Chapter 16: The Frenzy

The incident with the Jade Stone Tribe had somewhat solidified Bridget's reputation within his own tribe. Most of the tribe members were now willing to follow Bridget's lead.

Yet, they had now discovered someone reckless enough to defy Bridget's commands. Not only did they disobey, but they also dared to embezzle the tribe’s food reserves. Moreover, these two fools blatantly displayed their defiance, as if they feared that no one would notice their dirty ambitions.

Api, Bridget’s subordinate and the only one with red hair in the tribe, stood behind and to the left of Bridget. He glanced at these two fools who had always found ridiculous excuses to provoke his hunting team. Today, these arrogant men would pay a heavy price for their foolish actions.

Api remembered how these faces had once looked down on others with contempt, and now they were just as miserable and abject as they begged for forgiveness.

He suddenly recalled a saying, never place yourself too high, for if you lack the strength, you will fall disastrously.

Now, this was the most vivid example he had ever known.

Serves them right.

…

Bridget sat impassively in the central chair, his large hand slowly tapping the table in a steady rhythm, the thudding sound causing the two men kneeling for forgiveness to tremble. They seemed to sense a resonance between the tapping sounds and their fearful hearts.

It was an illusion that just by stopping the gentle tapping, the moment to pronounce their death sentence would come, accompanied by the sharp blade slicing through their necks.

Thinking this, the two betrayers glanced at each other and then trembled even more. One of them, with a scar near his eye—the one who had attacked Layla with a hammer—immediately betrayed his accomplice:

"Lord Chief! All of this was forced upon me by Heinz! I have always been a loyal servant to you!!! I never once thought of betraying you!!!”

The man next to him, betrayed by his own comrade, was both shocked and extremely angry. Originally, the two had collaborated in exploiting the weaker members of the tribe, swapping reserved food for personal gain, and harming those less powerful within the tribe. And now, the wretch who had once called him a brother was deliberately disassociating himself, forcing him to bear the blame alone.

You betrayed me first! Don’t blame me for being cruel!!!

The cold man glanced at his accomplice, then turned to Bridget, straightening his back, calmly confessing everything to the young chief, including who they followed orders from, who supported them, how they divided the loot from others, and even how they vented their frustration on Bridget's pet wolf when they couldn’t confront Bridget directly. He left out nothing.

Despite the hateful glares from his former comrade, he preferred to die at the hands of Bridget and the betrayer, at least if he was going to die for his misdeeds, it was better than dying alone in bitterness.

He was a proud wolf, if he lost the battle, he would rather die. He did not want to carry the bad reputation for others and not even leave a whole corpse.

Remembering the fearful, pleading eyes of his accomplice, Heinz, the falsely accused man contemptuously smiled.

…

Layla boredly watched the dog-eat-dog scene, or rather, wolf-eat-wolf in this case.

If she could speak, she might mock the two werewolves kneeling down there.

Why would she mock them?

Think about it, when those two collaborated on their evil deeds, did they ever consider the consequences? In an era where they could be killed at any time by monsters, by natural disasters… even by a force not of this planet, they chose to turn their claws against their own teammates, their own family. They used the resources that their tribe had gathered with sweat and tears, and then traded them away for their own personal gain.

Selfish.

Ungrateful to the place that had sheltered them. But now, look, they are blaming each other as if they are the victims of betrayal. If today’s events had not been uncovered, surely it wouldn’t be them crying here, but the people of this Northern Tribe who would face the consequences of this selfishness.

She did not criticize the one who had betrayed his comrade, nor did she praise the one who had been betrayed and thus confessed all his sins.

This was originally a sin.

And sin can only be atoned for with punishment for what they have done.

Layla’s blue eyes turned colder than ever, these two reminding her of those who had betrayed and ruined her so badly.

She knew, she needed to quickly recover and become stronger to return.

Time is a fearsome thing that can erode a person’s mind.

…

Bridget indifferently listened to the two fools kneeling, incessantly criticizing and justifying their brainless actions.

He said not a word, one hand propped his chin, and the other tapped gently on the table. Bridget appeared bored and lethargic. But if anyone paid attention, they would see, deep in his amber eyes, a sharp knife ready to cut through any obstacle. And, obviously, that was the fate of the two betrayers beyond any argument.

Bridget was someone who could forgive subordinates who played around to his liking, could overlook those brothers who occasionally disrespected him. But, he absolutely would not forgive a betrayer.

To him, betrayal meant giving up everything, no matter the reason. Because no matter how one justified their treacherous actions, in the end, it all came down to their own selfishness.

His memories slowly drifted back to the past, to the moment he was just a naive little wolf. The pain of the past made the atmosphere around Bridget grow dark and bloody.

That memory suddenly resurfaced, making him go mad, Bridget’s heartbeat quickened, his blood seemed to boil throughout his body. The thirst for blood kept repeating in his mind.

Kill…

Kill the filthy bodies of them!

Kill and cleanse the slimy souls tainted with the stench of selfishness!

Kill to purify the dirtiness of those lost souls!!!

He…

“Grrr!”

His increasingly dark and twisted thoughts were interrupted by a soft growl from below.

Bridget blankly looked down at his hand, where a tiny living creature existed. He felt the consciousness that had been immersed in thoughts of slaughter slowly become alert.

This was the first time, after recalling the past, that he had maintained his consciousness.

All thanks to the tiny wolf by his side.