Chapter 41: Two-Pronged Preparation
Cultivating the Law of Light, Clementine's speed ranked among the top even among Paragons.
"Whoosh!"
Space trembled as a streak of light flashed by in an instant.
"Hmph, those eight really came to intercept me." Clementine's divine sense clearly detected that Linley and the other seven were blocking his path ahead. Unless he chose not to return through the teleportation array, there was no way to avoid being intercepted by Linley's group of eight.
The reason he said eight was because, in Clementine's eyes, he hadn't even considered Bebe.
"What a pity, what a pity. Doing this is just a waste of time." Clementine's beard twitched, a smug smile on his face as his divine sense rapidly infiltrated the mind of a Highgod under his command. "Le, report to the Sovereign of Light immediately. Tell him I have obtained the Red Diamond Crystal."
"Yes, my Lord."
Among the group of Highgods Clementine led, one had a divine clone residing in the Divine Light Plane, right beside the Sovereign of Light, ready to report anything happening in the Okerlund Plane at any time.
"Also, tell the Sovereign that I am now being intercepted by eight Paragons, and the situation is troublesome. If I manage to break through successfully, I can still escape through the teleportation array. But... if I can't escape from these eight..." Clementine wasn't confident he could flee while facing the interception of eight opponents, each no weaker than himself.
"If I can't escape, I'll choose to take the Red Diamond Crystal and enter the spatial turbulence! Inform the Sovereign to set out early. Enter the spatial turbulence and head toward the Okerlund Plane. If I end up trapped in the spatial turbulence, I'll still need the Sovereign to rescue me." Clementine transmitted mentally.
"Yes, my Lord. I will report to the Sovereign immediately." The intelligence officer quickly replied.
Clementine's two-pronged preparation was nearly perfect.
If he could break through, he would. If he couldn't, he would enter the spatial turbulence.
After all, the Sovereign would rescue him—what was there to fear?
Once inside the spatial turbulence, even a Paragon Highgod could barely control their direction of movement, instead being swept along chaotically by the boundless currents.
Of course, that was based on the premise that Paragons were invincible among Highgods. If someone killed him outright before he could act, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape. In truth, though simple, Clementine's strategy was nearly flawless. After all, for countless years, Paragons had indeed been the invincible existences among Highgods. Even the Sovereigns likely acknowledged this.
"My Lord, the Sovereign is very pleased and greatly praised you. Moreover, the Sovereign has already torn into a spatial rift and is now in the spatial turbulence, heading toward the Okerlund Plane. However, from the spatial turbulence at the edge of the Divine Light Plane to the spatial turbulence around the Okerlund Plane, the distance is too vast. Even at the Sovereign's speed, it will take some time."
"Excellent." Clementine felt reassured. "Everything is ready. Now, I'll play with you eight. Let's see if you can stop me." The corners of Clementine's mouth curled upward. He had never believed anyone could take the Red Diamond Crystal from his hands.
Linley's group of eight was flying at extreme speed.
"Whoosh, whoosh—"
The sea roared as Linley and the others flew above the ocean. Clementine was heading straight for the Misty Continent, which meant he had to cross the sea. Even if the other Paragons pushed themselves, they could at most intercept him over the ocean.
"According to the information I have, Clementine possesses a material-defense Sovereign artifact," a cold, sharp voice transmitted into the minds of Linley and the others. "So, when dealing with him, it's best to use soul attacks! However, a Paragon's soul is naturally powerful. To kill him, we'd need all eight of our soul attacks to hit him simultaneously."
The speaker was the only woman among the eight, a Lightning-element Paragon.
"Killing him? That's very difficult." Dannington's voice also entered everyone's minds. "I think the faster ones among us—Bamur, Baier, Linley, and Ninisha—should focus on restraining him and preventing his escape. If he can't run, and we keep attacking him in waves, there's a chance we might kill him."
Historically, there had been cases of Paragons being killed by Sovereigns.
However, there had never been a case of a group of Paragons killing another Paragon. Not because it was impossible, but because getting a group of Paragons to gather and cooperate was extremely unlikely.
"Our goal isn't to kill him," a cold voice rang out. "We just need to force Clementine to hand over the Red Diamond Crystal."
"And if he hands it over, who gets it?" Baier's voice sounded.
The group of Paragons fell silent as they communicated mentally.
Right. If Clementine handed over the Red Diamond Crystal, who would it belong to?
"It's too early to discuss that now," Linley transmitted to the other seven Paragons. "Do you all think it'll be that easy to get the Red Diamond Crystal from Clementine? Hmph. Let's first figure out how to make him hand it over. As for who gets it, I doubt anyone here is willing to give it up voluntarily. When the time comes, we'll settle it by strength."
"Fine. By strength."
None of the Paragons were willing to yield to another. Only by relying on strength—by seizing the Red Diamond Crystal and escaping the interception—could they earn the others' acceptance.
"Boss, do you have a plan?" Bebe transmitted worriedly. "They just said Clementine has a material-defense Sovereign artifact."
"Ninety percent confidence." Linley's gaze was sharp as he looked into the distance. "Alright, he's almost here."
Whether it was Linley's interception group or Clementine, their speeds were extremely fast.
Facing the blockade of eight powerful experts, Clementine had no chance of bypassing them and escaping. "Clementine is here," the cold voice announced. "Let's follow Dannington's plan. I, Bamur, Baier, and Linley will restrain him and prevent his escape. Then everyone will launch soul attacks. Hmph. Even he won't be able to withstand the soul attacks of eight Paragons."
"Bebe, stay here and watch," Linley transmitted.
"Got it." Bebe understood that getting involved in a battle of this level would only make him a burden.
Without hesitation, Linley and the other seven spread out like eight bolts of lightning, encircling the streak of light in the distance.
"Clementine..." Linley's gaze locked onto the distant light. Suddenly, the light twisted, trying to bypass Linley and the others.
"Dream on!"
Linley, Fire-element Paragon Bamur, Wind-element Paragon Baier, and Lightning-element Paragon Ninisha suddenly accelerated. All four were no slower than Clementine in speed. By surrounding and pincer-moving him, they easily left Clementine with no way to escape.
"Clementine, you can't run," Bamur's voice entered Clementine's mind.
"Haha, trying to stop me? Dream on!" Clementine, realizing he couldn't bypass them, suddenly charged straight at Baier.
Baier, as a Wind-element Paragon, excelled in material attacks but was lacking in soul attacks. And since Clementine had a material-defense Sovereign artifact, he had no fear of Baier. "Trying to escape through me?" Baier's face turned cold.
"Whoosh, whoosh—"
Suddenly, a gale howled. Baier instantly transformed into countless thousands of copies of himself—a technique from the Wind-element Law's clone ability. What was most bizarre was that the massive number of clones generated a strange whirlwind. The dense cyclones caused space itself to not even tremble.
Linley was secretly shocked.
"Thousands of clones, all working together to execute Wind Space. Truly incredible," Linley marveled inwardly.
Normally, only the true body could use a profound mystery. But Baier had clearly developed a method that allowed all his clones to execute the same technique, creating a magical-array-like effect that stacked the Wind Space ability, completely freezing the surrounding space.
A terrifying binding force instantly enveloped Clementine!
"Baier has a trick like this?" Clementine grew anxious.
Even if one comprehended the same profound mysteries, their attacks wouldn't necessarily be identical. After understanding a profound mystery, one still had to create the best way to apply it. Baier's technique was a novel application.
"Now! Soul attack!" Dannington's voice transmitted into the minds of Linley and the others.
Without hesitation, all eight, including Linley, launched soul attacks!
"Not good." Clementine's face changed drastically.
"Boom!" Clementine's body suddenly exploded, radiating countless golden rays of light. In an instant, a dense mass of Clementine clones appeared around him. The clone illusion technique existed in the Wind-element Law, the Darkness-element Law, and also in the Light-element Law—though the principles differed slightly.
Linley and the others couldn't immediately determine which was the true body.
Although they knew Clementine's true body couldn't have gone far and was likely within a few meters of where he had been, that few-meter range contained five Clementines!
"Hmph!"
The only woman among the eight, Lightning-element Paragon Ninisha, extended both hands. Instantly, within a ten-thousand-meter radius, countless lightning bolts materialized out of thin air. The violent lightning ravaged everything, and in an instant, all of Clementine's clones were destroyed, leaving only one.
"Stop!" Clementine shouted, retreating to put distance between himself and Linley's group.
"Attack." Without hesitation, following Dannington's mental command.
All eight launched soul attacks simultaneously.
Eight transparent soul attacks streaked through the air, hurtling toward Clementine. Soul attacks moved terrifyingly fast. Ordinary Highgods couldn't dodge them at all. But Paragons were far faster than Highgods. Even when facing soul attacks, they could still evade slightly.
Clementine twisted his body sharply.
Six soul attacks missed him, but two struck his body.
"Hmph." Clementine's expression shifted slightly.
"Again." Dannington didn't hesitate.
"Stop! If you attack again, I'll crush this spatial ring!" Clementine's voice rang out in the minds of Linley and the other seven. At the same time, a spatial ring appeared in Clementine's hand.
Linley and the others' eyes lit up, and they all stopped.
"Clementine, the Red Diamond Crystal isn't meant for you. Hand it over," Fire-element Paragon Bamur sneered.
"Hmph." Lightning-element Paragon Ninisha's violet eyes stared coldly at Clementine.
"Hand it over, Clementine," Linley said, staring at him.
Clementine's gaze swept across the eight before him, and he let out a scornful laugh. "It's just that I never expected to encounter a situation like this. If I had known, I would have gone to the Planar Battlefield to earn a soul-defense Sovereign artifact." A Paragon being besieged by a group of Paragons? This had never happened before.
Paragons had never anticipated such a day. So, aside from a few who had managed to obtain three Sovereign artifacts, most Paragons had either none or just one.
After all...
Having or not having a Sovereign artifact didn't affect them much. Unless they were besieged by a group of Paragons—only then would the value of Sovereign artifacts become apparent. "You eight are ruthless enough. Isn't it just a Sovereign's relic? Why go to such extremes?" Clementine stroked his beard and sneered. "The nine of us came here for this Sovereign's relic—first, to give face to the Sovereigns, and second, to get some Sovereign power. There's no need to fight to the death."
Indeed, a Sovereign's relic wasn't worth a Paragon's life.
It wasn't worth risking one's own life. But if it meant taking someone else's life, the Paragons wouldn't mind.
"Since that's the case, hand over the Red Diamond Crystal," Dannington said.