The leader of the Medusa seems to be the oldest. My wife would definitely have to call her sister, so it's more appropriate for me to call her auntie.

I took a quick look at my injuries, and Auntie casually took out a pack of cigarettes and matches from my body. Then she sat on the furniture that could be called a bed, and I lay on the bed. She placed her long tail on my leg, which seemed longer than my wife's three-meter tail, probably more than five meters.

Auntie took a cigarette and put it in her mouth, looking at the match she lit. Suddenly, I remembered how her face burned half when she was hit by the succubus' magic. My brother has always advised me to quit the habit of lighting cigarettes for women. They say that one day this habit will get me into trouble. But I can't change it. I really enjoy watching a woman's slender fingers pick up a cigarette and slowly burn it in the flame in my hand.

I suddenly sat up and extinguished the match in Auntie's hand. She quickly grabbed my arm, afraid that I would do something self-destructive again. I smiled to show her that it's okay and took out another match, gently rubbing it to produce a flame, and handed it to her with gratitude.

No matter how many times, I am addicted to watching the scene of a woman placing a cigarette on the flame.

Auntie scraped my neck with her finger and smiled lightly.

"I didn't expect you to do that."

"I didn't expect it either..."

"You're really a strange human."

"Yes..."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah."

In Auntie's eyes, half was tenderness and half was the feeling of not having touched a man in many years, which made me very worried.

But I had already reached that point, Auntie didn't do anything other than touching my neck. I also lit a cigarette and chatted with Auntie.

"In fact... I just haven't seen humans for too long."

"I didn't really want to do anything to you..."

"And, you're not afraid of us."

Auntie started to ramble, completely different from her previous cruel and indifferent image.

"My wife is a Medusa, why would I be afraid?"

"Oh, right. That ring..."

"This? It was made for us by a witch named Auntie Bonari in the Witch's House."

"I know. I saw it a long time ago."

"Uh... then why?"

"This ring only exists in stories."

This sentence is actually proof of the incredible phenomenon of monsters and humans being together.

Auntie told me a lot about Medusa, from their habits to their relationship with humans. I didn't understand very well because my language learning notebook wasn't with me, so I had to rely on guessing for many words.

For example, when she talked about why they capture males, Auntie almost used her body to explain it to me.

There are very few Medusas, at least compared to succubi, and there are only thirteen in this camp including my wife. The reason for this is that Medusas rely on males for reproduction, while succubi don't. Human females can turn into succubi. I'm not sure if this understanding is correct since Auntie's original words only mentioned succubi and women.

Another reason for the scarce number of Medusas is that each Medusa can only give birth once in her lifetime.

This is also my conjectural understanding, but Medusa's reproduction is indeed very special.

They don't know their own physiological cycle. When their body has needs, they capture males to fulfill those needs. In the past, there were many humans who ventured into this forest, probably for gathering herbs, hunting, or exploring treasures, and there were also many underground traders. But at that time, underground traders had enchantments, so the monsters generally didn't attack them, and other unfortunate people would become the playthings of the monsters.

But Medusa doesn't force men to stay here forever. Once their needs are met, men can leave. Of course, there are also men who don't want to escape. They are not like me, without any family or relatives in this world.

Compared to that, succubi are much more cruel. It's basically playing until death. Just think about a young man who was collecting medicine for his sick mother in the house and was suddenly deprived of his reason by the charm magic and became a slave of the succubi, turning into a mere bag of skin and bones... it's really terrifying.

Compared to vampires who need to drink fresh blood all the time, Medusa is considered kind, as she at least provides meat for humans. But regardless, men are seen as a resource in their eyes.

However, fewer and fewer humans are coming to the forest, and black market traders no longer enter the forest.

This is likely due to the decline of the black market, during the period when the kingdom forbade contact between humans and monsters.

Now it is very difficult to find a young and vigorous male human, and it is not possible to capture one from Night Fall Town or the kingdom.

This also explains why succubi and Medusa often conflict with each other. The reason for the war is very simple - everyone needs men. In terms of geographical location, the succubi are in the north, making it easier to capture humans who come out from the kingdom to hunt or gather herbs in the forest. Medusa, on the other hand, can only capture men from the east. However, Medusa controls the water source in the east, and I speculate that the water source should be a tributary of Cold Creek. Neither side wants to yield, and the war has been going on for centuries with no resolution.

Succubi are very skilled at hiding themselves at night and launching surprise attacks with larger numbers against smaller groups. If the entire tribe were to fight, succubi actually have no chance of winning. The main problem is that Medusa needs to sleep at night, and the succubi do not know whether they need to sleep... It is very difficult to find succubi during the day, especially when they can ambush Medusa at night. So the war has been forcibly fought on an equal footing.

Until about one hundred years ago, the succubi first proposed a ceasefire. The reason was probably that they couldn't bear the casualties of the war and Medusa was suffering from sleepless nights. Medusa agreed to this. From then on, the succubi agreed to share a portion of men, and Medusa agreed to share a portion of water. The territorial boundaries remained unchanged. But in reality, the two sides still view each other with hostility.

Now, it is morning, and my aunt has already sent her sisters to negotiate with the succubi.

It's strange to say that both Medusa and the succubi refer to their kindred as sisters. The succubi is fine, but Medusa should have a mother-daughter relationship, yet they still address each other as sisters.

This is the first racial conflict since the ceasefire, and Medusa is unwilling to fight the succubi, but according to my aunt's temperament, she absolutely cannot stand by and watch her own kind being beaten to death. If a few succubi die, it doesn't matter; the succubi have hundreds of members. But if Medusa dies, it will undoubtedly lead to absolute hatred among the entire race. The previous war was difficult to reconcile precisely because Medusa died in battle, and if it were to truly escalate, Medusa would never back down. My aunt has been alive for over three hundred years and is currently the oldest member of the tribe. She has fought from a young age and has experience with the continuous battles against succubi day and night. This time, she is very worried.

Just like the pink Medusa who can heal magic, she has only been alive for a little over one hundred years and is the youngest member of the tribe. She has never experienced warfare. But on the battlefield, she can definitely hold her own against ten succubi. For Medusa, there seems to be a collective will within the tribe. A tribal war is everyone's war; a tribal crisis is everyone's crisis, and no one will back down. They will fight until the last person. I guess a similar collective will exists between succubi or werewolves.

Medusa is skilled in combat, but they do not want to start a war with the succubi.

"Do we have to fight the succubi?"

"I don't know..."

"Is it because of me..."

"Hehe, it was because of your wife before, and now it is because of you."

My aunt smiled meaningfully, and while I didn't fully understand what she meant, her face covered in herbal mixture looked painful. I mentioned that I wanted to see my wife, and my aunt told me to wait a bit longer, as the outcome of the negotiations is unknown. If it is determined that there will be a war, she personally hopes that my wife and I can leave. Although I want to help, if it is a battle between monsters, I can't do anything except shoot with a black gun. Besides, she said she wants to see my wife and my child...

Although I don't want to be embraced by the three-hundred-year-old aunt, I let her continue speaking words that felt like a mother handing her daughter to me while she stroked my hair.

On this day, I realized that my wife and I are like living stories, proving the impossible legends to the world.