Death… And Me

Chapter 4333: Fly Away

Huriu, who had continued keeping an eye on the twins’ group even after the battlefield stabilized, suddenly noticed that Roan and Kentucky had begun flying away from the defensive lines instead of returning with the others. His expression immediately changed slightly. ”Hum? Where are they going?”

At this point, the battlefield in Turanzo had already become much calmer compared to the previous days. The massive hordes of Godly Creatures were mostly gone, leaving only scattered groups spread throughout the region. Because of that, Roan and Kentucky could move through several sparse areas without attracting too much attention from the remaining creatures. They didn’t even need to release their own Godly Pressure to hide from nearby enemies.

Naturally, that strange movement didn’t escape Huriu’s notice for long.

A message instantly arrived through the RC to Roan.

-Where are you going? You haven’t received any orders to leave your battalion. This will be considered desertion.-

Roan remained completely unconcerned by the accusation. His expression didn’t even change as he continued flying forward beside Kentucky.

-Why would we desert when the battle here is already over?- Roan calmly replied. -Would that make any sense?-

Huriu obviously understood that point perfectly well, which only made him even more confused.

-Then why are you leaving?- Huriu pressed further. -You know very well you shouldn’t do this. It is too risky for cultivators at your level to head toward the Godly Creatures’ territory right now, even if most of the creatures have already retreated or died.-

Kentucky glanced at Roan from the side while continuing to fly. Unlike Roan, he didn’t particularly care about explaining things to Huriu... because he didn’t even want to be here. Too bad Roan couldn’t fly, so he was the only one available. Still, since Roan decided to answer, Kentucky simply listened quietly.

-Don’t worry,- Roan responded. -I know what I’m doing. I’m only going to verify something.-

Huriu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

-...which is?- he immediately asked again.

Roan looked toward the distant Godly Creature Territories ahead of them. -Something is missing,- he answered, repeating exactly the same words he had previously told Rean. -There has been one thing bothering me ever since we killed the Three-Eyed Raven.-

This time, however, Roan went deeper into his explanation.

What bothered him most wasn’t the Raven’s appearance itself. On the contrary, the Raven appearing during a large-scale assault was completely normal according to historical records. The true issue was the fact that the Raven had actually been injured by the explosive arrays.

Initially, that looked like an incredible opportunity, and in truth, it really was. Without the Raven suffering those injuries beforehand, their group would’ve never had the chance to corner it the way they did. The battle could have ended completely differently.

Thanks to those injuries, they managed to pursue the Raven, ambush it, and eventually kill it. From a results standpoint, the outcome couldn’t possibly have been better for Besgol.

Yet the more Roan thought about it, the less sense it made.

The Three-Eyed Raven always appeared whenever the scale of the assault became large enough. In just the last hundred years alone, it had appeared twenty-two times. Twenty-three, if this latest incident was included.

Could it be that Besgol never used explosive arrays against the Godly Creature hordes before?

Of course not.

Every major assault throughout history involved explosive arrays in one form or another. Even small ones were no different. Different eras used different designs and deployment methods, but the principle remained the same. Those arrays had existed for an extremely long time already and were considered one of the core defensive tools against all kinds of Godly Creature invasions.

Yet despite that, not even the Godly Predator versions of the Three-Eyed Ravens had ever been injured by them before, much less the Godly Horror version.

What were the odds of such a coincidence happening now?

And more importantly, why did it happen specifically on the battlefield where the twins’ group had been assigned?

Roan couldn’t ignore the possibility that the system’s destiny attraction surrounding him and his group had somehow influenced the situation once again.

Naturally, he kept the matters regarding destiny attraction and the system entirely out of his explanation to Huriu.

-In any case,- Roan continued, -the Raven appeared twenty-two times during the last hundred years. However, I expanded my research much further back than that. I checked records of past assaults going all the way back ten thousand years.-

Even Huriu became slightly surprised hearing that.

-Ten thousand years is practically nothing for cultivators at our level, ascenders,- Roan continued calmly. -And throughout that entire period, explosive arrays were always used during assaults. Altogether, there have been well over two thousand recorded appearances of the Three-Eyed Raven during those ten thousand years. It is still by far the rarest Godly Horror to appear, but once you examine enough history, the total number becomes quite significant.-

Roan paused briefly before asking a question.

-Do you know how many times the Three-Eyed Raven has been injured by explosive arrays during those last ten thousand years?-

Huriu frowned while thinking carefully about it.

He knew such information would definitely exist within the archives of the Godly Subjugation Guild. Every single detail regarding the wars against the Godly Creatures was preserved for future generations. Battle reports, casualty numbers, tactical evaluations, unusual incidents, and records of Godly Horrors are all meticulously stored.

It was just that Huriu had never bothered checking something so absurdly specific before.

After thinking for a few moments, he eventually answered uncertainly.

-I don’t know... maybe five times? Perhaps ten?-

Roan’s response came immediately.

-Zero.-

His tone was cold and absolute.

-The Three-Eyed Raven has never once been hit by explosive arrays before. Not a single time. And explosive arrays have existed for far longer than merely ten thousand years. I’m fairly certain that even if I continue searching further into the past, the answer will still remain exactly the same.-

Huriu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Not even once?

That sounded almost impossible.

The Ravens that appeared throughout history weren’t always Godly Horrors. Quite a few were merely Godly Predators. Yet even those weaker versions had somehow never been caught by explosive arrays despite thousands of years of warfare.

Was that truly possible?

Then Huriu remembered something important.

The Three-Eyed Raven was famous for possessing extremely sharp senses. In fact, its danger level wasn’t based purely on combat strength or its innate ability to cause backlashes on senses. Its perception abilities were terrifyingly advanced as well.

As Huriu thought about it more deeply, things actually started making sense.

The explosive arrays required huge concentrations of energy before detonation. If the Raven could sense those fluctuations from afar, then naturally it would avoid those regions instinctively. That would explain why it had never been caught in recorded history before.

But if that was the case...

...then why was this particular Godly Horror struck by them?

Roan was right.

It truly didn’t make sense.

Something was definitely missing from the picture.

Roan continued speaking while maintaining his speed through the skies.

-Try thinking about it from another angle. What else has changed recently?- he asked.

Huriu’s mind immediately recalled the strange incident involving the corpse puppet from before. A dead cultivator manipulated by some unknown force, carrying that bizarre crystal capable of concealing Godly Pressure entirely.

His expression changed instantly.

-Wait... isn’t that going way too far?- Huriu questioned. -Can those two situations truly be connected somehow? That sounds far too ridiculous.-

-Exactly,- Roan agreed immediately without denying it. -It is ridiculous. Chances are high that I’m completely wrong about this.-

Roan then narrowed his eyes slightly. -However... do you really want to gamble on that possibility?- he asked back.

Huriu fell silent.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand what an injured Three-Eyed Raven could possibly have to do with that strange corpse puppet incident from before. The connection between the two felt completely illogical.

Yet at the same time, the Raven being injured by explosive arrays was itself something equally ridiculous.

That contradiction alone was enough to leave him uneasy.

After several moments of silence, Huriu finally sighed.

-Alright,- he said at last. -Let’s assume you’re right. What exactly are you trying to find by putting yourself at risk and flying directly toward the Godly Creatures’ territory?-

Roan shook his head slightly.

-No idea,- he answered honestly. -That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out.-

His eyes remained fixed ahead.

-The Raven appeared here. It was injured here. It died here. And now, immediately afterward, we are relocating most of Turanzo’s reinforcements toward the other two countries because the situation here is practically over. Last but not least, the Gody Horror in Terno Dore came out as soon as the Sacred Relic’s Power was reduced to its normal level again.-

Roan paused briefly before continuing.

-In a certain sense, Turanzo’s defenses are currently at their weakest point since the war started. I simply want to make sure we aren’t about to be caught off guard by something.-

Huriu let out another long sigh.

-Fine... Do whatever you want.-

Even so, he still couldn’t help but warn them one last time.

-However, don’t blame Besgol Region if you die out there. I still think you’re taking far too much risk for something based mostly on speculation.-

That said, Huriu wasn’t completely without reassurance either.

After all, Rean, the one responsible for creating that prototype airplane capable of disguising itself amidst Godly Creatures through released Godly Pressure, had remained behind on the battlefield. He was the most important one.

Roan had already expected Huriu’s answer from the very beginning.

-I’m fully aware of the risks,- he replied calmly. -I’m checking things anyway. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll contact you if I discover anything important. I’m turning off my RC now.-

And just like that, Roan and Kentucky continued flying deeper and deeper into the distance until they eventually disappeared beyond the range of the Ring Communicator Network entirely.