Death… And Me

Chapter 4375: Check

The journey truly took only half the usual time.

The last time Harksha had traveled to the Konvey Ruins, the trip alone had taken 28 full days. Thanks to Mark’s overwhelming speed, they reached the same destination in only a little bit over two weeks. The difference was so dramatic that even Harksha occasionally found herself checking the navigation records, almost unable to believe how quickly the kilometers were disappearing beneath the airplane.

Naturally, the journey wasn’t entirely peaceful.

The Godly Pressure Disguise Array was extraordinarily expensive to maintain. Even after bringing a considerable reserve of Godly Beast Crystals, Harksha simply couldn’t afford to keep it active throughout the entire flight.

Fortunately, this was precisely why every Elite Exploration Group was led by a Zone God.

Whenever a flock or solitary Godly Beast noticed them and gave chase, Harksha would leave the airplane without hesitation. She would burst into the sky under her own power while Rean accelerated Mark away from the battlefield, ensuring the others stayed out of danger.

The battles themselves rarely lasted long. Creatures capable of overwhelming ordinary Aura Gods were still far from being a match for an experienced Zone God. More than once, everyone watched through the airplane’s observation arrays as flashes of celestial light erupted behind them before disappearing just as quickly.

Minutes later, Harksha would calmly return, clean the blood from her sleeves with a wave of Celestial Energy, take her seat once more, and continue piloting as though nothing unusual had happened.

The only scenario they truly wished to avoid was encountering a flying Godly Predator.

Should one appear, Harksha’s task wouldn’t be to win. Instead, she would use every delaying technique at her disposal, buying enough time for Mark to escape the creature’s detection range before retreating herself.

Her Spatial Ring contained numerous talismans, disposable array plates, and one-time treasures prepared specifically for situations like these. None of them could cause damage to a Godly Predator, but slowing one down for several breaths was more than achievable, and sometimes that was all an exploration group needed.

Thanks to careful planning and a healthy dose of good fortune, that worst-case scenario never happened. Harksha’s experience in navigating these areas showed here.

Two weeks after departing Moonfisc, the first remnants of the Konvey Ruins finally appeared beneath the airplane.

Broken pillars pierced through the forest canopy like the trunks of petrified giants. Massive stone platforms stretched beneath blankets of moss and vines, while enormous walls, many taller than ancient trees, had long since collapsed and become part of the surrounding landscape. Even after countless years of exposure to the elements, the structures remained astonishingly intact, as though the materials used to construct them had been meant to survive the ages themselves.

Celis couldn’t help but admire the sight through the observation window. ”That has to be some incredibly high-quality material. Considering how old these ruins are, it’s surprising they remain this intact.”

Harksha nodded while keeping one eye on the flight path. ”Almost every ruin dating back to before Besgol’s founding shares that characteristic. Some of them even contain materials remarkably similar to those found in the Sacred Relic itself. Naturally, those are the places where we usually recover replacement runes.”

She briefly checked the map displayed on her RC before continuing. ”Everything up to one hundred kilometers south of the main ruins has already been explored. We’ll continue from there.”

The airplane maintained its altitude as everyone silently observed the ancient city passing beneath them. Tower after tower disappeared behind the aircraft, revealing yet more fragments of a civilization that had vanished long before any of the current regions had existed.

At the same time, Roan spoke through the twins’ soul connection.

’Anything about the source of energy Sister Orb mentioned?’

[Not yet,] Sister Orb replied almost immediately. [However, the energy signature definitely exists, and it has become stronger since we entered this area. I still can’t determine its exact direction, however.]

’That means we’re getting closer,’ Roan concluded calmly. ’Keep monitoring it. Inform us immediately if you notice any changes.’

[Understood.]

As they passed above what appeared to be the central district of the ruins, the remains became even grander.

Collapsed towers formed entire hills of rubble. Gigantic plazas stretched between broken walls, while enormous circular foundations suggested that structures far larger than ordinary buildings had once occupied the city. Yet despite their impressive scale, everything bore the unmistakable scars of destruction rather than simple erosion.

Rean narrowed his eyes while observing the devastation below. ”Doesn’t it...”

”Yes,” Harksha answered before he could finish. ”These ruins weren’t destroyed by time alone. They were destroyed by war before it.”

Her gaze drifted toward the broken city beneath them.

”The previous exploration teams recovered fragments of weapons, damaged armor, shattered defensive arrays, and traces of large-scale battles. Whatever happened here was powerful enough to erase an entire civilization. Unfortunately, after so many years, almost nothing remains that can explain who fought, why they fought, or who ultimately won.”

She let out a quiet sigh before concluding, ”What matters to us is that no replacement runes were found here.”

Roan remained silent throughout the explanation.

Instead, he waved his hand, causing several holographic projections to appear before him. Using Mark’s external cameras together with its long-range observation arrays, he magnified dozens of different locations throughout the ruins. Rean had practically turned the airplane into a flying observation platform, allowing Roan to inspect details that would normally require flying much closer.

Harksha glanced sideways and couldn’t help asking, ”Is there something your airplane can’t do?”

Rean smiled proudly. ”It can’t cultivate... I guess?”

Seeing everyone’s expressions, he laughed before waving dismissively. ”Relax, I’m joking. It can’t make sharp aerial maneuvers, it has no offensive capabilities whatsoever, and I deliberately left weapons out of the design. Everything about Mark revolves around exploration, concealment, information gathering, transportation, and speed. That’s its purpose.”

”That’s already more than enough...” Harksha muttered.

Several more minutes passed.

Roan continuously enlarged images, compared viewing angles, and quietly organized hundreds of photographs into different groups. Only after finishing his analysis did he step beside Harksha and project a new map before her.

The original exploration route disappeared.

In its place, another route extended toward the southwest.

”Adjust our course.”

Harksha frowned immediately. ”You can’t simply change our mission like that.”

Roan calmly shook his head. ”Not without a reason. Fortunately, I have one.”

He enlarged several images simultaneously.

”Look here.”

Everyone approached.

”These walls didn’t collapse randomly. Their debris fields all point northeast. These towers weren’t weathered down either—they were pushed over by tremendous external force. More importantly, every major breach in the outer defensive structures faces southwest.”

The images changed again. ”Even these larger buildings follow the same pattern.” He overlaid several photographs until the similarities became obvious. ”The attack originated from this direction.”

The room fell silent.

Roan continued without the slightest hesitation.

”If an invading force came from the southwest, there is a reasonable chance another civilization existed there. Ancient cities rarely appeared in complete isolation. They formed trade routes, military networks, defensive lines, or alliances. If another settlement existed within traveling distance, this direction offers a higher probability of finding additional ruins.”

Harksha carefully examined every projection.

Unlike Roan, she couldn’t immediately recognize the patterns. To her, the city simply looked old and destroyed. Now that he had highlighted the similarities, however, she began noticing details she would have otherwise ignored.

”...How do you know all this?”

”Experience,” Roan answered matter-of-factly. ”Our mission is to locate more ruins. I’m simply pointing toward the direction with the highest probability of success. If you ignore that because you feel your authority as leader is being challenged, you’re letting pride interfere with the mission.”

Bullseye.

That was exactly what Harksha had been thinking moments earlier.

Naturally, she wasn’t about to admit it.

”And just who do you think you are?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Rean quickly stepped between them with an awkward smile. ”Senior, please don’t mind my idiot brother. He’s like this with absolutely everyone, including the three of us. I promise he isn’t trying to question your authority.”

He pointed toward Roan before continuing. ”The only thing he cares about is efficiency. If he believes there’s a better option, he’ll say it regardless of who’s standing in front of him. It’s honestly annoying most of the time.”

Kentucky nodded several times in agreement. ”Very annoying.”

”Extremely annoying,” Celis added.

Roan ignored all three of them.

Rean chuckled before returning to the matter at hand. ”That said, his judgment in situations like this is frighteningly accurate. Since you’re already testing my airplane, why not consider this another part of the package? If he’s wrong, you lose a little time. If he’s right, we might save ourselves days of unnecessary searching.”

Harksha remained silent for several moments.

Finally, she sighed. ”Fine. But afterward, you’re helping me choose which of the new airplane models I should buy.”

”Deal,” Rean answered immediately, letting out a breath of relief.

Without another word, Harksha adjusted Mark’s course toward the southwest.

The airplane accelerated once more, leaving the previously charted route behind. Roughly one hundred kilometers later, they crossed the last confirmed marker recorded by previous exploration teams. Beyond that point, every mountain, river, forest, and valley belonged to completely uncharted territory.

Roan zoomed the map out before highlighting a broad region several hundred kilometers across. ”This should be our search area.”

Harksha studied the projection for a moment. ”That’s still over three hundred kilometers wide.”

”It is,” Roan admitted. ”Even so, it’s considerably smaller than the original area assigned by the Guild. If my assumption is correct, we’ll spend far less time searching while increasing our chances of actually finding something.”

Harksha slowly nodded.

She had already committed to trusting his judgment.

The airplane gradually descended, its speed decreasing as they approached the untouched wilderness below. The observation arrays immediately increased their scanning frequency while every external camera began recording the terrain in greater detail.

”Then,” Harksha said while carefully guiding Mark over the ancient forest, ”let’s see whether your experience is really as impressive as you claim.”