Chapter 308: Younglings Are Born Again
"I made them," Evangeline said, her tone perfectly natural.
Aiden Atwood’s breath hitched. A fanatical look suddenly appeared on his face, the listlessness of the past few days vanishing in an instant!
After all, he had once been a Commander and was highly sensitive to potential profits. If the Druid could truly fire red bricks that were superior to the standard gray ones, their City-State of the Paragon Troupe could absolutely skyrocket to prominence!
This way, her talk of rebuilding the city-state wouldn’t sound so much like a wild fantasy!
Thorne stood by Evangeline’s side, carefully protecting her. He spared a glance for Aiden Atwood, his eyes filled with scorn.
’This guy... ever since signing the contract, he’s been walking around like he’d lost his soul, completely listless. Now he’s finally snapped out of it. Hah. As long as they follow Eva, the City-State of the Paragon Troupe will sooner or later surpass the Grimgar City-State. He firmly believed it!’
"For the time being, a steady supply of red bricks will be sent from the fortress. You just need to follow my instructions and build The Water Citadel in an orderly fashion. As for foreign trade, we don’t need to make the first move. Someone will come knocking on our door."
Evangeline’s expression was calm as she glanced toward the distant horizon, her tone resolute.
The Beastman laborers quickly threw themselves into the construction. Evangeline had already drawn up the blueprints. The Floating City-State wasn’t overly difficult to build, but it required the help of the Mer Clan. At Danton’s summons, the Mer Clan had also become citizens of the City-State of the Paragon Troupe.
Another half-month passed. On the beach, the silhouette of The Floating City-State began to take shape. Fortified by Evangeline’s Spirit Stones, it was exceedingly stable; neither the ocean waves nor the sea winds could damage it in the slightest.
On this day, Evangeline was supervising the work as usual, guiding the Beastmen in building the city-state.
Loras and Thorne flanked her, their gazes lowered to her swollen belly. Both of them were tense.
The other males were also worried sick every day. However, the city-state was in a period of rapid development and needed people everywhere, so they had all been assigned other tasks. Because of the uncertainty over the cubs’ parentage, Loras’s and Thorne’s daily routine consisted mostly of protecting Evangeline.
"It’ll be finished soon," Evangeline said, gently stroking her abdomen as the corners of her lips curved up.
Beastmen possessed extremely vigorous energy and immense strength. When it came to the manual labor on the construction site, they were incredibly efficient. In just half a month, the basic form of The Floating City-State had already emerged.
Thorne said, somewhat irritably, "With the way you come here every day, it’s impossible for things to go slowly."
’Other females just lie around all day when they’re pregnant with cubs, doing nothing but eating and drinking. But his female? One day she’s issuing a notice, the next she’s drawing up a plan. From the time they took over Otterhaven City-State to now, the entire city-state has been completely transformed. It was a whole new place. She poured almost all her energy into the city-state.’
’He was very unhappy about this. All he cared about was Eva’s health. As for this City-State of the Paragon Troupe, he couldn’t care less.’
Loras glanced at Thorne, his brow twitching slightly. He then said softly, "Eva, the wheat seeds you had us sow have already sprouted. I go to check on them every day. They’re growing very well, and the females in the city-state are taking meticulous care of them."
Evangeline nodded slightly. Just as she was about to speak, a familiar pain shot through her abdomen.
Thorne and Loras were extremely attentive to Evangeline’s condition. Though she only stiffened for a moment, they noticed it immediately.
"What’s wrong?!" Thorne’s whole body went rigid. His dark green pupils contracted to pinpricks, and his palms trembled.
’It wasn’t the first time he’d been through Eva giving birth, but thinking back, something major seemed to happen almost every single time!’
Loras didn’t speak, but the subtle fragrance emanating from him grew intensely strong. "Eva?"
Evangeline, on the other hand, was quite calm. She raised an eyebrow, pursed her lips, and said, "I’m going into labor."
The moment she spoke, Thorne sucked in a sharp breath. He immediately swept her up into his arms and shot away from the beach like a bolt of lightning, rushing toward the fortress. His frantic dash startled the surrounding Beastman laborers.
But then, they realized: the Druid was giving birth!
This was excellent news for the city-state’s Beastmen. It meant the Druid had an heir, and their City-State of the Paragon Troupe would become even more stable. The Beastmen looked toward the fortress, silently praying for the safe birth of the cub.
"Who do you think the father is? Which Commander’s cub is in the Druid’s belly?"
"Heh, it doesn’t matter whose it is! If it’s a female, she’ll surely be as outstanding as the Druid! If it’s a male, he’ll be the future warrior who leads our City-State of the Paragon Troupe to greatness!"
"That’s right! The Druid will definitely have a safe delivery!"
"..."
Ever since Otterhaven City-State was taken over by the City-State of the Paragon Troupe, life had gotten much better for them, the lower-class citizens. Not only did they have their own work to do each day, but they could also earn City-state Coins!
You have to understand, City-state Coins were a currency that had previously only circulated among the nobility. It had nothing to do with slaves like them!
What’s more, they had all witnessed the changes in the city-state with their own eyes. This was clearly a good start, a vibrant new beginning.
*
「Commander’s Fortress.」
Evangeline hadn’t moved; she was still living in the same room she’d occupied since she first arrived.
Evangeline had just been placed on the soft bed when she felt a warm gush of fluid.
She herself was stunned for a moment. ’None of my previous births have ever gone this smoothly.’
Just as Thorne was about to go out to get help, he watched, wide-eyed, as a black egg slid out from between Evangeline’s legs. He held his breath, staring in disbelief. He could sense that the small life inside the eggshell was connected to him by blood.
His heart pounded uncontrollably, and he suddenly found it hard to steady his breathing.
Loras was the first to react. "I’ll go get some water!" he said.
’He wasn’t disappointed at all. After all, when he first got together with Eva, he was mostly filled with guilt and always wanted to make it up to her. Emotionally, he considered himself inferior to the others. He was very happy that the cub belonged to Thorne.’
"Eva, look." Thorne carefully scooped up the egg and presented it to Evangeline. For the first time, his dark green pupils didn’t narrow into vertical slits; instead, they dilated, round and glistening, as if he had just received a priceless treasure.
Evangeline let out a soft laugh. But before she could speak, another warm gush accompanied a fresh wave of pain.
Seeing her brow furrow in pain, Thorne tensed up again. He paced anxiously by the bed, wishing he could bear the agony in her place. In the end, all he could do was put the egg back down, take Evangeline’s hand, and gently kiss her cheek.
"Eva... I’m here... I’m right here..."
As Thorne repeated himself over and over, Evangeline continued to give birth. In a short while, she had laid four eggs.
Three black, and one red.
Evangeline’s constitution was extraordinary. Right after giving birth, she sat up and looked at the eggs huddled together. Each one was the size of a male’s palm. The red one was slightly smaller, which suggested it might be a female, but they would only know for sure after it hatched.
"Eva..." Thorne hugged Evangeline tightly, his eyes shimmering with moisture.
"It’s okay. It didn’t hurt," Evangeline said softly, raising a hand to caress his face.
She wasn’t lying. This delivery had been incredibly smooth, and she had suffered very little.
But Thorne didn’t believe her. He pressed his thin lips to her temple, kissing away the cold sweat that pain had beaded there, his eyes filled with heartache.
Evangeline gazed at the eggs, a smile playing on her lips. "See? I was right, wasn’t I? You still won in terms of the number of cubs. From now on, you have to raise them well. No losing your temper, understand?"
