Chapter 406: Suspicion
Ming looked at the elders, his voice laced with mockery. "Well? Do you believe us now?"
How dare they question our Nina’s abilities? She is lightyears ahead of any of them.
Nyran kept his eyes fixed on Nina, his gaze sharp and calculating. Quietly, he slipped out of the hall, whispered a few urgent commands to a subordinate, and then slipped back inside.
Most of the elders looked visibly uncomfortable and embarrassed.
However, one elder still stood up to object. "Even if this female cured the cub, it only proves her healing abilities are strong. It doesn’t prove the beastmen in our city are poisoned."
"Exactly! Healing powers can cure normal illnesses too! How does this prove there’s poison?"
"Even our own witch doctors couldn’t detect anything, yet she claims she can. Does she honestly think her knowledge of toxins surpasses that of the Serpent Tribe?"
"She probably has an ulterior motive and is saying this on purpose."
"Right! Otherwise, why would they come all this way just to tell us this for nothing? There must be some hidden, malicious agenda."
As soon as that first elder spoke up, several others quickly chimed in.
Anger flared in Ming’s eyes. "You’re just twisting words! Your witch doctors couldn’t find anything because they’re incompetent. Stop trying to throw dirt on us."
Taru was equally furious. "Nina couldn’t bear to watch innocent beastmen suffer, so she came here out of the goodness of her heart to warn you. To twist her kindness into malicious intent is utterly ungrateful and shameless!"
Odian and the others glared fiercely at the elders. How dare they speak about Nina that way!
Watching the elders’ defensive reactions, Nina sensed that something was amiss. It felt as though certain individuals were intentionally trying to obstruct her, desperately wanting to stop her from helping the city’s beastmen.
Could they be the ones who planted the poison in the first place? She began to closely observe the behavior of specific elders.
Seeing how fiercely Ming and the others protected Nina, Milt’s eyes darkened slightly. This female is definitely not simple.
Fortunately, having witnessed the cub’s miraculous recovery, a few elders were starting to come around.
"I am willing to believe this female," Harin was the first to speak up. "Since she could cure the cub, it proves she possesses real capability." As long as there was a chance to save the city’s females and cubs, he was willing to take the leap of faith.
"I believe her too," Tair stepped forward to join him.
"So do I."
...
Nina was slightly surprised to see Tair there. There were so many beastmen packed into the hall that she hadn’t noticed him until now.
Ming and his group calmed down slightly. At least a few of these snakes weren’t completely brainless.
"City Lord, we cannot trust a strange female so easily," an opposing elder argued to Milt. "The city’s water source is not something to be tampered with lightly. If we cut off the water supply, what are the beastmen supposed to drink?"
"Yes, City Lord, the water supply is of utmost importance. They belong to other cities and have no ties to us. For them to suddenly show up and claim our water is tainted... it’s hard not to suspect they have sinister motives," another elder added.
Milt looked at Nina and her group, his expression torn with hesitation.
Seeing this, Harin immediately urged, "City Lord, I believe we should trust her words. Since she can cure the sick, it proves she can pinpoint the cause." He looked at Milt pleadingly.
"Please, City Lord, prioritize our people. If we trust her, the worst we have to do is clean the water supply, but we could save countless lives. If we don’t trust her, who else can save our females and cubs?"
"City Lord, Elder Harin makes a valid point."
"Indeed. Changing the water source might be a hassle, but compared to the lives of our females and cubs, it’s trivial. The right choice is obvious."
Several other elders nodded in agreement.
After a moment of deliberation, Milt turned to Nina. "You belong to another city. The affairs of Serpent City have nothing to do with you. Why go to such lengths to tell us this?"
"We simply couldn’t stand by and watch innocent beastmen die," Nina replied calmly. "We came to warn you so you could contain the illness before finding a permanent cure."
A hostile elder sneered. "Could outsiders really be that kind-hearted?"
"Believe what you want," Nina countered with a cold laugh. "You accuse me of having ulterior motives, but it seems to me that the ones with sinister agendas are sitting right here. Everything I’ve said is to save your people. Why are you trying so hard to stop me?"
Nina’s lips curled into a mocking smile. "If I fail to cure the beastmen of your city, I lose absolutely nothing. But what about you? By stopping me, aren’t you intentionally condemning your own people to death?"
The elder reacted as if his toes had been stepped on. "Stop talking nonsense! I am an elder of Serpent City. Why would I ever harm our own beastmen?"
"Only you know the answer to that in your heart," Nina countered smoothly.
At this point, even some of the neutral elders began to harbor doubts. They felt that Nina’s words carried a fair amount of weight.
Noticing the suspicious glances coming from the supportive faction, the opposing elders immediately jumped out to defend themselves.
"Don’t listen to this female! She is just trying to drive a wedge between us. I told you she was up to no good!"
Nina looked at the council. "Think about it. If the beastmen in the city are indeed poisoned, doesn’t that mean there is a culprit behind it? Your water supply is heavily guarded by powerful beastmen, so how could an outsider poison it so easily?"
She directed her gaze pointedly at the opposing faction. "Furthermore, your Serpent Tribe is renowned for crafting toxins. Doesn’t that mean a beastman from your own tribe is the most likely candidate to engineer a poison that even your own witch doctors can’t detect?"
Her words struck the elders like a sudden wake-up call.
This little female actually makes perfect sense!
They all turned their gazes toward the opposing elders, the suspicion in their eyes deepening significantly.
The expressions of several elders shifted slightly, and they immediately barked back at Nina.
"What right do you have to claim the poison was planted by one of our own? For all we know, you’re the one who did it!"
"Exactly! And how can you even prove the beastmen are poisoned? What if they are simply sick?"
"Don’t think that just because you cured one cub, you can spout whatever wild accusations you want on Serpent Tribe territory!"
"You—"
The opposing elders wanted to say more, but Milt raised a hand to silence them. He looked at Nina and asked, "Little female, you claim you can detect poison in the water supply. Do you have a way to prove this?"
"I know exactly which water sources are tainted," Nina replied. "The number of sick beastmen living near those tainted sources is bound to be much higher. You can easily verify this with a quick check."
"You could have easily gathered that information just by scouting around the city beforehand," an opposing elder scoffed disdainfully. "How does that prove anything?"
"Then send your own beastmen to collect water samples from different locations, and I will test them right in front of you," Nina proposed. "Since I won’t know which sample comes from where, I won’t be able to fake the results."
"City Lord, I believe the method proposed by this female is perfectly feasible," Harin agreed.
"I think so too."
...
Quite a few elders nodded in agreement.
Left without a quick counterargument, the opposing elders could only swallow their words and remain silent for the time being.
After a moment of thought, Milt told Nina, "Fine, we will do as you say. If you can prove it, I will believe you."
When the opposing elders tried to object again, Milt shot them a sharp, warning glare, forcing them to shut their mouths.
"In that case, we will dispatch beastmen to gather water from various locations today, and we will meet at the witch doctor’s place tomorrow morning for the live testing," Nyran suddenly interjected.
"Very well," Milt agreed.
Harin then turned to Milt. "City Lord, shouldn’t we start managing the water supply today just to be safe?" He was already heavily inclined to believe Nina.
Milt turned to Vair, who stood nearby. "Pass down the order. Instruct the beastmen in the city to fetch their drinking water from outside the city walls today."
He then looked back at Nina and her group. "You may head back for today. Tomorrow morning, go straight to the witch doctor’s residence near the City Lord’s mansion on the east side of the central district."
"Understood."
Nina gave a brief nod, then departed with Ming and the others.
Once Nina’s group left the hall, a beastman stepped out from a secluded spot just outside the grand entrance.
Nyran walked up to the beastman and asked quietly, "Is it her?"
"Without a doubt. That female is indeed the City Lord of the Barbarian City," the beastman confirmed.
Looking in the direction where Nina had disappeared, a faint smirk played at the corners of Nyran’s lips.
It really is her.
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