# Chapter 2: Inescapable Doom
Inside the rapidly advancing metallic lifeform, laughter rang out.
"Boss Yale, you can rest assured. Third brother has already guaranteed it. That Odin is as good as dead." George said with a smile beside him. Yale's hatred for Odin had penetrated deep into his soul; without truly killing Odin, there would always be that thorn in Yale's heart.
Yale nodded and smiled at Linley: "Then I'll trouble you, third brother."
"From Nether Mountain to the Necropolis of the Gods, the journey covers a considerable distance." Linley said with a smile. "Along the way, I'll use my divine sense to investigate and control the metallic lifeform to fly past some important locations. Perhaps, during this journey, I'll be able to find Odin."
Linley's soul force was even stronger than divine power.
The restrictions in the Infernal Realm were much weaker than in the Planar Battlefield. In the Infernal Realm, Linley's divine sense, infused with his might, could spread across eight million miles! The metallic lifeform under Linley's control could also fly nearly ten million miles in a day. At such speed, Linley only needed to search once per day on average.
Searching along the way and issuing quests—these were two methods.
If the search along the way failed, then he would issue quests. With Linley's current prestige, finding Odin would not be difficult!
"If we can find him along the way, that would be wonderful." Yale said with a smile.
Seeing Yale like this, Linley sighed inwardly. The Yale of the past had always been unrestrained and carefree. But now, Linley could sense the pressure in Yale's heart. This hatred gnawed at Yale's soul, making it impossible for him to relax or be carefree, even if he wanted to.
Under Linley's control, the metallic lifeform flew at extreme speed. After more than three years, they entered the territory of the Northrend Prefecture.
"The last prefecture. We'll be at the Necropolis of the Gods soon." George said cheerfully.
Bebe muttered, "The Northrend Prefecture is the northernmost prefecture in the Infernal Realm. We still haven't found that Odin. Looks like Boss will have to go to the Demon Castle to issue a quest... Hmph, let that Odin live a little longer."
Linley noticed that Yale's expression wasn't good.
"Odin's actions have really affected Yale terribly." Linley sighed inwardly.
Linley could fully understand. If, during his Saint-level days, a Highgod had controlled him, forcing him to kill his wife, kill his children, kill his brothers, kill his friends... and then torture him to death, he would probably go mad with vengeance too. Without revenge, he wouldn't die in peace.
Linley patted Yale on the shoulder: "Don't worry. He can't escape."
"Yeah." Yale forced a smile. "It's fine. I can wait. At least now there's hope for revenge."
---
On the great prairie outside Hyde City in the Northrend Prefecture of the Infernal Realm.
A large number of soldiers were stationed here, and several castles had been built. The strongest expert of the Northrend Prefecture, who had already become a divine messenger, Prefect Seynt, lived here. Under Seynt's command were several experts, including the Seven Star Demon Odin.
A black-robed figure descended from the sky.
"Lord!" The soldiers immediately bowed.
"Hmm." The black-robed man nodded indifferently and walked into the inner area.
Moments later, the black-robed man met with Seynt.
"Prefect, the matter has been resolved." The black-robed man said respectfully to Seynt. Seynt, dressed in a white robe, was leaning back in a chair, leisurely reading a book. Hearing the report, he smiled and nodded: "Good, very good. By the way, Odin, have you heard any news about the Planar Battlefield outside? This Planar Battlefield should have ended nearly a hundred years ago."
Seynt hadn't participated in the Planar War, and since the Northrend Prefecture was in a remote location, news reached them much slower.
"The people I encountered this time were mostly of average strength. I didn't meet any Prefect or Lord-level figures. I didn't hear any news about the Planar Battlefield either. It might take a while for the news to reach us. However, during this trip, I did discover another piece of information."
"What information?" Seynt looked up at Odin with interest.
Odin, shrouded in his black robe, revealed a smile: "Prefect, Nether Mountain has publicly announced that a fourth person has obtained the Netherworld Fruit! After my investigation, that person's name is Berre."
"Berre? So Linley failed." Seynt also smiled.
"Nether Mountain is full of dangers." Odin said smugly. "Only that Berre succeeded. I think Linley is already dead on Nether Mountain. Even if he isn't dead, after a thousand years, he's probably long since left the Infernal Realm."
"If Linley knew when to retreat, he might have saved his life. But from what I observed, he wanted to see a Sovereign and wouldn't give up easily. Nine times out of ten, he died on Nether Mountain." Seynt said with a faint smile. "Alright, Odin, you should be completely at ease now."
Linley was indeed Odin's nightmare.
"I'm much more at ease now. I won't disturb the Prefect any longer." Odin bowed slightly, then withdrew.
---
High above the Northrend Prefecture.
Linley, who was using his divine sense to investigate as usual, casually said: "We're about to reach the location of Prefect Seynt of the Northrend Prefecture. This Seynt told me about Nether Mountain. To be honest, I should thank him for my success. Hmm?" Linley's expression suddenly changed.
"What's wrong, Boss?" Bebe asked curiously beside him.
"Third brother, did you find Odin?" Yale asked eagerly. Whenever Linley's expression changed while using his divine sense, Yale would make this guess. But every previous guess had been wrong.
Linley looked at Yale and couldn't help but laugh: "Odin, it's Odin! Haha, this Odin has finally shown himself, and he's right next to Seynt's location..." A cold light flashed in Linley's eyes. "It seems that Seynt and his wife deliberately deceived me back then."
Linley wasn't stupid. The moment he discovered Odin, he understood that Seynt had lied, and he could guess some things.
"Odin is at Seynt's place?" Bebe also reacted and said angrily, "Boss, I thought their words were suspicious back then. He told you about Nether Mountain, probably wanting you to go there and die."
"But we still have to thank them." George said with a smile. "Third brother, because of them, you had that opportunity and broke through to Paragon. Odin and his people probably regret it now."
Linley hadn't publicly revealed his soul mutation, only saying he was a Paragon.
"Right, we really should thank them." Linley's gaze swept toward the northeast. He said in a low voice, "Let's go. Let's go meet Seynt and Odin!"
"Odin!" Yale gritted his teeth, his gaze fierce.
Immediately, Linley controlled the metallic lifeform, its speed instantly surging to the limit.
---
The Seven Star Demons under the Northrend Prefect each had their own independent castle.
Odin was on the balcony at the top of his castle, basking comfortably in the sunlight, overlooking the prairie.
"Hmm?" Odin's eyebrows rose. A metallic lifeform was flying toward him at extreme speed from the distant horizon. The speed of this metallic lifeform shocked Odin. "Such speed. This metallic lifeform must be top-grade, and the one controlling it must be a super expert."
"Odin!"
A deep voice instantly resounded across ten thousand miles of the area below. A large number of soldiers, including Prefect Seynt of the Northrend Prefecture, were startled awake.
"Who is it?" Odin's expression changed slightly.
Within Odin's field of vision, the metallic lifeform dissipated, revealing a group of people. The one at the lead was Linley.
"Linley!" Odin's face turned pale with fright. "How is this Linley still alive? Even if he's alive, how did he find his way back here?"
"Swoosh!" The group of figures flew down from the sky together.
"Halt, those who approach!" A furious shout rang out. The guard soldiers immediately soared into the air. Nearly a hundred garrison soldiers moved to block Linley and his group.
"Scram." Linley said in a low voice.
An invisible wave spread outward, crashing into the group of guard soldiers. The soldiers were directly blasted away. Fortunately, Linley hadn't used lethal force, or these guard soldiers would have already died.
Linley and his group advanced as if through an empty land, flying straight downward. Any soldier who tried to stop them was repelled and flung to the sides.
"What... what kind of technique is this?" Odin trembled inwardly.
Killing a Highgod wasn't difficult, but the technique Linley had just displayed was terrifying.
"Odin, do you still recognize me?" A voice filled with gnashing hatred rang out. Yale stared at Odin.
Odin turned his head and, upon seeing Yale, sneered: "Haha, I thought it was someone important. So it's the president of the Dawson Conglomerate. I didn't expect you to become an undead and still reach the God level. Truly unexpected. And after reaching the God level, to meet up with your brothers again—even rarer."
Odin seemed unafraid.
"Linley." A gentle voice sounded.
Linley turned his head and saw five figures flying over from not far away. At the lead were Prefect Seynt of the Northrend Prefecture and his wife Anitra. By Seynt's side were three subordinates, who were presumably also Seven Star Demon-level experts.
"Seynt." Linley responded.
"Linley, if you had informed me of your arrival, I would have come to welcome you." Seynt said with a smile. As he spoke, Seynt and his five people also flew to Odin's side. Linley and his group didn't stop them.
This created a standoff between the two parties in midair, with a large number of garrison soldiers watching from below. If Seynt gave the order, the soldiers below would probably swarm forward.
"Inform you?" Linley said with a faint smile. "Seynt, if I had informed you, you would probably have told Odin to hide first... Haha, I really didn't expect that you, a Prefect, would stoop to playing such tricks with me. How laughable."
Seynt's expression darkened.
Linley's tone made him very uncomfortable.
"Hmph, just an Elder of the Azure Dragon clan?" Seynt sneered inwardly. "I was worried that this Linley might be a Paragon. But since he didn't get the Netherworld Fruit on Nether Mountain, he definitely isn't a Paragon." Seynt had been worried about Linley's strength based on some information from the Eight Great Clans.
But the result from Nether Mountain had put Seynt at ease.
Indeed... if Linley had been a Paragon back then, obtaining the Netherworld Fruit would have been easy.
"Seynt, step aside. This matter has nothing to do with you." Linley said coldly. "My target is only one person: him, Odin." Linley looked at Odin.
Odin immediately looked at Seynt.
Seynt sneered at Linley: "Linley, I've treated you with courtesy. Why must you be so arrogant? This Odin is my subordinate. If I let you kill him just because you say so, how can I continue to be Prefect? Since he is my subordinate, I will absolutely not let you take him away. Linley... if you know what's good for you, leave now. Otherwise, if we tear off the mask of civility, it won't look good."
Seynt was equally confident.
"Seynt." Bebe cursed angrily. "Last time you deliberately deceived us and sent us to Nether Mountain. We haven't settled accounts with you yet, and that's already giving you face. You're just a Prefect. Who do you think you are, putting on airs in front of us brothers? Do you even qualify?" Having experienced the Planar Battlefield, Bebe didn't consider a Seynt worth mentioning.
If he wanted to kill Seynt, Bebe was fully confident.
"How dare you!" Seynt's expression turned ugly as he shouted in a low voice.
Suddenly, a black longspear appeared in Seynt's hand. A terrifying aura spread from the black longspear. Odin, seeing this, immediately smiled.
"Swoosh." Odin charged directly at Bebe, clearly angered by Bebe's words.
Strangely...
Linley's figure was still in its original position, but a blurry phantom appeared in front of Odin.
"Bam!" A kick directly struck Seynt's chest. Seynt was kicked down like a sandbag. "Boom!" He smashed through a corner of the castle and then heavily landed on the ground. Only then did Linley's original figure slowly dissipate. The blurry phantom condensed into Linley's body.
Odin, the other Seven Star Demons, Prefect's wife Anitra, and the garrison soldiers watching this scene were all stunned.
"Pfft." Seynt spat out a mouthful of blood. Lying on the ground, he looked up at Linley in terror.
What kind of speed was that?
Linley, hovering in midair, looked down at Seynt, who was slumped on the ground, and said coldly: "Stay quietly to the side. If you act arrogantly again, I won't show mercy." After speaking, Linley turned his head to look at Odin, his gaze clear and indifferent.
Odin's face turned deathly pale, and his body trembled.