Chapter 772: News of Star Stones
After the brutal chaos of the battlefield, Karl had chosen to tail Max in secret, driven by a burning curiosity to uncover the truth about the white-haired youth who had not only fought alongside him, but who had also revealed shocking power and an intimate knowledge of the Black Lotus Guild’s secrets.
Following Max was second nature to Karl; after all, covert observation and silent pursuit were the very soul of what it meant to be a Black Lotus operative.
"You have been following me for so long," Max said, his voice quiet but edged with an icy sharpness.
Karl’s face tightened, his jaw clenched, shadows playing over his sharp features as he stood there, cloak half-drawn around him like a shroud.
He’d never thought Max would be able to detect him, not when he’d used every stealth technique at his disposal, every trick honed through years in the Black Lotus Guild.
But how could he have known that Max possessed senses so honed, abilities so rare, that he could perceive every flicker of presence around him—especially those belonging to members of the Black Lotus guild?
"I wanted to know if you’re truly a member of the Black Lotus Guild," Karl finally confessed, his voice low and cautious, each word spoken with the care of a man standing on a knife’s edge.
"Oh?" Max’s lips curled into a faint, enigmatic smile as he slowly lifted his right hand. Black flames erupted from his palm in a silent, crackling blaze, swirling and coiling like living serpents, burning dark and deep as an abyss.
"Black flames!" Karl gasped, his eyes going wide, every trace of his guarded composure shattering in an instant. Memories of the battlefield surged in his mind—how, in the middle of chaos and slaughter, he’d felt another wave of black flames surge across the second circle, flames so much more violent, savage, and potent than his own.