Death... and me
chapter-296

Rean and Roan's White and Dark Stars pierced the Lizard's thick skull. Right after, the chaotic Light and Dark Elemental Energies spread around as the Twins quickly shot back away. The chaotic opposite elements reached a critical point in just an instant when suddenly...

*Boom!*

An explosion generated by both elements blasted the top of the Tusk Earth Lizard's head! Surprisingly though, the Lizard didn't die.

*Roar!*

Noticing its own desperate situation, the enormous Lizard immediately tried to turn around and flee underground. Unfortunately, Rean and Roan were already prepared to attack if the first strike didn't work. With its own natural defense gone, the twins could aim directly for its head. Not only that, but they were faster than it to start with.

'Death Style, Third Form, Three Claws of the Dragon.'

With no protection whatsoever on its head, Rean and Roan's Six Dark and Light Swords slashed through the already damaged brain.

*Roar!*

With one last scream, the Tusk Earth Lizard's body stopped moving.

The Sixth Form of the Death Style didn't work the same way as the others. The first five forms aimed for the fastest killing time, taking all chances possible to finish the battle as soon as possible. Destroyer, however, was different. It was only useful against big targets since they didn't need to control it once they hit. They just need to let the energies spread and reach a critical point.

After all, if they pierced their swords in the body of a small target, that target would most likely be dead already. There was no need to do such a thing as making both energies go chaotic. Against them, fast killing strikes would definitely be much better. One could say that Destroyer was a skill created to decimate the enemy's defense.

Rean then looked at the Lizard's body, looking for something.

Stage Four Demon Beasts had a good chance of having a Demon Core, and this Lizard just so happened to be one of them. Rean quickly took the Demon Core before the twins shot up once more. Not long after, they emerged from the underground.

As soon as they came out, they saw Kentucky with another Demon Core in its beak. They looked around and soon found the bodies of three other demon beasts lying on the ground. All three of them at the Stage Three level. It turned out that these beasts attacked Kentucky when they saw it alone. However, Kentucky was much stronger than any Initial Stage Three demon beast, so he was able to take care of them by himself.

*Gulp!*

*Burp*

Rean laughed as he looked at the Stage Four Demon Beast's core in his hand. This battle ended up being a lot easier than they expected. The twins had just broken through the Core Formation Realm, though Stage Four Demon Beasts wouldn't die that easily. However, the Lizard had really chosen a terrible terrain for battle just now. Against other enemies, that small space would have given it an enormous advantage with its defense and high raw strength.

However, Roan's Shadow Steps turned the advantage in space against the Tusk Earth Lizard since it was fast enough to dodge any of its attacks. Also, it limited the movements that the Lizard itself could do inside there. All in all, everything played to the twins' advantage.

"Hey, Kentucky."

Rean then threw the Stage Four Demon Core at the Minokawa, who moved as fast as lightning to catch it.

*Gulp!*

Kentucky felt extremely satisfied once the energy of that Stage Four Demon core began to run through his body.

*Chick! Chick!*

Roan looked around and didn't see any other demon beast coming.

"Alright, let's keep going. Don't drop your guard. A battle against a Stage Four as easy as this one won't keep happening."

Rean nodded as the three of them departed.

While the twins rushed inside the Core Region, a new group with twenty-two cultivators appeared outside the Jiran Forest. They all wore Purple Robes with the emblem of the Umbral Sect embroidery on each of them. Each of their cultivations varied between the Late Stage Core Formation Realm and Middle Stage Core and Soul Fusion Realm.

Their leader, however, was at the Peak Stage of the Core and Soul Fusion. As they looked at the Jiran Forest in front, one group member couldn't help but ask that same leader.

"Senior Lian, are we really going to look for that boy in here? This Jiran forest is gigantic. Besides, even though the description matches, we are not after this twin. We need the white-haired one."

Lian Buran, who was in charge of this group, nodded his head.

"Vio, I understand what you mean. However, as far as we know, those twins rarely go out alone. If that Roan came to try this mission, his brother most likely followed him. As big as the Core Region of Jiran Forest might be, we still need to try. Besides, the mayor told us the approximate area where his aunt told him she would go. We might have a good chance of finding those twins there. If we do so and kill them, we will have performed a huge achievement for the sect."

Another member then mentioned something else.

"Jiran Forest has many Stage Four Demon beasts, so it might also have Stage Five ones. Isn't that a little too risky? Unlike the Dalamu Sect, which most likely has some agreement with the Stage Five Demon beasts of its territory, we have nothing. Maybe we will be targeted as soon as we disclose our Umbral Energy in there."

Lian shook his head in response.

"Don't worry. Even if Jiran Forest has Stage Five Demon beasts, there shouldn't be more than one or two. If lucky, there might be three. The chances of bumping into one of them are very low. Also, we won't move as a full group. Instead, we will separate our group into four different ones. Even if one of the groups get caught by a stroke of misfortune, the other three can still continue the search."

Everyone nodded.

"Senior Lian. Rean is a very detrimental existence for our Umbral Sect. Since there is a good chance of finding him in this Forest, why didn't the sect dispatch Nascent Soul Realm elders to look for him? It would be several times faster and easier to scan this place."

Lian sighed as he explained.

"Unfortunately, our Umbral Sect is being watched all the time. If we do make some unusual movements, the Dalamu Sect will most likely act. We were lucky that the mayor of Tamadol City owed a debt to one of our elders. That's the only reason why he reported Roan's location to us. We don't want to scare the prey away because we are being too hasty. Don't worry, with our four groups searching simultaneously, we really have a good chance of finding them."

"Alright, we won't be able to hide our approach from now on. Change your sect robes to some everyday clothes, and let's enter."

The Umbral Sect Members nodded and changed before quickly heading for the Core Region.

Back in the Core Region, somewhere deep underground, a woman made her way through what seemed to be a maze. If Rean and Roan were here at the moment, they would immediately recognize her. She was Latalia Amakal, the target they were searching for together with the place in the Jade Slip.

'For fuck's sake! Just where the hell is the core?'

Latalia had been in this underground maze for weeks already. Fortunately, as a Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivator, she didn't need food or water anymore. Otherwise, she would have died a long time ago. However, not being able to find a single clue in this place after flying around for so long already started to take a toll on her.

*Roar!*

'Shit!'

As soon as Latalia heard that roar, she turned around and disappeared into the maze's passages. Being lost in this place was not the only thing she had to care about. There were also a lot of creatures that lived here. Latalia tried to fight them before. At first, she found it to be relatively easy. Although the creatures had power equivalent to a Core and Soul Fusion Realm Cultivator, they didn't have any intelligence. It wasn't a problem to use a few tricks that led them into their own demise... or so she thought.

Unfortunately, she came to understand that it was impossible to kill them. She killed them several times, but they always recovered. When she finally began to run out of Spiritual Energy, she had to flee. She wanted to investigate further, but she had to keep moving before they recovered completely.

'It must be some kind of massive formation that keeps recreating those beasts. Well, that makes sense. If these beasts were real ones and had been locked here until now, they would have died already. Still, it's no wonder so many people began to disappear around this place. If they were trapped inside this location, then most of them would die indeed. They didn't know what they were getting into. Once they got trapped here, only death awaited them. Even my Amakal Family only has superficial knowledge about it. Still, why did this place only open now?'

Unfortunately, she also didn't find a way to deal with the formation either. She already gave up battling those monsters and would flee as soon as she heard them. Her only choice was to find the exit or a way to stop the beasts from resurging. However, that's not her plan. Latalia had other thoughts in mind regarding her stay here in this place.