Death… And Me

Chapter 4370: Shall We?

In total, there were twenty-two Elite Exploration Groups in the entire Besgol Region, and Harksha was part of one of them. Well, to be more specific, there were twenty-two groups headed by Zone God experts. There were naturally other exploration groups as well, but those teams were never sent too far into dangerous territory for obvious reasons. Their strength simply wasn’t sufficient to survive in the truly dangerous areas of the Godly Creatures Territories.

Harksha herself was one of the few Zone Gods that existed in Besgol. As mentioned before, even if one gathered every Zone God in the region together, their number would probably not exceed a few hundred. Considering that those experts were responsible for helping protect the many countries, cities, and strategic locations spread throughout Besgol, it became obvious why every single Zone God was considered a valuable asset.

That same logic applied to the Elite Exploration Groups they commanded. The Godly Subjugation Guild couldn’t afford to lose such experts casually. Every veteran explorer represented years, sometimes centuries, of accumulated experience. Losing even one weakened Besgol’s ability to push deeper into the territories, gather information, and protect itself against future threats.

Today, Harksha had been summoned to the country of Moonfisc. She wasn’t the only one. Nine other cultivators had received the same call, five of whom were already regular members of her exploration group. The remaining four were newcomers assigned by the Godly Subjugation Guild to complete the team before its next mission.

It didn’t take long for Harksha to arrive at the guild branch located in Moonfisc’s capital city. Following the directions she received, she entered a private reception room where the rest of the group had already gathered. The moment she stepped inside, several familiar faces looked her way.

"It is good to see that so many of you survived," Harksha said with a smile.

Glofing, a Late Stage Aura God, immediately laughed. "Senior Harksha! I heard you managed to hold off a Godly Predator by yourself during the last large-scale defensive war. I can only imagine how big the reward must have been for that achievement."

"Of course she got a huge reward!" Another woman joined the conversation before Harksha could answer. Her name was Cantra. "Just look at Senior Harksha’s aura. It’s much more stable than before. Whatever rewards she received, they definitely helped consolidate her Middle Stage Zone God cultivation."

Harksha chuckled. "Hehe! Is it really that obvious?" She released a tiny bit of her aura, causing several of the Aura Gods present to immediately feel the difference. "I’ve indeed improved quite a bit. My understanding of the Middle Stage has become much more complete, and I’ve corrected several mistakes I used to make while circulating my energy. You can all expect a much safer journey this time around. And naturally, if we manage to venture deeper than before, there should be a very nice bonus waiting for all of us."

"Great!" several voices responded at once.

The atmosphere immediately became more relaxed. However, another member of the group soon glanced toward the opposite side of the room. Rico’the, another Aura God veteran of Harksha’s team, rubbed his chin before speaking. "That’s all well and good... but what about the newcomers?"

Only then did Harksha shift her attention toward the four cultivators standing together nearby, the twins’ group. She approached them calmly and gave a small nod. "I believe you are Rean, Roan, Celis, and Kentucky. Am I correct?"

As usual, Rean took the lead in answering. "That would be us, Senior. We’re honored to have been selected to complete your Elite Exploration Group. From what we’ve heard, your team lost one member during the exploration four years ago and another three during the last large-scale defensive war when the Three-Eyed Raven appeared. We know we can’t replace them, but we’ll do our best to fill the gaps they left behind and avoid becoming a burden."

The answer immediately improved Harksha’s impression of him. She had expected someone whose name had become so famous throughout Besgol’s top echelon, those who knew the truth, to be at least a little arrogant. Instead, Rean appeared surprisingly grounded.

"That went better than I expected," she admitted honestly. "I won’t hide it. The Godly Subjugation Guild practically hammered it into my head that your safety should be the highest priority during this mission. It’s good to see that you aren’t letting that get to your head."

Rean quickly shook his head. "I wouldn’t dare. I just happen to know a thing or two about arrays. The guild is seriously exaggerating my importance. A Zone God expert like Senior Harksha is infinitely more valuable to Besgol than any of the four of us. It’s not even a competition."

Several of the veteran explorers nodded slightly after hearing that. Whether they agreed completely or not, the humility was appreciated.

Rico’the, however, still seemed unconvinced. He stepped closer and carefully measured Rean from head to toe. "I still don’t understand it. Why is the guild so insistent on placing the four of you in our group? You’re all Anchor Gods. Usually, we don’t carry more than one Anchor God, maybe two if circumstances force the issue. If things go wrong out there, protecting four Anchor Gods at the same time won’t be easy."

"Seems like you didn’t do your homework, Rico’the," Senkiyu, a Middle Stage Aura God, commented from nearby. "Check their names and IDs. Compare them to the rankings from the last large-scale defensive war."

Rico’the frowned and immediately accessed his RC. Since they were now officially part of the same exploration group, obtaining the basic records wasn’t difficult. A few moments later, his eyes widened.

"This..."

Harksha nodded and folded her arms. "Exactly. They aren’t ordinary Anchor Gods. Nobody really understands why, but all three of them can use Weapon Intent despite their cultivation level. And Celis here, his support is unbelievable. If just their aptitude wasn’t..." she didn’t continue.

"Anyway, you shouldn’t evaluate them as Anchor Gods. It would be more accurate to compare them to fairly powerful Aura Gods instead. Especially when you consider their combat abilities and Cedar’s support techniques. Together, those advantages more than compensate for the difference in cultivation."

Several members of the group looked at the four with renewed interest. Weapon Intent was no joke. As everyone knows, Weapon Intents can’t be used even at the Law God Level. The Celestial Plane blocked it somehow.

"In a strange way, we’re actually lucky to have them," Harksha continued. "Elite Exploration Groups usually include one or two genuine Anchor Gods. This time, we don’t have anyone who truly fits that category. Which is why I still don’t understand why the guild specifically told me to prioritize Rean’s safety above everything else. He clearly isn’t some weak cultivator who needs constant protection."

"Hehehe..." Rean laughed awkwardly. "As I said, the guild is exaggerating. If anyone deserves extra protection, it should be Celis. He’ll contribute much more to the group than I will."

"Eh?!" Kentucky immediately protested. "What about me? I want protection too!"

Rean didn’t even hesitate. "As for the chicken, you can pretend he doesn’t exist."

"Rude!" Kentucky cried out in indignation.

Several members of the group couldn’t help but laugh, and the atmosphere became noticeably lighter.

Senkiyu, however, had noticed something else. Looking back at the records displayed on his RC, he said, "Wait a second. According to these rankings, all four of you were only Middle Stage Anchor Gods during the last war. You’re all Peak Stage Anchor Gods now."

Roan nodded calmly. "We received a lot of rewards. That’s all."

"Oh..." Senkiyu quickly reviewed the reward tables before nodding in understanding. "Actually, that makes sense. With the number of kills you accumulated and the ranking rewards you received, it would be strange if your cultivation hadn’t advanced significantly."

Cantra suddenly leaned forward with obvious curiosity. "Speaking of rewards, the rankings only show the crystals awarded for placement. They don’t include contribution rewards. So, how much did you actually receive in total? Going from Middle to Peak Stage in a short two years and something is truly an amazing accomplishment, even with the required resources."

Rean smiled. "That’s our little secret."

Naturally, he had no intention of revealing that information. Most of those resources had already been consumed anyway.

"Tch..." Cantra clicked her tongue but wisely chose not to push further.

Just as the conversation seemed ready to continue, the door to the room suddenly opened. A representative from the Godly Subjugation Guild stepped inside and quickly swept his gaze over the assembled group. Seeing that everyone had already gathered, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Oh! Excellent. It looks like you’ve all had the chance to get acquainted. In that case, let’s proceed to the mission briefing and discuss the objectives of this exploration, shall we?"