Chapter 1072, Not Everyone Deserves the Credit

Translator: Silavin

 

*Whoosh whoosh…*

 

Yan Hua rode atop the Eagle through the open sky, moving steadily towards the Flame Dragon Tribe.

 

Behind her flew several Grey Feathered Giant Birds, each carrying one of the other girls on its back.

 

Yan Hua and the others had finished the task Su Bai had assigned to them and were now heading back towards the Tribe.

 

“Faster, faster. I can already see the Tribe.” Yan Hua quickly put away her telescope, pressed her body low, and gripped the Peak Eagle’s feathers with both hands.

 

“Let’s keep up.” Sha Lan called out loudly.

 

From below, five birds and five people moved through the sky together. Though, all onlookers could really make out were the undersides of the birds.

 

It was a striking sight though. These were large Ferocious Beasts, after all, and the smaller birds and beasts in the surrounding area had long since retreated due to their presence.

 

Because Yan Hua had been able to spot the Flame Dragon Tribe from such a great distance, they touched down before long. These Ferocious Beasts could fly at suck breakneck speed, so what would have taken a person well over an hour on foot took them only a few minutes.

 

“Finally back.” Yan Hua flipped off the bird and onto the ground, brushing at her hair where the wind had tangled it.

 

They had landed in front of the Flame Dragon Tribe’s old gate, which had a large enough clearing for the Ferocious Beasts to land. Landing inside the Tribe itself was not an option, since it would have startled everyone.

 

The old gate area no longer had any crops planted around it. There were only a few wooden sheds for keeping cattle and horses. Beyond those was a wide open expanse, and behind that, a great stretch of forest.

 

The Tribe was still deep in construction and had not yet attended to the land outside the walls, though the area enclosed by those walls was already quite broad.

 

A number of people from inside the Tribe had come out, heading off towards the farming grounds to start work. The moment they stepped outside, they saw the Ferocious Beasts resting in the clearing. There was naturally a brief moment of stillness, then they spotted the Totem Warriors and calmed down.

 

They were not sure why, but Ferocious Beasts had been turning up around the Tribe with some regularity lately.

 

What was strange was that these Ferocious Beasts were remarkably well behaved. None of them attacked anyone or caused any trouble. So, the people had gradually learnt to just carry on and not get too shocked.

 

*Step step step…*

 

Yan Hua and the others gathered their things and hurried into the Tribe. Yan Hua and Sha Lan in particular were barely containing themselves. They wanted nothing more than to get to the Yong’an Building.

 

There was the matter of reporting the mission, of course. But more than that, they simply wanted to see Su Bai.

 

That was what had kept Yan Hua and Sha Lan going through all those long days of missing the Tribe.

 

“Shaman, we’re back!” Yan Hua came bounding up the stairs to the second floor, paying no mind to the scrapes from the forest or the dirt and leaves still clinging to her.

 

“We completed the mission without a problem.” Sha Lan said, her voice lively in a way that was unusual for her.

 

It was plain to see. Both of them had genuinely missed the Flame Dragon Tribe. Had genuinely missed Su Bai and the Yong’an Building. The moment they landed, they had not stopped to tidy up, had not gone to see their Families. The first thing they did was come straight here.

 

Even when they crossed paths with Yan Jiao and Sha Hong on the way, they only exchanged a quick greeting before pressing on.

 

“You’ve worked hard. Finishing the mission within the time given is no small feat. Didn’t you push yourselves too much?” Su Bai stood and came towards them at once.

 

He helped brush away some of the grime from their clothes and straightened their hair a little. He looked genuinely concerned. Mainly because they were both visibly thinner, and clearly darker from the Sun.

 

Not that it made them any less striking. They were Totem Warriors, and the daily training showed. Both had lean, well-proportioned figures, and the tan only added to it. There was a vigour to their appearance, a Sun-warmed kind of beauty.

 

Yu Ying had just brought over two cups of tea and stood nearby. The contrast was quite noticeable standing beside them. Yu Ying had a gentle, girl-next-door quality to her. It was an entirely different kind of beauty.

 

“Not hard at all. As long as we could complete the task the Shaman gave us, it was worth it.” Yan Hua smiled, showing a full row of white teeth.

 

“That’s right, Shaman. Your words kept us going the whole time. Being able to contribute to the Tribe is what matters most.” Sha Lan swished her cat tail.

 

The two of them immediately took Su Bai by the hands and pulled him over to the floor-to-ceiling window, wanting to show him the Ferocious Beasts still waiting out in the clearing.

 

The Grey Feathered Giant Birds were sitting quietly in the open space. The smaller animals that had come along had already been taken by members of the Tribe to be penned.

 

“Four large flying Ferocious Beasts.” Su Bai’s eyes lit up.

 

This was exactly what he had been after. Large flying Ferocious Beasts. For the Tribe, this was a genuine step forward.

 

The Tribe was not yet capable of producing airships or flying machines. Hot air balloons were far too unreliable to serve as a regular transportation vehicle. It was fine for a short float, but carrying cargo or regular passengers was another matter. The risk was too great.

 

Flying Ferocious Beasts were something else. They were natural, steady, reliable transportation vehicles. Fast in the air, and inherently safe. Stable in flight. And because they were Ferocious Beasts, their carrying capacity was higher. Cargo or passengers should be more manageable for them.

 

“Shaman, most of the credit for this should belong to Ah’Hua.” Sha Lan nudged Yan Hua with her elbow. “Without her, I think we would have managed to catch any large flying Ferocious Beasts.”

 

Sha Lan thought back to Yan Hua going off on her own to Tame those Ferocious Beasts, and felt a cold dread all over again.

 

Even now, she wanted to scold her for how reckless she had been. One wrong move and it could have ended very badly. The others had split up at the time. If those Ferocious Beasts had all turned on Yan Hua, there would have been nothing anyone could do.

 

Su Bai raised an eyebrow. He turned to look at her. “Did you go off on your own again?”

 

Yan Hua had been quietly standing a little taller, waiting to be praised. She had not expected that expression.

 

She laughed awkwardly, stuck out her tongue and said, “Totem Warriors are meant to boldly charge forward. We split up to cover more ground, and I had it under control. So, there’s really no need to worry, Shaman.”

 

She shot a glance at Sha Lan as she said it. She was definitely going to tickle her later. She had specifically told Sha Lan on the whole way back not to say a word to the Shaman about this.

 

The whole Taming had been everyone’s achievement together. She had not counted on being sold out this quickly.

 

“Heh heh…” Sha Lan grinned with great satisfaction.

 

She was not the sort of person to take credit for things that she did not do. What had happened out there was truly Yan Hua’s doing, and hers alone. And the point of telling Su Bai was not just to give credit where it was due. She wanted him to say something to Yan Hua about being more careful. Someone needed to rein in that impulse of hers.