"I can give you three times their weight in dried meat!"

  Sethric's eyes instantly widened. His breathing grew a bit rapid, and the smile on the corner of his mouth uncontrollably curled upward.

  Dried meat wasn't just ordinary raw meat—it was precious preserved food that could last for months, extremely important to their entire tribe.

  He could hardly believe his ears and quickly confirmed,"Did you say three times?"

  Draven smiled and nodded, repeating,"Three times."

  Sethric rubbed his hands excitedly. His face, originally a bit gaunt from lack of nutrition, flushed with excitement. His voice choked up, and tears even flickered in his eyes:"Now, the whole tribe can taste meat—even if just once..."

  He didn't make harsh demands, only wishing his people could eat a decent meal.

  Even chewing on tough dried meat was far better than gnawing on tree bark every day. And now, that wish actually seemed possible!

  Sethric kept thanking him repeatedly and didn't even mention the possibility of Tauren retaliation, which surprised Draven a little.

  Draven asked,"Aren't you at all worried about Tauren retaliation?"

  Sethric replied immediately,"The Lord's Manor won't let them act recklessly. As long as they don't bring troops, we Rhinoceros Men aren't afraid of them."

  His words were calm but firm. After hearing this, Draven's expression grew serious. He began to reassess this rough-looking, loud and jovial man.

  This man was not as simple as he seemed. Sethric's steadiness and composure were forged over decades of leading his people through hardship and survival.

  Draven nodded and gave a thumbs-up."You're brave warriors."

  He never hesitated to compliment those worthy of respect. He slapped Sethric's shoulder heartily, then sighed,"It's a shame that such a fierce tribe can't even fill their bellies. What kind of life is this, damn it?"

  Those words seemed to hit the softest, most painful spot in Sethric's heart. His expression twisted as if torn apart. The smile that had just risen vanished suddenly. He looked down at his large belly as if it mocked him, this leader's incompetence.

  "Do you know? I've rarely been truly full since I was a kid. Hundreds of mouths in our tribe, and every morning I wake up hearing nothing but the sound of hungry stomachs. So hungry that even the children don't cry—they just stare at me with their eyes."

  "I want to feed them, I want them to be strong, to live with dignity... but I can't!" His voice rose as his emotions spiraled out of control.

  Draven said nothing, just watched quietly. Those who endure hardship too long will eventually rip off their masks.

  Sethric staggered to his feet and stumbled toward the door. He pointed angrily at the statue of Selene in the corner of the yard and cursed loudly.

  "Is she blind? Can she not see our Rhinoceros Men's loyalty and sacrifice? Just because we have big bellies? We don't deserve aid, don't deserve to enter the city, don't deserve to eat?"

  His voice grew louder, more hysterical. His tribe quickly pulled him back and whispered soothing words.

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  Draven fought back a smile; it was ridiculous. Selene surely had zero interest in their stomachs. But seeing Sethric like this, he couldn't bring himself to shatter the man's illusion.

  "That's enough for today." Draven clapped his hands and ordered the villagers to prepare guest rooms. He had intended to let Sethric stay and sober up before leaving, but the Rhinoceros Man leader insisted on leaving immediately.

  "Sober or not doesn't matter!" Sethric shouted,"Where's the dried meat you promised? I have to get it back quickly—my tribe is still waiting to eat!"

  Draven had no choice but to send Alaric to the storage to get the dried meat. He stood in the yard, watching the Rhinoceros Men cluster around their leader, carrying big bags of dried meat as they slowly left the village.

  "Is this guy really drunk?" Alaric frowned at their backs, sounding somewhat displeased.

  He spoke loudly on purpose—clearly for Draven to hear.

  Draven glanced at him and smiled,"He's a lot smarter than we think."

  But he said no more. A first meeting should leave some room for people.

  Besides, he still had guests—the bound Tauren had not yet been dealt with.

  Draven stepped toward the Tauren and looked down at them briefly, then shifted his gaze toward the shadows in the corner.

  Sure enough, the figure of the Serpent Ancestor slowly emerged from the darkness, like a silently slithering poisonous snake. He bowed respectfully.

  Since pledging allegiance to Draven, this old fellow had become terrifyingly diligent.

  If Sethric wanted to cause trouble, none of them would leave the village today. Draven sneered inwardly and nodded slightly in response.

  Then he turned to Alaric and said coolly,"Wake up that Tauren leader."

  This guy was pretty unlucky. Just moments ago, he was roaring arrogantly, but the next instant, he got knocked out cold by a single punch from a Rhinoceros Man—physically stunned.

  Even his long, thick bull horn wasn't spared; a chunk was brutally snapped off, leaving a jagged break that just looked painfully raw.

  Draven had expected Alaric to take a more traditional approach—maybe splash some cold water to wake the dazed Tauren up. He had even rehearsed in his mind the image of Alaric frowning carefully while splashing water.

  But he soon realized he had been naive. Alaric was a ruthless man through and through.

  Without a word, Alaric stepped forward, raised his hand, and with a flick of his finger, a small burst of bright orange flame ignited on his fingertip, as if he had been itching to do this for a long time. Then, without hesitation, he pressed the little flame directly against the Tauren's ear.

  The air was filled with a familiar, terrifying sound—the crackling of roasting meat. Not the pleasant kind, but mixed with the smell of burning skin.

  Draven gasped and shivered involuntarily. He even felt a bit sorry for the Tauren, though the guy definitely deserved it.

  Cruel, but undeniably effective.

  Jacob suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream, his bull eyes wide open, as if he had crawled back from hell.

  The first thing he saw upon waking was a fox-like humanoid with a delicate face but strangely excited eyes crouching before him, the flames burning his ear reflected in those eyes.

  He struggled violently, the agony in his ear combined with the scent of burnt flesh making him painfully aware that he had gone from hunter to prey.

  Alaric looked somewhat disappointed that Jacob was awake. He curled his lips as if he had missed out on a good chance to play with fire.

  The moment the Tauren's eyes opened wide, Alaric smashed a fist straight into his huge bull face, hitting the bridge of his nose. The dull thud sounded like a wooden block hitting the floor, and Jacob's bull nose crumpled sideways from the blow.

  Alaric didn't like wasting words. He understood that only someone who had truly lost their home could understand how deeply that pain cuts.

  He had been through it once, and that was enough. He didn't want to see others repeat his tragic past.

  Finally broken, Jacob trembled as he spilled out Torvald's plans and orders, confessing that they were forced to obey Torvald, that everything was Torvald's doing, and they had no choice but to comply.

  Draven had no reaction after hearing this. He just lowered his head and leisurely drew a weapon from his storage ring—the Spear of Slaughter.

  With a casual swing, five bursts of blood exploded in the air, and five shriveled corpses instantly appeared on the ground, as if all their life force had been sucked dry.

  He turned to the Serpent Ancestor and nodded slightly.

  The snake man immediately understood and revealed a cold sneer. His mouth split open as he lunged at the Tauren's neck.

  His fangs sank deep into the withered body, and before long, the five corpses turned into blue smoke and vanished, leaving behind only some torn clothes and coarse beast sinews, as if they had never existed.

  Draven noticed Alaric's face—he looked excited, like a kid who just had a birthday party. His eye twitched slightly, and he felt a bit conflicted.

  This kid was probably done for. Wasn't this pure psychological madness?