The interior of the tent was quite flashy. On the walls hung heads skinned from various monsters, paintings crammed into every gap, and the floor was covered with rugs made from the fur of three different monsters. The surrounding area was filled with bizarre crafts, making the entire tent look bloated. In the square frame at the center of the floor was a small campfire. A pot on top was boiling, emitting the fragrance of Hazel Bamboo Wine. Baruma sat behind the stove. Inside the entire tent, there was only one foxman by sight, plus Cass himself, making two people total.
A little while earlier.
-“Go to the seventh largest tent from the left at the edge of the village tonight. There’s something you want there.”
At noon, after Valoran went to a second emergency meeting, Nuo Yi took the party to eat and also celebrate the victory of the match. After the meal, when Cass first stepped out to get some fresh air, a foxman warrior said these words to Cass and then walked away toward the village gate. Cass recognized him. Though his memory was faint, Cass recalled that the other was a foxman who had been by Baruma’s side earlier.
At present, his teammates had already heard Valoran personally explain the Tri-tribe Alliance proposal at the meeting, so they naturally supported Valoran. Only Kersey, after hearing it, seemed to find the matter complicated and troublesome, looking somewhat reluctant and tired, but in the end she also supported it. In short, knowing they would set out for the Snake-kin early tomorrow morning, and that Baruma was still opposing Valoran, Cass still came to this tent.
“Heh heh, human warrior, don’t just stand there. Sit down and talk.” Baruma took a sip of wine.
“No need. I’ll stand here.”
Lifting the door curtain and hooking it at the top, Cass stood one step inside the entrance. Without knowing his background, a foxman would indeed think Cass was female at first glance. But whether observing his physique or distinguishing by scent, he was male—a male with formidable combat power. This had been confirmed from his duel with Ti Er Xiu that morning.
“You said there’s something I want. What is it?” The blue-haired youth before him, who looked very much like a woman, asked in a cold, stern voice, not intending to waste words.
“Whatever you want, I can give it to you.” Baruma said this, and Cass raised a delicate eyebrow strangely.
“Wealth, fame, power, territory, women… If you help me become chieftain, I can give you anything you want. Become my subordinate, Cass Benor.” Baruma raised his palm in a welcoming gesture, and from a skewed perspective, it looked as if he was holding Cass up.
Meeting like this one-on-one was also to demonstrate his sincerity. He hadn’t considered trying to win over that orange-haired lunatic and the pink-haired female priest.
“Hmm.” Baruma suddenly lowered his head. Every time he remembered that lunatic’s face, Baruma’s groin would phantom-ache. That lunatic was uncontrollable, and the pink-haired female priest was always inseparable from him, so he figured she wasn’t normal either. In comparison, Cass just liked talking to himself and randomly swinging his sword in the bathroom, which was already good enough, and he seemed to be their team leader.
“Hah…” Cass let out a breath, and his posture actually relaxed.
Seeing this, Baruma took another sip of wine, feeling both admiration and jealousy in his heart. As expected, he’s not easily swayed. Faced with my tempting conditions, he remains unfazed. Not only does he dare to come alone to his enemy’s camp, he shows no fear at all. As expected, Baluso’s family—including that good niece—even the will of the Ancestral Spirits is on your side?! You’ve been stealing my fortune all along! Why can’t I meet such talent… Baruma clenched his bone cup, veins bulging beneath the fur on his hand.
“So that’s what you meant. I thought it was a magic that could teach me to hypnotize Siloque.” Cass moved his lips in a whisper, then raised his head and responded coldly, “I killed your capable subordinate. Is that okay?”
“That was because he lacked ability. If he died, he only has himself to blame.” Baruma’s indifferent tone made Cass’s brow slightly furrow.
“No need, I rec—”
“Don’t decide so quickly!” Baruma interrupted him, stroking his beard. “There must be something you care about, and I happen to be able to give it to you. For example… ‘Si~lo~que.’” He deliberately made the ending sound somewhat vague.
Cass’s magical power suddenly surged, his gaze sharp and icy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Would you mind saying it again, please?”
The other was asking in a very polite tone, but Baruma had to take another sip of wine to calm himself. Such strong killing intent. Although he had armed subordinates standing by in a nearby tent, ready to arrive at his command, and he himself always had an invisible magic shield active, he still couldn’t help but feel a little, just a little, afraid. After all, Baruma was really not good at close combat.
—He guessed wrong? ‘Siloque’ was a word Baruma had overheard Cass muttering in the bathroom at Valoran’s house. From Cass’s reaction, it should be something important. But the other clearly did not want to hear that word, so it wasn’t suitable for negotiation—it seemed to be his sore spot.
“Heh heh! That’s right, ‘Forest Ranger.’ The position is second only to Warrior Chief, but the work is easy and safe—you just patrol around the village. If you want, I can have you promoted immediately.” Baruma said calmly, reciting his prepared speech.
Staring at Baruma’s mask for a while, Cass replied, “No need. My answer won’t change. I won’t—”
“Oh, it looks like they’ve arrived. Cheer up, young man. You’ll like them.” Baruma twitched his ears, his tone full of amusement.
Cass sensed footsteps, and the hilt of his Demon Blade faintly materialized—
“Oh my god! It really is Cass! He’s even more handsome up close!”
“Looking at him like this, he’s really cute.”
“Wait, everyone line up. Can’t you see Cass is reluctant? He likes younger ones.”
“No way, Cass likes fuller figures!”
A group of female foxmen surrounded Cass, encircling him. Cass, at the center of the storm, was so embarrassed he didn’t know what to do. Baruma had previously sent his subordinates to tell some women in the village that they could meet the blue-haired human male, and all the women wagged their tails and agreed to come. They had just arrived in a group.
Although it was his own method of recruitment, beneath the mask, Baruma was full of resentment toward Cass.
“Cass, if you make me chieftain, I can approve your marriage to all these female foxmen… all of them, hehe, all of them can marry you! How about it? You can’t refuse, right? If it were me in my youth, I’d be so happy I’d run three laps around the village!” Envy, jealousy, and hatred made Baruma grit his teeth, and the bone cup in his hand was crushed into pieces.
Wouldn’t it be better to simply seize this human’s body? Just as Baruma was thinking this—
“Whoa! Um, please wait… please stop, everyone.” Cass suddenly released a tremendous amount of magical power, and the women were startled into stopping.
Cass straightened his clothes and looked coldly at Baruma. “High Priest, no matter what you do, I will refuse you. I support Valoran.”
With that, Cass turned and left, leaving behind a back that showed no room for negotiation. It was quickly blocked by the curtain falling.
Outside the tent, the shadows of the female foxmen were silent for a moment. Soon after, screams erupted, and from the hurried footsteps, it was easy to tell they were chasing him. Inside the tent, only the crackling of burning wood and Baruma’s heavy breathing remained.
“This human… interesting… heh heh.”
Baruma slapped his thigh happily. A subordinate’s shadow appeared on the curtain behind him, but Baruma waved him away. Even his hateful brother, with such strong self-control, would still be at a loss when faced with so many women, emitting an excited scent. But Cass was different. Surrounded by so many beautiful women, Cass looked flustered, yet his body did not emit any male excited scent… there was even a hint of disgust mixed in. There was no special magical flow, so clearly he wasn’t suppressing his emotions with external force. Stronger self-control than Baluso? More mature and composed? Years of experience told Baruma there was only one answer—
“You… your thing down there, it doesn’t work… So it’s not just me who has a problem.”
In all these years, Baruma had seen for the first time someone with the same unspeakable male problem as himself, and he couldn’t help but feel a trace of kinship toward Cass.
“When I become chieftain, I’ll award him the territory of the Snake-kin…” In the large tent surrounded by various objects, making it feel cramped, the old man wearing the crimson mask murmured softly.
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