Chapter 50: Betrayal? You’re the One Everyone Sees as the Traitor Now!

Ailian’s eyes blazed with fury as she growled,

“Get lost!”

She would never believe a single word from the other party again!

But this filthy, lustful gaze still made her burn with anger!

For the first time, Ailian hated her own lack of eloquence.

She couldn’t even find enough words to vent her anger and curse at him!

She even had to worry that if she opened her mouth, he’d twist her words and mock her instead!

Carl pretended not to hear.

His gaze continued downward as he bent over and forcefully pried open her untrampled left hand.

Deep nail marks in her palm were shocking to see.

As soon as he opened it, blood dripped down.

Carl laughed even more arrogantly.

“Look, a useless thing who can only hurt herself when angry—those idiots actually thought you could escape the Giant Oak Forest alone?”

“Even a Magician out for training would probably see you as a burden!”

Ailian clenched her teeth so hard it was as if her gums might shatter.

She struggled with all her might, but it was futile.

Despair flooded her like a tide, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

The worst possible premonition had already formed in her heart.

However—

Carl suddenly let go and stepped back, a mocking smile on his face.

“What, you thought I was interested in your body?”

“I’m not interested in a scarred tomboy—just touching you is uncomfortable!”

He clapped his hands, as if he’d just finished a dull task.

“That bunch of idiots is easy to handle, but the old fossil is tough. I won’t let you die by my hand.”

“I only wanted to check your cultivation again. Turns out it was completely unnecessary.”

Carl sneered.

“To think I’d worry a fool like you might be hiding a trump card and pretending to be weak.”

Since that was the case—

He should erase his only evidence.

Magic beams gathered in his hand.

Ailian’s shattered right hand—her entire palm—was torn to pieces by a raging wind!

“Ugh!”

Ailian bit back the scream that almost escaped her lips.

Her expression was even more shocked than when she learned Carl was the mastermind.

“Wind Scythe Weasel! Advanced Wind Magic!”

“You really did pledge yourself to the God of Storms?!”

She screamed with all her strength, “You’re the real heretic!”

Ailian had originally thought Carl’s actions were just to frame her, slandering her faith in another god.

Who could have known Carl would go this far?

The magic spell used before everyone wasn’t an illusion or disguise!

It was just that someone else had cast it!

Ailian’s voice trembled with anger.

“The Magic Recoil on me—is that your doing too!”

If not for this inexplicable Magic Recoil…

She wouldn’t have fallen to this state!

Clearly, she’d prepared for years to escape.

Even if she had to act quickly, her chances shouldn’t have been this low!

Carl looked at her approvingly.

“Took you long enough, but you finally guessed one thing right. Too bad you realized it too late.”

“Only the truth makes a perfect trap. Otherwise, do you think it would be so easy to fool that old man?”

Of course, only the appearance of a real heretic could solidify the charge against Ailian.

And sever all her escape routes in one blow!

Then—

Cripple her cultivation and end her last hope of rising again!

“You betrayed the Mistress of Frostmoon! One day you’ll face retribution!”

Ailian roared.

“Betrayed? Now you’re the one everyone sees as a traitor!”

Carl sneered.

“Even if I do face retribution, you’ll never live to see it!”

“I’ll be the first to witness your end!”

“Relax, I’ll be out of this damned place in less than half a day. Can you guess why?”

“Hahahahaha!”

On the tree above.

Leaf Zhi listened to the increasingly grating laughter below and yawned in boredom.

He commented lightly,

“Another classic villain dies from talking too much.”

But the other guy really did talk a lot; just listening was making him drowsy.

Leaf Zhi shifted to a more comfortable position, making sure his bones didn’t accidentally fall and reveal his presence.

“What a boring story.”

Hurry up and end it. The sooner it’s over, the sooner he could get down!

Blame that overly cautious high-level Magician named Carl.

His mouth claimed Ailian would never rise again, but his body faithfully waited in place to witness her death.

Because of that, Leaf Zhi had no choice but to stay in the tree and listen to the whole lopsided hero-versus-villain drama.

Below the tree.

Carl’s laughter didn’t last long.

The sound of Monsters crashing through the distance grew louder—then came a second and third similar sound.

His smile froze, then he quickly turned to look in the direction the noise came from.

When he saw the trembling treetops, Carl was stunned.

“It’s really the Migration of Monsters?!”

At first, he’d scoffed at how others ran off in terror at every sound.

He’d thought it was laughable how they scared so easily.

At least it cleared out space for him to deal with loose ends.

But the Monsters really were moving toward their location?!

Carl glanced resentfully at the barely-breathing Ailian on the ground and clenched his teeth.

“Forget it. No way you’ll escape! Dying in a Monster’s jaws is cheap for you!”

He turned and quickly disappeared into the dense forest.

The commotion from the distant Monsters grew even louder.

Ailian’s consciousness blurred from blood loss.

Bitterness flooded her heart.

“Is this really my end?”

She muttered.

For an instant, her muddled mind grew clear.

No!

She refused!

A wave of unprecedented will to live burst through her restraints.

Ailian opened her eyes again and stretched her left hand forward.

She grabbed the ground and pulled with all her strength!

Her fingertips dug bloody grooves into the rough earth.

But her body didn’t budge.

Ailian refused to give up.

She blocked out the growing noise and kept trying.

Little by little—

She could move her left hand more.

She could move more of her body.

Ailian stretched out her handless right arm.

As she pushed herself, blue-red blood oozed from the wound at her wrist.

“I… will… survive!”

Ailian used all her strength to scream, her voice barely above a whisper.

She braced her right elbow on the ground and tried to crawl forward.

A strange voice sounded beside her.

“Yo! Your arteries are open, and you’re still crawling?”