Seated in the tent close to the very back was Virala, silently observing Raaha all along. His eyes then trailed across the Body Stage cultivators from various Settlements, soon stopping on a girl, 'She's here!'
But the moment he glanced at her, killing intent was directed at him. By now, Virala could easily recognise the source as he turned around and stared at the boy seated two rows behind, "Can you not do that,"
"Resha?"
"Come out for a second," Resha didn't argue and instead offered an invite, "Let's go on a date, shall we?"
"I'll pass," Virala waved his hand casually, "I'm not into men, you see."
"Same here," Resha shrugged, "I'm simply the middleman. The one who wants to meet you is a lady."
"Oh?" Virala raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who is she?"
"Your mother," Resha laughed, "She feels lonely and wants you to accompany her in the afterlife."
"Wow, that's a low blow." Virala snapped back, "It seems you are that insecure, huh?"
"The most sought-after man in the Mammoth Clan doesn't have the skills to even court a girl." Virala was purposefully loud, causing many heads to turn in their direction.
"Keep crying," Resha snorted as he got up and raised the volume of his voice, "Ruvva gave her everything to you. But what did you do for her other than use her for her resources and then kill her once she served her purpose?"
"Trash bastard!"
"Fuck you! How dare you defame me without proof." Virala roared in response, "You're simply salty because Ruvva chose me instead of you."
"Don't project your inferiority complex on me. You've always done that since we were kids." He glared at Resha, staunch with his words.
"Inferiority complex?" Resha roared in laughter, "Who? Me? Towards you?"
"Are you even qualified?"
"Do you think I'm scared of proving you otherwise?" Virala emitted killing intent.
"Yes, you are." Resha got up from his seat as all the seats in his vicinity flew to the side. He walked towards Virala and stopped right before the latter's face, "In the past, present, and the future,"
"You always fear me."
"Want to test it out?" Resha calmly lifted his hand and suddenly, Virala was on the floor, unable to move as his body felt heavy. Resha then lifted his leg and stomped on Virala, calmly glaring at Raaha upon seeing his foot failing to make contact, "Are you on his side, master?"
"How many times do I have to tell you to control your killing intent, Resha?" Raaha's angered voice reverberated throughout the tent, causing the majority of the Body Stage cultivators to drop to the floor, trembling in fear due to the sheer pressure he exuded.
Even the masters were finding it hard to breathe. It was akin to facing the storm as a mortal. But even in this situation, Resha was calm, unflinching even. Instead, he exerted more strength in his leg, causing it to steadily inch towards Virala, "This guy is constantly messing around with my people."
"Give me one reason why he should be alive, master?" Prana billowed out of Resha like a torrent, a second later accompanied by the unified trumpet of 104 Empyrean Tusks, "Otherwise, I'll have to question your intentions."
"This madman dares question the Chief?" Yahard Tusk was in a state of shock. But a moment later, he stared to his side, vexed upon seeing Bora Tusk grinning widely in excitement.
"See," The bloody stench emanating from Bora Tusk spiked as he laughed, "My people are built different."
"Reason?" Raaha paused for a moment. In response, the tent turned silent, not because everyone listened to him with bated breath, but because none were able to breathe.
It felt as if time itself had frozen as Resha blinked once and found himself at the centre of a crater on the walls of the tent, far away from his previous spot. Raaha's voice then resounded, "You know the reason."
"Don't stir my patience."
"Heh," Virala got up and dusted himself. He then stared at Resha and mouthed a statement, causing Resha's eyes to turn red from insanity. After all, even though Virala didn't speak it, the statement he worded was…
[Your previous life's wife, I'll make her mine!]
"Fucker! I'll kill you!" Resha blasted a torrent of Prana, causing the tent to shatter in response. But a moment later, he was knocked unconscious. The tent too regained its original shape.
'Such troublemakers,' Raaha shook his head and dispersed everyone, "The contest will begin soon. Get ready."
Following the crowd to exit the tent was Virala, pausing for a moment when he came across the figure of Resha embedded in the tent wall, noticing the expressions of the masters directed at Resha become a notch negative, 'Good, public opinion of him has taken a hit. It'll be to my benefit.'
A confident expression filled his face as Virala boldly walked out of the tent, accompanied by his precious One-Storey Storage Lantern and a pouch filled with a couple of Nature Weapons, 'I'll take the top score in this contest and use this chance to get closer to her.'
The lady he was aiming for, and the one he had been checking out all along was none other than Resha's legal wife in Sumatra Chronicles.
Mammoth Clan Heroine—Yahira!
She was the Mammoth Clan Chief's precious granddaughter in Sumatra Chronicles. But in the current timeline, she was merely the precious granddaughter of the 10th Settlement Leader.
However, that didn't matter. Virala had a concrete reason to aim for her, despite knowing that such an action would place him as Resha's number one enemy. Well, two reasons actually.
The logical reason was her prowess. In Sumatra Chronicles, she was the second Mammoth Clansman apart from Resha to have injured the Boar King at his pinnacle strength. The Boar King back then had stacked all hundred Natures of his Astral Chart, becoming a force of nature.
Yahira was overshadowed as a character in Sumatra Chronicles despite her prowess, because honestly, she was mostly one-dimensional, not that interesting in comparison to interesting three-dimensional characters like Yarsha Zahara.
She had merely existed as a gatekeeper that prevented other women from surrounding Resha. Ignoring her lacking character, she assisted Resha immensely throughout most of Sumatra Chronicles.
There wasn't a stronger supporting cast than her. And she remained relevant until the very end, managing to receive even the Boar King's appreciation during her death.
Therefore, as long as Virala makes her his wife, his journey will be more solid.
His second reason was simple. From the day during Sumatra Chronicles' second year of serialisation when she was introduced, accompanying her character art, Virala was obsessed with her.
And now, his obsession only grew stronger upon seeing that she was exactly as he had imagined her to be, steady, uncaring about everything but herself, and most of all, a willed person strong enough to do whatever she wanted.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have stabbed Resha every time he even dared to look at a woman other than her. Truth be told, Virala was into that shit.
'You're not worthy of her attention, Resha. Go fuck Yarsha Zahara for all I care.' Virala returned to his room to begin preparations for the upcoming egg hunt. 'I am a part of this world. And standing by my side to witness my moment at the top of Sumatra Continent will be Yahira, as my wife.'
Hence, it was a war between Virala and Resha.