Tanya turned when she heard the voice behind her. A tall, beautiful woman was standing there, looking very angry. Her beauty was more on the seductive side, with fair skin that stood out among the darker-skinned people in the area.
But what drew the most attention was her body. She only wore two small pieces of animal skin to cover her chest and hips. Everywhere she went, people couldn't help but look at her.
She was beautiful, bold, and very seductive.
This woman was Maya, known as the most beautiful woman in the tribe and also the daughter of their village leader.
But the one who shouted wasn't Maya. It was her follower, Hora.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you mute?" Hora was hot-tempered. When Tanya didn't reply, she reached out to poke Tanya's face.
Tanya was lowering her head, looking at the animal skin clothes she was wearing. The material was good quality, clearly real leather. The original owner of this body must've been very conservative. The top was sewn like a sleeveless T-shirt, and the bottom was a skirt that reached her knees.
Yes, she had been a modest girl.
Without even raising her head, Tanya quickly moved to the side, avoiding Hora's finger. Then she slapped back smoothly. "Little girl, do you want to lose your hand?"
Not only were Maya and her followers shocked, even Hora didn't know what had just happened. How did Tanya move? Why was she the one who got hit?
The slap was very strong. Her fingers were hurting like they were broken. Tanya must be the strongest woman in the tribe!
Miles was also surprised. He had been standing nearby and saw everything clearly.
That move had both speed and power. In that brief moment, he could feel the killing intent.
He was sure that if Hora weren't a harmless woman, Tanya's move would have been deadly.
Maya finally stepped forward. She looked like she was defending Hora, but actually, she moved closer to Miles. "Tanya, why are you collecting this plant? Are you really part of the beast tribe?"
Tanya held up the plant and asked, "You call this demon herb? Why?"
"Because it has a strange smell even without flowers. It confuses people. Isn't that what a demon herb does?" Hora said angrily while rubbing her fingers.
"Ignorant," Tanya said coldly. "It smells strange because it's a special medicinal herb. It can cure illnesses, and the young leaves can be eaten as wild vegetables. And you treat it like some kind of demon plant?"
She shook her head. She didn't know who first called this herb a demon herb. It was stupid.
Star spoke up, "The tribe's witch doctor said so. There used to be a lot of it, but now they're all gone."
So foolish.
Tanya waved to Star and Moon. "Go collect some, but don't pick them all. Leave some behind so more can grow next year."
Maya was unhappy that Tanya kept ignoring her. She kept watching Miles and noticed that his eyes stayed on Tanya the whole time. She couldn't help frowning. She felt angry and jealous.
"Miles, they're beast tribe people. You shouldn't get too close to them. Come back to the tribe with me."
Miles didn't answer at all. He acted like he didn't hear her and followed Tanya to help collect the herbs. He moved with visible weakness.
He had also covered himself with animal skin to hide his injuries.
Maya bit her lip as she watched him. She knew how deadly cave lion bites were. No one had ever returned alive from a cave lion pack.
He was the first. But he was badly injured. People said he was finished.
She didn't want to believe it. Miles used to be the tribe's top warrior. She liked him and had waited for his coming-of-age ceremony so they could marry. But she never thought he would make a mistake during a hunt.
Still, he was the strongest. Look at him he had come back alive and didn't even look like he was dying.
But his injuries hadn't healed. If he was crippled, how would he hunt or survive?
Maya was more torn than ever. But her jealousy of how Miles looked at Tanya only grew stronger.
He had never looked at her like that before.
"Miles, don't throw your life away. They're from the beast tribe. If you stay with them, you'll be dragged down too!"
After Maya spoke, Hora added, "Yeah! They're beast tribe people. They shouldn't be allowed to collect anything here! Even if this is a demon herb, it grows in our land. It belongs to our tribe. The beast tribe can't touch it!"
They kept calling Tanya and the others beast tribe people, even though Tanya hadn't even seen what the beast tribe looked like. She was already tired of hearing it.
She suddenly stood up. With one kick, she flipped a bamboo stick from the ground into her hand. She lifted it and swung it straight at them.
Don't think she wouldn't hit women. In the apocalypse, there were no such rules. Even in this wild world, her rules hadn't changed.
Bogart stepped forward to protect the women. He used a wooden spear to fight back.
But even as a strong warrior, how could he beat Tanya, who had been the strongest leader in the first base during the apocalypse?
In just a few moves, she took the spear from him and kicked him to the ground.
Bogart had great strength, but Tanya didn't fight with force. She used skill and speed.
Now the spear was in her hand. She pointed it at Bogart's neck. With just a little push, it could stab straight through.
Maya and Hora screamed in fear and ran to hide behind Miles. But Miles only cared about Tanya and didn't move from her side.
Maya didn't want to get hurt, so she tried to run far away under a tree. But before she could go far, Tanya kicked up another bamboo stick, which blocked her path. Maya and Hora tripped over it and fell to the ground.
Tanya had taken down both Maya and Bogart. The other tribe men were so shocked, none of them dared move.
What Tanya did had completely broken their beliefs. In their world, women were weak and needed protection. Their jobs were to gather food, cook, and have children.
But Tanya was not weak. Maybe dodging Hora before was just luck, but now beating Bogart, who was the second-best warrior in the tribe proved she was just as strong as the men.
"I'll say this once," Tanya said coldly. "Star, Moon, and I are not part of the beast tribe. If I hear anyone spreading lies again, I'll tear out their tongue."
She looked at their scared faces and added slowly, "This place is mine now. If anyone dares cause trouble, no matter if you're a man or woman, I'll break your legs."
"You're not welcome here. Get out."