CHAPTER 147: NEXT PREY

Although anxious, Carlotta couldn’t interfere with the matters concerning General Soul Reaper and Sea King. She could only continue focusing on her own path.

She carefully planned her route, striving to collect as many tokens as possible. In the blink of an eye, another afternoon had passed.

Night once again fell over Sky Island. The crimson moon hung low in the sky, casting eerie hues across the mountains and forests. The plants and trees were all shrouded in a red glow.

"Finally caught up."

Carlotta had just defeated a group of people, claiming their tokens. Her total now exceeds eight thousand. According to the Sky Rankings she had checked earlier, this should have placed her in first. At that time, Olivia Garcia’s token count had only been approaching eight thousand.

Eagerly, Carlotta infused magic power into a token and opened the Sky Rankings.

"How could this be..."

At the sight of her, Carlotta’s expression instantly darkened.

Amelia leaned over for a look and fell silent as well.

"Actually, coming in second isn’t such a bad result."

Amelia could only offer Carlotta some consultation.

Among the top ten, another clash appeared to have occurred.

In the rankings, Gibson, a peak tier resonator who had originally ranked eighth, had disappeared.

And nearly four thousand of Gibson’ tokens had been transferred entirely to Olivia Garcia.

Currently, Olivia, in first place, possessed a staggering 11,726 tokens.

It was already evening now. The opponent had pulled ahead by nearly four thousand tokens. How could she possibly close such a gap?

Carlotta remained silent.

The overall rankings hadn’t changed much, only everyone below Gibson had moved up one spot due to his disappearance.

She looked at the rankings, then opened the intelligence-provided map, searching for a turning point.

The battle between General Soul Reaper and Sea King had ultimately ended in separation. It seemed neither had overcome the other, and neither had mentioned the other’s tokens.

As for the rest...

Carlotta’s eyes suddenly flickered with excitement as she focused on two numbers.

One was slightly over three thousand, the other nearly three thousand, both were grouped closely together.

Carlotta quickly recalled the Sky Rankings and immediately identified who they belonged to.

One was the so-called Black Rose, currently ranked eighth.

The other was Marshall Regan, ranked ninth.

Both had risen one rank due to Gibson’ disappearance.

How did they end up colliding?

’Could they be trying to cooperate? Or did they start fighting? If they’re fighting, someone’s bound to get seriously hurt, or even killed?’

Carlotta felt her suddenly accelerating, pounding fiercely in her chest.

Among the top ten, excluding herself, these two were the lowest-ranked. Even the newly entered tenth-place participant was a middle tier resonator, while only these two were early tier resonators.

Carlotta didn’t know whether there were other resonators or even stronger individuals accompanying them, but at least on the surface, they appeared to be the easiest targets among the top ten.

Resonators, even early tier ones, were extremely powerful. Fighting them head-on will be extremely difficult.

But... what if they ended up severely injuring each other? What if the token holders were critically wounded?

Wouldn’t that give her a chance to swoop in and seize the opportunity?

Carlotta truly took action.

Although the targets were resonators, representing danger and overwhelming strength, she still developed a strong urge to hunt them down.

If she didn’t act against the others in the top ten, she would never stand a chance against Olivia Garcia. The opponent had pulled too far ahead. No matter how hard she worked in the coming hours using her original methods, she wouldn’t be able to catch up.

To reverse the situation and claim first place, sometimes you really have to risk it all, even if the opponent is a resonator!

Carlotta wasn’t someone who hesitated. An opportunity had appeared right before her eyes, there was no way she’d let it slip.

Immediately, she rushed toward the location where the two groups were situated.

...

Meanwhile, in a valley, a fierce battle was erupting.

Eunice Farrell, leader of the Rose Adventurer’s Guild, better known as Black Rose, was fighting desperately, caught in extreme peril.

Although the Rose Adventurer’s Guild was already a famous and powerful group, Eunice Farrell was their only resonator-level member.

Now, however, she faced two early tier resonators, each nearly as strong as herself.

Marshall Regan.

Rolf Frank.

The former was the head of a merchant guild, highly famous in the Brandon Kingdom. His Sunset Merchant Guild covered numerous businesses.

The latter was the leader of the Shadow Adventurer’s Guild, also well-known.

"Frank, get serious. Take this one down, and our ranking will at least break into the top three."

Marshall’s eyes burned with intensity. Using his signature Giant Magic, he could partially enlarge his body. He was now launching a relentless assault.

He threw a punch, and the fist suddenly expanded to the size of several stories high. With a thunderous crash, it slammed into the mountainside, causing violent tremors.

"I know."

Rolf specialized in Shadow Knight path. His figure blurred and melted into the dark night, just like an assassin, searching for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal strike.

Eunice kept retreating, hoping to escape the area. But no matter what she did, it was useless, Rolf remained hidden, striking her unexpectedly from the shadows, leaving her with no way to evade.

Marshall pressed the frontal assault, while Rolf handled the covert kills. Their coordination placed immense pressure on Eunice.

"Don’t push me! Otherwise, even if I die, I’ll drag one of you down with me!"

Eunice withdrew while issuing a fierce threat.

But Marshall and Rolf paid no heed.

They were determined to seize the tokens Eunice possessed. With them, they could enter the top three, how could they possibly let such a chance slip away?

...

In the rushing night wind, Carlotta and Amelia approached a valley.

They hadn’t drawn particularly close yet, but they already detected the massive rumbling sounds from within, along with chaotic fluctuations of magic power.

"It’s resonators. Let’s leave."

Amelia whispered.

"No. Let’s go take a look."

Carlotta stares ahead, her gaze burning with intensity.

The two groups had truly clashed in battle. Wouldn’t they inevitably end up severely wounded?

Carlotta believed this was a golden opportunity. A fully capable resonator was beyond her ability to face. But a resonator who had suffered heavy injuries, could she really not handle that?

She crept closer, finding a suitable vantage point, a tree atop the valley. She took out an eagle eye card and peered far ahead.

The trees stood tall and dense, concealing Carlotta and Amelia within their thick foliage.

Carlotta used an eagle eye card, taking in the entire situation within the valley and quickly assessing the battlefield.

"Carlotta, are you actually planning to target the Resonators? That’s dangerous?"

Amelia warned earnestly from beside her.

"We’re not without opportunity. Look."

Carlotta moved closer to Amelia.

Amelia stood to her right, and as Carlotta leaned in, the two shared one eagle eye card, each occupying half of it.

Seeing this, Amelia first gazed at the situation in the valley, witnessing the fierce battle among three people.

One side had a single person, clearly at a disadvantage.

The other side had two.

In addition, both sides had several Listeners positioned behind, watching the fight tensely, waiting for the outcome, unable to participate themselves.

After observing for a few moments, Amelia whispered, "Are you planning to target those two Resonators? They’re likely to win. Two Resonators are an extremely great threat."

"That is indeed a problem."

Carlotta fell into thought.

She had expected a one-on-one fight, but hadn’t anticipated it would turn into two against one, completely different from what she’d imagined.

Was Marshall Regan actually allied with Rolf Frank?

After pondering, Carlotta said, "Let’s watch a little longer. If the situation turns out to be impossible, I won’t insist on taking risks."

Amelia nodded.

They continued observing the battle using the single eagle eye card. However, sharing one card between two people was extremely inconvenient, forcing them to stand very close.

As the wind blew and the trees swayed, their faces naturally pressed together.

The warm sensation made both instinctively want to pull apart, but immediately afterward, the situation in the valley changed drastically, capturing their full attention. In order to see more clearly, they instinctively pressed closer again, intently staring at the unfolding chaos in the valley.

...

Eunice Farrell specialized in explosion magic, capable of detonating anything, making her offensive power especially terrifying. Even facing two opponents, she had already wounded both Rolf and Marshall within a short time.

Of course, her own injuries were even more severe.

Now her body swayed unsteadily, and she clearly felt a sense of weakness. She knew her condition was perilous.

Unable to flee, unable to fight back effectively, Eunice’s gaze involuntarily became complicated.

Once ranked among the top three, how had she fallen into such a situation?

In the end, it was simply because she was too weak.

Then, a fierce glint flashed in Eunice’s eyes. Since matters had come to this, she no longer hoped to escape unscathed. But those who had brought her this calamity absolutely could not get away unharmed either.

Precious materials emerged in her hands, imbued with the properties of explosion magic, and as soon as she threw them, they detonated instantly.

She would never allow any of the materials on her body to become loot for her enemies, she would detonate them all.

Including various materials, her alchemical tools, and alchemical artifacts.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

In the next instant, violent explosions erupted one after another in the valley. For a moment, flames scattered everywhere, smoke and dust billowed, filling the vast valley so thickly that visibility dropped to zero.

In fact, explosion magic had one most crucial offensive technique: self-detonation.

What explosion could compare to detonating oneself? The problem was, once you detonated yourself, the power would be sufficient, but it would also mean your own demise. Unless death was absolutely certain, who would willingly choose to self-destruct?

But at this moment, Eunice had no choice.

After detonating numerous items on her body, the valley was already filled with thick smoke, making it impossible for anyone to notice anything. She seized this chance and charged forward.

She couldn’t find Rolf, who was using the Shadow Knight technique to remain invisible, but Marshall, who used Giant magic to achieve partial enlargement, wasn’t that difficult to locate.

Eunice stomped hard on the ground, causing it to explode and generating a powerful recoil force. Instantly, she shot forward like a projectile, and in almost the blink of an eye, arrived directly in front of Marshall.

As the distance closed, even through the thick smoke, Marshall sensed Eunice’s presence and immediately became wary.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand, swinging his enlarged palm forward. A powerful gust of wind erupted, dispersing large swaths of smoke and dust, blowing it directly toward Eunice.

As that giant hand struck her body, Eunice silently sighed. If only she could get closer to Marshall before detonating herself, she could definitely take him down with her. But it seemed she wouldn’t have that chance.

Before being blown away, Eunice stopped hesitating and directly chose to self-detonate.

"BOOM!"

In the next instant, a massive mushroom cloud violently exploded in the valley. The tremendous force caused the surrounding earth to shake violently.

...

Both Carlotta and Amelia couldn’t help but show surprise in their eyes.

The enormous mushroom cloud rose high, flames raging. The scorching heat radiated outward, generating a fierce wind that violently shook the tree they were in, giving the sensation that it might snap at any moment.

One could only imagine how intense the attack the valley had endured.

"That’s explosion magic. If I’m not mistaken, the woman on the one-person side detonated herself, she’s certainly dead. Of course, her opponents won’t be in good shape either."

Amelia quickly made her judgment.

"Will the opponents die?"

Carlotta was particularly concerned about this question.

"Hard to say. It depends on distance. If they were close enough, they’d die. But those two couldn’t have been too far from her. At the very least, they’ve both suffered serious injuries."

Amelia assessed.

Due to the earlier thick smoke and dust in the valley, they didn’t know how close Marshall and Rolf actually were to Eunice.

But regardless, this was definitely an opportunity.

Carlotta said seriously, "Amelia, I’m moving in."

"Are you sure?"

"I’m sure."

"...I understand."

Seeing Carlotta’s unusually serious expression, Amelia knew it was time to gamble everything here.

She immediately took out Moonlight, placing it invisibly above the valley, commanding Moonlight to directly gather the Moon God Cannon. Although this kind of attack was difficult to affect Resonators, any effect it could produce would be better than nothing.

As for herself, she quickly advanced into the valley alongside Carlotta, preparing to fight against the Resonators.

This was truly an extremely bold decision. They were still only Listeners, even early tier Listeners, yet they were going to hunt Resonators.

If someone were to hear about this, they wouldn’t dare to believe it, it was simply too absurd. Yet, at this very moment, this absurd event was actually unfolding.