Seven Cubs, Seven Fathers, Zero Days Off

Chapter 184: Chapter 182: It’s Really the Fox Clan

Mu Silin listened, his heart pounding with emotion. After waiting for so long, he had finally heard him say ”Father”!

This moment had finally arrived.

He immediately crouched down.

”Er Bao, Father promises you, Father will never, ever bully your female mother.”

”Father is a man of his word. I will be the best father in your heart and become your hero.”

As Er Bao listened, a sense of happiness spread through him. For the first time, he faced Mu Silin seriously, with the respect and affection one has for a father.

”Then you have to protect my female mother, okay? I love my female mother the most, but you didn’t protect her well this time. You let the bad guys take her away!”

”Even though I’ve accepted you as my Father, I still love my female mother the most. You have to promise Er Bao that you’ll protect her.”

Mu Silin’s heart melted.

This was the first time Er Bao had made a request of him, the first time he had spoken to him with the emotion and expectation befitting a father.

He was overcome with excitement.

”Okay, Father promises you. Father won’t compete with your female mother for a place in your heart.”

”Father also promises to protect you and your female mother. It was Father’s fault this time. I didn’t protect your female mother. Father was useless.”

As Mu Silin spoke, the usual masculine strength in his eyes vanished as he looked at Shen Yue, replaced by an overflowing love.

”Shen Yue, I, Mu Silin, swear that I will protect you and the children with my life from now on. I will never let you fall into danger again.”

Shen Yue met his gaze and was almost pulled into the inescapable vortex of his love. To say she wasn’t happy at this moment would be a lie.

After coming to this Beast World, she knew better than anyone what she had hoped for and longed to possess.

Before, she had never dared to trust anyone, living in constant fear.

But this time was different. Even without her memories, she had instinctively come to like and rely on them.

So, she wanted to treasure and hold onto this feeling.

Thinking of this, she didn’t avoid Mu Silin’s gaze.

She looked back at him with the same earnest and heartfelt expression, responding:

”Okay. I believe you.”

”I’ll protect the children with you.”

The moment she said this, it undoubtedly struck a chord deep within the man’s heart. The feelings that had long awaited her response were finally consoled.

Mu Silin’s heart pounded like thunder, and his eyes instantly filled with fervor.

He wished he could just pull Shen Yue into his arms.

And he did.

’I can feel it. Shen Yue has accepted me.’

’I truly belong to her now.’

’She wants me.’

’I’m no longer just the person watching her from the sidelines. My love and feelings have been returned.’

Mu Silin felt that in these few short months, only at this very moment had his happiness been magnified a hundredfold, flooding every cell in his body.

He desperately wanted to hold her fiercely in his arms right then and there, to possess her.

But feeling the cold air emanating from someone beside him, he managed to restrain himself with great difficulty.

He didn’t need to guess who was releasing that chilly aura.

Who else could it be but Huang Ziyue, who had been scowling and staring daggers at him the entire time?

After all, the fact that Dabao and Er Bao had called Mu Silin and Ye Lüqi ”Father” one after another was both touching and a blow to Huang Ziyue and the others.

They couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

Gu Fangqi, in particular, was frustrated. ’The four of us defended Barbaric City together, so why did those two get to win the children’s approval in this one battle?’

’And what about me?’

’Si Bao’s gaze toward me has changed slightly, but other than that, there’s been no reaction at all.’

’I even tried to hint with my eyes, but Si Bao remained indifferent.’

’I just don’t get it. Am I really that terrible?’

’We all saved the city’s people, we all risked our lives in battle, so why is the outcome so different for me?’

So, the expressions on the men’s faces were a complicated mix of emotions, and they weren’t feeling great.

Shen Yue hadn’t expected that this disaster for Barbaric City would cause two of her children to completely change their views of their fathers.

It was certainly a cause for celebration.

Although Si Bao didn’t seem to have changed much toward Gu Fangqi, she could tell that he was no longer as cold and hostile as before.

This could also be considered a step toward closing the distance between them.

...

「Several days later.」

The areas surrounding Barbaric City had all been attacked by the Lizardmen.

But the battle at the city gates three days ago had severely weakened them, and for the past three days, there had been no sign of them.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers downstream along the Desolate River, a fox lay dying on the riverbank.

Coincidentally, today was the day of the river sacrifice for the nearby Luoxi Town.

The entire town’s thousand-plus Beastmen had all gathered before this river, creating a lively scene.

”Mayor, I heard that some Mutated Lizardmen attacked the area around Barbaric City these past two days and that many people died. Our town may be hidden away in the mountains, but there’s no guarantee we won’t be attacked by Lizardmen too. Maybe we should cancel today’s river sacrifice!”

”That’s right, Mayor! I heard that too. Even Barbaric City suffered heavy losses. I heard it was only saved because some nobles from the Royal City worked together to protect it!”

”They say those Mutated Lizardmen are demons that crawled out from underground. They eat people on sight and are incredibly vicious.”

Muto, the mayor and leader of the Gray Eagle Clan, listened. He looked to be about fifty, and the expression on his slightly aged face was resolute.

”It is precisely because demons have crawled out from underground to eat people that this river sacrifice is all the more necessary.”

”We Beastmen of Luoxi Town have lived in this town for generations. The river sacrifice is what keeps us safe. This time, other places were attacked by those Lizardmen, but our Luoxi Town remained unharmed. Why is that? Haven’t any of you thought about it?”

The crowd gathered around him listened, looking at him with respect.

He spoke with righteous conviction:

”Is it not because our town’s annual river sacrifice has moved the Beast God, who in turn protects us?”

”No matter how powerful those Lizardmen are, with the Beast God’s blessing, they cannot harm us. Therefore, the river sacrifice must proceed!”

After he finished speaking, the Beastmen from the town all nodded in agreement.

”That’s right, the mayor is correct!”

”The river sacrifice must go on!”

”Only with the river sacrifice will the Beast God protect us!”

The crowd’s cheers died down.

Mayor Muto looked at the crowd.

”Bring the offerings. Let the river sacrifice begin!”

Several female members of the Eagle Clan came to the riverbank, singing and dancing while striking ancient disc-like instruments in their hands.

They chanted as they moved.

Several males slowly placed the food they had hunted—wild boars, mountain goats, and the like—into the river.

The females then began to enter the water, preparing to pray for blessings.

Everyone watched from the bank.

Unexpectedly, just as one of the females dipped her foot into the water, she saw a Nine-tailed Fox lying among the waterweeds on the riverbed.

”AHH!! It’s someone from the Fox Clan!”

She screamed.

The other Beastmen from the town instantly crowded around, their eyes widening at the sight.

”It really is the Fox Clan!”

”Is he dead?”

”Looks like he’s still breathing!”

”Kill him! We can’t let anyone from the Fox Clan live!”