Chapter 158: Afterwards.
"Huh? Is it just me, or is there no sign of that jinxed rabbit and her cursed husbands around?" someone asked out loud.
"Yes, I also noticed it. I didn’t see any of them anywhere in this gathering at all," another noticed.
Everyone looked around and also realized that Sunnie and her team were nowhere to be seen. They instantly began murmuring about them.
"Huh? Where could they be?"
"I didn’t even see them around this morning. You know I’m close to their place—I didn’t see anyone come out of that wooden house at all."
"Same. Do you think they ran away?"
"Most certainly. I think they already escaped before daybreak or something."
They all laughed at this conclusion, happy with the outcome.
"It makes sense. I mean, after all that humiliation, who would stay back?"
Someone from the bear tribe proudly agreed. "I mean, for real! They thought they would win and were making all the bragging possible. Now look? They didn’t even get anything and had to run away, hiding in shame."
"Truly shameful indeed," another from the bear tribe said. "Now after this, I swear they won’t even want to come out of that evil forest anymore."
"They won’t even want to show their faces again!" another said as they all laughed.
The bear tribe leader was proud of his achievements against Sunnie and her husbands. He was happy that he had won and that they had run away in shame. With a smirk, he said aloud, "Let’s not waste our time talking about such people. Those shameful beastmen should know their place behind the evil forest. Instead, let’s move on to my reward!"
Everyone laughed and cheered as the tribe leader brought forth the reward. He gave a few speeches and then called upon the bear tribe to come and collect it.
The bear tribe beastmen came and happily collected the reward. While they did, everyone cheered for them. The bear tribe leader gave a few words, shaming Sunnie and her team for trying to go up against him.
"Some people should certainly know their low places in this world. Because trying to go up against someone like me would only lead to your downfall and shame!" he said as everyone cheered aloud.
With that, they took the three bags of rewards prepared for them. The bags were heavy and thick, so they were even happier. They couldn’t help but picture the amount of crops and stuff packed in there.
They had already concluded that their harvest this season would be bountiful.
Happily, they took the reward and instantly began making preparations to head back to their tribe with it and celebrate.
While they left, everyone dispersed to continue their various businesses while discussing Sunnie and her husbands. Some were missing her meal, while others were laughing at them for leaving in shame after their loss.
---
At that moment, the boar tribe leader had already given away the reward. Now he called upon his men and informed them.
"We don’t have any crops left for ourselves now. We need more. So tell those little dumb chipmunks to enter the farm now and begin harvesting the rest. And they should also begin preparing to plant more, okay?" he instructed.
His men nodded and set off to find the chipmunks, whom they treated as their farm slaves. But soon, they returned to their leader, panicking.
The boar leader stared at them. "What’s wrong? What’s with that expression? Did you deliver the message I asked you to deliver?"
They panicked before they responded. "We didn’t see them. We searched everywhere for them, but we didn’t find any trace of them at all."
The boar leader panicked as he snapped, "What? What do you mean by that?"
They explained further how they had looked everywhere for them but saw nothing. "It’s like they ran away or something," they explained.
"How is that possible? Impossible! They can’t. Those poor bastards have nowhere else to be. They can only be here. So go and find them now! Make sure you search everywhere for them. Everywhere!" he demanded.
"Yes!" they instantly nodded as they took off. They set off to look for the chipmunks, going around the tribe and beyond.
The boar leader panicked as he thought about where they could be. He needed these chipmunks to succeed in his farm and harvest. The thought of losing them had him panicking.
He knew that if he lost them, his farming success across the lands would shake. He wouldn’t be able to produce the same quality and quantity of harvest that everyone praised him for. He wouldn’t be able to show off for it again. The thought scared him down to the core.
But they searched for the chipmunks everywhere and couldn’t find any trace of them at all. This shattered the tribe leader. He knew he was doomed.
His days of stolen glory were over.
---
On the other hand, the bear tribe leader and his people were heading back to their tribe, happily.
They moved along the path with pride, carrying the rewards given to them for winning the overall competition. They couldn’t wait to get home and plant these crops on their farms. They were certain their harvest would be bountiful.
While they moved, they had Sunnie and her wild husbands on their lips. They couldn’t stop talking and laughing about them—how they had beaten them, put them to shame, and sent them home hiding in disgrace.
They felt extremely proud of themselves as they moved and discussed this.
The tribe leader was extremely proud as he turned to stare at the men carrying the rewards. He wasn’t happy with the way they were carrying the bags, as if they were heavy burdens. He was worried they would drop the bags and ruin the crops inside.
So he snapped at them, "Why are you carrying the bags like that? Don’t you know precious crops are in there? What will you do if you ruin them, huh? Can you provide?" He warned, "Make sure you carry them well before they fall!"
But even with his warning, the men still found the bags extremely heavy. They didn’t know why, but the bags felt as though rocks were inside them. Still, they persisted and carried them with all their strength.
Until one of them couldn’t take it anymore, and the bag fell from his hand, hitting the ground hard.