The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

However, no one saw tears rolling down Maverick's eyes.

Well, this was his father's true personality.

How laughable!

Right now, Maverick was in so much pain that he was on the verge of falling apart. He even thought that he would die soon. Unfortunately, this tormenting pain was almost never-ending, so he couldn't speak or move his limbs. Hence, he laid on the ground like a corpse.

The moment he consumed the Golden Lancehead Venom, he thought he could withstand the bite of the insect and get rid of the poison in his body through rebirth. From then on, he would no longer be under Augustus' control.

But he also knew that the Golden Lancehead Venom was particularly overbearing. If he couldn't resist it, he would really die on the spot.

In the past few days, Nathaniel and others had left. Hence, he made this decision out of desperation and never looked back. Now, he was on the verge of death, and he found out Augustus' true colours.

No matter what, Augustus had raised him for thirty years. Although he hadn't had too much affection for Augustus back then, he still treated the latter as his own father.

However, the last bit of feelings that he had left had been destroyed by Augustus himself.

After all, Maverick was his son!

Augustus had raised him for thirty years, so he should have some feelings for his own son, right?

However, he was treated like a piece of trash that could be discarded at any time. After all, Augustus didn't even want to give him a coffin, and he had asked someone to throw Maverick into the jar of vermin to accompany his long-lost mother.

Was Augustus really his father?

Did Maverick really matter to him?

Maverick was devastated, but he somewhat felt relieved.

Right now, there was really nothing holding him back.

After all, he no longer had any relationship with Augustus anymore.

He finally paid back the debt he owed Augustus.

At this thought, Maverick closed his eyes and allowed his tears to flow.

There were no outsiders here, and no one would see his fragility and sadness. Thus, he didn't need to put on a disguise and could finally be himself.

However, Maverick felt that his body was hurting, and he was shivering because he was cold.

If he couldn't bear the pain, he would die today. However, he didn't know what had happened to Lilian now or whether she was trying to come back to him. When Maverick recalled the memories that he had made with Lilian, he felt regretful.

After all, he had never properly accompanied Lilian for so many years.

He knew that Lilian liked going outdoors, but he never had time to take her out. Besides, there were other women who were fond of him, but he didn't want Lilian to look disappointed. Suddenly, he recalled the time when he was seriously injured. At that time, Lilian was the one who had rescued him and carried him laboriously to the town to find a doctor.

However, that doctor was only willing to save him in exchange for Lilian's body. Thus, it was the first time Lilian had killed someone for him.

Right now, he still remembered Lilian's helplessness and despair at that time. He could recall the sound of her clothes being ripped apart, and her hoarse voice that was screaming for help. However, he couldn't do anything but watch as the doctor harassed her.

Then, Lilian was the one who had picked up the scalpel and killed the doctor in front of him.

When the bright red blood splashed on his face, he witnessed Lilian's trembling body and flustered look. Even so, she still remained calm and treated his wound with the equipment she found from the doctor's office.

Well, he didn't know how he survived. There were guns and bullets all over the place during those days, and terrorists were everywhere. However, he and Lilian had stayed in the office for more than a week. He had a high fever, and Lilian was the one who held him and gave him the courage to hold on. Then, she gave him everything she had.

From then onwards, Maverick truly thought of Lilian as his woman.

Over the years, they had experienced tons of obstacles. But still, they had no children. He owed Lilian too much, and he didn't know if he would have a chance to protect her ever again. Thus, he only hoped that Lilian would be well taken care of under Nathaniel's help.

At this thought, Maverick felt extremely heartbroken and devastated. Thus, he could barely see the sceneries outside anymore. Meanwhile, the ancestral hall was so quiet that he could hardly hear his breathing.

Suddenly, he felt very depressed.

No one would know where his body was even if he died. In fact, people would only discover him when he had become a skeleton in a jar!

He didn't know what to feel any more at the thought of his own miserable ending.

After Augustus left the ancestral temple in anger, news came again that Bettany had entered the ancestral temple. He heard that she had been inside for a long time, and no one knew what she was up to. Augustus was a little anxious when he heard this.

"Hurry up and follow me."

This time, Augustus decided to handle it himself.

As long as he caught Bettany and got the Hikasa Manual, he probably could find the entrance to the mines.

Meanwhile, most of Augustus's men had left, and the rest of the people were busy with other things. Thus, no one paid attention to Maverick's condition.

Now that Maverick was dead, he meant nothing to them anymore.

When Nathaniel learned that Bettany had already lured Augustus to take action, he planned to leave alone to search for Maverick. However, he encountered Mango and Lilian on the way. "Why did you guys come out?"

"You can't get out without me."

Lilian looked at Nathaniel and whispered, "Only I know how to get out of formation array and the direction to the secret passage of the ancestral hall."

"But your body..."

"I'm fine."

When Mango saw Nathaniel's worried expression, she said, "I'll take care of Lilian. Nathan, she's worried about Maverick, just like how I'm worried about you. It'll be a torture for Lilian if you ask us to stay behind and wait for your news. Why don't we go with you? I promise that I won't drag you down or let anyone discover us, alright?"

She looked at Nathaniel with a pleading face while she said this.

On the other hand, how could Nathaniel bear to disappoint Mango?

"Okay, but you must listen to me."

"All right."

Then, the three of them left the military camp again.

Under Lilian's lead, Nathaniel and Mango once again entered the secret passage of the ancestral hall. However, Lilian left in a hurry this time.

She was very uneasy, and she felt stuffy. After all, she had an ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Lilian, slow down! You have to take care of your body!"

Mango said this as she was concerned. However, Lilian couldn't listen to a word she say.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel followed by quickly, and he looked quite upset.

When the three of them came to the ancestral hall, they saw Maverick lying there without breathing anymore.

"Maverick! Hey! Maverick!"

Lilian quickly ran over to his side and threw herself at Maverick as she screamed.

His body was cold, so Lilian immediately broke out in tears.

"Maverick, wake up! What's wrong with you? Hey!

Answer me!"

Meanwhile, Nathaniel and Mango's blood ran cold when they saw this scene.

"What's going on?"

Then, Nathaniel ran over and checked up on Maverick immediately. Maverick's breath was weak that he almost couldn't feel it, so this made Nathaniel's heart skip a beat. "What? How could this be? Why did Augustus abandon him and leave him here?"

"I told you that Augustus doesn't care about his life at all. However, you believed that he wouldn't harm his own children. You always think I'm overthinking. He's dead now! Urgh! Are you satisfied now?"

Lilian's tears flooded down her cheeks as she said this.

Then, she hugged Maverick and cried desperately, "Alas! What's the point of having a child if I had to lose you in the end? Maverick Abbott, ever since I turned eighteen, I already know what my mission was. I'm your bodyguard, and I'm someone who could give up everything for you! Now that you're dead, there's no reason for my child and m to live anymore. Who told you that I could move on without you? Huh? Who allowed you to do this to me? What else do you want me to do? Just tell me! Why did you ask other people to convey your message? I only listen to you, so you should tell me personally whether I should live or die. I'll listen to your words. I'll live with our child if you want me to. But I won't listen to what others have

told me!"

Lilian's tears dripped down on Maverick's face when she said this, but he remained motionless.

On the other hand, Mango was stunned. Upon looking at Nathaniel's depressed expression and the devastated look on Lilian's face, she took a deep breath and said, "Is Maverick really dead?" "He still breathing weakly, but..."

Nathaniel could not continue.

However, Mango was the calmest person right now.

She whispered, "Take him away with us, Wisdom should have a way to save him. Maverick must have been struck by a vermin. Besides, He looked fine when we left, so how did things become like this now?" "There is poison in his body due to years of testing and practising with vermin. I have always known that he was risking his own life. Hence, he has to pay a price every time he extracts vermin. If he can't control the poison in his body, it will backfire, and he will die from it. Everyone who practices this will always have someone to guide and protect them, but he doesn't. Therefore, I didn't know when things would take a drastic turn and harm him. Previously, he asked you guys to take care of me. Thus, he must have noticed that his body couldn't take it any longer. However, I don't know whether I can give birth to our child safely under the effect of the vermin. Will he be born with disabilities? I'm not optimistic about it. It was a difficult decision because Maverick wants our child, but I only want him to live well." Mango was surprised by Lilian's confession.

At first, she thought it was a fortunate thing for Lilian to be pregnant with Maverick's child. However, she didn't know what to say now.

"Anyway, we can take him back and let Wisdom treat him. When there's a will, there's a way. Isn't he still breathing? There's have hope as long as he's alive. Moreover, we can ask Wisdom to contact Bettany. Bettany belongs to the village, so she should know how to detoxify the poison."

Lilian's eyes lit up at Mango's words.

"Are there descendants of Longford County left?"

"Yes, and the person is currently in the village. Let's take Maverick with us first. Even if he dies, he can't die here. He is Nathaniel's brother, and he should be buried with respect."

After saying that, Nathaniel went forward and picked up Maverick. But the moment he approached Maverick, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.