Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

Luca and his team had engaged in an urgent communication under the cover of night after their unexpected discovery.

Meanwhile, in the heart of Lakeside City, Zenobia and Councilor Devitt were celebrating their success. Their plans had gone remarkably well.

In truth, all the unexpected setbacks Luca and his team had encountered had been carefully orchestrated by Devitt himself.

"Luca and Nova must have let their guard down by now. If things go as expected, they will launch an attack on Lakeside City tomorrow. When they do, we can use the traps in the outskirts to weaken them even further," Devitt said with a smug smile, his voice dripping with confidence.

"Once their strength is sufficiently reduced, we'll be able to strike directly. At that point, we'll wipe them out in the battle for good," he continued, his mind already racing ahead to the victory he believed was imminent.

Devitt was so certain that his plan was a success that he began to imagine the moment when Luca and Nova would be begging for mercy. He relished the thought of their defeat, almost savoring it in his mind.

Zenobia, though smiling as well, wasn't as convinced. She suspected that Luca wouldn't be so easily defeated.

"Do we really not need to worry about the others? Those two Morning Star members seem to be trapped in the hilly region. And there's still one Morning Star member unaccounted for. They might pose a threat to us, don't you think?" Zenobia asked, her tone calm but with a hint of concern.

Devitt laughed confidently, dismissing her worries.

"No need to worry," he said assuredly. "Those two Morning Star members won't dare leave the cave. Their strength isn't impressive to begin with, and they must be afraid of waking up more monsters."

His smile began to fade a little as he continued, "As for the Morning Star member who's still missing—admittedly, her strength is notable. But even if she joins the final battle, she won't be enough to turn the tide."

Zenobia wasn't entirely convinced by Devitt's reassurances. She still had doubts.

"What you're saying makes some sense, but I still think we should play it safer."

"You're right," Devitt agreed. "That's why tomorrow, I'll test Luca and Nova again in the outskirts of Lakeside City."

And so, Devitt and Zenobia settled on their plan for the next day.

The night passed quickly.

By early the next morning, Devitt and Zenobia were already on high alert, keeping a close watch on the outskirts of Lakeside City.

Both Zenobia and Councilor Devitt waited patiently for Luca and Nova's arrival. However, as noon approached, neither of them had appeared, which left both of them feeling increasingly puzzled.

"What's going on here?" Zenobia turned to Devitt, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Didn't you say they would launch an attack on Lakeside City as soon as possible?"

Devitt's expression darkened slightly, but he quickly managed a smile as he replied, "You don't need to worry! It's possible that our traps have caught Luca and Nova off guard. This could mean their strength is actually lower than we expected."

Zenobia, still uneasy, asked, "So what should we do now? Are we just supposed to keep waiting for them to show up?"

"Of course not!" Devitt replied, his voice firm. "I'll send out a few monsters to test them. Once they engage in battle, we can gather valuable intelligence from the fight."

Despite his confident words, there was a hint of uncertainty in Devitt's demeanor. He had already sent out the prehistoric terror crocodile to gauge Luca and Nova's strength, but he still felt he needed to know more to ensure victory in the final confrontation.

As Devitt made his decision, deep beneath the outskirts of Lakeside City, several powerful monsters began to stir from their dormant state. In fact, all of the monsters that had been kept in stasis could be immediately awakened if necessary.

Devitt had deliberately placed them in a dormant state to mislead Luca and his team. The monsters' awakening wasn't fast, and it wasn't until noon that they were fully awake. Once revived, the monsters, under Devitt's command, began moving toward the location where Luca and Nova were believed to be.

Meanwhile, Luca and Nova remained in the town. They had spent the entire morning reinforcing the town's defenses.

At the same time, they were anxiously waiting for news from Donlow and keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.

"I'm sure they're going to attack us soon," Luca muttered, adjusting his binoculars to scan the horizon.

Nova, of course, agreed with his assessment. However, despite their shared belief, they had now been waiting for hours, and the enemy still had not shown up. The lack of action had begun to cast doubt on their earlier assumptions.

Both Luca and Nova were starting to question the accuracy of their earlier judgment.

"Look over there! Seven o'clock direction! Two massive monsters are heading toward us!" Nova spotted the two giant creatures.

These monsters were certainly not weak, and they were clearly heading in their direction.

Luca immediately turned his attention to the direction Nova had indicated.

"Get ready for battle! These two monsters are nearly at level 70! I can handle one of them, but you're definitely not a match for the other," Luca said decisively, his tone firm.

Luca was incredibly attuned to the strength of monsters, while Nova hadn't been able to gauge their power herself. She nodded, preparing herself to follow Luca's instructions.

As they readied themselves for the coming confrontation, Donlow finally arrived at the outskirts of the hilly region.

She, too, noticed the dormant monsters that were scattered across the area.

"There are more monsters here than I expected. Looks like the chances of success for this operation just got even slimmer," she muttered to herself as she took in the sight of so many monsters.

Though they were still dormant, the chaotic energy within these monsters was very real, and she could feel its presence.

After a brief moment of reflection, Donlow quickly composed herself, refocused, and began making her way toward the heart of the hilly region.

Half an hour later, she finally reached the cave where Fuzzsir and Melania were hiding.

At the entrance to the cave, Donlow concealed herself in the shadows. Using the cover of darkness, she successfully made her way inside.

When Fuzzsir and Melania saw her, their faces lit up with bright smiles.

"You finally made it! What should we do next? Should we meet up with Luca and the others?" Fuzzsir asked, his voice filled with anticipation as he bombarded her with questions.

Donlow responded calmly, "We can't meet up with Luca. We have to carry out our mission separately."

Fuzzsir looked slightly puzzled, and Melania hesitated before speaking. "Then how are we supposed to get out of here? You and I can hide in the shadows, but Fuzzsir doesn't have that ability…"

Donlow didn't immediately answer. Instead, she placed her hand on Fuzzsir's shoulder.

Without any further explanation, Fuzzsir's body was quickly enveloped by a cloak of black shadow.

In an instant, he vanished, completely hidden from sight.

"Quickly, enter invisibility. We need to move out of here fast," Donlow commanded coldly, her voice sharp and decisive.

This time, Melania didn't hesitate. She immediately activated her invisibility, blending into the shadows without a moment's delay.

With all three now hidden from sight, they silently exited the cave. Their next objective was to move swiftly through the hilly region. Once they cleared the hills, they would be on the northern outskirts of Lakeside City.

There, a wide canal awaited them. As soon as they crossed it, they would need to be ready for battle. They had already received information about the prehistoric terror crocodile, and mentally, they were all prepared for what was to come.

Meanwhile, the battle had already begun on Luca and Nova's end.

The four massive monsters launched their assault on the defensive line Luca and Nova had set up. Luca, holding his Starseeker, took the brunt of the attack, drawing the monsters' attention directly to him. Nova, hidden behind the defenses, continued to fire from a distance with her cold, precise shots.

Their coordination was seamless, a result of countless battles fought together. Even though the monsters attacking them were formidable, they couldn't easily breach the line of defense the two had built.

As the battle progressed, both Luca and Nova sensed that the monsters were being controlled by some unknown force coming from afar.

Nova reacted quickly, her voice low but urgent.

"It's Devitt. He's controlling these monsters. He demonstrated similar abilities to me before. He has a way to remotely control them."

With Nova's insight, Luca immediately activated Dreamweaving Mist. A thick cloud of mist engulfed one of the monsters, and as its consciousness sank into a dreamlike state, Luca seized the opportunity to enter a special dream realm.

He had decided to use this dream state to locate Devitt's consciousness directly. At this moment, Devitt's awareness was undoubtedly still connected to the monsters he was controlling.

Inside the pure white dream world, Luca quickly encountered Devitt's presence. The surprise on Devitt's face was unmistakable when their eyes met.

He hadn't realized that his consciousness had crossed into the dream realm until that exact moment.

"Well, it seems I underestimated your abilities," Devitt said, his tone cold. "But in this dream world, you can't kill me. And I have methods to leave this realm at will."

Devitt's confidence was clear. He had no intention of engaging in battle with Luca in this dream world, and it seemed he was already planning his next move.

Devitt knew well that Luca possessed a unique ability tied to the dream realm. The fact that Luca had trapped one of his monsters in the dream state was a clear indication of that power. But for Devitt, abandoning a single monster didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. He had an army of monsters at his disposal, and with his control abilities, he could easily command them to continue fighting at any given moment.

As Luca and Devitt's awareness clashed in the dream world, Devitt's form began to shimmer and distort, becoming increasingly ethereal. It was clear that his consciousness was preparing to leave the dream realm, to break free from the confines of this shared space.

But just as Devitt's presence seemed to fade, Luca made his move.

In a sudden burst of action, Luca launched a direct attack on Devitt's fading form. His resolve was sharp, understanding that if he didn't act quickly, Devitt would escape, and the chance to confront him here and now would be lost.