CHAPTER 31: ATTACK

Theo let go of the bear corpse, letting it drop next to a few other animal corpses. His eyes then scanned for any more enemies, but only found fellow comrades around.

"Seems that’s all of them." Theo muttered in beast tongue to the other tiger beastmen. "You take care of the corpses. I’m heading back to camp."

The four tiger beastmen with him roared in agreement and without another word Theo headed back to camp to see if they needed help. As he ran, he couldn’t help but notice how organized the attack was.

Rootless beastmen rarely formed groups and only did so as a way to survive. If given the chance they’d likely betray each other without a second thought.

It was why they were never a major threat to most cities and big tribes and villages. Because you only needed a few strong beastmen to deal with them. But this was different.

Whoever the mastermind was, they were definitely not a simpleton. They had somehow managed to convince a large group to follow their lead.

Not only that but they were also smart enough to know how to cover their scent to secretly track the caravan for possibly days now.

And after watching some of the beastmen leave to go hunting, they decided to attack the camp. They’d even sent out some beastmen to keep Theo and his group distracted so they couldn’t head straight back to help.

Too bad they underestimated Theo’s strength.

Of course, there was one thing that lingered on Theo’s mind as he sped through the forest. Why attack them now? They were clearly tracking them from the way those beastmen were hiding their scents.

Yet when the females went out yesterday, they didn’t try anything. Theo would’ve thought that would’ve been the perfect chance for them.

Unless they’re after resources too. Theo suddenly thought to himself. We still have a bit of salt on us because Serena came with us without Uncle needing to give her tribe salt.

How they would know that, Theo wasn’t sure, but he supposed they were taking the risk. Either way, it seemed like the only reason why they would attack the camp directly.

The sounds of fighting and smell of blood consumed Theo’s senses before he could think much about it, making him push harder. Right now wasn’t the time to think about these things.

He needed to make sure everything was okay first.

As he took a sharp turn to the right, he spotted a wolf and leopard beastman fighting a tiger beastman. The tiger was covered in wounds, but kept attacking the two.

However, Theo knew he wouldn’t last much longer. The ground around the tiger beastman was covered in blood and his movements were slowing down.

Theo immediately pounced on the bear beastman, wanting to take the stronger one out by surprise. Then he could easily take out the wolf beastman.

"Arrgh!" The bear beastman cried out in pain as Theo bit down on his neck.

The bear thrushed around to get him off, but it was too late. Theo’s jaw was locked onto his neck and it only took him a few seconds to crush his windpipe.

The moment the bear went still, Theo let his jaw go slack. The corpse dropped to the ground and Theo stepped over it without a second thought, turning his attention to the wolf beastman.

The other tiger beastman had been keeping it at bay and realizing that it was now two to one, the wolf beastman decided to do the smart thing. It ran off.

Too bad Theo wasn’t letting it get away. One less rootless beastman in the world made it a better place and he didn’t need this one coming back to cause more trouble in the future.

The wolf beastman let out a loud howl as Theo chased after him. Blood leaked from its wounds, making it slower than usual, and Theo was quickly able to catch up. And one bite was all it took to end things.

When he was done, Theo headed back to check on the tiger beastman. He found the other beastman lying on the ground, panting heavily. His injuries were not looking good.

Theo cursed silently. They were going to have a lot of injured beastmen by the end of this. Some dead depending on the rootless beastmen’s skills. Which was not great for them at all.

Because even if they survived this attack, who knows if another was lying in wait.

Shaking his head, Theo was about to head off to get some pain relieving herbs for the wounded tiger beastman when said beastman suddenly spoke.

"Theo!" The tiger beastman yelled in beast tongue. "You need to go after Serena. She ran off to get away from the fight."

Theo paused in his tracks, glancing at the beastman whom he realized was Rex. He lifted his head in the air, taking a deep sniff. And he soon picked up her scent, surprising him.

I must have not noticed it since the stench of blood is so thick here. Theo muttered to himself. He then glanced over at the tiger beastman and asked, "Will you be fine?"

While he wanted to go after Serena, Theo first had to make sure Rex would be fine. He couldn’t just leave him to die. It wouldn’t sit well with him.

"I’m fine..." Rex panted, his breathing a little heavy. "My wounds are already starting to heal. But Serena is not safe in the forest. You need to go after her."

Rex had originally told Serena to run, thinking he would get rid of the wolf beastman quickly and then catch up to her. But who would’ve thought that wolf had a friend.

Thankfully though Theo had appeared when he had. Otherwise, Rex was sure he would’ve died.

Theo glanced at Rex, hesitating a little until the older beastman growled at him. It prompted him to move and he ran off, following the lingering scent Serena left behind to find her.