Death… And Me

Chapter 4446: Okay...

It would be very unlikely for the twins’ group to fight more than one Godly Predator at a time. Considering the Sanctuary required twenty-four hours before it could be activated again, they would need at least a hundred days to use it against one hundred different Predators.

Lukay had already noticed a similar issue by the time they encountered their fourth Godly Predator. He didn’t know about the System’s requirement to analyze one hundred Predators, but he did know the twins intended to return with one hundred and sixty Godly Predator Crystals. If anything, their expedition would probably last even longer.

”Say,” Lukay finally asked, ”are you truly planning to spend months hunting Godly Predators?”

Celis nodded without hesitation.

”How else do you expect us to collect all the Predator Crystals we need? The only way to speed things up would be if we started finding several Predators every day.”

That was obviously easier said than done.

After defeating the first wolf and serpent, the twins’ group had spent another three full days before encountering the next pair of Predators. Just like before, those two occupied neighboring territories, which explained why they had been found so close together.

Of course, not every Godly Predator guarded a fixed territory against some other Predator. In fact, single Predators were believed to be the majority. That only served to highlight how incredibly rare they were throughout the vast wilderness of the Celestial Plane.

At that rate, gathering one hundred and sixty Godly Predator Crystals would almost certainly take more than five months, perhaps even half a year. Elite Exploration Missions simply weren’t designed to last that long.

No matter how well prepared an exploration group was, everyone would eventually grow mentally and physically exhausted. Resources would steadily diminish, while the danger only increased with every passing day spent outside the Sacred Relic’s protection.

Lukay immediately opposed the idea. ”That won’t do. You can’t forget that the longer cultivators remain outside a Sacred Relic’s influence, the more they attract Godly Creatures. Staying out here for half a year would become increasingly dangerous.”

”That’s true,” Rean admitted from the pilot’s seat. ”For ordinary cultivators, the attraction only grows stronger over time. Fortunately, we can disguise ourselves as Godly Creatures. Every time we activate the array, it’s as if we disappear from the Godly Creatures’ perception before reappearing later, so the accumulation starts over.”

Lukay blinked.

”...I hadn’t considered that.”

Thinking it over, he quickly realized Rean was right. As far as the Godly Creatures were concerned, the cultivators simply vanished whenever the disguise array was active. Naturally, the strange attraction would have no target to lock onto during that period.

Even today, nobody truly understood why such a phenomenon existed. The most accepted theory compared cultivators to tiny flames burning within endless darkness. At first, the flame was so weak that only nearby Godly Creatures could notice it. However, the longer someone remained outside the Sacred Relic’s influence, the brighter that flame supposedly became until creatures from farther and farther away could sense it.

Many believed it was simply one of the fundamental laws governing the Celestial Plane.

None had ever managed to prove it.

Kentucky, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, suddenly looked at Lukay. ”Why are you so eager to return, anyway? Since you’ve been helping us hunt the Predators, we’ll obviously share some Godly Predator Crystals with you. Isn’t that exactly what a Zone God needs? How many opportunities do you think you’ll ever have to obtain so many of those crystals?”

Before Lukay could answer, Celis immediately interrupted. ”He’ll receive a share, but definitely much less than the four of us. The only reason we can kill these Predators is because of our methods against Godly Pressure. He wasn’t even supposed to be here if Senior Clasou hadn’t insisted.”

That was simply how Celis viewed cultivation. Every resource was valuable, every crystal mattered, and if it could increase his strength, he would fight to keep as much of it as possible.

Surprisingly, Lukay couldn’t argue against that reasoning. Although he had helped kill the third and fourth Godly Predators, the twins clearly didn’t require his assistance. His presence merely allowed them to spend less energy during each battle, making the overall expedition more efficient. Even after sharing some crystals with him, they would still come out ahead.

”...Fine,” Lukay admitted after a brief silence. ”I do need those crystals. If only you four had appeared before the competition for the Godly Apex Crystals. I might’ve broken through to the Late Stage Zone God Realm and qualified to participate.”

Rean shrugged. ”Those Godly Apex Crystals only existed because our group discovered them in the first place. So it really wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Lukay could only smile helplessly.

”...Fair enough.”

Just then, Kentucky glanced toward the radar, his eyes lighting up. ”Oh? Looks like we found another one.”

Roan immediately opened his eyes while Rean brought the airplane to a halt high above the forest.

”Let’s go.”

*Creeee!*

Several flying Godly Beasts happened to be nearby, immediately noticing the airplane’s presence.

Roan glanced upward. ”Kentucky, take care of your friends.”

Kentucky sighed dramatically. ”We haven’t even spoken yet. How do you already know we’d become friends?” He laughed before spreading his wings. ”Hehe! I suppose I’ll have to introduce myself first.”

Without another word, he transformed and shot toward the flock of flying Godly Beasts, completely ignoring the Godly Predator racing toward them in the distance.

At that exact moment, Sister Orb suddenly spoke.

[Hum?]

Her voice immediately caught Rean’s attention.

[Hey, check the Godly Pressure readings of this Godly Predator.]

Rean instantly connected to the airplane’s systems. The moment the information appeared before him, his expression changed.

”This one’s different. The concentration of Godly Pressure is much higher than the previous ones.” He immediately looked toward Lukay and the others. ”This Predator is probably comparable to a Late Stage—or even Peak Stage—Law God. Be careful.”

Lukay had already prepared himself. ”Give me an opening, and I’ll finish it quickly. I still have one of Roan’s pills.”

Roan, however, shook his head.

”Don’t worry about the pills. I’ll concoct more later. However, don’t use it now. We’re using the Sanctuary. We need more experience controlling it, so every time we recover from its previous uses, we’ll activate it.”

”Works for me,” Lukay agreed without hesitation.

The Godly Predator burst through the treetops a few moments later, spreading its wings as it soared into the sky. Lukay immediately recognized the creature.

”It’s a Sondrel Pardal. It mainly uses the Dark Element. Every wound it causes quickly begins to rot. Once it gets serious, it’ll spread a rotting fog that weakens even our techniques and accelerates the rotting process, and that’s on top of the suppression already caused by its Godly Pressure. It’s one of the more troublesome Predators whenever it appears during Godly Creature hordes.”

”Dark Element...” Rean murmured.

”...Rotting...” Celis finished.

The two instinctively turned toward Roan.

Roan immediately understood why. Letting out a small sigh, he gave them a slight nod. ”I’ll play with it. You three just use whatever opening I create and finish it off.”

Rean and Celis nodded together.

”Got it.”

Lukay watched the exchange in silence. For a brief moment, he wondered whether Roan had become overconfident. Facing a Godly Predator specializing in the Dark Element alone sounded almost suicidal.

Then he remembered everything he had witnessed over the past several days—the pills, the Sanctuary, the impossible victories, and even the airplane itself. Trying to judge the twins by common sense was clearly pointless by now.

”...Okay,” was all he said.