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Surviving Zombies Was Easier Than Raising Beast Cubs

Chapter 130: Ironwood Begins · Oct 31, 2026

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Chapter List (264)

Page number / 6

101 Chapter 101: The Falling Ravine 2026-10-31
102 Chapter 102: Everyone is becoming irritating 2026-10-31
103 Chapter 103: I am Dagan, leader of Ashclaw 2026-10-31
104 Chapter 104: What did Mama say about taking food from strangers? 2026-10-31
105 Chapter 105: You are no son of mine 2026-10-31
106 Chapter 106: Our leader offered you safety, dying snake. You should lower your head and thank him 2026-10-31
107 Chapter 107: Papa! Put Miko down! 2026-10-31
108 Chapter 108: Dagan’s males are thieves. If they attack us, we need somewhere to hide our belongings 2026-10-31
109 Chapter 109: You were about to lick me 2026-10-31
110 Chapter 110: Mixed threat detected 2026-10-31
111 Chapter 111: You lying bastard! 2026-10-31
112 Chapter 112: If you had chosen Willowbank, Varek would still be alive! 2026-10-31
113 Chapter 113: The Fight 1 2026-10-31
114 Chapter 114: The Fight 2 2026-10-31
115 Chapter 115: Mate With A Female 2026-10-31
116 Chapter 116: You are becoming very comfortable commanding me 2026-10-31
117 Chapter 117: That was supposed to be me 2026-10-31
118 Chapter 118: Mating With The Snake 1 2026-10-31
119 Chapter 119: Mating With The Snake 2 2026-10-31
120 Chapter 120: Two Mating Marks 2026-10-31
121 Chapter 121: Will you leave his arms or not? 2026-10-31
122 Chapter 122: My female does not need your fruit 2026-10-31
123 Chapter 123: I am pregnant! 2026-10-31
124 Chapter 124: WHY MAMA SMELL MORE SNAKE? 2026-10-31
125 Chapter 125: New home? 2026-10-31
126 Chapter 126: What Do You Mean I’m Pregnant? 2026-10-31
127 Chapter 127: The Thing That Came Home 2026-10-31
128 Chapter 128: The Monster Wants to Play 2026-10-31
129 Chapter 129: I think the giant likes the cubs 2026-10-31
130 Chapter 130: Ironwood Begins 2026-10-31
131 Chapter 131: My female is carrying my young 2026-10-31
132 Chapter 132: Host should prepare for population increase 2026-10-31
133 Chapter 133: She sleeps with me tonight 2026-10-31
134 Chapter 134: FOOD! 2026-10-31
135 Chapter 135: I thought I would be the male beside you when you carried cubs again 2026-10-31
136 Chapter 136: The Cubs Followed the Giant 1 2026-10-31
137 Chapter 137: The Cubs Followed the Giant 2 2026-10-31
138 Chapter 138: Papa no cry 2026-10-31
139 Chapter 139: I wanted Mama happy 2026-10-31
140 Chapter 140: Swanly’s cubs are loved. Perhaps too loved. 2026-10-31
141 Chapter 141: Build her a cage 2026-10-31
142 Chapter 142: The Creatures Beyond the Gate 1 2026-10-31
143 Chapter 143: The Creatures Beyond the Gate 2 2026-10-31
144 Chapter 144: The Creatures Beyond the Gate 3 2026-10-31
145 Chapter 145: No! Mama! Put Miko down! 2026-10-31
146 Chapter 146: I want your mother 2026-10-31
147 Chapter 147: YOU WANT MY MAMA TOO?! 2026-10-31
148 Chapter 148: Old Friend 2026-10-31
149 Chapter 149: You Should Have Stayed Dead 2026-10-31
150 Chapter 150: Let’s have a conversation 2026-10-31

Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Ironwood Begins

Ironwood Basin should have felt safe.

It did not.

Not while an ancient giant sat in the middle of it.

Druun had not moved for almost an hour.

Riverbone’s survivors had.

They moved around him in the widest circle possible.

Nobody wanted to be the idiot remembered for stepping on the giant’s foot and getting the entire tribe flattened.

Unfortunately, the cubs had no survival instinct.

”Miko!”

Kairo grabbed his brother’s ankle.

Too late.

Miko had already climbed onto Druun’s foot.

The giant looked down.

Miko looked up.

”Big.”

Druun frowned.

”Druun.”

”Yes. Big Druun.”

”Druun.”

Miko nodded seriously.

”Very big Druun.”

Kairo scrambled after him.

”Miko, come down!”

”You come up.”

”I come get you.”

Kairo climbed.

Druun’s enormous hand twitched.

Half the tribe inhaled.

Kael stood.

Swanly grabbed his arm.

”Wait.”

”That is my cub.”

”I can see that.”

”He is climbing an ancient giant.”

”I can also see that.”

Nilo sighed.

Then climbed after them.

Swanly stared.

”Nilo?”

”Somebody need watch.”

”You are also a baby!”

Nilo ignored this obvious slander and continued upward.

Kairo reached Druun’s knee.

”I protect Miko.”

Nilo looked at him.

”You climbing too.”

”For protection.”

”Bad protection.”

Kairo’s little ears flattened.

”I oldest.”

”Still bad.”

Miko was already attempting Druun’s thigh.

”Higher!”

”NO!” half the adults shouted.

Druun froze completely.

The ancient giant, who could probably crush five beastmen under one hand, looked terrified.

Not of the tribe.

Of the three tiny creatures crawling over him.

His hands hovered awkwardly beside his body.

He did not seem to know where he could safely put them.

Then Lumi appeared.

The little white rabbit beastgirl stared upward.

”I climb too.”

Ena nearly dropped the bundle in her hands.

”No.”

Lumi’s ears rose.

”Kairo there.”

”That is exactly why you are staying here.”

Kairo looked down.

”Lumi no climb.”

Her cheeks puffed.

”Why?”

”You fall.”

”You fall too.”

”I not fall.”

”You fell yesterday.”

Kairo looked deeply offended.

”That different.”

Lumi grabbed Druun’s hide clothing and started climbing.

Kairo immediately crawled downward.

”Wait! Wait!”

”I can do.”

”No. Give hand.”

”I do myself.”

”You little.”

Lumi stopped.

”You little too!”

Miko nodded from above.

”Both little.”

Kairo glared at him.

”You quiet.”

Within moments, all four babies were crawling over Druun.

Then Tavi saw them.

Then two bear cubs.

Then another rabbit cub.

Swanly slowly covered her face.

”No.”

Tilla stood beside her.

”Yes.”

”Why are more going?”

”Because the first ones survived.”

”That is not how survival should work!”

Druun now had cubs sitting on both shoulders.

Miko was touching his hair.

Kairo sat near Lumi because apparently he had appointed himself personal rabbit security.

Nilo watched everyone with the exhausted expression of a cub who had somehow become responsible for idiots despite also being an idiot.

Druun remained perfectly still.

One enormous eye moved toward Swanly.

”Druun.”

”I know.”

He pointed carefully toward the cubs.

Swanly understood.

”You are afraid you will hurt them?”

Druun nodded.

Swanly’s heart softened.

”Then do not move suddenly.”

Druun became even more rigid.

Miko hugged his neck.

”Druun good.”

The giant blinked.

For the first time, several survivors stopped looking at him like an approaching death sentence.

Not everyone.

Raku remained well outside grabbing distance.

”I respect him from here.”

Swanly laughed.

Later, Druun finally lowered one hand and allowed the cubs to crawl onto his palm.

The children screamed with delight.

Kael looked ready to suffer an early death.

”Put them down.”

Druun looked at him.

Kael pointed.

”My cubs.”

Druun looked at the children.

Then back at Kael.

His mouth moved.

”Druun.”

Kael’s eye twitched.

”Yes. You are Druun. Put down Kairo, Nilo, and Miko.”

Druun lowered them.

Miko immediately tried climbing again.

Swanly caught him.

”No.”

”Mama!”

”You have terrorized the giant enough.”

”Druun like Miko.”

Druun nodded.

Miko looked unbearably smug.

By midday, Swanly understood more about Ironwood’s strange guardian.

Druun did not remain in the basin constantly.

He pointed toward the deeper forest, mimed carrying prey, then held up several fingers.

”You leave for days?” Swanly asked.

Druun nodded.

That explained the empty basin when they arrived.

Ironwood was his home, but he disappeared deep into the forest to hunt.

Then Swanly tried walking toward the northern side of the basin.

Druun changed instantly.

His entire body rose.

A warning growl rolled through the ground.

Everyone froze.

Druun pointed toward a section of dark earth beneath thick ironwood trees.

”No.”

Swanly stopped.

”Something there?”

His expression hardened.

”NO.”

”All right!”

She backed away.

Druun relaxed.

Swanly immediately called her system.

Explain.

{Ironwood Basin environmental assessment beginning.}

Golden lines crossed her vision.

{Fresh spring: clean.}

{Soil: highly fertile.}

{Natural stone defenses: excellent.}

{Game population: stable.}

{Medicinal plants: abundant.}

{Agricultural potential: extremely high.}

”And the part where the giant nearly screamed because I walked north?”

The system became suspiciously quiet.

Explain.

{Minor complication.}

”Minor?”

{Ancient subterranean anomaly detected beneath northern basin.}

Swanly’s eye twitched.

”What kind?”

{Unknown.}

”What does that mean?”

{System would like Host to remember that Ironwood Basin remains significantly safer than Riverbone.}

”You are rambling.”

{The spring is excellent.}

”System.”

{The soil is beautiful.}

”System.”

{Please do not hit the interface. It accomplishes nothing.}

Swanly took a slow breath.

Whatever was buried beneath northern Ironwood, even Druun did not want anyone near it.

Wonderful.

A new home with a sleeping nightmare underneath one corner.

Still better than Riverbone.

Somehow.

They started building.

Swanly refused to let exhaustion become an excuse for repeating Riverbone’s mistakes.

”Tovan!”

The beaver beastman appeared instantly.

”Yes?”

”No shelters beside the drinking spring.”

He blinked.

”Why?”

”Because everyone will wash, bleed, throw waste, and relieve themselves nearby.”

Several beastmen looked offended.

Swanly pointed downhill.

”Drinking water comes from the highest clean point. Washing happens farther down. Waste goes much farther down and away from the water.”

Tovan’s eyes brightened.

He grabbed a flat stone and began scratching marks into the dirt.

”Three areas.”

”Yes.”

The tribe had no metal shovels.

They used sharpened digging sticks, deer antlers that had been naturally shed, stone blades, broad animal shoulder bones, and wooden scoops.

Swanly placed Tovan’s builders around the settlement.

They cut shallow drainage channels along the uphill sides of sleeping areas so rainwater would flow around shelters instead of through them.

They lined the channels with flat stone where possible.

Food storage came next.

”Do not pile dried meat on the ground.”

Raku carried a huge hide bundle past her.

”We have survived doing that.”

”You have also survived diarrhea. Congratulations.”

Raku stopped.

Tovan burst out laughing.

Swanly pointed toward several trees.

”Build raised platforms. Thick branches. Lash them with hide strips and vine rope. Food stays above damp ground and away from small animals.”

Tovan scratched another mark.

”What about grain?”

”Dry clay jars if we can make enough. Stone-lined pits for roots, but keep them dry and cover them.”

His eyes widened.

”You have more.”

”I always have more.”

Tovan looked delighted.

Raku looked horrified.

”She has turned surviving into work.”

”It was always work.”

”No. Before, we hunted, ate, and slept.”

”And got infected.”

Raku considered this.

”Less good.”

For cooking, Swanly had them dig shallow fire pits surrounded with stone, away from sleeping hides and dry grass. Ash pits were separated from food preparation.

Meat was cut into thin strips and hung on wooden frames above low smoke instead of leaving thick pieces to rot from the inside.

For planting, Swanly marked straight rows with stretched vine rope.

Tovan stared at them.

”Why straight?”

”So we know where we planted things, can pull weeds without destroying crops, and can move between the rows.”

She used a stick to draw three sections.

”We do not grow the same thing in the same patch forever. Heavy-feeding plants move. Root crops move. Beans and similar plants take another patch.”

Tovan stared as though she had revealed divine law.

”You rotate them.”

”Yes.”

He whispered it.

”Rotate.”

Raku passed again.

”Do not encourage him.”

Too late.

The cubs received their own tiny planting patch.

This was a mistake.

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