Death… And Me

Chapter 4376: From Within

They continued flying low above the ancient wilderness for hours.

Now that Mark was much closer to the ground, remaining completely unnoticed became impossible. Although the vast majority of Godly Creatures below couldn’t fly, they still sensed the airplane’s presence and roared from the forests, mountains, and valleys as it passed overhead. Their cries echoed through the ruins, occasionally startling flocks of smaller creatures into taking flight.

Naturally, those flying creatures wasted no opportunity to investigate.

Fortunately, Harksha had already planned for exactly that.

Whenever a group of aerial Godly Creatures approached, Roan and Kentucky immediately left the airplane together with the others. Fohui, the quiet Flying Spirit who had barely spoken since the expedition began, also joined every interception.

The nine experts worked together surprisingly well despite not having traveled together before. The Godly Creatures attacking them were almost always Godly Spawns, making the battles short and decisive. By the time the airplane reached the next stretch of ruins, the corpses had already fallen back into the forests below.

Occasionally, a Godly Beast would appear among the attackers.

Whenever that happened, everyone concentrated their attacks on eliminating it as quickly as possible before the surrounding Godly Creatures could gather in larger numbers. None of them wished to prolong battles unnecessarily this deep inside enemy territory.

Harksha, however, never joined those skirmishes.

Since they were now flying much closer to the ground, the probability of encountering a Godly Predator had increased considerably. Rather than wasting her strength on opponents her subordinates could already handle, she chose to preserve her energy for the one situation where her intervention would truly become indispensable.

Fortunately, such a situation never came.

Godly Predators were already rather rare by themselves. More importantly, Mark’s detection capabilities made it difficult for them to stumble blindly into one.

Harksha couldn’t help glancing once again toward the radar on the holographic projection screen.

A three-dimensional projection continuously displayed every significant concentration of Godly Energy within roughly thirty kilometers of the airplane. Different colors represented different energy densities, while the arrays constantly updated the position and movement of each detected target.

She had used it countless times throughout the journey already, yet the novelty still hadn’t worn off.

"This Godly Pressure Detection Array is truly amazing."

Godly Creatures naturally possessed extremely sharp instincts when it came to other Godly Creatures. High-level predators, in particular, could sense other creatures over even longer distances.

However, their detection range wasn’t that large when it came to cultivators since they didn’t have Godly Pressure in them. That said, Mark’s radar covered a far larger area than what even a Godly Predator could accurately perceive cultivators. As long as they remained attentive, they usually detected danger long before danger detected them.

The first day of searching passed quietly.

Most of the creatures they encountered were Godly Spawns, while Godly Beasts appeared only occasionally. Whenever a particularly dangerous energy signature entered the radar’s range, Harksha simply altered their flight path slightly, allowing the airplane to avoid unnecessary confrontations altogether.

Rean certainly hadn’t exaggerated when he claimed Mark had been built specifically for exploration.

As evening approached, Harksha gradually guided the airplane back toward the higher layers of the sky.

At that altitude, very few ordinary Godly Creatures could threaten them. Unless a flying Godly Beasts happened to cross their route, they could rest in relative safety. Harksha volunteered to remain on the lookout throughout the night while everyone else recovered their energy, cultivated, or simply slept.

The following morning, the search resumed.

"Over there."

Kentucky suddenly extended one wing while flying outside the airplane with Roan and the other Aura Gods riding on his back.

Harksha immediately adjusted Mark’s heading.

Several minutes later, everyone could finally see what Kentucky had spotted.

At first, only scattered stone blocks emerged from the dense vegetation. Soon afterward, broken walls appeared between enormous trees, followed by collapsed pillars and partially buried staircases. As the airplane advanced farther, the ruins expanded in every direction until there was no longer any doubt.

They had found another ancient city.

At almost the same moment, Sister Orb’s voice echoed inside Roan’s mind.

[Roan, the energy signature is definitely coming from farther ahead.]

Roan nodded almost imperceptibly before contacting Harksha. "Continue following this direction. Judging by the distribution of the ruins, the city’s center should be there."

Harksha no longer questioned his judgment. "Understood."

The airplane continued forward.

Barely another two minutes passed before a bright warning suddenly appeared across the control panel.

-Warning.-

-Unknown Restriction Detected.-

-Potential Collision Hazard.-

The airplane abruptly came to a complete stop as Harksha instinctively tightened her grip on the controls. "W-What happened?"

Rean immediately walked toward the control console, his eyes lighting up instead of showing concern. "Oh! Looks like my Restriction Detection Array is working perfectly."

Harksha blinked. "...Restriction Detection Array?" She stared at him for a second. "You never told me the airplane had something like that."

Rean quickly began reading the information displayed across the formation interface. "Roughly two kilometers ahead, there’s a massive concentration of organized Godly and Celestial Energy. The patterns strongly resemble some kind of defensive array or protective restriction."

Everyone instinctively looked ahead.

Nothing.

The ruins continued uninterrupted into the distance. Since they were flying above the tallest structures, nothing blocked their line of sight. There were no walls, no barriers, nor any visible distortions.

Harksha frowned. "Are you sure?"

Rean scratched his cheek. "Not completely."

He quickly continued before anyone misunderstood him. "The detection system uses many of the same principles as the Godly Pressure Radar Array. The difference is that instead of identifying Godly Energy concentrations, it analyzes abnormal concentrations and circulation patterns of Celestial and Godly Energy."

He enlarged several projections. "These patterns are somewhat identical to what I would expect from a large defensive array or restriction of some sort."

He shrugged. "Of course, whether that’s truly the case can only be confirmed by testing it. The entire purpose of this system is preventing my airplane from flying straight into an invisible wall."

He affectionately patted Mark’s control console. "Can’t let my baby get hurt."

Harksha massaged her forehead. "I’ve decided I’m not even going to ask how many features you’ve secretly installed." She then opened the cockpit before flying outside. "You take over the controls. Follow behind me and warn me when I get close."

"No problem." Rean immediately assumed the pilot’s seat.

The formation advanced once more.

Harksha flew in front while Kentucky carried the Aura Gods behind. Mark followed at a safe distance, carefully matching their speed.

Before long, Rean’s voice echoed through the specialized directional speaker arrays installed on the airplane. "Senior, approximately one hundred and fifty meters ahead. The restriction extends well beyond my detection range in every direction."

Harksha slowed to a stop. "Understood."

Lightning instantly gathered around her raised finger.

’Heaven-Piercing Finger!’

A brilliant blue ray erupted forward.

*KABRUM!*

The attack crossed one hundred and fifty meters almost instantly.

Then...

*BANG!*

*Bzzzzzzzz!*

The lightning struck something completely invisible.

For a brief instant, an enormous curtain of white light appeared in the air.

Countless lines spread across its surface like a gigantic spiderweb before rapidly fading away. The barrier itself remained perfectly intact, as though Harksha’s attack had barely disturbed it.

Silence followed.

Everyone stared at the invisible wall before them.

Roan observed it carefully from Kentucky’s back. "Are barriers like this common around ancient ruins?"

Instead of looking disappointed, Harksha’s eyes were shining. "No." A smile slowly appeared on her face. "In fact, they’re extremely rare."

She couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice anymore. "Do you know what this means?"

"Replacement runes?" Celis guessed.

"Exactly." Harksha nodded enthusiastically. "If a protective barrier has remained operational after all these years, there’s an excellent chance the internal arrays survived as well. Those arrays are precisely where replacement runes are usually recovered."

She looked toward the ruins beyond the barrier. "Personally, this is my first time finding ruins with an active defensive array. I’ve only ever read reports written by other Elite Exploration Groups."

Roan remained focused on the barrier. "So... do you know how to enter?"

Harksha laughed softly. "I wish." Then she shook her head. "Finding a way inside is also part of an exploration group’s responsibilities."

Before anyone could discuss the matter further, another warning suddenly flashed across Mark’s radar.

Rean’s expression changed instantly.

"Senior."

Everyone turned toward the airplane.

"A very large Godly Pressure signature just entered the radar. Your attack seems to have caught its attention."

Harksha’s smile disappeared.

"Direction?"

"We can still avoid it if—"

Rean hesitated for a fraction of a second while staring at the display.

"...Actually..."

He slowly raised one finger.

"It’s coming from straight ahead."

His finger stopped on the invisible barrier.

"From within."