Death... and me
chapter-2359

Still, Gardo was curious. "How did you know it was a trap? Was it really just because the Elemental Space Realm Devils didn't appear?"

Obviously, that wasn't the case. It was because Sister Orb hacked into the formation and checked it directly... Too bad Rean couldn't say such a thing. "Pretty much, senior Gardo. It doesn't matter how I see it. With such a huge gap created in the devils' defense and with so many of the army entering, those Devils should have appeared regardless of the reason. For them to not appear, they had to be planning something against our army."

"Another reason was how much pressure the Devils kept applying on us even though we held such a huge advantage," Rean continued. "I felt like they were trying to hide the fact the Elemental Space Realm Devils weren't present by doing such a thing, even though that only increased their losses."

Gardo sighed in response. He then looked in the direction of where the formation was before. As it shrank, it pulled everything inward with it. There wasn't a single leave remaining, only destruction. If seen from far above, it would look more like a crater. "And the demon beasts that were inside..."

Rean shook his head. "For them to achieve such destructive power on such short notice, they must have used the power of the demon beasts' living souls. Devils know how to harness it and change it into a power they can use. That's why they can even cultivate and gain great benefits from living souls. This time, however, they simply converted everything into energy. I highly doubt any of the demon beasts you were expecting to save are still alive."

Gardo knew that. He just didn't want to admit it. "I see... I sent some of my subordinates to check it anyway." Gardo then changed the topic. "Well, what is done is done. Goku, Kenny, Essefy, I intended to keep you here during the duration of this attack. At first, we were expecting it to take at least a few days to end. But due to the explosion of the formation, everything was over much sooner. That means you will get to get back to Hrume's army."

Rean and Kentucky definitely wouldn't complain. Who could tell if Placake would appear here again or not? It was better to stay far away unless Kentucky decided to stay in the Dimensional Realm forever. "Then we are counting on you, senior Gardo, to bring us back."

Rean then smiled. "In any case, the result wasn't that bad. Didn't we manage to kill a Divinity Realm Devil? The Devils are already so far behind in numbers, so this is certain to have a huge implication during your conquest, senior Gardo."

"Hahaha!" Gardo laughed, knowing it was indeed the case. "Sorry for keeping this plan hidden. Placake wasn't supposed to appear until much later in the battle. Yet, things happen the way they did. The Devils had their plan to wipe out my army, but we had our plans to get one of their Divinity Realm devils killed. In the end, we could say we got the better deal in this exchange."

'I just need to explain to the other two armies I borrowed Elemental Space Experts that some of them died in this trap...' Gardo also thought to himself.

"Well then, I hate to delay things, so I'm bringing you all back to Hrume now. Do you need anything before leaving?" Gardo asked, preparing to open a Spatial Gate.

Rean quickly nodded. "Yes, senior Gardo. Could you please spread this request of mine in your army?" Rean then explained he was looking for information regarding the Essence Race and would especially pay well if someone could find a living member.

"Essence Race?" Gardo couldn't help but think about the past. "Thousands of years ago, I remember to have heard about one of them."

"You did?!" Rean's interest was immediately picked.

Gardo tried very hard to think about it. "Errr... what was it... It's been so long... Oh! Right! It is very likely that this information has no use anymore. In any case, back when I heard about it, I was having a meeting with Zandolf. Do you know him?"

Rean nodded and then shook his head. "I only saw that he is also commanding one of the armies and that he is a Divinity Realm Cultivator at the Middle Stage. That's all the information I got from the communication badge."

Gardo confirmed Rean's words. "The information is correct. He should be leading his army in the Glondau Continent. Don't ask me more than that because I truly didn't pay attention back then. If you want to find out more about it, then it would be better for you to talk with Zandolf yourself. Who knows, perhaps he has some relics from the time the Essence Race roamed these lands."

Rean was more than satisfied with it. "Then I'm going there right now!"

Gardo narrowed his eyes. "Aren't you going back to the Hrume Army? Although I hate to have to let you go, it is a fact that you should be needed there as well."

Rean smiled in response. "But senior Gardo... you got Kenny, Essefy, and me lent to you for a week, haven't you? Not even a day has gone by yet. Hehe!"

Gardo was speechless. Rean was basically asking Gardo, a Divinity Realm Demon Beast, to cover for him while he took a trip. Yet, it was true that Rean saved his army from being wiped out. Even if he and Placake managed to kill Froskley in the end, the losses would not be much different from each other. "I truly don't like the humanoid races' shrewdness..."

Still, he quickly made up his mind. "Fine, you just go then. In any case, it will take way more than a week to reorganize everything here. However, you will have to go there on your own and pay for your own teleportation."

Rean didn't mind. "No problem at all! Thanks, senior Gardo!"

Kentucky and Rean then began to make their way out when suddenly, a kid followed them. Well, it wasn't really a kid, but it looked like one. "Errr... Essefy, you don't really need to follow us, you know?"

Essefy smiled. "We have a week, don't we? Something tells me it will be funnier if I tag along. Hahaha!"

Rean and Kentucky looked at each other and nodded. It wouldn't make much of a difference anyway. "Well, if you say so, let's go together."