The village chief sneered, lifting the corners of his lips in mockery. "See? I told you they would beg for mercy!"
Being expelled from the tribe meant certain death.
No one could survive in the wilds during winter, especially not those who were weak or injured.
Even if they knelt and begged, he would never show them mercy.
The thought of how Tanya's father had once been chosen by the old chief to replace him made the chief feel deeply ashamed.
That's why Tanya, her three children, and the male she had saved had to be driven out.
But before that, he might as well take the opportunity to humiliate and punish them. At least he could avenge Maya, who had been wounded.
However, when he turned around, he didn't see the expected sight of them kneeling and begging for mercy.
Instead, the frail girl stood tall. Her beautiful face was calm, with a hint of sarcasm in the curve of her lips. She held a bamboo stick in her hand and traced a line in the dirt.
"Look closely. From now on, everything on this side of the line belongs to me. Don't cross it unless you want your leg broken."
The chief didn't expect her to act so arrogantly instead of begging for mercy. He glanced at the ground, then sneered. "Although this is the edge of the village, it still belongs to Little River Village."
"Not anymore," Tanya interrupted him impatiently. She took a few steps forward. "If you disagree, let's settle this with a challenge."
She paused for a moment, recalling the memories of her previous life, and confirmed that this was indeed the right way to describe the situation.
Because Bogart and Maya had kept things secret, the chief didn't realize that Tanya's strength had changed so much since the past.
He glanced at her and Miles, clearly assuming that Miles would be the one to fight.
Miles had been the strongest warrior in the past, but now he was wounded by the cave lion and crippled. There was no way he could defeat the healthy warriors the chief had brought.
The chief let out a cold laugh, swinging his staff forward to signal the warriors behind him to step forward and accept the challenge.
He had planned to drive them out of the village, and he didn't want them lingering in front of him.
Even if they were going to die, they could die far away.
However, his command, which was usually obeyed without question, didn't work this time.
Most of the warriors didn't move. They looked at Tanya with fear, remembering how she had dominated them that morning.
The chief had warned them not to let anyone know they had been beaten by a small female, but now, they were unsure what to do. Should they fight or not?
While they hesitated, a few warriors who hadn't been there earlier stepped forward. These men, as well as the chief, didn't notice the fear in the eyes of the others. They were eager to fight.
"It's just a crippled woman, injured by the cave lion. How dare she act tough in front of the chief?" one of them sneered.
The chief had intentionally chosen men who had past grievances with Miles and Tanya's family. Now they were all eager to kick Miles while he was down and humiliate him even further.
Tanya clicked her tongue. She didn't care about these people. In her previous life, during the apocalypse, she had mastered all the elements—wind, fire, water, lightning, and wood. Even though she didn't have her powers now, her combat skills were deeply ingrained. Beating these primitive fighters was easy for her.
She thought to herself, this would be a good opportunity to train her new body.
But before she could make a move, Miles stepped in front of her.
He blocked her path, then turned to look at her deeply.
He didn't say a word, but Tanya understood. He was silently telling her to stay calm and not to act like a monster, or they might burn her alive for being different.
Hmm...
While Tanya was distracted, Miles had already stepped forward to face the warriors, taking on four of them at once.
He chose to fight all four at once to finish it quickly.
Although he had been injured by the cave lion, with Tanya's healing and his own strong physique, he was able to defeat these warriors, despite the effort it took. He won.
He still stood tall, refusing to fall. But his pale face and weak legs showed that the former strongest warrior of the tribe had truly been worn down.
Although they lost, the chief's eyes gleamed with a strange excitement. He waved his staff again to signal the next group of warriors to step up.
But this time, the warriors all took a step back, clearly afraid of the female walking toward Miles.
The chief, seeing this, misunderstood their actions.
Were they protesting the fact that he was being so ruthless to the weak?
This was bad. He had only recently become chief. If the warriors didn't support him, how could he lead the tribe? How could he ever move the entire tribe to the central village?
For the sake of his reputation and to ensure his position, the chief reluctantly changed his decision.
"Since you won the challenge, this will be the boundary. Don't ever step into the village again."
Tanya walked over to Miles, putting her hand on his wrist, feeling his energy. She didn't respond right away.
To the chief and the others, it appeared that the female was supporting the injured male who had stood up for her. Since they were being kicked out, it made sense that they were holding each other in sadness and silence.
The chief, feeling humiliated, managed to feel a small sense of satisfaction.
But before he could enjoy it, a large palm leaf suddenly hit him square on the head.
Star and Moon were using the palm leaves to strike him while shouting, "You lost! Get out of here!"
"Go now! If you don't, we'll break your legs!"
The chief had never experienced such humiliation. He stepped back, dodging the leaf strikes, and was about to call for someone to stop the two children when he realized that the warriors had all run away faster than he could.
One of them, noticing the chief falling behind, quickly ran back, grabbed him, and dragged him away.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" the chief shouted in anger.
They didn't stop until they had run a good distance away. Only then did the brave warrior release him, allowing him to walk on his own. But none of them were willing to go back.
The chief didn't notice, but the warriors had seen it clearly. As soon as Star and Moon started swinging the palm leaves, Tanya had grabbed a bamboo stick and charged forward.
They didn't want to get beaten by a female in front of the chief.
That would be too embarrassing.
If the news spread that they couldn't even defeat a female, how could they ever hope to marry a female and have her willingly bear their children?
Tanya stood, holding the bamboo stick, watching as the warriors fled. She didn't speak and felt disappointed.
"Damn it!" she muttered to herself. "They didn't even give me a chance to warm up!"
A loud thud suddenly echoed from behind her, followed by Star's shocked cry. "Miles!"
"Brother Miles! He passed out!"