It had already been twelve years since that agreement was made, which was why Minho had not recognized the Bubalo's cries at first.
Hayoon suddenly understood.
"No wonder you only knocked it away instead of killing it."
Minho gave a quiet hum and glanced at the giant cow nearby.
"Aside from escaping for their lives, there is only one situation where Bubalo move quickly."
Hayoon asked, "Protecting their young?"
"Yes," Minho replied. "Once their young are threatened, they will fight enemies desperately. Besides that, there is also a special connection between a calf and its mother. If the calf is forcibly taken away, the mother will die very quickly."
Hayoon understood immediately.
Even though they would not directly kill the mother cow, taking away the calf would be no different from killing her.
It would violate the agreement made between the tribes.
At the same time, she once again deeply realized that the beastmen were protecting the creatures of this continent in their own way.
"Then could both the calf and the mother be taken away together?" Hayoon asked.
Minho replied, "When the tribes first made the agreement, I was still young, but I heard that people once tried keeping Bubalo captive for a few days before eating them. The Bubalo became terrified and desperately tried to escape. They were too strong to contain, and once they got out, they caused destruction everywhere. In the end, there was no choice except to kill them."
"In recent years, no one has hunted Bubalo anymore, but their habits probably have not changed much."
Actually, it was not just Bubalo.
Adult wild animals were generally very difficult to tame, which was why Hayoon had wanted to start with the calf.
After hearing Minho's explanation, Hayoon frowned deeply and stayed silent for a long while, unable to come to a decision.
Minho did not rush her. He simply stood quietly in the open area, preventing the giant cow from suddenly attacking again.
Hayoon looked at the calf with strong reluctance. She truly did not want to give up.
In the end, she decided to think of a solution and walked over to the calf before crouching down beside it.
A large pool of dark red blood spread beneath the calf's body.
Having lost its strength, its eyelids drooped heavily. It did not even cry anymore, only its strong belly rose and fell slightly with each breath.
The broken tree branch piercing its body was thick and deeply lodged inside.
If it were pulled out immediately, it might cause massive bleeding and kill the calf on the spot.
What should she do?
Hayoon turned to Minho and asked, "Do you have any medicine for stopping bleeding?"
Minho replied, "I do, but not much. Usually we gather herbs fresh and prepare the medicine on the spot."
Hayoon understood.
Storage conditions in this beast world were limited, and many medicinal herbs probably lost their effectiveness after being picked for too long.
In that case, it would be best not to remove the branch until the medicine was prepared.
"If we do not help this calf... this little Bubalo, it will definitely die too, right?" Hayoon asked for confirmation.
"Yes," Minho replied. "The adult Bubalo was probably away trying to find a solution just now. Severely injured wild animals rarely survive without treatment."
Hayoon's expression grew serious.
She reached out toward the calf, wanting to check its condition more carefully.
At that moment, the giant cow that had been too frightened by Minho to move suddenly trembled as it pushed itself up on its front legs, trying to stand.
It looked toward the calf with sorrow filling its large eyes and let out low, mournful mooing sounds.
Hayoon comforted it softly.
"Do not worry. I will not hurt it."
Her hands moved quickly as she checked the calf's condition.
After confirming it would not die immediately, she stood up and asked for Minho's opinion.
"I was thinking... could we carry this calf back to the tribe?"
Minho no longer corrected the way she called it and instead asked, "What about the adult Bubalo?"
"I will try driving it along," Hayoon said. "Did you not say that when they are not frightened, they move very slowly? As long as I am careful, it should not hurt me. If it does not get separated from its calf, it will not die either."
The more she spoke, the more workable the idea sounded.
"And since it cares so much about its calf, it might even follow us willingly."
Minho quickly made his decision.
"Alright. Then we will try it. I will carry the little Bubalo."
Hayoon's eyes lit up immediately. "Thank you. I really could not do this without you."
Minho waved a hand casually and strode over.
He then grabbed the calf by its front and back legs and flipped it over with ease.
The calf was extremely heavy. When it hit the ground, it made a loud thump that shook the earth.
Yet Minho remained completely calm, not even frowning slightly.
After that, Minho turned around and grabbed the calf's uninjured front and back legs with both hands.
His entire body tensed, and a low grunt escaped his throat.
Using the strength of his waist, abdomen, and back all at once, he suddenly lifted the calf onto his back.
Hayoon stared in shock as his beautifully defined biceps bulged while he steadily stood upright carrying a calf several times larger than his human form.
Good heavens. What terrifying strength.
"Y-you are not changing into your beast form?"
Minho's expression remained calm as he adjusted the calf on his shoulders. "It is better this way. It is still alive. If I carry it in beast form, it will be hard to secure properly."
Hayoon nodded in amazement and admiration.
"Alright... It is still a long way back. We can walk for a while and rest for a while."
Minho replied, "We will see. Then let's go."
Hayoon nodded repeatedly.
"Mm, mm."