle.
Chieftain He observed everything, his face calm and composed, seemingly unconcerned about winning or losing. But after seeing off the Beastmen had come to watch the show, he immediately went to oversee the warriors' training.
He was getting old, and although he had learned the methods taught by Sang Ying, his aptitude was not as good as that of the younger Beastmen. So even though he felt changes in his body, he did not progress as fast as Yue and the others.
He was torn between the hope of defeating the Giant Ape Tribe and acquiring more salt stones, and the fear of losing the last remaining salt stones.
It was Yue Tianze who saw the complexity in his heart and stopped him to persuade him, "Don't worry, if you don't trust me and Sang Ying, don't you trust your people? The fact that they dared to agree to this bet so readily shows that they know their own capabilities."
Among the Beastmen selected this time were some who had fought against the giant Beastmen before. After learning about the bet with the Giant Ape Tribe, they were all extremely excited and couldn't wait to start the competition.
Seeing these signs, Yue Tianze basically concluded that the Giant Ape Tribe would suffer a crushing defeat this time.
After being comforted by Yue Tianze, Clan Chief He finally felt a little relieved.
As the Salt Scramble drew closer, even the giant Beastmen, who had previously seemed confident of victory, couldn't help but feel nervous.
According to previous rules, the last-place challenge principle will be implemented.
The team that was last in the queue has to challenge the teams ahead of them in turn. If they win, they can continue challenging; if they lose the first round, they remain last. If they win the second round, they can move up one place.
Therefore, if the Calling Deer Tribe wants to win first place, it must defeat the other three tribes in succession.
After hearing the rules here, Sang Ying suddenly realized, "No wonder they only dare to compete with the Giant Ape Tribe, and don't even dare to dream of being number one."
Such rules are essentially designed to protect the interests of the top two teams. Even if the Calling Deer Tribe truly has the ability to compete with the White Lion Tribe, by the time they win the first two rounds and officially face the White Lion Tribe, their advantage will likely have been largely eroded. How then can they possibly fight the White Lion Tribe?
Sang Ying frowned and looked at Chief He: "When was this rule established? Salt Scramble governed by this rule?"
Chieftain He smiled wryly, "This was a rule jointly established by the White Lion Tribe and the Flame Tiger Tribe. I don't know about Salt Scramble in other places, but this is the rule for any Salt Scramble involving the White Lion Tribe and the Flame Tiger Tribe."
In other words, even if the Calling Deer Tribe is dissatisfied with these rules, as long as they cannot win first place or lead the tribe to migrate to a more distant place, they have no choice but to accept these rules.
Sang Ying's expression grew increasingly grim as she listened.
She suddenly spoke up, "Clan leader, have you considered winning first place and then changing the rules?"
Clan Chief He's eyes widened again. Not only him, but even Yue Tianze beside him looked at Sang Ying with a horrified expression.
"Do you know what you're saying?" Yue Tianze almost spat out his food. "That's the White Lion Tribe, one of the three strongest tribes! A tribe that received a surname from the Beast God!"
Even Yue Tianze, an outsider, knew the power of the White Lion Tribe. If it weren't for the matter of surnames, how could the Flame Tiger Tribe have been relegated to second place?
Sang Ying was unaware of how deeply the clan chief and the others were shaken by Sang Ying's words.
In her view, incorrect rules will inevitably lead to disaster sooner or later, and must be changed eventually. Since she has the ability to fight for more benefits for herself, why not just work hard and win first place?
If it were just Sang Ying alone, she wouldn't have such thoughts. After all, if the Calling Deer Tribe didn't become strong on its own, no matter how powerful Sang Ying was, she would still be just one person and wouldn't be able to protect the Calling Deer Tribe indefinitely.
But now that the Calling Deer Tribe is becoming stronger, they will eventually be able to compete with the White Lion Tribe, so why not go and fight for it?
The clan chief understood her intentions. He was not yet clear about the strength of his warriors, and considering other factors, he did not want to show off at this time.
He then said, "Let's forget about it. We still have too few warriors in the tribe. We'll only aim for third place this time. Let's rest and recuperate for half a year, train more warriors, and then consider taking first place."
Sang Ying knew that it was better to take things slowly. She didn't force the Calling Deer Tribe. How they developed was their own business, and Sang Ying could only offer some help at most.
On the day of the official competition, the White Lion Tribe and the Flame Tiger Tribe, who had previously shown no interest in the competition for third place, all came to join in the fun.
Because of their good relationship with the Giant Ape Tribe, many White Lion Beastmen cheered loudly for the Giant Ape Beastmen when they appeared, as if the Giant Ape Tribe had already won the competition.
The Beastmen's contest wasn't fancy; each side sent out five Beastmen to fight within a designated circle. Before a torch burned out, any Beastmen forced out of the circle was disqualified from continuing the contest. When the torch burned out, the side with more Beastmen remaining in the circle won.
To prevent any tribe from exploiting loopholes in the rules, they have very strict regulations regarding falling out of the circle.
When Sang Ying was bored, she casually flipped through the booklet. After seeing the dense, complicated, and verbose rules, she silently closed the booklet again.
That's great, it would be strange if anyone could take advantage of this.
A horn sounded, and warriors from both sides stepped into the circle, while Beastmen on the other side lit torches.
It would take an hour for the torches to burn out, a long time, but the giant ape Beastmen were focused on ending the contest as quickly as possible. They were eager to win.
As soon as the five giant ape Beastmen entered the arena, they pounced on the five Crying Deer Beastmen, just as planned.
They were all tall and imposing, and with their limbs outstretched, they looked as if they were about to devour all the Minglu Beastmen.
Chieftain He immediately closed his eyes, his mind filled with the memory of their Beastmen's humiliating defeat. After a short while, instead of screams, several muffled thuds were heard.
Chief He frowned, refusing to open his eyes, and only asked Sang Ying in a low voice, "Is it over? How is the situation?" He hoped that the five little brats could hold on a little longer. If they really managed to export the salt so easily, he would be furious!
"It's over," Sang Ying replied.
The clan chief gasped, his heart filled with despair.
He slowly opened his eyes, wanting to see how badly his warriors had been injured, but when he looked up, he saw that all five of his Beastmen were standing safely in the circle, without a single mark on their bodies.
Where did that muffled thud come from?
With a secret hope in his heart, the chieftain looked to the other side and saw that the giant ape Beastmen who had been so aggressive earlier were all lying unconscious in the grass outside the circle, completely unconscious!