Chapter 94 – The Beastman Hamlet

Chapter 94 – The Beastman Hamlet

Niu Bing’s face was a mask of conflict as he wrestled with whether to speak. Finally, with a decisive clench of his teeth, he said, “Alright, I’ll tell you. Actually, what I said earlier wasn’t wrong. Yesterday afternoon, we did wander a bit too far without paying attention to our direction. We were heading down towards Huimin Town and went about three or four kilometers past it. There’s a ridge there with a small hamlet. Inside were many short, demonized beasts that could walk upright and behaved almost like humans.”

Cheng Yang already knew what Niu Bing was going to say halfway through his explanation.

After the world’s transformation, humans referred to the monsters that appeared as demonized beasts or mutated beasts. This naming was somewhat self-flattering, as the term “beast” implied low intelligence. For the most part, this was accurate, as the majority of demonized beasts had intelligence comparable to animals.

However, there were exceptions. Some demonized beasts were distinctly different from ordinary animals, possessing high intelligence, with many being nearly indistinguishable from humans. The demonized beasts Niu Bing mentioned living in that hamlet belonged to this category.

Unlike other demonized beast groups, these hamlet-dwelling beasts had a clear hierarchy and had formed their own unique social system. In a sense, they were already “people.” Most still called them demonized beasts, but those who recognized their fundamental differences from ordinary demonized beasts referred to them as “beastmen.”

Beastman communities were rare in this world. In the first year of the apocalypse in Cheng Yang’s previous life, humans had little interaction with them.

Coincidentally, there was such a beastman settlement near Xiangcheng City, the very one Niu Bing had mentioned.

Though these beastman communities were vastly different from demonized beast groups, they shared the same essential nature – they were mortal enemies of humans. Any human entering their territory would never return.

However, strangely, these beastmen seemed to be under some restriction. Their range of activity was limited, and they couldn’t attack human settlements.

For these reasons, humans and beastmen settlements had almost no interaction. Human knowledge of beastmen was extremely limited, barely extending beyond the basic awareness of their existence.

Over time, humans had grown accustomed to the beastmen’s presence, even to the point of ignoring them. Cheng Yang hadn’t thought of them earlier precisely because they had become like air – ever-present but unnoticed.

Now, hearing Niu Bing mention them again, Cheng Yang’s former wariness of the beastmen resurfaced. Though humans ignored them, it didn’t mean the beastmen weren’t powerful. In fact, even at the moment of Cheng Yang’s rebirth in his previous life, humans still hadn’t figured out just how strong the beings in that beastman hamlet were.

In his past life, Cheng Yang had been an insignificant combatant, and the beastman hamlet had been too distant to matter. But now, as the lord of Luofeng Village, he had to take the hamlet seriously, especially since it was only seven or eight kilometers away.

Why did this beastman hamlet exist? Why had the gods placed them here? Would they one day be freed from their restrictions and attack human settlements?

The more Cheng Yang thought about it, the more he felt a prickling sensation on his back.

However, Cheng Yang knew now wasn’t the time to investigate the beastman hamlet’s purpose. Compared to the hamlet, Luofeng Village’s strength was still too weak.

“Old Niu, do you realize how dangerous your actions were?” Cheng Yang’s expression was grim.

Niu Bing was momentarily stunned. He had thought Cheng Yang was eager to hear his report, but now his attitude had changed. “I know it was dangerous,” Niu Bing said, “but didn’t you say that in this apocalypse, nothing is without risk? Besides, when we observed the hamlet, we were well hidden and kept our distance. The chance of being discovered was very low.”

Cheng Yang said, “You should be grateful. If you had gotten any closer, you might not have returned. Think about it – the strongest demonized beasts we’ve encountered in the wild were already at late first-tier. How powerful must these hamlet-dwelling demonized beasts be?”

At Cheng Yang’s reminder, Niu Bing immediately grew uneasy. “Lord, what… what should we do? If the beasts in that hamlet are really that strong, isn’t Luofeng Village in great danger?”

Cheng Yang shook his head. “Not necessarily. We’ll observe the situation for now. Also, issue an order – no one is to approach that hamlet. This is an absolute command.”

Seeing Cheng Yang’s seriousness, Niu Bing knew this matter was of great importance and quickly nodded.

“Lord, you didn’t call me here just to ask about this, did you?” Niu Bing suddenly asked.

Cheng Yang said, “Of course not. Last night, I established the military camp. Liu Hao, Yu Kai, and Li Wanshan already have official positions. Only you and Zhao Chuan, as team leaders, are still without roles. After consideration, I think you’re suitable to be the military camp administrator.”

Niu Bing was stunned. After a long pause, he said with a bitter smile, “Lord, you must be joking. You know my capabilities. If I manage a military camp, it’ll be a complete mess. We’re talking about nearly a thousand people, and I might even have to command battles in the future.”

Cheng Yang said, “You’re overcomplicating things. The military camp administrator is essentially a logistical role, responsible for soldier recruitment and rank promotions, both of which are procedural matters. Besides soldier recruitment, which requires your personal attention, rank promotions are automatic. It doesn’t require much brainpower. Besides, if you’re not good at management, there’s always Pang Shan. Women are meticulous. With her help, you’ll have no problem handling this.”

After some hesitation, Niu Bing said, “Alright, if it’s that simple, I’ll take the position.”

Cheng Yang glared at him. “Don’t act like you’re doing me a favor. The military camp administrator is a lucrative position. You’ll see.”

Niu Bing chuckled but didn’t argue further.

Cheng Yang then took Niu Bing to the territory altar and appointed him as the military camp administrator. This position had appeared after the military camp’s establishment. No other official positions had been added with the territory’s upgrade.

At that moment, Liu Hao and his group returned to the territory. Along with his team were Yu Kai, Li Wanshan, and Zhao Chuan. They had been operating together all night. With one high-level apprentice and two mid-level apprentices, their night’s harvest had been bountiful.

“Old Niu, you’re finally back! We wanted to bring you along last night, but we couldn’t find you. Where did you go?” Yu Kai asked as soon as he saw Niu Bing from a distance.

Niu Bing glanced at Cheng Yang, who nodded, before briefly recounting yesterday’s discovery. Cheng Yang then emphasized the seriousness of the beastman hamlet to everyone and ordered them not to approach within two hundred meters of it.

Yu Kai’s expression turned grave upon hearing this. Li Wanshan said, “Lord, that hamlet is probably a ticking time bomb. We need to deal with it as soon as possible.”

“I know,” Cheng Yang said. “But our strength is still too limited. We’ll wait until we’re stronger.”

Li Wanshan suggested, “Should we send someone to test them? What if they’re not that strong?”

Cheng Yang shook his head. Though he had never personally been near that hamlet, in his previous life, that beastman hamlet had buried many peak-level apprentices. He wasn’t willing to take the risk.

Seeing Cheng Yang’s resolve, Li Wanshan didn’t press further. Instead, he asked, “Lord, what are our plans for today? Continue hunting monsters in the surrounding area?”

Cheng Yang said, “I’ve just upgraded the class statues to level 4. Each statue can now accommodate 530 class advancements. Your teams can expand. You can select the members yourselves, and the spiritual energy required for class advancement will be raised by your teams.”

Liu Hao and the others were thrilled. Expanding their teams would give them more confidence when facing large groups of demonized beasts. These past few days, unless Cheng Yang led the charge, they had been limited to areas where demonized beast groups had already been cleared, resulting in low hunting efficiency. With expanded teams and enhanced capabilities of the team leaders, they were gradually gaining the ability to operate independently.

“Lord, expanding the team is good news, but with the current equipment production rate, we haven’t even fully equipped our existing team. With the team nearly doubling in size, the equipment shortage will be even more severe. Maybe we should use some spiritual energy to buy equipment from the shop,” Li Wanshan suggested.

Cheng Yang immediately shook his head. “Buying equipment from the shop isn’t cost-effective. A full set of equipment would cost at least seven to eight hundred spiritual energy points. It’s better to save that energy for quadruple cultivation speed.”

Li Wanshan said, “Actually, we could just buy weapons. A weapon costs at most seventy to eighty spiritual energy points, which is manageable for those who’ve already advanced. With increased attack power, they can hunt more efficiently, allowing us to expand our activity range faster.”

Cheng Yang hesitated, then asked, “How many blacksmiths and craftsmen do we have in the territory now?”

Li Wanshan and the others turned to Yu Kai, as he was in charge of managing life class professions.

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections…