He spoke to the women still guarding the tribe, saying that anyone who could come to guard the mouth of the valley was robust and strong—those who were physically weak simply couldn’t survive in such an environment.

Women were used as men, and men were used as beasts of burden. Ethan Brooks led more than thirty women out of the valley.

“Clear away all the trees and grass near the mouth of the valley, and clean up the distant areas as well.”

Pointing at the lush vegetation outside the valley, Ethan Brooks gave his orders. He planned to burn these tusked armored beasts to death.

Outside the valley was a relatively flat and open area, with mountains on both sides about a hundred paces away.

Reaching the gentle slope of one of the mountains, he grabbed a stone knife from a woman’s hand and chopped at a short tree, swiftly felling it. He then signaled for the fallen tree to be dragged to the center of the clearing.

He chopped down six or seven trees in a row, pulling up the wild grass and vines by the roots, exposing a large patch of bare earth and scattered rocks. This was a firebreak, to prevent the fire from spreading and burning down the entire mountain range.

With his demonstration, the women behind him understood and began clearing the vegetation outside the valley. Each woman was like a strongman, leaving him dumbfounded. The words of the Great Ancestor really did apply in any world.

The firebreak was more than twenty paces wide, encircling the valley, just using the gentle slope of the small mountain as a boundary, separating it from the vegetation on the mountain.

At this moment, Wade dragged several wolf-hide trees from afar, the piled branches looking like a small mountain.

“Pile them all in this clearing.”

After assigning the next tasks to Wade, Ethan Brooks headed off into the distant forest—he wanted to see how Reed was doing.

……

Awooo, awooo, awooo.

About a small mountain’s distance from the valley, the veins bulged on Reed’s powerful arms as he grabbed the vines hanging from a giant tree, his body swinging through the forest like a large macaque, letting out strange cries.

Behind him, the tusked armored beasts crashed through the trees, relentlessly chasing him.

Whoosh.

Climbing onto a branch of a tall tree using both hands and feet, Ethan Brooks looked into the forest and saw Reed skillfully luring the tusked armored beasts deeper into the mountains.

Clearly, his worries were unnecessary. As a veteran of the hunting party, Reed was already adept at attracting wild beasts in this way.

He quietly concealed himself, picked many leaves, strung them together with thin vines, and disguised himself as a straw man, hanging behind Reed and the tusked armored beasts.

Some people—you really don’t know how amazing they are until you push them.

Chapter 8: When One Plan Fails, Another Arises

Thick vines hung from the trees like pythons. After several failed attempts and falls, Ethan Brooks finally mastered the art of being a monkey, trailing far behind Reed and watching him sprint wildly.

Suddenly becoming a totem warrior—the process was muddled, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was now a totem warrior.

However, his strength at the Stone-Splitting Realm was still far from defying the heavens, though lifting a thousand pounds was no problem. If he returned to his original world, he’d be a proper Superman.

Unfortunately, this was the wilds. His strength, in the primitive and desolate jungle, really wasn’t much. The beasts here were far stronger than he’d expected.

Whoosh!

Grabbing a vine as thick as his arm with both hands, he straddled it, curling up to minimize the branches hitting him.

He looked ridiculous, but the tattered leather garment he wore really couldn’t take much more abuse.

As the tribe leader, he thought that once this was over, he had to get himself some decent clothes. Exposing his chest and belly—what was that? Don’t treat the leader like he’s not the chief.

Trailing far behind, he watched Reed skillfully lure the tusked armored beasts, who were about to enter the depths of the mountains. Ethan Brooks climbed a small hill, picked up a stone, and hurled it at the herd of tusked armored beasts.

Boom!

The stone tore through the trees and smashed into the beasts. A two-meter-long tusked beast was struck, its body shaking violently before it crashed to the ground.

“Damn.”

Seeing the tusked armored beast he’d knocked down, Ethan Brooks was stunned—he hadn’t realized he was this strong.

Roar!

The immature tusked beast howled in pain, enraging the big ones in the herd. Someone dared to attack their young—unforgivable.

Roar, roar, roar!

Rumble!

The leading tusked beast, its massive body turning, let out a furious roar.

A thick, wild, and bloody stench filled the air, reaching Ethan Brooks even from afar. This time, he truly felt the terror of this creature—he didn’t dare act cocky anymore. As a totem warrior, he was just a meal for them.

People always say primitive society is great, with men and women running around naked, men chasing women. Turns out, that’s all a lie.

Here, you’re the one being chased by beasts—your behind is in danger.

Roar!

As the leader of the herd, this beast’s strength was no joke. It easily swept aside the grass and rocks in front of it. Ethan Brooks clung to the vine and swung away, feeling just like that monkey in the zoo that dares to touch the tiger’s butt.

The tusked armored beast he’d knocked down with the stone staggered to its feet, shook itself off, and actually caught up with the herd, its tusks gleaming, determined to tear Ethan Brooks apart.