Chapter 253: Let Them Have The Salt Well

"Contract? What Contract?"

Sora immediately rejected Damien.

"Your body hasn’t even recovered yet. Get better first before talking about forming a Contract."

Damien’s expression froze for a moment.

Before he could respond, Ace immediately nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. Don’t push yourself too hard. What if you fail to recover properly and end up unable to perform your duties? Kaelira might not want you anymore."

Ace had originally gained a little more respect for Damien after hearing Xavier’s reasoning in the previous discussion.

After all, Damien had saved Sora.

But the moment Damien opened his mouth and started shamelessly discussing the Contract while he was still injured, Ace’s respect immediately disappeared.

He sneered.

"Black Bear, what exactly are you saying? Is my constitution really that weak?"

Damien looked offended.

"If it isn’t weak, then perform a feat of carrying salt with your bare hands for me."

Ace crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying himself.

Damien immediately turned toward Sora with a pitiful expression.

"Kaelira, he’s bullying an injured person. I’m not even fully recovered, and he’s already making me carry salt."

Sora looked at Ace, then at Damien.

She couldn’t help sighing.

"Alright. Both of you, say less."

Ace snorted.

He turned his back and stopped looking at Damien.

Damien, however, immediately became obedient.

"Okay. I won’t say anything anymore."

Then he looked at Sora again.

"But, Kaelira, when are we going to form the Contract?"

His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You aren’t lying to me again, are you?"

Damien hadn’t forgotten what had happened before.

Sora had delayed the Contract several times, always finding one excuse after another.

He was determined not to let her escape again.

Sora rubbed her forehead helplessly.

"Lying about what? Everyone heard what I said. Could I possibly go back on my word now?"

Damien’s eyes curved into a smile.

"Fine, then. I’ll believe you one more time."

With that, he moved closer and rubbed against Sora several more times.

Sora couldn’t stand his clinginess.

She pushed him away slightly, then stood up and walked toward the entrance of the cave.

Outside, the black curtain of night was gradually fading.

The darkness was being replaced by a soft blue sky.

A bright white star already hung in the eastern sky, standing out against the pale morning.

Sora stretched her arms.

"It’s dawn already."

She looked into the distance.

"I wonder if the Fire Jackal Tribe will send people over today."

Ace immediately sneered.

"What’s there to worry about with those defeated opponents?"

His eyes became sharp.

"If they dare to come today, I’ll make sure they never return."

Xavier glanced at him with disdain.

"What big talk."

His tone was calm but merciless.

"You make it sound like we had such a huge advantage last time."

Ace frowned.

"Last time was simply because they caught us off guard. Otherwise, I definitely could have wiped them all out."

Lukan looked at the others seriously.

"We can’t be careless."

"The Fire Jackal Tribe has three Beastmen above Rank Five and ten Rank Four Beastmen. Their total population is more than three hundred."

"Winning against them isn’t impossible, but their numbers make them troublesome."

He paused.

"And we don’t know whether they’ll bring people from other Tribes."

Lukan’s expression became even more serious.

"Don’t forget that, to prevent a sneak attack, the Leader also brought people here."

"We need to protect the Tribe members, not simply focus on fighting."

"And most importantly..."

His eyes moved toward Sora.

"We must protect Kaelira."

Sora looked at everyone.

After thinking for a moment, she spoke.

"I’m fine. I’ll definitely protect myself and won’t cause trouble for you."

"But I’m more worried about something else."

She looked toward the distant cave entrance.

"I’m afraid that besides the people brought by the Fire Jackal Tribe, there might be another group hiding behind them."

"That would be difficult to guard against."

Ace frowned.

"People hiding behind them?"

He looked at Sora.

"Who else could there be besides the Fire Jackal Tribe?"

Then his expression changed slightly.

"Kaelira, are you talking about that bird from yesterday?"

Lucas immediately leaned lazily against the cave wall.

"You don’t need to worry about that bird."

His expression was confident.

"I’ll stay by your side. She won’t dare act recklessly."

He lifted a hand and casually adjusted the crest feathers on his head, making sure they remained neat.

"Although the Phoenix Token is powerful, I know about it too."

"I’ve only cultivated to Rank Eight, so naturally I can’t compare with my grandmother."

"But dealing with that bird should still be more than enough."

Xavier immediately poured cold water on his confidence.

"Kaelira isn’t talking about her."

Lucas looked over.

Xavier’s voice remained completely calm.

"She’s talking about Serena."

"Serena?"

Lucas blinked.

"Didn’t she run away on her own?"

He looked confused.

"She’s appeared again?"

Sora shook her head.

"No. I haven’t seen her personally."

"This is only an inference."

She pointed toward the traces of Plant Ash scattered inside the cave.

"It’s based on the salt-purification method used here."

"Someone has been purifying salt in this cave."

"And this time, our Tribe members were killed, while the Spotted Hyena Beastmen came to seize the Salt Well."

"All of this should have something to do with Serena."

Sora’s eyes narrowed.

"She wants to hide behind the scenes and reap the benefits after everyone else fights."

Ryan immediately understood.

"She wants to be the fisherman who benefits after the mantis stalks the cicada."

His expression became slightly cold.

Ace’s eyes turned icy.

"I knew there was something wrong with her."

"Even when she was still in the Tribe, I already found her unpleasant."

Nick Wilde snorted.

"What’s the use of talking about that now?"

"The important thing is deciding what we’re going to do."

"If the Fire Jackal Tribe makes this matter bigger, the nearby Tribes will eventually discover that there’s a Salt Well here."

"And once that happens..."

His gaze sharpened.

"This Salt Well won’t belong to us anymore."

Sora glanced at Nick Wilde.

As expected of the successor carefully cultivated by the Red Fox Tribe’s Chief, his mind was clear.

He had immediately identified the most important problem.

His thinking was far better than Mark’s.

Sora’s eyes moved slightly.

Then a thought suddenly appeared in her mind.

A faint, cunning smile slowly appeared on her lips.

She looked around at the people inside the cave.

"Since Serena wants to hide behind the scenes and profit from the conflict..."

Her smile deepened.

"Then we’ll make sure she can’t hide."

Xavier lifted his eyelids.

His purple eyes settled on Sora.

"What is your plan?"

Sora coughed lightly.

"We spread the news."

Everyone became attentive.

"We tell everyone that Serena knows how to Purify Salt."

"And not only that."

Sora’s eyes gleamed.

"We’ll say that the salt she purifies is even better than the City-State’s."

The others slowly understood.

Sora continued.

"The Tribes that are already coveting the Salt Well will definitely go looking for Serena."

"When that happens, she won’t be able to hide anymore."

"She’ll suffer a hidden loss because of her own scheme."

Sora’s smile became more cunning.

"And while everyone is focused on her, we can secretly set traps and catch all of them in one move."

Ace’s mouth twitched.

"You’re directly flipping her table and throwing the trouble somewhere else."

He shook his head.

"That’s ruthless enough."

A hint of amusement flashed through Xavier’s purple eyes.

"Drawing the snake out of its hole."

"Killing with a borrowed knife."

"And catching a turtle in a jar."

He looked at Sora with unmistakable admiration.

"Kaelira, you’re amazing."

Lukan’s eyes were also filled with praise.

But he still hesitated.

"It’s a good idea."

"However, I’m afraid there isn’t enough time."

"We still have to deal with today’s battle first."

Ryan nodded.

"We can only do this after repelling the Spotted Hyena Beastmen."

Sora looked at him.

A cunning smile curled at the corners of her lips.

"Who said we’re going to fight them?"

Everyone paused.

Sora’s eyes sparkled.

"Wouldn’t it be better to hide somewhere, rest, and watch the tigers fight from a distance?"

She smiled.

"Or perhaps watch the dogs fight each other?"

Nick Wilde’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Kaelira..."

His voice carried excitement.

"Do you mean we should ignore the Salt Well Cave for now?"

Sora nodded.

"Exactly."

She looked at him approvingly.

"You’re quite smart."

Ace frowned slightly.

"Ignore the Salt Well Cave?"

"Wouldn’t that be giving it away for nothing?"

"If they take it, it might be difficult for us to get it back."

Sora raised her eyebrows.

"What’s there to fear?"

"Once the Salt Well Cave falls into their hands, they still won’t necessarily know how to extract the salt."

She pointed toward the saltwater.

"And even if they manage to obtain the saltwater, they still need to know how to Purify Salt."

"Otherwise, what’s the difference between the saltwater and a pile of dirt?"

Ace fell silent.

Ryan, however, suddenly looked toward the Plant Ash scattered nearby.

"But Serena seems to know how to Purify Salt too."

Sora wasn’t worried.

"Don’t worry about her."

"She only learned the basics."

"And her Plant Ash isn’t very pure."

Xavier looked at Sora.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly.

He genuinely loved seeing her like this.

Confident.

Clever.

Calm.

She seemed completely different from the frightened Female who had once been forced to hide behind others.

How could his Female be so smart?

Lucas suddenly clapped his hands.

"Exactly."

"Not many people know the technique for Purifying Salt."

His eyes brightened.

"Let them fight until their heads bleed."

"And if they tear Serena apart in the process, even better."

He grinned.

"That way, we’ll be the ones benefiting in the end."

Lukan looked at Sora with a helpless but doting expression.

He shook his head.

"You’ve made all of our worries today seem like a joke."

Sora raised her eyebrows proudly.

"Sorry."

She smiled brightly.

"What can I say?"

"I’m just too smart."

She looked at the group with a teasing expression.

"I don’t need you guys for now."

For a moment, the cave became quiet.

Then the others exchanged looks.

Sora’s plan was simple.

She didn’t need to fight the enemy head-on.

She didn’t need to expose the location of the Salt Well unnecessarily.

And she didn’t need to reveal her own strength.

Instead, she could allow the people fighting over the Salt Well to clash with each other.

The mantis stalked the cicada.

The cicada remained unaware of the oriole behind it.

And while everyone else was fighting for the Salt Well, Sora intended to become the one standing outside the conflict, waiting for the right moment.

For the first time since the Salt Well had been discovered, the pressure hanging over the group seemed to ease.

The enemy might believe they were preparing for a direct battle.

But Sora had already decided not to give them the battle they expected.

She was going to let them fight first.

Then she would decide who deserved to remain standing.