Rogue

Chapter 83

“Riley!” Evangeline shouted as she picked up the hammer, glancing back at him.

“Got it!” Just with a look, Riley understood what she meant. He dashed toward a tiger, mimicking Evangeline’s earlier tactic against the grey wolf. He leaped onto the tiger’s back, wrapping his arms around its neck and clamping his legs around its waist.

The tiger, preoccupied with attacking others, didn’t notice Riley coming up from behind, so he secured his position easily.

The tiger let out a furious cry, dropping the person it had been clawing at. It twisted violently, trying to shake Riley off.

But the moment Riley had the tiger under control, Evangeline charged in, swinging the hammer down onto its head.

The impact caused the tiger’s skull to cave in. No matter how fierce it was, a shattered skull meant death.

Riley immediately released the tiger, ignoring its flailing limbs, and turned his attention to a massive black bear nearby.

The people from Gregan seemed to have a natural edge when confronting bears. Riley charged at the bear, throwing two quick punches to its face before moving to its rear, trying to take control.

Another hammer strike landed, courtesy of Evangeline.

They methodically dispatched the remaining beasts in the same manner. Only one cheetah seemed to sense the danger and bolted to escape, avoiding a similar fate. It was fast, and Riley couldn’t keep up, but Evangeline’s arrow was quicker than the cheetah.

“Whoosh!” The arrow struck true, hitting the cheetah in the heart. It staggered, struggling to run a few more steps before collapsing motionless. The scene around them was chaotic: bodies littered the ground–both fallen beasts and unfortunate contestants.

Exhausted, Riley fell to the ground, gasping for air. He had several deep scratches from grappling with the beasts. While not life–threatening, they stung.

And because the beasts had been thrashing about so much, Evangeline had accidentally hit him on the head while swinging her hammer. She really didn’t seem to care about her teammate’s safety at that moment.

But he didn’t blame her. In situations like that, hesitating too long could lead to disaster—if they let the beasts escape, it would likely be their own deaths.

Those who were still alive felt a chill run down their spines as they saw Evangeline standing in the dim light of the night, holding a blood–dripping hammer. This woman is terrifying. If there were truly a personification of death in the world, it would undoubtedly look just like her, they thought.

In the forest, Jeffrey, who was awaiting his moment to show off, was completely dumbfounded. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“That Clusian woman has just killed seven or eight fierce beasts with a hammer? How is that possible? Clusians are supposed to be cowards. How could someone like her be so strong? Even I, with access to performance–enhancing drugs that keep the beasts at bay, won’t be confident enough to confront so many at once. Am I actually being outdone by a woman? A woman from Clusia?‘ Jeffrey thought in disbelief.

Norbert said, “It’s all thanks to Riley’s help that Evangeline managed to take down so many beasts. If she were alone, she would have been torn to pieces by now!

Kent nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Gregan has always been known for its warrior spirit. It’s all Riley’s credit. Evangeline was just swinging that hammer around; she didn’t contribute much. Anyone else would have been able to work with Riley to take down those beasts.

Norbert chimed in, “The real hero here is you, Jeffrey. Earlier, you took out a lion all by yourself without needing anyone’s help. Evangeline wouldn’t stand a chance against you. She can only handle smaller beasts like the grey wolves; she needed assistance for anything bigger, unlike how you took care of it all on your own.”

Jeffrey narrowed his eyes dangerously, casting a cold glare at Riley. “We need to get rid of Riley when we get a chance. Without him, Evangeline would be helpless.”

Both Norbert and Kent nodded in agreement.

In the luxurious viewing room, John slammed his wine glass onto the floor in fury, causing a loud crash. “Damn it! Damn Clusians and that Evangeline! She just wiped out so many beasts that I spent a fortune preparing!”

He had shelled out a fortune for those beasts. Though they weren’t as valuable as the big white tiger, that still added up to about 2 million dollars. Now, he had lost half of them in one go. Seeing what Evangeline had done, he knew that the remaining half wouldn’t scare her either. All his plans were falling apart.

“Damn it, damn it!” he cursed again, his frustration boiling over. “How dare that Clusian embarrass an Atharian in my own show? I’ll make her pay for this!”

Kenji said coolly, “Calm down, Mr. Wade. We still have our secret weapon, the big white tiger left to unleash. Once it appears, ten of Evangeline wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Presley quickly nodded. “Right! Evangeline won’t be so arrogant for long.”

John took a deep breath, forcing himself to cool off. “Well, we saw some excitement today. Let’s give her a break for now. Tomorrow, we’ll let her witness the terror of the white tiger. Today, she stole the spotlight from Jeffrey. I can’t have the world thinking an Atharian is being outmatched by a Clusian. Tomorrow, the world will remember the power of the Atharians!”

Everyone was singing praises. Livestreams from various countries were buzzing with discussions.

In Clusia, the chat exploded with excitement. [Ahhh, Evangeline is amazing! I thought she was done for this time, but I completely underestimated her skills. You’re my idol, Evangeline!]

[She’s just so incredible! I can’t even put into words how I feel right now!]

[Riley is impressive too; the moment Evangeline looks at him, he knows exactly what she wants him to do. They’re both top–tier!]

[Come on, Evangeline!]

Meanwhile, in Atharia, comments were filled with harsh criticism.

[Evangeline is so ruthless! She could’ve escaped, but she intentionally came back to kill so many animals. She deserves to pay for it, just like those poor creatures!]

[Clusians are the worst. She could’ve gotten away but chose to turn back for the spotlight, harming innocent lives in the process.]

[Jeffrey is way better than her. He doesn’t need the limelight nor does he harm defenseless animals. Clusians are nothing but bloodthirsty monsters; they should be wiped off the planet. They’re the source of pollution and destruction, the cancers of Earth that need to be cut out!] [But if those beasts were attacking other contestants, if Evangeline hadn’t taken them down, it would’ve been the other contestants who were in danger. Human life comes first.]

A notification popped up: [This user has been reported for inappropriate comments, and their account has been banned.]

The live streams from Japrium and Kepraria were buzzing with snarky comments, claiming that Evangeline only managed to take down those animals because of Riley’s help. Some even labeled her as cruel. However, the animal protection groups in these countries weren’t as crazy and rampant in their criticism, leading to fewer extreme remarks. Most comments focused on undermining Evangeline’s abilities, insisting she just got lucky.

Unbeknownst to her, Evangeline was oblivious to all the chatter. She made her way to the riverbank, where she diligently washed the blood off herself and the hammer.

She had no intention of returning the hammer; she had claimed it as a rightful reward. Without her intervention, the person who had used it would have been dead long ago. Keeping the hammer seemed completely fair to her.

After finishing her cleaning, Evangeline intended to check on Riley’s condition. Just then, a figure stumbled out of the forest. Squinting, she realized it was Marian.

‘Isn’t she supposed to be out of the competition? Why’s she here, in such a bad shape?‘ Evangeline thought, puzzled, and rushed over with determination.

“Evangeline…” Marian croaked her name, her voice raspy, before collapsing to the ground.