CHAPTER 244: FIGHT

The vast hall, aside from lingering traces of battle, was devoid of any individuals who had previously been present.

Although there were signs of combat, the battle that had occurred here clearly hadn’t caused much disturbance, as Carlotta hadn’t sensed anything while walking here.

So why was that?

If Brady and the others had encountered an accident, shouldn’t they have left behind more evidence of struggle before vanishing? Could it be that they left on their own?

Carlotta couldn’t quite make sense of it at first, but soon she discovered something.

In a corner, she spotted a line of words written on the ground. The marks were very fresh, clearly recently inscribed, and the person who wrote them must have been one of those who remained here earlier.

"Gaoh has come. We are no match."

One sentence, and Carlotta’s expression darkened the moment she saw it.

Sheena walked over and saw the words as well, her expression similarly turning grim. "It’s Gaoh?"

Ever since learning that Gaoh was the one who kicked down the gates of the Divine Castle, she had harbored deep resentment towards him, wishing she could personally punish him severely on behalf of the gods.

"Gaoh? Is that the so-called Number One in the World?"

The High Priestess had also heard of this name.

As the Number One among the Weavers, he naturally entered the awareness of all Exalted beings. Because once someone like him became an Exalted, they would possess extraordinary abilities, possibly even surpassing many existing Exalted.

"It’s him, Lady. He dared to disrespect the gods!"

Sheena recounted the incident of Gaoh kicking down the Divine Castle’s gates.

Upon hearing this, the High Priestess frowned slightly as well, clearly disapproving of Gaoh’s behavior. Even though the gods were no longer around, that wasn’t a justification for such disrespect.

Sheena then mentioned the matter of all impression bearers electing a leader.

"I suspect Gaoh came here to subdue the others. His strength is indeed formidable, others might not be able to resist. We must find him quickly. We absolutely cannot allow someone like him to act tyrannically."

Sheena’s expression was serious.

Finally, she stated that she had already acknowledged Carlotta as her leader, a choice with which the High Priestess naturally agreed.

"Then let’s go find this person."

The High Priestess said.

It was time for Amelia to act again.

She selected a piece of broken stone from the temple, cast her memory magic, and began searching the stone’s memories.

Before long, an image appeared. In the scene, Brady and the others were still present, along with an additional youth whose expression radiated arrogance and defiance, the world’s Number One, Gaoh.

With an extremely forceful demeanor, this man demanded that everyone follow him and leave the place. Anyone who refuses would be attacked on the spot. And indeed, he possessed terrifying combat power. With just a brief display of strength, everyone present struggles to resist.

Even Brady, the world’s Number Two, was no exception.

In memory vision, Brady can be seen fighting Gaoh. But Brady couldn’t last more than a few exchanges before being defeated, even spitting blood, his condition pitiful.

"Brady was already injured from fighting me earlier. He couldn’t perform at full strength."

Carlotta said.

That was just one issue. The bigger problem was that Brady’s rank had regressed to middle tier Weaver, while Gaoh remained a peak tier Weaver. Just in terms of strength, it was crushing.

Then in the vision, everyone witnessed Gaoh forcibly taking the group away. His words were simple: he would lead them out of this city to establish their own force outside.

And before that, Gaoh declared that many outsiders had entered this city. These people were extremely weak, utterly unworthy of being their comrades-in-arms. Naturally, they had to be eliminated entirely. These people couldn’t be allowed to remain and obstruct them. Because this city, in his eyes, belongs to him, it was their base.

After speaking these words, Gaoh led everyone out, heading in a certain direction.

"We pursue."

Carlotta turned and left.

Gaoh’s next move was to slaughter the people from World One within the city. This was something Carlotta naturally could not accept.

The group departed. As they passed through each area, Amelia could check the memories of nearby objects, allowing them to continuously track Gaoh’s location and pursue without obstruction.

Gradually, they arrived at the eastern part of the city.

A large commotion surged from ahead, accompanied by numerous shouts of battle. Faintly, the scent of blood in the air could also be detected.

Immediately, the High Priestess stepped forward, vanishing from everyone’s sight.

Carlotta quickly followed.

When she arrived at a plaza, what met her eyes were numerous bodies lying in pools of blood, these were all people from World One. Over a dozen had already died. The survivors cowered in fear behind, their faces filled with terror.

On the other side, a large group was advancing. Leading them was a man whose demeanor was arrogant and dismissive of all others, none other than Gaoh.

Even the most arrogant person will lose their arrogance upon eliminating the High Priestess.

"Ah, it’s Lady Hernandez. I wonder what business you have, standing in my way?"

Gaoh greeted politely.

Facing an Exalted being who had become the strongest under the divine in an entire world, even Gaoh had to suppress his arrogance.

"There’s no need to slaughter the innocent."

The High Priestess said calmly.

Gaoh frowned slightly, then replied, "These weaklings are of no help to us. There’s no use keeping them."

"Who decides? Me, or you?"

The High Priestess’s gaze was cold, her tone light and dismissive, clearly not regarding Gaoh as someone worth serious consideration.

Even if the other was the so-called Number One in the world, she had seen too much. She herself was the strongest under the gods. Did she really need to care about someone who was merely the strongest among Exalted?

Faced with this, Gaoh immediately lowered his head, not daring to say more.

He hadn’t expected to encounter someone like the High Priestess here. In his memory, Exalted couldn’t become impression beings. Only people like them should exist here. And among them, he was the strongest.

But now, someone capable of restraining him had appeared, causing a slight irritation deep within his heart.

"Miss Carlotta!"

On the side of World One, upon Carlotta’s appearance, many people immediately saw their pillar of strength, rushing towards her with obvious excited expressions.

"Miss Carlotta, these natives attacked us the moment they saw us. We’ve lost so many people, so many!"

"My friend was killed."

"Actually, the one who attacked us was the leader, but his combat power was too terrifying. One of our Weavers died."

"Miss Carlotta, you must stand up for us!"

Numerous people gathered around, expressions filled with sorrow, having suffered great blows at the hands of the otherworldly beings.

A large crowd gathered around, their expressions filled with sorrow, having suffered devastating blows from the otherworldly beings.

"There will be an explanation."

Carlotta could only say this one sentence.

She slowly walked forward, her gaze passing over Gaoh, then settling on Brady and the other Impression individuals.

When Brady and the others saw Carlotta approaching, their eyes flickered with complex emotions, momentarily unsure of what to do.

They had previously regarded Carlotta as their leader, but Gaoh’s sudden appearance had changed everything. After witnessing Gaoh’s overwhelming strength, according to their agreement, they should rightfully acknowledge Gaoh as the new leader.

Thus, their feelings toward Carlotta inevitably became complicated.

"What are you doing? Are you really going to follow Gaoh?"

Sheena stepped forward at this moment.

Brady was taken aback, replying, "Sheena, isn’t it always the stronger one we follow?"

"But Gao is unacceptable, he showed disrespect towards the god."

Sheena scoffed, bringing up the incident that occurred at the god’s castle.

As she spoke these words, many people’s expressions changed, brows furrowing deeply.

For those living under the rule of the god, revenge for the divine was deeply ingrained and heartfelt. The idea of anyone daring to disrespect the god was utterly intolerable.

In an instant, many people’s gazes toward Gaoh turned hostile.

Lames, ranked fifth in the world, let out a cold snort and demanded, "Gaoh, is this true? Do you really dare to disrespect God?"

Gaoh’s expression darkened slightly.

If it wasn’t for the High Priestess standing before him, he wouldn’t care at all what these people thought. Anyone who dared oppose him would simply be crushed. But the High Priestess’s presence imposed a tremendous pressure upon him.

After a moment’s thought, he could only say, "Everyone, since you follow the god so deeply, surely you haven’t forgotten the god’s command? Among us, the strongest shall become the leader of our group. And I am undoubtedly the strongest here. Therefore, you should obey me, shouldn’t you? Otherwise, you’d be defying God himself."

Hearing this, many people’s expressions shifted once again.

"The High Priestess is here, ’strongest’ certainly doesn’t refer to you."

Lames naturally recognized the High Priestess and immediately brought up this powerful figure.

"The High Priestess is indeed stronger than me," Gaoh admitted, "but this matter is beyond the interference of an Exalted being. The god’s command applies only among us Weavers. This leadership contest is meant for us Weavers alone."

"Yet the god never specified that only Impression individuals could compete. Non-Impression individuals can also become our leader, so long as they are strong enough."

Sheena interjected.

"Oh? So then, who among the real do you believe is stronger than me?"

Gaoh asked indifferently.

"Of course it’s Miss Carlotta White."

Sheena stated firmly.

She wasn’t certain whether Carlotta could actually defeat Gaoh, but she had no choice but to say this now.

Besides, Carlotta possessed the Divine Container, which contains remnants of the god, surely it would prove unexpectedly useful.

As Sheena finished speaking, everyone’s attention turned toward Carlotta.

Brady hesitated slightly as he said, "Miss White’s strength... might be somewhat lacking, wouldn’t you say?"

Before others could respond, Gaoh sneered, "So you think anyone of the same tier can beat me?"

"I believe so," Brady replied.

"What a joke. Under the Exalted level, no one can defeat me at equal tier, neither in the past, nor in the future."

Gaoh’s tone was confident, arrogant, as his eyes locked onto Carlotta.

Carlotta had no intention of wasting words with Gaoh. She simply removed the Rose cross from her necklace and stepped forward.

"Enough talk. Let’s fight."

She didn’t ask the High Priestess to intervene and eliminate this man directly because, according to the god’s standards, Gaoh was indeed a legitimate contender for the Impressions leader. Under these circumstances, she had to defeat him first and confirm his disqualification.

"You’re an early tier Weaver? Then I’ll suppress my power and fight you at the early tier Weaver level."

Gaoh sealed his own strength to match hers.

Arrogant and proud, he refused to believe anyone could defeat him at equal tier.

A long spear materialized in his hand. Clearly, he followed the path of the knight. As he strode forward, a dragon’s roar echoed from his body, a technique from his world known as the Flying Dragon Knight path.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by the dragon’s cry, Gao charged straight at Carlotta. His spear descended like a dragon, crashing down with terrifying force, as if a colossal dragon were plummeting from the sky.

Carlotta raised her hand and slashed her sword. Brilliant swordlight erupted, like a blazing sun bursting into bloom. The dazzling radiation illuminates the vast square, turning everything into a blinding white.

"Boom!"

The two forces collided violently.

Then, sword against spear, they exchanged fierce blows. The terrifying explosions reverberate through the entire city, shaking its foundations and forcing people from all directions to stagger backward in alarm.

"Is this really the level of an early-tier Weaver’s battle?"

No matter which world they came from, everyone watching this scene drew in a sharp breath, feeling that both combatants were clearly operating beyond normal limits.

They fought from the ground into the sky, then back down to the earth, tearing open the heavens and the land, toppling ancient buildings one after another. The entire city seemed on the verge of becoming ruins.

Suddenly...

"Ugh!"

A body was torn apart, blood sprayed into the air.

Gaoh rapidly withdrew, his figure flickering as he returned to the ground, landing at the edge of the square.

He looked down at the bloody, gaping wound on his chest, and his face instantly turned extremely grim.

On the other side, Carlotta landed gracefully, completely unharmed.

At equal early tier Weaver status, the difference in strength was now crystal clear.

"I told you, how could you possibly stand a chance against her at the same tier?"

Sheena couldn’t help but smile.

Brady and the others, slightly though astonished, could still accept this. After all, Carlotta had previously demonstrated her extraordinary strength before them, clearly possessing power far beyond the norm.

At this moment, only Gaoh couldn’t accept the reality. He never imagined he would actually lose to Carlotta.

"You... someone like you... truly deserves to die!"

Gaoh roared, no longer caring about anything else. He was determined to eliminate Carlotta, someone who posed a threat to him.

He openly revealed his High-tier Weaver status and charged forward violently.

"The god only says those below Exalted can compete for leadership, not that we must fight at equal tiers."

Gaoh made sure to say this, preventing the High Priestess from intervening.