Death... and me

Roan looked at Red as he held something above his hand with his Spiritual Energy. "This amount should be enough to save it." He then glanced at Rean after that, saying, "Still, this was very risky."

Rean smiled and laughed as he looked at Roan's hand. "Hahaha! If Red decided to go all out, we couldn't do anything to stop him anyway. In the end, we could only guarantee that he couldn't attack anymore after the last strike. Now that he has run out of energy, we can simply use it to fix the core."

Red, who was too weak to move, was fuming in anger. "You're despicable! Were you planning this from the very start?"

Rean shrugged his shoulders as he responded, "Hey! You also gave up your battle against us and attacked the core in the end. If we're despicable, then you're even more so."

Red went silent after hearing that. Indeed, he did ignore the twins in the end.

Roan then headed to one of the floating red crystal islands and dropped the contents above his hand on it. As for what it was? That was obviously all the blood Red spilled during the entire battle! Rean came up with this idea when he found out that Red was a bona fide Divine Demon Beast. Since Divine Demon Beast blood was necessary to repair the Spiritual Energy Field's core, then why not use Red's blood instead?

Red was in a far worse state than Kentucky and Darian outside, so one could only imagine just how much blood he lost in this battle. The blood was then absorbed by the floating red crystals as a huge stream of energy rushed out of it. Obviously, that stream of energy entered the Spiritual Energy Field's core.

Before Red's eyes, his blood helped repair the core's damage at breakneck speeds. Since Kentucky and Darian were still helping outside, the repair process had gone even faster. Of course, the huge amount of blood given 'voluntarily' by Red was the greatest factor. There was just too much of it!

Red watched as the core returned to normal and surpassed the state he first encountered it as.

*Boom!*

At some point, the sound of a 'click' came out of the core before a huge burst of Spiritual Energy came out of it. Rean's group was then sent flying by the shockwave. It was so strong that they might have died if they didn't protect themselves in time. Rean, who was besides Red, also held him and protected the Golden Drohare from the blast.

When the twins looked at the core once again, they noticed a huge Spiritual Energy barrier enveloping it. Let alone the twins, even Red's strongest attack at his peak wouldn't leave a dent on it. "So that's the protection Senior Darian talked about. Indeed, even a Stage Nine Demon Beast or a cultivator of that realm would have a hard time doing anything against it," Rean said, slightly surprised.

Red couldn't help but sigh, muttering, "In the end, I failed..." Right after, Red passed out. He was enduring until now just to see the outcome of his action. Once he confirmed that it didn't work, his body finally gave in, and his consciousness drifted away.

Back outside, Phex's battle had finally reached a point where he could barely hold the Zasfins. Kentucky and Darian didn't look any better as they lost way too much blood. However, just as things were about to turn for the worse, the Spiritual Energy Field began to work once again. The Underwater City's protection quickly took form as the demon beasts' strength increased. Sure enough, Phex had obtained the support of the Bestial Sacred Ground once again.

"Hahaha! They did it!" Phex, Darian, and Kentucky couldn't help but laugh out loud after sensing this. Soon after, Phex gave up his battle against the Zasfins and entered the city's protection. Even if his power increased due to the Bestial Sacred Ground, he had spent way too much energy. He needed time to recover.

Phex then looked at Pankun, Suria, Kumo, and the others outside. As one could imagine, they had terrible expressions at the moment. "If I were you, I would leave now. It shouldn't take long for the other Divine Demon Beasts to arrive either."

Pankun gritted his teeth as he cursed inwardly, 'That fucking hare failed! How the hell did he fuck up while no one was there to bother him?' Of course, he kept those thoughts for himself. After that, he looked at the others and said, "Let's go." He knew Phex was right since he saw the moment Darian used the Thoughts Transmission Talisman. Besides, with the Spiritual Energy Field back up and running, he had no chance of breaking through its barrier. Phex's group was as safe as they could be.

Pankun then turned around with his companions and disappeared. As to where they went, Phex had no idea.

*Thud!*

As soon as Pankun's group left, Kentucky, Darian, and Phex fell on the ground. Be it Phex who fought outside or Darian and Kentucky's severe blood loss, they were in no condition to do anything for now.

Phex then looked at Darian, the Black Tortoise. "How are you, Darian? Kentucky's young, so he'll recover his blood in no time. But you're different. You're the oldest between all of us and a Stage Nine Demon Beast at that. Things won't be easy for you."

Darian nodded in response, saying, "Indeed. The way I am at the moment, I'm only able to fight at the Initial Stage Nine level at most. Perhaps at the peak of Stage Eight. I don't think I'll be of much help against Fikin and the others in the near future."

Suddenly, a voice came from the hall's entrance, asking them, "How long will you take to recover, Senior Darian?"

Darian and the others looked in the voice's direction, just to see Rean and Roan entering. Their clothes were as ragged and bloodied as it could possibly be. Their complexions were as white as ghosts. In any case, they didn't seem to be in any danger.

Instead of answering Rean's question, Darian could only sigh, saying, "Sorry for doubting you. And thanks for protecting the Spiritual Energy Field's core."