Getting spoiled in a woman dominating world Chapter 473: The storm...

Under the fading light of the afternoon sun, the highway lay vast and deserted.

Brandon lounged in the passenger seat, his elbow propped on the open window sill, as the passing scenery streaked by.

Charlotte steered the car with one hand firm on the wheel, her other hand tapping the gear shift from time to time.

Brandon glanced over at her. "Did the government make any move against you?"

Charlotte shook her head. "The World Leader hasn’t reached out to me since that day. I believe they’re still... uncertain."

She gave a brief, bitter chuckle. "I took down an Empyrean and wiped out a whole Great Noble House. They’re likely torn between capturing me or bargaining."

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll keep conquering towers."

Brandon cocked his head a bit, a spark of interest lighting his blue eyes. "Towers, eh... I’ve never attempted one."

Charlotte let out a sigh, her face growing grave. "Towers are bizarre things. Normal dungeons can be cleared easily if you’ve got the power, but towers... they’re in a league of their own. Even I find some challenging."

She shot him a quick look before fixing her eyes back on the road.

"One particular tower blocks my time skills entirely. The time field within nullifies my time powers completely. I’m left using raw physical prowess and weapons."

Brandon’s brows shot up in real astonishment.

"I see..."

Charlotte nodded. "You ought to give towers a shot sometime. Could be solid training for you."

"Yeah, I’ve been considering it... I’ve been stuck at S rank for a while now, so battling in towers would be a fresh challenge and help me climb ranks fast."

Charlotte murmured thoughtfully. "Hmm, how about we head there tomorrow? What do you think?"

"Sure..."

The vehicle cruised steadily along the almost empty highway.

Suddenly, Charlotte stomped on the brakes.

*screeech*

The tires shrieked as the car skidded to an abrupt stop right in the road’s middle.

Brandon jolted forward against his seatbelt and snapped his gaze upward.

A shadowy figure blocked the highway’s center, draped in a dark hooded robe billowing faintly in the breeze.

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed. "An SS-rank awakener..." she whispered. "Government’s doing, or something else?"

The cloaked person gradually lifted both hands and pulled back the hood.

Charlotte exhaled a weary, drawn-out sigh and slumped back into her seat.

"Oh... it’s you."

Lyssandra’s lips twisted into an icy grin. In her right hand gleamed a tiny glass vial holding a green gem.

Without a second thought, she smashed the vial in her grip. Glass fragments flew, and the green gem erupted in brilliant light.

"Let’s die together, Charlotte."

The very next moment, the air encircling the car twisted savagely.

Reality fractured like shattered glass, with sharp black fissures racing across it as a mighty pull yanked at all things.

Charlotte’s eyes bulged wide; she strained to trigger her time skill, but the gem’s force utterly canceled her powers.

"Brandon-!"

Before the word fully escaped, the world collapsed inward.

The trio vanished from the wide-open road.

*swoosh*

Brandon blinked rapidly, his gut churning from the abrupt shift.

Once his sight sharpened, his boots sank into gritty, blazing sand, and the air scorched dry and fierce.

He scanned his surroundings in shock.

"I’m in a desert?"

Golden sands rolled out infinitely in all directions beneath a fiery, unclouded sky.

The relentless sun beat down, turning the air wavy with heat.

Nothing but dunes, distant rock outcrops, and heavy quietness surrounded them.

He spun toward Charlotte, who stood nearby.

"Charlotte,"

Charlotte’s stare fixed on Lyssandra, rooted still in the sand, her black cloak whipping in the searing gusts.

"I see..." Charlotte breathed softly. "So that’s your scheme, huh."

She pivoted to Brandon. "Stay calm, Kael. Right now, we’re within the tower I mentioned before."

She waved at the boundless desert encircling them. "The Dead Clock Spire. My time-ether abilities fail here—the tower’s time field is abnormal."

"That gem she crushed is from this tower; it teleports users inside."

"But acquiring it... only an Empyrean could’ve aided her."

Lyssandra’s grin stretched broader. From her bloodied palm, the broken green gem’s shards pulsed dimly before extinguishing.

"Miss Maevrith..." she hissed, her tone quivering with fury and sorrow. "I’ll avenge you right here. Where even the mightiest Empyrean is reduced to mere mortal flesh."

Charlotte let out a slow breath, shrugging her shoulders once. "Just because I don’t have my time skill... don’t think you can defeat me."

Lyssandra sank into a low fighting stance, ether shimmering briefly around her form. "Try me."

*swoosh*

Like a bullet, Charlotte blasted ahead.

With one explosive step, she covered the gap, her fist pounding into Lyssandra’s abdomen.

*THUD*

Lyssandra’s form buckled over the strike, eyes popping wide before she hurtled backward.

She soared through the air in a lofty arc, smashing heavily into a far-off dune.

*THOOOM* A huge plume of sand burst upward on collision.

Charlotte pressed on without pause.

She vaulted skyward right away, pursuing with horrifying velocity.

In midair, she spun and unleashed a crushing heel drop onto Lyssandra’s chest just as the woman attempted to stand.

BOOM.

Straight into the sand Lyssandra was smashed, carving out a deep pit.

A shockwave of sand blasted outward in a flawless ring from the impact.

Charlotte touched down gracefully at the crater’s rim. "You traveled all this way only to die?" she stated coldly.

Blood spewed from Lyssandra’s mouth onto the sand as she coughed.

Shaking arms propped her up, her gaze burning with fury amid the agony.

"I... won’t... die alone..." she croaked.

Once more, she sprang ahead, hurling a savage, mighty punch at Charlotte’s face.

Charlotte dodged with ease and retaliated with a vicious elbow to Lyssandra’s temple.

The hit staggered her aside, yet Lyssandra wouldn’t drop. She whirled to sweep Charlotte’s legs.

Charlotte vaulted the leg sweep and drove her knee into Lyssandra’s gut, hoisting her airborne again.

"Guagh-"

From his spot, Brandon observed the whole clash. He yearned to dive in, but it could hinder Charlotte.

*THOOM*

Down Lyssandra slammed once more, tumbling across the sand before dragging herself upright.

Blood trickled from her mouth and nostrils.

"Haaa... Huff..." Breaths came in harsh gasps, yet her eyes’ flames persisted.

"You... took everything from me..." she snarled. "Maevrith was my everything. And you... you killed her like she was nothing."

Charlotte’s face remained impassive. "She tried to harm my little brother. That was her mistake."

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!" Lyssandra shrieked and rushed forward anew.

But a kick to her belly from Charlotte dropped her to her knees.

A wet laugh escaped Lyssandra as more blood sprayed.

"You think... this time field makes us equal?" The back of her hand smeared her mouth. "You’re still stronger than me... even without your precious time magic."

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed. "Then why are you here?"

Lyssandra’s grin grew savage. "Because even if I can’t kill you... I can make you suffer."

With a sigh, Charlotte bent down, seizing her by the hair. "The hell are you even saying?"

She yanked the hair, drawing a pained grunt from Lyssandra. "I-I know... I can’t defeat you... that’s why... Hahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA..."

"Do you know what time it is?" Lyssandra gasped amid laughter, tears of pain mixing with blood on her face.

"For this tower... this is peak season for time storms."

’Time storm?’ Charlotte’s eyes flew wide.

Far behind Brandon, an immense sand wall rose in the distance, racing closer at dreadful speed.

No ordinary sandstorm, the air warped and twisted near it, hues distorting as if time tore apart.

Horror shrank Charlotte’s pupils. "Brandon-!"

She flung Lyssandra away and surged forward in frantic dash.

Lyssandra slumped into the sand, cackling madly while blood gushed from her mouth.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! LET’S ALL DIE TOGETHER!!"

Brandon whipped his head around, fixing on the colossal storm thundering his way.

Pure instinct guided him as he conjured twin spinning ether discs underfoot.

He bounded onto them, the platforms propelling him up and aside to dodge the storm’s route.

Yet it moved too swiftly.

The next moment, the sandstorm engulfed him.

*SWOOOSH*

Chaos engulfed the world.

Sand lashed him like countless blades, slicing skin despite his garb.

The wind’s roar overwhelmed all sound.

One instant he ascended; the next, endless descent gripped him.

"Charlotte-!"

His cry choked on invading sand filling mouth and lungs.

In the last second, Charlotte arrived.

Like a shooting star, she pierced the storm’s fringe, eyes fixed on his silhouette in the turmoil.

Her hand thrust out in desperation.

"Brandon!"

Their fingers grazed... for a fleeting moment.

Then the storm intensified.

She clutched only a fistful of sand, which poured through her fingers like liquid.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Charlotte’s piercing scream ripped from her throat, only to be devoured by the howling gale.

The tempest kept raging wildly, hauling Brandon even further into its core...

Witnessing this spectacle, Lyssandra cackled with delight, "AHAHAHAHAHA, now you will know the pain of losing someone you hold dear..."

Throwing her head back, she laughed maniacally louder, "HAHAHAHAHAHA... you are arrogant that you are the strongest, aren’t you?"

"Look at you now... YOU CAN’T EVEN SAVE SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU!"

Without hesitation, Charlotte stared at the furious storm and plunged straight into it to rescue him.

"BRANDON!"

Instantly upon breaching the barrier, the storm’s chaotic realm crashed over her.

She forced her way through the mayhem, her ether surging wildly around her, "Brandon! Where are you?!"

In the swirling bedlam, she twisted about, hunting for any trace of him... but nothing appeared.

Just boundless, ferocious sand and the nauseating twist of time.

Over and over, she stretched out, seizing shadows, blasts of wind, pure emptiness.

"BRANDON!"

The storm shredded her cry to pieces.

Further and further she pressed on, determined not to yield, even as the storm sought to rip her limb from limb...

...yet she discovered nothing.