Hearing the sound behind her, Hu Jiao Jiao turned around and saw Lu Mian’er lying on the ground, her face streaked with tears.

“Damn it!” Hu Jiao Jiao cursed under her breath.

Not now! Why do things always fall apart at critical moments? She wasn’t the protagonist—this sort of thing shouldn’t happen to her!

Thinking of the dream she had—the world collapsing, the cries of beasts meeting their doom—Hu Jiao Jiao gritted her teeth. She had no choice but to go for it.

Whether captured or running, either way, she was facing death.

“I’ll fight you all to the end!”

Hu Jiao Jiao pulled out a machete from her space and charged at them.

The one-eared tiger had already caught up to Lu Mian’er, its massive body about to crush her.

If the wandering beasts captured Mian’er, Jiaojiao knew she won’t be able to save her.

Clenching her teeth, Hu Jiao Jiao swung the machete at the one-eared tiger’s head.

“Hissss—” The black serpent hissed, “This little female has some guts, trying to sneak attack us.”

With a flick of its tail, the black serpent sent Hu Jiao Jiao flying, snatching the machete out of her hand, and examined it closely.

“What’s this? How strange.”

“Cough, cough…” Dazed from the fall, Hu Jiao Jiao struggled to get up. She saw the black serpent had taken her weapon, while the one-eared tiger had barely lost any fur. Her heart sank.

The strength difference between males and females really was enormous.

In her despair, she saw the one-eyed gray wolf leap toward her, its sinister eyes gleaming. Its mouth opened wide, ready to drag her away.

With the wolf’s head mere inches from her, Hu Jiao Jiao felt her breath stop.

In a moment of desperation, she instinctively reached into her space, pulling out an arrow and plunging it into the gray wolf’s remaining eye.

Puff

The sound of the arrow piercing the eye echoed, followed by the wolf’s agonizing howl.

“Awooo!”

The other two wandering beastmen rushed over to check on the gray wolf.

Not wasting any time, Hu Jiao Jiao scrambled to her feet, grabbing Lu Mian’er and dragging her along as they fled.

Despite her slender appearance, Lu Mian’er was surprisingly heavy. It made supporting her incredibly difficult.

Sweat poured from Hu Jiao Jiao’s forehead, but she pressed on.

“Hu Jiao Jiao, my foot… it hurts so much… I can’t keep going,” Mian’er whimpered, her voice trembling with tears, sounding pitifully fragile.

Under different circumstances, Hu Jiao Jiao would’ve appreciated the beauty in Mian’er’s delicate appearance.

But right now, nothing was more important than staying alive.

“If you don’t want to die, keep moving!” Hu Jiao Jiao snapped, gritting her teeth.

Tears filled Mian’er’s eyes. She looked up at Hu Jiao Jiao, feeling her heart soften. Had she misunderstood Hu Jiao Jiao all along? Hu Jiao Jiao was so kind, risking her life to save her…

If she survived this, she would surely repay Hu Jiao Jiao and never harbor any ill feelings toward her again.

Meanwhile, the two remaining wandering beastmen, seeing the arrow lodged in their comrade’s eye, grew even more enraged. They turned and began pursuing the two women.

To them, there was only lust and no loyalty.

As the wandering beastmen closed in, Mian’er suddenly steeled herself and pushed Hu Jiao Jiao away.

“Jiao Jiao, run! Don’t worry about me…”

She couldn’t bear to drag Hu Jiao Jiao down with her.

“…What?” Hu Jiao Jiao stumbled, bewildered. A thousand curse words ran through her mind. It’s not that I don’t want to run—it’s that if you die, I die too!

“Dammit!” she cursed, watching the gray wolf, wild with fury, charge toward them, its gaping jaws aiming for Mian’er’s throat. Normally composed, Hu Jiao Jiao couldn’t help but swear, rushing forward to shield Mian’er.

Frantically, Hu Jiao Jiao rummaged through her space for a weapon.

But in her panic, she couldn’t find anything useful.

Despair filled her elegant face.

She had hoped sticking close to Mian’er would give her a share of the protagonist’s luck. But she’d forgotten—Mian’er’s luck only benefited the male lead, Ying Yuan. As the heroine, Mian’er was destined to endure hardship.

What kind of twisted fate was this?

Just as Hu Jiao Jiao braced for death, a sudden “Boom!” echoed in front of her. Dust and debris filled the air, forcing her to cover her mouth and nose as she opened her eyes.

Hovering in the sky was a majestic black dragon, its massive claws gripping the gray wolf. With a mighty swoop, the dragon dove, slamming the wolf into the ground and creating a two-meter-deep crater.

The powerful dragon’s claws pinned the gray wolf’s head to the ground, and with a sickening crunch, the wolf’s skull shattered, leaving it lifeless.

Hu Jiao Jiao’s eyes widened in shock. Despite the bloodshed, her emotions shifted from fear to immense relief. Had the black dragon not intervened, she would be the one dead now.

But… why did this black dragon seem so familiar?

Wait!

Isn’t this the villain from my dream?

This brutal fighting style—definitely the work of the big villain.

The remaining two wandering beastmen, enraged at their comrade’s death, roared and lunged at the black dragon with fangs bared.

“Long Mo, behind you!” Hu Jiao Jiao shouted, her heart pounding in her chest.

Hearing her voice, the black dragon paused briefly, a flicker of surprise passing through its deep, golden eyes. But it quickly refocused on the battle.

The black serpent lunged first, attempting to constrict the dragon. But the dragon, the supreme ruler of all beasts, was far beyond a mere serpent’s power. Before the snake could even touch the dragon’s scales, the dragon had seized it by the neck.

The dragon’s strong body coiled around the snake, squeezing tighter in an attempt to crush it. Meanwhile, the one-eared tiger saw an opportunity and lashed out with its claws, striking the dragon.

Unable to dodge in time, the dragon took the full force of the blow.

“Long Mo…” Hu Jiao Jiao’s voice trembled with concern. Long Mo, before his complete descent into villainy, was still vulnerable. She prayed nothing serious had happened.

Though she feared him, he was still the father of her five cubs. If he got hurt, they would worry.

In the next instant, the black serpent, sensing defeat, fled along with the one-eared tiger, leaving the battlefield.

Relieved, Hu Jiao Jiao hurried to her feet and ran toward the black dragon.

“Long Mo, is that you?”

Stopping a few meters away, Hu Jiao Jiao hesitated, unsure.

Though the dragon resembled the one in her dream, she wasn’t entirely certain. After all, in her eyes, most beastmen looked alike in their animal forms.

The black dragon hovered in the air, its immense form towering over the small Hu Jiao Jiao, creating a striking contrast like a scene out of “Beauty and the Beast.”

Looking into the dragon’s massive golden eyes, larger than her own head, Jiaojiao nervously swallowed.

“Uh… thank you for saving us. You’re bleeding—why don’t you transform into your human form? I can help you treat your wounds…”

She gestured toward the exposed wound on the dragon’s chest, her face filled with cautious hope, her phoenix eyes brimming with concern.