Showing Mercy

In the deathly silence, only the rustling of wind through the treetops and the heavy, stifled breathing of the bear-race remained.

Cheng Shuili held the smooth, warm Bear Tooth, her gaze slowly sweeping over the bear-race beastmen prostrate on the ground.

Their posture was one of submission, but their tensed muscles and slightly trembling backs betrayed the turbulent waves of reluctance and shock within their hearts.

Xiong Da, in particular, kept his forehead pressed to the ground, yet his one uninjured hand was clenched into a fist, veins bulging.

She knew that a mere token and a single display of force were far from enough to make these proud and stubborn bear-race beastmen truly submit.

The suppression inherent in their bloodline could force them to bow temporarily, but it could not crush their burgeoning ambition and suspicion.

She found it troublesome; since she was the one handling this, she had to deal with it thoroughly once and for all.

Cheng Shuili shifted into a more comfortable stance, kneaded her wrist with a clenched fist, and tilted her chin slightly, revealing a smile: "I know you are not convinced, and that you only kneel before me because this Bear Tooth is in my hands."

"Xiong Ji said that the tradition of our bear-race is that whoever defeats all competitors can take that position." Cheng Shuili smiled brightly and confidently, assuming a fighting stance: "Now, I will give you a fair and square chance to challenge me."

Her words were like a stone cast into a calm lake, instantly stirring up ripples.

The bear-race beastmen on the ground visibly stiffened, and then, beneath their lowered heads, a glimmer of light reignited in their eyes.

Challenge the King?

A fair and square challenge?

It was possible—of course it was possible.

This was even the established custom among the bear-race!

But standing opposite them was a human—a human who had just crushed Xiong Da's wrist with effortless ease.

Fear remained, but their suppressed combative instincts and their sense of adherence to the rules began to struggle fiercely with that fear, tearing at their minds.

Xiong Da suddenly lifted his head. His face was twisted from intense pain and agitation, but his eyes burned with a striking brilliance.

A challenge.

This was his chance!

If he could defeat this human holding the Bear Tooth right here, in front of everyone...

This was his only chance to obtain the Bear Tooth legitimately and sit in that position openly!

Just as this thought surged in his heart, he felt a wave of powerlessness; the sharp pain from his wrist reminded him of the vast disparity in their strength.

He was no match for her.

Not only was he no match now, but he never would be.

He wasn't even a match for Xiong Ji, yet Xiong Ji had willingly given the Bear Tooth to this human before him!

Xiong Da's rusted brain began to turn for the first time, and he finally realized the reason behind Xiong Ji's decision.

He hadn't lost his mind, nor had he abandoned the honor of the bear-race.

He truly respected this human from the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, Xiong Da completely abandoned the thought of causing trouble.

The other bear-race beastmen looked at each other and began to whisper.

"A challenge... is that allowed?"

"She said according to tradition..."

"But she isn't bear-race!"

"But she holds the Bear Tooth!"

Cheng Shuili took in their reactions, the arc of her mouth deepening with a sense of calm that bordered on provocation.

"What? Is the courage of the bear-race only to be used for debating and plotting in the shadows? Are you going to be timid when a chance is placed right in front of you?"

She took another step forward, raised an eyebrow, and asked: "Or do you feel that I am not worthy of using the rules of the bear-race?"

"Whether you're worthy or not, we'll know after we fight!" A gruff voice rang out from the group.

A bear-race beastman, slightly shorter than Xiong Da but exceptionally sturdy and shaped like an iron tower, stepped out from the crowd.

His name was Xiong Dun, and he was bulkier than any of the bear-race around him.

Xiong Dun stared fixedly at Cheng Shuili, his fists colliding with a dull thud.

"I, Xiong Dun, challenge you! If you win, I, Xiong Dun, will be the first to acknowledge you as King! If you lose..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.

Cheng Shuili nodded, showing no fear: "Very well. Who else? Step out together. Let's save some time."

Two other bear-race beastmen who prided themselves on their strength hesitated for a moment before standing beside Xiong Dun.

Their thinking was simple: if a wheel battle or a group attack could wear down this human's stamina, perhaps... there might be a chance.

Cheng Shuili looked at the three bear-race beastmen before her, who were rubbing their palms together with murderous glares, and simply said: "Come at me together."

The three beastmen exchanged glances, roared simultaneously, and charged forward.

"Roar!"

"Ah!"

The battle ended quickly. Today, Cheng Shuili had given these bear-race beastmen a thorough lesson.

All the observing bear-race beastmen, including Xiong Da who was clutching his wrist and had already given up in his heart, were stunned, their faces filled with horror.

The strength of this human was far greater than any beastman had imagined.

Cheng Shuili lightly brushed the non-existent dust from her hands and swept her gaze once more over the cowed bear-race beastmen.

"Is there anyone else who wants to try?"

Her voice was calm and waveless, yet it chilled the bear-race beastmen more than any roar could.

This time, no beastman dared to meet her eyes, let alone step forward.

The bit of combative spirit and opportunism that had been stirred up earlier was crushed to dust in the face of an absolute disparity in strength.

Xiong Dun lay on the ground for quite a while before he had the strength to stand up slowly.

He was a bear who kept his word; he acknowledged defeat once he was beaten down. He staggered, tried his best to steady himself, and then dropped to one knee with a heavy thud, lowering his massive head.

"I submit!" Xiong Dun's voice was hoarse and panting, yet exceptionally clear. "From today on, you are my King! Xiong Dun's life is yours to command!"

This kneeling and promise had a greater impact than the defeat just moments ago.

The bear-race revered strength and valued their promises even more.

The other two challengers looked at each other, clutched their aching chests, and knelt one after another, gruffly expressing their submission.

Cheng Shuili nodded slightly, but her gaze moved past them to the other bear-race beastmen, and she asked with a hint of a smile: "And you all?"

The bear-race beastmen looked at each other. Just as Cheng Shuili thought they were finally going to submit, a weak voice emerged from within:

"But... she is a human."

Once these words were spoken, whispers broke out again.

"Yeah... no matter how strong, she's still a human."

"How can our King be a human?"

"Was the old King tricked by her..."

"How could the old King hand over the token to a human?"

...

Cheng Shuili's smile froze. She raised her eyes and looked sharply at the young bear-race beastman who had spoken first, her gaze piercing and clearly displeased.

The young beastman shuddered under her gaze and subconsciously took half a step back, but he then puffed out his chest and stepped forward, his face full of stubbornness.

The surrounding whispers ceased due to her suddenly cold glare, and the atmosphere grew tense once more.

Cheng Shuili did not act immediately. She simply took a slow breath and let it out, as if suppressing something.

Then, she spoke, her voice three degrees lower than before, carrying a calm that felt like a coming storm:

"Human."

"So, in your eyes, the power and responsibility represented by this Bear Tooth aren't even worth as much as whether or not one has bear fur, right?"

She walked forward a few steps, her boots making crisp sounds as they landed on the fallen leaves.

"Xiong Ji said you revere force," Cheng Shuili still intended to fight, "since no one can convince anyone else, let's fight."

...

Town Central Hospital.

"Who is here?" Xiong Ji frowned irritably, his eyes fixed on the nurse reporting at the door.

"It's Brother Xiong Er, and he came with Xiong Zhuang. They said something urgent happened in the territory and they must see you."

Ever since Xiong Ji was no longer King, the bear-race beastmen working at the Town Central Hospital had changed their address for this "old King" to "you."

Unlike the bear-race beastmen in the territory, the bear-race beastmen who had faced the plague alongside Cheng Shuili in the beastman town accepted this new King from the bottom of their hearts.

They even felt a sense of pride just mentioning her.

When Xiong Ji heard this, his brow furrowed even deeper.

The biggest troublemakers in the territory were Xiong Da and Xiong Er; those two often brought their trouble to him.

Before, when he was King, he had to handle it.

Now that he wasn't King anymore, did he still have to deal with this nonsense?

That was the first thought that popped into Xiong Ji's mind.

But thinking that if he didn't solve this, it would be left for Cheng Shuili to deal with—and having promised the human that he would handle things well—he wasn't the type of bear to break his word.

He sighed, lamenting his hard life, and told the nurse to call Xiong Er over.

The nurse left, and soon, Xiong Er and Xiong Zhuang walked in quickly, carrying the dampness of the forest and a sense of urgency.

Xiong Ji looked at the terror and the complex, indescribable expressions on the faces of the two young bear-race beastmen, and his sense of foreboding grew stronger.

"Speak. What is it?" Xiong Ji got straight to the point, his tone tinged with impatience.

"Something happened at home, King!"

...

When Xiong Ji arrived with Xiong Er and Xiong Zhuang, what met his eyes was not the chaos or confrontation he had expected, but a nearly eerie silence.

In the forest clearing, the bear-race beastmen were sitting or standing, all of them bruised and swollen, rubbing their limbs while wincing, yet not one of them was making a sound.

The air was filled with a faint smell of dust and... a strange, lingering sense of submission born from fear.

And in the center of the clearing, Cheng Shuili was leaning against an old tree, her posture relaxed.

She was toying with that smooth, warm Bear Tooth, and the sunlight filtering through the branches danced on her fingertips.

Aside from a little dust on her hem, she looked calm and collected, her breathing as steady as ever.

Xiong Ji's steps halted.

His sharp gaze swept across the scene, lingering for a moment on the few bear-race beastmen who were usually the loudest but were now hanging their heads and darting their eyes away, and then fixed on Xiong Da's obviously deformed and swollen wrist.

Finally, his gaze fell back on Cheng Shuili, carrying a hint of disbelief and a trace of understanding.

It seemed the King had already handled things in the way of a King.

Cheng Shuili saw Xiong Ji, straightened up, and casually tucked the Bear Tooth back into her bosom, the corner of her mouth curling into a faint arc.

"You're here?" Her tone was light and ordinary, as if nothing had happened.

Xiong Ji walked up to her, dropped to one knee decisively, and spoke with obvious respect: "King."

This kneeling and this address left the bear-race beastmen sitting on the ground rubbing their wounds—those whose eyes were still flickering—completely stunned, their bodies subconsciously tensing.

King... no, he was no longer the King.

Xiong Ji had actually knelt and called this human King so decisively!

The bear-race beastmen who had been beaten into submission stared blankly at this scene, their brains stopping in unison; they only knew that the old King was paying respects to the new King.

You have to understand... even if the next King were bear-race!

Only the new King would pay respects to the old King.

To the bear-race, it was only because the old King was aged and his strength and power were not what they once were that the new King was able to seize the opportunity. No matter how you looked at it, the new King's victory was hollow.

But at this very moment, looking at this scene and connecting it to the beatings they had just received...

A thought involuntarily popped into the minds of the bear-race beastmen: Could it be that Xiong Ji was also...

Beaten thoroughly by a human before he willingly and convincingly handed over the Bear Tooth?!

This thought was like a thunderbolt, striking the bear-race present until they were charred and crispy, making them temporarily forget even their own pain.

They widened their eyes, looking at Xiong Ji's lowered head and respectful posture, then at Cheng Shuili's light and breezy demeanor, and felt a chill rush from the soles of their feet to their scalps.

So...

Was it the case that being powerful enough to force the old King to bow was this human's true strength?

The beating they had just received probably didn't even count as an appetizer?

The King had already shown mercy!

They shrank their necks, and the last bit of emotion vanished from their gaze toward Cheng Shuili, leaving only pure awe and a trace of lingering fear.

They even subconsciously held their breath, fearing they might attract the attention of the human leaning against the tree again.

Cheng Shuili waved a hand at Xiong Ji, signaling him to rise, but her gaze fell on Xiong Er and Xiong Zhuang behind him, asking with a half-smile: "So you two are the ones who ran off to fetch reinforcements?"

Xiong Er and Xiong Zhuang's legs went weak; they almost knelt along with him.

They only knew a human had arrived; they had no idea the human who came was the new King!

Although they hadn't seen it, they could tell from the faces of the beastmen present just how miserably they had been beaten. Combined with what they had heard in the beastman town, Xiong Er and Xiong Zhuang felt a sincere and heartfelt submission toward this new King.

"King! We didn't know it was you!"

Xiong Er reacted quickly, dropped to his knees with a thud, and knocked his head against the ground with a dull sound.

"If we had known it was you coming to the territory, we wouldn't have dared to disturb the Director even if it meant death! We... we were just afraid Xiong Da and the others would act foolishly again and offend an honored guest..."

Xiong Zhuang also knelt, fumbling with his words as he echoed: "Yes... yes, yes! An honored guest!"

Cheng Shuili looked at them as they tried to bury their heads in the dirt, decided not to make things difficult for them, and said lightly: "Alright, get up. Those who do not know are not at fault."

Xiong Ji looked over coldly, scaring the two bears into shrinking their heads again.

Seeing their sincere attitude, and since the King didn't intend to hold a grudge, Xiong Ji didn't say much more.

He looked at Cheng Shuili and bowed slightly: "King, what brings you here this time?"

Cheng Shuili had come, of course, to explain the matter of the safe zone.

But just as she came out of the cave, she had bumped into these beastmen. Their words were unpleasant, and there was no such word as "tolerance" in Cheng Shuili's dictionary.