Death… And Me

Chapter 4457: Pool

The airplane landed at a safe distance from the ruins of the city. After eliminating the Godly Creatures that had wandered too close, the group finally began recovering from the battle they had just gone through. Fortunately, they had Rean’s Instant Recovery Skill, so their injuries didn’t take long to heal. A little over an hour later, everyone was back to their peak condition.

The airplane, however, was a completely different matter.

Rean walked around the aircraft while inspecting the molten parts at the back. His expression became increasingly sad as he looked at the damage, almost as if he was about to cry.

”My baby suffered so much...” Rean gently touched the damaged surface. ”But you still worked hard and kept us in the air. You are such a great airplane. Don’t worry, Daddy will fix you right up.”

Lukay floated closer to Roan and lowered his voice. ”I’ve been meaning to ask... is this attachment to that airplane normal? Because it seems a little...”

Roan immediately snorted. ”It doesn’t just seem that way. It is. He is a lost cause. Just pretend he doesn’t exist. At least this strange attachment of his does contribute to acceptable results when it comes to his crafting.”

Rean immediately pointed at them. ”You two! I heard that! Show more respect to Mark and me!”

Before Roan could reply, Kentucky landed nearby after scouting the surrounding area.

”The surroundings are mostly clear,” he reported. ”I noticed a few Godly Creatures in the distance, but they shouldn’t detect us for a while.”

Roan nodded. ”Then let’s return to the city.”

Celis quickly jumped onto Kentucky’s back. ”Good. We left the Godly Crystals from those Godly Predators behind. We need to recover them.”

Roan joined him as well. ”I also want to inspect the central area of those ruins.”

Lukay looked back at Rean, who was still standing beside the damaged airplane. ”Wait. Aren’t we going to wait for Rean to repair it first?”

”No need,” Rean waved his hand. ”I can protect myself. The only thing that could really cause me trouble is a Godly Predator, and if one appears, I can simply fly after you. The airplane is damaged, but it can still move.”

Lukay hesitated before asking, ”Will you know where we are?”

”Of course. The communication network from my airplane can detect your RCs even inside the ruins. Just go ahead without me.” Rean looked back at the airplane with a satisfied smile. ”I want to spend some time with my baby.”

Lukay clearly didn’t understand that attachment, but since both Rean and Roan were fine with the arrangement, he climbed onto Kentucky’s back. A moment later, Kentucky took flight and carried the group back toward the ruined city.

Watching them leave, Rean turned his attention back to the airplane and smiled. ”Well then, let’s get to work.”

—

Kentucky reached the ruins again without taking long. Instead of immediately going to the central area, they first headed toward the location where they had killed the last Godly Predator.

As expected, they weren’t the only ones interested in the corpse.

Several Godly Creatures had already gathered around the body, attracted by the concentrated Godly Energy inside the Predator Crystal. The death of such a powerful creature naturally created a huge opportunity for the weaker creatures nearby, and they had immediately started fighting over the remains.

Most of the chaos was concentrated around the Predator’s head. Several Godly Spawns from the same race were attacking each other while trying to reach the crystal inside, completely driven by instinct rather than cooperation.

Celis didn’t hesitate.

Several vines shot downward, piercing through the heads of the fighting Godly Spawns before throwing their bodies aside.

*Zush! Zush! Zush!*

The remaining Godly Creatures around the corpse were dealt with just as quickly. Also, even though Godly Spawn Crystals were no longer very useful to the twins’ group, there was still no reason to leave them behind.

Once the area was clear, Celis extended several roots into the thick skull of the Predator and forcibly extracted the Godly Predator Crystal.

”We’re done here,” he said happily. ”Let’s recover the other two.”

Kentucky nodded and immediately took flight again.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the place where the other two Godly Predators had fallen. The situation there was even more chaotic, as two corpses had attracted even more creatures. Numerous Godly Spawns fought over the remains, and there was even a Godly Beast among them.

However, it wasn’t a problem for the group.

After quickly eliminating the creatures gathered there, Celis recovered both Predator Crystals.

Only after collecting all three crystals did Kentucky finally fly toward the central district of the city.

”So what about the Predator that escaped?” Kentucky asked while keeping his attention on the surroundings.

”I doubt it remains anywhere near these ruins,” Roan replied. ”We’ve seen similar situations during the defensive wars, and the records confirm it. When Godly Predators retreat because they sense danger, they usually flee far away from the source.”

”That’s true,” Lukay agreed. ”Of course, they don’t have real intelligence. If there are other Godly Predators living somewhere else in these ruins, they won’t know what happened here and likely won’t simply follow the escapee. They will simply attack once they notice our presence.”

Kentucky thought about it for a moment before asking another question. ”Could there be another Godly Horror?”

Lukay remained silent for a moment before answering.

”You can’t completely rule it out. We are in the uncharted regions, so anything is possible. However, Godly Horrors are incredibly rare. The Godly Predators we found close to each other before were only protecting their own territories. Considering that, I would be surprised if there was another Godly Horror living nearby.”

It didn’t take long before Kentucky returned to the central area of the city. Looking down from above, they could see a few Magma Drakes scattered throughout the ruins. Most of them were Godly Spawns, resting inside pools of heated stone between the broken buildings, while a few Godly Beasts moved around the area.

The Predator that had escaped, however, was nowhere to be seen.

*Roar! Roar! Roar!*

Several Magma Drakes noticed Kentucky’s approach and immediately raised their heads, roaring toward the sky. Their senses clearly told them that cultivators were nearby, yet surprisingly, none of them took flight to attack.

The twins’ group wasn’t using the Godly Pressure Disguise Array anymore, so the reaction of those weaker Drakes was quite strange.

”It must be because of our auras,” Lukay explained, apparently understanding what was happening. ”When we killed the Horror Drake, its aura remained on our bodies. It should continue lingering for at least a few more days.”

He looked down at the Magma Drakes below.

”These creatures can sense that aura. Their senses still tell them to attack cultivators, but instinct is warning them that we are something they cannot defeat. In the end, survival is stronger than their natural attraction toward cultivators.”

”So that’s the reason...” Roan nodded slightly.

However, he soon looked around the ruins with a thoughtful expression.

”Still, this place is strange. This doesn’t seem like the kind of environment where a heat-loving race like the Magma Drakes would normally live.”

”Maybe it is because of that.” Kentucky pointed one wing toward the distance.

At first, everyone only saw a small amount of smoke rising between the massive ruined buildings. It wasn’t particularly large, and the surrounding structures blocked most of the view, making it easy to overlook.

However, as Kentucky flew higher, the source of the smoke slowly became visible.

An enormous area of the city was covered by a pool of lava.

It wasn’t a mountain or a towering volcano. Instead, it looked like a massive crater that had formed right in the middle of the ancient city. The surface of the lava constantly moved, releasing waves of heat and smoke into the air.

Its size was quite big. Thousands of Magma Drakes could probably rest inside that area without any issue.

”Well...” Celis stared at the sight below. ”That certainly explains why these Magma Drakes settled here.”

He looked around the ruins again, still unable to understand something. ”But it doesn’t explain why such a place appeared in the middle of a city.”

Roan also looked at the lava lake thoughtfully. ”Indeed. This city was clearly built by a civilization. A place like this shouldn’t exist here unless there is a reason behind it.”

Lukay nodded as he observed the surroundings. ”The location itself is unusual. Magma Drakes naturally prefer environments with intense heat, but this kind of lava concentration is not something that appears randomly. Either this was created naturally due to some unique condition... or someone made it.”

”Someone made it?” Kentucky asked, surprised.

Lukay shook slightly. ”I don’t know. I’m only saying that we shouldn’t ignore the possibility. Remember, these ruins belonged to an ancient civilization. We have already seen places where arrays survived for countless years. Compared to that, creating an artificial environment would not be impossible.”

Roan didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he looked toward the center of the lava lake.

The ancient city had already been strange enough. A ruined civilization hidden in the uncharted regions was one thing, but a giant lava sea filled with Magma Drakes right at the city’s heart was another.

”There is definitely something unusual about this place,” Roan finally said. ”Let’s investigate carefully.”

Kentucky nodded and slowly began descending.

The group moved closer to the central area while keeping their guard raised. Although the Magma Drakes were currently avoiding them because of the Horror Drake’s lingering aura, that didn’t mean they could completely relax. The uncharted regions had already proven more than once that unexpected dangers could appear at any moment.

As they approached the lava lake, the heat became increasingly intense.

Even with their cultivation levels, they could clearly feel the temperature rising. The surrounding ruins also showed signs of having been affected by the heat. Many buildings near the lava lake had melted sections, while others had been completely swallowed by the molten rock over the years.

Yet strangely, the damage wasn’t random.

Roan narrowed his eyes as he observed the surroundings.

”Look carefully.”

Everyone followed his gaze.

The ruins around the lava lake were damaged, but the destruction seemed to follow a pattern. The buildings closest to the lava had been affected the most, while others farther away remained mostly intact.

”It wasn’t an explosion,” Roan concluded. ”The lava appeared here and slowly spread outward.”

Lukay looked at the enormous lake again. ”Which means this wasn’t part of the original city.”

Celis floated slightly higher, observing the area with interest. ”Then the question becomes...”

He looked toward the center of the lava. ”Why did this happen?”

Nobody answered.

For now, the only thing they knew was that the ancient city still had secrets left behind.