Summoner Online: I Became the Tutorial Boss with a 999+ Villainess-Chapter 71: It is still an order.

From the mist of the dense trees and tangled bushes, a massive, concentrated force of wind and mana swooshed out, slamming directly into the back of the wagon with the impact of a siege weapon.

The force of the blow was catastrophic.

It not only sheared the connection between the carriage and the driver’s seat, liberating the terrified horses, but it also sent the entire wooden cabin hurtling off the road.

The vehicle tumbled down the steep, uneven hill continuously, the frame groaning and snapping under the abuse.

The violence of the descent was such that shards of splintered wood, torn from the carriage’s side, were stabbed deep into the trunks of the passing trees like jagged daggers.

All while this chaotic destruction was unfolding, Kai remained inside, an anchor of absolute stillness amidst the turbulence. His body had not moved, nor had he been tossed around despite the violent revolutions of the falling carriage.

Surrounding him was a translucent, shimmering barrier—a sphere of protective mana that practically separated him and Carlotta from the physical laws governing the crash outside.

Dust, debris, and gravity seemed to lose their hold within that small, enclosed space.

Eventually, the battered remains of the wagon came to a jarring stop.

It landed right next to what looked to be a quiet riverbank, where the afternoon sun basically shone its light directly onto the trashed vehicle, highlighting the destruction in stark clarity.

The wheels were gone, the roof was caved in, and smoke curled from the fractured axles.

Then—

"Argh!"

The carriage door was kicked open with excessive force, flying off its hinges and clattering onto the river stones.

Carlotta crawled out first, her face twisted into a serious frown of displeasure.

"Urgh! Those filthy, incompetent humans had one job!" she hissed, spitting the words out like poison.

She slowly moved, positioning herself to exit the wreckage.\

Because of the angle of the crash, she had to crawl on her hands and knees, placing her backside right in front of Kai, who was still seated comfortably inside the broken vehicle, protected by his fading barrier.

Though he did not say anything, Kai took his time to admire the view. It was a brief moment of appreciation for the aesthetics of his subordinate, detached but observant.

Once she was fully out of the carriage, she stood up and dusted her dress violently, trying to remove the specks of dirt that dared to cling to her fabric.

Composing herself instantly, she reached back inside for her master.

"Please, allow me."

Kai did not reject the offer.

He took her hand, allowing her to pull him out of the wreckage with a grace that belied the situation.

Upon standing on his two feet, the first thing Kai did was look back along the trail of destruction where the wagon had cursed from.

Or at least, he tried to.

From where he stood at the bottom of the ravine, he could barely see the main road high above, as it was obscured by the canopy of multiple trees and the steep angle of the slope.

Even then, he could still decipher the trajectory and calculate which route to take in order to end up back on the right track.

The crash had been calculated to kill, but it had only served to displace them.

"My lord, shall we head back up?" Carlotta asked, glancing at the ruin behind them. "Although our goods are still here, should we leave them? I don’t think they are damaged."

Kai was silent for a while, clearly thinking about something else entirely.

’We were definitely ambushed,’ he analyzed, his eyes scanning the tree line.

’That last attack came from a mage hiding in the bushes, likely a wind attribute user based on the concussive force. I was able to react in time with a barrier, but I did not anticipate the energy would cause us to fall all the way down here. Leo and Sophia are still up there, alone with the killers.’

He narrowed his gaze as the realization settled in.

In that moment, he remembered he had not given them the communication artifact.

It was a tactical oversight.

That meant there was no way he was going to discuss the situation with them, or find out if they were alright.

For all he knew, the battle had already begun, or worse, ended.

Kai shifted his stance.

’Maybe if I—’

[The skill Tracker has been activated.]

A grid of invisible mana expanded from his position. The radar scanned from his feet, pulsing outward to cover the entire forest, sweeping all the way up the hill to the main road.

The data flooded his mind instantly. It was then he noticed that Leo and Sophia were no longer near the road.

They had already been captured and were being dragged deep into the forest, away from the crash site.

Immediately, Kai looked at Carlotta.

"I need you to head towards Leo and Sophia," he commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Make sure nothing happens to them. If you have to resort to killing the fools who dared to attack me, then do so."

Hearing what her lord issued to her, Carlotta could not help but frown with visible doubt.

In as much as she was willing to do whatever Kai told her, saving humans, or anyone outside the Nameless Dungeon, was never something she could be excited about.

To her, their lives were fleeting and insignificant.

"As you wish, my lord," she replied stiffly.

Rather than argue her disdain for the task, she snapped her fingers.

Dark smoke enveloped her form, twisting and shrinking until she vanished, replaced by a bat that flapped its wings and flew away into the dense canopy.

Watching as she went, Kai sighed out loud.

’I am sure she did not like that order. But it is necessary. I cannot have those two dying on me right now. They play a vital role in my plan. Besides...’

Kai turned around slowly, facing the thicket of bushes near the riverbank.

’I would like to have some time alone with these guys.’

As if on cue, the two adventurers that were supposedly supposed to have been battling with the monsters suddenly stepped out of the bushes.

They looked unharmed, their weapons drawn but not bloody.

They stopped moving, standing a few feet away from Kai.

It was Grok and Melty, the traitorous guards.

"Look who we have found," Melty sneered, twirling her staff. "The annoying worm that refuses to die."

She glared at Kai with a mix of arrogance and irritation.

"I knew you would be a problem from the moment I laid eyes on you. Only a cockroach survives a fall like that."

Kai kept his gaze locked on them. His mask betrayed no emotion, and his posture remained relaxed.

Not a single word left his mouth.

...

High above the trees, Carlotta flapped her wings angrily as she soared through the air, cutting through the wind.

"I hate this."

"I hate this."

"I hate this, I hate this, I hate this, I hate having to hate the orders of my Lord!"

She descended, transforming mid-air and landing violently on the ground, right in the middle of the dirt road where the carriage had originally been.

The impact cracked the earth beneath her heels.

Not too far away from where she was, a group of assassins dressed in dark robes were gathered near the panicked horses.

They were in the process of tying Leo and Sophia with mana-suppressing ropes, preparing to haul them into the deeper forest.

However, upon seeing Carlotta land so violently in their midst, appearing from thin air in her human form, they all paused.

The assassins froze, looking at the woman who had just dropped from the sky.

However, as for her, she was practically lost in her own world. She did not even acknowledge their presence initially.

She continuously bit her finger bitterly, drawing a drop of blood as she mumbled to herself, her eyes twitching.

"These humans are making me do the unthinkable. Every order given to me by Lord Kai is absolute. I should cherish it, love it, adore it! And yet, the thought of saving humans icks me so much. It makes my skin crawl. But it is still my Lord’s command. Why... why are these humans looking to drive me apart from my future husband?"

She bit her finger harder, her aura flaring up in jagged spikes of killing intent.

"What makes them so worthy of your mercy, my lord? I cannot understand you! Fuck!"

"Got you! I don’t know how you survived that crash, but you made a big mistake coming back here alone."

One of the assassins had taken advantage of her distraction. He lunged to her front, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady his aim while his blade was out, ready to stab her through the heart.

"Do not touch me!!!"

Carlotta snapped.

Her hand moved faster than the assassin’s eyes could track. She delivered a backhanded slap just to push him away.

The man’s head was torn cleanly off his shoulders, spinning through the air before landing with a wet thud in the grass.

Blood fluttered out like a macabre fountain, spraying the road crimson, all while Carlotta stared at the headless body collapsing at her feet with utter disdain.

"Only one man is allowed to touch me," she hissed, wiping a speck of blood from her cheek. "And you are nowhere near his might."

She turned slowly to look at the rest of the assassins, who were already stepping back, wary of her terrifying strength.

"You humans sicken me," she said, her voice dropping to a low, predatory growl.

"I should just kill you all right now. Yes, that is exactly what I will do. To ease my frustration, your blood will have to suffice. Why not? Anyone who stands between me and my love deserves to die a thousand deaths!"

She stayed silent a while.

"Devour them all my children."