Death... and me

As a Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivator, Latalia could also fly with her cultivation. With that, she could bring Ervan and company together, which was much faster and practical.

Another good thing was that others would think that she wasn't alone, but with a bigger group, which was quite common. 

Latalia did find another Demon Beast group, but most of them had more than 3 in their midst. Because of that, she could only flee while keeping a look at the surroundings to know where she was.

Perseverance finally paid off when she encountered a group of Demon Beasts with only three. 

"Alright. You two will hold back that Middle Stage Four demon beast on the left. I'll deal with the other two."

Ervan, Sian, and Luo were taken aback. She was leaving the strongest demon beast between the three for them to hold back. 

"Senior Latalia, we won't stand a chance against that thing."

Latalia didn't care, though.

"Stop complaining. I don't need you to win, just to hold it back. I will quickly finish the other two since they have cultivation levels smaller than mine. That's the fastest way of finishing this battle and preventing them from recovering in time."

Latalia then released Ervan and the other two before charging straight at the demon beast. Without another choice, Ervan's group also did the same. 

Sian then took the front before saying.

"Ervan, Luo, I'll be the vanguard. You two try to hit its legs to hinder its movements. We don't need to kill it. Just hold on for long enough."

Ervan and Luo nodded. Sian was the only Peak Core Formation Realm in their group, while Ervan and Luo were at the Late Stage. Sian would be much better at resisting the attacks.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

Soon, sounds of explosions began to come from the sides. Latalia kept her word as she threw herself against the two Initial Stage Four fake demon beasts. Of course, the Middle Stage Four was there as well.

Seeing that, Sian gritted his teeth and dashed forward. He pulled a spear from his back and attacked the demon beast from the side.

The fake demon beasts didn't use Spiritual Sense. Because of Latalia's attacks at the front, it didn't notice Sian by the sides.

'Mountain Pierce!'

Earth Element gathered around Sian and his spear, which made it feel several times heavier than usual. Soon after, it came crashing down against the demon beast.

*Bam!*

*Roar!*

The spear pierced the Demon beast's body, making it scream in pain. Naturally, it immediately shifted its attention from Latalia and pounced at Sian. Sian's attack caused good damage, but it was not enough to threaten the demon beast's life.

Sian knew that, so he immediately changed into a defensive stance to hold the counter-attack. But at the same time that the demon beast attacked Sian, Ervan and Luo approached it from the sides and attacked its legs.

'Splitting River!'

'Extreme Wind Slash!'

*Bang!*

*Swich!*

*Swich!*

Sian was sent flying back as the legs of the demon beast were hit. Unfortunately, the damage on them was even lower than Sian's Spear just a moment ago. 

The demon beast then spun its body as it clashed against Luo on the side.

'Fuck!'

In the end, the Middle Stage Four demon beast was much stronger than any of them, so its attacks were also much faster. Luo could only try to raise his sword to defend against the attack.

*Clang!*

The claws and the sword hit each other. However, Luo was not strong enough to hold it, so his sword was sent flying from his hand. Without anything to defend himself, Luo could only increase the Spiritual Energy around his body, trying to use it to reduce the damage.

*Crash!*

The Demon Beast's paw hit Luo's chest head-on, crushing his body against the ground.

"Luo!"

Sian and Ervan immediately pounced at the demon beast when they saw that.

'Mountain Pierce!'

'Extreme Wind Slash!'

The Demon Beast was paying attention to Sian and Ervan this time, so it immediately stopped its attacks and jumped away. Ervan and Sian didn't stop and followed. They didn't have time to check on Luo at the moment.

This situation continued for another 30 seconds or so. However, this amount of time was enough to push Ervan and Sian to their limits. They were overwhelmed by the difference in strength between them and the Demon Beasts and were full of injuries.

The demon beast then made a sudden shift just as it was going to attack Sian, aiming at Ervan instead.

'Shit!'

Seeing the deadly situation, Ervan immediately gave up his attack and tried to defend as well. However, just as the Demon Beast was about to get Ervan, a flash of green light hit its body by the side.

*Roar!*

The attack was a lot more powerful than when Sian hit the Demon Beast in the first sneak attack, which immediately made the demon beast retreat.

Only then did Ervan and Sian noticed that the green flash was Latalia. At the same time, they received a Spiritual Sense message.

'That was good enough. You can leave the rest to me.'

Latalia then started a fierce battle against the Middle Stage Four Demon Beast. However, the beast had no intelligence. With the other two Initial Stage Four ones 'dead,' it didn't take too long before Latalia took the upper hand. Although Ervan's group attacks didn't kill the beast, they were still of some help to Latalia.

Ervan noticed that Latalia was going to win and immediately rushed to where Luo was. Sian, of course, did the same.

"How is Elder Luo?"

Ervan eyes darkened as he looked at him. In the end, he shook his head.

"He isn't breathing anymore. Elder Luo was taken by surprise with that sudden spin, so he didn't have time to put up a good defense. Besides, he was a Water Element User and quite old, so his body's resistance wasn't that good either."

Sian sighed as he sat on the ground. He and Luo had been friends for a long time, so he was also affected by his clan member's death.

*Boom!*

*Roarrrrrrr...!*

Finally, Latalia landed a critical hit on the Demon Beast, taking its 'life.' Right after, he looked at the injured Ervan and Sian before shouting.

"You two, come here, fast! Help me open up this body."

Ervan felt like he was about to explode. But Sian immediately stopped him.

'Don't be rash. Latalia can kill us two in a second, especially now that we are injured. Luo wouldn't want you to die because of a fit of rage.'

Ervan gritted his teeth but nodded in the end. The two then dragged their damaged bodies and helped Latalia open the Middle Stage Four demon beast's corpse. 

"There you are!"

Latalia then took another token similar to the one she saw before.

"Sure enough, it was really inside the Demon Beasts. I guess at least one of them carries it in each group."

Latalia quickly put the token in her robe before looking at Ervan and Luo.

"Take this."

Suddenly, two pills flew into their hands.

"What is this?"

"Don't ask, just swallow it. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to resort to this bullshit."

Ervan and Sian swallowed the pills. It turned out that those ones were Healing Pills. On top of that, very good ones capable of working even on Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivators. So for them, it was even more useful. 

"I got what I wanted, so now is my time to keep my word. As long as you don't try anything funny, I'll help you leave this place. Relax your bodies and focus on healing. I'll bring you two away with me. We can't stay here for long since those Demon Beasts will recover anytime now."

Sian and Ervan then looked at the demon beasts that Latalia killed and noticed their injuries quickly closing. Enormous amounts of Spiritual Energy rushed into their bodies, coming from the walls on the side. Right after, they noticed that the same thing started to happen with the demon beast beside them.

'No wonder she needed help. She wouldn't be able to kill all three of them before one of them finished recovering.'

Still, before Luo and Ervan could ask what was happening, Latalia caught their bodies with her Spiritual Energy and flew away with them.

"Wait! What about Elder Luo's body?"

Latalia snorted after hearing that.

"Do you really think I'll drag a dead body around? Kid, we had a deal. I would help you leave this place as long as you helped me get what I wanted. However, it did not include carrying corpses around. Of course, if you want to stay and bring it away, be my guest. Our deal will be over here and then. In fact, it would help me greatly if I don't need to look after you."

Sian shook his head as he looked at Ervan. He then used a Spiritual Sense message to say.

'Ervan, leave it. We need to leave this place first. Perhaps, we might find your father here. Once we go back outside, we can make a symbolic funeral for Luo according to the clan's customs. Remember, your father is already quite old as well. Until your daughter can take the position as Clan Head, you will be the one doing it if your father leaves. The most important thing at the moment is your safety. I believe Elder Luo thought about the same thing as well.'

Ervan could only force a nod before going back to recover from his injuries.

Latalia was somewhat far away from the door she had found in the past, so she would need a few hours to make her way back, depending on the situation. Time began to pass, and around 1 hour later, Ervan's Thoughts Transmission Talisman began to shine.

'It's father's talisman!'