Chapter 176: Battle Games

Hill and Inafa were facing off on a tree.

Thanks to focusing intensely on the game, Inafa managed to ignore the height of the Great Tree and the fear that came with it.

“Ah ha, Illyon, you wanted to sneak attack again? Too bad, Hill saw right through you!”

“Kaka, your reactions aren’t bad for a mere human…”

The young girl with pale gold twin-tails and the small vampire with golden hair and eyes both stared at the screen. Inafa’s fingers moved at lightning speed, her full attention dedicated to “killing her opponent.”

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

Inafa’s fingertips flew across the buttons, her eyes locked on the changing pixels on the screen.

On one side of the screen was a weathered old man character wielding a large blade, controlled by Hill. On the other was a dark night mage dressed in black, controlled by Inafa.

The characters constantly jumped and clashed, punching and kicking, swinging staves and swords. Occasionally, after consuming a meter bar, they would release a burst of dazzling light—this was essentially the flow of their battle.

“Ah!”

The mage controlled by Inafa was struck by the enemy old man’s giant sword, which had suddenly grown larger and heavier. The character was sent flying to the other side of the screen. Her health points instantly dropped to zero, and her clothes burst into fragments.

Snap! Wah—wah—wah—wah…

Game Over.

Inafa’s character lay there in rags, turning to ash after uttering a meaningless line of dialogue, her aura of a “minor character” becoming even more pronounced.

Inafa bit her lower lip, her golden hair fluttering slightly.

“One more time. This time, for sure… I’ll show you my true power.”

Her eyes were faintly red, but she still spoke in a voice that was as calm as possible.

“Ahahaha, the result will be the same no matter how many times we play. Which character should I choose this time?”

While Hill selected a character, she cast a glance toward the cave entrance not far below the tree.

“So slow… Brother, when will you be finished?”

—

Meanwhile, inside the Secret Chamber.

The Snake-kin and the human in yellow clothes faced each other.

To call it a fight would be inaccurate, because for the Snake-kin, it wasn’t fair at all.

Even though she was looking down at him from her position, she was the one who had fallen into a disadvantageous state.

The Hazmat Suit was stuffy enough to make him sweat, and Siloque’s breathing had become hot. But when he looked through the goggles and saw Yalier’s stubborn expression—her fine eyebrows twitching even as she tried to maintain a cold face—the pleasure rising in his heart temporarily suppressed the discomfort of the heat.

It was unexpectedly entertaining to see a proud, icy beauty over 3 meters long being driven to tremors. If Hill were here, she would surely have grabbed her tail and played with it.

Siloque’s goal was to gather evidence.

As for who had sent Yalier, he knew clearly in his heart—but he needed her to say it herself.

The cubic machine placed in front of Yalier was a camera he had set up beforehand. It was professional equipment bought for 60,000 chi, featuring built-in audio capture, and was currently recording everything.

‘Sigh, I didn’t want to do this to Yalier either. I was forced into it.’

‘I’ve already placed a barrier in this cave, so no matter how loud she screams, no one will come to save her.’

‘Inafa and Hill are guarding the outside. I could interrogate her until dawn if I had to.’

‘But I really don’t want to do this interrogator work… I want to go back and sleep. I’ve already gotten used to the luxury bed in the Castle.’

‘Hehehe…’

Without realizing it, the corners of Siloque’s mouth curled up slightly.

“Well, Yalier, are you ready to talk?”

“Gugh—!!”

Hearing his teasing tone, Yalier stared at Siloque with slit pupils that held a mix of pain, anger, and a trace of undetectable excitement.

“Hmm, still not planning to speak? You have quite the willpower. But I wonder how long you can last.”

“…Ugh—”

A faint fragrance filled the air. A humidifier in the corner constantly spat out a mist of water, mixed with a tea scent that possessed a calming effect—something one could buy at any supermarket.

To ease the tension, Siloque had even put on some music.

The soft melody, combined with the fresh, sweet tea scent, seemed to seep into one’s very marrow, making the entire space feel hazy and romantic.

Of course, the main purpose of doing this was to mask his own scent.

Similarly, he wore the Hazmat Suit to prevent Yalier from recognizing him during any future contact with the Snake-kin Race.

This was why Yalier’s reaction was so intense—just as the settings described.

Usually obedient to her superiors, decisive in her killings, and cold and taciturn, her inner self was actually that of a masochist.

The Snake-kin are a race consisting only of females.

Regardless of which race they mate with, the offspring will always be a Snake-kin girl. Much like a cucumber, no matter what dish it is added to, it ultimately remains a cucumber.

Due to the lack of males, they usually selected high-probability targets, capturing young boys of other Beastman Races under the cover of night to bring back to the tribe.

…At least, that was what the outside world believed.

In reality, Siloque knew they weren’t as thirsty as the rumors suggested.

The Snake-kin Race implemented a Population Registration System. When a Snake-kin reached adulthood, she needed to report to the tribe’s Priest before arrangements were made to capture a male from another tribe.

But at the end of the day, the nature of the act was still not great.

While they liked to catch young boys, they generally didn’t drain them to death. Usually, they would stop once the “Ritual” was complete and then quietly send the person back.

Other Snake-kin Warriors would supervise the site of the ritual to prevent any accidents.

The problem was that most of the Beastman boys who were sent back were left with psychological trauma, and some even developed a phobia of women.

For a period, this even caused the birth rates of the other Beastman Races to decline.

Combined with the fact that the Snake-kin’s combat power was not weak, the Fox-kin and Wolf-kin tended to avoid them, which indirectly strengthened nighttime patrols and defenses.

“Mmm… ugh!”

“Ah, sorry about that. I spaced out for a moment.”

Siloque apologized in a flat tone while slightly moving the device in his hand.

He pressed his cuff, barely managing to see the time on his watch through the light.

Only 3 minutes had passed since she woke up.

Clearly, Yalier was already nearing her limit.

“Hah… hah…”

The device that brought a “sense of happiness” slowly approached a certain part of Yalier’s body—one that possessed tens of thousands of nerve endings.

Closer and closer.

Siloque spoke:

“Are you willing to talk now?”

The corners of Yalier’s mouth curled into a charming smile, and the tip of her snake tail shook frantically.

—

An unknown amount of time passed.

Yalier’s consciousness emerged blurrily from the darkness once more.

A faint tea scent remained in the Secret Chamber, mixed with the smell of skin.

She felt her body was abnormally dry, as if she had been coated in oil and then air-dried.

She slowly opened her eyes.

The room was pitch black, but her vision remained clear.

‘What happened…’

‘We were caught…’

“?!!—You bastard…”

Where was Anmiu? She remembered they were walking through the underground passage, and then…

Her memory stopped at a certain moment.

She only remembered the scene before Thor pressed that strange device against her. Everything after that—a complete blank.

“Ugh…”

Her head felt heavy, and she couldn’t remember anything.

She slammed her fist against the ground, only then realizing she was no longer hung up but was lying on the floor.

She was covered with a black robe.

Lying next to her was Anmiu.

Looking around, the black cloth that had been hanging from the ceiling was gone, the lights were gone, and the strange racks and equipment had vanished.

Thor was gone.

There were no banana leaves on the ground, nor was that strangely shaped device.

‘Was it… a dream?’

Yalier couldn’t help but have this illusion.

She raised her hand to touch her neck. Her fingertips brushed against sweat that hadn’t completely dried, and she couldn’t help but click her tongue.

It was all real.

The scene had been thoroughly cleaned.

Clothing and Equipment were stacked neatly between her and Anmiu.

But the most critical item—the Bamboo Basket—was gone.

‘Was that the enemy’s true goal?’

“Ugh… where is this?”

Anmiu rubbed her head and sat up, finally awake.

“Yalier?! What happened to you? You look… as exhausted as if you suddenly climbed several mountains after sleeping at Home for a long time.”

Anmiu looked nervous and quickly put on her clothes, also noticing that the Bamboo Basket had disappeared.

Clearly, she knew nothing about what had just happened.

She helped Yalier up.

“Are you okay? Tsk, could it be the work of the Wolf-kin… those savages.”

“An… Anmiu…”

Yalier’s throat was dry and raspy, and a strong sense of thirst hit her.

Supporting each other, the two slowly walked out of the cave and into the deep Forest.

They had to return and report tonight’s abnormality as soon as possible.

—

Meanwhile, atop the Great Tree.

“…So, what exactly were Brother and the Snake-kin doing during those ten minutes? He wasn’t doing something bad, was he?”

Hill put down her Night Vision Binoculars.

“Kaka, I haven’t tasted Snake-kin blood in a long time. I actually wanted to try some.”

“Illyon, are you imitating the Empress Hancock? It seems you’ve been reading too much manga.”

The golden-haired girl in the Gothic Formal Dress gripped the armrests of her tree-chair tightly. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, revealing cold sweat on her forehead. Her head was always tilted upward, not daring to look down.

After all, this Great Tree was 20 meters tall, far exceeding Inafa’s tolerance for heights.

Siloque had previously offered her a rope for safety, but she had coolly rejected it, claiming it “didn’t fit her image.” In reality, she just didn’t want Hill to know she was afraid of heights.

At this moment, Siloque was crouching in the canopy, the Bamboo Basket sitting beside him.

He held up his binoculars, watching the two Snake-kin disappear into the depths of the Forest.

“I definitely wasn’t doing anything bad. I was exercising Justice.”

And performing a bit of… suggestive interrogation.

“Exercising Justice… but that one with the long green hair, why did Hill feel like she was in a state of exhaustion after intense exercise, Brother?”

“Pretty much. She just had a leg cramp.”

Siloque wasn’t lying.

Although the reason was a bit complicated, Yalier indeed had a cramp.

“Illyon, do the Snake-kin usually get cramps like that at night?”

“Kaka, who knows. Maybe it’s a side effect of Magic, or maybe your brother is just too much of a pervert. Anything is possible.”

That was as good as saying nothing.

Inafa turned her face away. Under her skirt, her feet were actually trembling slightly, though no one pointed it out.

As a vampire, she was very sensitive to scents and seemed to have already sensed something.

Siloque pretended not to notice and continued observing through his Night Vision Binoculars.

“The evidence I wanted has been filmed. Now, they are of no further use to me.”