Shivana looked at Black Snake first.
From the watchtower, she had seen everything clearly. This human's martial skill far surpassed that of anyone she had ever seen.
That was precisely why she had deliberately chosen to watch from the sidelines.
She wanted to see whether he could take Babaya's life before the Sky Turtle arrived.
Unfortunately, this human was helpless against magic.
Babaya had bought enough time to successfully call for her aid.
She could not allow this old prophet to die in front of her tribespeople.
However...
Now that Babaya had been captured, her rising influence among her followers would be interrupted.
If Shivana herself dealt with the "human Babaya could not handle,"
it seemed like a good way to solidify her authority.
Her reasoning was influenced by the Art of Making Friends, but more than that, she simply could not be bothered to think so much.
Who cared whether she could beat him?
She would fight first and worry about it later.
Beastfolk were savage, yet they were deeply devoted to acts of ritual.
Duels and death matches were skills they had to master from childhood, from the moment they could wield a wooden stick or a crude blade.
Children unable to endure battle would be driven out from the heart of the tribe.
Even becoming chieftain required competing in a fair fight and emerging victorious—
Want to prove yourself? Come fight.
Eager to breed first? Come fight.
Bored out of your mind? Come fight.
Shivana clenched her hand.
The great axe that had fallen onto a beastfolk's back seemed to answer her call, spiraling back into her palm.
With a boom, Shivana drove the axe blade into the earth beneath her foot.
"Then come and defeat me—
If I win, hand over that old fool in your hands, along with your lives.
If I lose, whether you stay or leave is up to you!"
Since she wanted to reclaim Babaya and prove to the tribespeople behind her that she was far more reliable than the old prophet,
she absolutely could not lose.
Tang Qi took two steps back and pointed at Black Snake, who stood ready with his blade.
"My little brother is enough to deal with you."
"Then what use are you to me?"
Shivana despised cowards, and she gave a cold snort.
"I can order him around. That is enough."
Black Snake frowned and turned his head.
Tang Qi could not be bothered with his sideways glare. He signaled Kuru to cover the old goblin's ears in his hands.
Then he whispered an instruction.
"Remember what I told you—whether you can beat her or not, you have to lose beautifully. Got it?"
"Lose? Why?"
"You expect beastfolk to keep their word? You might as well expect Kuru to call out its ancestors to help us."
Tang Qi swept his gaze over the fierce, battle-hungry beastfolk around them.
"Winning or losing is not that important.
If you beat her and make the chieftain lose face before her people, do you think she will spare us in a fit of rage?
My guess is that this tribe made a deal with some important figures in Dragon Gold City before they could reach this forest.
That means she is at least someone who can be reasoned with.
The fact that she captures mercenaries and adventurers instead of slaughtering them outright proves she does not believe in exterminating everyone.
You just need to trade blows with her, then pull back a move at the critical moment and lose by a hair.
The watching beastfolk might not notice, but would she not know you were deliberately making her look good?
By then, we will still have an excellent hostage. We will have plenty to negotiate with."
Black Snake gave him a strange look.
"Did the academy teach you all that too?"
"Of course. Ulasang's One Thousand and One Praises."
"And which book is that? Another one you never wrote?"
"This textbook really exists."
To be fair, although Tang Qi also felt that Ulasang, his instructor, did not possess much real talent,
the textbook he had compiled truly could serve as a model for flattering nobles.
"Beastfolk are not nobles. Doing this will only make her feel humiliated." Black Snake was unconvinced.
But Tang Qi said, "Did you not hear what that old goblin said before—'The tribespeople will remember how you treated me'?
I think that compared to her own glory, she cares more about how her people see her.
Or rather, she cares more about whether her position is secure."
Tang Qi patted his shoulder.
"In short, lose beautifully."
"Do not pretend you trust me."
"I do trust you."
"Hm?"
Black Snake turned back, only to see that Tang Qi had already put away his usual smile.
He was unexpectedly serious.
"You are someone who came out of the Great Desert. I believe you can take me out of here."
Black Snake felt oddly uncomfortable. He shoved Tang Qi aside with his shoulder and sneered.
"Hey, hey. You do not really believe in a scoundrel, do you?"
He was not about to make any promises.
Those things got people killed.
On the road of adventure, he had seen plenty of people say similar things—
A priest once mentioned that after finishing this job, he would return home and marry the woman he loved.
Heh. Then he died in the ruins before anyone could even retrieve his body.
Besides, why did he have to take this Poet out of here?
If something really went wrong, these beastfolk would not be able to stop him.
The only reason he still cared about Tang Qi was that ability to see through illusions—
Since the beastfolk's destination was Star Plum Town, he needed to return early and warn them to take refuge.
"Lose spectacularly? What, do you take me for some circus performer?"
Ignoring the Poet behind him, Black Snake rotated his wrist and estimated how much strength he had left.
Shivana slung the great axe, taller than a person, over her shoulder and took a step forward.
The beastfolk's battle cries rang in unison beside his ears, echoing through the woods.
"Huh! Ha!"
"Huh! Ha!"
"Huh! Ha!"
They even drew out the tribal children from the shacks and tents on the Sky Turtle's back.
They lay sprawled across rickety planks, their eyes filled with anticipation for the duel.
Some goblins even seemed to have placed bets, but without exception, every tribe member put their wager on their chieftain—
She had become their leader instead of a mobile womb not because the tribe revered matriarchy.
Shivana could not stand the human's dawdling any longer. She had held the axe on her shoulder for only a few seconds, and seeing no intention from him to strike first, she simply let out a roar.
Dragging the great axe behind her, she charged forward like a running tiger or leopard, covering more than ten feet in an instant.
She swung the great axe in her hand, and the unwashed blood upon its surface streaked before his eyes like a dark-red blood moon.
The axe handle was extremely long. Black Snake knew that merely retreating would not widen the gap between them.
He bent backward into a bridge, and the axe blade howled past just above his waist and abdomen.
But Shivana's assault did not stop. When the great axe swung wide, she used its momentum to turn with it and spun into another slash.
Black Snake had no time to dodge. He planted one hand on the ground and sprang up, barely evading the scarlet axe blade.
While shifting through the air, he flicked his wrist. The blade concealed its edge beneath the night, slicing across her forearm and splashing up a spray of blood.
But beastfolk skin was tough, and their endurance was formidable.
That tiny wound could not even bring Shivana pain.
She still did not slow down. Tensing her arm, she drew on the momentum of two rotations and violently hewed upward.
The wind blades unleashed by her swing whooshed past like the roar of a savage bear, tossing up the wet mud and sand beneath their feet!
Black Snake twisted his steps and turned halfway aside, narrowly avoiding the axe blade.
He reversed his right hand, angling the blade downward before his left ear.
As Shivana struggled to shed her momentum, both arms raised high as she gripped the great axe,
he guided the tip of his blade straight toward her right eye!
Before you continue