Death… And Me

Chapter 4420: The Move

Going back around a week, Xigazou was still in the Ocalfin Region, quietly cultivating while his remaining spies continued to send reports about the newly established Farm in the Besgol Region during every weekly communication between regions.

His backdoor plan to steal Besgol’s Godly Colossi Crystal had ended in complete failure, and even after thinking about it countless times, he still couldn’t understand how Tobao and the others had uncovered the plot. Everything had been arranged carefully.

The people involved didn’t know each other, the communications were hidden, and even the backdoor itself had remained undiscovered during the entire construction of the farm. Yet, somehow, Besgol had found it at the exact moment the plan was ready to be put in motion.

As Xigazou pondered the matter inside his cultivation chamber, a knock came from outside. ”Come in.”

A Zone God entered before bowing respectfully. ”Senior Xigazou, we have news from the Besgol Region.”

Xigazou slowly opened his eyes. ”The next report isn’t due until another week.”

His subordinate nodded. ”Yes, Senior. Our spies activated the emergency communication array.”

Xigazou’s expression immediately darkened. Communication between Regions was incredibly expensive. Normally, the spies only exchanged coded messages through the scheduled communication channels established every week, the last one pretty recent.

Those connections lasted no more than fifteen minutes before being shut down again to avoid unnecessary expenses for all the regions. However, hidden communication arrays also existed. They consumed the same frightening amount of resources, but they allowed immediate contact whenever something of exceptional importance happened. The activation alone cost hundreds of Godly Beast Crystals.

”It better be worth it,” Xigazou said coldly. ”Otherwise, I’ll personally have their heads flying for wasting the use of that array.”

The subordinate didn’t dare hesitate. He immediately reported everything that had happened in Besgol during the past few days. Naturally, the part that caught Xigazou’s full attention was the discovery inside the ancient ruins. The moment the subordinate mentioned the Godly Apex Crystals, Xigazou abruptly stood up.

”Twelve Godly Apex Crystals?! They actually found twelve?!”

His breathing became slightly heavier, and his calm demeanor completely disappeared. ”Fuck... how are they so damn lucky? I’ve searched countless regions over the years. I’ve traded favors with several parties and even spent fortunes buying information. Yet I still couldn’t get my hands on even a single Godly Apex Crystal. Meanwhile, those bastards casually discovered twelve of them?!”

His subordinate quietly waited for Xigazou’s anger to settle before continuing. ”Senior... Tobao and Arcis will each keep one crystal. The remaining ten will be distributed through competitions among the Late and Peak Stage Zone Gods of the Besgol Region.”

*Bang!*

The floor beneath Xigazou exploded into countless cracks as his aura leaked out. ”Waste! Complete waste!” he roared. ”Do they have any idea how difficult it is to cultivate in the Law God Realm? Resources like those shouldn’t be handed out like rewards in some childish tournament! Even if they want more Law Gods, there are countless better ways to use them. Giving them away to people who might fail to break through anyway...”

He paced back and forth, still fuming, but gradually his anger began to cool. Suddenly, he stopped in place as another possibility crossed his mind.

”...No.”

His eyes narrowed.

”If they’re only keeping two... then that means ten of them will actually be transported.”

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

”The Farm Crystal can’t be stolen anymore, at least not now, but these ten...” He chuckled. ”...those definitely can, even if just one of them. I must get one at a minimum...”

Without another thought, Xigazou completely abandoned the Farm Crystal. That opportunity had already disappeared, but these Godly Apex Crystals represented something far easier to obtain.

”Tell me everything,” he ordered as he sat back down. ”I want every single detail about these competitions.”

---

Back in the present, Xigazou was preparing to return to the Besgol Region. The last time he had gone there was during the Godly Horror invasion. Even back then, he had already been thinking several steps ahead.

Before leaving, he secretly ordered several trusted subordinates to remain behind and construct a hidden teleport array. If he ever needed to return, he wouldn’t have to risk crossing the borders normally. Of course, at that time, no one knew anything about the Farm Crystal, let alone the Godly Apex ones.

Naturally, the hidden estate built around that teleport array had to remain outside the Besgol Region. The reason was simple. The Sacred Relic constantly monitored every cultivator inside the Region. Someone with Xigazou’s cultivation was simply too conspicuous.

If he entered Besgol openly, his presence would shine like a blazing sun in the middle of a pitch-black night. There wasn’t the slightest chance that Tobao and Arcis wouldn’t notice him immediately.

Inside the hidden estate, Curvato calmly prepared the teleport array. Everything was ready, and the only thing left was to wait.

Soon enough, another airplane descended outside.

Curvato wasn’t surprised. Walking outside, he immediately recognized its owner.

”You’ve come.”

The newcomer stepped out before giving a slight nod. ”I have.”

Curvato looked around once before asking quietly, ”Have you brought the Predator Crystals?”

The man nodded again. ”Five Godly Predator Crystals, enough to teleport someone from the Ocalfin Region here. Xigazou had better remember our agreement.”

”He will,” Curvato answered without hesitation. ”We already have the box; we only have to deliver it to him.”

The newcomer didn’t say anything else. He simply followed Curvato into the estate, where the teleport array was already waiting for them.

---

Far above the clouds, Tobao silently observed everything from Rean’s invisible airplane.

Initially, Curvato’s betrayal hadn’t shocked him too much. After the farm incident, he had already accepted the possibility of more betrayals that simply hadn’t been discovered yet. It saddened him, but it wasn’t beyond his expectations.

What truly shook him was the identity of the newcomer.

”Trombe... why...”

Disbelief filled Tobao’s face. Trombe wasn’t just another cultivator. He was one of the highest-ranking monks inside the Zanmzan Monastery. Throughout many years, he had faithfully assisted Tobao in managing the monastery’s affairs.

During the recent defensive war, he had personally led many monks into battle and earned the respect of nearly everyone present. Among all the monks in the monastery, only Tobao himself possessed greater authority.

Even now, Tobao found it difficult to believe what he was seeing. Behind the calm expression he usually maintained, genuine disappointment slowly surfaced. ”...I trusted you.”

-Holy shit!-

Even Arcis sounded stunned after seeing Trombe’s face through the RC connection.

-I’ll be honest... of every organization inside Besgol, your monastery was the very last place I’d expect a traitor to appear.-

Tobao slowly closed his eyes before letting out a quiet sigh.

’...Me too.’

There wasn’t any anger in his voice. Only sadness. After everything they had gone through together over the years, discovering that one of his most trusted monks had betrayed the Region was a heavy blow, even for someone like Tobao.

After a brief silence, Arcis spoke again.

-So? Are you attacking? As you know, it’ll still take me some time to reach your position. You’re quite far from the border and barely inside the network’s communication range.-

Tobao slowly shook his head while keeping his eyes fixed on the estate below. ”The real fish hasn’t appeared yet. If I move now, we might lose the mastermind forever.”

Just then, another voice suddenly joined their communication.

-You should attack now.-

Tobao blinked.

’Wait... Roan?’

-I added him,- Arcis explained. -Everything has happened almost exactly as he predicted so far. Since we’re already this deep into his plan, I figured there was no harm in letting him observe the rest through the network.-

Tobao couldn’t really object. Without Roan’s suggestions, none of this operation would even exist.

Even so, he still questioned him. ’Why now? Wouldn’t waiting increase our chances of catching the real culprit?’

Back in Jufafner Country, Roan calmly shook his head.

-That monk... Trombe. I remember him. He’s a Middle Stage Zone God, right?-

Tobao confirmed. ’Correct.’

-Then he won’t die,- Roan added.

His answer came without the slightest hesitation. -Someone at his cultivation would never accept the same restrictions placed on disposable pawns.-

Everyone immediately remembered the previous incident. Back then, every cultivator connected to the hidden backdoor had died almost simultaneously before anyone could interrogate them. It was precisely because of that experience that Tobao had chosen patience this time. He didn’t want history to repeat itself. At least not until he found who was behind everything.

Still, he frowned. ’And if you’re wrong?’

Roan’s expression remained perfectly calm. -Then that’s even better.-

Neither Tobao nor Arcis understood.

Roan continued before either of them could ask. -Think about it. The mastermind has already failed once. His hidden operation was exposed, and every disposable pawn he prepared was lost. Now imagine this operation ends exactly the same way. Do you honestly think he’ll risk organizing yet another infiltration?-

Neither of the two Law Gods answered immediately.

Roan answered for them. -He won’t. By then, he’ll conclude that Besgol has become too difficult to infiltrate from within. Continuing to rely on hidden organizations would only waste more people and more resources.-

Only then did Tobao begin understanding where Roan was going. ’You mean...’

Roan nodded. -He’ll stop trying to steal the crystals. Instead, he’ll approach openly. Officially.-

-He’ll contact you directly before the competitions begin and attempt to negotiate for the Godly Apex Crystals. Negotiation carries almost no risk. At worst, you’ll reject him. But from his point of view, that’s still far better than sacrificing another carefully prepared operation.-

Arcis finally caught on.

-Because by then, he’ll believe covert methods are no longer worth attempting.-

-Exactly,- Roan confirmed.

Tobao slowly nodded before asking one final question. ’Then how do we identify him?’

A cold smile appeared on Roan’s face.

-Simple: Watch who becomes the most anxious.-

-The very first Peak Law God to contact you will almost certainly be your culprit. Whoever planned all of this has to be someone at the Peak Stage of the Law God Realm, or someone nearing the end of his lifespan, or perhaps both.-

-Such a person won’t care if his own Region ends up offending the Regions Alliance. To someone standing at death’s door, survival outweighs politics, reputation, and even the future of his own Region.-

Silence followed.

Tobao slowly breathed out before looking toward the hidden estate once more. The disappointment in his eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by determination.

’Very well.’ His hand slowly rested on the airplane’s controls. ’I’ll make my move now.’