Chapter 184: Seville, My Younger Brother
"Run!"
Su An’an stuffed Qiuqiu into a large pocket of her combat suit, hoisted the cub-form Seville with her right arm, and bolted into a frantic run through the marsh.
The boy from the Deer Clan froze for a second, then struggled to drag the corpse of the slain toad as he staggered after her.
"CROOOAK!"
The marsh suddenly came to a boil.
Innumerable Two-headed Toads burst from the mire, their swollen poison sacs glowing purple as their sticky, long tongues snapped the surrounding shrubs.
Su An’an glanced back, and the hairs on her arms instantly stood on end. It was enough to trigger her trypophobia.
"Freeze!"
She raised her right hand, and blue coral-like tendrils grew frantically, weaving themselves into a fragile net of ice behind her.
"CRACK!"
The Two-headed Toads at the front shattered the ice barrier, showering the area in a rain of foul-smelling slime.
"Turn right, into the forest!"
Seville lifted one of his small black wings, pointing toward the forest on the right.
"The toads won’t leave their territory!"
Just then, a powerful figure suddenly leaped down from the canopy.
Beneath a bark breastplate, her muscles were well-defined, and her simple, bark-woven clothes snapped in the wind.
Su An’an looked up and was surprised to see a half-beastified female, a King Kong.
She was about two meters tall, her body covered in black fur. She was tall and powerfully built, yet she had the beautiful, spirited face of a young woman.
"Little Jin, help!"
The boy from the Deer Clan cried out in delight upon seeing the Female King Kong.
"SWISH!"
The Female King Kong drew a massive Bone Dagger with a backhanded motion.
A cold light flashed as she sliced through a Fluorescent Vine, which then fell and coiled around the swarm of toads like a living snake.
She hoisted the Deer Clan boy onto her left shoulder and picked up three toad corpses with her right arm, carrying them as effortlessly as if they were a few fallen leaves.
Before leaping away, she glanced back at Su An’an, then disappeared into the forest like a whirlwind.
"Wait for me!"
Su An’an desperately chased after her.
「A clearing somewhere in the forest.」
Su An’an staggered and collapsed onto the mossy ground.
Seville immediately squirmed out of her arms. His six miniature Wings fluffed up like a dandelion puffball as he furiously shook the mud from his fur.
"BLEGH!"
The boy from the Deer Clan was on his hands and knees three steps away, his thin back heaving violently.
’He’s a male beast, but he’s having a worse time with it than I am.’
"Are you okay?!"
Seeing how violently the Deer Clan boy was vomiting, Su An’an started to get up to check on him.
"Don’t move!"
The Female King Kong suddenly raised her Bone Dagger and aimed it at Su An’an, her brown, bestial eyes glinting coldly in the shadows.
Her eyes held hatred, fury, and wariness—everything but gratitude for the one who had just saved her friend.
Her ears twitched constantly as she spoke, and a furry tail peeked out from under her bark skirt.
"We’re not here to cause trouble. We just saved your friend—if you don’t believe me, ask him."
Su An’an raised her mud-covered hands and pointed at the still-vomiting boy from the Deer Clan.
"Ngh—"
The boy had just nodded when the Female King Kong whipped him with her tail, making him stagger back a few steps.
"You idiot! Who told you to come to the marsh looking to get killed?"
The boy from the Deer Clan rubbed his reddening arm, his voice full of grievance.
"They were mocking you, calling you a freak. They said you only deserved a useless Beast Husband like me."
"I just wanted to prove to them that I can be strong, too!"
The Female King Kong’s slender eyebrows shot up as she snapped,
"Idiot! If they told you to eat shit, would you do it?"
"I... I’m not from the Dog Clan."
The boy from the Deer Clan lifted his head. Tears clung to his thick lashes, and his fair, delicate features looked pure and adorable.
The Female King Kong’s brow furrowed. She roughly wiped his tears away, rubbing his cheeks red in the process.
She suddenly turned to Su An’an, her eyes scanning her up and down before she asked with a frown,
"You’re... a female?"
’Isn’t it obvious enough?’
Su An’an glanced down at her own shapely figure, then back at the Female King Kong’s brawny form.
An absurd thought flashed through her mind.
’Are all the females here this... burly?’
The Female King Kong’s Bone Dagger suddenly shifted to point at Seville. "Is this your cub?"
The air instantly froze.
Seville’s little face turned as black as the bottom of a wok. His six miniature Wings flared open with a *SWISH*, and his childish voice was laced with venom.
"I am the Priest! I’m old enough to be your ancestor!"
Su An’an yanked him into a hug, her fingers finding and pinching the soft flesh at his waist with pinpoint accuracy.
"He’s my little brother! We fell here after being set up by our enemies."
She softened her voice. "If you can get us out of here, we will reward you handsomely."
"All beasts from the outside deserve to die!"
The Female King Kong gripped her Bone Dagger tightly, her knuckles turning white as she watched Su An’an with a fierce gaze.
Seville was instantly on guard, his small black-and-white wings snapping open.
Silvery-white arcs of electricity began to crackle at Su An’an’s fingertips.
’If talking won’t work, we’ll have to settle this with force.’
"Ngh!"
The boy from the Deer Clan suddenly let out a pained groan, his slender, pale fingers gripping his right leg tightly.
"It hurts so much!"
Su An’an looked down, her pupils instantly contracting.
The blood vessels around the wound had turned purplish-black, and the discoloration was spreading upwards at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"You’ve been poisoned!"
For the first time, the Female King Kong’s voice trembled.
A look of grim determination flashed in her eyes. She abruptly raised the Bone Dagger. "Brace yourself!"
The moment the cold light cut through the air...
"SMACK!"
A flash of Golden Light, and Seville’s small hand smacked the female’s wrist with precision. The Bone Dagger clattered to the ground.
"Idiot!"
Seville, still in his cub form, said coldly, "Chopping off his leg for a little poison like this? What good is a crippled Beastman?"
"As long as he’s alive, that’s all that matters! I can provide for him even if he’s crippled!"
"Don’t! Cut it off! Cut it off now!"
The boy from the Deer Clan frantically scratched at the spreading poison marks.
"I’m a Pharmacist! I can neutralize the poison!"
A shimmering green light appeared at Su An’an’s fingertips.
The Female King Kong stared intently at Su An’an, vigilance and the desperate will to survive warring in her eyes.
"I want to live, Jin Zhu, save me!"
The boy’s tears mixed with cold sweat as they rolled down his face.
"Fine!"
Jin Zhu said through gritted teeth.
The shimmering green light bored into the boy’s wound, and the poison dripped onto the grass with a SIZZLE.
The black blood on the Deer Clan boy’s leg finally returned to a fresh red.
Completely drained, he leaned back into Jin Zhu’s embrace. Tear tracks still stained his pale face, but a faint smile appeared.
"It doesn’t hurt anymore!"
As Jin Zhu looked at his healed wound, the guard in her eyes finally relaxed.
She silently stood, carefully lifting Lu Ming onto her back. "My name is Jin Zhu."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Su An’an and Seville.
"He is my Beast Husband, Lu Ming. We live in the Gray Stone Tribe."
After this brief introduction, she turned and began butchering one of the dead toad monsters.
The sharp Bone Dagger cut open the tough hide. She dug out a fist-sized piece of snow-white, tender meat and casually stuffed it into the leather pouch at her waist.
Su An’an took the opportunity to ask, "Jin Zhu, you seemed so wary of outside Beastmen just now. Did something happen?"
Jin Zhu froze. With her back still to them, her shoulders tensed like stone.
"You don’t need to know," she said, her voice forced through gritted teeth and simmering with suppressed rage.
When she turned around, her gaze fell on Su An’an’s bulging pocket, and her brows furrowed tightly.
"What’s that?"
Su An’an carefully lifted a corner of the pocket, revealing Qiuqiu’s small, curled-up form.
"His name is Qiuqiu. He’s a cub I adopted."
"He’s injured. We need a safe place to take care of him."