Chapter 141: A tracking device detected.

Back at Beast Valley, Hunter and Achilles stood near the main courtyard, monitoring the men offloading cargo. Achilles had brought so many supplies that a huge pile of crates still sat outside the front gate, waiting for their turn to be carried in. They formed a large convoy, and they were still arriving.

It seemed like Zyra had ordered for supplies that would last at least one year.

Achilles was practically bouncing on his heels, waving his arms around. "I am telling you, cousin, I have never sold goods that fast on the black market in my entire life! Zyra is a golden goose. A treasure! You need to treat her like a queen, Hunter. She is the literal heart of our business now! She made double in this one trip what you make in one fight."

Hunter wasn’t really listening. His eyes kept drifting back toward the main house. What was his nanny telling his wife? Hopefully, not embarrassing stories like wetting the bed at the age of five. It happened one time! If Zyra got her hands on such information, she would make it seem like he was serial lifetime bed wetter.

Inside the house, Zyra and nanny Rosita were still talking. Every few minutes, Zyra’s clear, ringing laugh drifted through the open windows all the way to the yard. It was the exact same bright laugh she made whenever she watched Lita’s wedding videos. It was too loud, and very irritating.

"What could possibly be that amusing?" Hunter muttered under his breath, his brow furrowing.

Achilles bumped his shoulder hard against Hunter’s, snapping him out of his trance. "Hey! Did you hear a single word I just said?"

Hunter blinked, looking completely clueless. "What?"

Achilles rolled his eyes so hard it looked painful. He let out a dramatic sigh and rubbed his temples. "I said, your lifelong dream is to make the Thorn Guild the strongest guild in the whole world, right? We can use Zyra to make that happen!"

"Use?" Hunter’s voice dropped an octave.

His face instantly darkened, twisted in pure disgust.

Achilles froze, thoroughly confused by the sudden death stare. "Uh_"

"Nobody is going to use Zyra," Hunter said, his voice quiet, sharp, and icy. "Not me, anyone else. And definitely not you. I don’t think she will take it too kindly to hear you say that." He paused, letting the warning sink in before adding, "You will present your business idea to her politely. If she likes it, great. If she doesn’t like it, you drop it immediately. Understood?"

Achilles blinked fast and nodded like a chicken pecking for grain. "Understood! Perfectly understood!"

In his head, Achilles was screaming. The last time he saw his terrifying cousin protect anyone this fiercely was his mother, and that was years ago! Achilles realized he didn’t even need to play matchmaker anymore. Hunter hadn’t just warmed up to his new wife_ he was on the way to falling flat on his face for her.

Though, Achilles thought, glancing toward the house where Zyra was still giggling, itdoesn’t look like sister-in-law feels the same way yet. Hunter is just a grumpy wall to her.

Achilles smirked inwardly. He just needed to help Zyra fall just as hard. As long as those two stayed together, the Thorn Guild’s rise to the top was guaranteed.

"Alright, boys, move it! Be careful with the crates marked fragile!" Achilles yelled to the guards, trying to break the awkward tension. "Moving them physically is taking too long, I saw electric carts in the supermarket the last time I was here. Buy and use them. The bill is on me."

The men moved quickly and soon, large carts were driving in and out of the gates. Within ten minutes, the last wooden crate was brought inside, and the heavy iron gates slammed shut.

The gate closed, the air shattered.

The defense system of Beast Valley flared to life, casting an eerie red light over the courtyard. High-pitched emergency horns blasted through the sky, echoing off the surrounding mountains.

"Enemy attack!" Taylor screamed from the entrance. "We are under attack!"

Achilles nearly jumped out of his shoes, pointing at one of the boxes. "Bring out the guns!"

Hunter’s face instantly hardened, his eyes flashing dangerous intent. "Armillo go there and guard the main house," he ordered coldly, stepping forward as the energy in him burst forth like a raging storm. "Tell Zyra I’ll handle it."

The men came running toward the gate, weapons raised, eyes wide. Hunter was shouting orders left and right, pointing his arm off like a traffic cop at a crowded intersection.

"You three! Take the left wall! You guys, watch the perimeter!" Hunter yelled, sweating through his shirt.

The Beasts stomped over, growling as they took positions. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the men, ready to defend their home, looking thoroughly unimpressed by the humans’ panic.

Back inside the house, Zyra had been sitting peacefully, listening to Nanny Rosita tell silly stories about Hunter’s childhood.

DING!

A red floating screen popped up in Zyra’s head.

[Warning: Unknown security signal detected. It does not belong to me.]

Beauty was already scanning the area. [Security protocols engaged. Searching for signal source. Found it. There’s a tracking device hidden inside one of the new cargo boxes.]

Zyra blinked. "A tracking device?"

She paused for a second, connecting the dots. Cargo boxes... wait. "Achilles brought those in!"

[How do you want me to deal with it, Host?] Beauty asked.

"Destroy the box," Zyra ordered, her voice dropping an octave.

[Yes, Host!]

Outside, a tiny secret hatch at the side of the gate popped open. A little black sphere rolled out, clack-clack-clanking across the ground until it bumped right into the last cargo box.

BOOM!

The bomb went off, blasting the wooden box into a thousand tiny splinters.

"Take cover!" Hunter screamed, throwing himself onto the dirt. Everyone dived into the flower’s, others in cargo boxes.

As the smoke cleared, the system chirped happily. [Threat neutralized.]

Then came Zyra.

She slammed the front door open and stormed across the courtyard like a goddess of war looking for someone to kick. Hunter saw her coming and felt a cold sweat break out on his neck. Her face was dead serious.

"Zyra, wait! Get back inside, it’s dangerous_" Hunter started, reaching out a hand.

Zyra didn’t even look at him. She walked right past him, heading straight for Achilles, who was still standing there looking confused about the explosion.

"Beauty," Zyra whispered under her breath. "Activate Super Punch."

[Super Punch activated! Energy loading... 100%! 2 charges of super punch left.]

Zyra felt a surge of warm, ridiculous power flow straight down her arms. She rolled her shoulders, clenched her right fist, and stepped into range.

Her right fist connected squarely with Achilles’ jaw.