Charles’s remark undoubtedly struck a nerve in Celestine, who began to gather the power of water elements in her palm, forming a dark green whip.
Due to developing physically earlier than her peers, she had been well-endowed since elementary school, which often led to mockery from her classmates. Consequently, she deeply resented being called “busty but brainless.”
“You little brat, if you stare again, believe me, I’ll gouge your eyes out!” Celestine’s whip lashed through the air, the water elemental energy gradually forming into a blue ribbon-like whip that tightly bound Charles like a rope.
Charles swept his gaze over Celestine, and facing the attack of a fourth-level Beast Master, he did not hold back. His right arm sprouted fine golden scales and a semi-transparent bracer could be faintly seen.
With a forceful tug, Charles, using his arm enhanced by 100%, broke the water-formed whip Celestine had conjured. The rope turned into a stream of water, soaking him completely.
“Hmm, seems like you do have some skills,” Celestine scoffed, as four golden hexagram arrays appeared before her, and four green water-element mystical beasts were summoned from her space.
Seeing this display, Charles was somewhat unable to hold back. Even Kevin, that bastard who wanted him dead, had only summoned one mystical beast for a fair fight, yet Celestine summoned four right from the start?
Not to mention the disparity in levels, how could he, with only Max to rely on, stand a chance against 1v4?
“Hey, what’s the meaning of this, ganging up like this isn’t honorable!” Charles gripped a jade slip in his hand, uncertain if Celestine truly intended to kill him. If she attempted anything extreme, he would have no choice but to shatter the jade slip to protect himself.
Once Joshua’s remnants were summoned, what uncontrollable events might occur, he couldn’t be sure.
The situation was tense, but at that moment, the door suddenly opened, and a delicate figure stepped in front of Charles. Aurora’s eyes were reddened as she spoke to Celestine, “Sister, what are you doing? How can you treat Charles like this!”
When Aurora appeared, the mystical beasts behind Celestine instantly dissipated into points of light, leaving her somewhat flustered as she looked at Aurora, “Sister, you’re misunderstanding me, it was him who attacked first…”
At that moment, Charles wore an innocent expression: “Celestine, please don’t make false accusations. How exactly did I attack you first? Could you describe it?”
Upon hearing this, Celestine’s face turned alternating shades of red and white with anger. She couldn’t believe Charles could be so shameless, especially since his actions just moments before had been clearly provocative.
How could she explain to her younger sister, who had only just come of age, that Charles had pinned her against a wall while blatantly staring at her chest and accusing her of being brainless?
How could she openly say: Charles pinned me against the wall when I wasn’t looking, then ogled my chest and insulted me?
Feeling indignant but unable to voice her feelings, Celestine gritted her teeth in frustration: “You little scoundrel, all you have is your quick tongue! Do you dare to fight me in a proper match on the battle platform in the great hall?”
Charles ignored her challenge, and her words immediately brought tears to Aurora’s eyes, who looked as if she’d rather die than let anyone harm Charles.
Seeing her sister’s distressed state softened Celestine’s heart.
With a snort and a resentful shake of her fist at Charles, Celestine turned unwillingly and left.
After she had gone, Aurora wiped the tears from her eyes and said apologetically to Charles, “Ever since our mother left us when we were very young, my sister has been a bit odd, especially protective of me, sometimes almost irrationally so. Please, don’t take it to heart.”
Hearing of their sad family background, Charles suddenly understood why Celestine was so fiercely protective of her sister, although he wasn’t quite sure what to say about this kind of ‘protection.’
After leaving the Hero’s Hall, Charles spent some time walking with Aurora, then went to the ‘black market’ shop in the Front Building to pick out some needed materials. Of course, when it came time to pay, Aurora still used her ‘internal connections’ to get him a discount on all the purchases!
Only then did Charles realize that he might be inadvertently associating with a wealthy benefactor. The owner of Front Group also had the surname Jiang, and from an online search, Charles discovered he had been widowed many years ago and had two daughters.
The so-called ‘internal channel’ wasn’t a discount promotion at all; was this young girl naively giving him gifts?
Standing at a crossroads, Aurora waved somewhat reluctantly at Charles: “See you tomorrow, Charles. And remember, we’re going to the Lsengard Bank vault together! Don’t forget!”
Charles nodded, watching as Aurora disappeared into the sunset.
…
Back home, Charles luxuriated in a warm bath, letting the water wash away the fatigue of the day.
The intense months of college recruitment were finally winding down. With a month to go before enrollment, he could finally relax. Throughout these months, he had been like a tightly wound spring, constantly on edge. Now, fully relaxed, he felt somewhat at a loss.
Yawning, Charles lay down on his bed, but his mind involuntarily drifted to the mysterious man in the black robe he had encountered earlier in the day: Who was he, and how did he know about Mousie?
With these thoughts swirling in his head, Charles found himself unable to sleep. He got up to practice the miracle drug technique and reviewed the ‘Eighty-One Hammer’ forging method taught by Joshua.
Late into the night, as he began to feel drowsy, Charles suddenly heard a faint noise outside. Although soft, his keen hearing as a third-level Beast Master detected it instantly.
“Who’s there?” he called out sharply, dashing from his room.
Lily had mentioned earlier that she had to return home due to some family matters, leaving Charles alone in the large villa. Anyone intruding at this hour was either a burglar or Sly had found him. Immediately, Charles retrieved the ice and fire supreme spear from his storage space and summoned Max.
With the enhanced vision shared by Max, Charles’s surroundings were as clear as day. He quickly spotted someone hiding in a tree in the courtyard. The person’s face was masked, and though they were well-concealed, Charles still managed to locate them.
Boom!
Max launched an ice spear, shattering the tree where the intruder was hiding into splinters. Debris scattered across the sky, then cascaded down to the ground.
In the instant the wooden splinters settled, the masked figure, wielding a long sword, charged at Charles.
Clang—
The assailant moved swiftly, leaving Charles no time to check the system prompts on his screen. He hastily defended himself with his ice and fire supreme spear. As the sword clashed with the spear, sparks flew, and the mystic iron forged spear shaft bent under the formidable force.
“Such formidable might, definitely at least a fourth-level Beast Master,” Charles thought to himself. He then took a [miraculous speed pill], which greatly increased his speed and allowed him to put some distance between himself and his opponent.
Facing such a high-level enemy, Charles had little chance of winning; at best, he could use the [nine netherworld armband] for defense.
However, the nine netherworld armband had a limit on uses; each time it defended against an attack, it lost one Gold Scale. Once all the scales were depleted, the armband would become mere decoration, losing all its defensive capabilities.
Realizing he couldn’t overpower his opponent head-on, Charles resorted to other tactics, turning and fleeing toward the estate’s perimeter.
The assailant, unwilling to let him go, quickly pursued him all the way to the riverbank, trapping Charles with no way out.
Under the cold moonlight, only their two silhouettes were visible by the river.
Clang—!
As if resigned to his fate, Charles dropped his supreme spear. The masked person, still holding the long sword, cautiously approached Charles, then slowly moved closer.
“Heh, you’ve fallen for it!”
In the darkness, large shadows were cast by the riverside trees. As the masked figure neared the shadows, Charles activated the [darkness cloak] skill, much like he had in his underdog battle against Bradley, appearing suddenly behind his opponent.
Quickly seizing the assailant’s wrist, Charles then tripped them, pinning them to the ground as he demanded harshly, “Talk! Who sent you to kill me, and how did you find me?”
Shrrrk—
With a sharp command, Charles ripped off the person’s mask along with the black robe they were wearing.
As the mask was torn away, thousands of strands of hair cascaded down, carrying a faint fragrance. Underneath the black robe was an astonishingly beautiful woman!
Charles was momentarily stunned.
The cool moonlight poured down, silently brewing over her delicate face. The woman’s skin, enveloped in moonlight, seemed to emit a soft glow.
Feeling the softness in his hands, Charles’s gaze naturally drifted downward, catching sight of a pair of partially exposed, full breasts. Just a glance sent a rush of adrenaline through him. freewebnoveℓ.com
“You scoundrel, I knew you were no good! Even if it kills me, I won’t let my sister fall into the hands of trash like you!” Her face a mix of embarrassment and anger, the woman bit her lip, glaring fiercely at him.
Only then did Charles realize that the intruder was none other than Aurora’s sister, Celestine.
She tried to make hand signs to summon her mystical beast, but Charles had her hands firmly under control. Deprived of her mystical beast’s power and against Charles’s strength of over 9999 kg, Celestine, even if a level above him, was completely subdued.
“Celestine, playing the victim, are you? You plant a tracker on me, sneak into my house to spy, and then ask who the scoundrel is?” Charles coldly looked at Celestine, removing a button battery-sized device from his person, which Celestine must have secretly placed on him when they met at the entrance of the Hero’s Hall.
Considering how gentle and sweet her sister was, how could this woman be so unhinged?
After repeated provocations from her, Charles couldn’t help feeling irritated.
“What are you trying to do?” Detecting the dangerous look in Charles’s eyes, Celestine’s fair face turned anxious, and she struggled desperately, but she couldn’t break free from Charles’s grip.
“What do I want to do? Weren’t you the one calling me a scoundrel? If I don’t act the part, wouldn’t that be letting you down?” Charles chuckled lightly, his gaze brazenly fixed on Celestine’s chest, which under the moonlight heaved slightly with her heartbeat.
After her struggles proved futile, Celestine’s face showed signs of defeat, her beautiful eyes fiercely glaring at Charles: “You dare, you bastard, scum!”