CHAPTER 118: DID SHE THINK I’M WEAK?

The crowd was silent as they watched intently at the two men standing in the clearing. Ren summoned his powers; a red-hot flame engulfed his clenched fist, already settling into a fighting stance, while Alex stood calmly as if he were there to admire the stars.

That was the feeling Eva got from looking at Alex, and she nearly covered her eyes, unwilling to witness the cruel sight of a gorgeous man being scorched to a crisp.

"Begin!’’

Ren was about to dash toward Alex when a blur flashed past him. Before he could process what happened, a silver knife pressed against his throat, and an indifferent whisper followed: "Surrender."

Everyone blinked in shock, unable to comprehend how the fight had ended so quickly. They had expected a thrilling clash filled with blood and scorched earth. Instead, they were left wondering—how had the gentle-looking Alex moved like that? They knew he was a speed user, but not so obscenely fast that his opponent never even had the chance to defend.

Eva’s jaw dropped in sheer shock, her mind nothing but a giant question mark as she stared at Alex, calmly pressing a slender knife to Ren’s neck. ’Nani! What in the world!༼⁠⁰⁠o⁠⁰⁠;⁠༽’

"You see? He can handle himself," Aaron muttered with a snort, remembering how Alex had fooled his innocent sister.

"Whoa! I want to be a Speed User. So fast." Eva recovered from her shock, her eyes filled with awe and envy as she looked at Alex.

But a light flick on her forehead snapped her back to reality. She looked up to meet Ethan’s moody gaze.

Something clicked in her mind, and she blurted, "No, I like your ice power more—it’s beautiful." She quickly corrected herself, laughing awkwardly.

Ethan’s expression brightened. "Hmm..." he hummed softly, then hugged her closer, her head resting on his chest.

’Phew... Thank God I reacted quickly, or I would have had to endure Ethan’s cold face and clinginess all day long.’ Eva patted her chest inwardly while watching the clearing.

"I give up!" Ren shouted with a reluctant expression, his hand clenched tightly as he extinguished the flame.

Alex, maintaining the same calm expression, removed the knife and confidently strode into the crowd, not even giving his opponent another glance.

"Next!" Dean called out, not having the luxury of waiting for Ren to get over the embarrassment of losing so easily.

Alex wore a pitiful expression as he reached Eva, rubbing his wrist with a grimace.

"Cousin, my wrists are numb... I only managed to scare that man off by bluffing, or else I would have—" He trailed off, his tone laced with weakness and fear, fooling Eva completely.

"Give me your hand, I’ll heal you. You did so well—you looked so serious when you threatened that man." Eva’s eyes gleamed with praise as she gave him a thumbs-up.

Everyone watched Eva wide-eyed, while Julian face-palmed at how easily this green tea fooled Eva.

"Sister...His...hhh..." Aaron trailed off weakly before shooting Alex a glare. Daniel couldn’t help smacking the back of Alex’s head, goosebumps breaking out at his brother’s sudden act of weakness.

He knew Alex too well—this was the same man who could kill monsters and humans alike without blinking, yet now he was pretending to cry from holding a knife too long.

Alex’s head tilted forward from the hit, his eyes watering as though Daniel had bullied him, which only made Eva’s beauty-thick filter heart ache.

She tried to step forward to heal him, but a firm grip around her waist stopped her, forcing her to heal Alex from a distance instead.

Julian, one hand tucked in his pocket, watched Alex with unreadable eyes. In his mind, he imagined stuffing Alex into a sack, beating him until he was swollen, and making him endure unimaginable pain in a time loop of his own creation.

Those dark thoughts eased the irritation. As Alex felt a cold chill on his back and subtly looked at the other men to see who might be plotting against him, he gulped when he saw the clenched fist and dark expression. A wave of smug satisfaction flooded his heart.

Daniel snorted, unable to watch anymore, and walked to the clearing, hoping to find a tougher opponent to blow off some steam.

"Eva... what should I do to this cousin of yours? Should I turn him into an ice sculpture?" Ethan murmured darkly as he stared at Alex.

Eva’s ears shrank from his warm breath; she could only catch bits of sentences like ’sculpture,’ ’cousin’—the others were spoken so softly that she couldn’t understand them.

"Umm...Ethan, did you say something?" She looked up in confusion, hoping he would repeat his words, but he shook his head and gently stroked her hair.

Eva thought she must have misheard; she shrugged it off and concentrated on the next battle ahead.

Daniel bent down to pick up an animal hide when Selina suddenly interrupted and chose an animal hide.

He turned with a frown, but when he saw it was a woman, he didn’t bother to exchange words with her and turned back into the crowd.

Selina hadn’t made her choice on a whim; she noticed the crowd was thinning quickly, and if she hesitated any longer, she might end up with a tough opponent.

Taking deep breaths, she unrolled the hide and frowned when she saw the name, but secretly felt grateful she had picked a weaker opponent.

"Eva!" She called out with a displeased tone. Her gaze zeroed in on Eva, who leaned on Ethan’s chest with a relaxed expression.

’Time to humiliate her in front of those men. They’ll see they chose the wrong woman to stand with.’ Selina’s eyes gleamed viciously as she prepared to disgrace Eva before the crowd.

Eva snapped out of her daze, her eyes widening when she spotted the so-called female lead in the clearing, glaring at her with a look sharp enough to kill.

"Wish you luck, sis, little cousin, wife." Their voice rang out in encouragement. Julian, Ethan, and Aaron weren’t bothered, knowing she could handle her opponent easily.

"F*ck, bad luck," Eva muttered as she left Ethan’s hold. Though she was scared of the female lead’s halo, she wasn’t going to give up without a fight—she can’t go through that nightmarish training for nothing.

She waved to the others and headed toward the clearing with Foxxy following behind her.

The crowd watched as the petite energy manipulator walked onto the stage; her green hair was a dead giveaway.

The men in the crowd were excited to see two beauties fight each other.

"I bet on the silver-haired chick."

"Tsk, it’s not a beauty contest. We can’t be sure the green-haired one wouldn’t pack a punch."

"Let’s make a bet—50 silver coins on the silver-haired... damn, so beautiful, look at that plump ass in those jeans." A man leered at Selina as he struck a deal with another in the crowd.

No one talked about Eva; their instincts warned them to refrain from speaking about her beauty in that manner or daring to leer at her.

The five strong men around her were no joke.

"I’m an energy manipulator," Eva introduced herself calmly, just like the others, as she stood across from Selina.

herself calmly, like the others, as she stood across from Selena.

"A healer," Selina responded in a perfunctory manner, not taking Eva seriously.

The crowd, though disappointed by Selina’s powers, hoped to see a great fight — if it was a cat fight, with each pulling the other’s hair.

"Without those men protecting you, I wonder how you can withstand my attacks. I wouldn’t go easy." Selina said proudly, her gaze condescending as she held Eva’s.

Eva’s mind was filled with a question mark at Selina’s words. ’Did she think I’m weak?!’ These thoughts flashed through her mind, but she quickly shrugged them off and focused on her opponent.

Not underestimating Selina for a moment.