CHAPTER 234: NATIVES AND NON NATIVES

A faint sigh lingered in Carlotta’s heart.

While these people were fighting desperately here, they didn’t even realize they were no longer their original selves, merely impressions left behind by gods. The real versions of themselves had likely long since faded into time, dust returning to dust, earth returning to earth.

"It’s not like that."

The High Priestess shook her head, staring at the plaza. "These people probably didn’t die from fighting among themselves. From my observations, they seem more like they were collectively slaughtered by some irresistible existence, killed by a terrifying being. If you look carefully, you’ll see that all their wounds stem from the same kind of attack."

Upon hearing this, Carlotta examined them closely and realized it was indeed true. Her heart involuntarily skipped a beat.

Who had struck and killed these people?

Was it someone from their own world, or was it the impressions of those lost worlds?

Carlotta couldn’t make a judgment, but from the lingering aura here, she gradually realized that whoever had acted in this place might even pose a certain threat to her.

’It must have been an impression. For someone from our world to threaten me, they’d have to be an Exalted being.’

Carlotta thought silently.

As they conversed, the group moved across the plaza, observing every little detail.

The more they looked, the more alarmed they became.

Selina’s two disciples trembled visibly, already wishing to leave this place.

The plaza was a complete mess, offering few valuable clues. But as the group passed through, a pair of eyes from afar emerged from the shadows, watching them intently.

Carlotta and the High Priestess detected the gaze immediately.

Amelia noticed next, while Selina was even slower, only realizing someone was spying on them later.

The group immediately rushed toward the source of the gaze. Not long after, they cornered a pale-faced young man in a narrow alley.

"Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!"

The youth cried out frantically.

"Why would we kill you? What were you doing lurking around here?"

Selina asked, frowning.

Hearing her words, the youth froze, then his face lit up with relief.

"You’re speaking the language of the Wendell Empire, you’re one of us!"

"What?"

Selina was completely baffled.

The youth quickly explained: "You see, in this city, we’ve discovered a group of strange people. They don’t even speak our language, and we don’t know where they’re from. After investigation and attempts at communication, we believed they might be the original inhabitants of this city, the natives. Because of the language barrier, there’s been a lot of conflict between us. At first, I thought you were natives, and I was really scared!"

As he spoke, he patted his chest, visibly relaxing.

The others exchanged glances.

The youth then introduced himself, he was called Bob Asheton.

"Asheton? I remember that’s the surname of a baron from the Wendell Empire."

Selina pondered.

Bob quickly replied, "That Baron Asheton is my father."

Selina understood, then introduced herself.

When he learned she was actually the daughter of the First Sword Saint, Bob was greatly shocked, his expression instantly becoming more respectful.

As Selina introduced the others, Bob gave Amelia an extra glance upon hearing she was the heiress of the Fenwick family. But upon hearing Carlotta’s name, he showed no reaction.

Clearly, he had been in the Central Ruins for quite some time and was unaware of events beyond.

After mutual introductions, Bob said seriously, "At first, those natives fought among themselves, no idea why. But after clashing with our people, they actually united. Now, both sides are facing off in opposition. Honestly, it’s difficult."

He earnestly told them that the natives’ combat strength was exceptionally high, no one of equal rank could stand against them.

Hearing this, Selina instinctively glanced at Nash.

Bob continued, "We don’t understand much about these natives. What we do know is that their combat methods are far more advanced than ours. There seems to be no distinction between primary and secondary paths. A mage, for instance, can consecutively cast multiple different spells, all with the same power as their main specialty. Some people, we can’t even tell whether they’re following the mage path or the knight path. We have no idea what’s going on."

Traces from other worlds had clearly left the people of this world utterly confused.

"Let’s go take a look."

Selina said to Carlotta.

Carlotta nodded.

She hadn’t expected that people from this world had already clashed with those from other worlds within this city.

She wondered what purpose the gods of old had in leaving so many impressions behind. And what exactly would these impressions do?

Regardless, they still needed to see the situation for themselves.

On the way, Bob politely asked whether the Sword Saint had come to the Central Ruins.

Selina naturally shook her head, leaving Bob somewhat disappointed.

The group walked through the city for quite a while before reaching a massive building. This structure appears to have once been an arena, its area is exceptionally vast. All who arrived in City One from the first world had gathered here.

Bob had left earlier to look for other people from the first world, there were quite a few others like him.

As Carlotta’s group approached, they saw two factions facing off against each other.

Seeing this, Bob’s expression instantly changed, "The natives are here."

At the entrance of the arena, a large group of people stood divided into two factions, their gazes clashing with clear hostility.

From the other world’s side, a woman stepped forward. Her figure was graceful, each movement exuding an enchanting charm. Her smooth, lustrous purple hair flowed down, and her purple eyes held a mesmerizing quality that could draw anyone in.

She raised her hand and gestured towards the people from the first world, her movements slightly provocative.

From the first world’s side, someone else stepped forward, also gesturing with their hands.

"Is this... communication?"

Carlotta looked oddly perplexed.

Bob nodded, "It can’t be helped. Our languages don’t match. The only way to communicate is through gestures."

Even as they gestured, the first world people continued speaking aloud, even though the other side couldn’t understand.

Of course, the people from other worlds did the same.

"Who among you dares to fight me one-on-one?"

"You want to fight all of us at once? Who’s afraid of you? So arrogant."

Their gestures were somewhat mismatched, like a donkey’s head on a horse’s body.

Without the ability to communicate verbally, both sides could only gesture with their hands, but hand gestures naturally lead to misunderstandings.

One side meant to propose a one-on-one duel, while the other interpreted it as a group battle. So when a single native stepped forward, a group from World One also advanced.

This sudden move startled the native who had stepped out, making him quickly retreat while cursing World One’s people for being dishonorable.

After observing for a while, Selina said, "Let’s go over there too... Huh? What are you, "

She turned her head and saw the High Priestess smear something across his face, instantly changing her appearance. Well, "altering" wasn’t quite accurate, the High Priestess still looked exactly the same, yet somehow gave off an unfamiliar aura, as if she was someone who simply shouldn’t be recognized.

The High Priestess was concealing herself, not wanting the natives to identify her. She wanted to remain low-key and observe further, hoping to understand the purpose of these natives’ existence.

Carlotta, on the other hand, didn’t need to hide.

At once, the group moved toward World One’s people. Nash hesitated slightly but couldn’t follow. After exchanging a few words with the High Priestess, she instead headed toward the group of natives.

As Selina approached and began communicating with World One’s people, she was immediately elected as their leader.

Her rank as a Weaver and her status as the daughter of the First Sword Saint instantly granted her a special position.

"Milady, these natives are extremely dangerous. Please lead us in resisting them."

"With you here, I feel at ease."

"Has the Sword Saint arrived at the Central Ruins?"

Many quickly surrounded Selina, eyes filled with expectation, asking various questions while keeping a wary eye on the natives.

At that moment, the leader from the natives’ side stepped forward again, her purple hair flowing, her eyes gleaming, as she spoke and gestured with her hands.

Seeing this, Selina immediately signaled Carlotta, saying nothing but her eyes clearly asking a question.

She knew Carlotta likely understood what the other side was saying.

In truth, Carlotta... didn’t understand.

Although she had received intelligence assistance allowing her to quickly grasp foreign languages, she still needed time to learn. Right now, it was too short, some words she could understand, others partially, and some not at all.

The words spoken by the purple-haired woman were completely incomprehensible to her. She could only glance at the High Priestess.

The High Priestess said, "She said there’s an alchemical item in a certain area of this city that has a translation effect. She wants us to go there together so we can communicate properly."

Upon hearing this, Selina immediately refused, "We’re not going. Just for translation? Who’d believe that? It’s probably a trap to lure us over."

She decisively gestured with her hands, clearly expressing a firm refusal.

Carlotta thought that Selina’s hand gestures were slightly more precise than those of the others from World One earlier.

The purple-haired woman, seeing this, wore an unpleasant expression. She spoke while gesturing again.

This time, even without the High Priestess translating, Carlotta understood. "She’s questioned why you’re disappointed. Does this mean you really want to fight? And then... what was the rest?"

"The rest says, ’You weaklings, they can each take on an entire group. Refusing to cooperate is just seeking your own doom.’"

The High Priestess helped translate the rest.

Hearing this, the people from World One immediately grew angry.

They only saw Carlotta and the High Priestess as skilled in translation and didn’t think much of them, but they were extremely dissatisfied with the natives’ attitude, it was clear they looked down on them.

Selina angrily gestured back, "If you want to fight, then fight! Who’s afraid? Do you think others are made of tofu?"

It had to be admitted, her gestures were very precise. Even if she couldn’t convey every single word’s meaning, at least the general intent was clearly transmitted.

The purple-haired woman sneered, pointed behind her back, and signaled for someone to step forward, then began gesturing again.

"She wants a one-on-one duel. She’s chosen an early tier Resonator and wants us to send someone of the same rank."

Carlotta understood this time.

Upon hearing this, Selina instinctively glanced at her male disciple.

Her disciple had previously been easily defeated by Nash in a same-rank battle and still hadn’t recovered from that psychological shadow. Seeing Selina looking at him, his face darkened.

On the other hand, many from World One behind her started shouting, with several early tier Resonators yelling that they wanted to go.

"Everyone," Selina said seriously, "we absolutely must win this fight. We can’t let these natives look down on us. Who among you is the strongest early tier Resonator?"

At this question, everyone fell silent.

Then someone spoke up, "The strongest early tier Resonator should be the disciple of our lady, right?"

"Yeah, I think he’s definitely the strongest."

Many nodded in agreement, believing it was best for Selina’s disciples to take the stage.

As Selina’s male disciple, the young man named Nicht instantly turned even paler in the face.

He truly didn’t want to fight at all.

Seeing her disciple’s expression, Selina had no choice but to say, "My disciple has already experienced a dangerous battle during our journey here. He’s still injured and can’t perform at full strength. It wouldn’t be suitable for him to participate."

Hearing this, Nicht finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, the others had no choice but to discuss among themselves and eventually nominated someone.

It was a middle-aged man, an experienced adventurer with abundant combat experience, specializing in knight techniques.

Now, he stepped forward, holding a long blade, his expression proud and confident, pointing the sword at the opponent.

The young man from the natives’ side sneered at this sight. Coincidentally, he also held a blade and immediately stepped forward to meet him.

The two instantly charged at each other, slashing their weapons amid loud shouts.

"Boom!"

With a sharp sound, their weapons clashed heavily. Then they rapidly exchanged blows, blades flashing, dazzling to the eyes.

Before long, the middle-aged man from World One staggered back, covered in blood, his face grim.

In contrast, the youth from the opposing side remains unstained, looking relaxed and composed.

"I... I lost."

The middle-aged man withdrew to Selina’s side, unwilling to continue. He feared that fighting further would mean death.