Su Yi trudged through the snow, but after only a few steps, the snow reached his knees. Helpless, he had to stop and wait. Soon, an orc flew back and landed beside Su Yi.
“There’s a beast horde, but fortunately, it’s not too large.”
Hearing this, Su Yi’s eyes lit up, and he turned back.
When he returned, Eli was still asleep. Su Yi asked Dino to watch over Eli, then had Sinoer put on thick clothes and happily led him outside.
As they left, Su Yi made sure to close the gate behind them.
The two of them quickly attracted attention, especially Sinoer, who had transformed from a tall, handsome man into a bundled-up figure. Sinoer’s feelings were mixed, he was happy that Su Yi cared for him but also a bit embarrassed by how tightly he was wrapped.
When they reached a deep snowdrift, Su Yi climbed onto Sinoer’s back, and they headed out through the newly opened passage. Because of the heavy snow, Sinoer, who lacked the thick fur of other orcs, had been ordered by Su Yi not to transform unless absolutely necessary.
In fact, since discovering that Sinoer could also enter his space, Su Yi felt there was no real emergency. If danger arose, he could simply take his entire family into the space and deal with the threat without worry.
Of course, this was just a thought he kept to himself. Recently, Sinoer had been asserting his dominance, often keeping Su Yi busy. So, Su Yi decided it was better to be flexible and not risk everything for the sake of pride.
Hunter had already stationed himself at the lookout post. He only allowed a few orcs to go out and investigate, while the majority stayed in the valley to prevent any unexpected incidents.
When Jells heard about the beast horde, he was among the first to leave the valley. He took Tang Yu to Mino’s house, asked Dilson to keep an eye on them, and then flew out of the valley with the others. Dilson had wanted to join the excitement but, bound by Jells’ request, he stayed behind with a sullen expression.
When Su Yi and Sinoer emerged, they saw Jells circling arrogantly above the beast horde, his eyes scanning for the most tender prey. Seeing this, Sinoer also looked eager. Hunting was an innate instinct for every orc. Noticing the glint in Sinoer’s light-colored eyes, Su Yi knew he wanted to join in. Reluctantly, Su Yi led him forward.
Hunter, standing at the best vantage point, noticed Su Yi and Sinoer and glanced back into the valley. Sure enough, his eyes quickly found a familiar figure, a slender orc who was afraid of the cold and bundled up tightly, revealing only a pair of striking eyes.
Ian pushed past the orc blocking the gate, trying to squeeze out of the valley. He carried a basket on his back and held a bow Su Yi had made, clearly intending to hunt.
Hunter thought to himself: Is Ian out of meat? Why else would he want to go hunting?
Lately, Hunter had been too busy to pay much attention to Ian’s life. Had Ian been going hungry without him knowing?
Hunter’s worries were unfounded. Before he arrived in the valley, Ian had always been well taken care of. Now that everyone had enough to eat and wear, there was no way Ian would be left wanting.
A tall, burly orc stopped Ian, shaking his head. “Ian, it’s not safe for you to go out. Even though it’s a small horde, there are still nearly a hundred beasts.”
The orc meant well. They were all part of the same tribe now, and everyone knew Ian was sensitive, so he chose his words carefully.
Ian blinked his visible eyes and said through his mask, “It’s fine. I may look weak, but I’m actually quite strong.” Lately, Ian had become more cheerful. He even flexed his muscles to prove his point.
The orc couldn’t help but laugh at Ian’s eagerness. “Alright, how about this? I’ll go with you to keep an eye on you.”
Ian hesitated but, eager to go out, didn’t refuse the orc’s offer.
As the two of them walked through the passage, two females emerged from a nearby corner.
One was Luoxi, and the other was Ferosa, who had always been close to Luoxi.
Ferosa glared in the direction of the passage, even though the two figures were no longer visible. “Luoxi, I’ve always thought Ian was no good. An orc who can't transfrom and relies on others’ charity. If it weren’t for his friendship with Su Yi, I’d have thrown him out of the tribe long ago.”
Luoxi tugged at Ferosa’s hand, signaling that this wasn’t the place to talk.
Although Ferosa was unhappy, she obediently kept quiet. The two of them walked away, and when they were alone, Luoxi said slowly, “You should cause less trouble. Even without Su Yi, there’s Tang Yu. And even without them, there’s Jero and Dilson. They’re all unknown orcs. If we single someone out, it’ll be hard to maintain peace.”
Ferosa was surprised that Luoxi would defend Ian and frowned. “Why should we be afraid of them? Besides Jells, I don’t understand what you’re so scared of. No matter how you look at it, we outnumber them. Now that we’ve learned their ways, even if we drove them all out, no one would say anything.”
Luoxi looked at Ferosa, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, but he quickly hid it.
“You fool, you don’t understand the situation. If we drive them out, the Impreza tribe won’t take it well. While they might not go to war over it, they certainly won’t help us in the future. Just be patient. In a few years, when our tribe is truly strong, we can slowly use the Beast God’ legends to drive them out one by one.”
Ferosa snorted, clearly dissatisfied with this plan.
“No! In a few years, Ian will have stolen that big oaf away. He’s the orc I’ve set my sights on. No, no!”
The “big oaf” referred to the orc who had just taken Ian out.
Luoxi turned away, unable to hide his sneer. How utterly foolish.
“You’re a female. He’s an orc. He wouldn’t dare compete with you, would he?” Luoxi said, suddenly pointing toward the passage. “Why don’t you go and claim him now?”
Hearing this, Ferosa immediately thought of Ian possibly riding on the big oaf’s back and felt a surge of anger.
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