“You fat hag, I won’t let you take the prey!”

Long Zhong and Long Ling’er each grabbed onto one of Xiong Zhuang’s legs, fighting back with all their strength.

“What are you just standing there for? Can’t you handle a few little brats?” Xiong Hua’s face twisted in anger after being called a fat hag.

Xiong Zhuang, clearly provoked and humiliated, flexed his muscles. He lifted Long Yu off the ground, with Long Ling’er and Long Zhong being dragged along the ground by his legs.

Yet, none of the cubs let go.

Monkey Xiao Tiao stole the prey, and the cruel female got so angry. If they lost the prey, she would definitely beat them to death.

“Useless, let me do it.” Seeing Xiong Zhuang still entangled by the cubs, Xiong Hua cursed and stepped forward. She grabbed the hair of Long Ling’er and Long Zhong, trying to yank them away from Bear Zhuang’s legs.

“Ouch…”

The two cubs winced in pain, their bodies trembling.

But they refused to let go.

Xiong Hua, enraged, dropped their hair and picked up a large rock from the ground, hurling it at the small wooden house.

“You little brats won’t let go, huh? Fine, I’ll just smash this house! Let’s see what you do then!”

The wooden house, already unstable, soon had more holes after being hit by the rock.

“Stop it, you fat hag! Don’t smash our house! Stop!” Long Ling’er’s eyes widened as she scrambled to her feet to stop the stone.

Luckily, Long Zhong was quick to pull her down. The heavy stone flew over her head—just a few seconds later, and it would have crushed her skull.

“Ling’er, are you crazy?!” Long Zhong scolded furiously.

“But our house! We’ll have nowhere to live… waaaah…” Long Ling’er began to cry, her tears flowing uncontrollably like a string of broken pearls.

“Stop crying! It’s not like the Vicious female ever let us sleep inside anyway. If the house is gone, so be it,” Long Zhong said through clenched teeth, a look of disdain on his face. Still, with one hand, he clumsily wiped away her tears.

Despite his words, his other hand clenched into a tight fist, nails digging into his palm.

They were already cubs without a home. Now, even the house was gone. Where would they go now?

Long Yu was thrown to the ground by Xiong Zhuang.

“Big brother…” Long Xiu, following the sounds, stumbled over to help him up.

The cubs, though unwilling, could only watch as the two towering beastmen tore down their house and stole their prey. They were powerless to stop it.

Hu Jiaojiao was on her way back when she heard Xiong Hua’s shouting and the cubs’ cries from the direction of the small wooden house. Alarmed, she raced back.

When she arrived, she saw Xiong Hua and an unfamiliar male carrying the prey and smashing the fragile house with stones. Half of the house had already collapsed, and the other half was barely standing. The cubs were covered in dust, having been pushed to the ground. Long Ling’er’s eyes were swollen from crying, clinging tightly to Long Zhong’s hand, filled with hatred.

The other cubs weren’t faring much better, huddled in a corner like bullied wolf cubs, their eyes brimming with unshed tears as they tried to hold them back.

Seeing this scene, Hu Jiaojiao was livid. She felt as if steam was about to burst from her head.

“Stop!”

She immediately rushed to the cubs’ side. “Are any of you hurt?”

The house was half-collapsed, and she was terrified the cubs might have been injured or hit by the falling debris.

At her words, the cubs remained silent. Only Long Ling’er, with her red eyes, choked through her sobs, “Mom, we’re okay, but they… they’re stealing dad’s prey and they smashed our house…”

The cubs had never experienced the warmth of a home. That small, broken-down house was all they had to dream of a real home. Now, with the house destroyed, it was like their hearts had been shattered along with it.

“Don’t worry, with Mom here, Ling’er doesn’t need to be afraid. If the house is gone, Mom can build another one…”

Hu Jiaojiao was furious, but she gently comforted Long Ling’er with a soft voice.

“Mom won’t let them steal the prey. I’ll protect you all, and from now on, no one will be able to bully us!”

Hearing Hu Jiaojiao’s words, Long Ling’er’s sobs gradually quieted. She lifted her gaze cautiously to look at Hu Jiaojiao.

Could she really… protect them?

No one had ever said such things to them before…

Even their father always told them they had to become strong themselves if they wanted to be safe—otherwise, they would always be bullied.

For some reason, as Long Ling’er looked into Hu Jiaojiao’s determined eyes, for the first time, she didn’t doubt those words.

Xiong Hua turned her head upon hearing Hu Jiaojiao’s voice. She grinned smugly.

“Hu Jiaojiao, I thought you were a coward hiding away. So, you dare show your face now? Are you ready to bow down and admit you were wrong?”

“Even if you beg, it’s too late now. These prey belong to me. You tore a chunk of my scalp off, so consider these prey your compensation.”

Xiong Hua dusted off her hands and grabbed a leg of the white fox, glaring provocatively at Hu Jiaojiao.

“Xiong Zhuang, let’s go.”

Xiong Zhuang hoisted the cattle on his back, dragging the rest of the prey as they headed toward the yard gate.

“Stop! You think you can just destroy my house and walk away?”

Hu Jiaojiao stood up furiously, her captivating eyes now blazing with anger.

“Mom…” Long Ling’er tugged at Hu Jiaojiao’s sleeve, her voice filled with worry. Could the Vicious female really take on two beastmen?

“Don’t worry, let Mom handle them.” Hu Jiaojiao bent down and smiled gently at Long Ling’er.

Xiong Hua clearly didn’t expect Hu Jiaojiao to stand up to her.

Every other time she brought her mate over, Hu Jiaojiao would always hide, never daring to make a sound.

“So what if I destroyed your house? I’ll smash it whenever I want. What can you do about it? If you’re so tough, come and destroy my house!”

Xiong Hua smirked, completely dismissing Hu Jiaojiao’s words.

A dark glint flashed in Hu Jiaojiao’s eyes.

That’s not a bad idea. But first, there were more important matters.

“Leave the prey behind,” Hu Jiaojiao said coldly, her gaze fixed on the cattle slung over Xiong Zhuang’s back.

Though her space was stocked with food, she wasn’t about to let Xiong Hua walk away with a smug grin. She’d rather let the prey rot than let that woman have it.

Xiong Hua burst into laughter. “Who do you think you are? You think you can order me around? If you’ve got the guts, come and take it yourself, coward.”

She laughed heartily, her face full of contempt.

“If you want to take the prey, you can…” Hu Jiaojiao’s eyes turned cold as she discreetly pulled a kitchen knife from her space behind her back.

“Come on, let’s go eat meat,” Bear Hua said, waving her hand dismissively at Hu Jiaojiao as she and Xiong Zhuang turned to leave.

The cubs, hearing Hu Jiaojiao’s soft, seemingly powerless voice, felt even more disgusted.

Sure enough, she was just as cowardly as ever—always weak when faced with others’ bullying.

Long Ling’er held her head in her hands. How could she have believed that the Vicious female had any chance of getting the prey back? She was only tough when it came to them and never stood up to anyone else.

Just as Xiong Hua and Xiong Zhuang turned their backs, Hu Jiaojiao suddenly rushed forward. With a kitchen knife in one hand and Xiong Hua’s hair in the other, she swiftly pressed the sharp blade against Xiong Hua’s neck.