Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 274: Thinking Too Far Outside the Box

Ren stood completely paralyzed in the safe, damp grass, staring in utter horror at the pulsing, writhing carpet of fat pink worms covering the muddy shoreline. Viper was stuck waist-deep in the murky swamp, struggling to keep his grip on the dead crocodile.

They were at a complete, ridiculous impasse.

Ding!

[System: Host, if you are so physically incapable of traversing the mud, you could simply ask the beastman following us for help.]

Ren aggressively rolled her eyes, letting out a harsh, bitter scoff.

’Are you blind or just stupid?’ Ren snapped, immediately assuming the System was talking about Vex. ’Did you somehow miss the part where that criminal fox stole our boat and literally rowed off?!’

The System didn’t respond, because...

A split second later, the bright, silver moonlight illuminating the grassy shore was completely eclipsed. A massive, imposing shadow cast directly over Ren, plunging her into sudden darkness.

Ren gasped, her heart leaping into her throat, and whipped around.

Standing there on the grass, towering over her like a majestic, feathered mountain, was a massive golden eagle.

Ren recognized him instantly. It was Altair.

Her breath hitched. ’What in the world is he doing here?!’ Ren screamed in her thoughts, panic instantly flooding her veins. ’Why is he following me?!’

Down in the murky water, Viper suddenly stiffened. The snake guard’s eyes locked onto the large bird on the grassy shore.

Viper recognized the bird as well. His heart skipped a beat. It was the exact same injured golden eagle he had found the day before. The one that had miraculously healed and flown away.

Back then, Viper hadn’t been the least bit afraid of it because the creature was half-dead. But now? Looking at the prime, towering apex predator...

The Beast World strictly obeyed the absolute rules of the animal kingdom. Eagles ate snakes. They were positioned significantly higher up on the natural food chain, making them the ultimate, terrifying predator of all reptiles.

Viper was genuinely, instinctually afraid.

Regardless of the paralyzing fear gripping his scaly tail, Viper’s duty to his King’s mate was absolute. He completely let go of the dead crocodile and immediately began wading urgently toward the shore to protect Ren from the giant bird.

However, Viper froze dead in his tracks in the shallow water.

Instead of screaming or running for her life, Ren crossed her arms over her chest, tapped her foot impatiently, and aggressively glared up at the predator.

"Why did you come here?" Ren scolded the giant eagle, her voice echoing over the quiet swamp. "I told you to stay with Kael!"

Viper’s jaw dropped. He stood in the water, completely bewildered. Was this terrifying, snake-eating apex predator her... pet?

"Do you... know this bird beast?" Viper called out nervously, not daring to take another step closer to the banking.

Ren’s eyes widened. She whipped her head around to look at Viper. Cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. She absolutely could not tell Viper that Altair was actually a beastman, and she definitely could not say that he was her newly acquired third husband!

"Oh! Him?" Ren let out a bright, entirely fake, high-pitched laugh. "Yes! He is just my... friend! A very friendly bird friend!"

Ren quickly noticed the intensely wary, fearful look in Viper’s slitted eyes. She frantically waved her hands to reassure him. "Don’t worry, Viper! He won’t cause any trouble at all! Actually, he was just leaving! He’s heading back to the forest right now!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Viper noticed the crocodile beginning to drift away on the current. Relieved that the eagle wasn’t hostile, Viper hurriedly splashed back into the deeper water to catch the dead crocodile before it floated out of reach.

As soon as Viper turned his back, Ren turned to Altair. She placed her small hands flat against his massive, feathered chest and tried pushing him back toward the tree line.

He didn’t budge a single millimeter. He was like a feathered brick wall.

"This is not the time to be stubborn!" Ren whispered fiercely, leaning in close so Viper wouldn’t hear. "You need to go back before you get yourself killed!"

"My King’s mate!" Viper called out from the water, having successfully wrangled the dead crocodile. "I have an idea!"

Ren groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. ’Lord help me,’ she thought. ’What brilliant nonsense is he coming up with this time?’

"Since your friend is a bird," Viper suggested, his tone entirely serious, "he could eat all of the worms on the mud! Then you will have a perfectly clear path to walk to the crocodile!"

Ren grimaced. Her face scrunched up in profound, visceral disgust as she looked at the thousands of fat, pink, wiggling worms, and then up at Altair’s majestic, razor-sharp beak.

She truly could not understand Viper’s way of thinking at all. How did his brain even come up with these things?! He was thinking way, way too far out of the box!

"Or..." Ren suggested slowly, her voice dripping with desperation. "He could just... fly me over to you?"

Viper paused in the water. He blinked, processing the idea, before nodding solemnly. "Yes. That is a better idea."

Ren turned her attention back to Altair. She pointed a strict finger at the water. "Okay, listen to me. I want you to fly me over to that crocodile Viper is holding. And then, I want you to immediately go back to the forest. Understand?"

Altair just stood there, staring down at her with his intense, unblinking silver eyes.

Ren did a slow, exaggerated nod to demonstrate. "Can you nod your head or something? Blink twice for okay?"

Nothing.

Ren let out a defeated sigh.

But just as she was about to give up, Altair suddenly shifted. He slowly lowered his body all the way down to the soft grass, flattening his giant golden wings against the dirt so she could easily climb onto his back.

Seeing this, Ren’s green eyes brightened with absolute delight. He was actually listening to her for once!

Without wasting another second, Ren carefully climbed onto his broad back, her hands holding securely onto his incredibly soft golden feathers.