“I didn’t act earlier because there was no good reason, but now it’s different.”
Pig strutted in with a cocky expression, followed closely by the towering female Horse behind him.
“Then tell me…” Goat sneered, “what was the reason for that kick just now?”
“Because you’re planning a ‘rebellion,'” Pig chuckled darkly. “I couldn’t be sure on my own, but even Horse said the same thing.”
“Oh…?” The expressions of the four in the room grew uneasy.
“Lately, there’s been a group of strange participants…” Pig took slow, deliberate steps forward. “They’ve been rallying ‘Zodiacs’ across multiple games to rebel… Isn’t that outright treason?”
Hearing this, Goat became even more convinced that Tiger hadn’t lied.
That man named Qi Xia was truly making his move—there was a high chance he was the Sheep Brother himself.
If that was the case, then the current battlefield needed reevaluating.
The laid-back Dog, unfazed by the hostile visitors, asked flatly, “Isn’t this the infamous Pig Brother? Which eye of yours saw us rebelling?”
“A suspicion is enough for me,” Pig said, tilting his head up to glare at the towering figures before him. “Now, I’ll round you all up and drag you before Sky Snake to settle this.”
Seeing this, Tiger stepped forward, blocking Pig’s path. “Stand right there, you damn midget.”
“What did you just call me…?” Pig’s eyes widened in fury.
“You heard me, you little runt! How long have you been lording it over us just because you’ve been a pig longer?” Tiger snarled. “With Sheep Brother gone, even a short-legged pig like you thinks he can rule the roost? What gives you the right?”
Goat frowned and stepped forward as well, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Tiger.
At this point, the odds of Dog or Rat joining the fight were slim—it was effectively two against two.
But both Pig and Horse had been ‘Earth-level’ for decades, their combat and killing experience far surpassing theirs. The outcome of a direct clash was unpredictable.
“I *hate* being called short…” Pig bared his tusks, his face twisting with rage.
“Short! You’re fucking short!” Tiger barked out a laugh. “Where I’m from, they say people who don’t grow tall have too many schemes weighing them down—how many damn holes do you have in that rotten heart of yours?”
Pig didn’t waste another word. He leapt into the air, lashing out with a kick. Tiger’s expression darkened as he raised one arm to block while throwing a devastating punch with the other.
The two collided mid-air, their attacks deflecting each other before they were both sent flying backward. Pig quickly regained his footing, though the floor cracked beneath him.
Tiger, however, crashed expressionlessly into a cabinet behind him, reducing it to splinters.
Neither hesitated—the moment they steadied themselves, they lunged forward again.
Goat’s brow furrowed as he swiftly shut the door, intending to join the fight, only for Horse to block his path.
“Little black sheep, just listen to Pig Brother,” Horse said, her lipstick-smeared mouth curling into a grin. “He’s almost at ‘Celestial-level.’ You rebels are the perfect stepping stone for his promotion. If you surrender now, maybe he’ll spare you once he ascends.”
“Funny.” Goat scoffed. “For an ‘Earth-level,’ your logic is embarrassingly childish. Even if he *does* reach ‘Celestial-level,’ we’d already be dead. What difference would his mercy make then?”
“I’m offering you a way out. Take it or leave it.” Horse’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Pig Brother’s already being generous by not reporting you to the higher-ups. He came here personally—don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Ha!” Goat burst out laughing. “Or maybe it’s because he has *no proof*? False accusations would backfire on him. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
Horse’s face twisted with fury. Without another word, she lunged forward, swinging a fist at Goat.
Goat ducked smoothly, then stomped hard on a loose floorboard. The other end of the board shot upward, slamming into Horse’s chin and shattering on impact.
Seizing the moment, Goat snatched up splintered wood mid-air and hurled the shards at Horse’s eyes while she was still dazed.
Horse reacted instantly, driving a knee into Goat’s chest and sending him flying—but not before the wooden shards sliced across her face.
In that split-second exchange, both were wounded, leaving the fight deadlocked.
Nearby, Dog picked up a plate, scooped a handful of sunflower seeds from the floor, and dragged a chair to the wall, sitting down to munch on them while watching the battle unfold.
Rat, seeing this, moved her own chair over, and the two quietly snacked on seeds as if enjoying a front-row movie.
“So?” Dog asked between bites. “Is this plan officially launched or already dead in the water?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Rat smirked. “Boss, you’re usually so sharp—why ask such a dumb question now? That’s just rude.”
“If you’re so smart, tell me—where do we stand in this fight?”
“I’d recommend the prestigious role of ‘fence-sitter,'” Rat chuckled behind her hand. “If Money-Losing Tiger and Scheming Goat go down, we jump in and kick them while they’re down—cripple them for life if we can’t kill them. But if Short-Legged Pig and Towering Horse lose…”
“Is that even possible…?” Dog countered. “Pig’s been ruling unchecked under Earth Dragon ever since Sheep left. Who the hell can take him down?”
“But what if…?” Rat grabbed another handful of seeds. “Even in a hundred perfectly good seeds, you’ll find a rotten one. No matter how strong Pig and Horse are, they might just meet their match.”
“So what’s your play?”
“If Pig and Horse *do* go down…” Rat grinned. “We kill them on the spot and pin the rebellion on *them*… Heh…”
“Wait…?” Dog narrowed his eyes, intrigued by the idea.
“As long as we keep Sky Snake out of it, our word is law,” Rat said with a meaningful glance. “How many ‘Earth-level’ Zodiacs are there? If four of us—who barely interact—all swear Pig was the traitor, how’s he gonna prove otherwise?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage