Sensing Su Yi's emotional fluctuation, Sinoer carefully held his hand. The cold aura around Su Yi faded as he turned to look at Sinoer and smiled, noticing the worry in his eyes. "I'm fine."
Even though Su Yi said so, Sinoer's expression remained grim. His frosty gaze fixed on Lamira and his mate, as if his eyes alone could kill them both.
Lamira’s face turned pale, and his whole body trembled as he shrank closer to his mate. But his usually brave mate was now staring at Sinoer in terror.
They still remembered that day when Su Yi was giving birth, Sinoer who was half-transformed, his eyes a venomous crimson. It was the furious glare of a poisonous snake. If not for Su Yi’s condition at the time, Sinoer would have torn them apart.
Now that Su Yi had recovered, Sinoer wanted to teach them a lesson himself. But Su Yi insisted on handling them personally, so Sinoer could only stand by and watch.
That night, Su Yi dragged them to the small square in the valley. Along the way, many people saw Su Yi and Sinoer pulling the two along. Combined with Lamira’s constant wailing, more and more onlookers were drawn in. Those with nothing to do at home even brought their children to watch the spectacle.
Tang Yu heard that Su Yi had taken the two to the small square and hurriedly followed. Before leaving, he put on his newly invented baby-carrying outfit, tucking his little dragon cub inside so that only its big, round eyes peeked out.
The weather had warmed up, and by the time Tang Yu panted his way to the square, he was drenched in sweat. Though the dragon cub wasn’t very big, it was surprisingly heavy, leaving Tang Yu exhausted.
Su Yi was sternly reprimanding Lamira, his tone icy.
"No matter what misunderstandings exist between us, you should never target my child, especially since my child is a female. How vile must your heart be to harm an unborn baby?"
Su Yi didn’t use harsh words, but every syllable cut deep.
In this orc world, the rarity of females was common knowledge. Su Yi deliberately downplayed his personal feud with Lamira, instead emphasizing Lamira’s attempt to harm his unborn child. As soon as he said this, the crowd erupted in outrage.
Harming an unborn child, especially a female, was beyond despicable. People began shouting accusations at Lamira, even suspecting that he and his mate had ulterior motives for coming to the valley.
Tears streaming down his face, Lamira knelt on the ground and wailed, "I didn’t do anything! You all saw it, he was the one who attacked first! I never did anything!"
Su Yi’s gaze turned even colder. "Oh? If you insist on bringing that up, let me ask you this: Everyone knew I was close to giving birth. At such a dangerous time, why did you choose to come when I was alone, spewing venomous words to provoke me? What exactly were you hoping to achieve?"
Cornered, Lamira trembled in fury. His original plan had been to extort something from Su Yi, or better yet, provoke him into losing the child, or even dying.
Premature births were common among females here, and in Su Yi’s condition, both mother and child usually wouldn’t survive. Yet not only did Su Yi pull through, but he also delivered the baby safely.
What infuriated Lamira even more was that, despite Su Yi’s coma, no one believed his side of the story, instead, he and his mate were captured.
"He tried to kill my little brother!" Little Eli suddenly emerged from the crowd, followed by a group of young orcs, all seething with anger.
From a young age, orcs here were taught to protect females, especially young ones. But females were scarce in the valley, and with Dino already "reserved," their future mating prospects were slim.
Now that Eli’s family finally had a female, one who hadn’t even been born yet, Lamira had nearly killed it. Imagining how beautiful Su Yi’s child would grow up to be, the young orcs burned with protective fury. Whether the little female would ever choose them as mates didn’t matter, they would defend him regardless.
The adults, well aware of their children’s thoughts, also had their own schemes. Ever since Mino mentioned Su Yi was carrying a female, many people in the valley had set their sights on his unborn child.
Now that their future daughter-in-law had almost been murdered before birth, their expressions darkened.
Amid the public outcry, no one listened to Lamira and his mate’s pleas. Stones were hurled at them, and some young orcs even stepped forward to throw punches.
Hunter made no move to stop them, instead casually draping an arm around Ian’s shoulders and chatting idly.
Expecting Su Yi to escalate the situation further, everyone was surprised when his expression softened. "Out of respect for the Beast God’s protection over my child, I won’t kill you today. But you can no longer stay in this valley."
The crowd marveled at Su Yi’s mercy, praising his kindness despite the harm done. His mention of the Beast God’s protection was taken as divine truth.
Tang Yu, however, wasn’t fooled. Mino tugged his sleeve and whispered, "Just letting them go? It feels too lenient."
Dino and the others agreed.
Tang Yu smirked. "Don’t worry. Su Yi never lets anyone off easy."
His meaning wasn’t immediately clear to Mino, Dino, or even Ian. Seeing Ian’s confused blink, Hunter leaned in and murmured, "He’ll probably take revenge after they’re gone."
Hunter’s breath brushed Ian’s ear, turning his fair cheeks pink. Hunter’s ruby-like eyes darkened.
"Really?" Ian stammered, squirming away from the heat creeping up his face.
Hunter refused to let him escape, pulling him into a firm embrace.
Ian glanced around, flushing deeper when he noticed the onlookers, especially Old Taylor’s knowing gaze. Though as an elder he disapproved of Hunter, he couldn’t deny Ian’s happiness.
The valley’s residents dragged Lamira and his mate to the outskirts, tossing them out with stern warnings before returning home.
Night had fallen. As the crowd dispersed, shadowy figures slipped out under cover of darkness.
Su Yi had intended to track Lamira alone, but Sinoer insisted on accompanying him, unsure if Lamira’s mate might retaliate. To their surprise, Jells and Tang Yu joined, turning the mission into a four-person operation.
Su Yi shot Tang Yu an annoyed glare as they trailed the pair from a distance. With two powerful orcs present, there was no risk of losing them.
"Where’s your precious dragon cub?" Su Yi asked irritably.
Tang Yu rubbed his nose. He still felt guilty about Su Yi’s premature birth, especially since Su Yi had warned him beforehand. This was his chance to make amends.
"Dropped him off at Ian’s place." He shuddered, recalling Hunter’s murderous glare when he handed over the cub.
Su Yi suddenly realized how unfit they were as parents, his own child had been sent to Mino’s care, while Tang Yu dumped his to Ian.
Ironically, their irresponsibility gave the two couples early practice at parenting.
After tracking Lamira far enough, they shifted into beast form and closed in.
Lamira was mid-rant when an oppressive aura silenced him. He looked up and froze.
A massive dragon soared overhead, wings outstretched. On its back, a sharp-eyed female nocked an arrow, taking aim.
Whoosh!
The arrow struck true.
Su Yi wasn’t being ruthless, Lamira’s venomous threats left no choice. He had boasted about bringing outsiders to seize the valley’s resources and spewed hatred toward unknown orcs. Letting him live risked future attacks, especially with children in the valley.
Su Yi and Sinoer lured a beast horde toward Lamira’s location. Tang Yu’s arrows wounded the pair, the blood scent driving the creatures into a frenzy.
They didn’t stay to watch.
As they left, Lamira’s mate hoisted him into a tree, only for a beast to clamp onto his leg.
Desperate, he reached for Lamira’s hand.
Lamira hesitated, eyeing his mate’s wounds and the snarling pack below. Then he climbed higher, abandoning him.
The mate unleashed a deafening roar of betrayal, his body partially shifting as he launched into a ferocious, bloody counterattack against the beasts.
Lamira cowered in the branches, chanting, "I won’t die, I won’t die..."
When silence fell, he peered down and vomited at the carnage.
"Su Yi... Just you wait! I’ll make sure you all die!!" he screamed.
A rustle interrupted him.
A scar-faced wandering orc emerged, his eyes were cold.
He hadd witnessed Lamira’s treachery, and remembered how Su Yi had once fought alongside him against beasts.
Though they’d barely spoken, the wandering orc considered Su Yi a friend.
This was his way of repaying the debt.
After dealing with Lamira, the wandering orc hunted nearby. While cleaning his kill, he spotted a scrawny orc by the stream.
The stranger perked up. "Hey! Which tribe are you from?"
The wandering orc ignored him, beginning to shift.
"Whoa! You’re an unknown orc? That’s so cool!"
Instead of fear, the scrawny orc's eyes shone with admiration.
The wandering orc stared.
Had he just met an idiot?
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