Chapter 18: I Was Caught in Vain

Is it an ability! She felt it more and more. "Gloria! Is the vine very hard?" Clara asked Gloria, who was struggling with the vines, to confirm her thoughts.

"Yes! Very hard, it hurts my hand to bend it." Gloria stretched out her furry hand to show Clara. The palm was very red; it seemed that she indeed had an ability, and it had even upgraded. Was this compensation from fate? She liked it a lot.

Gloria soon couldn't handle it, but her attitude towards learning was very resolute. This made Clara look at Gloria with a new perspective, and she promised to give the finished basket to her.

In no time, Clara finished her work. This time it was much more delicate than before, and the lid fit perfectly. Gloria was slower; she only finished half. Clara looked at Gloria, who lowered her head, ears drooping, poking her eyebrows, mouth slightly pouting, with a very serious expression. Her movements were clumsy but earnest.

The fire gradually became dim, and Gloria was also tired. She put down the basket and prepared to sleep. The bed in Clara's house was really comfortable; she decided to learn from Clara and make her own home comfortable.

Sleeping until midnight, Gloria felt someone touching her. Was it Rowan? No, Rowan was spending the night in the forest tonight. Who could it be? Suddenly, she was lifted. Gloria woke up suddenly; the smell wasn't right. A fox!

"Who is it?" Gloria jumped up quickly and shouted.

Startled by the loud shout, Clara was also awakened. She saw Gloria rushing out. What had happened?

Clara put on her shoes and followed outside. It was much brighter outside than inside the house. She saw Gloria grabbing someone. Gloria kept scolding, "Damn fox, dare to steal into my place. I'll kill you!"

In a short while, others in the tribe also woke up and rushed over. "Gloria! What happened?!"

Today, the strong males were out hunting, and those left in the tribe were mostly females. Someone lit a torch, lighting up the bonfire.

"A fox!" The crowd began to clamor.

Clara also saw the person Gloria had caught. Wasn't it the fox that had harassed her last time? Thomas!

"Damn lion! Let me go, smelly and heavy!" Thomas's ears were held by Gloria. In front of the tall lion-person, the fox looked much smaller, but it excelled in agility. Thomas showed its claws to Gloria, surprising her. She loosened her grip, and Thomas escaped.

Other females swarmed in, blocking Thomas's way. In no time, they tied Thomas up with strips of animal skin and bound it to a wooden post.

The crowd then began to interrogate the fox. For different races, the female beast people showed great resistance and vigilance. Clara grabbed Gloria and asked what had happened. Gloria truthfully explained that the fox wanted to capture her.

Clara immediately understood. Thomas must have wanted to capture her! Unfortunately, it mistakenly caught the wrong person. Fortunately, Gloria was there today; otherwise, Clara might have been captured and taken to the fox den.

"But why does everyone dislike people from different races, especially males?" Clara asked the question in her heart.

Gloria immediately understood. Clara was also from a different race. Many females might not like Clara, but as they discovered her goodness, they would gradually grow fond of her.

"This has to be traced back a long time ago." This story was passed down by the elders. A hundred years ago, the lion tribe was quite prosperous. It was even more backward than now, but everyone was united. The chief had a beautiful daughter, and many male lions wanted to be her mate. However, one day, the chief's daughter saved a male beast person and brought him back. They fell in love, and the male beast person wanted to take the chief's daughter back to their tribe. The two sneaked away, but the tribe went after them. They found the chief's daughter killed on the way, bitten to death. The lion people caught the male, killed him, and later discovered that the male was the son of the chief of the white tiger tribe. Since then, a deep enmity formed between the lion and white tiger tribes. Decades ago, the white tiger tribe invaded, killing many lion tribe members. Gloria's parents and Mateo's parents died in that battle, along with many others.

After hearing this, Clara felt a chill in her heart. It seemed like there was an undercurrent swirling around her! War seemed to have existed since the existence of humans. No wonder everyone disliked her. This was a tribe that had experienced pain. Every different race would make them fearful and alarmed.

Everyone agreed to kill the invading fox. Clara was shocked! If Thomas was killed, regardless of his background, if the fox tribe found out one day, the lion tribe would once again have an enemy.

"You can't kill him!" Clara stepped forward to stop them.

The emotions of the female beast people were very intense, and seeing Clara made them even more unhappy. They pushed her away, telling her to leave. An older beast person even roared menacingly, "If you interfere, we'll kick you out."

Clara was pushed back several steps, and an angry group of lions left no room for reason. This was a primitive tribe, a savage land far removed from civilization.

"Clara! You go! After I die, just bring me delicious food every day, and I'll be satisfied." Thomas drooped his ears, eyes filled with tears. Seeing Clara risking her life for him, he felt that death didn't matter anymore. It was just a pity that he couldn't accompany this cute little female beast in the future.

The female beast people prepared to burn Thomas to death. In no time, they gathered many branches. Thomas realized that things were getting more serious, and he couldn't die!

"You annoying lions! If you burn me, the fox tribe won't spare you," Thomas shouted loudly. He struggled to free himself from the leather straps, but these days he hadn't eaten much, and he couldn't summon enough strength. If he had been well-fed, they wouldn't have caught him so easily.

As the fire was about to be lit, Clara became desperate. She rushed forward to intervene and explained that they couldn't kill the fox. Wouldn't it create more enemies in the future? The females ignored her words, pushing her aside.

Gloria went forward and held Clara, shaking her head. "Clara, don't interfere. This fox is really bad."

Although Thomas had a sharp tongue, his heart wasn't evil. He had saved her before, and she couldn't just watch him die. "Gloria! Go find the chief. I'll stay here and watch. If they kill the fox, the fox tribe will hold a grudge against us in the future."

Gloria nodded vaguely, understanding that she had to do what Clara asked. She hurriedly went to find the chief.

Clara ran to Thomas, arms outstretched, and shouted to the female beast people, "I won't let you kill Thomas!"

Panicking as much as Clara, Mateo rushed back and found Clara not in the house. He was terrified, fearing that while he was away, the tribe had taken advantage of the opportunity to kill Clara.

Cla! His Cla was missing. Seeing the firelight and commotion in the clearing, he felt a sudden pause in his heart. It couldn't be that those tribe members, taking advantage of his absence, were going to kill Clara!

Mateo hurriedly rushed over and indeed saw Clara standing in the pile of firewood. They were about to burn Clara!