868 Sweet Times

"Are you that anxious? It's been less than five minutes since we came in." But Milami did not get up. She crossed her left leg over her right and smiled. She held a glass of red wine with only a few drops left in it and swirled it gently. She did not seem to be paying attention. "There are a lot of people outside your bar. If you go out now, won't it make you seem useless?"

Ma Dong stopped and slowly turned back.

Milami smiled and said, "Or, are you really useless?"

His desire was burning like a bush fire in a prairie. Ma Dong turned off the lights and jumped at her; their shadows entangled together. They wildly jumped back and forth, continuing till the end.

In the darkness, there were tears and satisfaction in Milami's eyes. She had arrived at where she was today and could no longer turn back. She could not love a person like she had done in the past as she did not have the right to do so. But at least, she could accompany him as he grew to become a master who could control his own fate. She used her pretty and broken body. If she died, that would probably be her only source of pride.

Was this called an obsession?

Perhaps. When she was younger, she was afraid of dying, but after seeing some things clearly, she understood that living was a sin. Without an obsession, how would she be able to continue living?

...…

It was a night that concealed destiny and desire.

Only losers imagined that goddesses were holy and pure. Losers often could not accept the reality that easily, but the reality existed objectively.

In the southern battlefield of the Holy Battle, as one of the three largest exploration teams in the entire southern campsite, the Imperial Court exploration team's achievements on the battlefield matched up against that of Solomon from the Kaiser Corps. The Imperial Court exploration team was very clear about their position and worked very efficiently. While many large exploration teams were greedy for the rewards for taking down a Sword Saint, the Imperial Court exploration team had no intention of provoking the Octopus people. They kept to conventional ways and received missions that were stable and had accurate intel. They made full use of their strength in these missions. The missions they completed were not the most difficult ones, but they completed the most missions and were indeed the most reliable. After over a month, their mission completion rate was 100%. At the same time, no one from their exploration team had died. This was a level that the other exploration teams who frequently accepted missions could not achieve. Even the Kaiser Corps could not do it.

This was a very efficient exploration team with a mysterious leader. Other than the fact that he was the descendant of three generations of Supreme Pontiffs, little else was known about him. As well, few members of the exploration team had ever seen their leader's true appearance, but Carolyn was an exception. Over the one month since she joined the exploration team, she had displayed extraordinary endowments in her analysis of mission reports, her ability to organize and control the exploration team, and her individual skills. She had also been appointed the 'preparation' leader by their team leader. As there were temporarily no more vacancies for leaders in the exploration team, she was even allowed to establish her own group.

With Carolyn's connections, establishing a group was very easy. The members of her group had been confirmed. Most of them were the elite core members of the 10 Great Families in the CHF, with Divian as her right-hand. The newly established group gave a small demonstration of their power and completed their very first mission, continuing Imperial Court's 100% mission completion rate, as well as the 0% death rate. The newly established group was also very famous for a period of time. Carolyn was different from Solomon and did not need to draw a clear line between them and other exploration teams. She was willing to rely on them and even make use of them. Although they were not part of the Patriarch Society, the Federation had been established in the Holy Land for 100 years. The Empire was still no match for the Holy Land.

Push open the door and walk in, and you would see Carolyn at her table checking various information and resources. This had not changed ever since the Holy Battle started. The only time she took a rest and celebrated was the day when they established their group, and they had a wild night at the bar with Divian and the rest.

Divian was very emotional. She was very aware of how strong the newly established group was, to the point that the elite group of the Imperial Court exploration team could not even compare to them. They were able to have this kind of strength and complete these missions, all because Carolyn had the terrifyingly powerful ability to command and organize them. To be honest, back when Carolyn was on Earth, many people in the Holy City did not think much of her. She was too inexperienced. The Earth was not enough for her to display her abilities. The only opportunity she had to display them was ended by Mo Wen. When she first came to the Holy City, she did not receive the treatment that a descendant of a core family should receive, but reality revealed that a phoenix was a phoenix. Even if it stayed in its nest, as long as it had the chance to spread its wings, it would definitely soar into the sky. It was not surprising that the head of the Stuart Clan had started to pass the rights of the family to her while she was only in her early twenties.

In the Holy Land, while everyone was doing their best to display themselves, Carolyn and Solomon were among the most low-lying. Carolyn's talents were even greater than Solomon's, but these talents would not be displayed during the Casted Soul Stage. When she advanced to the Heroic Soul Stage, it was a world of difference. People like Mo Wen and Wang Zhong would experience a relative drop in level, but Wang Zhong had somehow received Soul Guards. If not, he would not have been so impressive. It was a pity that… he sought quick solutions regardless of the consequences.

"Leader, do you have to be so serious?" Divian asked her. "We just finished a big mission. You should rest when it's time to rest. Come with me. How about we find men to relax with?"

To these two goddesses, the need to be holy and pure was clearly lacking. The cruel path of training had caused many people to mature early. Greater pressure to train also created a need for an outlet to vent this stress.

Many people would choose to indulge and experience different pleasures before finding their soulmates, especially the lucky ones who were promised good spouses by their families. In the Holy City, there were no morals or promises to their families to care about. There was much more freedom, and they enjoyed themselves more than ordinary people. If men could play around with women, why couldn't women do the same as long as they had the strength?

But this was just a way to adjust to living. At the least, Divian was very happy with her current circumstances.

Carolyn smiled. Evidently, she did not disagree. "I still have some files to settle. You can go. If you find any good ones, leave them for me."

"Bleh, your standards are too high. Even if I leave any for you, you will not like them. We sisters should just party by ourselves." Divian glanced at the small words on the file of documents and was slightly surprised. "Oh, I thought you were looking at mission reports. So you have been focusing on Earth? Let me say this, the Zhao Family and the Gui Family have been very unlucky recently. I'm guessing that you were behind this? Do you still have any feelings for Wang Zhong?"

"It's just business," Carolyn calmly said. "With Ma Dong around, we can weaken the alliance between the Zhao and Gui families. We cannot underestimate the power of hate."

Solomon was unhappy with the structure of the Empire, while Carolyn had some ideas about the structure of the Federation. Stuart City had already reached its zenith. If they wanted to advance, they had to destroy the structure of the 10 Great Families. Divian's family supported this. Furthermore, in terms of overall reputation, Carolyn had a much better reputation than the Zhao Family or the Gui Family.

"Milami is rather interesting. She probably thinks that she is a double spy, but she is just a pawn to you and Solomon. However, she seems to have feelings for Ma Dong." Divian curiously looked at the resources. After all, she recognized them. This brought back many memories.

"In this world, women have to live with more clarity. If not, only tragedy will be waiting for them…" Carolyn's voice was calm.

Divian did not comment. Carolyn lived too seriously. "But I think that what you and Solomon are doing is very dangerous. The Kaiser Empire might use this opportunity to rise. If they take the risk and succeed, there might even be the possibility of them replacing the Federation."

"The rise of the Empire could never be stopped from the beginning. It's not because they are strong, and it is not entirely because of the Federation Families or that we don't train enough. It is because the higher-ups hope to have some force attack the solidified and rotting powers, so as to bring new vitality to the Holy Land." Carolyn smiled. "This is what the higher-ups intend. This is history and cannot be stopped. But the cake is too big for the Empire alone to eat. Furthermore, the Holy Land will not allow only the Kaiser family to grow too much. The existing powers will be maintained. They will just get rid of some of them and ask the Kaiser Empire to take over. Thus, what we need to do is not to fight them but to think of how we can grow stronger in this situation."

"Is that why you're all being mysterious and fighting against each other? Is that all for show?" Divian shrugged her shoulders. "So who do you think will most likely be eliminated?"

"Who knows?" Carolyn started dotting the documents regarding Ma Dong with her pen. She smiled and said, "The unluckiest one?"

"No wonder you're so active. Ha, you all are too dark. This poor child was sold, but he's still helping you to count money." Divian smiled. "Luckily I'm not your enemy. I don't have to spend effort on these brain-frying things. — Oh, that's right. Have you heard about Wang Zhong? He single-handedly killed a Sword Saint, the first Sword Saint to be killed in the wild. Furthermore, he seemed to have killed someone when he returned to the northern base. Most importantly, the final verdict was that he was innocent… that fellow is too much. He is still so flirtatious no matter where he goes. Now, there's a rumor that Wang Zhong has connections in the Holy City and that his future is limitless. There is something between him and the family…"

"The family is already on the lookout." Carolyn smiled. She did not seem to care much about this topic. "If he had forcibly killed them or if there was something going on behind the scenes, I will send someone to investigate the situation. If it leaks out…"

…

Captain Wang Zhong did not intend to look for quick successes. He planned to advance step by step while being realistic, even if this was his holiday now.

Although the desert in early autumn had passed the hottest period of the year, it was still very hot in the day. The sun that other areas on Earth rarely saw was glaring to the people in the vast desert.

The sand on the ground was burning. On the horizon, one could even see steam rising in the air, causing the scenery in the distance to blur and distort.

Scarlet had changed into cooler clothing. She wore a short-sleeved t-shirt that she loved, as well as torn cowboy jeans and a pair of white sneakers. She also wore a peak cap, large sunglasses, and a small, light-colored traveling bag. She looked no different from an attractive female tourist who loved to travel.

Ever since they arrived, Wang Zhong had been holding her hand. Scarlet was full of happiness and did not seem to care about the sweat that formed from holding hands too tightly. She stuck to him like an endearing little bird. When Wang Zhong walked quickly, she would walk quickly. When Wang Zhong slowed down, she would not hurry him. In reality, under the vast sky, there were only the two of them. This feeling was intoxicating.

The sun overhead, that seemed somewhat malicious at first, felt like the warm ray of dawn to her. The sandy ground was like an extravagant rug. As for the sweat on her palms, it would feel uncomfortable for other people, but to Scarlet, it was just another experience.

Even if one had never eaten pork before, they would have seen a pig on the streets. Back then, Milami had described various shameful stories to Scarlet, her bestie, in great detail. The sweaty feeling was very similar to some of those stories. She could not help but come up with thoughts that would make others blush.

Would Wang Zhong ask her about it? When, when would he ask her? They were hot and sweaty, and there was no one around…

What was she thinking!

Scarlet could not help but laugh out loud.

"Is it too hot? Your face is red." Wang Zhong stretched out his hand and touched her face. It seemed that he had never been this pleased since the CHF. Nothing else in this world had anything to do with them. Between heaven and earth, there were only the two of them.

"It is very hot." Scarlet was sad when he took his hand away. After all, there was no one around. "Give me ice!"

Speaking of ice, Scarlet seemed to have forgotten that she was much stronger than Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong laughed. Naturally, he would not reject a request from his girlfriend. But it was difficult for them to travel quickly while their hands were intertwined. However, Scarlet was in no rush. She even hoped that Wang Zhong would walk more slowly, or even stop. It was best that this sweet road had no end.

It was a pity that this was simply her desire. In the Fifth Dimension, although they were not able to determine the position of the desert completely accurately, there would not be much deviation either. They had been strolling very slowly, but after walking over three hours, they saw the outer wall of the Katchirda Village. Scarlet felt that it was a great pity.

Although Scarlet had never come to Tutankhamun, thanks to Skylink, most of the people in the Federation had a basic image of the desert city. Other than the most important cities in the center, the other cities or areas of greenery in Tutankhamun were overgrown places that were poor and backward. According to Wang Zhong, this place was a new and developing town. Scarlet thought that they would see natural scenery, but they were faced with a tall city wall that went around the city. It was not a seven- or eight-meter wall that was made out of soil; the wall was made out of limestone. It seemed new and unusually neat, with an aura of authority.