"Damn it, I was so close to succeeding, but some streamer ruined it."
Nine-Tailed Fox sat before her vanity, applying lipstick while muttering complaints about what had just happened.
A shade of lipstick more vibrant than the sunset was being meticulously applied to her lips.
Nine-Tailed Fox had originally cultivated a mature, dominant aura, but now she exuded an even more captivating charm.
Sadly, her alluring and enchanting beauty was completely marred by the lingering ferocity in her eyes.
Nine-Tailed Fox cupped her face, admiring her own beauty. When she noticed a tiny smudge of lipstick near her lips, her expression slowly turned grim.
Still fuming, she angrily snapped the lipstick cap shut. With a "bang," she slammed her hand onto the soft padding of the vanity table, stood up, walked over to the little girl, and viciously pinched her tender, white arm.
The little girl didn't have time to dodge. The fox's claws were already sharp and fearsome. In an instant, irregular blue and purple bruises appeared on the girl's arm.
Strangely, within two seconds, her arm seemed to be healing, its skin returning to its fair and smooth state, as if repaired by some power.
The little girl continued to hold the child in her arms steadily, biting her lower lip until a bloodstain gradually appeared, and a faint whimper began to emanate from her throat.
She dared not even tremble. Her small, tender arms were steadfastly protecting the two beast cubs, afraid of accidentally dropping them.
Nine-Tailed Fox turned a blind eye, venting her anger without restraint, until all her frustration was unleashed upon the innocent little girl.
Seeing the girl cowering like a quail, afraid to make a sound, she finally sat back down at the vanity with satisfaction.
"You recover so quickly. Your mysterious witch power is the only thing useful about you."
Nine-Tailed Fox, clearly unimpressed by the little girl's abilities, spoke dismissively before returning to her vanity. She pointed at the two children in swaddling clothes and asked,
"These are my competition cubs, right? Were you discovered?"
Nine-Tailed Fox continued her grooming, proudly tilting her head and spraying expensive perfume on her neck, letting the strong fragrance spread.
The little girl suddenly tensed up. She gently shook her head and, in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, stammered her reply, "Everything... everything went smoothly. No one found out."
"Finally, something went according to plan. Continue to act as planned, don't mess up."
Satisfied with her reflection, Nine-Tailed Fox issued this instruction and immediately turned to leave.
Orlanar, who had been waiting outside the door, his gaze shifting, calmly and expertly used his mental power to conceal his presence.
He hadn't expected Nine-Tailed Fox to have this plan.
Having been on the main planet for previous Newcomer Rankings finals, and as the heir to the alliance, he was aware of the important rules.
One of them stated: Participants must not deceive or traffic the children sent by the organizers. Violators would be severely punished.
Those beast-human cubs were all exceptionally gifted spiritual talents, carefully selected. Losing even one was akin to wasting a treasure trove.
For so many years, no participant who had committed fouls had ever dared to target the beast-human cubs. Such a heinous act would incite widespread anger!
However, if this poisonous scheme were successful, it would allow Nine-Tailed Fox to crush her opponents permanently, ensuring they could never rise again.
Watching Nine-Tailed Fox's swaying figure walk further away, Orlanar finally revealed himself in the corridor, frowning as he brushed dust from his military uniform.
"Have you watched enough from outside? Aren't you coming in for a chat?"
The little girl seemed to transform, her calm voice suddenly ringing out in the room, as if she had sensed someone spying from outside long ago.
Orlanar paused his movement and pushed the door open, his expression unchanged.
The little girl was gently placing the two cubs in her arms onto a soft bed, tucking them in with blankets one by one.
The two little ones, who looked very much alike, slept soundly. Despite being less than two months old, they had fully formed human bodies, their pink, chubby lips sucking on their fingers, and their eyelashes long and curled, like little angels descended from heaven.
The little girl stroked each of their heads tenderly, not even glancing at the man who had entered.
"Are you here for that streamer? You... have her strong power and scent on you."
Orlanar had nothing to say to this. He maintained his icy demeanor, standing steadily in place, like a towering green pine on a snowy mountain peak, further highlighting the girl's smallness and fragility.
Clearly, this little girl was not as clean and innocent as she appeared on the surface, nor as timid as she acted in front of Nine-Tailed Fox. She was exceptionally talented and unnervingly calm.
This was consistent with what he had seen in the darkness last night.
In the pitch-black corridor, the little girl straightened her back, overturning her pitiful and hesitant appearance from earlier in the day. Her expressionless face looked towards Deer Mingming's direction, her two sharp teeth protruding openly from her lips.
She carried a large, heavy pack on her back. Now it seemed she had secretly brought the cubs out of the organizer's nursery.
Like a wolf cub revealing its fangs for the first time during its growth, no one knew who she was about to attack.
"You are a witch."
Orlanar stated this with certainty, his deep ice-blue eyes fixed on her, his gaze flickering.
"Not answering someone's question is impolite."
The little girl showed a hint of dissatisfaction with Orlanar's refusal to answer.
She played with her long, curly brown hair at her ears, slowly raised her head to examine the man before her, and after a moment, tilted her head and opened her mouth, revealing a pair of cute little fangs.
"Alright, I am a witch. Do you want to ask why I wasn't exterminated? Or why I'm staying with Nine-Tailed Fox?"
The little girl circled the man, her eyes showing clear interest as she scrutinized him.
"Too bad—I won't tell you any of that."
Orlanar glanced at her coldly, then suddenly turned and left, unwilling to waste any more time.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't you want to hear at all?"
The little girl called out repeatedly.
Orlanar kept walking, and only when he reached for the doorknob did the girl's childish voice behind him become slightly more serious.
"What if I said Nine-Tailed Fox's plan is related to Deer Mingming?"
Orlanar stopped in his tracks and turned back to meet the girl's eyes, saying nothing.
The tightly furrowed brows betrayed the impatience surging within him.
As time ticked by, the little girl hummed a tune happily, like playing with a cat with a feather wand, using Deer Mingming as bait to tease the man, yet unwilling to reveal the truth.
Unfortunately, she failed to realize that Orlanar was not a docile, obedient kitten, but a truly fierce king of beasts.
"You're stalling for time."
Orlanar's eyes were sharp as an eagle's, carrying a killing intent. Invisible ice-elemental mental energy spread out, causing a row of icicles to form rapidly by the window.
"Mm-hmm. You found out, didn't you? Go save your little streamer quickly, if she hasn't already been trampled under the feet of all the beast-humans and can no longer get up."
The girl's smiling words echoed in Orlanar's ears.
Seemingly understanding Nine-Tailed Fox's motive for having the little girl bring the two cubs over, Orlanar's lips curved into a cold, blade-like arc, and a chillingly sharp gaze erupted from his eyes, so piercing it sent shivers down one's spine with a single glance.
In the next instant, immense pressure from his mental sea descended, blanketing the entire room 0318 without a single gap. At this moment, Orlanar was like an enraged, iron-willed emperor.
Two strange chains, condensed from his mental sea, firmly bound the girl's limbs. Behind Orlanar, countless dangerous silver needles swarmed, their sharp tips aimed directly forward.
With a cold wave of his hand, all the silver needles moved in unison, shooting towards various parts of the girl's body, each embedding itself into her bones and flesh.
His powerful mental energy violently shattered the wall, causing a large cloud of gray dust to erupt. Vaguely, the girl could be seen pinned tightly to the cold wall.
By the time the dust settled, the man had vanished from his spot, and the two sleeping cubs on the bed were gone.
The little girl's mouth was filled with thick, black blood as she struggled to support herself against the wall.
Her limbs were covered in tiny holes, from which blood was constantly flowing, filling the room with a nauseating smell of rust.
She still felt a sense of lingering fear, gritting her teeth to steady her trembling body, and pulling out the tiny sharp needles from her body one by one. Each successful extraction was an agony to her mental sea.
A trace of exasperation gathered in the little girl's eyes. A clear male voice, incongruous with her appearance, slowly emerged from her throat, "Pfft, what a lunatic."