Chapter 229: Back Home
Sunnie, Little Black, Zukka, Atan, the wolf, and Sunnie’s beast husbands had set off, making their way to Little Black’s tribe along with the rabbit who had come to inform them about the situation at hand.
On their way, Sunnie and Zukka stood closely beside Little Black to make sure he was okay. They checked up on him from time to time as they passed through the woods.
They made their way down the evil forest and took the shortest path leading to the tribe. Soon, they had arrived.
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Little Black’s tribe wasn’t necessarily a cohesive tribe of one beastmen type like the rabbits or anything. Rather, it was a mini combination of low-level beastmen living together in a geographical area and finding peace in their minority.
There, you could see other low-level beastmen like squirrels, chipmunks, deer, beavers, antelopes, ducks, turtles, frogs, and the like—all beastmen with human forms and animal characteristics. They weren’t tiny beings; they were moderate-sized beastmen like humans, though some were also dwarfs and the like.
But the land was nothing like Little Black recalled. When they arrived, what they saw was pure chaos.
The place was in complete disarray. The lands were destroyed, most things burnt down like the houses and constructions. The farmland was in a mess—destroyed and stolen from.
As they walked past the pitiful sight, they couldn’t help but see the casualties around: sights of young men bruised on the ground with their close relations or friends around them. Some women and children were already dead, unable to handle the brutality.
Sunnie couldn’t help but shed tears at the scene, along with Little Black. They couldn’t have imagined what these people had to go through at the hands of these predator beastmen for things to be this bad.
"It’s worse than I thought..." Luka shook his head as they moved through, following the man who was leading the way until they arrived at the tribe leader’s hut. He allowed them in.
They were surprised to see the tribe leader lying there in his bed made of leaves, surrounded by some young men. From the look of things, he was extremely injured and sick. Sunnie could easily tell that he wouldn’t survive for much longer.
As soon as the old man saw Little Black approaching, he smiled as he struggled to sit up while staring at him. "Cloudy..." He choked, clearing his throat as he smiled at the sight of them.
"Sit down, no need to welcome us like that..." Sunnie said as they helped him sit down properly. He cleared his throat as they cleaned off the blood spilling from his lips.
The tribe leader smiled as he stared at Little Black, who was standing before him. "It’s been a long time. I can’t remember the last time I saw you... you were so tiny back then... the tiniest little rabbit we’d ever seen." He smiled as he stared at him.
"What happened?" Little Black asked, staring at him.
The tribe leader smiled as he shook his head. "They struck again this morning... and I guess I was too old to do anything."
Little Black clenched his fist. "How could they still strike in this situation? At this point, don’t they want you all dead or something?"
The tribe leader smiled. "Isn’t that the aim? In this wild beast world, it’s only natural for the more powerful to dominate the less powerful in all ways possible. Nothing new."
Little Black wasn’t happy at all. Fury kept building within him as he clenched his fist at the sight of the bruised people around.
"Let’s not talk about that now... how is our little Cloudy doing?" The tribe leader stared at him. "It’s good you’re doing well..." He coughed, blood spilling as the men around helped clean it up.
"I just wanted to see you before I leave... It’s been weighing me down. I’ve always wanted to apologize. I’m sorry... for what I did... for all we put you and your family through... We’re all sorry. I’m sorry for being a coward back then. I’m sorry for everything, and I can’t even justify anything at all."
He smiled as he added, "You lost your parents because of us... and I guess karma has finally caught up with us."
Little Black said nothing. He stood there staring as pain rushed through his body. He was supposed to be angry at them, but he couldn’t help but sob at the scene before him.
Then the tribe leader shook his head as he said, "At least now I can die in peace knowing that I’ve finally apologized. And don’t listen to that August..." He smiled. "I told him not to tell you about it and certainly not beg for your help. He should let you have your peace away from danger. I guess the kid never listens." He shook his head as he said, "Too bad... the kid is finally gone. I hope he gets to rest in peace, though..." He sighed.
Little Black stared in tears. He couldn’t even bring himself to say a word as he listened. None of them spoke at all; they simply stood there and stared as the tribe leader made his last words.
The tribe leader smiled at Sunnie and the beast husbands and said, "If we ever showed prejudice against anyone, I apologize for that. I don’t think anyone deserves such unnecessary hate... it makes no sense. So I apologize to you all on their behalf." He smiled as he stared at Little Black. "And I hope that your parents would have it in them to forgive me sometime... We were so close." He closed his eyes as he stared up. "I miss the old days when they were around..." He sighed. "Too bad we can’t go back and have the old days back..." He sighed. "Too bad."
And soon, the tribe leader went quiet. They didn’t hear him speak and he didn’t even move again. He just laid there, calm and quiet.