Chapter 150: Public Enemy Number One

Kael and Syris didn’t even notivce Vex was there until he spoke.

They hadn’t smelled him. They hadn’t heard a twig snap or a leaf rustle. They hadn’t felt his presence at all.

Vex had his ways.

Being the forest’s Public Enemy Number One required a certain set of skills. Specifically, the ability to become as invisible as a ghost and as silent as a shadow. There wasn’t a single beast in this forest Vex hadn’t stolen from, pranked, or thoroughly pissed off at least once.

He sat safely on a branch about thirty feet up, swinging his legs.

Kael and Syris got over their surprise instantly.

“Where is Ren?” they growled in unison, their voices overlapping in a terrifying harmony of baritone rage.

Vex leaned back against the trunk, examining his fingernails casually.

“She is not with me,” he replied, his voice calm and unbothered by the double-dose of killing intent directed at him.

Kael took a step forward, his golden eyes narrowing. “Did you leave her at the tree?”

Vex didn’t answer immediately. His bright orange eyes traversed Kael’s battered body. He took in the healing claw marks, the bruises, and the general state of disrepair the White Tiger King was in.

Vex grimaced theatrically. “Yikes. The Black Tiger from the Wastelands really did a number on you, didn’t he? You look like a piece of meat that was chewed up and spat out.”

Kael’s fists clenched at his sides. “You know about the Black Tiger?”

Vex smiled—a slow, knowing curve of his lips.

“Of course I know about him,” Vex lied smoothly. He made it sound like he had been monitoring the situation for a while now, an all-seeing observer, rather than someone who had just bumped into the brute a few minutes ago.

Syris glared up at the fox, his patience snapping.

“Get down here,” the Snake King commanded, his voice icy. “Talk to us properly, Fox. Or I will bring that tree down with you in it.”

“And have you kill me?” Vex mused. “No thank you. The air is much fresher up here. Less… venomous.”

Syris and Kael could very well climb the tree. But Vex wasn’t just tricksy; he was fast and flexible. He’d be gone to the next tree before they even got a grip on the bark.

They had to play his game.

“I will tell you what I know,” Vex offered, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “If you both offer me a Favor Between Friends.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

In the Beast World, a “Favor Between Friends” wasn’t just asking someone to help you move a heavy rock. It was a binding verbal contract. It was a blank check. To owe a favor—especially to this Fox Shaman—was basically signing away your soul, your dignity, and possibly your firstborn.

Syris was the first to refuse.

“No,” Syris scoffed, crossing his arms. “I have no interest in that smelly brute. He is a self-proclaimed King of a pile of dirt. I only care about Ren. Viper will find the tree eventually. I do not need your riddles.”

Kael refused next.

“No,” the Tiger King grunted. He puffed out his chest, wincing slightly as his wounds stretched. “I do not care about the Black Tiger either. I only lost because I underestimated him. But I am healing.”

Kael flexed his arm. “My healing is strong. The herbs are working. Once I am fully healed, I will find him. I will challenge him. And I will win.”

The smile slipped from Vex’s face.

’Boring,’ Vex thought, annoyed. ’So much ego. So little brain.’

He had intended to lure them into a trap for his own benefit. The favor would have been simple: Do not kill me. Stop wanting to kill me. He wanted to secure his immunity upfront, then feed them the bare minimum information about the black tiger, before casually dropping the bomb that Ren was currently a prisoner.

But his plan had failed. They weren’t biting.

Vex hid his displeasure behind a mask of indifference. He shrugged.

“Your loss,” he said lightly.

He stood up on the branch, dusting off his loincloth.

“Well, as it relates to your pretty, little mate…” Vex paused for dramatic effect. “She isn’t at the tree.”

Syris and Kael stiffened.

“And honestly?” Vex continued, tilting his head. “I am not even sure if she is still alive. Which would be a pity if she died without paying me back for curing her tiger. And delivering on her promise to give more of those soaps.”

The implication hit the two Kings like a physical blow.

If she wasn’t at the tree, and the Black Tiger was in the area…

Syris and Kael’s eyes met. They had already deduced the obvious: Vara and the Black Tiger King had somehow taken her.

Vex watched the gears turn. He knew they would figure that out quickly. He couldn’t bargain that information anyway. A cub could figure it out.

But the knife wasn’t twisted deep enough yet. He needed them reckless. He needed them blinded by rage.

Kael and Syris were already turning, their muscles bunching to sprint toward the village.

Vex decided to pour a bucket of gasoline on the fire.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Vex called out casually, stopping them in their tracks.

He looked down at them with a pitying expression.

“I think I overheard him saying something about… breeding her?”

The reaction was instantaneous.

The air in the forest seemed to detonate.

The bloodlust radiating from the two Beast Kings multiplied tenfold. It wasn’t just anger anymore; it was an apocalyptic, blinding rage that turned the atmosphere heavy and suffocating.

Both Kings bolted in the direction of the White Tiger Clan village, leaving nothing but swaying branches and the echo of their rage in their wake.

Vex watched them go, a victorious smile stretching across his lips.

“Too easy,” Vex chuckled.

He gracefully jumped down from the tree, landing silently on the mossy ground. He straightened up, brushed a leaf off his shoulder, and began to saunter in the same direction the two Kings had run.

“While those mad dogs kill each other,” Vex murmured to himself, his eyes gleaming with anticipation, “I’ll save the damsel in distress.”

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