After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back

Chapter 428: Keep up the act

With Xirin dead, his remaining beastmen immediately lost their footing. Panicked by the loss of their leader, several scattered and fled. The battle raged on for a brief moment before the chaos finally subsided.

Idir had successfully avenged himself, cutting down his enemies with his own hands, while most of Xirin’s faction were captured by Milt’s forces.

Milt walked over to Nina. "Lady Nina, you have our utmost gratitude for your assistance today."

"You’re welcome," Nina replied evenly.

"I will uphold my end of our bargain and hand over the sacred artifact," Milt continued. "Once it’s in your possession, I hope you will use it to heal the sick beastmen of our city."

"No problem," Nina agreed.

Hearing this, the citizens of Serpent City breathed a collective sigh of relief. If the City Lord was handing the sacred artifact over to Lady Nina, did that mean they no longer had to be sacrificed to the array? Compared to such a barbaric method, they were naturally far more willing to trust that Nina could use the artifact to cure the plague directly.

"In that case, please follow me to retrieve it," Milt said.

"Alright."

Nina handed the cubs over to Kith, shooting him a discreet, meaningful look. "Kith, look after the little ones."

Taking the cubs, Kith nodded smoothly. "Mm. Go ahead and get the artifact, Nina. Don’t worry about us."

Nina tried to hand Phar over as well, but the little white beast clung to her tightly, shaking his head. Her beast husbands frowned in irritation at Phar. What is wrong with this little white beast? Why is he so hopelessly attached to Nina?

Nina hesitated for a moment but decided not to force him down. Whatever, he can come along.

Turning to Milt, she said, "Lead the way."

Milt led Nina toward the chamber where the sacred artifact was kept.

As they drew near, Milt came to a halt. "City Lord, please wait here. I will go ahead and retrieve it."

"Alright." Nina stayed behind, keeping her distance.

Milt walked toward the sacred artifact step by step, with a large contingent of his loyal beastmen flanking him from behind. Meanwhile, Odian and the others quickly activated the protective barriers Nina had given them.

To guarantee the cubs’ safety, Kith, Aviel, and Keil had already used the distraction to teleport them away.

Suddenly, the ground flared with a faint, blood-red light. The atmospheric pressure spiked instantly, and a violent, crushing suction force expanded outward at terrifying speed.

The crimson glow didn’t just cover the array itself; it rapidly bled into most of the surrounding area. The light burned fiercest at the heart of the array, but the crimson beam anchoring the spell was strongest right beneath Nina’s feet.

The Serpent City citizens on the ground panicked, trying to flee the eerie force, only to find themselves completely paralyzed. They could feel their strength being utterly suppressed, slowly leaking out of their bodies.

"What’s happening? Why can’t I move?"

"What is going on?!"

"My energy... it feels like it’s draining away!"

Panic rippled through the crowd.

"It looks like the array has been activated! And the perimeter has been expanded—we’re all trapped inside!" a witch doctor cried out in terror.

"What?! The array is active?!"

"Who triggered it?"

"Didn’t the City Lord say Lady Nina was going to use the sacred artifact to save us? Why is the array active?!"

The crowd was as bewildered as they were terrified. They turned to their leader in desperation, shouting, "City Lord, what is the meaning of this?"

Milt creased his brow, his face a mask of confusion. "I don’t know either."

"Who could have done this? Could it be a spy left behind by Xirin?" a beastman suddenly yelled. His voice was loud enough to carry across the plaza, instantly planting the seed in everyone’s minds.

The citizens immediately took the bait, their faces twisting with venomous rage. Yes, it had to be that wretched Xirin! Even in death, he was dragging them down with him, ruining a situation where they no longer had to be sacrificed.

Terrified, they begged Milt, "City Lord, what do we do now?"

Milt turned to the assembled witch doctors. "Is there any way to halt the array?"

"An array like this can usually only be stopped by destroying the core, or by waiting until its energy reserves drain completely," the witch doctors explained, completely out of their depth. "But we aren’t familiar with this formation to begin with, and now that it’s been altered, we have no idea where the core is. Besides, everyone is paralyzed inside the perimeter, so no one can even go look for it."

Their skills were limited. If only their High Priest hadn’t vanished so long ago; he surely would have had a solution.

Milt turned back to comfort the crowd. "Don’t panic, everyone. Let me see if I can use the sacred artifact to disrupt the array from within."

The desperate, helpless citizens looked at Milt with eyes full of hope, praying he would be their savior.

Meanwhile, shielded by their protective barriers, Odian and the others remained completely unaffected. They looked at Nina with bated breath; though they knew she had a plan, they couldn’t help but worry.

Just as Milt was about to channel the sacred artifact, Nina’s voice cut through the air, sharp and clear. "Even at a time like this, you’re still going to keep up the act, City Lord Milt?"

This Milt truly was a wolf in sheep’s clothing—a master manipulator who could sell people out and have them thank him for it.

"What are you implying? I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean," Milt replied, looking utterly baffled. "What act am I keeping up?"

"You activated the array yourself. You tell me," Nina countered coldly.

The citizens instantly whipped their heads toward her. Why was she accusing their own leader of activating the array?

Milt denied it immediately. "Lady Nina, on what grounds do you make such an accusation? This array was clearly triggered by the remnants of Xirin’s faction."

"Exactly! Lady Nina, you can’t just bite people at random!" an elder standing behind Milt snapped. "We’re trapped in this array just like everyone else. What right do you have to blame the City Lord? For all we know, you’re the one who did it!"

"Is that so?" Nina let out a cold laugh.

The moment the words left her mouth, a massive golden eagle tore through the sky, diving straight toward Milt and his inner circle with lethal intent.

Sensing Goldy’s terrifying power, Milt and his men naturally didn’t dare to stand there and take the hit. They scattered in a frantic rush to avoid the blow.

Nina let out a mocking sneer. "I thought you all said you were trapped and couldn’t move? You look pretty spry to me."

The expressions on the faces of Milt’s faction froze instantly, completely at a loss for words.