15 Get Along (Physically)

Hidden in the grass, Mordas watched warily.

As a hunter of the Carnivore Beast Tribe, Mordas was exceptionally muscular, even by the standards of his own people. Meat-toothed Beasts were the offspring of humans and Vastaya Shuray, and they inherited traits from both parents.

In these circumstances, Vastaya of the Carnivore Beast Tribe were like lions in battle, their bodies covered in thick, tough, sleek fur.

Their muscles were several times stronger than those of humans, giving them superhuman strength from birth. Their light yet sturdy bones let them move as swiftly as felines, darting freely among the branches.

While most of his people stood around two meters tall, Mordas was nearly two and a half meters—

and that was with the Carnivore Beast Tribe's naturally arched, feline-like spines.

His physical advantages had given him the upper hand in hunts before. Even against Sharpmane Beasts several times his size, he could bring them down quickly by making clever use of snares, pit traps, Flying Daggers, and blades.

But now, looking at the human leaning against a tree, Mordas felt a deep sense of danger.

He had no idea where that feeling came from. He only knew that the man's words stirred some instinctive alarm in him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. In fact, the fur along his spine had bristled, though his light leather armor hid it.

"Why are you so wary?"

A deliberately hushed voice came from beside him. A young-looking Meat-toothed Beast bared his teeth and licked his lips. He stared toward Yuan Chen, who was resting against a tree, his eyes alight with the urge to fight.

"He's just a human warrior. We're the finest hunters in the Carnivore Beast Tribe!"

"Stop wasting time! The old folks back at the tribe aren't going to wait while we gather enough valuable prey! Let's beat him up now!" the young Meat-toothed Beast said.

"Maybe we can get some secret information out of him!"

Mordas merely shot the Meat-toothed Beast beside him a cold glance.

As rising stars of the Carnivore Beast Tribe, they had a hard time competing for the chieftain's position. The tribe measured each member's worth by their prey and spoils.

But as for the number of trophies and prey, these youngsters might not have as much combined as a single older Meat-toothed Beast.

So, to stand out, they needed to claim prey valuable enough to matter—and bring back heads worth enough to prove it.

Like an Elemental Drake.

"Have you forgotten the lesson that woman taught you, Nakrol?"

At Mordas's words, the Meat-toothed Beast named Nakrol opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he only gritted his teeth and muttered, "That was an accident! Who knew that woman could turn into a cougar?"

"He has that woman's scent on him."

"Huh?!"

At Mordas's words, the young Meat-toothed Beast hunter let out an uncertain gasp.

His nostrils twitching, Mordas said, "The smell of blood. And herbs, too... She might not have killed him, but she must have badly wounded him."

A flicker of excitement crossed Nakrol's eyes. Unable to contain himself, he said, "Then even better! Let me take him down!"

Before Mordas could say another word, the young Meat-toothed Beast named Nakrol bent his powerful, backward-jointed legs.

As he tensed, his formidable lower body became like a spring compressed to its limit. The instant he released it, the pent-up force sent him flying forward.

He had barely gone out before he came right back. The Meat-toothed Beasts hiding in the grass only saw Nakrol dart away with a whoosh, then heard a bang as a surging Water Cannon blasted him back at twice the speed.

He slammed into the tree behind him with a clatter. Even with a Meat-toothed Beast's sturdy bones, the impact left Nakrol dizzy and dazed. He lay sprawled on the ground, unable even to get back up.

The man who had been resting rose to his feet and turned toward Mordas, hidden among the grass—or rather, he looked toward the spot where Nakrol had been blasted, revealing a handsome face, fair and smooth, utterly unlike those of the Yixialians.

"Seriously? You can't even lie down for a while without someone trying to jump you. Know your own limits. A level-four Pantheon taking on a level-six Kha'Zix, huh?"

Yuan Chen's words left Mordas baffled. After a moment of silence, though, he stood up from the dense forest and said, "I'm a hunter of the Meat-toothed Beasts. You're the one who entered our hunting grounds."

"I didn't know creatures like Meat-toothed Beasts, who prefer dry climates, had settled in the rainforest."

As he spoke, Yuan Chen looked straight at Mordas. "I came here to drive away the beasts attacking the village's livestock. You're the culprits, aren't you?"

Mordas narrowed his eyes at Yuan Chen's words but didn't reply. As he remained silent, more than a dozen Meat-toothed Beasts heard the commotion and hurried over from the nearby hunting camp. They surrounded Yuan Chen, their eyes filled with hostility.

After a long silence, Mordas shook his head, took a pouch of coins from his pack, and tossed it onto the grass in front of Yuan Chen.

"We're undergoing a hunting trial, too. We may have accidentally injured some of your livestock while stocking up on dried meat... This should be enough to buy those rock goats."

Yuan Chen glanced at the pouch before him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Then he shrugged. "You're paying? I thought Meat-toothed Beasts were all a bunch of savages..."

"We're hunters who revere the wild, not uncivilized beasts." Mordas shrugged and continued,

"Just like there are poachers and scumbags among you humans, right? I've paid you. Take the money and go. Tell the villagers to stay away from here. If they get caught in one of our traps, that's not our problem."

After a pause, Mordas added, "If you have extra provisions or iron goods, I'd be happy to trade with you."

Though Meat-toothed Beasts rarely dealt with human civilization, they traded for things like spices and iron goods to improve their way of life.

Leather merchants also liked trading with Meat-toothed Beasts. Their prey was generally more valuable, and their hunting skills tended to be better than those of human hunters.

The fewer marks left on a beast, the more valuable the tanned hide. And since some beasts were rare to begin with, transporting their pelts to Valoran's city-states could bring in enormous profits.

Of course, being willing to trade with humans didn't mean all Meat-toothed Beasts were kind. As soon as they heard Mordas's decision, several of them grunted in disapproval, before Yuan Chen could even respond.

But Mordas clearly had a lot of influence. The others only grumbled; none openly objected.

Yuan Chen found that a little surprising.

But he could wonder about that later. Looking at Mordas, he said plainly, "My target is an Elemental Drake, too."

Mordas had guessed that Yuan Chen might say something shocking, but even so, when he actually heard those words, he froze on the spot, unable to react.

A moment later, a booming voice came from the side. Another tall Meat-toothed Beast hunter, nearly as big as Mordas, shoved through the crowd. He stopped in front of Yuan Chen, his eyes full of scorn.

"You? You want to hunt a dragon? Give me a break. A dragon won't go easy on you just because you have fair skin!"

The towering Meat-toothed Beast came up to Yuan Chen, pointed at his chest, and looked down at him. "You scrawny pretty boy. Go back to your village and suckle at your mother's breast!"

Yuan Chen shook his head helplessly, then turned to look at Mordas. "Your subordinate doesn't know how to behave. I'm going to teach him a lesson."

Mordas raised an eyebrow, then nodded, but said nothing and made no move to stop him—

For one thing, his group was made up of rising stars of the tribe. They didn't necessarily look down on one another, but each thought himself the strongest. They followed Mordas only because they shared the same goal.

This wasn't the first time one of them had acted recklessly along the way. The human in front of him had clearly guessed as much...

It might be good to let him teach them a lesson.

And it would be a chance to test the human's strength, too. After all, their opponent was an Elemental Drake, fighting in its home territory in the dense forests of Ixialia. Even with preparation, their chances of a successful hunt were less than thirty percent.

Once his guess was confirmed, Yuan Chen's expression relaxed, and a touch of carefree abandon crept into it.

Before the Meat-toothed Beast in front of him could react, Yuan Chen suddenly sprang forward and drove a punch into his lower abdomen. The tough leather armor he wore seemed to do nothing to protect him.

The heavy impact traveled along Yuan Chen's arm and sank into the Beast's abdomen. With no bones to protect his organs, the surging force sent them churning violently.

He instinctively bent over and spat up a mouthful of sour fluid. But Yuan Chen didn't stop there. He grabbed the fur beneath the Meat-toothed Beast's jaw and, following the man's downward motion, drove him into a powerful shoulder throw.

With a bang, the Meat-toothed Beast's head slammed into the ground. The impact rattled his skull, and he rolled his eyes back, unconscious on the spot.

The Meat-toothed Beasts around them hadn't expected Yuan Chen to attack so suddenly. For a moment, they couldn't react.

When they finally came to their senses and prepared to swarm him and tear apart this reckless human in revenge for their companion, Yuan Chen stood in their midst and simply pulled off his leather armor, revealing his strong, bare upper body.

He didn't have the tough, thick hide and mane of a Meat-toothed Beast, but his well-defined muscles made the Beasts narrow their eyes. He was powerful and strong, but not bulky.

His streamlined physique made it clear to the Meat-toothed Beasts that he was no mere pretty boy with nothing to show for himself.

Yuan Chen had fought Nedeli to the death just two days ago. Oshirresh's Blessing had healed his injuries, but it hadn't erased the scars on his skin.

Scars of all sizes, left by the lion's claws, covered his body. His right arm, in particular, was dark red all over, as if badly burned. The scars didn't diminish Yuan Chen's presence. Instead, they gave him an even more ferocious air.

The surging vitality beneath his skin, as powerful as crashing waves, was like a volcano ready to erupt—or a beast kept on a tight leash, ready to tear out someone's throat at any moment.

"I know your people respect strength above all."

Yuan Chen rolled his neck, bouncing on his toes to warm up as he spoke. "So let's cut the chatter... Are you coming at me all at once, or one by one? Hunters of the Carnivore Beast Tribe shouldn't be so weak that you can't even beat a skinny pretty boy like me, right?"

"Use your fists! Don't act like some nonstop-chattering little punk who only knows how to run his mouth!"

At Yuan Chen's blunt words, the surrounding Meat-toothed Beasts didn't angrily swarm him. Instead, they stood there, exchanging glances. After a moment, a tall Meat-toothed Beast let out a laugh.

"Ha! You really are a bold one! I'll take you on!"

He leaped out of the crowd and came to stand before Yuan Chen. The powerful Meat-toothed Beast likewise took off his leather armor and hunting knife. His powerful bare torso was covered in a thick mane, but not even that could hide the contours of his muscles.

The Beast stared at Yuan Chen without the wildness or disdain of the previous one. Instead, his eyes shone with a fierce desire to fight.

"I won't take advantage of you! But I won't hold back, either! This will be a glorious hunt!"

"Glorious is a bit much. It's just a warm-up."

Yuan Chen smiled lightly, rolled his shoulders, then charged straight at his opponent amid the cheers of the Meat-toothed Beasts gathered around them.

It really wasn't much of a glorious hunt. According to Yuan Chen's Scout Skill, the Meat-toothed Beasts were generally only level three or four. They were decent, sure, but against a level-six master like him...

Even if dancers weren't as direct and forceful in hand-to-hand combat as warriors, monks, and martial artists, Yuan Chen had them beat in both strength and skill. Fighting them was like beating up a bunch of kids!

One, two, three—In less than fifteen minutes, three powerful Meat-toothed Beast hunters had been knocked out right in front of everyone. They had been stunned at first, but by the end, even the Meat-toothed Beasts had started cheering for Yuan Chen!