On the Moonlight, the pirates noticed that Carlotta and Amelia had returned. Immediately, a pirate lowered a small boat to greet them, and soon Carlotta and her companions stepped onto the small boat and returned to the Moonlight.
Carlotta went straight to the stern, scanning the sailboat behind her.
On the deck of the sailboat, which was overshadowed by the Moonlight, stood more than twenty people. Each of them looked fierce, and one might not mistake them for pirates if they didn’t know better.
"Has the one in charge returned?"
A leader said indifferently, "We are from the Dark Tiger Adventure Group. I’m Baldric. You must have heard of us, right?"
He was a middle-aged man, tall and arrogant.
He had been active in the waters around Pine Town, and the Dark Tiger Adventure Group he led had some reputation. With a bit of overconfidence, he always thought that everyone knew them.
Upon hearing this, Carlotta smiled slightly and gave her most honest assessment, "Never heard of it. Also, that’s a really bad name."
Baldric’s face immediately darkened.
Amelia stepped forward and said, "We really haven’t heard of you, but that’s not important. I already know your purpose. Now, I’ll give you one last chance to leave here, or the consequences will be unbearable for you."
Hearing Amelia’s words, the members of the Dark Tiger Adventure Group couldn’t help but glance at each other, then burst into laughter.
Leader Baldric even said directly, "Threatening us? With your weak group? Please don’t say such funny things, okay? Our ranks might scare you, hahaha."
As he spoke, Baldric puffed out his chest, as if his rank was something to be feared.
Carlotta asked Amelia, "Is his strength high?"
Amelia shook her head.
Before they arrived, Baldric’s Dark Tiger Pirate Group had clashed with the pirates on the Moonlight, slapping several pirates. At that time, his strength was exposed. Through the Soldier Roster, Amelia had naturally learned about it from afar.
Baldric was a seventh-tier-apprentice.
Seeing Amelia shake her head, Carlotta knew Baldric was not a concern.
She shook her head and said, "No matter what your strength is, this is not a place for you to be arrogant. Can’t you find a place to dock? Must you snatch one?"
Baldric exclaimed, "We’ve taken a liking to your spot. What can you do about it? Either give it up, or let me show you some blood."
As he spoke, a hint of cruelty flashed in his eyes.
Having led the Dark Tiger Adventure Group across the waters around Pine Town, he was no kind soul, with plenty of blood on his hands.
Carlotta said calmly, "We’ve given you the chance. Since you don’t understand human language, then pay the price for your stupidity."
As she spoke, she pulled the Rose Cross from her necklace and walked straight towards their sailboat, leaping onto the deck.
Seeing this, Baldric couldn’t help but show a mocking expression. He didn’t know Carlotta’s strength, but she looked too young. In Baldric’s eyes, she was just a little girl.
How high could such a girl’s rank be?
Baldric sneezed, "You haven’t seen the cruelty of society, nor the devastation of storms. You buds might think the whole world revolves around you, right? But unfortunately, reality is not what you think. Today, I’ll show you what reality is."
Seeing Carlotta walking straight towards him, Baldric also strode forward.
"The last person who didn’t take Baldric seriously has grass growing on their grave now."
As he spoke, Baldric drew his sword from his waist and charged at Carlotta.
When Baldric was within a certain distance, Carlotta suddenly accelerated, flashing past him.
The Seventh Movement of the Twelve Echoes of Elven Steel - Elven Moon Devourer!
Carlotta thrust her sword, and in an instant, it seemed as if all the light in the world was swallowed.
Everyone around felt the environment darkened, with only Carlotta’s position still illuminated, as if she was on a stage with a spotlight on her.
For Baldric, the sensory impact was even greater. His vision went completely Dark, and he lost his sight for a brief moment.
Before Baldric could react, he felt a pain in his neck, and the next moment, he fell into complete darkness, unconscious.
In the eyes of others, Carlotta just passed by Baldric and appeared behind him. Baldric’s head flew off and landed on the deck, rolling a few times.
This scene leaves the members of the Dark Tiger Adventure Group dumbfounded. They never expected that Baldric, a seventh-tier-apprentice, would die in a fight against a peer without even blocking a single attack.
Carlotta calmly sheathed her sword, then seemed to remember something and turned around, saying, "I’m used to killing pirates. Is it okay to kill this guy directly? Will the Brandon Kingdom officials come to arrest me?"
Amelia shook her head and said, "No, the Brandon Kingdom only interferes in fights that happen within the town. They don’t care about killings outside the town because they can’t manage it. So, often, when people have conflicts, they even agree to duel to the deaths outside the town."
As a noble lady, her knowledge was vast. Even though she had just arrived in the Brandon Kingdom, she was well aware of some local customs.
Carlotta nodded in understanding, "In that case, let’s kill the rest as well. Keeping them is just a nuisance."
She looked at the remaining members of the Dark Tiger Adventure Group and raised her blood-stained Rose Cross high.
This scene scared the members of the Dark Tiger Adventure Group so much that their legs went weak. They quickly knelt on the ground, begging for mercy, crying and trembling in fear.
Carlotta didn’t actually kill them. Seeing them surrender, she left them for Amelia to recruit. There were plenty of vacancies in the soldier list.
As for herself, she went to the training room to train. The opponent she set was still a ninth-tier-apprentice.
Unfortunately, the highest level of training opponent the Moonlight could set was a ninth-tier-apprentice. It couldn’t set a Listener, otherwise Carlotta would have liked to set an initial-tier Listener to see the gap between them.
For now, she could only set two or three ninth-tier-apprentices to train herself. The training effect was quite good for the current situation.
Gradually, the time arrived at midnight.
Amelia had already gone to sleep, while Carlotta eagerly looked through today’s intelligence.
[ 1: Heimric Dalsheim, the president of the Adventurers’ Association in the Kingdom of Brandon, had the fortune to see the Sky Island decades ago and successfully entered it, reaping bountiful rewards. At that time, he obtained an item called the Sky Horn, which, when blown, could summon the Sky Island again. In order to achieve even greater rewards next time, he hid the Sky Horn for decades until he felt sufficiently prepared, and finally blew it.]
The first piece of intelligence greatly surprised Carlotta.
Previous rumors suggested that the Adventurers’ Association had paid a heavy price and conducted some ritual to summon the Sky Island, but was that just the "truth" they wanted the world to know?
The real reason actually stemmed from another item called the Sky Horn.
"This president is quite something," Carlotta muttered.
[ 2: Heimric Dalsheim, the president of the Adventurers’ Association, has teamed up with the dignitaries of the Kingdom of Brandon to explore the Sky Island. Subsequent matters are being handled by the vice president, his son Tristian Dalsheim. Tristian plans to use this opportunity to expand the Adventurers’ Association, amass sufficient profits, and then send a portion of the people to the Sky Island for adventure.]
Carlotta was left speechless.
The exploration of the Sky Island had already begun, but only a select few were qualified to explore it.
Due to the Sky Island’s location in the sky, not everyone could go there, so they had to rely on the Adventurers’ Association to send people up. This was the quota provided by the Adventurers’ Association, since the Sky Island was summoned by Heimdals, the Kingdom of Brandon’s flying Transcendents couldn’t overstep and send people to the Sky Island.
Of course, if someone secretly sent a small group of people to the Sky Island, they might not be discovered.
Only those without any backing had to take the Adventurers’ Association’s route, continuously completing tasks and increasing their contribution points to try and snatch a spot to be sent to the Sky Island.
Carlotta had a headache because she was one of those without any backing.
"Does that mean I have to take the adventurer’s path too? But the spot might not necessarily go to me," Carlotta scratched her head.
[ 3: In Pine Town, the "Dusk Rose" at the beverage shop on Windflower Street, No. 146, is made using the shop’s secret recipe and has an unforgettable taste.]
’I’ll go have a drink when I have time.’
Carlotta quickly looked at the next line.
[ 4: In the northern business district of Pine Town, Millie, who has mastered the flight movement, is secretly charging to send people to the Sky Island, with a fee of 100, 000 Fiel per person. However, her activities were discovered by the Adventurers’ Association, and she was captured and imprisoned as soon as night fell.]
She’s quite the talent.
100, 000 Fiel is no small amount, but many people can grit their teeth and come up with it. After all, compared to the opportunity to ascend to the Sky Island, 100, 000 Fiel is really nothing.
’I wonder how much money Millie made from this, but if she was caught by the Adventurers’ Association, would she be able to keep any of it?’
Carlotta felt a bit regretful. If Millie hadn’t been caught, she and Amelia could have taken her route to Sky Island.
Now, it’s not like they could go and rescue her. The Adventurers’ Association isn’t to be trifled with, and it’s best not to provoke them.
[ 5: Amelia likes holding hands with Carlotta.]
Carlotta looked at the last piece of intelligence with a slightly strange expression.
She glanced at her hand and couldn’t help but recall the sensation of holding Amelia’s hand... Well, she quite liked holding hands with Amelia too.
After the events that had transpired, Amelia held a very special place in Carlotta’s heart. She had often thought about whether she should pursue Amelia. After all, such a wonderful girl was unlikely to come her way again in this lifetime, and she didn’t want to miss out.
Coincidentally, she knew all of Amelia’s personal information, knew that Amelia had quite a high opinion of her, and now she knew that Amelia liked holding her hand.
"Let’s start with holding hands then!"
In matters of the heart, Carlotta was very cautious. She didn’t dare to take too big a step at once. In these matters, she was far from being able to sound the horn of victory.
After reading through the five pieces of intelligence, Carlotta lay down to sleep.
However, thinking about the contents of the previous intelligence, Carlotta’s thoughts were a bit chaotic, and she had to use a sleep-inducing card to finally fall into a deep sleep.
Kingdom of Brandon, Pine Town.
Carlotta and Amelia arrived early in the morning after breakfast.
During the meal, Carlotta had already told Amelia that she planned to join the Adventurers’ Association first and then decide the next steps.
Adventurers are free, and even after joining the Adventurers’ Association, there’s no need to worry about being constrained in any way.
Since there was no other way to ascend to the Sky Island at the moment, Carlotta could only take the Adventurers’ Association’s route.
However, Carlotta still asked Amelia, "Amelia, do you have any means of flying?"
"Flying? Do you want to fly directly to Sky Island?"
Amelia immediately understood Carlotta’s meaning.
Then she shook her head, indicating that she currently had no way to fly.
When Julia and the other guards were around, she didn’t have to worry about this issue as Julia and the others could fly themselves.
But now, Amelia had no one by her side.
"It’s alright, we’ll take it slow."
Carlotta had come to terms with it.
Sky Island is great, but if there’s really no fate, then there’s no way to force it. In any case, let’s strive to ascend to the Sky Island first.
As soon as they entered Pine Town, Carlotta took two steps closer to Amelia and held her hand.
With a straight face, she said, "There are a lot of people, be careful not to get separated."
Knowing that Amelia didn’t dislike holding hands with her, Carlotta’s courage had grown quite a bit.
After holding Amelia’s hand, she found it soft, white, and tender, a pleasure to squeeze.
She continued to hold Amelia’s hand as they gradually arrived at the entrance of the Adventurers’ Association.
"You guys, go ahead and clear the way, don’t let anyone bump into us."
Carlotta turned to the four pirates who had followed them and gave the order.
She had brought four pirates today specifically to clear the way, each of them strong and sturdy.
Upon receiving Carlotta’s command, the four burly pirates immediately stepped forward, forcefully pushing through the crowd and, amidst a series of complaints, forcibly opened up a path.
Carlotta, with a leisurely demeanor, led Amelia into the Adventurers’ Association, arriving at the adventurer registration counter. Looking at the stunned staff, she spoke unhurriedly.
"We’re here to register as adventurers."