Chapter 179: You won’t see my revenge coming

"She doesn’t kill us, but she allows no one else to do so in her presence. She treats us like we are a waste of oxygen, and sometimes she ignores us. Sigh... she is so hard to understand." Julian almost pulled his hair out in frustration.

Eva listened with her jaw dropping in surprise.

Ethan always felt that she had hated and blamed him for their mother’s death. He blames himself; he should never have urged his mother to take him along on one of her dungeon hunts.

Julian noticed his expression was growing gloomy and instantly knew what was on his mind.

He had been there to witness the gruesome battle and was the one who dragged the unconscious Ethan toward the warp gate.

"Don’t blame yourself... who knew two unranked monsters would appear in the same place?" Julian muttered softly, in a comforting tone.

Eva’s gaze darted back and forth between them and she got a hint that they weren’t telling her everything.

Julian’s cryptic words made her realize that Ethan had been through something heartbreaking, possibly the death of a loved one.

She remained silent as they traveled through the trees, giving them time to be alone with their thoughts.

The evening sun cast an orange glow across the water’s surface, the breeze grew cooler, and the sounds of crickets and beasts began to echo through the woods.

They hadn’t reached the edge of the island and stopped to rest in her space for the night.

"It would take us a day to reach the other island if we had flown on Aaron’s beast, but now... we estimate it will take three days to reach the edge." Ethan’s observation made the three of them frown.

"But it looked so close when we flew into the island on Crow’s back (☉｡☉)! Now we have to journey for three days or more to reach it. A bird’s-eye view is really deceiving—it makes something far away look so close." Eva clicked her tongue and shook her head before plopping down on the grassy ground.

"To travel to the other island in the future, transportation has to be up and running. Our beasts tire out, unlike cars that only need fuel to operate," Julian chimed in as he stretched his limbs, which ached slightly from sitting too long in one position.

He felt that the airplanes she talked about could become a reality; the spaceship had already proven that flight was possible.

It was left to the engineers and scientists to experiment and bring it to reality.

"It’s a relief we brought the chef along. Imagine how many days on the road, surviving on roasted meat and fruit." Eva muttered, a relieved smile on her face, thankful for her quick thinking.

Ethan watched his two loved ones lying on the ground, unbothered by the sand getting into their clothes, and was left speechless.

"Weren’t both of you supposed to know... haa... never mind." Ethan decided not to finish his sentence. He had assumed it was common knowledge that when they explored the island, it took them almost four days to reach the halfway point. So it should take less time when traveling straight, without detours or exploration.

"Rest well—we’ll continue our journey tomorrow. I hope we come across a dungeon door—I need to kill some monsters; I’m getting rusty," Ethan murmured to himself.

The sight of his sister filled him with a sense of urgency, and he resolved to protect Eva from both her and the beasts roaming the surface.

Eva’s stomach growled in response, and she stood to her feet and jogged toward the tent ahead to go bother the chef for dinner.

Julian’s gaze left her bouncing figure and shifted to Ethan, his expression growing serious.

"You didn’t tell her about your dad. Make sure to keep him away from her. I don’t want what happened to us to happen again." Julian’s words made the air around Ethan grow colder, and flashes of his pet’s torn limbs flickered in his mind.

"If he tries to get even an inch closer to her, I wouldn’t mind committing patricide." Ethan’s tone was icy, his sneer filled with murderous intent.

Julian knew that if his powers hadn’t been unique enough, Ethan’s father would have killed him to prove a point. That man had nearly turned Ethan and him into an emotionless killing machine; if it hadn’t been for Uncle Stone and Grandpa, Ethan would have grown up without any human compassion.

"I will also forget him as your father and wipe him off the face of the earth," Julian vowed in a calm voice, his expression devoid of emotion.

Ethan didn’t feel much about his words; he had long since stopped seeing that man as a father. The version of him who once seemed protective and loving had died the day his mother took her last breath.

He had already mourned two people that day and no longer felt hurt by his father’s actions.

"Yo! What are you discussing behind my back?! Dinner’s ready!" Eva called from afar as she munched on the fried fish she’d stolen from the kitchen.

Her bright smile and puffed cheeks seemed to lift the gloom from their hearts, and Julian couldn’t help but poke her cheeks as soon as she drew near.

"You stole food again, right?" Ethan asked in a deadpan tone, and her guilty expression made his eyes crinkle with a helpless smile. He ruffled her hair.

Julian stole the last bite from her plate when her attention was on Ethan.

"How could you?! That was the last piece—the most delicious part!" Eva wailed, stomping her feet in anger before lunging at Julian, determined to teach him a lesson.

Julian chewed with an exaggerated expression and hummed, clearly rubbing it in her face as he effortlessly dodged her attacks.

"Stand still for me! Stop!" Eva’s voice echoed through the field as she pursued the laughing Julian.

Ethan followed slowly behind, a faint smile on his lips. He wished things would always stay this carefree. And for this peace to last, he needed to be powerful enough to protect it.

Eva leaned forward with her hands on her knees, heaving for breath, clearly exhausted from running after Julian.

She didn’t plan to waste any more energy and could only nurse her grudge as she headed toward the prepared dinner, hoping it wouldn’t grow cold from the delay.

Julian, on the other hand, felt refreshed despite her resentful glares. He sat facing her and picked up his cutlery to eat.

"You won’t see my revenge coming," Eva promised through gritted teeth, stabbing the potatoes with her fork.

"Don’t worry, I will help you," Ethan whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, then pulled out a seat close to hers.

Julian instantly knew they were joining hands to deal with him, and he shot Ethan a frustrated glare, warning him to mind his business, but he was ignored, as always.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. Eva eyed the greens in her bowl, then looked at Ethan, who was giving her a firm stare. She sighed and gave up the struggle.

"We’ll start our journey at daybreak so we can cover more ground tomorrow," Ethan announced as soon as they finished their meal.

They all washed up and retired early to have enough energy for the next day.

Meanwhile, in the construction area, Grace was about to do what Ethan had guessed she would.

But when she was about to gather some strong dungeon raiders, she found they were gone.

"Then they can only explore the unexplored parts of this island. Call those five and pass these instructions along," Grace ordered one of her subordinates as she walked deeper into the woods toward a stream to wash the dust from her body.

A thought flashed through her mind, and a chuckle escaped her lips. "Those children must have guessed what I was about to do. They likely escaped in time," she muttered as she reached a secluded part of the stream and began shedding her clothes.

She sighed in relief as soon as her skin touched the cool water, her mind drifting to the itinerary for tomorrow.

"I have to send some people out to search for resources, and I haven’t seen that beast of mine."