Meanwhile, Evangeline sat on a reef, holding two innocent young cubs in her arms.

The two little ones sat on her lap, curiously fiddling with their chubby, segmented little legs and plump feet. They couldn’t seem to figure out how their tails had suddenly turned into two pale, tender "sticks."

The cool snowflakes falling from the sky became the young cubs’ newest toy, discovered right after their "sticks."

They reached out their plump little hands, curiously trying to catch the snowflakes while babbling and cooing.

A gentle smile graced Evangeline’s lips as she watched their adorable, innocent antics.

The shore was a scene of chaos. Danton kept glancing back at Evangeline and the young cubs as he worked to settle their clan members.

The swirling snow stung their faces. The clan members were pale, and some of the females and young cubs were so cold their faces had turned blue. Danton’s brow was tightly furrowed. The harsh winter cold was a calamity for the Mer Clan, who rarely left The Deep Sea. Migrating during a blizzard was an even greater trial, and as their Clan Leader, his heart was naturally heavy.

Just then, he saw Evangeline shoot to her feet on the reef, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

The air around her grew frigid. Even the falling snowflakes were shattered by her Spiritual Energy, dissolving into nothing before they could touch her.

Danton’s heart skipped a beat. He strode over, but before he could speak, two young cubs were thrust into his arms.

The fury on Evangeline’s face had vanished, replaced by a chilling calm. "Something’s happened at Blackwater Swamp."

It was the kind of calm that precedes a hurricane—the harbinger of a much greater storm.

Danton’s arms tightened, causing the young cubs to squirm uncomfortably.

He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "I’ll go back with you."

Evangeline shook her head and glanced at Rhea, who was busy trying to comfort their people. "The Mer Clan needs you more. I’ll be fine."

Her slender fingertips slid down from the small of her back, trembling almost imperceptibly.

She could clearly sense violent fluctuations from Caden Albright’s, Loras’s, and Thorne’s Contract Marks. Lachlan’s Contract Mark, however, was so cold it made her heart clench. The familiar chill made her breath catch in her throat. It had been like this months ago, when Lachlan’s life force had faded from her senses bit by bit. It had taken everything to bring him back, and now, something had happened again.

Lachlan was hovering on the brink of death, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

What was even more terrifying was that he felt incredibly distant—not in Blackwater Swamp, not in the Frost-plain Tribe, not even anywhere in Norfell. For a moment, she couldn’t tell if he was on the verge of death or simply too far away for her to sense properly.

The realization made Evangeline’s chest tighten, and a wave of inexplicable anger surged within her.

’I don’t understand. My Star Pattern has been restored, my strength has returned, and everything was finally getting back on track. So why does trouble keep finding them, one after another? Is this that so-called ’protagonist-attracts-disaster’ constitution I’ve heard about?’

’Other male leads with this problem just have relationship drama with the heroine—misunderstandings, jealousy. But my guys? They’re all obsessed with disco-dancing on the line of death, like they’re afraid The Ashen King won’t meet his quota!’

’I just went to have a couple of babies, and these guys are all scrambling to get themselves gravely injured or killed. It’s like they made a pact to make my life difficult!’

Evangeline felt mentally exhausted. Forcing herself to focus, she took out a Teleportation Scroll to return to Blackwater Swamp, but her hand froze mid-motion. As if sensing something, she snapped her head toward the side of the coast. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Danton was about to say something else when he noticed Evangeline had stopped and was now staring unblinkingly in one direction.

He followed her line of sight and saw Thorne carrying Bunny and Genesis. When Danton got a clear look at Thorne’s condition, his pale blue eyes constricted, and his body tensed.

Thorne was bare-chested, his normally pale skin a canvas of gruesome wounds. Flesh was torn open, the edges a sickly bluish-black. Danton was all too familiar with injuries like these—they were the marks left behind when scales were forcibly ripped from the skin.

But even drenched in blood, his steps remained steady and powerful, his arms wrapped tightly around the children in his embrace.

Sensing their gazes, Thorne snapped his head up to look at them!

His dark green pupils contracted into thin vertical slits. His gaze was dangerous, radiating a cold killing intent that seemed to say if anyone dared to threaten him or the children, he would use his last breath to tear them to shreds.

However, when Evangeline’s figure came into view, the murderous vertical pupils froze for an instant before erupting with a stunning light. He ran toward her on pure instinct, completely ignoring the tearing of his wounds.

Evangeline rushed forward to meet him, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably as she took in the horrific wounds covering his body.

"Eva!" Thorne’s voice was hoarse, but it couldn’t conceal his overwhelming joy. His dark green vertical pupils dilated slightly as he relaxed.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. "You’re safe..." he whispered. "Thank god."

Evangeline frowned at his relieved expression, her heart aching. It seemed that for Thorne, as long as she was safe, his own suffering was completely insignificant.

Danton keenly sensed the emotions swirling around Evangeline. He took a step forward and asked in a grim voice, "What happened?"

Thorne’s gaze swept over the two young cubs in Danton’s arms, and his stern features softened slightly. But when the conversation turned to the incident at Blackwater Swamp, his expression darkened once more.

He recounted what had happened. With every word, Danton’s expression grew darker. By the time Thorne finished, Danton’s heart was pounding with dread. He couldn’t help but turn to Evangeline, his lips parting and closing several times, unable to find the words.

’Blackwater Swamp was swallowed by a Beast Tide. In the face of such a deluge, even someone at the Nine-star Extreme Realm would be nothing but a ripple. Going back would be suicide. But if they didn’t go back, what would happen to Caden Albright and Loras?’

Thorne also gazed deeply at Evangeline, his eyes churning with complex emotions.

He didn’t know what choice she would make, but no matter what she decided, he would follow her.

"Don’t worry." Evangeline raised her eyes to the distance, her voice calm. "Caden Albright and the others have already left Blackwater Swamp."

As she spoke, her gaze pierced through the thick curtain of snow, landing deep within the dark forest. Her fingertips gently caressed the Contract Mark at her waist.

"Caden Albright and Lachlan have left Norfell. Loras is heading this way, toward the sea."

Here, she paused, her brow furrowing slightly. "I’m afraid things aren’t as simple as we thought. Along the way... something unexpected must have happened."

She was so certain because she could feel a faint flicker of warmth now emanating from Lachlan’s once deathly still Contract Mark.

He survived.

The knowledge allowed her to relax slightly, but a deeper suspicion immediately took root. ’On the entire Beastman Continent,’ she wondered, ’besides an outsider like me with my cheat-like abilities, who else has the power to bring someone back from the brink of death?’

A suspicion began to form in Evangeline’s mind.

This suspicion made her eyes darken as she sensed a far greater danger on the wind.