Evangeline had only taken a few steps away from Saskia's cave when her eyes narrowed.
She formed a sign with her fingers and vanished into thin air.
The next moment, a figure emerged from a dark corner.
Elias Moretti gazed at Saskia's cave, a sinister glint flashing in his narrow eyes. 'So it wasn't my imagination,' he thought. 'Someone really was spying on me and Saskia.'
'This Midridge Tribe… is rather interesting.'
He let out a cold laugh before turning and melting back into the darkness.
Evangeline, meanwhile, was perched comfortably on a mulberry tree by the cave entrance. Her long legs dangled freely, swaying in the air like willow branches in a spring breeze.
A moment later, Elias Moretti reappeared from the shadows, coming to a steady halt beneath the tree.
His brow furrowed deeply, and his nostrils twitched. He had clearly caught a faint, elusive scent. 'Strange… I definitely sensed a presence. Where could it be hiding?' he wondered, his wary gaze sweeping back and forth across the area.
Looking down from her perch at the slender figure below, a mischievous glint appeared in Evangeline's eyes.
She casually grabbed a handful of mulberry leaves and scattered them down onto Elias Moretti's head.
The mulberry leaves drifted down like green snowflakes, and Elias Moretti's eyes instantly turned sharp.
His form blurred, and in a flash, he transformed into a giant, scarlet python!
The massive python's body shot up the mulberry tree like a crimson thunderbolt. As it coiled around the trunk, its scales shimmered with an eerie luster in the moonlight.
The python arched its upper body, its triangular head staring straight at Evangeline's position. Its serpentine eyes were filled with a cold, vicious hostility. A long, forked tongue flicked out with a HISS, almost touching Evangeline's cheek.
Just at that critical moment, the presence that had put him on high alert vanished without a trace, like a phantom.
Evangeline looked at the menacing scarlet python before her and let out a soft "tsk."
'Good thing I'm not Silas, or The Pale Reapers would have already come for my soul.'
A glint appeared in her eyes, her dark pupils revealing an interest in stirring up trouble.
The moment the thought occurred to her, Evangeline's fingers flew, casting an Enchanting Spell.
Instantly, the Spell became a brilliant stream of light, trailing a mysterious aura. Like a sharp blade, it shot directly toward the mystical Six-star Pattern on the scarlet python's forehead.
HISSS—! Feeling the Curse Power's assault, Elias Moretti's scales rustled all over his body. He flicked his crimson tongue violently, his serpentine eyes rolling back as the vicious aura around him intensified.
It then gave its massive body a sudden twist and opened its cavernous maw. A pungent, foul stench instantly filled the air as an arrow-like blast of venomous gas shot toward Evangeline. The attack was so ferocious it seemed to scorch and distort the very air in its path.
As Evangeline felt the venomous blast rushing toward her, her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Her form blurred like a wisp of smoke. In the blink of an eye, she flashed away, drifting elegantly clear of the mulberry tree.
After landing, Evangeline didn't leave right away. Instead, she leisurely glanced back at the mulberry tree, which was still in the giant python's coils.
The once-vibrant mulberry tree was now a wreck. Its branches were scorched pitch-black by the venom.
Unable to bear the weight, the branches began to CRACK and fall, the sharp sounds piercing the quiet night.
More than half of its once lush, beautiful green canopy was gone, and the remaining tattered leaves and branches trembled in the night wind.
"Tsk, he's ruthless," Evangeline murmured, her eyes narrowing slightly in a show of false sympathy.
With that, she turned and headed toward Verdantcave.
'After that dangerous little test, it was clear to me that the Enchanting Spell was indeed useless against a Six-star Beastman. This Elias Moretti is even more difficult to handle than I'd thought.'
Elias Moretti stared at the destroyed mulberry tree, his serpentine eyes filled with grinding fury.
'If I still haven't realized I've been played, I'd have to be as dumb as a pig.'
'As a proud Six-star Beastman, I'm always the one scheming against others. To be bested by some "mysterious person" today… How can I possibly stomach this humiliation?'
The scales all over Elias Moretti's body trembled, making a soft, grating sound. His forked tongue darted in and out, tasting the air for any lingering trace of that detestable person's scent.
*
Evangeline returned to Verdantcave without a sound. Despite being out all night, she wasn't particularly tired.
She sat down casually at the cave's entrance and began to gently pat the dust from her clothes. Her movements were slow and leisurely, as if she were brushing away the night's thrilling events along with the dirt.
She gazed calmly at the distant horizon, quietly waiting for the break of dawn.
However, before the sky had fully brightened, a clamor erupted from the direction of Saskia's cave, shattering the tribe's morning peace. Faint shouts and the sound of running feet could be heard.
A bright glint instantly appeared in Evangeline's calm eyes. The corners of her lips curved into a teasing smile as she stared with keen interest in the direction of the commotion.
'Her lover destroyed her food supply. I wonder how Saskia will feel when she sees the scene?'
The commotion had clearly startled Verdant inside the cave, as she came rushing out with her clothes in disarray.
The moment she was outside, she stared toward Saskia's cave. Her hands clenched unconsciously, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she asked urgently, "What's going on? Last night, you..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Verdant had already concluded that Evangeline was behind whatever had happened at Saskia's.
Evangeline stood and patted Verdant's shoulder. "It's nothing major. You, on the other hand, should get ready. You might have to move today."
A hint of pity flickered across Evangeline's face as she spoke.
'Saskia had kept me around, clearly as one of the "offerings" Elias Moretti had mentioned. If I was one, then Verdant—a female they already planned to get rid of—was surely the other.'
"Mo-move?" Verdant's face went white, her eyes filled with terror.
Just then, a shrill summons suddenly echoed throughout the tribe.
The sound pierced the air like a thunderclap, echoing endlessly through the quiet mountains.
Verdant instinctively looked toward Evangeline, her gaze filled with unease. The impending change left her heart full of panic and confusion.
Hearing the summons, Verdant's Beast Husbands filed out of the cave, their expressions grave.
A shadow seemed to hang over each of their faces. Their brows were knitted, and their eyes revealed deep anxiety.
In the tribe, a summons for all Beastmen meant one of two things: either it was time for an extremely important totem ritual, or something major had happened that could shake the entire tribe to its core.
Evangeline glanced at the group and gave a small shrug. "No point hiding from what's coming," she said calmly. "Let's go."
With that, she took the lead, her steps steady as she walked toward the gathering place of the Beastmen.
Verdant watched Evangeline's retreating figure and bit her lip. She gripped the arm of the Beast Husband beside her, her knuckles turning white from the pressure.
After a moment's hesitation, she took a deep breath and hurried after Evangeline, pulling her Beast Husbands along.