Death… And Me

Chapter 4341: Ready

Going back a few moments in the past, shortly after Rean, Celis, and Tobao finished dealing with the two exposed puppets, Rean secretly contacted Tobao again through the RC. At that moment, Rean informed Tobao that there was still one more puppet hidden among the surviving Array Masters.

Truth be told, Rean had lied earlier when he claimed he identified the puppets because of their reactions.

In reality, the method he used was far, far simpler.

He looked at the killing intent.

Being able to see killing intent was an incredibly convenient ability in situations like this. Since those Array Masters were merely puppets being controlled, there had to be a sentient mind behind them somewhere else. Even if the one controlling the bodies wasn’t physically present there, the moment they formed the intention to kill someone, that murderous intent would naturally manifest itself through the puppet.

The instant the array activated, the puppets had already prepared themselves for battle.

Without a doubt, they intended to kill as many people as possible the moment Rean’s Array exposed them. They had been waiting for the supposed instant their Godly Pressure would leak out before making their move. Naturally, they didn’t attack beforehand because nothing guaranteed Rean’s story about the array revealing their Godly Pressure was actually true.

As it turned out, they were correct.

Their Godly Pressures never leaked at all.

Unfortunately for them, by the time they realized that, their killing intents were already spreading like a dense crimson mist in Rean and Celis’s vision. To the twins’ group, the murderous aura surrounding those two puppets might as well have been giant glowing beacons.

Then there was the third puppet Rean had mentioned.

Unlike the other two, this one was completely different.

When the array was activated, he displayed absolutely no killing intent whatsoever. At that point, even Rean himself had no idea the man was also a puppet. Rean genuinely believed there were only two infiltrators hidden among the Array Masters.

However, everything changed after Rean, Celis, and Tobao instantly eliminated the other two puppets.

For only a brief moment, killing intent suddenly emerged from one of the remaining Array Masters.

And that killing intent wasn’t directed at Tobao.

Nor was it aimed at the other Array Masters nearby.

Instead, it was focused entirely on Rean!

For that short instant, the puppet’s murderous intent surged violently toward him before quickly disappearing again. Rean immediately understood what that meant. If he had approached the man carelessly right after exposing the first two puppets, the third puppet would’ve most likely attacked him without hesitation.

Naturally, Rean did no such thing.

Instead, he secretly warned Tobao through the RC so the two of them could attack the third puppet together before he had a chance to react.

Yet, to Rean’s surprise, Tobao stopped him.

Rather than eliminating the third puppet immediately, Tobao asked Rean to leave him alone for the time being. According to Tobao, the existence of an undiscovered puppet could actually become useful for the plan he intended to use against the incoming Godly Horrors threatening Besgol Region.

The surviving puppet naturally saw Rean claim there were likely no more hidden infiltrators among the Array Masters. Then, after Tobao removed the golden barrier and allowed everyone to return to their duties, the one controlling the puppet finally sighed in relief.

Naturally, the brief killing intent that had leaked out earlier vanished completely.

As far as the controller was concerned, the danger had passed.

Now that suspicion had been cleared away, he could calmly proceed with whatever plan he still had in mind.

---

Far away from Besgol Region, deep within the uncharted territories ruled by Godly Creatures, Ranka sat quietly with his eyes closed. His Godly Pressure continuously mixed with the surrounding environment, blending into the chaotic natural energy of the area almost perfectly. He was doing something with it, but it would be hard to tell what if you just watched from afar.

He was the Blood Seraphin who had appeared back when Roan stole the Godly Pressure Concealing Crystal.

Beside him stood Nazzun, the Viperscour Wolf, whose face currently looked extremely ugly.

”Fuck!” Nazzun cursed furiously. ”They killed my puppets! That white-haired bastard and that fucking demon tree ruined everything!”

Even with his eyes still closed, Ranka calmly shook his head.

”Relax. They still haven’t discovered my puppet,” he replied in a composed tone. ”I already warned you not to reveal any clues, didn’t I? I even sacrificed one of my own puppets earlier to help conceal the others. But you just couldn’t resist exposing yourself.”

Nazzun narrowed his eyes dangerously.

”It took us forever to place those four puppets there,” he growled. ”We even risked our lives getting close to the Sacred Relic just to capture those Array Masters without being noticed. If the Law Gods protecting Besgol had discovered us back then, we would’ve been completely powerless to resist. Being near those relics suppresses our powers far too much.”

That statement alone was enough to reveal just how terrifying the Sacred Relic truly was.

Both Ranka and Nazzun were Godly Tyrants, existences at the seventh level among Godly Creatures. Tobao, for example, was merely a Law God Realm cultivator, only at the fourth major level of cultivation.

Under normal circumstances, a single thought from Ranka or Nazzun would’ve been more than enough to completely erase Tobao from existence.

Yet the Sacred Relic was no ordinary treasure.

It genuinely possessed the power to protect an entire region, even against some of the most terrifying Godly Creatures in existence. If that weren’t the case, then a single high-level Godly Creature could simply walk into Besgol Region and annihilate everyone living there on its own. In truth, the same would apply to every cultivator-controlled region on this side of the Celestial Plane.

The Array Masters responsible for maintaining the Sacred Relic rarely left the central region of Besgol while on duty, only rotating out once every fifty years.

Because of that, Ranka and Nazzun had no choice but to approach the central region themselves if they wanted suitable targets.

Inside that area, their powers were heavily restricted by the Sacred Relic’s influence. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Tobao would absolutely be stronger than either of them if they fought that closely to the relic.

One thing to keep in mind is that they were close, but not that close, though. They captured the Array Masters around the central region rather than directly inside the Sacred Relic itself.

If Ranka and Nazzun had actually entered the Sacred Relic’s core area, then even an Aura God Realm cultivator would’ve possessed more than enough power to kill the two Godly Tyrants on his own.

That alone showed just how enormous a risk they had taken.

Fortunately for them, they previously had plenty of opportunities to test their Godly Pressure Concealing Crystals on cultivators captured during missions outside the Besgol Region. In fact, the crystal Roan stole back then was merely one of many experimental samples they had been using during those tests.

Only after confirming that the crystals could completely conceal Godly Pressure did they finally dare make their move.

Naturally, one important question still remained.

The Sacred Relic could detect any new presence entering the region under its protection. It could even sense the moment someone died somewhere inside the Besgol Region. So even if the crystals concealed Godly Pressure, shouldn’t the relic have still noticed the infiltrators?

Normally, yes.

However, those experiments had actually served two completely different purposes from the beginning.

The first purpose was to conceal Godly Pressure.

The second purpose was to conceal their very presence within the Sacred Relic’s detection range.

That was the true reason the experiments mattered so much.

Of course, after successfully capturing the Array Masters and turning them into puppets, the two Godly Tyrants immediately retreated from the Besgol Region. Simply remaining so near the Sacred Relic for extended periods already damaged their bodies severely. Such was the overwhelming suppressive power the relic exerted against Godly Creatures who approached it too closely.

Because of that, it was completely impossible for Ranka and Nazzun to personally approach the Sacred Relic itself and destroy it directly.

Now then, why were such unbelievable experiments taking place specifically in the Besgol Region out of all places in the Celestial Plane?

Well...

If the twins’ group ever heard the full story behind it, they would probably have a very good guess.

And they would most likely become extremely angry at a certain orb afterward...

”Will you really be able to carry out the plan with only one puppet left?” Nazzun eventually asked.

Ranka calmly nodded.

”It shouldn’t be a problem,” he answered. ”Now go prepare those pieces of trash to move. They should be more than enough to clear a path and destroy the Sacred Relic before the cultivators can repair it.”

Nazzun’s Godly Pressure spread outward once again.

And somewhere much closer to Besgol Region, numerous Godly Creatures suddenly reacted at the same time.

If Roan and Kentucky had been there, they would’ve recognized them immediately.

Those were the same Godly Creatures they had discovered earlier!