Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 554 - 22 Tailless Dog _1

Chapter 554: Chapter 22 Tailless Dog _1

In the distance was an ordinary, nomadic Beastman tribe encampment. Beastmen were worshippers of the War God and were inherently belligerent. Often, even the slightest provocations could ignite wars among tribes. Most of these wars didn’t escalate to the point of destabilizing a tribe. However, there was one exception: wars over grasslands. If two tribes clashed over the grasslands on which their survival depended, one tribe would usually end up being swallowed by the other. The defeated party, unwilling to submit, would usually become nomadic herders, shepherding their livestock on inferior grasslands. They would risk being expelled or attacked if they inadvertently infringed on the territories of fixed settlements. These landless Beastman tribes would usually dwindle in number over time, and eventually be absorbed by a fixed settlement. Only a small but considerable number of nomadic tribes would rise to power by snatching up the grasslands of smaller tribes and growing themselves into a fixed settlement again.

The nomadic tribe they were seeing was a classic example. Although their tents were referred to as large, this was only in comparison to single-person tents. A common tent housed only one or two people, and was fundamentally incomparable to the gigantic tents of the fixed settlements, which could accommodate dozens of people living and working together. It could be inferred from the number of tents that there were no more than twenty individuals in that nomadic tribe, including men, women, and children. They did not have many livestock, practically no large beasts, and their flock was predominantly small prairie sheep. Even amongst nomadic Beastman tribes, they were considered to be on the smaller end in terms of size.

The nomadic tribe’s way of setting up their encampment was considerably different from that of the settled tribes. Tending to keep their tents closely packed in a circular formation, they positioned their flock of sheep inside the ring, protected from exterior threats by a ragged fence that signified extensive usage. It was an effective way to guarantee safety for the livestock, whilst also facilitating easy mobility for the entire settlement when migrating every spring. It was a typical method employed on the steppes.

However, as they looked now, the encampment was in chaos. Fire now lined the fences, indicating a defence mechanism often put in place by tribes to protect against beasts. By the time the adventure team spotted the encampment, the flame-lit wooden barricade had already been breached in two places. Cartwheels now hastily barricaded the gaps in an attempt to prevent the enclosure from being stormed by outside beasts. Mingling around the fiery fence were more than a thousand tailless dogs, their drooling mouths emitting agonizingly sharp barks as they aggressively prowled the perimeter of the camp.

Tailless dogs were disgusting magical beasts. They were gray and grimy, their lip curled to expose two rows of sharp, outward-facing teeth. Their tails were mere stubs, making them appear as if they were docked, hence their name. They did not possess any special abilities. His only saving graces were their speed, strength, and resistance, enhanced by magic energy. That was what granted them their title of magical beast. However, once they grouped into an enormous pack, they’d show a ferocious courage that would make even wolf packs think twice before challenging them.

"Wait, a cart?" Five adventurers had dismounted from the magic-powered motorbike and were observing from a distance of a few hundred meters. Catherine suddenly paused, noticing an overlooked detail, "Since when do the nomadic Beastmen use carts to transport goods?"

"Perhaps, those are bullock carts?" Freya was also unable to figure out an explanation, making a wild guess.

"They don’t use those either." Catherine gave her a glance, "Besides, they don’t seem to have any oxen."

"Then... sheep carts?" Lina joked. "They don’t have oxen, but they should have sheep."

"Stop messing around." Catherine knocked Lina on the head, her face hardening, "There doesn’t seem to be any other threats. We can help them out now. While these tailless dogs couldn’t hurt us even if they tried, the common Beastmen inside the encampment may not be as fortunate. Best to end the battle quickly."

"I’ll do it." Vivian drew her magic staff from behind her back and stood between Pannis and Catherine, "Against this big flock of weak magical beasts, my magic is the most convenient."

"You..." Catherine hesitated slightly before shaking her head. "Perhaps it would be better to let Freya do it."

"Her? She can’t do it without destroying the camp." Vivian said, "Sister, I’m not on death’s doorstep, don’t imagine me to be so fragile. As long as I don’t have a magic energy surge, I’ll be fine in a fight. I’ve gotten plenty of rest on our way. There isn’t a problem right now. Also, consider this: we’re heading to explore the research center. Not everything there is harmless; goblins have a lot of weird stuff. It’s best not to forget our previous encounter in City of Innocence’s sewer system. If we run into danger, wouldn’t I still be needed in the battle? Stop hesitating. I’ve come to terms with it, so stop treating me like a patient."

"Alright, you’re right, I’m overthinking." Catherine said with a bitter smile, "I’ll leave these magical beasts to you. Drive them away but try not to kill too many. After all, our purpose is to save people, not slaughter creatures. Let’s not destroy the natural environment of the grassland too much."

"Understood." Vivian assented, stepping forward to cast a spell when the roars of beasts from the distance increased. From afar, they could see several tailless dogs that had managed to break into the camp area suddenly being flung from behind the carriages. Although there were no visible wounds on their bodies, multiple bones had been crushed. After they hit the ground, they could no longer get up.

"Huh?" Pannis’ expression changed as he said, puzzled, "Tailless dogs might not be the strongest, but to easily fling five or six of them out of the camp, beating them so brutally too... That’s beyond the capabilities of an ordinary beastman from a nomadic tribe. It seems this tribe is hiding a secret."

"See, just like I said." Lina immediately said, "It may be a retired adventurer or mercenary, oh, wait no, based on the signal that Freya mentioned, it must be a retired soldier or officer who has chosen to live a secluded life here."

Feeling helpless, Catherine sighed but didn’t give any comment. By now, she had to admit that Lina’s speculation might be close to the truth.

"I don’t think so. If there were secluded beings, then this tribe wouldn’t be in such a terrible state." Vivian rebutted and shook her head, "We can find out the truth after driving the beast herd away."

"Vivian mode, Fire." Holding her magic staff high, Vivian silently prepared for a moment, then pointed to the horde and uttered a simple incantation. After her chant, a complex array appeared out of thin air in the sky. Although the setting sun made it less distinct, one could still see it covering a dozens of meters. The array began to flash, and with every flash, a few balls of blazing fire shot out and fell far into the beast herd.

Among the destructive elemental spells, Vivian was fond of fire-attribute magic. Unfortunately, her first mission after ascending to the Legendary rank involved submerging into the deep sea, leaving no conditions for usage. Fortunately, she could now freely cast fire spells. This spell appears similar to an advanced-level mage’s Meteor Rain, but Pannis and Freya, who were more familiar with magic, noted that it was evolved from the basic Fire Arrows, it took less time and energy compared to Meteor Rain. Of course, it was also less powerful. The flames that fell only burned, lacking the explosive effect of Meteor Rain and didn’t cover as wide an area.

However, in this situation, such simple, directional flames were highly effective. Magical beasts had an inherent fear of fire, and their fur was easy to ignite. Once a ball of fire landed, tailless dogs engulfed in flames would scream and sprint around wildly, in turn igniting more of their kin. This single spell caused enormous chaos amongst the beast horde and inflicted varying degrees of injury on hundreds of tailless dogs.

The tailless dogs, intelligent as they were, quickly identified the attacker and immediately raced towards the adventurers’ position. However, they scattered and fled after a few steps, burned by the rain of concentrated fire from the sky. None of them came closer than a hundred meters around the adventurers. As such, under the sky full of flames spat out by the array, the beast horde was like a group of exposed targets, continually enduring a barrage of fire. Desperate screams turned into sheer chaos within minutes, and a devastating toll forced the tailless dogs to flee far into the distance.

Vivian didn’t pursue, rather, she let the array in the sky disperse, and with a wave of her staff, dew descended from the sky, extinguishing the burning grass. Luckily it was early autumn, and the grass maintained its green with plenty of moisture, preventing uncontrolled burn from the sudden flames. If this had been later in the season, the spell might have ignited a small-scale wildfire.

After putting out the residual flames, Vivian dusted off her hands and casually said, "See, big sis, a battle of this scale doesn’t strain me too much. You really don’t need to worry too much."

"Even so, it’s best to be cautious. Try not to go all out." Catherine said, "Now that the problem’s resolved, shall we seek refuge there?"

"Of course, we should." Pannis smirked, looking at the distant camp, "I think I already know what the camp is hiding. Unfortunately, Lina, you guessed wrong." (To be continued. If you love this work, please consider supporting it on (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)