<h4>Chapter 55: The Other side</h4>


    "Why didn''t you let me negotiate? You have no idea how much manpower you''re losing, Ray." Alex voiced his concern, his tone reflecting his unease with Ray''s decision.


    Ray continued to sharpen his ck knuckles against a sharpening stone, the sound of metal against stone ringing in the air. He replied without ncing at Alex, focusing on the task at hand. "You don''t understand. Ben never said he''d be leaving our side. Besides, if we push too hard, it''lle across as desperation. As my father always says, never reveal your desperation to the outside world. It erodes trust, whether they''re friends or foes."


    "Alright, Mr. Wise Leader, what''s our n for dealing with the wolf attack? We can''t just run away like Ben or Freya. So when the horde of beasts descends on the vige, how will your philosophy save us?" Alex''s words dripped with sarcasm, his frustration with Ray''s approach evident.


    Ray ceased sharpening his knuckles and fixed his gaze on Alex, peering directly into his eyes. "You didn''t grasp anything from our previous conversation, did you?"


    The atmosphere grew tense as Ray posed this question. Observing that Alex appeared reluctant to reply, Ray decided to continue the discussion. "The issue isn''t just the hoards of wild beasts attacking the vige. The real problem is: Why are these beasts targeting this vige?"


    "Ben left us with a question and a clue. Something in this vige must be drawing unwanted attention, and we need to address the root cause. Otherwise, even if we repel the first horde, we''ll be in a losing battle against the next."


    Ray rose from his seat and approached Alex, giving him a light punch in the chest with a smile. "As long as you''re by my side, dealing with advanced-tier beasts won''t be a major problem, right?"


    In response, Alex chuckled, and theirughter filled the room.


    ------------------------------------


    Back in the Hunting Ground...


    Freya was in the process of collecting the rabbit bodies, forming a small mountain of corpses that drew the attention of jealous vigers. She couldn''t help but ponder, her face creased with a frown. Why was Ben doing this? Stealing food from the vigers didn''t sit well with her, and she wondered what nefarious n he had in mind.


    "Yo, buddy! Long time, no see," a voice called out from behind. Freya turned around to find Ben approaching with a small cart in tow.


    "Where did you get that from?" Freya asked, her confusion evident.


    Ben smiled and, as he closed the distance, put the cart down. He walked over to the pile of corpses. "I just borrowed it from a friend, you know. Carrying all these bodies behind our backs would be a bit tricky."


    Freya''s confusion deepened as she asked, "Since when do you have a friend in this vige?" Ben met her inquiry with an innocent look, as if to say, "Can''t I make new friends?"


    "You''ve already done your part; please take a rest. I''ll load the meat onto the cart," Ben insisted, taking charge of putting the rabbit corpses into the small cart. Freya sat in a corner, watching Ben with an indifferent gaze. Within a matter of minutes, Ben hadpleted the task at hand and returned to pull the cart.


    Together, they began the journey back to the vige, passing through the hunting area. Every viger who looked at them did so with a mix of anger and envy. They had spent the entire day hunting and had barely caught anything, while Ben was carrying more meat than the vige could consume in a single night.


    "Are you talking to me by chance?" Ben replied with an innocent smile on his face, which only seemed to aggravate the middle-aged man even more.


    "You bastards!" the man muttered through gritted teeth as he approached Ben with swift steps, wielding a makeshift spear formed from a wooden stick and a rusted dagger tied together. Simr makeshift weapons were held by the other vigers, who had quickly gathered around Ben''s cart, forming a menacing circle of about twenty people.


    "This doesn''t feel right to me, Ben," Freya whispered, assuming a defensive stance and preparing for a potential attack. Ben, however, just gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder without taking his eyes off the middle-aged man.


    "So you know about me?" The middle-aged man grinned broadly, turning to address the gathered vigers. "They called me the uncrowned king because I always stand for them. Unlike the useless chief appointed to the vige, I always stand for what''s right. And so, I am going to do what''s right now."


    The vigers cheered enthusiastically, motivated by his words, and his smile stretched from ear to ear. Pointing his makeshift spear towards Ben, the man continued, "I''m here to stand for justice once again."


    Ben, seemingly unfazed by the man''s deration, responded with feigned innocence, "Yeah, so... why are you here again?" The crowd fell into silence, their shocked expressions clear as they stared at Ben. He stood there with the same calm smile, as if nothing significant had just urred. Facing a mob wasn''t a new experience for Ben, after all.


    "If you''re notprehending this, then let me lower myself to your level of intelligence and exin in words that your thick head can understand," the middle-aged man burst out in frustration.


    "The meat you are hunting belongs to our vige. It is our source of food, and we won''t let you take a single bit of it from this area," he dered aggressively, rousing cheers from the crowd.


    "I hunted for this meat all day. Why should I give it to you?" Ben retorted.


    "Only the people of this vige can hunt the rabbits here, and I don''t recognise you as part of our vige. So give us back our resources," the man replied, his voice growing even louder and angrier.


    "I never asked for recognition in the first ce," Ben replied nonchntly.


    "You brat!" A man from behind rushed towards Ben in anger but was held back by the middle-aged man.


    "You don''t understand, do you? If you want to leave here alive, then give us all your meat and run away as fast as your legs can take you," the man threatened before turning his gaze to Freya with a sinister smile. "Though, if the girl over there is ready to serve me, I can spare you a rabbit or two."