CHAPTER 222: DEMON KING

You two are far stronger than Toby ever was. Yet all of you are Peak tier Weavers."

Carlotta offered a brief compliment.

Golden Lion was momentarily stunned, unsure whom Carlotta referred to.

Elisa immediately knew who Toby was, but had no intention of responding. Her current state was terrible, she felt as if she were on the verge of becoming a true puppet.

Puppet magic worked best when used on others, transforming them into controllable puppets. Using it on oneself greatly enhances combat strength, but the duration was severely limited. Prolonged use risky permanent transformation into a puppet, a deadly result.

Therefore, Elisa couldn’t afford a prolonged fight. She needed to end this quickly.

But victory wasn’t something that could be forced just because one desired it.

Carlotta clearly recognized Elisa’s dilemma, so there was no need to overexert herself. Continuing the fight only benefits her.

She skillfully used the Elven Knight path, darting through the sky, continuously applying various tactics to suppress both opponents, leaving them utterly humiliated.

After all, she was merely a Peak tier Resonator, fighting two Peak tier Weavers simultaneously.

Their fierce battle was destined to become a legendary tale passed down through generations.

After a long while, Elisa hadn’t said anything, but the Golden Lion, Rodrigo, could no longer endure it.

During the clash, Carlotta launched a soaring slash. A powerful blade aura rushed towards him, shattering one of his magical artifacts used for disguise, instantly exposing his true form to hundreds of onlookers.

His real appearance was unmistakably that of a Golden Lion standing upright, with an exceptionally thick and prominent mane, clearly identifying him as a Beastman from the Southern Continent.

"It’s him!"

Many immediately recognized Rodrigo’s identity and cried out in shock, especially those from Island No. 4, whose eyes nearly bulged out.

"He’s a Beastman from the Southern Continent, a Lion-headed one!"

"He’s Rodrigo, that damned Beastman High Priest! Our arena on Island No. 4 was severely damaged because of him!"

"Never expected it to be him!"

People shouted in shock, finally realizing Rodrigo’s identity.

This made Rodrigo extremely uncomfortable. He could clearly feel countless hostile gazes from the crowd. To humans, Beastmen were almost instinctively enemies.

Even Elisa, glancing over, had a strangely altered look in her eyes.

The Tower of Babel had just ended, and many people still remained on Island No. 1, including numerous Weavers. Rodrigo is truly feared being surrounded and attacked, his mind tensed to the breaking point.

His eyes swept around, searching for his companion and wanting to escape.

Seeing this, Carlotta spoke calmly, "What are you looking for? Ariana, perhaps? If you’re searching for her, there’s no need. I’ve already collected her head. I plan to claim the bounty from the Bass Council later, she had quite a price on her head."

Rodrigo’s face twisted in horror.

He stared fiercely at Carlotta, desperately hoping she was lying. But... she had just mentioned Ariana’s name. In his mind, that meant she must have killed Ariana, taken her spoils, and learned her name from her spatial artifact.

"You actually killed her, aaaaaaah!"

Rodrigo was overwhelmed with grief and rage.

Roaring, he lunged towards Carlotta, determined to fight to the death, unable to accept this outcome.

To him, Ariana was like a child.

"Boom!"

Carlotta quickly raised her sword, blocking Rodrigo’s furious punch.

Seeing his enraged expression, she also stiffened her face. "You people are really strange. When someone important to you gets hurt, you’re angry. But when you harm someone important to others, why don’t you feel anything?"

Rodrigo ignored Carlotta’s words, continuing his furious assault with loud roars, his eyes turning red.

Carlotta let out a cold snort, her attacks becoming increasingly fierce.

After another intense battle in the sky, Carlotta delivered a swift slash from the east, piercing Rodrigo’s neck. With a slight twist, she severed his head on the spot.

The massive lion’s head tumbled through the air, a scene that shocked many onlookers.

That was a Peak tier Weaver, slain by a Peak tier Resonator even while fighting alongside another. Anyone who witnessed this would likely never forget it.

Elisa’s face paled upon seeing this. Without hesitation, she turned and fled. This battle could no longer continue.

But even at her fastest, she couldn’t outpace Carlotta.

With the boost from her Speed Card, Carlotta dashed forward, appearing beside Elisa in an instant. "You think you can come and go as you please? That’s not how this works."

She swung her sword down heavily. Brilliant blade light shone so intensely that Elisa could barely keep her eyes open.

She screamed, "Our Vampires have Exalted one who is approaching divinity! If you kill me, aren’t you afraid one of them will come after you?"

"Those who become my enemies, none ever meet a good end."

Carlotta’s reply was simple and brutal.

She chased after Elisa with relentless attacks. Flurries of sword light scattered across the sky, completely suppressing her.

Without Rodrigo to share the pressure, and with her body being eroded by the passive effects of puppetization, Elisa lost all ability to resist.

In no time, Carlotta cleaved Elisa straight down the middle with a single.

Even as a member of the Vampire with extraordinary resilience, being split in half meant certain death.

Yet Carlotta didn’t stop. She delivered several more slashes, chopping Elisa into over a dozen pieces. The scene was especially gruesome. Countless people on Island No. 1 turned pale, some even bending over to vomit.

Carlotta was accustomed to slaughter. With practiced ease, she located and collected Elisa’s spatial artifact. As for Rodrigo’s spatial artifact, Amelia had already retrieved it.

"Time to go."

Carlotta turned and flew back toward Amelia.

But at that very moment,

"Boom!"

The sky suddenly darkened. Then, a pitch-black giant hand, emanating an overwhelming pressure, suddenly emerged from the clouds and slammed heavily toward Carlotta.

At that instant, Carlotta’s entire body tensed. She felt an intense pressure far beyond anything Rodrigo or Elisa had ever asked.

A colossal hand seemed ready to block out the sky, a dark, oppressive mass covering overhead. The pressure it exuded was heavy and suffocating, everyone felt as if something had blocked their chest, an extremely uncomfortable sensation.

And Carlotta, who had been targeted, felt the air solidify from all directions. Even attempting to move became exceedingly difficult.

She gritted her teeth and endured. Inside her pocket, the shrunken New Moon could be enlarged and thrown out at any moment; it might still stand against an Exalted.

However, Carlotta didn’t need to use the New Moon this time.

At this moment, the High Priestess chose to intervene. She clearly couldn’t stand by and watch Carlotta be attacked by an Exalted. Although she knew Carlotta possessed the New Moon, she wasn’t certain whether Carlotta could activate it in time while under such suppression.

After all, it was an external tool.

Thus, the High Priestess acted decisively. With a mere flicker of her figure, she arrived beside Carlotta and threw a punch into the empty space beside her. Despite the simple motion, it instantly shattered the suffocating pressure surrounding Carlotta.

"Huh?"

The one who had attacked so suddenly seemed surprised that his assault had been thwarted. Immediately, he revealed himself from the shadows and advanced towards them.

It was an elderly man with snow-white hair, dressed in the light, airy attire typical of the Southern Continent. He struck from a distance with a single palm, as if attempting to flip the heavens upside down, the visual impact was astonishing.

Yet the High Priestess remained calm. She merely pointed forward into the void. The power of her Inner World surged through her, empowering even the simplest of with world-level force, terrifying movements in its strength.

"Boom!"

Their powers collided in midair, thunderous and shaking the entire Island One.

Their abilities were even matched.

But this caused the High Priestess to show a flicker of surprise. In truth, as she had told Carlotta inside the Tower of Babel, after sleeping for thousands of years and awakening, her physical condition was severely compromised. She couldn’t unleash much of her true power, whether she could defeat a Weaver was even uncertain.

Yet, the cultivation methods of her world were complete, while the cultivation methods of this current world were flawed.

When Carlotta first returned to the correct path, she had already judged that those cultivating properly could easily fight and defeat multiple opponents of the same rank who cultivated with flawed methods.

And so, despite her weakened state, the High Priestess was still on par with an Exalted from this world.

At this moment, the white-haired elder, seeing his attack fail, couldn’t help but sigh.

"What are you sighing about? Can’t hurt me, and now you’re feeling wronged?"

Carlotta spoke coldly.

The white-haired elder changed at Carlotta, then turned toward the High Priestess and asked, "Who are you?"

The sudden appearance of an unfamiliar Exalted was undoubtedly unexpected. He had never heard of such an Exalted in the Northern Continent, and certainly not in the Southern. Where did this person come from?

As for the elder’s own identity, many on Island One had already recognized him the moment he appeared.

"He’s the Demon King of the Southern Continent!"

Someone cried out in shock, their expression changing.

Upon hearing this, many others also showed looks of surprise.

The Southern Continent’s political landscape was greatly different from the Northern. There, three major factions were locked in constant warfare and conflict.

One faction consists of beastmen, one of humans, and the third was the Demon King’s faction.

No one expected that the Demon King himself had come personally to Island One, an individual whose mere gesture could stir up bloodshed across the entire Southern Continent.

Now, facing the Demon King’s gaze, the High Priestess calmly replied, "Who I am has nothing to do with you. But as long as I am here, you cannot touch Carlotta."

The Demon King couldn’t help but chuckle. "I really don’t believe that. The number one Stellar Workshop of Sky Island, I truly want to see for myself just what it is!"

Everyone finally understood why the Demon King had suddenly attacked. He was interested in the Stellar Workshop.

In the next moment, the Demon King charged forward. His appearance suddenly changed, his skin darkened slightly, a pair of spiral horns sprouted from his head, bat-like wings emerged from his back, and his entire body radiated an extremely dangerous aura.

Without hesitation, the High Priestess rushed to meet him.

"Boom!"

They clashed fiercely in midair, each movement overwhelming, the magic energy in the area nearly boiled over. Terrifying waves swept madly across the sky and land.

Even Carlotta couldn’t approach the battle zone and was forced to retreat.

This battle between Exalted lasted for a while, leaving many spectators dazzled and entranced.

In the end, neither the High Priestess nor the Demon King could gain the upper hand. Both withdrew, ending the confrontation.

"Unbelievable. A tentative appearing Exalted can actually fight me to a standstill."

The Demon King was somewhat taken aback.

Exalted were rare, and even among them, he belonged to the strongest tier. Otherwise, how could he be called the Demon King?

The High Priestess couldn’t help but wanted to laugh. "If not for my severely damaged body, you wouldn’t even qualify as my opponent."

She was genuinely amused.

Even in worlds possessing gods, she had been the foremost being beneath the gods. What was a mere Demon King to her?

The Demon King also wanted to laugh. "An unknown individual boasting about herself, trying to appear mighty. Save such words until your name spreads far and wide."

"A frog at the bottom of a dry well will never know how vast the sky truly is."

The High Priestess stated coldly.

"There are always those fresh off the mountain who cannot see the breadth of the world."

The Demon King mocked in return.

Although strangers to each other, they exchanged scornful remarks. But after only a few exchanges, the High Priestess grew weary of speaking further. In her eyes, the Demon King was utterly mediocre.

In the end, the Demon King departed.

Although he was interested in Carlotta’s Stellar Workshop, he ultimately didn’t know what it was. If it could be taken easily, he wouldn’t have minded acting. But if obtaining it proved too difficult, he had no desire to keep fighting.

With the Demon King gone, Carlotta, Amelia, and the High Priestess also turned and left the area.

Although the participants had all left, the excitement on Island One did not subside. Instead, it grew stronger, spreading outward to various parts of the Bass Archipelago, and even to both the Northern and Southern Continents.

The name "Carlotta," and the battle between the High Priestess and the Demon King, these will undoubtedly become topics of endless discussion for many.