Two females, one adult and one child, sprinted toward them. A wild bull with greenish-black skin chased close behind.
"Oh no, it's a wild bull in heat! Princess, come with me, quick!"
The greenish bull possessed sharp horns on its head, and its bell-sized eyes were completely bloodshot.
"MOO—"
Seeing the sizable group ahead, the Iron Bull stopped warily. Its thick, sturdy legs stamped the ground in agitation, and heavy breaths blasted from its snout.
Noticing the Iron Bull growing increasingly volatile, Tyler grabbed the young female with one hand and hoisted the stag from the ground onto his shoulder with the other, looking for an opportunity to escape.
Seeing the wild bull about to charge, Miche screamed in terror.
Her sharp, piercing shriek enraged the already agitated wild bull. It lowered its head and charged straight at the noisy "two-legged beast."
Seeing this, Loki hastily grabbed his daughter and his beloved, fleeing into the distance.
However, his strength was lacking. Burdened by two dead weights, his pace inevitably slowed after running a short distance.
The wild bull drew closer and closer. Terrified, Miche took advantage of the chaos and let go of Loki's hand.
"Miche, be careful! Come back!" Loki's expression changed drastically when he realized the wild bull was charging in Miche's direction.
Miche glanced back at the rapidly approaching beast. Her legs turned to jelly from fear, but with her life on the line, she could only grit her teeth and keep running.
"Damn it, why is it only chasing me?" she cursed.
What she didn't know was that the wild bull, currently in heat and unable to find a female of its own kind, was drawn to her female scent.
Furthermore, to prevent the forest weeds from scratching her skin, she had specifically worn an animal-skin dress made of cowhide. This only further convinced the wild bull that she was a female of its own species.
"What do I do?" Miche gritted her teeth. She glanced around frantically until her eyes landed on Ophelia and Tyler, who were already leaning leisurely against a tree, resting on the sidelines.
She wondered why she had to be in such a miserable state while a little bitch like Ophelia had someone to protect her.
Biting her lip, a malicious idea formed in her mind. She abruptly changed direction and bolted straight toward Ophelia.
Naturally, the wild bull altered its course to follow her.
By now, the wild bull was completely berserk, its speed increasing by the second. Blind with rage, it crashed right through bushes and small trees instead of dodging them, lowering its sharp horns to ram directly into Miche.
In a split second, Miche's frail body erupted with astonishing speed. Just a mere second before the horns could gore her, she dodged behind Ophelia.
"Ophelia, save me!"
"Princess, watch out!"
With the razor-sharp horns right before her eyes, Ophelia tried to dodge. However, Miche had firmly locked her arms around her waist from behind, pinning her in place and turning her into a living human shield.
With her life hanging by a thread, a pair of scorching-hot, large hands tightly clamped around her slender waist.
Ophelia suddenly felt weightless. She was spun through the air in a swift circle, narrowly dodging the incoming horns.
Miche, who was still clinging to her back, was dragged through the air along with her and safely pulled out of harm's way.
"Princess, stay hidden. I'll take care of that wild bull." After bringing her to a safe zone, Tyler charged toward the rampaging wild bull with a cold, fierce expression.
"Tyler..."
"Ophelia, are you alright?" Loki rushed over with Amy in tow, nervously looking the young female up and down.
Amy, whose heart was pounding like a drum, called out timidly, "Mother..."
Ophelia was in no mood to play out a touching mother-daughter reunion. Her beautiful eyes were entirely focused on the male fighting the wild bull, terrified that he might accidentally get hurt.
Seeing her mother ignore her, Amy felt a bitter sting in her heart. Biting her lower lip, she stubbornly turned her head away. "Aunt Miche, I'm so glad you're okay. I was scared to death! If you had gotten hurt, my heart would have broken."
As she spoke, she used her peripheral vision to peek at the solemn-faced Ophelia.
In the past, whenever she showed even a sliver of concern for Aunt Miche, her mother's eyes would turn red with jealousy. Yet now, the woman didn't even shift her head in the slightest.
"I'm fine," Miche gasped, clutching her chest. Her cheeks were flushed red from the intense sprinting.
"As long as you're okay. I'm going to help Tyler." Loki stood up to leave, only to be held back by a pair of delicate, pale hands.
"No, don't go! My legs are weak. I'm scared, don't leave me! Tyler is a Dragon Beast; a mere wild bull can't hurt him."
Amy also gazed at him fearfully with teary eyes. "Father."
Loki's heart wavered. He pursed his lips and glanced at the solemn young female not far away before saying in a deep voice, "I'll help you over there and keep an eye on her at the same time. After all, she is the Princess of the Golden Dragon Clan. I haven't been elected Clan Leader yet, so nothing can happen to her."
A vicious glint flashed across Miche's eyes. She wished nothing more than for that bitch to have her guts gored out by the wild bull.
But right now, she could only force a magnanimous facade. "Okay."
Ophelia, whose nerves were highly strung, noticed their arrival but had zero interest in paying them any attention.
Seeing her gaze still fixed entirely on Tyler, Loki grew displeased. "Amy was just terrified. As her mother, Ophelia, you aren't coming over to comfort her. What kind of mother just stares at a male?"
Ophelia glanced back, her gaze utterly indifferent. "She has you, her father, and her dear aunt to take care of her. Why would she possibly need me?"
"If you have the free time to pick fights with me, you might as well go help Tyler."
Loki hesitated, his resolve wavering.
"Ophelia, if you as a mother don't care about Amy, Loki has to. She's the Clan Leader's first grandchild. If your heart doesn't ache for her, mine certainly does," Miche retorted.
"Besides, Tyler is so strong, he doesn't need any help at all. I suggest you focus your attention back on Loki and Amy. After all, you don't have a chance to become mates with him anyway, right?" Miche's words were laced with deliberate provocation.
Sure enough, Loki's face darkened like ink. Any desire to step forward and help was thoroughly extinguished.
After a grueling battle of endurance that lasted a full hour, the wild bull finally succumbed to Tyler and collapsed in defeat.
The bull's massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"You're hurt."
There was a deep gash on Tyler's muscular arm, which made Ophelia's heart ache with distress.
Seeing the constant oozing of fresh blood from the wound, she hurriedly tore off a corner of her animal-skin dress to bandage it for him.
Tyler gently grabbed her hand, softly reassuring her. "It's just a small scratch. It'll heal by tomorrow. Don't worry, Princess."
As Ophelia bandaged his wound, she complained with dissatisfaction, "If you couldn't beat it, we could have just run. Was there really a need to risk your life?"
Seeing her cheeks puffed up in anger, Tyler's fingertips twitched with the urge to poke them, but upon noticing the blood on his hands, he silently withdrew them.
Seeing that the wild bull was completely dead, Miche finally gathered the courage to step forward. She reached out and touched the carcass, which still retained some body heat. "The rainy season is coming soon. Using this cowhide to make clothes and shoes will be both waterproof and warm."
Watching Ophelia and Tyler act so intimately as if there was no one else around, Loki felt a slight suffocating tightness in his chest.
Hearing Miche's words, he immediately raised his voice, "Since you like it, I'll have this cowhide sent over to you once we get back."
Miche was overjoyed but also feigned a look of worry. "Would Ophelia agree to that? Please don't argue with her over me again. It wouldn't be good to cause her to misunderstand once more."
"It's fine. It's just a single pelt. She won't mind."
"You two sure are quick to give away someone else's property with just a flap of your lips. Loki, where do you get the nerve to be so shameless?"