Julian’s gaze darkened, his thin lips pressing into a sharp line. He stared at her stubbornly, the pressure around him dropping to a frightening low.

Evangeline frowned, her gaze shifting to Rask. She changed the subject. "What is all that on you?"

Rask’s back was laden with dripping wet seaweed, interspersed with all sorts of beast skins and Beast Cores. On the Beastman Continent, this getup made him look like a nouveau riche with no reservations—so ostentatiously gaudy it was hard not to stare.

"Heh, this is all my life’s savings!" Rask glanced down at himself and shook his head smugly.

The seaweed rustled with his movements, and a few rare Seven-star Pattern Beast Cores clinked against each other.

"Life’s savings?" Evangeline’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Evangeline’s gaze flickered. Her eyes scanned Rask’s face for a moment before suddenly turning to the dark entrance of the stone cave.

The corners of her lips curved into a barely perceptible smile. "Are you... moving house?"

’For a wandering beastman like Rask, there was never a stable life. When a place was no longer suitable, he’d just leave. It seemed the recent turmoil in the cave had put Rask on high alert, and he was planning to leave this place.’

Rask gave a dry laugh.

His eyes darted around, and he suddenly rubbed his hands together as he sidled a few steps closer. The belongings on his back clanged and clattered even more.

"Female, can I stay by your side too?" Rask’s voice was laced with deliberate sycophancy.

Julian, who had been brooding off to the side, was instantly jolted back to reality. He snapped his head up to glare at Rask, a storm brewing in his eyes. After a moment, he sneered, "On what grounds? Are you even worthy?"

Rask shot him a glance and chuckled. "If you can, why can’t I? We both have an Eight-Star Pattern. Is it just because you’re the leader of the Goldeagle Tribe? Female, I may be a wandering beastman, but I have a lot of assets! All my things are far more useful than some male who only has a title and no real ability. I have more than enough to support ten females!"

As he spoke, Rask even smugly shook the "assets" on his back, like a merchant hawking his own wares.

A shrewd, calculating glint flashed in his eyes.

’If at first he had only been taken by the female’s beauty, now he was utterly captivated by her abilities.’

’Just think, a female who could survive in that toxic fog for so long... if he became her male, would she still hold back? She would definitely teach him all her skills. Then, even the Nine-star Extreme Realm wouldn’t be impossible!’

’He’d get the female and increase his power—what’s not to love?’

A thousand thoughts raced through Rask’s mind, and he trembled with excitement.

He suddenly glanced at the furious Julian and deliberately drew out his words. "Julian, you’re just a male the female hasn’t accepted yet. You have no authority over me! Why don’t we compete and see who can win the female’s favor first?"

A horrifying CRACK came from Julian’s knuckles. His gilded-gold pupils were completely bloodshot, and a murderous aura surged from him.

Rask paid it no mind, his attention once again focused entirely on Evangeline. His eyes were fervent. "Female?"

Evangeline’s fingertips gently stroked the soft, smooth fur on the Snow Ferret’s back. She lifted her eyelids slightly. "Life’s savings?"

"Yes! As long as we form a Contract, everything I have is yours! I swear in the name of the Beast God, I will protect you with my life!" Rask’s eyes lit up, and he stared intently at Evangeline, looking as if he wished he could hand over all the belongings hanging on his back right then and there.

A playful smile touched Evangeline’s lips. "You were trying to threaten me back in the cave, and now you’re trying the ingratiating route?"

Although Rask didn’t understand what "ingratiating route" meant, the mention of what happened in the Venom Pit made his scalp tingle. He immediately rubbed his hands together and chuckled sheepishly, whispering, "Well, I-I was just afraid you’d reject me..."

His voice trailed off, making him sound just like a child who had done something wrong.

"He dared to make a move on you?!" Julian’s aura turned sharp and menacing, fire practically shooting from his Beast Eyes.

Rask flinched and hurriedly denied it. "Don’t you spout nonsense! Who made a move on the female? My record is clean! I haven’t even touched a single strand of her hair! I just wanted to have a nice chat with the female, but then the toxic fog suddenly went crazy and forced me out!"

Julian frowned, his golden eyes locked on Rask, his suspicion so intense it was almost tangible.

"Give me all that stuff on your back." Evangeline casually beckoned to Rask with her finger.

Rask froze for a second, then his eyes lit up. His handsome face instantly flushed red with excitement. "Y-You’ve agreed?!"

"Evangeline!" Julian’s gilded, vertical pupils flickered in disbelief, his voice rough and hoarse.

’He couldn’t believe it. Evangeline would rather choose a wandering beastman than him.’

Afraid Julian would say something to make Evangeline change her mind, Rask immediately shouldered him aside and frantically handed all the CLANGING "assets" from his back to Evangeline.

"Female!" Rask called out solemnly.

He thumped his chest heavily and declared in a deep voice, "Don’t you worry. I might not have been a good Beastman in the past, but for you, I’ll strive to be an upstanding male! I’ll hunt well and make sure you live a good life!"

By the end, his voice was trembling slightly with excitement, and he stood much straighter than usual.

Evangeline weighed the soggy "betrothal gifts" in her hands with a somewhat forced expression, but she still put them away in her storage space.

The sight felt like a knife twisting in Julian’s heart.

He felt something inside his chest shatter. His gilded-gold pupils trembled violently, and his breath hitched.

Rask, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. He was immersed in ecstasy, his grin stretching nearly from ear to ear.

’From now on, he, Rask, was a man with a female! And his female was a witch favored by the Beast God! The realization made the blood in his veins boil, and he felt like diving into the deep pool for a few celebratory laps!’

However, before the smile could even set on his face, Evangeline’s charming, melodious voice splashed over him like a basin of ice water. "Support me? There’s no need."

Rask froze, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Wha-What? But you clearly accepted my..." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He sounded like a strangled rooster, the words caught in his throat.

Evangeline’s beautiful eyes gazed at Rask. Her gaze flowed, but there was no mirth in it. "In the cave, you tried to coerce me with herbs, which I found extremely irritating. The only reason I didn’t kill you then was because Julian barged in. Now that we’re out, I naturally have to vent my anger."

"For the sake of the Silver Fish that night, I’ll spare your life."

"However, a price must be paid to buy your life."

"So I’ll be taking your ’assets.’ Rask, try to be a better Beastman from now on, and don’t cross me again."

A faint smile played on Evangeline’s lips, her voice light yet piercingly sharp.

Julian let out a long sigh of relief, feeling much of the frustration that had been weighing him down finally dissipate.

Rask stood ramrod straight. His throat bobbed a few times before he rasped out, "You never once thought... of accepting me?"

Evangeline’s expression was placid, her voice unhurried. "I have seven Beast Husbands. Right now, I have no plans to add another."