Chapter 79: Traitor
"Huh... who the hell in their right mind actively chooses to ’not’ advance at all?" 44 said, lowering her bow slightly, totally confused.
"And why the hell should I tell you my reasons for doing that?" Caroline replied coldly. She then glanced back at the three silver-armored guards standing on the stairs.
"I am very grateful for all the help you are offering me, but I think for your own safety, you should leave this place to me," she said, genuine warmth in her voice.
’The way these old guys were fighting earlier... they totally wanted to sacrifice one of their own just to create an opening, hoping by some miracle they could kill that spear guy. I can’t have them stay here and die for absolutely nothing,’ Caroline thought.
"But Ma’am... we..." the oldest guard started.
"That was an order, not a discussion!" she said, cutting them off sharply before they could argue back. "If you really want to repay my husband, you should go right now and protect his children."
When they heard that, the three guards hesitated for a moment. But realizing she was right, they finally nodded and started walking back up the stairs.
THWIP! THWIP!
But just as they turned their backs to move, two arrows were suddenly released at the exact same time! Moving blindingly fast, the arrows coated in blue Aura completely bypassed Caroline and struck two of the old guards directly in the back of their heads.
BOOM! BOOM!
The arrows violently exploded on impact! The two old guards were killed instantly, their bodies collapsing heavily onto the wooden stairs as blood splattered everywhere.
"Where do you old bastards think you are going after what you just did to my 32?!" 44 yelled, lowering her smoking bow. "At least leave your miserable lives here if you’re thinking of leaving!"
"Old man Marco!! Hector!! NOO!!" The last surviving guard, his face and armor now covered in the blood of his dead comrades, screamed in pure agony. "YOU BITCH!! I WILL KILL YOU!!"
Roaring in fury, he blindly dashed down the stairs straight toward 44, his sword glowing faintly with Aura.
"Desperate to die here too, huh? Let me make that wish of yours come true," 44 mocked. Without hesitation, she drew the string back and released a third arrow. This one was covered in an even brighter, more concentrated blue Aura.
Just as the lethal arrow was about to pierce the charging guard’s chest, Caroline suddenly blurred and appeared right in front of him to deflect it.
BOOM!
But the exact moment her green blade made contact with the arrow, it violently exploded, creating a massive cloud of thick smoke that completely blocked her vision.
"You, get out of here right now! It’s not sa—"
SWISH!
Before Caroline could even finish shouting her warning, she instinctively threw her head back to dodge an incoming blade. But she wasn’t fast enough. A sharp sword sliced violently across her face, leaving a deep, bleeding gash over her left eye, forcing her to squeeze it shut in pain.
Through the clearing smoke, she saw the person who had just scarred her. It was the exact same old guard she was just trying to protect!
"Tsk... how did you even sense that? I was so close to your neck. Tsk... what a completely wasted chance," the old guard complained, lazily scratching his head with his free hand.
"You are one of them," Caroline hissed, wiping the warm blood from her scarred face. ’The question I should be asking is how his sword even reached me in the first place! Even though that guy is just a Third-Stage Aura user, I should have been able to sense his killing intent way before he scratched me!’
"Haaa?! What do you mean ’one of ours’?! We have never seen him before in our lives!" 44 yelled, completely shocked by the sudden betrayal.
"Nah... I ain’t with them at all," the old guard chuckled. "But with the chaotic assault carried out by you Guild guys on this family today, I just thought this was the absolute perfect opportunity to strike. But who knew your senses were this terrifyingly sharp, Lady Thorne? Are you sure you really are just a Fourth-Stage Aura user?"
The guard casually walked over, picked up 32’s severed hand with spear from the floor, and forcefully tossed the spear directly back toward 32.
"Why don’t we guys form a temporary alliance and kill her together? Since we all want the exact same thing, after the job is done, we can just go our separate ways," the guard suggested charismatically, looking over at 44 and 32.
"You actually seem to have a point there..." 44 muttered, rubbing her chin under her mask. ’And with 32’s injury, I definitely don’t think I can take her on with just 86 acting as a meat shield. Ughhh... where the hell is that old bastard 10 when you need him?!’ she thought, frantically looking around the bloody hall.
"I’m getting really tired of this," Caroline’s cold voice suddenly cut through the room. "Even if you add another treacherous member to your stupid little team, it won’t change a single thing."
Just after saying that, Caroline suddenly dashed forward, charging directly at the armored guard who had betrayed her.
"You are just a Third-Stage, yet you keep on talking big," Caroline said, raising her glowing green blade.
But the guard didn’t react at all. He just stood there, watching her approach.
’He isn’t even putting up a defensive stance! He must be up to something!’ Caroline realized instantly.
Instead of continuing her charge at the guard, Caroline violently flared her green Aura around her entire body. Moving with an unknown, terrifying speed that even 44 and 32 completely failed to track, she abruptly changed direction and appeared directly in front of the young newbie, 86, who was standing nervously between 44 and 32!
Before 44 could even blink to react, Caroline swung her blade.
SHING! 86 was cleanly cut in half at the waist.
"YOU BITCH! YOU KILLED MY NEWBIE!" 44 screamed in sheer rage, instantly unleashing a barrage of Aura arrows targeting Caroline. "I’M GONNA KILL YOU FOR BREAKING MY TOY!!"
But right after killing 86, Caroline didn’t stop moving for even a fraction of a second. She immediately rushed straight toward the bleeding 32!
BOOM! BOOM!
44 frantically shot explosive arrows directly into Caroline’s path, desperately trying to give 32 enough time to move away fast. But 32 was simply not fast enough, and 44’s firing speed could not remotely keep up with Caroline’s agility.