When they saw Sam trailing behind Xuan into the hut, they merely glanced at him flatly, no trace of surprise on their faces.
Clearly, Xia had briefed them beforehand.
Of the seven beastmen present, Sam only knew three: Li, Fei, and Lan—the head of the hunting party. He'd met Lan just once the day he arrived at the village, and they'd had no contact since.
Li, by contrast, was a familiar face. He often assisted Xia with village affairs; he was also Mu's father, and they'd crossed paths several times.
Fei was one of only two flying beastmen in the tribe. The other was a young one, roughly Xuan's age—Fei had taken him in and raised him when he was just ten years old.
Sam had never laid eyes on the other four, but anyone Xia summoned to a meeting like this had to be a key figure in the tribe.
He shrank back behind Xuan, sneaking glances at the group. Come to think of it, he was the only sub-beast in the room.
What he didn't know was that Qiuye would have been here too, had he not been injured and in need of rest—Qiuye was more than qualified to join this council.
Once everyone was present, Xia waved a hand, gesturing for them all to sit.
Sam found a spot beside Xuan and settled in, waiting quietly for the meeting to start.
From his meager experience as an intern back in his old world, meetings never got to the point right away. First, the leaders would exchange a bunch of formal pleasantries.
He steeled himself, ready to pinch himself awake at any moment to avoid dozing off.
To his surprise, Xia skipped all the formalities entirely—he cut straight to the chase.
"Early this morning, our foraging party was attacked by a band of roaming beastmen," he said, his voice sharp. "Their target was our tribe's sub-beasts. We managed to chase them off temporarily, but what do you all think we should do about this—going forward?"
As soon as Xia finished speaking, Li shot Xuan a look. Xuan nodded at him subtly, and Li's face softened into a knowing expression. He turned to Xia.
"They've raided Waterwood Tribe and Stonehorn Tribe before—more than once," Li said, his tone firm. "Now they've dared to set their sights on us. I say we teach them a lesson they won't forget."
"I agree with Li," another beastman—seated next to Lan—snapped, his voice thick with anger. "And it shouldn't just be a lesson. We need to drive them out for good… or kill them. Otherwise, who's to say they won't attack our foraging parties again?"
"They're ruthless," Fei added, his brow furrowed as he looked at Xia. "Sub-beasts are already far more fragile than beastmen—yet they still dared to target ours. It's unforgivable."
The other beastmen didn't speak, but their furious expressions made it clear they fully backed Li's proposal.
Only Lan remained quiet, his brow slightly furrowed as if he was weighing something carefully.
"Lan," Xia said, noticing his pensive look. "What are your thoughts?"
All eyes turned to Lan.
"Come on, Lan," the beastman beside Fei urged. "We're all agreed we need to drive them out once and for all. Do you have a different idea?"
Under the collective gaze of the group, Lan relaxed his frown. He paused to think for a moment, then spoke slowly.
"I also believe we need to drive them out completely," he said. "They're a constant threat to our tribe—there's no denying that."
Lan paused, then continued, his voice steady and pragmatic.
"But their numbers aren't small. If we're going to confront them, we'll need to send a force of comparable size. But our tribe still needs defenders, and we can't halt our daily hunts. We have to resolve these issues first—*before* we even talk about marching out to fight."
Lan's words were a harsh dose of reality, a problem they couldn't ignore. The room fell silent as everyone's anger cooled slightly, replaced by solemn consideration.
Sam rested his chin in his hand, his brow furrowed as he wracked his brain for a solution.
"During the skirmish this morning, we realized their combat strength is no match for ours," Xuan said suddenly—breaking his silence for the first time.
Sam blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Xuan to be this assertive—talking about taking on two enemies at once like it was nothing. Clearly, the attack had enraged him deeply.
"If that's the case, then we can afford to send a smaller force," Xuan continued.
"Even so, it's still a risk," Lan countered, not swayed by Xuan's confidence.
Sam silently agreed. Sending fewer warriors would be gambling with the lives of their tribesmen.
"I'm confident I can take on two of them easily," Li said, stroking his chin as he looked at Lan. "And the other beastmen in our tribe are just as capable—I don't think they'd be much different."
"We also have our medicinal herbs," Xuan chimed in immediately. "If we can treat our wounded promptly, the risk to our warriors will drop significantly. Their strength is no match for ours—it'll be hard for them to kill any of us outright." He leaned forward slightly, his voice earnest. "And if we don't drive them away, they'll keep disrupting our tribe's lives."
"Sigh—if we want to get rid of them for good, we *have* to take this risk," the beastman sitting next to Xia sighed heavily. "If we don't, their presence will only bring more trouble to our tribe in the future."
"It's true," Fei grumbled, scratching his head in frustration. "Waterwood and Stonehorn Tribes have already suffered greatly because of these roamers. Their autumn hunts barely yield enough food to get by now, and I've heard their winter death tolls have skyrocketed over the past two years." He let out a sharp curse. "Damned roamers—they're nothing but trouble."
"Sigh—" Lan sighed too, his shoulders slumping slightly. He wanted nothing more than to drive the roamers away, but the tribe couldn't be left undefended, and someone had to hunt for food. Sending too few warriors would put them in mortal danger… in the end, it all came down to one problem: they were short on people.
Xia hadn't said a word throughout the entire debate. Qiuye had been injured because of those roamers, and he was afraid his anger would cloud his judgment.
He wanted nothing more than to march out and kill every last one of them—but he was also the tribe's chieftain. He couldn't let his emotions rule him. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he wouldn't be able to hold back his rage.
The atmosphere in the council hut turned heavy, the mood growing somber as the beastmen fell into silence.
Sam glanced around the room, his mind racing. Were all the beastmen in this world this straightforward? Just thinking about tackling the problem alone, with their own tribe's forces?
He hesitated, debating whether to share his own idea. But he was still new here—he didn't understand all the ins and outs of tribal life, and he was terrified of saying something stupid.
Xuan, sitting beside him, noticed his fidgeting. He shot Sam a questioning glance, and Sam looked back at him, his face scrunched up in a conflicted grimace, words hovering on his lips but unspoken.
Xuan ducked his head and smiled silently. He reached out and patted Sam's back gently, his eyes filled with quiet encouragement.
Ugh—he couldn't resist that look.
Ah, screw it—he'd just say it!
Sam adjusted his posture, schooled his expression into a serious one, then lifted his head to look at Xia. Slowly, he raised his hand.
In an instant, every eye in the room locked onto him.
Sam shuddered slightly.
Was it too late to yank his hand back and pretend this never happened?
But despite his nerves, when it came to something important, Sam could be surprisingly reliable.
He took a deep breath, organized his thoughts, then spoke slowly—his voice ringing out clearly in the silent hut, under the watchful gaze of every beastman present.
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