Death… And Me

Chapter 4481: Arrival and Plans

The final third of the journey turned out to be much less troublesome.

Because the twins’ group had already killed the Godly Horror that once ruled that territory, there weren’t any other Horrors close enough to detect their presence.

Naturally, they still encountered Godly Predators from time to time, although not nearly as many as during the previous expedition. With two Law Gods, several Zone Gods, and the twins’ group accompanying them, however, those encounters became little more than minor inconveniences.

Kentucky, meanwhile, had become surprisingly friendly with Arcis’s daughter.

Rean couldn’t help but wonder whether there was something more going on between the two of them. Naturally, Kentucky would never admit such a thing.

Celis, on the other hand, had no complaints whatsoever about everyone working together to kill the Predators.

He wasn’t an idiot.

Long before the journey began, he had made it perfectly clear that every Godly Predator Crystal obtained during the expedition would belong exclusively to the twins’ group and Lukay.

That arrangement was entirely reasonable.

After all, they were the ones doing everyone else a favor. The twins’ group had absolutely no obligation to help the Natak Region.

Naturally, none of the others knew that the twins’ group had their own reasons for making the trip. As far as everyone else was concerned, they had simply accepted the rewards offered by the higher-ups of Besgol and Natak.

*Roar!*

Suddenly, several flying Godly Creatures appeared on the horizon.

Rean immediately smiled. "Magma Drakes!"

Their enormous wings beat against the air as waves of heat spread through the surroundings. Even from a distance, everyone could see the reddish glow spreading through the cracks in their scales.

Thery had been carefully observing the map the entire time, so he quickly understood the reason for Rean’s reaction.

"We’re close to the fortress, aren’t we?" he asked.

"That’s right," Rean replied. "We should arrive there within a few minutes at this speed. Still, shouldn’t those drakes be living near the city ruins instead?"

Roan glanced at the little fox resting on Rean’s shoulder before answering, "They have no reason to stay there anymore. The very source that kept the lava pools hot has already disappeared."

Then, he switched to their soul connection. ’Perhaps they can sense your pet’s presence. They spent countless years feeding on her heat energy, after all.’

Rean also looked at the fox. ’Makes sense. Too bad for them, though. Judging from the way she’s staring at them, she’s definitely seeing them as food.’

"I’m slowing down," Rean announced. "We don’t want too many Godly Creatures following us into the fortress. Everyone, prepare yourselves. We will spend some time eliminating everything heading in our direction."

No one objected.

The hatch opened, and everyone flew outside. Naturally, the fox followed immediately. She rode proudly on Kentucky’s back while Rean remained inside the airplane. ’If food is involved, she even forgets all about me.’

He sighed. ’Oh well.’

The reduced speed considerably lengthened the final part of the journey. At the same time, Rean deliberately kept the airplane close to the ground so that they could deal with both land and flying Godly Creatures before reaching the fortress.

The strategy proved to be quite effective.

Whenever a group of Godly Creatures appeared, the experts immediately split up to intercept them. Arcis and Thery dealt with the stronger opponents, while the Zone Gods and the twins’ group cleaned up the rest.

As for the fox, she simply chased after anything that looked edible.

By then, Haniala had already become accustomed to the sight of a fox at the Anchor God Realm charging fearlessly into battle. Even so, she still found it difficult to understand how such a small creature could possess such terrifying strength.

By the time they finally arrived at the entrance to the fortress ruins, more than an hour had passed, and over twenty Godly Creatures had been killed.

Several of them had even been Godly Beasts.

"Is this the place?" Thery asked as he looked at the ruined fortress with undisguised excitement.

"That’s the one," Rean replied with a nod. "The teleport array should still be intact beneath the fortress, provided no Godly Creature managed to enter the underground chamber."

Thery’s eyes immediately lit up as he looked around.

Even after traveling for so long, he still found it difficult to believe that he had finally arrived there. His race had spent countless years investigating clues left behind by the ancient civilizations, yet every trail had eventually ended in disappointment.

And now, a single report sent from the Besgol Region had changed everything.

If the records left behind by his ancestors were accurate, the truth regarding the Thousand-Script Race might finally be within reach.

"That’s good and all," Roan interrupted, his attention focused on the surrounding area instead of the fortress itself, "but we will remain outside for the time being. The farther our presence spreads, the more Godly Creatures will gather around us, so it is better to deal with them now rather than later."

Roan’s reasoning was perfectly sound.

As time passed, more and more Godly Creatures continued to appear from every direction. Fortunately, the group’s strength was more than enough to deal with them, so they simply kept hunting everything that approached.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Even though not a single Godly Predator had appeared, the constant stream of Godly Spawns and Godly Beasts had kept everyone occupied.

By the fourth hour, however, the number of creatures had decreased significantly. Instead of appearing continuously, only one or two would arrive every ten minutes or so.

By the fifth hour, the surroundings had become almost completely silent.

Kentucky spread his senses as far as he could before looking toward the horizon. "It looks like that’s it. I can’t see anything else approaching."

Roan nodded in satisfaction before turning to Thery. "Very well. What do you intend to do now?"

Thery pondered the matter for a moment before answering, "I think we should leave someone outside to guard the fortress. If Godly Creatures arrive while we are exploring the other side of the teleport array, they could eventually find the teleport array and destroy it by chance."

"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Flugel replied. "Whoever remains behind would be exposed to a considerable amount of danger. Imagine a large group of Godly Creatures passing nearby and suddenly noticing the presence of a cultivator. They would immediately attack."

Arcis nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Furthermore, if such a battle breaks out, the creatures might force their way into the underground chambers and destroy the array. If that happens while we are on the other side, we could end up trapped inside the Ancient Prison City of Woster forever. I doubt anyone here wishes to spend the remainder of their life there."

Haniala crossed her arms. "So you are suggesting that we leave the place completely unprotected?"

"Not at all," Rean replied with a smile. "We’re Array Masters, aren’t we? Before activating the teleport array, we can simply build a defensive array around the underground chamber."

He looked at Flugel and Thery before continuing, "As long as a Godly Predator doesn’t appear, I believe we possess more than enough materials and knowledge to keep ordinary Godly Creatures away with our arrays. Besides, once we teleport, there won’t be any cultivators left here to attract additional creatures."

Flugel immediately nodded. "That is certainly possible."

Thery agreed as well. "Friend Rean’s proposal is quite reasonable. Does anyone have any objections?"

No one spoke.

"Excellent." Thery was visibly satisfied. "In that case, let’s head underground."

Then he paused for a moment. "Still, it would be wise to leave someone here while we construct the array. If anything unexpected happens, we can react immediately."

"I’ll stay!" Kentucky volunteered immediately.

The reason was obvious. He had absolutely no interest in remaining underground while a group of Array Masters discussed arrays and inscriptions for hours on end.

Before anyone else could say anything, Kachia stepped forward. "In that case, I’ll stay as well."

Arcis blinked several times. "Oh? You will?"

Kachia nodded calmly. "It would be better to have two flying demon beasts patrolling the surroundings than only one."

Rean slowly turned to Roan, whispering in his ear. ’There’s definitely something going on here, isn’t there?’

Roan didn’t even bother looking at him. ’Do I look like someone who cares?’

’You sure are no fun at all,’ Rean complained.

Meanwhile, Kentucky seemed completely oblivious to the entire exchange. He simply smiled proudly while standing beside Kachia, apparently pleased that someone else had volunteered to remain outside with him.

Rean looked at the two of them one last time before entering the fortress. ’No, there is definitely something there.’

Unfortunately, Roan didn’t seem even slightly interested in helping him investigate the matter.