Carline Reaches Tier 5!

"It's been a long fight, and the trees outside haven't bothered him. It seems that these plants do not attack female zombies!" Maxwell was almost certain of this conjecture.

Then, Maxwell picked up a stone from the ground, writing Eva's name on the front and Carline's name on the back. He closed his eyes and tossed it upwards.

Maxwell caught it again and, upon opening his hand, saw the side with Eva's name.

"Alright, Carline, off you go," Maxwell commanded.

Carline received the order and silently walked into the forest towards the Red Fortress.

Maxwell watched Carline the whole time, observing as she safely crossed the forest and breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, Carline scaled a red high wall and easily reached the open square inside the Red Fortress.

The two mutated zombies were still waiting in the square, as if they knew something was coming back.

In a flash, Carline flipped her wrist, and a staff appeared in her hand. A ball of red light condensed at the tip of the staff. With a gentle wave, the red light spread out, forming a thin red curtain in front of her that isolated one of the mutated zombies.

Simultaneously, her right hand emitted a red glow, which quickly transformed into a curved blade surrounded by flames.

"Carline's combat strength has indeed improved a lot! Being able to concentrate energy precisely to form a blade is much more impressive than just throwing fireballs," Maxwell remarked as he watched the battle through a light screen.

The power of this flaming blade was indeed many times greater than that of the fireballs.

Had it been just fireballs, even facing a Tier 2 zombie would have been tough, but definitely bearable.

Of course, if it were Carline's fireballs now, they would definitely be more formidable, since Carline had advanced to Tier 3 by now.

But now, Carline has transcended lower-tier combat.

"Carline really does look like a mage, launching fireballs at enemies from a distance. It's quite a sight to behold!" Maxwell laughed.

When Carline was an Evolver, her special ability was fire, and she retained this ability even after becoming a zombie.

She previously wielded a stick that looked like a wand, but even now with a staff in her hands, her style of combat differs from that of Western mages.

Each of Carline's attacks was like playing an instrument. Her beautiful face remained expressionless, appearing intensely focused and serious, which made Maxwell grow even fonder of her.

With Carline's strength at Tier 3, dealing with one Tier 3 and one Tier 2 mutated zombie shouldn't take long.

Sure enough, in just three minutes, one of the Tier 2 mutated zombies was battered and charred, lying motionless on the ground, while the other Tier 3 zombie couldn't even break through the red curtain she had formed.

Carline quickly dispatched the Tier 2 zombie.

Then, she drew a long sword from behind her staff, the blade wreathed in flames. With a wave of her hand, the red curtain disappeared. The Tier 3 mutated zombie, seeing an opportunity, charged at her with a howl, only to be swiftly impaled by Carline's long sword.

A long sword?

How did Carline produce a long sword?

Could it be that the sword was part of the staff?

Clearly a mage, Carline nonetheless opted for close combat at the end, instantly dispatching her enemy.

Maxwell couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, but he was also pleased by the display of Carline's strength.

The battle ended too quickly for him; Maxwell was left wanting more, not having had his fill of the spectacle.

"Carline, that's enough. Bring them out," Maxwell said.

The two mutated zombies were left barely alive but not completely dead.

Following Maxwell's instructions, Carline gracefully waved her staff, and immediately, two balls of red light shot out from the tip, striking the two mutated zombies and sending them flying. The zombies were forcibly hurled over the castle's red high walls, crashing heavily onto the ground outside.

Outside the walls, several female zombies that had been waiting for a while saw them being thrown out, picked them up, and ran off. By the time they were brought back to Maxwell, the two mutated zombies were barely clinging to life, nearly gone.

Carline had been rather ruthless.

Maxwell, not wanting to delay, quickly took them into a spatial container.

With this, Maxwell obtained a Tier 2 and a Tier 3 mutated female zombie.

Now, Maxwell could upgrade Carline to Tier 5!

Soon after, Carline returned.

Maxwell stroked Carline's hair and said, "Carline, you did wonderfully!"

He lavished praise on Carline.

Then, he began to distribute the spoils of war.

He already had a Tier 3 female zombie, which he could now combine with the new one, merging them into a new Tier 3 female zombie.

"Carline, since you brought these two back, we'll use them to help upgrade you. Eva, we'll help you upgrade next time," Maxwell told Eva and Carline.

The reason he had chosen to toss a stone to decide between Eva and Carline earlier was that the zombies defeated would naturally belong to the winner.

Afterward, Maxwell dragged the Tier 3 mutated female zombie into Carline's exclusive red cell.

Immediately, the cell's corner marker displayed the number 52.

The reason it showed 52 instead of 51 was because the newly acquired Tier 3 female zombie was level 43, and Carline was originally level 41. After fusion, presumably averaging out, Carline was upgraded to level 52.

The Tier 3 female zombie of level 43 owed its strength to a previously encountered Tier 3 that was already level 35 and was close to upgrading, but it was ultimately pierced through by Carline with a single sword thrust.

In fact, Maxwell already knew that upgrading involved averaging the levels of two zombies when he performed a fusion with a Tier 3 male zombie earlier.

Now, that Tier 3 mutated male zombie is level 43, while another holds a level of 41.

Carline has finally reached Tier 5!

"Carline! You've upgraded again! Are you happy?" Maxwell teased Carline with a smile.

Carline looked at him and suddenly blinked.

Huh?

Maxwell was pleasantly surprised; her playful and adorable blink was like a feather tickling his heart.

"Carline, do you remember me?" After receiving Carline's response, Maxwell quickly continued to ask.

This time, Carline seemed to understand something, her eyes moving around as she sized up Maxwell.

It was apparent that Carline had gained quite a bit of consciousness, but a zombie's consciousness is mostly evident in combat, making their fighting seem less mindless.

Just then, Carline looked at Maxwell and gave a gentle smile.