CHAPTER 245: WINNER

After returning to the rank of peak tier Weaver, Gaoh’s aura became overwhelmingly powerful, thick and immense, spreading across the heavens and earth. Many Weavers present feel a suffocating pressure.

As for those who hadn’t even reached the Weaver stage, they nearly fainted. The sheer weight of his presence was unbearable for ordinary people.

"Roar!"

Another draconic roar echoed. Gaoh thrust forward with his spear, like a dragon surging across the sky, instantly appearing before Carlotta. The sharp tip gleamed, as if it could pierce her body full of holes in a single strike.

Carlotta raised her sword to block, meeting the blow head-on. A dazzling explosion of light erupted, shaking the ground beneath them so violently that the earth shattered and the entire plaza began collapsing.

"You’re not an Early tier Weaver!"

Gaoh’s pupils sharply contracted.

At this very moment, during combat, Carlotta’s aura surged to a new level, rising suddenly to that of a Middle tier Weaver.

Calmly, she said, "That’s right. I broke through recently."

Back then, inside that graveyard of Exalted beings, seeing thousands of Exalted buried there, she’d felt a deep resonance, and silently ascended, becoming a Middle tier Weaver. Everything had unfolded naturally, as if destined.

Of course, earlier during her fight against Gaoh, who had suppressed his rank, she truly had only used the power of an Early tier Weaver. She hadn’t taken unfair advantage.

"So what if you’ve become a Middle tier Weaver? You’re still a bit lower in strength than I am."

Gaoh murmured, his mind relaxing considerably.

Had Carlotta been a peak tier Weaver, he’d have been deeply on guard. But now, knowing he still holds the advantage, he believes he can overpower her through sheer rank superiority.

"Boom!"

The earth split open violently. Countless fragments shot into the sky, assembling into a gigantic nine-headed stone monster beneath Gaoh, which charged forward with terrifying force.

This was another Knight path, one allowing the rider to command any object as a steed, transforming himself into a Knight on another level and greatly increasing combat power.

As the world’s number one, Gaoh mastered innumerable Knight paths, each refined to an extremely profound degree. Every technique he unleashed bore earth-shattering effects.

Without a doubt, he was a terrifying opponent.

Riding the nine-headed stone beast, he charged forward ferociously. Destructive energy wildly spread across the sky and earth, wave after wave of violent attacks surging towards her.

Yet Carlotta remains calm, ready to test a new ability.

Originally, after collecting Divine Remnants, she had intended to find a test subject to try the Remnants’ effects. But now, she no longer needed to use them against Gaoh, that would seem like an unfair victory.

What she wanted to test now was the power she’d recently gained as a Middle tier Weaver, something derived from the Elven Knight Path.

Although she could now learn thousands of Knight paths after returning to the brightest path, and indeed had mastered many, she still favors the Elven Knight path the most. ZIt suited her better, and she wielded it with greater mastery, capable of resolving any issue.

A Middle tier Weaver could master the Deep Moon Goddess Battle Chart from the Elven Mythic Battle Diagrams. Carlotta had long since thoroughly understood this chart. Before, she simply hadn’t met the rank requirement, so despite her deep understanding, she’d been unable to use it.

Now that her rank had reached the necessary threshold, the techniques she’d grasped from the Deep Moon Goddess Battle Chart naturally surfaced within her.

At this moment, Gaoh had no idea Carlotta was using him as a test subject.

He continued his relentless assault, no longer limiting himself to a single Knight path. One after another, he unleashed his vast arsenal, overwhelming and unstoppable.

After a fierce round of attacks, the nine-headed stone beast beneath him exploded, shattering into countless stone figures. Each stone figure resembled Gaoh himself, like copies, each capable of using various Knight paths, possessing strength nearly equal to Gaoh’s own.

Figures darted in and out, one accompanied by a dragon’s roar, another by a phoenix’s cry piercing the sky, some blazing with fiery brilliance, others radiating holy light...

An endless array of techniques gave rise to infinite deadly schemes, completely surrounding and burying Carlotta within.

The sheer horror of these attacks leaves onlookers pale and trembling. They couldn’t even imagine standing in her place, they knew they’d be mercilessly torn apart.

Only the High Priestess could face this with relative composure.

Even Amelia, watching from the side, grew tense, worried Carlotta might be injured.

Yet in truth, Carlotta was far more composed than anyone imagined.

It wasn’t that Gaoh posed no threat or pressure to her, it was that she’d grown up to face every challenge with calm. To her, no problem was unsolvable.

"Deep Moon Goddess."

Carlotta whispered softly. Floating into the air, she was instantly wrapped in a pure, silvery moonlight, making her appear ethereal, almost as if she would drift away with that pale glow.

Then, the moonlight flared brightly, swallowing her entire form. In an instant, she disappeared without a trace.

In Carlotta’s original position, a radiant full moon is now hung, so large and close to the earth, glowing with an otherworldly luster.

The moon slowly turned, spreading an indescribable force that covered a vast area. Wherever the moonlight fell, the air fell utterly still. The earlier chaos and noise disappeared completely.

The sudden silence startled the distant spectators, who couldn’t understand what had happened.

When Carlotta transformed into the moon, their eyes had been fixed on her. Only now did they realize something was amiss, and they turned their gaze toward Gaoh.

At the sight, everyone froze in shock, their hearts filled with dread.

Because Gaoh, and all his stone clones, had somehow been completely frozen solid. The area where Gaoh and his copies stood had turned into a massive glacier. Thick, biting cold spread outward, making people shiver uncontrollably.

"A-All of them... frozen?"

Many gasped in disbelief, staring at Gaoh.

At this moment, Gaoh was completely immobilized, as if petrified.

The Deep Moon Goddess technique released an endless cold, freezing all targets in sight, simple, yet effective.

For anyone else, such freezing would instantly extinguish all life force, leaving no chance of survival. But Carlotta knew that Gaoh, the world’s number one, wouldn’t fall so easily.

It turned out Carlotta’s judgment was correct. In the next instant, the massive iceberg exploded violently, and Gaoh’s figure reappeared.

Yet the damage inflicted by the Goddess of Deep Moon on Gaoh was evident. His face immediately turned much paler. The moment he broke free, he staggered backward two steps. Frosty breath poured from his nose and mouth; earlier, it wasn’t just his outer shell that had frozen, but his internal organs, his bones, even his soul.

"This won’t do..."

Before Gaoh could say more, he looked up and saw pure, silvery light gathering around Carlotta once again, forming into a radiant full moon shining with countless beams.

Gaoh’s expression changed drastically. He well understood the harm of being frozen, something he absolutely did not wish to experience even once more.

But this attack couldn’t be evaded, nor resisted.

The instant the moon appeared, Gaoh became immobile. Once again, an iceberg formed around him, its terrifying cold spreading across heaven and earth, an icy chill so severe it could kill.

After sustaining this for a while, Gaoh roared fiercely, shattering the thick ice around him.

The two freezes had drastically weakened his aura. His pale face made him look like a drowning man, gasping heavily as he filled his body with magic to resist the lingering, deadly chill that remained even after the ice had broken.

Then he raised his head, and saw the bright moon still hanging there.

"Is this never-ending?"

Gaoh roared in anger.

Immediately afterward, he was frozen inside the iceberg for the third time. From his internal organs to his bones to his very soul, everything was encased in ice. He suffered extreme internal damage, wounded from outside to inside. It was a type of harm he was utterly unable to resist, truly life-threatening.

Even worse, he realized he couldn’t counter Carlotta’s technique. No matter how many times he broke free from the ice, the very next instant after his escape, he’d be frozen again. This was an endless cycle of freezing, an unceasing torment.

Yet, even so, Gaoh could only repeatedly shatter the ice and break free, because even if he’d be frozen again, it was still better than remaining trapped forever.

As this back-and-forth repeated over and over, the onlookers surrounding the battlefield fell into silence.

The Impression Entities from various worlds possessed all the memories of their originals. Witnessing this scene now, each of them was lost in thought.

After all, this was the Number One of the world!

Not merely the strongest of a single world, but the universally acknowledged Number One among their eight combined worlds!

Yet even this world’s strongest, despite holding an advantage in rank, couldn’t defeat that red-haired girl?

"Her strength is truly absurd..."

Sheena couldn’t help but make this judgment.

When she first noticed Carlotta’s strength had reached Middle tier Weaver, she thought Carlotta might have a chance. But speculation was one thing, actually seeing Carlotta achieve this sent overwhelming shock through her heart.

As for the people from World One, they were even more excited. Who said their world’s people were inferior to these natives? Carlotta had powerfully proven that natives weren’t invincible.

Carlotta and Gaoh, freezing and breaking free, attack and counterattack, exchanged moves over a dozen times. Finally, after one more freezing, Gaoh failed to break free again.

As the one casting the freeze, Carlotta could clearly sense Gaoh’s condition. In her perception, Gaoh’s aura had recently weakened to a certain point, then completely vanished.

"Could he be dead?"

Seeing this, Carlotta didn’t relax. She raised her hand, sending the Cross Rose shooting forward. It transformed into a crimson streak, tearing open the iceberg and rushing toward Gaoh, nearly slicing off his head.

At this critical moment, Gaoh’s eyes snapped open. He roared once more, shattering the iceberg, his figure flickering aside to narrowly avoid being killed.

"So you chose to feign death? What a sight, the style of the Number One of the world. Truly eye-opening."

Carlotta clapped sarcastically.

Gaoh’s face darkened. With a grim expression, he said, "If you have any real skill, don’t use that move."

"How ridiculous. You tell me not to use it? Then I’ll use it all the more."

Without hesitation, Carlotta transformed into the bright moon once again.

In an instant, Gaoh was frozen.

This time, Carlotta didn’t merely summon the Goddess of Deep Moon, she simultaneously invoked the Goddess of Wisdom as well!

As the full moon hung high, a figure clad in white light emerged from it, exactly Carlotta’s form. It swiftly flew forth, becoming a streak of light that plunged into the iceberg.

The Goddess of Wisdom was too fast, her attack angle uniquely cunning. Even though Gaoh roared and shattered the ice to escape in time, the next instant, the Goddess of Wisdom had already appeared behind him.

Then, Gaoh’s head flew from his body. From the severed neck, blood gushed out violently.

"How could this be..."

As his head soared through the air, Gaoh realized the outcome he’d met. He couldn’t accept it.

He had returned as an Impression Entity, intending to dominate the world. But just as he was beginning, why had he met such an end?

Gaoh couldn’t accept it. Yet even so, he could no longer change anything.

Seeing Gaoh’s head fly away, the countless spectators around fell into stunned silence.

"Gaoh is dead. The Number One in the world is dead."

Lymes murmured softly.

This Fifth of the World recalled how he’d once provoked Carlotta, and instinctively shrank his neck. Fortunately, Carlotta had held back then and hadn’t killed him, otherwise, he’d have died long ago.

Even as Impression Entities, no one wanted to face death casually.

"The Number One of the world was indeed powerful. But beyond every expert, there’s always someone stronger."

Brady, the World’s Second strongest, looked complex.

Earlier, when he clashed with Carlotta, she seemed to have held back against him. Otherwise, his fate wouldn’t have been much better than Gaoh’s.

"Everyone."

At this moment, Sheena loudly addressed the Impression Entities. "As per the god’s command, the strongest among us below the Exalted shall be our leader from now on. And now, the answer is undeniably clear. Miss Carlotta White is the strongest. From this day forth, we shall all obey Carlotta White. Any objections?"

"I have no objections!"

The moment Sheena finished speaking, the crowd voiced their agreement one after another.

No one objected. Everyone deeply admired the strength Carlotta had displayed.