My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Chapter 545: Anonymous Transaction

The battle that ensued was nothing short of epic. Sylvia unleashed her first fiery dragonic breath, and her teammates engaged in a dazzling display of martial prowess and magical feats.

Blades clashed, spells crackled through the air, and the ground trembled under the intensity of the combat. The opposing warriors fought to the full extent of their abilities, driven by the desire to claim the treasures for themselves.

Sylvia’s team wandered as the cunning hunter, or more precisely, the treasure hoarder. They baited the prey with schemes and traps, and then they would hunt and snatch the opportunities, and also the treasures.

"Would you call that fair?" The injured man winced in pain, exerting the last remaining strength to voice his grievance.

"There is no fairness in the world, so get used to it. Be grateful that we didn’t kill you even though you tried to rob us just a few minutes ago." Sylvia threw the last looted treasure into her storage pouch.

"..." The man tried to recall about it. He encountered these mysterious ladies at the entrance portal before entering the ancient ruins, and then, they competed for a treasure chest.

He intimidated the opposing team with a foul remark and said he would rob them, but he only did it as a warning. His team hadn’t really tried to rob or disarm these mysterious ladies.

"Feel free to get your revenge anytime. Anyway, thank you for being a tough punching bag. I can get a better grasp of my new power now." Sylvia raised her hand in farewell and left with her teammates.

"Damn! They won thanks to the debuff spell and trap, but argh!"

"All of our hard-earned stones and treasures! Everything is gone!"

"Senior brother, we must take revenge. This humiliation, I can’t continue living with this kind of humiliation!"

"Yeah, we have to track them down and exact our revenge later!"

"Do you have the strength to track them down? They also wore the veiled hat. Except for that dark flame devil lady, we have no other clue. Let’s just preserve our strength so we can get out of here safely. The others might be more merciless than those mysterious ladies. The winner is a hero, and the loser is a bandit. We’ll get them back in the future."

The defeated disciples stated their opinions and desires to their senior brother, but what their senior said made them fall into contemplation. They knew nothing about the other party. They suffered because of their arrogance and misconception, but it backfired on them.

The defeated team had their own thoughts, but Sylvia’s team had gone relatively far as if they didn’t care about the other’s fate.

"Do you feel uncomfortable with my method? What do you think?" Sylvia nudged Yuuki’s arm. This cold foxy girl was so quiet, never trying to oppose her on almost every occasion like usual.

"No, I think, it’s reasonable. They are all above 12th Rank, and we can’t defeat them in a frontal clash. They harbored ill intention first, so we justifiably defended ourselves." Yuuki shook her head. In this cruel cultivation world, she learned her lesson the hard way, and she would never let others take advantage of her anymore.

"Yeah, but that’s really a pity. If only they harbored a little bit more malice, I would have killed them all." Sylvia leaned her head back to her arms and sighed as if she regretted it.

"Hmm~" Luna glanced at Yusagi and then they just smiled faintly. Nobody could track them to exact the so-called revenge, and they became the bullies of today. Still, they had to be extra careful since the others were more powerful than them.

While other teams explored that once-in-a-century secret realm to gain experience and loot the good stuff, Xentia’s team went further to the farthest side of the realm.

"Xen, I think we’ve gone too far..." Lyla felt restless because their spacecraft was already so far from their initial location.

"We can always teleport to our master’s side. This secret realm is vast and I believe a civilization exists here. It’s more than just monsters, tombs, ruins, and traps." Xentia crossed her arms, looking forward with high expectations.

"..." Morfina and Yae looked at each other, feeling lost for words. They knew Xentia was always attracted to the unknown civilization, but this secret realm was once owned by a 16th Rank powerhouse.

For a secret realm that would only open once every century, and could only be accessed for five days, the scope of exploration that explorers could cover was relatively limited.

They also arrived late and only had eight hours before their master would bring them out. Therefore, Xentia’s desire was reasonable. They would aim for the farthest region that probably had yet to be explored by any other explorers.

"Hmm?" Xentia noticed a faint strange energy fluctuation caught by her advanced radar. The spacecraft’s sensors told her that something was hidden there, and it was so disguised as if someone didn’t want anyone to know that place.

Xentia commanded the spacecraft to lower its altitude, but a flash of dark violet beam shot into the sky at supersonic speed.

"Leave or this place shall become your burial ground."

The deep, hoarse voice echoed directly in everyone’s mind. It was obviously telepathy that was so strong and oppressive, a blatant threat, but Xentia still lowered her spacecraft’s altitude regardless.

Countless illusory arrays and magical formations could be seen covering the entire mountain region. If it weren’t for her sensors’ special sensitivity to monitor the oddities, it would be difficult to spot this hidden area. The others would just treat it as an ordinary mountain region, and anyone who tried to explore it would be lost forever in the wild.

Xentia checked her timer and location. She had already traveled more than thirty thousand miles. She had less than four hours before she had to exit this secret realm.

"Then, you shall be trapped here forever and buried in this land of nowhere."

The warning arrived again in telepathic form. Lyla, Morfina, and Yae became nervous and scared a bit because they knew that they stood no chance if they had to fight the old, ancient immortal monster in its territory.

"Fret not. It harbored no malice. We’re under our master’s protection. Illusions and mind attacks are ineffective against us." Xentia reminded her terrified sisters and opened the door, walking out to greet the unknown being.

"Where would you go?" Lyla immediately followed.

"I wish to talk to the overlord of this area. Follow me." Xentia beckoned for everyone to follow her closely.

The spacecraft hovered twenty meters above the ground, and the terrain below looked like the misty forest, similar to what they encountered in the academy’s entrance test during their visit to Vrelenia, the Misty Great Dungeon owned by Timus.

Xentia stepped in mid-air and spread her arms wide. "I can see all of you are lurking amidst the mist and illusion, watching us with high vigilance. O, intelligent creatures, we wish to trade an offer."

No response came as intended. Xentia already expected it, thus she added. "It’s a pity then. We should bring more force to this region if you don’t come to meet us."

*Swoosh!*

A needle shot through the sky, almost grazing Xentia’s cheek.

"You would be dead if it was a poisoned projectile aimed at your head. Oldeo already warned you. Do you believe we won’t kill you all here?"

Someone with glowing gray eyes warned with clear killing intent amidst the thick mist and fog.

"That’s why we’re still at the entrance area, not advancing deeper into the inner region. We’re here with goodwill and never crossed the line. A fair exchange. So, will you accept my trade offer now?"

"Why should I?"

"You would."

"..."

Xentia stated her words calmly, without the slightest bit of fear or nervousness. It caused the other party to point it out for a second thought because the intruder’s spokesperson had no malicious intent in her words. Curiosity began to bloom.

The grey-eyed creature stepped out of his hiding place, serving as the representative. His form was similar to a human, smaller in size and more hairy, but with dark gray skin and white rune-like tattoos covering his entire body. All of his teeth were filled with fangs typical of wild beasts, but within those glowing gray eyes, exuded clear the wisdom of someone who has lived a long life.

He raised his hand and looked up from the top of a nearby tree. "What do you want?"

Xentia faintly smiled and proceeded as an experienced interstellar merchant. Even aliens and unknown lifeforce couldn’t refuse her offers.

---

"Hm?" Elysia noticed what Xentia was doing, and she discovered it was truly wise.

Xentia managed to open a peaceful trade and exchange with the locals. With Xentia, Morfina, and Yae on the same team, the three merchants of Elysium bought some goods from the locals using a barter system.

A fair exchange with no violence, competition, or dispute, just like how civilized people would usually do during a trade.

An hour later, Xentia sent direct telepathy to Elysia as she wished to return using instant teleportation. Elysia gave her permission, and Xentia’s team bid their farewell to the locals.

"Fulfill your promise. Don’t ever try to come back here. Don’t ever try to invite any intruders to this sacred ground." The local’s representative reminded with a stern warning.

"Alright. Keep the vigilance up. The others won’t be so nice and civilized like us." Xentia raised her hand in farewell.

"We’ll kill everyone if they harbor ill intention in our sacred land. It’s already our mercy to let them pillage and plunder our realm every century." The local representative snorted.

Xentia didn’t respond. She and her teammates entered the spacecraft as their purpose had been achieved. They spent quite a lot, but they received tons of good stuff without having to fight tooth and nail like the others out there. The precious items and even the relics, as long as they were available for purchase, they bought all the interesting ones at a reasonable price.

"Tell me your background of origin, hybrid human doll. Which sect are you affiliated with in the outside world?"

"How rude of you. You should be polite if you wish to ask for a lady’s personal info, gray hobbit. I’ll consider it if you beg for it, though."

Xentia glanced back and closed the door with a faint smirk, spilling no information just like what the other party did. Both parties didn’t even need to mention their name or be polite. It was just an anonymous transaction.

The spacecraft raised its altitude, leaving the misty forest’s restriction.

*Zap*

It then warped to return to Elysia’s side via instant teleportation, covering tens of thousands of miles in an instant.

"This is the first time we didn’t kill the intruders." An old gray man rubbed his beard amidst the mist, looking up at the sky with his pitch-black eyes.

"They are fearless, interesting fellas, elders." The gray hobbit shook his head. More of his friends soon emerged from the thick fog to bring back the good stuff from the outside world.