"Damn it!" Hal cursed, kicking pebbles aside in frustration.
They had tried five times to secure a monster corpse. However, all five resulted in them being driven out.
He wasn’t complaining about how their pursuers always didn’t continue to give chase after his group left their territories, but being chased out like defeated dogs every time was starting to get on his nerves.
Of course, there was the option of fighting them to the death, but they were always in large groups, encircling them so that fighting would mean that they would either have to emerge victorious or die.
There would be no retreat if he chose to commit to a fight.
He was trying to be a fisherman but was failing hard. At this rate, wouldn’t he have to build his own faction here before he could obtain anything?
’How are the veterans doing this, then? Are they bringing a huge number of people with them every time?’ Hal pondered.
Behind him, his comrades were drinking water, waiting for his decision.
Their patience with his failures only added to Hal’s frustration.
’Damn it!’ he cursed again, this time inwardly.
Hal knew that their situation wouldn’t improve through outbursts, though, so he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
"Let’s return to the tree for now..." he instructed, to which the two nodded in agreement.
They had to think of a decent plan.
Also, their stomachs are starting to growl in protest. Maybe they’d be able to think of something while eating...
And so the trio headed back to the Baobab Tree, ascending the high branches the same way they did earlier.
Hal then distributed everyone’s meals, immediately shifting his focus to the warring groups of arcane monsters and beasts.
There has to be a way to benefit from the chaos without being a part of it...
The trio got to work again an hour later, but this time, for the sake of closer observation.
Hal decided that he had to at least understand the power dynamics of the Savannah of Carnage and respect the hierarchy if he wanted to thrive here.
They were humans, but they were treated like any other native group here.
This meant that the warring tribes, clans, packs, and prides here were sure that as long as they operated in the usual way they did, even the humans would find it difficult to break the power dynamics.
He could imagine the top dogs of this place wanting to maintain such an advantageous setup.
He tried stealing from Leonids, Crothars, and Pantherans—the three main and strongest forces in the Savannah based on his observations, though the Leonids seemed to be a notch stronger than the two, evident in how one of their members can take on two of the others.
Their curse, however, was their internal disputes.
There were two tribes of Leonids, both of which were fighting each other, the Crothars, and the Pantherans.
There were also the slightly weaker herd-tribes of the Zebranthes, the Rhinari, the Pachyds, and the Altairans, all of which seemed to be content in keeping their flora-rich territories, only working to fend off attacks from the three top tribes.
There were also packs of hyena-type beasts and prides of feline ones.
While they were slightly stronger in physique than the arcane monster tribes, they were ultimately out of the battle for supremacy, as their numbers simply weren’t enough.
They were mostly content to keep their small territories, and the tribes allowed it, as they didn’t have the manpower to oust these beasts from the savannah’s center.
They were still quite the force to be considered.
Despite this, the herds and smaller tribes of plant-eaters were unwilling to leave the chaotic center, as flora was almost nonexistent in the outer regions.
They could only try to survive in the central region, using their powerful legs as their means of escape and defense.
Hal now had a pretty clear idea of who he could mess with and who not to.
The Leonids were certainly one he should avoid if he didn’t want trouble.
As for the Pantherans and the Crothars, he had watched the two tribes engage in standoff battles over warthog corpses hunted by other beasts, unwilling to engage the other party despite wanting the food source.
They even sometimes willingly give up food if the hunting party they sent was smaller than their enemy’s
Pride certainly had no place here, as one would have to pay with their lives if they acted too willfully.
Only the Leonids sometimes suffer casualties due to this matter, and even then, their instincts would force them to retreat after losing a member or two.
There were also winged monsters like the Hawkins who swooped in from time to time to finish off struggling beasts or monsters, bringing them to their nests atop massive acacias.
...The trio returned to their burrow that night without any gains.
However, they weren’t depressed.
Their night was, in fact, charming in its own right, as they grew busy formulating plans and theories on how they could steal corpses while having a nice chunk of roasted meat for dinner.
Loki happily listened while chomping on his portion.
Soon, the night passed, and it was time for the trio to implement their plans.
But the moment they exited the burrow, they heard sounds of fighting in the distance.
Hal temporarily left his comrades inside to check what was going on.
He flew and decreased the distance before turning invisible, inching closer and closer unseen.
Soon, the battle came into view. ’Leonids!’ he exclaimed inwardly in disbelief.
Such a mighty race of monsters was forced to live in the outer regions?
Monsters typically don’t engage in cannibalism, so the ongoing battle between two Leonid tribes was probably more for destroying their rivals and monopolizing the area than for food.
It didn’t seem like the two sides were equal, though.
While their numbers were roughly the same, one tribe had more males than the other, and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the other Leonid tribe fell.