There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

Judging from the marks on the cheetah's body that haven't been cleaned up yet, this cheetah is the same one that was kicked away by it earlier.

Tsk, I never thought you, Black Panther, would have this day...

Ahem... What I'm trying to say is, if this unfortunate creature hadn't been strong enough, it probably would have become the first leopard in history to be beaten to death by its prey.

But the wild horse's valiant struggle did nothing to change the situation. The lone wild horse was still surrounded by the other two cheetahs, each biting one on each side, letting out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed across half the sky.

The leader of the wild horses neighed angrily and charged forward again, hoofing its way toward the two thugs who had committed the crime, with an air of relentless determination.

As a horse, it has performed exceptionally well, embodying courage, wisdom, loyalty, heroism, and chivalry, as well as beauty and intelligence.

However, such behavior cannot change the current situation.

The cheetah, which had a lone wild horse in its mouth, nimbly dodged to the side, as if it had practiced countless times, skillfully avoiding the attack. Finally, it pounced on the back of the wild horse and began to bite mercilessly!

The wild horse, with its distinctive punk-like appearance, neighed in pain, leaping and bounding wildly in place, trying to escape the cheetah's attack. One of the weaker cheetahs was indeed thrown off, roaring resentfully and waiting for its chance to strike. But the other cheetah stubbornly launched its attack, refusing to leave for even a moment.

These cheetahs must have realized that the key to this herd of wild horses was this strangely-looking horse, and if it wasn't eliminated, the risk of hunting them would increase dramatically.

The saying that a lion leading a flock of sheep is better than a sheep leading a flock of lions is obviously nonsense.

If this were to happen, the most likely scenario would be a pack of lions banding together to devour the sheep, regardless of any leader. The principle that the strong get stronger applies everywhere; no one can remain unaffected.

Just as the punk horse's pain intensified to the point where it was almost unable to struggle, suddenly, the cheetah on its back fell to the ground, roaring and rolling around.

A menacing, featherless arrow was lodged in the cheetah's rump. My figure slowly emerged from the wilderness, shouting words to boost the morale of our army.

"Demacia!"

Chapter 277 Reversed Arm

Seeing that I had succeeded in my attack, I immediately emerged from the bushes and stopped hiding.

It's not that I was moved by the friendship between these wild horses and wanted to be a hero and save them.

At my age, I might be touched, but at worst I'll come back tomorrow and build you a beautiful new grave, and burn two paper mares for you. As for risking my life, that's out of the question.

What's more, these lousy guys were plotting against me. Weren't they so arrogant just now? How did they suddenly turn on me? Hmm?

But what I'm thinking about more deeply is that there's a group of leopards in this wasteland!

You heard right, a carnivorous leopard!

Not the kind of master who doesn't pay after prostituting himself, but the kind who eats raw meat without salt. The only thing they have in common is that, given the right circumstances, they want both!

If I eat all the horses today, they'll probably be wondering if I'm still tasty tomorrow. This food chain dynamic transcends friend-or-foe; it's almost a fixed order akin to class relations. If I don't take this opportunity to kill the cheetah, then tomorrow, when the cheetah lies in ambush by the roadside, I'll have no Jews to sacrifice…

Simply put: when dealing with these evil forces, there's no need to talk about chivalry or honor; let's all fight side by side!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two more arrows were fired from my direction, this time aimed at the cheetah that was farther away. The enemy in front of me had been hit and was no longer a threat. Now I should focus on the two unstable factors in the distance and suppress their ambitions.

Unfortunately, while my arrows were incredibly accurate against unobstructed, stationary targets, they were less effective against these cheetahs. Even the most precise arrows were only aimed in a straight line. The two cunning cheetahs, hiding among the tall grass and rocks, moved nimbly along the ground, causing my arrows to bounce off the stones and fail to achieve their intended purpose.

The environment was incredibly chaotic. On one side was a lone wild horse lying on the ground, bleeding and howling in pain. On the other side was a wild horse covered in wounds, panting heavily, trying to get up. Further away were two wild horses running in circles.

"We can't let the cheetah succeed in its hunt!"

I made up my mind, coldly observing the commotion around me, and devising a plan in my mind.

No matter what, we can't let these cheetahs succeed.

These three leopards have expended a great deal of energy hunting today, and have mobilized all their relatives to cooperate in the battle. Even though the wild horse paid a heavy price, the cheetahs themselves are also in bad shape.

If I give them a good meal, they'll definitely come looking for trouble next.

If they've toiled all night, baring their teeth and claws, only to find nothing... then even if I don't kill them all, these hungry leopards will only grow weaker and weaker. If they want to eat their fill, they'll have to go further afield, or perhaps leave this place forever.

So sometimes life is just so helpless. Just now these horses were plotting against me, and now I have to protect them from being eaten.

Amidst the swirling sand, the cheetah's tracks seemed to vanish suddenly. Even the wounded cheetah from before disappeared, leaving only a trail of blood.

I didn't bring many arrows, and they've all been used up long ago. I can only hold up my bow and walk to the side in a show of force, keeping an eye on the situation and slowly approaching the punk horse.

"Hey kid, let's make a deal. Tell your henchmen to behave themselves. If they keep running around like this, we'll all be finished."

I calmly tried to communicate with the wild horses, hoping to accomplish the impossible task with my extensive horse-raising experience. Unfortunately, the horses I raise are probably different from theirs, and I can't easily communicate using emojis; progress was extremely slow.

Then I noticed that the horse had a severe wound on its back, with blood flowing out and soaking the fluffy fur, giving it a dark red color. Fortunately, the horse's fur was thick and abundant, so the cheetah probably bit into the fur first before finally piercing the skin and injuring it, making the wound not too fatal.

But its companion wasn't so lucky. The horse was badly injured, its head bleeding profusely, with two gruesome wounds on its thigh and rump, almost exposing the bone. In the wild, a horse with a leg injury quickly becomes prey. Even on horse farms, due to treatment costs, recovery time, and various factors related to the horse's structure and behavior, most horses with leg injuries never fully recover and are euthanized.

I stepped forward to check on the horse's injuries, but the wild horse with its distinctive "punk" style headbutted me in the waist, almost sending me flying.

Tch, do you even know I'm trying to help you?!

I glared at it and continued walking. Whether it liked it or not, this horse couldn't die here so easily. If conditions allowed, I'd take even that dead horse with me; not a single hair should be left for the cheetah to eat.

I suddenly caught a glimpse of the weeds swaying in the distance, as if something had passed by.

However, I did not show it. I deliberately acted as if I was careless and underestimated my enemy, holding the bow in one hand and letting the other hand hang at my side, as if I was completely unprepared.

Just as I was two steps away from the fallen wild horse, a foul gust of wind suddenly swept past me.

What is a foul odor? These cheetahs never bathe; at most, they lick their fur with their tongues, leaving them with a strong, gamey smell. Furthermore, their long-term diet of meat and lack of vegetables causes them to suffer from chronic pharyngitis and severe halitosis—their breath is so strong it could kill a human.

Oral diseases often easily lead to complications in the respiratory system, such as the trachea, so it's reasonable that it keeps asking me for bronchitis syrup, right?

Screw your cough syrup!

When I sensed the danger around me, the colonist system took the initiative and issued a warning.

"Urgent alert: Cheetahs have targeted colonists as prey!"

System notification: Counterattack system activated automatically!

I threw my shortbow far away, then executed a perfect backflip, dodging the ambush. This backward fall also caused my sleeves to flutter, obscuring the cheetah's vision!

With the first cheetah's attack unsuccessful, a second one followed closely behind, roaring as it charged in from the other side!

In that extremely short, unclear moment, I adjusted my posture and flipped myself up, using the Tai Chi reverse arm movement, bending my elbow and wrist to form an "S" shape. I then quietly pulled out a beautifully carved wooden axe from behind my back, swung it in a circular arc, and suddenly struck the leopard with tremendous force!

This poor leopard looks like the one that got kicked twice by the punk horse. Its face is swollen, like it's been hit by the "Fatal Scholar's" disfigurement kick. It looks incredibly clumsy.

Fortunately, the wooden axe struck its back; otherwise, it would have been cleaved in two. Its roar turned into a wail, and it flew back at an even greater speed than it had come…

I stood up and stared at the last leopard that landed steadily. Every time I moved my hand holding the axe, it would take a half step back, but it still stood defiantly against me.

With its wary expression, I slowly swung the axe left and right, then left and right, trying to scare the leopard, as if I were performing an axe-wielding dance.

The cheetah was dumbfounded, standing there completely unable to understand what I was going to do, and its expression became even more wary!

I gave it a cold look, then unleashed a long-lost martial art and roared suddenly.

"Who else!"

The leopard fled in panic!

Chapter 278 The Mongolian Doctor

It's a real shame we couldn't kill the leopard.

The problem is that cheetahs are natural hunting masters. I can't find them when they are focused on hiding, and I can't catch them when they are focused on escaping.

In such a short exchange, I managed to catch them off guard and leave them wounded on both sides, while one side was terrified. That's already quite an achievement.

Thanks to my meddling today, these cheetahs came up empty-handed and ran away in fright. Given the wariness of felines, they shouldn't come back to bother me anytime soon, so I can live in peace for now.

If I were to encounter a vengeful creature like the honey badger, I would have to eliminate it completely to be truly at ease.

"Okay, let me make this clear first: if you dare to talk back to me again, I'll punch you to death."

I turned my head and looked at the punk rocker who had quietly crept up to me, saying menacing things with a big smile.

Perhaps they had witnessed my angry shout that scared away the cheetah, or perhaps the way I held the Cherry Blossom Axe gave me the imposing aura of a founding emperor. The horse obediently took half a step back and reluctantly abandoned its plan to attack my kidneys.

I've figured it out. The law of this wasteland is survival of the fittest; there's no such thing as morality or shame. When problems arise, strength is what matters. If I hadn't been incredibly strong, managing to take on three opponents and successfully turn the tables, I would have been devoured by the cheetah long ago.

It seems I need to change my mindset; I can't always look at things with outdated perspectives. Luckily, I learned this lesson from these horses first. If it had been the kind and enthusiastic locals teaching me, I might have been taken advantage of even more. It's essential to appropriately challenge established beliefs and think about problems from a different angle.

"Hu Chi... Hu Chi..."

The horse on the ground was very weak from losing too much blood. It lay there helplessly looking at me, its eyes filled with a longing for life.

The horses behind me also crowded around, rubbing against me and pretending we were old friends.

"...Hey, did you guys wash your hair? This is my only set of clothes, don't get it dirty!"

When the wild horse saw that I didn't move, it walked away from me and went to its companion, licking its face with its tongue in an attempt to keep it awake.

I sighed.

It seems pitiful for a horse to be eaten by a cheetah, but the cheetah, facing starvation without food, is also pitiful. These are all part of the natural order, and there's no need to judge them based on my subjective feelings.

If I'm so bored that I feel sorry for everyone I see, who will pity me?

Standing idly by is the norm. In this wilderness, the principle of equality for all living beings is blatantly upheld, and no animal protection organization has come out to condemn me for failing to help—here, humans are the animals that should be protected the most.

My hatred for the cheetah stems from our opposing identities, and my pity for the wild horse arises from a shared sense of suffering. But what meaning does this hold in the vast wilderness?

I hardened my heart and wanted to leave, but when I turned around and saw the pitiful state of the horses, I felt a pang of pity.

They were just trying their best to keep their companions alive.

But I just said I can't be soft-hearted, so I can't go back on the principles I just set.

Hmm? Wait a minute, what principles are there for this place?

My intention is to go against the principle, so can I go against this principle?

Or should I go against the principle of going ...

Or perhaps I should go against the principle of going ...

I fell into a deep, nested thought process.

…………

I carried the horse on my shoulder and turned to shout at the wild horse behind me. Upon hearing my words, the wild horse immediately took two steps back, pretending to look at the surrounding scenery.

"Get away! Don't follow me!"

But when I turned around, these guys were still following me. Did they think we were playing a game of "statues"?