From ancient times, there have always been individuals who stand apart, those who do not conform to societal norms and perceive the world differently. These unconventional thinkers are essential for the evolution and growth of society, often emerging at critical moments to guide their people in new directions.

  But what happens when such a person, destined to bring about great change, becomes blinded by love and, instead of leading their kind toward progress, steers them into catastrophe?

  Bai Lei in the novel could be described as one of these individuals. Gifted with the potential to lead his people toward greatness, he stood apart from the rest—an unconventional thinker with a strong will and the courage to break norms.

  However, it was for this very reason that he ultimately led him to disaster.

  The female lead of the novel was an orphan. Her mother died during childbirth, and her father succumbed to cancer when she was only fifteen years old. Unwilling to take her in, her retives sent her to an orphanage.

  Growing up without her parents, she longed for a family of her own. Yet, her world colpsed when she discovered the only two people she cherished—her best friend and her boyfriend—were intimate with each other in her house, on her bed.

  Overcome with despair, she attempted to end her life by jumping off a cliff. However, fate had different pns for her. When she awoke, she found herself in a different world.

  She was rescued by Bai Lei, who had never seen such a female with an "abnormal" body—her chest was unusually rge, and she was missing her genitals, unlike any female he had ever seen. She stayed with the owl elder, Qing Meng, for a few days and accidentally revealed that she experienced her estrus cycle every month, unlike the females of this world who only went through it twice a year.

  Elder Qing Meng was ecstatic upon hearing this, realizing she possessed a strong ability to propagate. He insisted that she become mates with their leader, a Level 4 Beast Warrior, and the most valiant beastman among them. Together, they could breed the strongest offspring.

  Initially, Bai Lei had already chosen his mate, and all that remained was the ceremony. However, for the future of his people, breeding the strongest offspring was a priority. Reluctantly, he abandoned his original choice and chose the female lead as his mate. The female lead, on the other hand, had no option but to accept; for the sake of her survival, she could only go along with their demands.

  Their retionship was neither rooted in resentment nor love, at least not in the beginning.

  Although Bai Lei treated her well, it was his unwavering loyalty and progressive thinking, so different from the others in this world, along with his respect for her and steadfast support, that gradually caused her to fall in love with him.

  For the same reasons, Bai Lei found himself falling in love with her as well. She was rare—no, perhaps the only female in this world who desired a sole male as her partner in a society that revered polyandry. Her steadfast commitment to him, despite the norms and expectations of their world, set her apart. Her loyalty resonated deeply with Bai Lei, whose advanced thinking and longing for a unique connection aligned perfectly with her unconventional ideals.

  But despite her decrations of wanting only one male as her partner, she continued to involve herself with other males, calling them her "friends". What seemed like normal skinship and casual closeness between friends to her was perceived differently by others. To Bai Lei, who had grown up in a culture where such behavior was not common among females, these actions were like tiny needles pricking at his pride and trust. Each touch, each ugh shared with another male, chipped away at his resolve, sowing seeds of doubt and jealousy. It felt like a betrayal of the bond he thought they shared, a contradiction to the ideals she cimed to hold dear.

  Despite this, Bai Lei wanted to trust her. He didn't want to dictate her actions or come across as controlling, so he chose to remain silent, keeping his concerns to himself.

  Meanwhile, the female lead, armed with her knowledge of the future, began to make her mark within the beastman. She introduced new ideas, tools, and strategies that revolutionized their way of life, earning her the respect and admiration of those around her.

  Bai Lei, though proud of her accomplishments, couldn't help but feel the growing distance between them. The very qualities that had made him fall in love with her—her strength, intelligence, and independence—now seemed to create a chasm he couldn't cross.

  Eventually, his personality twisted.

  There is a fine line between good and evil, and Bai Lei teetered dangerously close to crossing it.

  He, who was once envisioned as a guiding light for his people, began to unravel. The very traits that had initially set him apart—his brilliance and unconventional thinking—gradually morphed into a form of obsession and delusion. His leadership, once marked by crity and vision, became clouded by paranoia and erratic decisions.

  Bai Lei, who was meant to lead his people towards greatness, found himself becoming a cautionary tale. His initial intentions, noble and forward-thinking, devolved into a reckless pursuit of power and control. His people, once inspired by his innovation, now faced turmoil and division. What was intended to be a beacon of progress became a symbol of the dangers that arise when good loses its way and veers into the realm of the absurd.

  But Noah had no idea that he was actually the original mate Bai Lei had chosen?!

  If he’d known this vital piece of information, he would have likely lost it on the spot—maybe choked on his own disbelief or exploded into a rant about how messed up this whole situation was.

  In the span of just 30 seconds, hundreds of thoughts raced through Noah's mind.

  His head spun with a whirlwind of emotions —overwhelmed over this fucked up situation Bai Lei thrust upon him.

  If he could, he really wanted to strangle the living daylights out of him, but right now he had too much on his pte.

  Noah tightened his arms around the pgue doctor plushie, squeezing it like a lifeline. The plushie, in turn, seemed to protest with all its might. 001 wriggled and squirmed in Noah's embrace, its small limbs filing like a trapped octopus. The plushie’s oversized, gssy eyes bulged with a mix of indignation and surprise, and its tiny beak fpped futilely.

  But before Noah could reply, he felt an arm drape over his shoulder. Grace, exuding his signature unwavering confidence, flipped his hair back with a dramatic flourish that seemed entirely out of pce in the current chaotic atmosphere.

  “We refuse,” He decred with an air of nonchance, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

  His stance, so calm and assured, seemed to defy the chaos around them. Noah gnced at Grace, struggling to reconcile his serene composure with the storm raging in his mind. He wanted to roll his eyes, but instead, he found himself stifling a ugh. The absurdity of it all made him want to chuckle, especially seeing Grace, with his air of grandeur, so casually dismissing a life-altering decision.

  001, still wriggling in Noah's embrace, finally managed to pop its head out and look around with wide, gssy eyes. It was as if the plushie was trying to gauge the situation with an expression that screamed, 'I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m here for the drama!'.

  Grace, sensing Noah’s slight amusement, misinterpreted it as agreement. He puffed out his chest and decred with conviction, "How could I let such a rude male, who clearly doesn’t understand the art of courtship, become the mate of beautiful females like us, hmph! Clearly, he’s got water sloshing around in that thick head of his!"

  Grace’s dramatic procmation raised several eyebrows, but Grace seemed unfazed by their reactions. With an air of grandiosity, he continued, "We deserve a male who recognizes our worth and treats us with the respect we deserve, not someone who fails to grasp the nuances of proper courtship!"

  While he watched Grace go off on his grand spiel about "beautiful females," Noah couldn't help but think Grace was just stirring up trouble for the fun of it. The irony of it all was almost too much to bear.

  Noah’s chuckles were now hard to contain. The sight of Grace, with his exaggerated gestures and mispced seriousness, now this was something.

  But as Noah observed Grace, a thought nagged at him. Despite being extremely, overwhelmingly, super-duper grateful for Grace's intervention, who diverted this cannonball's trajectory from him, Noah couldn’t shake off the oddity of the situation. For the past 18 years, he had barely exchanged more than a few words with Grace. Their only meaningful conversation had been the day before. So why was Grace suddenly stepping in to help him?

  'Oh well! No use wondering about him. I'll just ask him ter!'

  With that thought, Noah decided to set aside his curiosity about Grace for now and refocus on the current situation. But before he could fully gather his thoughts, someone suddenly leaped in front of him, blocking his view of Bai Lei.

  "Bai lei, I challenge you for the right to become Noah's first male!"

  Noah blinked in surprise, his grip tightening around 001, whose head popped up with a startled expression that almost seemed to mirror his own.

  The sudden challenge hung in the air like a bolt of lightning, drawing gasps and whispers from the crowd. The beastmen around them quickly grew animated, their faces lighting up with excitement. The males, especially, began to stir, voices rising into a raucous chorus. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" they chanted, their anticipation palpable as they cmored for action.

  Noah stared at Kieren, his mouth slightly agape. The normally straightforward Kieren demeanor seemed to have morphed into that of a protective, territorial bear. with his posture wide and protective, his gaze unyielding— something that Noah hadn't seen in him before.

  Unable to help himself, Noah's lips curled into a small smirk before he caught himself. "What took you so long?" he muttered under his breath, a slight pout pying on his lips, just loud enough for Kieren to hear. The words were filled with arrogance, but if someone who had been with Noah long enough heard it, they could still detect the tiny sliver of relief hiding beneath the thousands of yers of other emotions.

  Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—Kieren had only been with him for a day and hadn’t quite learned to read Noah’s emotions yet. To Kieren, the arrogance in Noah's tone was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, for females who had been spoiled since birth, this kind of arrogant attitude was quite normal. He'd seen it before in his mother's tribe—the way the more cherished females would py up their superiority, expecting others to fall in line.

  But even so, Kieren didn’t care much for Noah’s attitude. Plus, thinking about it, he realized now that he was the one who had been in the wrong.

  He had hesitated and deyed, waiting for the perfect moment that never came. In doing so, he had allowed Bai Lei to make the first move, leaving Noah to deal with the fallout. Kieren should have acted sooner, staking his cim clearly and letting everyone know his intentions. He should have spared Noah from this unnecessary mess.

  Because Noah didn’t deserve to wait, Noah deserved the best—someone decisive and unwavering, someone who wouldn't falter when it mattered the most.

  “Forget it.”

  The white tiger male's voice was cold and indifferent as he turned around, his face expressionless, seemingly unbothered by the outcome. Without another word, his form began to shift, muscles rippling and bones contorting until he transformed into his majestic white tiger form.

  With a powerful leap, he jumped down from the stone ptform. The crowd instinctively parted to create a path, watching in stunned silence as he sprinted off into the distance.

  His exit was as swift and decisive as his earlier challenge, leaving an unmistakable tension hanging in the air.

  "Ahem." The stag elder cleared his throat. His sharp eyes scanned the crowd, silencing the restless beastmen who had been buzzing with excitement and confusion just moments before. "Then we shall begin."

  The rge, dimly illuminated cave's walls reverberated with the excited roars of the throng. The sound bounced back and forth, creating an overwhelming cacophony that filled the enclosed space. The air was damp and heavy, and the ground underfoot was a mixture of uneven stone and patches of dirt, slickened by the humidity.

  The males shouted with gusto, their bloodlust and anticipation palpable in the air. Some stomped their feet, while others let out primal growls, their eyes fixed on the stage where the chaos was about to unfold.

  What followed over the next couple of hours could only be described as a bloodbath. The duels on the stage grew more brutal with each passing minute.

  The makeshift stone ptform, surrounded by flickering torchlight, became a stage of raw, unrestrained violence. Beastmen, driven by primal instincts and the desire to prove their worth, threw themselves into fights with reckless abandon.

  Flesh met cws, and bone met stone; growls and roars of anger and pain echoed against the cave walls, mixing with the nauseating sounds of punches nding and bones snapping. The scent of iron from fresh blood filled the air as it spttered everywhere, painting the stage a gruesome red.

  Every few minutes, one challenger would leap onto the ptform, while another was flung off it. The ground beneath their feet grew slippery with blood, turning the once-solid stone into a treacherous battlefield. Some fell quickly; others fought with everything they had, their bodies battered and torn but refusing to yield. The roaring of the crowd only fueled the frenzy, egging the fighters on to push beyond their limits, to spill more blood, and to show their strength.

  The five females, who had been at the center of this storm, were led down from the stage to join the other females. As they descended, Noah's eyes drifted toward them, catching glimpses of their expressions—eyes wide with anticipation, lips slightly parted as they watched the spectacle unfold. There was an eerie fascination in their gaze, a primal enjoyment of the bloodshed. This was not the reaction of a human crowd; this was something far more feral, far more visceral.

  This was yet another stark reminder for Noah that he was no longer in the world he once knew. He was in another world, in another time, surrounded by beings who were not human. They looked human enough, but moments like these drove home the truth that they were, in fact, another species altogether.

  If there were anyone other than Noah standing here—someone sane, someone with reason and the same sensibilities as back on Blue Star—they would likely have had a nervous breakdown by now. The sheer terror of the scene would have reduced them to a quivering mess, vomiting their guts out in horror at the sight of flesh-tearing, blood spttering, and lives being gambled on the edge of a stone ptform. Just like the cowardly little 001, who was shrinking deep into his satchel, trying desperately to avoid seeing the violence unfolding around them.

  The way the crowd reveled in it, the gleeful eyes of the females with their delicate appearances watching the carnage as if it were the most thrilling py—it was chilling.

  It was a different world, a different reality.

  Here, reason and sanity were just as slippery as the blood-soaked ground underfoot.

  So, maybe it was fortunate that it wasn’t someone else who transmigrated here. Maybe it was a twisted kind of fate that it was Noah—a man who had already danced with madness through the apocalypse, who had long shed the fragile shell of rationality and embraced a different kind of sanity altogether. Because, unlike any other 'sane' person, he didn't find this world as terrifying as he should have.

  With a sigh, Noah took a step back, just far enough to avoid getting spttered by the next burst of blood, and sat on a tree stump reserved for the females. He watched the duels with a sort of detached curiosity as if enjoying a theatrical performance, while the roaring crowd around him cheered on each new csh of beasts. For Noah, this was just another show in a world where the script had long since gone off the rails.

  Upon the stone ptform, Kieren stood tall amidst the blood and sweat, by far the least injured of the beastmen who had fought so far. His body bore only minor scratches and bruises, but he was clearly holding his own. The fierce determination in his eyes had not dulled; it only seemed to burn brighter with each challenge.

  Kieren was up there, fighting for the right to become Noah's mate, and Noah respected that. He had no intention of stopping him. It wasn’t just about the right to cim; it was about proving something to himself, to the pack, and perhaps even to Noah.

  Noah crossed his arms and legs, his back straight, and his eyes sharp. He understood the weight of what was happening. This was a primitive world where strength meant survival, where power meant protection, and where love—or whatever passed for it here—had to be fought for. And Kieren, in his straightforward, earnest way, was doing exactly that.

  "Good luck, big guy," Noah murmured under his breath, a hint of a smirk pying on his lips. "Don’t disappoint me now."

  He could feel the tension in the air, thick enough to cut through. Each csh on the ptform sent ripples of anticipation through the crowd, and each victory or defeat was met with roars of approval or grumbles of discontent. But Noah’s focus was on Kieren.

  Noah had seen plenty of fighters in his time. He knew the difference between those who fought out of obligation and those who fought with conviction. Kieren was the tter, and it showed in every step he took, every swing he made, and every roar he gave.

  It was oddly comforting, Noah realized. For once, he wasn’t the one doing the fighting, wasn’t the one struggling to survive. He could just sit back and watch someone else take the reins, someone who was willing to fight for him. There was a strange satisfaction in that, a sense of being... cared for, in a way he hadn’t expected.

  "Just keep standing," Noah whispered, almost like a prayer to himself. "And let’s see how far you can go."

  There was something self-deprecating in Noah's tone, a quiet undercurrent that betrayed a lifetime of cynicism. It was as if he didn't truly believe anyone would stand by him—not for long, at least. His smirk faltered slightly, and his gaze softened for just a moment before he shook his head and refocused on the spectacle before him.

  He wasn’t used to it—the idea of someone fighting for him. The apocalypse had taught him that trusting someone to have your back was a fool's errand. People didn’t stick around; they were here one moment and gone the next, either by choice or by the cruel hand of fate. And yet, here was Kieren, a primitive man with no knowledge of Noah's past or his scars, throwing himself into the fray like it was the most natural thing in the world.

  Noah scoffed lightly, almost as if mocking himself for the tiny sliver of hope blooming in his chest. "Fuck, this shit is getting me senti..."

  "...Ah man, I'm flutterin' "

  "Eh?" The unexpected sentence spoken by someone beside him caught Noah’s attention, and he let out a questioning sound.

  It was a cub, no more than seven years old, with short bck hair and striking cobalt blue eyes. Seemingly embarrassed by being suddenly asked about his silly statement, a light blush spread across his cheeks. He fidgeted, and a hand crept up to scratch at his disheveled hair, which looked as if it had been cwed at by a particurly feisty chicken.

  Amused by the cub's reaction, Noah leaned in slightly and asked, "You're fluttering?" His tone was light, and a hint of a smile tugged at his lips as he watched the cub squirm in embarrassment.

  "Aw shucks! That’s just how I get when I’m all fired up!!" the cub said sheepishly, his blush deepening. "I sometimes spit out odd things like that. Pay it no mind!"

  "Is that so?" Noah replied, clearly entertained.

  The cub seemed to perk up at Noah's interest. "I'm Liam. I'm 5 years old," he introduced himself with a proud puff of his tiny chest, "and I'm a winged lion male!"

  Noah chuckled at the introduction, realizing the kid was younger than he initially thought. "Oh well! Hi there, Liam. I'm Noah, and I'm 18 years old. And I'm a Goat female."

  Liam’s eyes went wide, his mouth forming a small 'o' of amazement. "A Goat female?! That's mighty cool!" he excimed, as if being a goat was the most fascinating thing in the world. "I ain't never met a Goat female before! Can I call ya, Brother Noah?"

  Noah blinked, slightly taken aback by the cub's innocent enthusiasm. "Brother Noah?" he echoed, trying to suppress a grin. "Well, aren’t you a bold little guy? I guess I don’t see why not."

  Liam's face lit up like a sunbeam, his cobalt blue eyes shining with delight. "Yay! Brother Noah it is, then!" he chirped, bouncing on his toes.

  Noah chuckled, amused by the boy's pure excitement. "Well, now Liam," he said with a pyful smirk. "So, tell me, what’s a winged lion male like you doing, fluttering around here?"

  Liam puffed up his tiny chest like a proud rooster, clearly pleased to be asked. "I'm watchin’ the duels, of course!" he announced with all the seriousness of a seasoned warrior.

  "I wanna be like the big males!" he decred, "I wanna fight and win and protect Ezra and—and be big! and strong! just like Chief Warrior on the stage!" He pointed a chubby finger towards Kieren, who was still fighting like a beast possessed.

  “Ambitious, aren’t we?” Noah remarked with a smirk. The kid's earnestness was kind of endearing, even if it did come with a dose of na?ve bravado.

  "Well, you’re certainly on the right track, watching all this," Noah added, nodding toward the blood-soaked ptform where the duels continued with brutal intensity. "But maybe take notes on what not to do as well. Not every move up there is something to copy."

  Liam tilted his head, confusion clouding his cobalt-blue eyes. "What do ya mean, Brother Noah?" he asked, clearly puzzled. "Ain't they all fightin' to win?"

  Before Noah could answer, a voice chimed in from behind Liam, cutting through the noise. "He means to not rush in without thinkin', silly~" The tone was pyful and teasing, carrying a light-hearted lilt.

  Noah gnced over Liam's shoulder and saw a boy around the same age. He had choppy, medium-length light blue hair that fell down his face, neatly arranged to the sides with one longer strand of hair sweeping to one side. His soft, feminine facial features contrasted with the sharpness of his appearance.

  This boy had talons instead of feet and blue feathered wings instead of arms. The wings were striking, with exposed thumbs like a bat’s, each ending in a sharp bck cw that glinted ominously.

  He wore a mini animal skin skirt that barely reached mid-thigh and an unevenly cut strip of animal skin draped precariously over his private areas.

  The boy blushed, his rge cyan eyes shyly meeting Noah’s gaze. "Hi, I'm Ezra. I'm 8 years old," he muttered softly, but despite his bashfulness, he maintained eye contact. His blue-feathered wings fluttered ever so slightly behind him."I'm a canary."

  "Ezra!" Liam excimed, spinning around to face him with a mix of surprise and embarrassment. His cobalt-blue eyes went wide, and his cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "I knew that!" His face scrunched up defensively as if he’d been caught missing something obvious. "I was just... ya know, gettin’ to that part!"

  Ezra’s blush deepened, but a soft smile tugged at his lips. "Sure thing. You’re always 'gettin’ to that part,’ Liam."

  Liam's reaction was immediate; he looked away, cheeks puffing up like a flustered chipmunk. His feelings were written all over his face, especially for someone like Noah, who had a knack for picking up on such things. It was clear that the little winged lion had a huge crush on the canary boy, and he wasn’t doing a great job of hiding it.

  He tried to recover, puffing out his chest as he turned back to Ezra. "Well, I’m still gonna be the best warrior out of everyone here! Just you wait and see, Ezra!"

  Ezra chuckled softly, his wings fluttering with amusement. "I’m sure you will, Liam," he said kindly, though there was a slight undertone to his voice that made it clear he wasn't just being supportive. The warmth in his words was ced with a hint of teasing, and it made Liam's face burn even brighter.

  Noah, who was more perceptive than most, quickly picked up on the subtle shift in Ezra’s tone. There was something mildly mischievous about the way the little canary spoke—almost as if he enjoyed watching Liam squirm under his gentle taunts. A bit bck-bellied, Noah thought, with a dash of sadism hidden beneath that innocent exterior.

  Ezra’s eyes sparkled with an almost pyful glint as he added, “But don’t go rushin’ in like some of these males here. You wouldn’t wanna make a fool of yourself, would ya?” His voice was as sweet as honey, but there was a tiny sting hidden within like a bee waiting to strike.

  Liam, of course, didn’t seem to catch on to the subtle jab, his mind too caught up in his own embarrassment and the need to prove himself. "I won’t! I’ll be careful, Ezra," he decred earnestly, though his cheeks were still flushed.

  Ezra’s smile widened ever so slightly, his cyan eyes gleaming with amusement. "Good. I wouldn’t want ya gettin' hurt 'cause of me," he replied, though Noah could sense the underlying satisfaction in his words.

  Noah raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching with barely concealed amusement. "Well, Liam, looks like you've got yourself a tough Female to impress."

  Liam nodded furiously, his eyes locked on Ezra with a look of determination. "I'll show ya, Ezra. I'll be the best, and ya'll see!"

  Ezra's wings fluttered again, and he leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "Lookin' forward to it, Liam. But remember... I ain't gonna go easy on ya if ya screw up." There was a definite edge to his smile now, one that suggested he relished the idea of watching Liam struggle to earn his approval.

  Noah chuckled under his breath. The dynamics between these two were unexpectedly amusing. For all his innocent appearances, Ezra was clearly no pushover—and poor Liam, with his obvious crush, was going to have his hands full trying to live up to those hidden, sly expectations.

  Ezra’s wings fluttered slightly behind him as he leaned in closer to Liam, his voice soft yet carrying a teasing lilt. "So, Liam, how long ya reckon 'til you’ll be as big as Kieren?" He pointed a cw toward the stage, where Kieren was still engaged in another brutal duel, his body glistening with sweat and smeared with blood.

  Liam swallowed hard, his young face set with determination. "Not long, ya'll see! I’ll be big and strong mighty soon, and then... I’ll protect you, Ezra. Just like Chief Warrior Kieren!" He gnced nervously at Noah, who was watching with a half-amused, half-curious expression, before quickly returning his gaze to Ezra. "And... and Brother Noah too, for sure."

  Ezra’s smile widened, but his cyan eyes, like the deep waters of a hidden goon, held an inscrutable depth that belied his tender age. "Oh, really?I’m looking forward to that, Liam. But you better not go makin' any foolish blunders. You know how much I loathe when things don’t go as pnned." The way he spoke made it sound almost like a challenge—a dare that Liam was too eager to accept.

  Liam nodded furiously, his eyes practically sparkling. "I won't! I'll be careful and smart, and I’ll make ya proud, Ezra!" His voice was filled with such unwavering conviction that Noah almost pitied him. It was clear that Liam, for all his enthusiasm, was just a poor rabbit in Ezra’s hands—a rabbit who didn’t quite realize he was pying a game designed by a fox.

  Noah leaned back slightly, his arms crossed as he observed the two with mild amusement. He could see it pinly: Liam was an innocent little thing, overflowing with sincerity and dreams, while Ezra, with his bck-bellied tendencies, seemed to enjoy leading him on a merry little dance.

  "Ezra, you’re not pnning to make Liam jump through too many hoops, are you?" Noah asked his tone light but edged with curiosity. He wondered how far the young canary was willing to go with his little game.

  Ezra tilted his head, his smile soft, but his eyes sharp. "Oh, Brother Noah, I ain't one to be too mean," he replied, his wings fluttering slightly behind him. "But a lil' challenge ain't hurt nobody, right? How else will Liam learn?"

  Liam nodded eagerly beside him, seemingly missing the darker undertones. "Yeah! Challenges make ya tougher! Just like Kieren is gettin' stronger up there!"

  'And they also make your life tougher.' Noah chuckled, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked between the two young beastmen. "Well, just make sure you two don’t end up in the ring yourselves. I’d hate to see such an 'innocent little thing' and a 'bck-bellied maiden' get caught in all this bloodshed," he teased.

  Ezra’s eyes glinted, and his smile didn’t waver. " No need to fret, Brother Noah. I know how to choose my fights." With that, he turned his attention back to the stage, watching the duels with an expression that was equal parts curiosity and hidden amusement.

  Liam, on the other hand, continued to beam up at Ezra, clearly enraptured. "And I'll be fightin' 'em all for ya, Ezra!" he decred.

  As the duels continued to rage on the ptform, Noah leaned back. This world had many more stories to tell—many more than just those written in blood or the stinking shit the author of ?Guide to Pampering a Wife from Another World? had written.

  They weren't just confined to the garbage plotlines the author had scribbled down, filled with absurd romance and contrived scenarios where some overpowered protagonist babied their way through another dimension.

  No, here in this raw and untamed world, there were real stories—ones not driven by some arbitrary sense of destiny or the need to pamper some otherworldly damsel. There were stories of survival, ambition, cruelty, and unexpected kindness. Stories like Liam’s, full of earnest courage and naive love, and Ezra’s, with his sharp wit hidden under a soft, almost innocent fa?ade. Even here, where death and blood were the norm, Noah could see small dramas and unspoken bonds that gave life a different kind of meaning.

  Noah snorted to himself, shaking his head slightly. ?Guide to Pampering a Wife from Another World? huh? What a ridiculous title. He couldn't help but recall the absurdity of those sorts of stories where some lucky schmuck transmigrates to a magical world and gets everything handed to them on a silver ptter. He wondered how long someone like that would st here—probably not even a day without soiling themselves from sheer fear.

  He wondered why the author hadn’t written about kids like Liam or Ezra instead. They were the ones with the potential to make the story shine, to breathe life into it. Maybe the book would have gotten much better reviews that way—at least better than the garbage it is now.

  "Well, at least I'm not bored," Noah muttered under his breath, a sardonic smile tugging at his lips. His eyes were fixed on the ptform just as another beastman went flying off it with a blood-curdling scream, hitting the ground with a wet thud that sent a shiver of excitement through the crowd.

  Sun_Mo