Ordinary But Overconfident Man

Upon hearing An Yao's words, Huya's face turned green, as if he had been slapped across the face several times, leaving a burning sensation. He felt the skeptical gazes around him, making him feel utterly humiliated.

“What nonsense are you spouting!” he roared, his anger mixed with an evasive look. With his battered face, his demeanor appeared rather comical.

Huya stiffened his neck and defended himself, “I-it wasn't because of this waste's cunning tricks that he managed to ambush me while I was exhausted. How could I have been ambushed by him otherwise?”

“You're the one spouting nonsense!” An Yao retorted, glaring fiercely.

Her hands were on her hips, and she shouted indignantly, “You keep calling him a waste, but it seems like you three are the real wastes here! You can't even catch your own prey and yet you want to steal it from Jin?”

“You three always bully Jin, insulting him and trying to steal his prey. Aren't you even more pathetic?”

An Yao's righteous anger rose as she continued her tirade, exposing the three's long history of tormenting Jin, from childhood to the present.

Seeing their cowardly and arrogant expressions, An Yao grew angrier the longer she looked.

Unable to stand by and watch anymore, she came to Jin's defense. She raised her voice again, “Look at the wounds on Jin's body. Most of them are claw and bite marks left by this boar. Now look at these three; they hardly have any wounds from the boar. Doesn't this prove that it was Jin who discovered and hunted this prey?”

The three of them were rendered speechless by the accusations and had extremely ugly expressions on their faces.

An Yao had no intention of letting them off easily. She continued her scathing remarks, “This hum beast originally belongs to us, so naturally, we're taking it with us. Not only will we take this wild boar, but you three despicable cowards who ambushed us should also face severe punishment!”

“Chief, ambushing and injuring fellow beastmen is against our rules. They should be expelled from the tribe!” Someone else chimed in, bringing attention back to the chief.

The chief's face showed his dilemma as he looked at An Yao, whose face was red with anger but hadn't said anything.

This conflict had started as a disagreement between two male beastmen, but now a female was involved, making it more complicated.

Although according to the rules, Huya and his companions should be severely punished, even expulsion from the tribe was not excessive.

However, these three were relatively strong young beastmen in the tribe, and he had turned a blind eye to their behavior many times before. In contrast, Jin was a seemingly weak outsider who struggled to progress. The difference in significance between the two situations was clear to him.

Seeing the chief's hesitant expression, An Yao could sense that he was inclined to protect the three troublemakers. This only fueled her determination.

It was no wonder Jin would turn into a major antagonist. He had been bullied in the tribe from a young age, and even the usually fair and just chief was protecting the wrongdoers.

“Enough!”

A cold and deep voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd.

The beastmen fell silent immediately, and their gazes turned toward a tall and sturdy figure stepping forward from the crowd. This handsome man with his sharp brows and bright eyes, along with the three beast patterns on his arm, was none other than one of the male leads, Hu Lie.

As soon as Huya spotted him, his eyes lit up. “Big brother!”

Huya was Hu Lie's younger brother. It wasn't surprising that he dared to behave tyrannically in the tribe, bullying Jin without any scruples. Even the chief wouldn't dare to reprimand him.

With his big brother, the tribe's number one warrior, backing him, Huya had become even bolder.

“An Yao, causing trouble without reason has its limits. How can my brother, Huya, possibly steal your food?”

Hu Lie's frigid gaze, as cold as ice, bore into An Yao.

His sword-like brows formed an attractive character '川', and his jaw tightened.

It seemed that An Yao had cleaned up a bit since they last saw each other, but that didn't affect his disdain for her.

He didn't believe for a second that this venomous female who had always insulted Jin would suddenly speak up for him. She was probably just using Huya's name to gain his attention.

Heh. This venomous female really was cunning.

However, his heart belonged to Yaoyao alone. No matter how many tricks this venomous female played, he wouldn't give her a second glance.

Hu Lie's icy eyes turned even colder as they landed on An Yao. If she knew what he was thinking right now, she would probably curse him: “Peh! Hypocrite, really.”

Hu Lie was a third-tier Orc warrior, the strongest in the tribe. His arrival alone silenced the atmosphere, and even the chief had to show him some respect.

“Alright, I will make a decision on this matter. Since Huya and the others can't prove that they hunted this wild boar, it will be given to Jin. As for Huya and his companions, they will receive half a month's worth of reduced rations.”

“We're all fellows of the same tribe, and we should get along harmoniously. Let's not discuss this matter further in the future.”

The chief glanced at Hu Lie, who was clearly protective of his brother, and furrowed his brows. After weighing the pros and cons, he spoke to the onlookers.

Though his words appeared fair and just, and he did indeed give Huya and his companions some form of punishment, reducing their rations by half a month was hardly a significant penalty for young hunters like them. Moreover, with Hu Lie backing them, they wouldn't go hungry. This punishment was merely for show and end the incident without further investigation.

An Yao thought to herself that the chief truly deserved his position. He had held it for many years because he possessed a certain level of cunning and strategy.

However, she felt frustrated. She had wanted to argue some more, but her hand was gently pulled, and a weak but pleasant voice came from behind her, “Alright, let's go home, Female Master.”

The blackening effect on Jin's head stopped.

Jin stared at the female who had stepped up for him in his moment of isolation, growing increasingly puzzled about what she was planning lately.

However, he couldn't deny that he had been slightly... touched by her actions just now, even if it was only a tiny bit.

An Yao heard him cough weakly a couple of times and grew concerned. She moved forward and supported him; her heart was aching.

“Okay, let's go home first. I'll help you treat your wounds. There's plenty of delicious food at home, and I'll make sure you get a proper meal. You've lost so much weight...”

After saying that, she shot a scathing glance at the two Tiger Tribe brothers and helped the severely injured young man leave.

“Several of you, bring this wild boar, as well as a few long-eared grass pheasants, to Jin's home.”

Half of the hunted game belonged to the tribe, and the other half could be kept by the hunter. The chief beckoned a few strong beastmen, and they carried the boar and some other prey to Jin's house.

As he watched An Yao leave, the chief's expression revealed a hint of contemplation. This female had never liked Jin before; that was common knowledge in the tribe. Why was she now so keen on defending him?