Chapter 14: Real or Fake?
Although he wanted to make the secret public, this was no easy task.
If the secret were to reach Linley before it reached the Sovereigns, and Linley got hold of it first, he would probably hunt down and kill him, Mordo, immediately! After a moment's thought, Mordo settled on a simple strategy.
Inside the main hall of the Heavenly Mountain Prefect's mansion.
A hundred Highgod warriors stood respectfully below the hall, awaiting their Prefect's arrival.
"I wonder what the Prefect has summoned us for!"
They muttered inwardly. Moments later, a figure walked out from a side door of the hall—it was the silver-haired Mordo. Mordo's cold gaze swept over the group of Highgods, and instantly all of them stood straight, not daring to look around or slack off in the slightest. Mordo walked up to the main seat in the hall.
Sitting on the throne, Mordo's icy eyes scanned those below: "I have a mission for you! If any of you leaks the mission's secret... hmph, the leaker's entire family will be executed." The military discipline among the prefect's troops was strict. But executing an entire family for leaking a secret was unprecedented.
The hundred Highgods below trembled inwardly, their hearts bitter. How had they ended up with this mission?
"But rest assured, as long as you don't leak it, nothing will happen," Mordo said coldly. "Moreover, once you complete the mission, each of you will receive one billion inkstones!"
The Highgods were startled.
Those Highgod warriors, with assets accumulated over countless years, probably only had a few hundred million at most. They weren't Seven Star Fiends with such exaggerated wealth. A reward of one billion inkstones for a single mission was an astronomical sum.
Mordo waved his hand. A stack of black paper sheets floated before him.
"Whoosh!"
The papers flew downward, landing in front of each person. Every one of the hundred Highgods received a sheet. They couldn't help but look at the paper, and with just a glance, they memorized its contents.
At the same time, the faces of these hundred Highgods changed drastically.
This secret... was truly terrifying.
"All of you have seen it, right?" Mordo smiled coldly. "Regardless of whether this news is true or false, you must remember this: you are not to leak it! Anyone who does... hmph." Mordo swept his gaze over the group below.
"Your subordinate wouldn't dare."
With one person kneeling on one knee, the other ninety-nine soldiers followed suit.
"Very good," Mordo said coldly. "Fifteen of you here, another fifteen there... and the remaining twenty-five. That makes six groups!" Mordo's divine power flew out, easily dividing them into six groups. Among these six groups, five had fifteen members each, and the sixth had twenty-five.
"First group, you will head to the Karosa Continent in the western Hell. You fifteen will deliver the paper to fifteen individuals. Here are the names and addresses! Remember, you must not leak the information along the way." Mordo emphasized again, and a black book flew toward the first group.
"Second group, you will go to the Bifrost Continent in the eastern Hell. Here are the names and addresses. Third group, to the Muya Continent in the southern Hell. Fourth group, to the Violet Thorn Continent in the north. Fifth group, you will go to the Star Fog Sea... Sixth group, you will go to the Chaos Sea."
Mordo distributed the lists and addresses that needed to be delivered. Most of these names were Sovereign's messengers. Of course, many were also Prefect-level figures. By casting a wide net, there was hope that the Sovereigns would learn of it sooner.
Hell had seven major regions. These six groups went to six places, leaving only one untouched: the Bloodridge Continent!
Mordo knew that if he spread the news in the Bloodridge Continent, it would likely reach Linley's ears very quickly.
"All of you, leave a divine clone here in my mansion," Mordo said coldly. "You will supervise each other. If anyone leaks the information, report it to me immediately." Mordo chose these people partly because of their high loyalty and partly because they had divine clones.
"Yes, Prefect."
All one hundred people separated out their divine clones.
"Set off now." Mordo didn't want to delay. The hundred Highgods acknowledged the order, split into six teams, and immediately departed. The team members supervised each other, and with the threat of consequences for leaking and the reward of one billion inkstones, Mordo believed there would be no problems.
Mordo smiled coldly: "Bloodridge Continent? Then I'll go notify them myself."
Mordo was the Bloodridge Sovereign's messenger. Meeting the Bloodridge Sovereign wasn't difficult. If he went to notify, there was no way the news would leak to Linley.
That very day, Mordo flew out of the castle and headed for the Bloodridge Sovereign's secret residence.
Deep within the Lianyun Mountain Range, there was a lake a thousand miles in circumference. The lake's surface was perpetually shrouded in endless mist. Such scenes were common in Hell, and few paid attention. However, those living in the Lianyun Mountain Range knew that anyone daring to venture into the center of the lake would get lost in the mist and eventually return to the shore in a daze.
No one knew what lay at the lake's center.
The lake water gently rippled, lapping against the shore.
A figure descended rapidly from the sky and landed on the lakeshore—it was Mordo. Mordo stood on the shore for a moment, then dashed into the endless mist.
Inside the mist, there was an island covered with all kinds of beautiful flowers and plants, and various birds lived peacefully on the island.
On the island stood a simple conical hall. Behind the hall, among the flower beds, there was a stone table where two men sat facing each other, intently staring at a large number of chess pieces on the table. Behind these two men stood two maids, their faces full of smiles. One of the men had blood-red hair and curved blood-colored markings between his brows. He was currently smiling, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the pieces on the table.
Opposite him was a silver-haired man with a hooked nose. This hooked-nose man had narrow eyes, and occasionally, the chill leaking from his gaze was enough to make one's heart tremble.
"Teresia, haha, you lost again," the blood-red-haired man laughed loudly.
"Again, again! I just started playing this," the hooked-nose man quickly said. "Pash, you've been playing it for years."
"Fine, again. You'll still lose," the blood-red-haired man laughed heartily.
This 256-piece military chess game seemed ordinary, but it contained many methods for deploying troops and required moves based on the opponent's situation. The stronger the soul, the more complex the thinking, and the more interesting it became to play. Moreover, one side only won when all their pieces were killed.
Even if one fell behind at the start, there was still hope of winning with fewer pieces against more.
Different situations required different strategies. If calculated carefully, a single game could last a long time. For these two, one game could go on for years.
This was originally a combat drill game invented by a famous general in a material plane to train officers. But Sovereigns, who had eternal life and little to pursue, enjoyed finding time-consuming games.
"Where did you get this 256-piece military chess game?" the hooked-nose man laughed.
"I found it in the Siya material plane. And let me tell you, this game is far more complex and exciting than the ones I've played before. Interesting!" the blood-red-haired man laughed, moving his pieces.
The two maids smiled, secretly communicating via divine sense.
"Sovereigns get bored too."
"Lord Teresia, the Wind Sovereign, probably won't win. Last time, the Overlord of Destruction came to compete with our Sovereign for a thousand years and didn't win a single game."
Just then, a maid flew over from afar, bowed, and said, "Sovereign, Mordo has arrived. He has urgent matters and requests an audience."
"Mordo? What does he want at this hour?" the Bloodridge Sovereign Pash frowned.
The hooked-nose man laughed: "Haha, Pash, go deal with it quickly."
"Don't move the pieces or steal any. I remember them clearly," the Bloodridge Sovereign Pash said, glancing at him before walking away.
Inside the Sovereign's hall.
The Heavenly Mountain Prefect Mordo stood respectfully below the hall. A blood-red blur flashed by, and the Bloodridge Sovereign appeared on the throne.
Mordo looked up, and seeing the Bloodridge Sovereign, his heart trembled. He immediately knelt down.
"What do you want?" the Bloodridge Sovereign said coldly. The Bloodridge Sovereign, after all, was an exalted Sovereign. He could laugh and play games with other Sovereigns because they were on the same level. But before gods, a Sovereign was unattainable.
"Sovereign, I have just learned a huge secret," Mordo said respectfully.
"Oh?" The Bloodridge Sovereign looked closely at Mordo. "Speak!"
"Sovereign, please look." A black paper appeared in Mordo's hand. The Bloodridge Sovereign's gaze focused, and the black paper flew toward him, floating before him. The Bloodridge Sovereign glanced at it, his expression shifting slightly. He looked down at Mordo with suspicion.
Mordo remained kneeling, silent.
"Where did you get this news?" the Bloodridge Sovereign said in a low voice. "How could paper carrying such information be this ordinary?"
"I obtained it by chance," Mordo quickly said.
He didn't dare mention that he had previously obtained the nine spirit pearls. If he said that, and the Sovereign became angry that he hadn't offered them up earlier, he might be killed.
Mordo had no choice. The original paper had already been destroyed by him.
If ordinary paper carried such shocking news, would the Sovereign believe it?
If the green paper were still there, the Sovereign would definitely believe it! Because the Sovereign would recognize at a glance where the green paper came from and naturally trust its contents. But would the Sovereign believe news on ordinary paper?
"You say the nine spirit pearls are with Linley?" the Bloodridge Sovereign said.
"It's not me saying it; it's written in this news," Mordo didn't dare say more. This secret was too huge. If he got involved, a mere Prefect like him might not even keep his life.
"Your strongest divine clone died. Who killed it?" the Bloodridge Sovereign suddenly asked.
Mordo was stunned. Linley had destroyed his strongest divine clone. If the Sovereign investigated, it would be easy to find out. Lying to a Sovereign depended on the lie. For something easily exposed, it was better to confess honestly. For something hard to uncover, deny it to the death!
"It was killed by Linley," Mordo admitted.
The Bloodridge Sovereign suddenly stood up, startling Mordo.
"Tch—" The Bloodridge Sovereign coldly glanced at Mordo and barked, "Mordo, if the Overgod issued a mission, the paper used would never be ordinary. Such earth-shattering news, and you dare fabricate it?"
"I didn't!" Mordo said in terror, quickly adding.
The Bloodridge Sovereign stood on the throne, looking down at the kneeling Mordo, and said coldly, "Mordo, you have three mistakes. First, when the Overgod issues a mission, the paper is not like this. Second, when the Overgod issues a mission, even if there are three tokens, it would at most briefly describe the three tokens. It would never say that a particular token is with someone! If it mentioned a token being with someone, it should clearly state where all three tokens are. Why mention only one? Third, your strongest divine clone happened to be killed by Linley! And this news says Linley obtained the nine spirit pearls. Such a coincidence? And this news, you were the first to spread it? Everything is too coincidental!"
Mordo's face changed color.
"Hmph, Mordo, considering your years of diligent service, I'll spare your life. Get out," the Bloodridge Sovereign said coldly.
"Wait, wait. Overgod tokens? Let me see?" A figure suddenly appeared in the hall—it was the hooked-nose man.
"Take a look. You heard what I said just now," the Bloodridge Sovereign said coldly.
The hooked-nose man glanced at the paper and nodded slightly: "The credibility of the news your subordinate brought is indeed low. The paper is wrong, and the news only mentions this person named Linley. Your subordinate also has a great enmity with Linley? Truly strange. Moreover, the Overgod hasn't issued a mission in countless eons."
"But..."
The hooked-nose man smiled faintly. "Even if your subordinate wanted to frame this Linley, why would he think to spread such news? The Overgod issuing a mission—since the birth of the universe, this has only happened six times. Very few among the gods know about this. So, I think this might be true."
"First, based on the timing of the previous six missions, I feel that after all these years, the Overgod should be due to issue another mission."
"Haha, Pash, I have nothing to do anyway, so I'll go check it out first. Haha..."
The hooked-nose man vanished directly from the hall.