Thorne’s gaze was sinister and haunted, his dark green pupils locked onto Elias Moretti.
Evangeline stepped forward, pushed Elias Moretti aside, and looked at him with a smirk. "Thorne will be recovering his strength soon. Why would I need to get revenge for him? When the ti cos, won’t it be better for him to dig out Evangeline’s heart with his own hands?"
Elias Moretti froze. His scarlet pupils constricted, locking onto Evangeline.
His voice was dangerously low. "Are you serious?"
Evangeline t his gaze, the smile never leaving her lips. "Of course, I’m serious."
She glanced at Thorne, whose eyelids were lowered, and lightly caressed the bone knife in his hand. Her tone was as casual as if she were discussing the weather. "The bone knife is so sharp. What, are you afraid Thorne won’t be able to do the deed?"
Elias Moretti fell completely silent, seemingly reining in all his emotions.
He looked at Thorne and said calmly, "You’re a mber of the Grymdale Tribe. If you leave now and take Flora with you, the matter of the Viper Saliva can’t be resolved. Your tribesn will be reduced to mindless Wild Beasts. Are you sure you want that?"
Thorne’s knuckles tightened, turning a deathly, ashen white.
He lowered his gaze to the ink-black snake corpse on the ground, his dark green vertical pupils swirling with dark, unreadable emotions.
Thorne slowly raised his eyes, his gaze holding a chilling, piercing sharpness.
A sarcastic smile touched his lips, and his voice was cold enough to chill one to the bone. "Tribesn? When they tied to the sacrificial altar, did any of them rember that I was also a mber of the Grymdale Tribe?"
His laughter was laced with venom. "I don’t care if the Grymdale Tribe lives or dies."
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, gradually filling with an unsettling chill.
In the midst of this suffocating silence—
"BLEGH—"
An abrupt retch tore through the silence.
Evangeline clutched her chest, her brow furrowed as a sour taste rose in her throat.
She leaned on Thorne, her fingertips turning white from how tightly she gripped him. A violent wave of nausea surged through her, and she couldn’t stop herself from bending over to dry heave again, though nothing ca up.
"Flora?"
"Flora!"
"Flora—"
Three voices cried out in alarm at once.
Thorne reached out and held her, his usually steady and grim voice now holding a tremor.
Orion’s expression changed as well, his voice low and anxious. "Flora, you didn’t get injured down at Thorncliff, did you?"
"Gable!" Elias Moretti’s scarlet snake pupils flickered, his body coiling restlessly as he summoned the Witch.
Gable glanced over, carefully setting Lana down from his arms before stepping forward. He was startled when he saw Evangeline retching miserably. ’This female is incredibly powerful, how could this suddenly happen to her?’
"Hurry and check on her!" Elias Moretti urged in a low voice.
Gable took Evangeline’s wrist. As his nostrils flared, he caught a strange scent. He paused, his gaze falling to the center of her forehead, but there was nothing there. He asked in confusion, "Are you with child?"
The two words, "with child," were like a magic spell, causing everyone’s gaze to fall upon Evangeline in unison.
Her bangs were ssy from the morning sickness.
According to the lore of the Beastman Continent, when a female conceives, the Star Pattern on her forehead transforms into a blooming Beast Spirit Flower. This is a blessing from the Beast God, symbolizing that life has taken root in her bloodline and a new power is budding.
The higher a female’s Star Pattern Level, the more dazzling the Beast Spirit Flower on her forehead would be.
Because Evangeline had taken a Disguise Pill, she had no Star Pattern on her forehead, and thus, no Beast Spirit Flower.
"With child?" Elias Moretti’s eyes darkened, his sharp gaze cutting across every male present like a knife.
Thorne’s muscles tensed abruptly. The arm he had around Evangeline beca as stiff as stone. His Adam’s apple bobbed as a low voice escaped his throat. "A female being with child is an honor for the tribe. There’s nothing to be surprised about."
Elias Moretti shot him a sarcastic look. ’There’s no way that cub is his.’
"Since Flora is carrying a cub, she must naturally stay in the tribe. The hunting season is almost over, and the rainy season is coming. Thorne, since Flora has chosen you, raising this cub is your responsibility."
"Protecting a female during her pregnancy is more important than revenge."
"Little brother, I am willing to raise this cub with you. Stay in the Grymdale Tribe, and let the cub in Flora’s belly grow up under the protection of our totem."
"I swear on my fangs and venom that these words co from the heart, without a hint of deceit."
Elias Moretti’s voice was deep, and his scarlet eyes glowed brightly in the firelight of the Monitor Tribe’s camp.
Orion frowned at Elias Moretti. ’This snake is never up to any good.’ He then turned to Thorne and said, "Flora can give birth to her cub just as safely in the Sky-Rend Tribe!"
The emotion in the depths of Thorne’s dark green eyes was indiscernible.
By this ti, Evangeline’s bout of morning sickness had passed.
Thorne’s tension eased as Evangeline’s breathing gradually cald. He carefully wiped the moisture from the corner of her lips with the rough pads of his fingers, his voice soft and low. "Still feeling sick?"
Evangeline shook her head. Leaning on Thorne, she scanned the faces of those around them.
She had heard everything they said. The corners of her eyes lifted slightly, her gaze calm as she spoke. "There’s no need for you to argue. I’m no ordinary female. I can raise my own cub."
A complicated look appeared on Orion’s usually carefree face. "Flora, this cub’s..."
Evangeline turned to Orion, her expression and tone flat. "Yes. It’s the cub of a Fallen Beastman. And it’s mine. Do you have a problem with that?"
Her tone wasn’t loud, yet it sent a bone-chilling cold through the beastn present.
Fallen Beastn devoured Beastman Crystals and were outcasts on the Beastman Continent. The cub of a Fallen Beastman would be born a Fallen Beastman as well. Forgetting whether the leaders here could accept it, the other mbers of any tribe certainly would not!
Gable’s voice trembled as he pointed at Evangeline’s abdon. "That is a cursed bloodline!"
The onlooking beastn imdiately broke into an uproar.
The warriors of the Wyvern Tribe suddenly unfurled their mbranous wings, casting nacing shadows in the firelight.
The lead warrior pointed a sharp claw directly at Evangeline, his voice ringing throughout the Monitor Tribe’s camp. "Orion! We cannot bring this female back to the Sky-Rend Tribe! The thing in her belly is a monster that devours Beast Crystals!"
The other Wyvern Beastn let out piercing shrieks, their Bone Wings gleaming coldly in the night.
"That’s right! It’s a monster! We can’t take her back to the Sky-Rend Tribe!"
"Orion! The Grymdale Tribe has little to do with us! We can’t take this female back!"
"..."
Evangeline’s gaze was icy, reflecting the dancing flas. With a flick of her wrist, the Cold Frost Whip shot through the air!
The long whip tore through the air, filling it with a spray of fine ice crystals!
"CRACK—"
Wherever the tip of the whip passed, the Wyvern Beastn’s mbranous wings instantly frosted over. They all stumbled backward as their ice-covered scales crackled and popped!
"You keep calling a monster. Do you take for a pushover?"
"If I hear one more disrespectful word from any of you, the next crack of this whip will shatter your Beast Crystals!"
Orion’s expression changed drastically, and he rushed forward to stop her. "Flora, they didn’t an it, you..."
Evangeline snorted coldly, the corner of her lip curling in contempt. "Did I say I was going to the Sky-Rend Tribe?"
"I wouldn’t go even if you begged ! Get lost—"
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