While speaking, Ange shouted "King" and then clapped his hands fiercely on either side of the Monarch's ears.

The Monarch shuddered all over, and the hood-like, translucent prohibition on his head slowly dissipated. Upon seeing Ange, the awakened Monarch jumped in fright, "Why are you here?"

Before Ange could speak, Negris couldn't help but curse, "If we hadn't come, you'd be sealed to death! What were you thinking, letting the World-Ending Magic Formation bombard you? If you want to die, you don't need to go through so much trouble. Just jump into the God Star, wouldn't it be quicker?"

Knowing he was in the wrong, the Monarch awkwardly scratched his head, saying, "Jumping into the God Star would be too slow a death."

"Ah, damn it, wait till I get over there and give you a thrashing," Negris fumed, rolling up his sleeves, ready to fight.

In a rare moment, Ange spoke, "King, it's dangerous."

He could deflect Negris's remarks, but Ange's words warranted his attention, so he hastily explained, "It's okay, I've got it under control."

"You have it under control, yet you let yourself be sealed by your own prohibition? If Ange didn't come, you'd be standing here like a fool," Negris complained.

The Monarch awkwardly replied, "Isn't it because I have you guys?"

Indeed, his confidence in self-sealing solely relied on Ange's presence. Others might not be able to break his soul prohibition, but Ange certainly could.

But such words wouldn't convince Ange and Negris, so he leaned in a bit closer and whispered, "I have a Life Box."

Negris's soul trembled, "You have a Life Box? Aren't you a skeleton? How could you have a Life Box?"

"'Life Box' is just for your understanding; I call it a Substitute Spirit. Its principle is similar to a Life Box. Do you remember the Wraith I've been nurturing?" The Monarch whispered.

"I remember, but I haven't seen it again since meeting you. Is that your Substitute Spirit?" Negris asked.

The Monarch nodded, "Memory prohibition transfer—once the soul connection breaks, the memory sealed within the Substitute Spirit's soul will be unblocked, allowing it to grow into a complete soul. I've left a lot of Soul Crystal Stones nearby, so the soul can quickly strengthen."

Upon learning the Monarch had such a contingency plan, Negris finally relaxed, but then quickly realized, "You sly old immortal, you've hidden such an important thing from us until now?"

"This is my ace for survival; am I crazy for telling you? What if you go blabbing about it someday?" The Monarch disdainfully replied.

Even if Negris wasn't a blabbermouth, the Monarch would never reveal such a survival technique because this was a world where soul searching existed, and dead men couldn't keep secrets.

"You could have taught Ange, so he could have a survival tool too," Negris protested.

"Are you stupid? His survival techniques exceed mine. He has so many avatars, and he's coexisted with the World Tree. Even if he dies, the Little Sapling can replant him," the Monarch dismissed.

Negris paused for a moment, "The Little Sapling can grow him back? Really?"

Ange nodded; it wasn't exactly growing him back. He had coexisted with the Little Sapling, unless both he and the Little Sapling were simultaneously obliterated, he couldn't be permanently destroyed.

Even a single surviving seed could sprout and grow in the right environment, allowing Ange to be restored once the Little Sapling regrows.

"The World Tree has such an ability? Then why didn't you find the Old Tree to coexist with?" Negris curiously asked.

The Monarch irritably replied, "You fool, it can only live for a hundred thousand years, let alone I couldn't necessarily beat it at that time."

Despite the many benefits of coexisting with the World Tree, compared to the Monarch's eternal life, the downside of coexistence was too short a lifespan; he'd have to be crazy to give up immortality for a mere hundred thousand years.

"Uh, I forgot, luckily the Little Sapling upgrades quickly," Negris mused over the lifespan issue, humorously relieved.

The Little Sapling upgraded so fast it hadn't even exhausted its lifespan before advancing to a Void Tree, then to the Tree of Ten Thousand Realms, eliminating lifespan concerns at that level.

"Okay, but even with the Substitute Spirit, don't recklessly venture; if your soul explodes, Locke and those Undead Dragons, as well as Undead creatures in Undead City, would all perish, and who knows how long your Substitute Spirit would take to grow back to your level," Negris advised.

The Monarch chuckled, "Already severed the link; now Locke is their king. I left a Spiritual Body beside Locke to convey information."

"Kvada, you couldn't even give a heads-up on this!" Negris cursed.

"Why would I tell you? So you'd nag at me?" The Monarch retorted disdainfully.

"You..." Negris angrily wanted to strike, but his projection couldn't take physical form.

"Alright, alright, why are you here?" The Monarch worried Negris might get mad, quickly shifting the topic.

Ange said, "Gemez Fortress, expelling, fight, King Fei Lie."

"What? You expelled Gemez Fortress? How did you manage that? I said I'd figure out a way to resist its intention before going back to cut it down; it's already been expelled! Did I just waste my efforts then?" The Monarch was shocked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"What did you figure out on your own? You sealed yourself with your own prohibition? You don't need to fight Gemez Fortress; you'd seal yourself," Negris teased.

The Monarch awkwardly said, "A mistake, a mistake, I should have kept Kram at a distance; the energy was too concentrated. I'd adapt after a few more tries."

"A few more tries? You got lucky this time, survived by sealing yourself. What if there's no blessing from the Goddess of Fortune next time and you get blown up?" Negris grew exasperated hearing of his plan to test again.

"Heh heh, that's what makes it challenging. If it were just ordinary enemies, cleaving them wouldn't be interesting" The Monarch cheerfully replied.

The Monarch was still the same Monarch, considering only fighting. Hearing him mention cleaving, it was clear persuading him was impossible. Negris could only mockingly note, "You can still cleave, but now you're only left with King Fei Lie."

"Uh, right, right, to cut King Fei Lie; Ange, toss me one more time." The Monarch recalled their purpose, deciding to skip the exploration since Gemez Fortress was gone, cutting took precedence.

Ange placed his hands on the Monarch's back and forcefully threw him towards the Silent Death Sea.

No matter how strong Ange was, he couldn't throw the Monarch directly to the Silent Death Sea—what he launched was the Monarch's Star Attraction. With Ange's strength, the Star Attraction could be thrown a considerable distance, accelerating the main body's approach.

Ange waited for the Monarch to halt and then performed a Soul Shift to throw again, repeating the process seven or eight times, quickly nearing Silent Death Sea, where now gathered three Masters of Stars and a Star Flame Angel.

Once everyone was in position, Negris called out to Anthony in the Soul Network, "Death God's Staff, where are you?"

"I'm at the Abyss Core. I found the Destruction Ball; it's releasing a powerful wave. Don't extend your thoughts; being swept by it is painful," Anthony informed through the Soul Network.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.