Chapter 59 Blind. Especially to logic.

Chapter 59: 59 - Blind. Especially to logic.

(Yaya’s POV)

The group of beastmen tried to look more intimidating in front of their enemies by growling louder and flexing their muscles. Their female was not here to witness their bravado, so their effort was wasted on us.

I could appreciate the thought, though. Weren’t they like me? Putting on a show, pretending to be strong, while praying someone stronger would appear and save them?

I gave Nugget a disappointed look. He was supposed to be that authority here, but he was not living up to it. Good thing there were other elite patrols beside him. I lifted my chin in the direction of the new presences in the distance.

Twelve shadows emerged from the forest behind us in a coordinated burst. A silent signal from the eagle at the front broke their formation, half circling left, half right. Their flanking maneuver was impressive.

Nugget bulged his eyes. "What are they doing here?" He immediately shifted his attention to me. "You...how...?"

"I asked for backup," I said. "I don’t trust your patrolling skills, Nugget."

I snitched our destination to the bear villagers, and they called for reinforcement.

Nugget’s entire career flashed before his eyes. The years of painstaking patrol routes, the hard-won respect among his peers, the very foundation of his livelihood...It could all crumble down like dried earth, if he continued to follow me.

If that wasn’t enough to make his blood run cold, to make him feel the weight of his entire existence teetering on a cliff edge, then I didn’t know what else would.

Dickhead patted Noodle’s body. "Can you shake them off, Kurus? They will complicate things."

Noodle immediately took off, and I almost fell into the water as I clutched his scales for support. His long body slithered under the water’s surface as he tried to avoid the flying eagles.

The beastmen behind cheered and laughed at the sight of us fleeing. They must have thought their empty threats had scared us away. "They are running! Cowards! We showed them!"

Noodle’s speed was remarkable despite our weight dragging him down, but the flying eagles were faster. They circled above us, occasionally diving down to cause some damage. Their sharp talons raked across Noodle’s scales, and Dickhead had to shield him from their attacks. He moved, jumping in the air, to strike back at the eagles.

His kicks sent the eagles tumbling into the water, while he landed back on Noodle’s back. He single-handedly took out the seven eagles like they were flies. They were prepared to deal with one royal rank beastman, not an apex one, and it showed.

Dickhead’s presence was like an impenetrable wall, blocking all threats. A one-man army that couldn’t be stopped. He was still holding back. It was unbecoming of him to spare lives that were trying to take his.

What scheme was he cooking this time? Was he trying to impress Nugget? Or was he trying to make me owe him one? To make me believe he was a changed man?

One eagle managed to slip past his guard and headed straight for me, talons outstretched. I braced myself for the impact, but it never came. A dark figure crashed into the eagle. Nugget pushed the eagle away, but not before taking a talon to his arm. He refused to shift into his eagle form and fell into the water with a splash.

This fool... The last speck of hope I had for him vanished. Was I that bad of an influence? That he had to resort to protecting the very people who disrespected him? Could he still be harboring feelings toward me? Only love could be this blind. Especially to logic.

We managed to lose the eagles in the dense fog that had descended upon. Noodle continued to slither through the water. Dickhead was unscratched, while Nugget and Noodle had some minor injuries from the fight.

I leaned down and examined Noodle’s scales. They were slightly torn in places, but not deep enough to cause bleeding.

Nugget mounted Noodle’s back, panting and clutching his injured arm. "The Beast Kingdom is already on high alert because of you. Any more incidents, and they will send more patrols after us."

"You are welcome," I said, ignoring his accusatory tone. "Next time I’ll tell them that the great Eagle, Moyu, is a traitor to his kingdom and is working with the cold-blooded."

He looked appalled, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "Do you hate me that much?" he bit out, each word forced through his lips.

"Shouldn’t I? You are here to arrest me, remember?" I reminded him. "And you are doing a terrible job at it."

He was supposed to be my enemy, but he kept acting like my guardian. It was getting on my nerves.

Nugget’s jaw worked before his eyes shot a venomous glance at me, his tone matching his vengeful expression. "I’m considering starting to work for your father, as it seems to be the only way to strip that arrogance from your bones. It would be better than having you insult me at every chance you get."

My fingers, still tracing Noodle’s injured scales, froze against the texture. A tremor started in my hands and worked its way up my arms until I forced them still.

The world narrowed to his face, to the sharpness of his eyes as he spoke of my father. Of stripping me. Piece by piece.

I’d wanted to be left alone, whether through fear, through insults, through hate. Instead, I’d provoked this.

The fog around us pressed closer. Neither of us would back down now. He made his decision to stay, and I made mine to get rid of him. This game of chicken would only end in a disaster, and I could no longer pretend I didn’t fear what would come next.

"What a grand plan you have." I pushed myself up to stand, my legs unsteady as they found balance on Noodle’s moving form. I couldn’t even kill him because of a certain Dickhead. I was at his mercy, and my words were just empty threats.

Nugget stood higher, letting go of his injured arm to add more height to his stance. "I won’t show my face before you if you don’t want me to. I won’t talk to you if you hate my voice. I won’t even breathe in your direction if it bothers you, but I will be here. I will make sure you face the consequences of your actions."