Death... and me

2348 Tormalek

Tormalek Continent was located in the northeast region of the Devils' Territories. Since most of the invasion started from the south, southwest, and west, the northeast was the direction most of the Devils' forces retreated while trying to hold the advance of their enemies. Still, if you took the entire territory of the Devils into consideration, Tormalek was closer to the center, although it was true it was on the northeast side.

That said, the Tormalek Continent became one of the continents with the most concentration of Devils, where the humanoid, demon beast, and spirit armies found it hard to advance. In the central area of the Realm of Gods, the southwest of the Devils' Territory in that central area has already been conquered.

At the border of the Tormalek Continent in the southwest, there was a city that had just been conquered a few months ago. It went by the name of Gloglie City, and the signs of Devil occupation were still visible everywhere there. The most prominent being the high concentration of Dark Element compared to the others.

After dominating this area for so many years, the devils used several methods to make the environment better for their survival. There were many giant dark trees known as Underworld Death Trees planted in all the Devil's Territory. In the Underworld, they were pretty common and didn't catch much attention. However, once planted in an environment with Divine Energy instead of Devilish Energy, that showed their real use.

Those three were able to absorb Divine Energy and release great concentrations of Dark Element in exchange. The much higher Dark Element environment gave birth to Devilish Energy, which shared space with the normal Divine Energy.

For the devils, those trees were of paramount importance back when they attacked the essence race. Above all, they were very easy to acquire in the Underworld to be transported to the Realm of Gods. The Devils' Territory, at the moment, had a higher concentration of Underworld Death Trees than many of the Underworld Regions themselves.

This high concentration of Dark Element and a more or less equal concentration of Devilish Energy and Divine Energy gave the Devils a huge advantage. Saying that these trees were the reason for the Devils' resistance being this tough is already underestimating these trees' achievement.

As a result, everywhere the Demon Beasts, Humanoids, and Spirits conquered, they would send many squadrons with the sole reason of destroying these trees. Yet, there were countless Underworld Death Trees in the Devils' Territory, so getting rid of them was a very time-consuming job.

Gloglie City and its surroundings had only been conquered a few months ago, so many of those trees still stood. Besides, it wasn't just because you destroyed the three that the environment would suddenly go back to normal. After being under the influence of Dark Element and Devilish Energy for this long, it would take quite a few years before Devilish Energy completely disappeared, and only after the Underworld Trees in the region were destroyed.

In this same Gloglie City, a Long-Distance Teleport Formation had been built less than two months ago. Still, it was often used, receiving teleportations several times each day. Those who operated it couldn't help but wonder just how many high-level Divine Stones were used to arrive at this place.

Suddenly, the formation activated once again. With a huge flash of silver light, several tens of cultivators of the humanoid races and a few demon beasts in their humanoid forms appeared. Within this group, one could see a middle-aged man followed by a demon beast in human form. On their side, a 'kid' of five or six years old could also be seen.

These people were obviously Rean and Kentucky, who had their appearances changed. As for the kid... Well, Rean and Kentucky had no idea who the kid was, just that he had the same cultivation as them.

Rean then looked at the kid and smiled. "Sorry, the teleport formation activated, and I couldn't answer you. Nice to meet you, too. My name is Goku, and this on my side is Kenny." That's the names Rean and Kentucky decided to use here.

The kid just shook his head. "Don't worry, these kind of things don't bother me. You can call me Essefy. I'll be honest: I didn't expect to find someone at the same cultivation as me for this journey. Pretty much everyone in the Elemental Space Realm who wanted to go to the war had gone already, so it is rare to see more of us arriving at this point. To have three of us at the same time is even more unusual."

"Hahaha!" Rean laughed in response. "We had no choice in our case."

Kentucky... or Kenny... nodded. "Goku and I had been in seclusion together for a very long time to achieve our breakthroughs. We completely hid ourselves and simply didn't bother with the outside world. You can imagine our surprise when we found out that the demon beasts, humanoids, and spirits had started an attack against the devils. Above all, they managed to turn OFF the Continental Barriers."

Essefy wasn't surprised to hear that. "There is nothing wrong with that. I myself spent almost 400 years during my last seclusion. Although I didn't cut my connection with the outside world completely, I warned my disciples to only call me if it was absolutely necessary, so I wasn't far from being like you. During these 400 years, I was only called out twice due to some circumstances regarding my territory. Well, who are we fooling here? When someone at my level disappears and leaves his territory for someone else to look after, there will always be someone else wishing to try their luck. Hahaha!"

Rean and Kentucky understood. The times Essefy came out was basically to drive out the ones who tried to conquer his territory. Even though he has disciples, they are most likely in the Space Bending Realm or below. "Fortunately, my friend and I don't have any territory, so we didn't have to worry about such things."

"Sigh..." Essefy could see the advantage there. "Sometimes I wonder if it was really a good idea to get a territory for myself. Oh well, whatever. What is done is done. So, are you here for the Merit Points as well?"

Rean nodded and was just about to answer when his communication badge activated. Not only his but everyone else's, too. "Seems like our new bosses already know of our arrival."

Check Out my New Book: Duality of Shadows!

Just like most my books, it is full of comedy and action. For those reading Death... and Me, you will find this story particulary entertaining!

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And as always, any Golden Tickets and Stones are welcome. ;)