Sinoer got up to investigate and soon returned. He bundled Su Yi in furs, grabbed the two children, and carried them out of the house.
Outside was chaos, families rushing about in panic.
Su Yi groaned uncomfortably. "What’s going on? It’s so cold!"
Sinoer kissed his forehead and hurried toward the tunnel.
After settling Su Yi and the kids, Sinoer said, "Rest well. Don’t worry."
Su Yi blinked drowsily. "Mm. Be careful." By now, he was a little more awake but still too lazy to move. He knew a large beast horde must have arrived. After Sinoer left, more females and children were brought in.
Tang Yu was one of the last to arrive. He seemed reluctant to stay and had been arguing with Jells. Jells sternly placed him beside Su Yi, then piled a heap of food into Tang Yu’s arms.
Since the tunnel wasn’t as warm as home, Jells didn’t bring fresh fruit, just dried ones.
Tang Yu clutched a sealed jar of bone broth Jells had made. Though Jells wasn’t the best cook, Tang Yu wasn’t picky.
He gulped down the broth noisily. Su Yi, now slightly more alert, pointed at the jar.
Tang Yu side-eyed him, thinking how annoyingly lazy Su Yi looked, ordering people around like this.
He handed the jar to Su Yi, muttering, "Here. I thought you’d be out hunting with them."
Su Yi took a sip, then closed his eyes, not wanting to talk. The two kids, however, were full of energy. Eli ran off to play with friends before darting back to squeeze into Su Yi’s arms.
Compared to Eli’s liveliness, Dino was much more well-behaved. He occasionally helped Tang Yu with food or ate a little himself. When he saw Su Yi tossing and turning, the blanket slipping off, he quietly tucked him back in.
Tang Yu watched, thinking, When I have my own kid, I’m going to raise them to be just like Dino.
Little did he know, his kid would be nothing like Dino. Instead, they’d take after him, becoming a little troublemaker.
This beast horde was massive, and many orcs were injured. Mino and Ian didn’t retreat to the tunnel, they stayed to treat the wounded.
After being cooped up for a day, Su Yi finally couldn’t take it anymore and went out to see what was happening. The orcs guarding the tunnel didn’t stop him. If it had been any other female, they would have intervened, but this was Su Yi. His capabilities were well-known, even if he looked unwell, everyone knew how capable he was.
Su Yi, now crowned with the title of "capable," looked up at the sky. No wonder they’d been sent to the tunnels, this horde included flying beasts.
Su Yi rarely encountered flying creatures and frowned. The valley could block land beasts, but not these winged predators.
He hadn’t gone far when one of the beasts spotted him.
With no females or children left outside, the flying beasts had been ransacking houses, devouring any dried meat left in courtyards.
Now, seeing fresh prey like Su Yi, they immediately swooped toward him. Su Yi panicked and ducked into a nearby house.
Once inside, he pulled out a bow from his space and took aim at the closest beast. Though not large, it had razor-sharp claws and teeth.
Su Yi’s arrow pierced its skull, splattering brain matter. As he reached for another arrow, a wave of dizziness hit him. His heart sank as he shut the door and slumped to the ground.
What’s wrong with me? Su Yi wondered. Did that white-haired illness not fully heal?
Outside, more beasts gathered.
The commotion drew attention. An orc in beast form charged over, assuming a female or child was trapped. His roar scared off a couple of beasts, but the rest, driven by hunger, bared their fangs defiantly.
Su Yi took a deep breath and peeked through the door crack. To his surprise, the orc outside was the wandering orc from before.
Still recovering from old injuries, the wandering orc hadn’t joined the hunt outside the valley. Instead, he’d stayed behind to deal with these weaker flying beasts.
But even against weaker foes, numbers wore him down. Soon, fresh wounds marred his body.
Su Yi fired two more arrows, both grazing past the wandering orc to strike two beasts in the head.
The wandering orc glanced at the fallen beasts, then at the slightly ajar door.
Without a word, he fought more fiercely.
Su Yi occasionally helped with another arrow, thinning the horde until it was safe to emerge, covering his nose and mouth.
The wandering orc was startled to see Su Yi but quickly understood. He studied Su Yi’s expression, hesitated, then went inside and returned with a large fur.
"Here. Sorry for the inconvenience," he said, wrapping it around Su Yi.
Su Yi didn’t refuse, but his head felt heavy and his feet light.
"Take me to Mino. And don’t tell Sinoer I came out," Su Yi said.
The wandering orc hesitated. He’d planned to take Su Yi straight to Sinoer. Although he wasn't particularly smart, he could tell Su Yi wasn’t well. Females usually sought their mates when unwell. He’d assumed Su Yi had risked coming out to find Sinoer.
Instead, he brought Su Yi to Mino, who lifted the fur and paled at the sight of Su Yi’s ashen face.
Mino immediately set aside his work and began examining Su Yi. Ian hurried over.
"What’s wrong?" Ian asked anxiously. He’d never seen Su Yi so frail.
Mino’s examination suddenly paused. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he checked again.
Then he blurted out, "He’s pregnant!"
"Pregnant?!!" Ian repeated, his voice rising.
The room erupted in chaos. Pregnancy was joyous news. Even the injured orcs forgot their wounds, crowding around to see what a "pregnant female" looked like.
One overexcited orc even limped out to spread the word.
Su Yi, still dazed, heard the buzz around him.
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