Chapter 32: The Heart of the Netherworld
Linley's heart trembled.
Overlord of Death?
Linley knew this as well. Each element had seven Sovereigns: one High Sovereign, two Mid Sovereigns, and four Low Sovereigns. With seven elemental systems and four rule systems, there were only eleven High Sovereigns in total. These eleven High Sovereigns could all be called 'Overlords'! They were the supreme kings of their respective systems, figures like rulers!
They were the most top-tier existences beneath the Overgods.
And the Overgods themselves were incarnations of the rules themselves, devoid of human emotions, and they never interfered in any conflicts. They could essentially be disregarded. Thus, the eleven Overlords could truly be called the most supreme beings across countless planes.
And from what Yuna had said, among the eleven Overlords, the Overlords of the four supreme planes were the strongest. He could fully imagine the identity of this Overlord of Death seated on the throne! Mentioning the Blood Peak Sovereign earlier was indeed laughable!
"Sovereign," Bebe said urgently from the side, "my boss, he—"
"Silence." The Overlord of Death, seated high on her throne, said coldly. Bebe was immediately suppressed by a wave of pressure, unable to speak. "What I have said will never change. The reward and punishment cancel each other out. I will not help you."
Linley looked up at the Overlord of Death seated above.
Still in her purple robe and blood-red long hair, with a face as delicate as a young girl's, the aura she naturally emitted made Linley feel powerless. This was the Overlord of the 'Netherworld', one of the four supreme planes! The most powerful, most supreme, most invincible living existence!
"Sovereign, then we brothers will take our leave." Linley stood up, still bowing.
"Hmm," the Overlord of Death replied coldly.
Bebe glared at Linley, urgently sending a mental message: "Boss, leave now?"
"Yes, leave now! What the Sovereign says cannot be changed. We need to hurry and find the other Netherworld Sovereigns." Linley quickly sent back. He had pleaded repeatedly, but the Overlord of Death showed no sign of relenting. "If this Overlord of Death won't help us, I don't believe the other six will all be the same!"
Linley couldn't give up!
Thinking of his father, Yale, George, and the others still in a life-or-death crisis, Linley was frantic! Dying in the Yulan continent wasn't true death, as their souls still existed. But dying in the Necropolis of the Gods meant utter annihilation, like his Grandpa Doehring, never to live again!
Linley couldn't let them be annihilated!
He would risk everything to save them!
Bebe glanced at the Overlord of Death above. "Hmm, let's go."
Linley and Bebe still bowed politely to the Overlord of Death, then turned and walked out of the Sovereign's hall. The Gold-Silver Twin Serpents and their family, as well as Aseth and Berre, all watched Linley and the others leave, their expressions varied. The Gold and Silver Serpent couple merely sneered.
"Wait," a cold voice suddenly rang out.
Linley and Bebe, who had reached the threshold of the hall, abruptly stopped. Linley spun around, looking at the Overlord of Death with surprise and hope. His eyes burned with intensity: "She called me at this moment—has she changed her mind? But Sovereigns' words don't change. Then again, maybe not. Sovereigns are also humans who cultivated. There might be hope!"
Linley grew tense.
Bebe also looked up at the Overlord of Death, both puzzled and hopeful.
"Linley, I'll remind you of something. You don't need to seek out the other Netherworld Sovereigns now. You can go directly back to the Infernal Realm," the Overlord of Death said coldly, but her eyes watched Linley's expression with interest.
"Why?" Linley's heart trembled, sensing something wrong.
"When ordinary people die, their souls enter the Netherworld and form undead. This is part of the laws of the universe. The law that governs this matter has manifested into a treasure, the Netherworld's supreme artifact, the 'Heart of the Netherworld'. To find out which undead your father and brothers have become, you must rely on the Heart of the Netherworld. And this Heart of the Netherworld... is under my control," the Overlord of Death said coldly.
Linley stared at the Overlord of Death.
The Heart of the Netherworld?
So it was this treasure that controlled everything. Such a supreme artifact being kept by the Overlord of Death was indeed only natural.
The Overlord of Death looked down at Linley below, a slight smile curling at the corner of her mouth. "I said, as punishment, I will not save your father and brothers. So... don't even think about saving them. Even if you go to other Netherworld Sovereigns, I won't allow them to use the Heart of the Netherworld. I think... they don't have the guts to defy me. And you don't have the qualifications to make them do so!"
"So, you can go directly back to the Infernal Realm," the Overlord of Death said indifferently.
"Boom!"
Linley felt his mind explode into chaos. 'Heart of the Netherworld', 'Father', 'Big Brother Yale', 'George'... all sorts of things swirled chaotically in his mind. Linley's thoughts lost all logic. He was completely stunned. It felt like an eternity... Linley seemed to be in a dream, his mind dazed!
Then, in an instant, he woke up!
"No!" Linley suddenly looked up, staring at the Overlord of Death. "Sovereign, you can't do this. You can't do this! If you, Sovereign, are unwilling to save them, I, Linley, have no complaints. But you cannot stop other Sovereigns from saving them. You cannot. You cannot!" Linley was already in despair.
Facing the Overlord of Death, he had no power to resist, no power to demand. He could only speak so helplessly! In his despair, he even forgot to say 'you' with respect and used a more casual form. In a clear state of mind, Linley would never make such a mistake.
Bebe also looked at the Overlord of Death, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"This is your punishment," the Overlord of Death said coldly.
"Sovereign!" Bebe suddenly stepped forward.
"How dare you!" one of the two maids standing at the ends of the hall steps coldly shouted. "Step back!"
Bebe stood firm, looking up at the Overlord of Death. "Sovereign, you are the invincible Overlord! Yes, I killed a serpent spirit. Whether it was called 'Tina' or not, I don't know." Bebe held his head high. "Sovereign, you arranged a test for us. How was I supposed to know it was a test? Anyway, she wanted to kill me. Was I not allowed to fight back?"
"Bang!"
Bebe suddenly knelt down but still looked up at the Overlord of Death. "I don't think I was wrong. If I, the Overlord of Death, made a mistake and need punishment, then punish me directly. Don't drag my boss into it. I was the one who killed the serpent spirit. One person, one deed. Don't involve my boss! Come on, kill me if you want." Bebe looked up defiantly, staring straight at the Sovereign.
Linley was stunned.
Aseth and Berre in the hall were also shocked, looking at Bebe. The Gold-Silver Serpent couple and the others were also somewhat astonished.
"Very well," the Overlord of Death said coldly, looking down at Bebe.
"Boom!"
A terrifying pressure spread out. Bebe was crushed with a "smack," his whole body slammed onto the hall floor. But Bebe still pushed himself up with his hands, forcing himself upright, still looking up at the Overlord of Death.
"Swish!"
Linley's figure suddenly shifted horizontally in front of Bebe, looking up at the Overlord of Death above. "Overlord, I ordered Bebe to kill that serpent spirit. We were trying to seize the Netherworld Fruit at the time, and that serpent spirit was blocking us. So I ordered Bebe to kill it while I took the chance to grab the fruit! Bebe was just following my orders."
"Bebe," Linley sent a mental message sternly, "have you lost your mind? If you die here, you don't even have a divine clone. It would be true death. What about Nini later? What about your daughter, Yuna? And Beirut would be heartbroken too."
"Boss," Bebe looked at Linley.
"Shut up. Don't speak now," Linley sent back sharply.
Bebe faltered and could only stay silent.
Linley, however, looked up at the Overlord of Death seated high above. That invincible aura indeed inspired awe. Linley stared at the Overlord of Death: "Sovereign, this punishment is punishment, and the reward is reward. How can they cancel each other out? I would rather accept punishment! I only ask that you, Sovereign, save my father and brothers. Even if you want to kill me, I have no complaints!"
Kill Linley?
Bebe suddenly looked up at Linley, who stood as straight as a spear before him.
"What?" Aseth and Berre also looked on in disbelief. The Gold-Silver Serpent couple and their nine children all stared at Linley in shock.
"Boss, what are you doing!" Bebe urgently sent a mental shout.
"Bebe, if I am killed, I still have my fire-type divine clone in the Yulan continent. Although relying solely on a fire-type divine clone won't make me a peak powerhouse, if it's for my father and my brothers, what does it matter if I can't become a peak powerhouse?" Linley sent back. "But if my father and my brothers end up annihilated in the Necropolis of the Gods, even if I become a powerhouse like Beirut, I will be uneasy for the rest of my life and regret it forever! Grandpa Doehring has already been annihilated because of me. My brothers, my father—they still have hope. I cannot abandon them just because I want to become a peak powerhouse!"
Bebe was stunned.
"If my family and brothers can live well, what do I care about giving up glory or strength?"
Linley looked up at the Overlord of Death.
"Reward is reward, punishment is punishment?" the Overlord of Death repeated, then looked down at Linley below. "Linley, your future is boundless. Are you willing to give up your future for those weak undead?" At these words from the Overlord of Death, Linley trembled.
Clearly...
This Overlord of Death also knew that Linley had divine clones in other planes.
"I am willing to give it up," Linley said, looking up.
Sometimes you pursue, sometimes you give up.
Giving up today might mean not becoming the strongest peak powerhouse, but it would allow him to have his family and his sworn brothers. That was enough for Linley. After all, seeking perfection in this world was difficult!
The Overlord of Death stared at Linley and said coldly, "You are willing to give it up, but... I do not agree."
Linley, who had already prepared himself, was stunned.
"You think reward and punishment cannot cancel each other out, but... in my eyes, they should. This is the rule I have set. What you need to do is obey my rules!" the Overlord of Death sneered, looking down at Linley as if he were a frantic ant.
Bebe suddenly stood up.
"Sovereign—"
Linley reached out and sharply stopped him, sending a mental message: "Bebe!" Bebe's face flushed red, and he turned to look at Linley.
"Offending the Sovereign will only get you killed for nothing, understand?" Linley sent sharply.
Linley looked up at the Sovereign and said word by word, "Sovereign, is there really no hope at all?" Thinking of his father's years of suffering, dying without even avenging his mother, and Big Brother Yale's collapse to the point of asking Reynolds to kill him... Linley's heart ached.
"Boss," Bebe looked at Linley, also feeling a pang of sorrow.
"Sovereign!" Suddenly, Aseth from the side spoke up. "Sovereign, hasn't the planar war begun? Isn't it said that killing a commander... why not make a slight change?"
"Oh?"
The Overlord of Death actually smiled, a rare sight. "Aseth, you're quite clever. I almost forgot." Then she looked down at Linley and Bebe. "Linley, let me tell you some very good news. You want to save your father and brothers, right? There is hope. There is still a little bit of hope."
Linley and Bebe suddenly looked up at the Overlord of Death above.
"Hope?" Linley's heart suddenly burned with passion.
The Overlord of Death spoke: "Among the seven divine planes and the four supreme planes, there is a very lively event. That is the 'planar war' that occurs once every trillion years."
Linley's heart trembled.
The planar war—he had heard of it before. He only knew it was a war between two planes, extremely brutal, with many experts falling.
"And right now, the Divine Darkness Plane and the Divine Light Plane are engaged in a planar war on the 'planar battlefield'! The Divine Darkness Plane belongs to the Netherworld's side! The Nine Netherworld Lords of my Netherworld are qualified to participate and assist them! According to the rules of the planar war... as long as you kill ten enemy commanders, you earn a merit. With that merit, you can make a request to the Sovereign of your own side. You can ask the Sovereign to forge a Sovereign artifact for you, whether it's for attack, material defense, or soul defense. You can choose whatever Sovereign artifact you want. The Sovereign will surely fulfill it!"
"Of course, you can make a lesser request," the Overlord of Death continued. "You can now go assist the Divine Darkness side. Kill one commander, and I will help you find one of your family or friends and restore their memory. Kill two, and I will help you find two. If you want to save how many, then go and work hard to kill the enemy commanders."
Linley's eyes lit up.
"Good," Linley quickly agreed.
"Don't be too hasty. I forgot to remind you. In the planar war, those who serve as commanders are figures at the level of 'Nine Netherworld Lords', which in your Infernal Realm are 'Abyssal Lords'," the Overlord of Death said coldly. "The weakest among them is probably on par with you. The strongest... are Great Perfection Highgods."
Linley's expression froze.
All Abyssal Lord-level figures serving as commanders? Those were people like Reisgem, or the master of the underwater castle of the Lamenting Bird, 'Mence'. He was supposed to go kill experts like them?
"In the planar war, commanders hold the highest position. Naturally, they are the peak experts of each side," the Overlord of Death said slowly. "To become a commander, one must be a Nine Netherworld Lord or a Prefectural Lord, etc. Only with such qualifications can one serve. You can imagine their strength yourself. If you go to kill them... and encounter a strong one, you're finished."
Linley felt a heavy stone pressing on his heart, making it hard to breathe.
He wanted to go kill them!
But did he have the strength? These weren't just Seven Star Fiends. They were Abyssal Lords, Nine Netherworld Lords. They were the absolute peak, some even as invincible as Beirut or Dannington. He was supposed to go kill them?
The Overlord of Death looked down at Linley with a condescending gaze. "This is the hope I spoke of. Originally, killing an enemy commander comes with a reward. You can use that to save your family. Kill one, and I'll save one."
Bebe glared angrily at the Sovereign.
Too unfair! Killing a commander was such a great merit, and yet she would only save one? But Linley had no choice if he wanted to save his family and brothers—this was the only path!
"If you're afraid, you can leave now," the Overlord of Death said coldly.
"I accept!" Linley looked up at the Overlord of Death above.
Even if ahead lay a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, Linley would charge through!