After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back-Chapter 23: Greatest love rival

"Of course it’s not enough. All of you put together still can’t compare to Mino alone," Dora said mercilessly.

Whether in looks or in strength, none of her mates could hold a candle to Mino.

Her words pierced straight into the hearts of the males beside her, their eyes filling with hurt.

True, their strength was indeed inferior to Mino’s—but among males, they were still considered outstanding. How many males in the beast world could rival someone like Mino anyway?

What hurt even more was that they believed they had treated Dora well. No matter what she wanted, they indulged her and yielded to her every whim—yet this was how she spoke of them.

The males lowered their heads in silence, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.

Dora, however, seemed completely oblivious. After venting her anger, she casually tossed aside the vine whip and sat down by the table, her expression dark and gloomy.

She was determined to make Mino see that ugly female’s true colors. Once Mino stopped being deceived, he would finally understand just how exceptional she, Dora, truly was.

Her gaze drifted toward a distant point as she pondered her next move.

Suddenly, the corners of her lips curled upward into a sinister smile...

***

Two days later, somewhere in a remote valley of the wilderness.

A massive white tiger and a gigantic crimson fox with nine tails were jointly attacking an equally enormous spotted leopard.

Razor-sharp tiger claws slashed forward. The leopard dodged instantly, barely avoiding the blow, only for several wind blades to shoot toward it moments later. The leopard twisted aside again, narrowly escaping.

Despite its desperate efforts to evade the attacks, the leopard was already covered in wounds. It panted heavily, clearly at the end of its strength.

Sal glared furiously at Kith and Finch, who were closing in on him. Several enormous energy spheres began to form around his body.

With a thunderous roar, the leopard hurled the energy spheres toward the white tiger and the red fox.

A massive protective barrier instantly appeared around the tiger, enveloping both it and the fox.

The moment the energy spheres neared them, they detonated violently. The barrier and the surrounding space shuddered under the force of the explosions.

The deafening roar echoed through the valley as thick smoke surged upward, completely obscuring the tiger and fox from view.

When the smoke finally dissipated, the leopard was gone.

"Damn it—he got away again," Finch snapped, staring at the place where Sal had vanished.

"It’s fine," Kith replied calmly. "Keep hunting him. He’s badly injured—he won’t make it far."

"Mm. His hiding methods are troublesome, though. This will take some effort," Finch frowned, irritation flashing across his face. "Let’s split up."

Kith nodded, and the two males immediately shot off in different directions.

Once Kith and Finch were far away, Sal emerged from a narrow crack between the rocks.

Clutching the massive wound in his abdomen, blood pouring between his fingers, he fled in the opposite direction. After running a short distance, his strength finally gave out. He collapsed to the ground and reverted into the form of a leopard cub.

***

Songstone Tribe.

Ever since returning from the river, Nina had managed to stay indoors for two days—but on the third day, she couldn’t take it anymore.

"Mino, I want to go out for a walk."

"But is your foot completely healed?" Mino asked, still worried as he looked at her ankle.

"It’s totally healed. Look." Nina stood up, took several steps, and even spun around once.

Her foot had long since been healed with her ability.

"All right then. Where do you want to go?" Mino agreed after confirming there was nothing wrong.

"Is there somewhere nearby with fewer beastfolk that’s also fun to visit?" Nina asked.

"Hm..." Mino thought for a moment. "I know a place—a small valley. The scenery’s nice, and hardly anyone goes there. Want me to take you?"

"Yes! Let’s go there," Nina said eagerly.

Seeing her so excited, Mino smiled and led her toward the valley.

The valley truly was beautiful—lush green grass stretched as far as the eye could see, wildflowers of every color blooming in abundance. A clear stream wound its way through the valley, sparkling in the sunlight.

Water murmured softly, birds sang among the flowers—it was breathtaking.

Nina fell in love with the place the moment she arrived.

"Mino, it’s so beautiful here. I really love it."

She inhaled the faint floral scent in the air, her expression relaxed and content.

"Then next time you want to go out, I’ll bring you here again," Mino said indulgently.

"Mm. Let’s walk along the stream," Nina suggested. She loved the gentle sound of flowing water.

"Okay."

After the last incident where Nina nearly tripped over a rock, Mino paid extra attention this time, making sure not a single stone appeared in her path.

Seeing his considerate actions, Nina sighed inwardly: Big kitty, don’t be so good to me... or I’ll end up tricking you into coming home with me.

They walked slowly along the stream when Mino suddenly stopped.

"Nina, wait. I smell blood up ahead."

Nina obediently halted and quietly asked Little Bun in her mind, "Little Bun, is there anything unusual nearby? Why does it smell like blood?"

[Host, let me scan the area.]

Little Bun initiated a scan.

[Host, the smell of blood seems to be coming from a wounded young cub about five hundred meters northeast.]

Perhaps because she herself was carrying a child, the mention of a cub immediately stirred concern and sympathy in Nina’s heart.

Mino released his ability to sense the surroundings and found no signs of danger nearby.

He carefully observed the direction from which the blood scent was drifting.

"Mino, should we go take a look?" Nina asked softly. She wanted to see how the cub was doing.

"All right, let’s go see," Mino agreed after a brief hesitation. If there was no danger, there was no harm in checking.

They headed toward the source of the blood scent.

As they drew closer, they saw a cub covered in blood, looking very much like a small kitten.

"Mino, look—it’s an injured cub," Nina said as she hurried over, her heart aching at the sight of the barely breathing little creature.

Mino followed and crouched down to examine it. "The blood smell is coming from this one. It’s an ordinary wild beast cub, badly injured—probably attacked by some fierce predator."

He leaned closer and sniffed. "Strange. Its scent is that of a wild cat cub, but there’s also a hint of wild leopard. It looks more like a leopard cub too."

Nina examined it carefully. "Maybe it’s a wild cat cub? Aren’t there cats that look a lot like leopards?"

She couldn’t really tell either, but she hoped it was a cat—maybe a leopard cat?

In the beast world, wild cats were much larger than those in the modern world, so their cubs could be fairly big too.

"Yes, leopard cats do resemble leopards," Mino nodded.

"Since it’s still alive, let’s save it!" Nina couldn’t bear to leave the cub behind.

"We can try, but it’s badly injured—it might not survive," Mino said honestly, though he didn’t object. A cub posed no threat.

At this moment, he had no idea that this very cub would one day become his greatest love rival—constantly competing with him for affection.

"Let’s at least try. If it doesn’t work, then so be it."

Nina had Mino tear off some beast hide to roughly bandage the cub’s wounds.

She no longer felt like sightseeing. All she wanted now was to return quickly and treat the cub properly.

She gently took the cub from Mino’s hands and cradled it against her chest. "Let’s go back. I don’t want to walk around anymore."

Mino nodded and quickly led Nina back toward the tribe.