Death... and me

Rean and Roan weren't really preoccupied. The Golems were relatively slow, so it wouldn't be a problem for them to retreat. Even if they didn't have the chance to do that, they could drag Malaka and Kentucky into the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. After that, they just needed to wait until the Golems leave for them to come out as well.

However, it was at this moment that the Golem Leader acted.

*ROAR~~~~!!!*

All the other Golems then looked at it and immediately dashed back to its side. The Golem Leader then looked at Rean and Roan as it used its arms to cover the place where his Core was located. Soon after, it turned around and began to run away with its companions.

Rean and Roan were quite surprised by that. It was not because the Golem chose to flee, but because they thought it would never do that. From Reliance's information, the Demon Beasts inside this place are in a constant semi-berserk state. Retreating would be one of the last things they'd do.

Malaka and Kentucky then returned to Rean and Roan's side. Their condition wasn't that good, but they weren't in any danger either.

"Hehe. We won! Did you see how I held those Golems back on my own?"

*Chick, chick!*

Rean smiled as he patted those two heads, much to their delight.

Roan, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes.

"Strange. They shouldn't have retreated. It seems like they're not in a berserk state like Reliance told us. That Golem wasn't intelligent, but it could at least understand that continuing to battle us would possibly bring its own death."

Rean nodded.

"It's probably because of the Surge. It must be affecting the Decaying Demon Beasts' state of mind. Sure enough, the Surge will arrive during the trial."

Roan agreed with those words.

"Indeed. This is terrible news. It means that the Demon Beasts will be even more dangerous from now on. Should we give up the Vermilion Pools and retreat?"

Malaka immediately shook her head.

"No! I don't want to go back like this. The others will definitely not give up just because of the Surge, so I won't either."

Roan looked at Malaka for a second and nodded.

"That's more like it. Alright, let's recover our energy and injuries first. This place was those Golems' territory, so there shouldn't be other Decaying Demon Beasts around. Let's take the chance to do it now."

Rean nodded and immediately took a few Spirit Stones out to recover his energy. After he healed his injuries, he touched Malaka and Kentucky before using his Life Style Second Form to heal them. Well, Kentucky could also use the Light Element, so Rean only had to control it to increase the effectiveness.

Roan could use the Life Style Second Form as well, but not as proficient as Rean, so he only recovered his own injuries.

Just as Rean was about to finish everything, his expression changed.

"There's Spiritual Sense. Someone is coming from there."

Everyone immediately got up and looked in the direction Rean pointed out. Sure enough, four figures appeared in their vision a few seconds later.

"That's quite impressive. As soon as my Spiritual Sense touched you three, you got up and looked in my direction. However, I couldn't feel any of your Spiritual Senses passing by me. How did you know that we were there? Oh! Wait! Aren't you that girl with that amazing Water Element control?"

As expected, Malaka's display in the settlement caught the attention of a lot of people. The man who talked seemed to be very interested in Rean's group. Rean and Roan had no idea who they were, but they could at least feel their cultivations. The frontman was at the Late Stage of the Core Formation Realm while his companions seemed to be in the Middle or initial Stage.

"Hahaha! I got a lot of fans at that time."

Malaka didn't seem afraid, but she was gripping on her staff quite tightly.

Roan didn't care about any of that, so he went straight to the point.

"What do you want? We have no time to deal with you, so make it quick."

The man narrowed his eyes. Even though his group had the cultivation advantage, those twins didn't seem to care much about them. Still, he soon recovered before saying.

"I, Doren Cantou, am not someone unreasonable that would attack kids. I saw that you guys got many Rank Three Spirit Stones during the gathering in the settlement. As long as you leave them behind, we will pretend that we never saw you before."

His companions then began to laugh after hearing that. Sure enough, they all had the same idea. Rank Three Spirit Stones were very hard to acquire by people of their level, after all.

However, Roan snorted in response.

"Too bad. We won't approve. Now that you've made your intentions clear, I have no intention of letting any of you go. I'll simply harvest the spoils from your bodies."

Of course, Roan had already reached an agreement with Rean and Malaka even before saying that. It was evident that leaving this place without a battle wouldn't be possible. Well, they were lucky that they were able to recover from the Golems' fight before these guys arrived. Otherwise, they would need to retreat, give their Spirit Stones away, or enter the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm.

'Malaka, you and Kentucky will fight the guy on the right side. Be careful, though. His cultivation is a lot higher than yours, and he is a human that can think. He will be even more dangerous than those three golems attacking you together.'

'Don't worry. With Kentucky here, I'm invincible! Hahaha!'

Rean and Roan didn't mind Malaka's words and immediately attacked the other two Initial Stage Core Formation Realm enemies. Their hair colors changed once more as they gathered Light and Dark Element between their Swords.

'Death Style, Fifth Form, Mirage Assault!'

When Rean and Roan's opponents saw that, they laughed out loud. Rean and Roan's speed was just at the level of a Peak Foundation Establishment, and so was the energy coming from their bodies. With their higher cultivation, those twins would be too easy to deal with. Let alone Malaka and Kentucky, who were attacking the other guy.

However, Doren narrowed his eyes instead. The difference in cultivation was so big, so where did that confidence of theirs come from? He decided that he would not leave it up to chance. Everyone in the Profound Abyss was a genius of their own organizations, after all.

'Don't underestimate those two. Attack with full power!'

His companions were taken aback for a moment, but they didn't dare to defy Doren's order. 

'Hell Blade!'

'Earth Asunder!'

Doren also didn't waste the chance and attacked the closest twin, Roan.

'Heavenly Wind Slasher!'

None of them noticed what was happening. No, to be more exact, none of them had ever seen the Mirage Assault before. 

Rean and Roan had faked their actions. Obviously, they aren't weak to the point where they can only move and release the Spiritual Energy of a Peak Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Even if their opponents were vigilant, they didn't expect what happened next.

'Life Style, First Form, Enhancement!'

Suddenly, Rean and Roan's speed and power exploded, reaching the same level as a Late Stage Core Formation Realm cultivator! Doren's companions, who were about to block Rean and Roan, instantly paled!

Fast! Too fast!

Of course, Rean and Roan wouldn't give them the time necessary to react.

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

The surprises had just begun for them, though.