Chapter 238: The King of Fair Play

For a long moment, there was only silence. The only sounds in the clearing were the crackling of the hardwood fire and the gentle bubbling of the fifty-gallon stew. The weight of her words hung in the cool morning air, forcing every beastman and female to actually think for themselves instead of blindly following tradition.

Then, the silence broke.

One of the rogue strays—a badger beastman with a scarred shoulder—slowly stood up from the dewy grass. He carefully set his empty wooden bowl to the side, licking the last bit of gravy from his lips.

“My village was destroyed by shadow beasts,” the badger beastman announced, his voice raspy but resolute.

He reached down and gently helped his pregnant mate up to her feet. She leaned against him, her frail hand resting protectively over her swollen belly.

“I am tired of running,” he continued, looking between Ren and Kael. “I want a bright future for my young. A safe one.” He gave a firm, respectful nod to Kael, and then to Ren. “I will stay. I will help you build this village.”

Ren’s lips curled into a bright, genuine smile. “Thank you,” she said softly.

His brave declaration was the spark that ignited the powder keg. Shortly after, the dominoes began to fall. More and more strays stood up, brushing the dirt from their knees, their voices joining together in a chorus of agreement. They had tasted the cure. They had felt the warmth. They were staying.

But then, the gratitude took a slightly… intense turn.

“I will stay too!” a lanky wolf beastman shouted, pounding his chest. “And I will compete against the White Tiger to be one of your mates! I will fuel your divine power!”

“I will fight too!” another stray chimed in, stepping forward. “We have lost too many friends and family to the Feral Madness! We are willing to do anything so we don’t lose anymore!”

Ren blinked. ’Wait, what? No!’ Ren didn’t miss the intensely lustful gazes some of the male strays were suddenly giving her. The combination of full bellies, renewed energy, and the impending Flower Moon had drastically shifted their priorities from starvation to procreation.

Ren shuddered visibly under the heavily heated stare of a scrawny goat beastman. His rectangular pupils were dilated, and he was looking at her like she was a particularly succulent, high-end tin can. Ren quickly averted her gaze, feeling a profound sense of ick crawling up her spine.

’Okay, calm down,’ Ren told herself, taking a deep breath. ’Look at them. They are scrawny. They are weak. Most of them look like a stiff breeze could blow them over.’

She found immediate comfort in the fact that Kael was a massive, walking mountain of pure muscle. He would be able to easily defeat these malnourished volunteers with one hand tied behind his back. It would be a slaughter. A quick, painless five-minute tournament, and then she could safely close the mating applications forever.

“I accept your challenges!” Kael’s booming voice rang out, filled with noble pride.

Ren smiled, ready for him to tell them to line up for their beatings right now.

“But,” Kael declared, puffing out his chest, “it is not honorable to fight starving, weakened beastmen! The tournament will be held in the middle of the Flower Moon! That will give you all plenty of time to eat my mate’s food, train your bodies, and recover your strength properly!”

Ren wanted to faint.

Her soul physically detached from her body and floated up into the tree canopy.

’Why?!’ Ren screamed internally, her hands gripping her hair. ’Why is my husband giving the enemy a training montage?!’

She both fiercely loved and absolutely hated how fair and righteous Kael was. He was a noble warrior to a fault. He didn’t want an easy victory; he wanted a fair fight. But a fair fight during the middle of the Flower Moon—the absolute, undeniable peak of hormonally-crazed mating season?!

It was going to be a bloodbath of horny gladiators!

Before Ren could object to Kael’s horrific sense of sportsmanship, Katleen spoke up.

The young white tiger mother remained seated near the fire. She was gently, carefully feeding the last drops of the stew to her tiny cub using a wooden spoon. The baby’s breathing was already sounding clearer, its little nose twitching happily.

“I will stay,” Katleen announced to the clearing, her voice trembling but certain. She didn’t look back at the elder. “My cub and I won’t survive the forest on our own. I need this village.”

The elder’s face contorted into a mask of pure, unadulterated disgust. He slammed his walking stick into the dirt.

“A village of fools!” the elder mocked, his voice dripping with venom. “Led by a hairless human and a fallen king! You will all be slaughtered by shadow beasts before the next moon!”

He turned on his heel, dismissing the entire situation with a haughty flick of his wrist. He began walking away toward the tree line, expecting the entirety of his loyal clan to fall in step right behind him.

But not all of the White Tiger Clan were moving.

A few trailed behind him, their heads hung low, but a significant handful of the warriors and females stood completely still. They kept their heads down, their feet firmly planted in the grass.

Noticing the distinct lack of footsteps following him, the elder stopped. He turned around, his golden eyes blazing with fury when he saw the insubordination.

“What are you doing?!” the elder barked at the lingering tigers. “We are leaving! Move!”

The group of defiant tigers didn’t budge.

Then, one of the white tiger beastmen slowly stepped forward from the pack.

Ren’s eyes widened as she looked at him. He was huge. He was almost as large and terrifyingly muscular as Kael. He had the same thick, snow-white hair, the same sharp, aristocratic jawline, and the same imposing aura. As a matter of fact, the resemblance was absolutely uncanny.

The massive warrior ignored the sputtering elder entirely. He walked forward until he was standing just a few feet away from Kael.

He lifted his head. His piercing golden eyes met Kael’s equally fierce gaze. The air between them crackled with decades of history, rivalry, and raw, predatory tension.

“I will compete against you, big brother,” the beastman said, his deep voice eerily similar to Kael’s. “For your mate.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep