Carlotta felt quite comfortable. Under the glow of white light, she could feel her injuries rapidly healing. Any slight pain she’d felt before had completely disappeared under the radiance.
It was clear Monica had been rather honest, not doing anything extra. Of course, if the other had tried anything, Carlotta would have sensed it imdiately. She was fully aware of every change in her own body.
It didn’t take long before Carlotta felt her injuries were almost completely healed.
She slipped her hand beneath her clothes, touching her waist. Not even a trace of a scar remains. Satisfied, she nodded slightly.
Monica withdrew her hands and said, "I’ve healed your injuries. You’ll keep your word, won’t you?"
Her eyes remain highly alert.
Carlotta smiled gently. "Naturally. I’m not soone who enjoys fighting. Peace is what I value most."
Monica was speechless. How could anyone believe soone who had just threatened her and the others monts ago when they claid to love peace?
Still, regardless, Carlotta wasn’t showing any signs of aggression now, sothing that, at the very least, was a good thing.
Carlotta’s figure flickered, dashing past like a gust of wind, arriving beside Alia, then leaving with her.
This allowed the mbers of Stellar Spire to finally let out a sigh of relief.
...
The crimson moon in the sky appears unusually close, its eerie glow spreading across the vast Sky Island. The forests and grasslands were bathed in crimson light, hazy and mysterious.
"Alia, I’m heading back."
Carlotta said bluntly. Her gaze fixed on the distant mountains, her tone growing slightly colder. "I’ll definitely settle the score that needs settling."
There was no sign of battle visible in that mountain range now. The Flaming Bird, having sensed sothing, had already flown away.
Carlotta couldn’t see what Aubrey, Simon, or Jemina were doing right now, but she could guess, they were probably searching for the treasure site.
Even though Jemina had suddenly attacked and injured her, would the others really refuse to cooperate with her because of that? Carlotta thought that was highly unlikely.
"I understand what you an. Let’s go."
This ti, Alia didn’t refuse Carlotta’s plan.
Carlotta wasn’t just stronger after her breakthrough, she now wielded the Speed Card infused with the Wind Godstone, and her injuries were fully healed. Compared to how she’d been just earlier, she was practically a different person, capable of suppressing others.
"Let’s hurry. I’m afraid we’ll miss sothing if we’re too slow."
Carlotta looked at Alia.
"You an..."
Alia froze for a mont.
Carlotta smiled but didn’t answer. One hand slipped beneath Alia’s hair, wrapping around her, while the other passed under the bend of her knees. In one smooth motion, she lifted Alia into a princess carry.
"This is to go faster."
Carlotta murmured softly.
Alia was much lighter than she’d imagined. Holding her, Carlotta quickly darted through the forest.
Lying in Carlotta’s arms, Alia’s cheeks flushed slightly. She hadn’t expected Carlotta to carry her like this. The feeling was strange, unfamiliar, but for so reason, she found herself actually enjoying it.
It feels like being back in a cradle, held and protected by soone.
Thinking that, her face reddened even more.
When Carlotta erged from a stretch of forest, she lifted down and saw Alia’s delicate, enchanting face, and that faint pink hue.
Was it the shyness of a young girl, or rely the reflection of the crimson moonlight?
Carlotta didn’t dwell on it too long. She couldn’t keep looking down, Alia would notice. Instead, she lifted her gaze forward, continuing onward while her thoughts churned.
Not long after, Carlotta quickly reached the mountain where the treasure was hidden. Everywhere she looked were signs of battle, craters, toppled trees, charred marks, and so spots still burning with flickering flas.
Carlotta knew the exact location of the treasure site and headed straight there. Soon, she arrived beside a murky lake.
The treasure lies beneath the lake. Carlotta paused, gently set Alia down, then pulled out a Diving Card and used it on both of them.
The Diving Card had been crafted back in Pine Town. Back then, she’d even used it with Alia to complete fifty commissions in one night, snapping photos underwater like check-ins.
"Carlotta, are we going down here?"
Alia asked in surprise, staring at the murky water.
Could there be sothing beneath the lake? But how would Carlotta even know?
Carlotta said, "Yes. I think sothing’s off. This mountain has more than one lake, but the others at least have so life in them. This one, just by looking, I can tell there’s nothing alive here. That’s the problem."
Alia was stunned. Only now did she notice that.
"Your observation is incredibly sharp."
Alia couldn’t help but say.
"It’s nothing special. Let’s go down."
Carlotta smiled faintly.
She now had considerable experience, skilled in deducing causes from results. When she saw this lake, she imdiately began searching for clues, and quickly realized there was no life in the water.
Before diving in, Carlotta also used a Poison Detection Card to test the water. Confirming it was safe, she then subrged.
The small lake wasn’t wide or deep. The two of them dove down and quickly reached the bottom, where they found an underwater tunnel.
Carlotta swam through first, passing in just over ten seconds, erging from a pool inside a mountainside, then climbing ashore.
Alia followed, stepping onto land and looking around in astonishnt.
"Could this be... the treasure site?"
The shore was empty except for a wide open space filled with rare materials and processed corpses of Resonator monsters. By any asure, it looked like a simple treasure vault.
Carlotta laughed lightly. "Seems we were faster. We actually arrived here first."
Although the other adventuring teams knew of the treasure site’s existence, they only had a rough idea of its location. Without her precise route, it wasn’t surprising she’d beaten them here.
"Alia, gather all these items."
Carlotta added.
There were too many things, her Storage Cards couldn’t hold them all. She had to leave the task to Alia.
Alia snapped back to reality and imdiately began collecting the items one by one. Born into privilege with broad knowledge, she found the treasures impressive but not astonishing.
After everything had been packed away, the two of them circled the area once more to make sure nothing was left behind, then swam back through the underwater passage. Not long after, they surfaced from the lake outside and returned to shore.
The mont they stepped onto land, Carlotta and Alia felt sothing stir in their hearts. They turned their heads simultaneously toward the nearby woods, just as a group of people erged from within.
Their eyes t. Both sides froze in surprise.
These people were none other than Aubrey, Simon, Jemina, and others from the various adventuring parties.
"It’s you!"
Jemina’s gaze instantly turned icy. She hadn’t expected Carlotta, who had fled before, to appear again. Without hesitation, she drew her sword and charged forward. The last ti, it was the Flaming Bird that had caused the disruption, preventing her from finishing Carlotta off. But now, she was certain nothing would interfere.
Seeing this, Carlotta picked up Alia and leapt backward, swiftly vanishing into the nearby jungle. By the ti Jemina reached the spot, Carlotta’s position was already undetectable.
Then Carlotta’s voice drifted from another direction: "Everyone, weren’t we cooperating before? Yet Jemina just attacked without warning. Don’t any of you have sothing to say about that?"
The mountain forest was vast. Hidden in the shadows, Carlotta moved like a ghost, her voice echoing from all around, making it impossible to pinpoint her location.
Simon frowned and said, "This is your personal grudge. What does it have to do with us?"
"You think it’s unrelated? Fine. Then let ask you, what’s your plan now? Will you continue cooperating with Jemina, or with ?"
Carlotta’s question struck at the heart of the matter.
If they sided with Jemina, they couldn’t possibly cooperate with her. If they chose her, they’d have to abandon Jemina.
It was a choice, a matter of stance.
Simon answered without hesitation, "You ran off on your own. Once you left, our cooperation ended. Naturally, we’ll continue working with Jemina."
Carlotta’s voice ca from all directions, "What about the rest of you? Do you all feel the sa way?"
The mbers of the various adventuring parties exchanged glances.
One by one, including Aubrey, they spoke up, declaring they would indeed continue cooperating with Jemina.
Jemina, hearing this, sneered inwardly. After the previous incident, she had already apologized to the group and offered promises of benefits, this was why everyone now stood on her side.
Adventurers gathered for profit, and for profit they would part. With profit, many things could be accomplished.
Hidden in the shadows, Carlotta sighed quietly.
This was what they called cooperation, so fragile that even the slightest issue could shatter it.
She no longer wished to say anything more.
Deep in the jungle, she gently set Alia down and whispered, "I’m going to deal with those who need to be dealt with."
With those words, Carlotta summoned the Rose Cross from her necklace. Her figure flickered and vanished into the forest.
Jemina had ambushed her, leaving her with serious injuries. She couldn’t just pretend it had never happened. If revenge could be taken without waiting until tomorrow, she would take it today.
As Carlotta fell silent, Simon and the others began whispering among themselves, wondering if she had fled.
"Weren’t they... just now coming out of this lake?"
Rafe pointed at the water marks along the shore.
Everyone’s expressions changed instantly.
They had co here based on gathered intelligence, deducing the treasure might be in this region. Yet apart from this lake, there was nothing remarkable in the area.
"No, I’m going down to check."
"I’ll go too."
Several of them imdiately declared, and one after another plunged into the lake with splashes.
At that mont, Carlotta returned.
The only ones still searching for her were Jemina and another early tier Listener, positioned in separate locations.
Carlotta set her sights first on this early tier Listener. Compared to Jemina, a middle-tier Listener, this one would be easier to deal with.
It was a woman who practiced magic, holding a staff in hand, cautiously scanning her surroundings.
Suddenly, she felt the wind around her grow unusually intense. Before she could determine whether it was natural or sothing unnatural, a cold sensation ran across her neck, then the world in front of her seed to lurch forward.
No, not the environnt moving forward. She was moving backward.
Then, she saw a familiar headless corpse lying ahead.
"No!"
She seed to understand. Disbelief filled her eyes as she tried to scream, but no sound ca out.
"Quira!"
Jemina noticed the commotion and her face turned ghastly pale. She rushed over desperately, but it was already too late.
Watching Quira’s head roll across the ground, she lifted her gaze toward Carlotta not far away, her expression twisted with rage, "You killed Quira! You actually dared to kill Quira, argh! Aaargh!"
Seeing Jemina’s furious expression, Carlotta was equally angry, but her fury did not show on the surface.
Calmly, she said, "Soone beside you died, so you’re furious, as if I’ve committed so unforgivable sin. But it was you who attacked first, trying to kill . In your eyes, is it perfectly justified for to die at your hands, yet wrong for to fight back? You can’t be so hypocritical. If you want to kill, you must be ready to be killed."
"Shut up! Die!"
Jemina charged forward, sword in hand.
Her speed was no joke, her entire body turned into a streak of light, the tip of her blade aid straight at Carlotta’s throat.
Flowing Light Knight path, everything was about speed. Attacks had to be fast, kills had to be fast. Everything had to be fast.
It was precisely because of this obsession with speed that her previous ambush had wounded Carlotta. Otherwise, anyone else might not have left such a deep cut.
But several hours had passed. Much had changed.
Carlotta stepped forward, charging straight at her. Jemina was fast, but Carlotta was faster, closing the distance and appearing right before Jemina’s eyes.
Jemina’s pupils shrank. She swung her sword down with full force.
But Carlotta didn’t et the blow head-on. With her speed advantage, she didn’t need to. She sidestepped smoothly, evading Jemina’s attack, then slipped behind her and thrust her sword toward Jemina’s back.
Flowing Light Mirage!
Jemina managed to catch Carlotta’s movent. Instantly, her body blurred, creating over a dozen afterimages. She let one of them be pierced by Alia’s sword, while the rest surrounded Carlotta.
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