Chapter 15: Greed
The vast ocean stretched endlessly, its waters gently rippling.
Linley raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Augustus and Diya. The Radiant Sovereign Augustus and the Wind Sovereign Diya both looked at Linley with ill intent. Linley sneered inwardly: "Hmph, this Augustus probably still wants to kill me. After that battle just now, Diya likely bears me hostility as well. Diya can be ignored, but as for Augustus... let him enjoy himself for a while. Once the other Sovereigns leave, I'll kill this Augustus!"
With the other Sovereigns present, they wouldn't just stand by and watch Linley kill Augustus without reacting.
He had waited thousands of years; what was a little more time?
"Linley, Beirut." At that moment, the Violetflame Sovereign and the Bloodpeak Sovereign both flew over, greeting them with smiles.
"Linley, you really know how to stir up trouble," the Bloodpeak Sovereign said with a laugh via divine sense. "It hasn't been long, and you've already killed Trexia."
"Killed is killed. But Linley, facing the interrogation of the Sovereigns, you should have a reason prepared, right?" the Violetflame Sovereign looked at Linley.
Linley smiled and nodded.
"Soon, we'll need to trouble you two as well," Beirut said with a laugh via divine sense.
"We can't help much. Everything still depends on the four Over Sovereigns. The one beside you is the Azurefire you mentioned to me last time, right?" the Bloodpeak Sovereign also looked at Azurefire. "Azurefire, I'm Pash."
"Mr. Pash," Azurefire said humbly. When would over sixty Sovereigns ever gather like this? At the moment, the Sovereigns were chatting animatedly among themselves.
"Alright. It's time to discuss Linley's matter," a cold voice came from high above. The speaker was the Destruction Overlord.
As soon as the Destruction Overlord spoke, the surrounding murmurs immediately ceased, and silence fell.
"Everyone," Beirut quickly said with a smile, "please come down and sit first. Then we can discuss Linley and Trexia's matter without delay."
As he spoke, the metallic lifeform ship began to change. On the empty deck, chairs started to protrude upward—sixty-five chairs in total. These chairs formed a massive circle, and because it was circular, there was no distinction of rank or status.
"Everyone, sit down," a purple-robed, red-haired, beautiful young girl ordered coldly.
With the Death Overlord's command, the sixty-plus Sovereigns descended from the sky or walked from other parts of the ship to the chairs. They casually chose their seats. Linley, Beirut, and Azurefire sat together, adjacent to one another.
"The four Over Sovereigns!" Linley's gaze swept over the four of them.
The four Over Sovereigns sat together, side by side.
"All three of them are here. What a coincidence. Once the four Over Sovereigns leave, I'll kill all three in one go," Augustus glanced at Linley's trio, thinking to himself.
Just then, a gentle voice rang out: "Everyone, although the Four Supreme Laws do not forbid us from killing each other, refining a Sovereign spark grants an additional portion of willpower. If killing were unrestrained, low-level and mid-level Sovereigns would never know peace. Therefore, back then, I and the other three Over Sovereigns established an agreement."
"If a lower-level Sovereign does not provoke a higher-level Sovereign, the higher-level Sovereign must not indiscriminately kill the lower-level one. Violators will be hunted down by the four of us together!"
"Only Sovereigns of the same level may fight each other."
The speaker was the Life Overlord, clad in an emerald-green robe. Her voice was warm and gentle, even when stating this agreement, like the tinkling of a spring, bringing peace to the heart.
The sea breeze blew, and the ship floating on the ocean remained extremely steady. The other Sovereigns sitting on the ship listened quietly.
"Today, Linley killed Trexia, a Wind-type low-level Sovereign," the Life Overlord's gaze swept toward Linley, and her tone suddenly shifted. "However, Linley is also only a low-level Sovereign..."
Linley felt a surge of joy upon hearing this. The Life Overlord seemed to be helping him.
"Lord," a voice suddenly rang out.
"Hmm?" The Life Overlord's gentle gaze fell on the speaker. It was the Wind Sovereign Diya.
Diya's golden pupils fixed on the Life Overlord as he said respectfully, "According to the agreement back then, evaluating a person's level of strength is not simply based on low, mid, or high rank, but on their true power. For example, the Four Divine Beasts back then—any one of them could only be considered a low-level Sovereign, yet their group was classified as Sovereign-level because of their strength!"
When the strong fight, the effect of teamwork is minimal.
Four low-level Sovereigns working together couldn't defeat a mid-level Sovereign.
But the Four Divine Beasts were clearly different. So the original agreement specifically designated the Four Divine Beasts group as Sovereign-level.
"And this Linley, in terms of strength..." the Wind Sovereign Diya said with a mocking laugh, "I'm not afraid to embarrass myself in front of you all. Not long ago, I tried to capture Linley to let the four Lords interrogate him. But unexpectedly, after Linley refined the Wind-type Sovereign spark, even using my full power, I couldn't do anything to him."
"Impossible!!!"
Exclamations erupted immediately.
The Sovereigns who had come from other planes knew that Linley had killed Trexia, but they were unaware of the battle between Linley and the Wind Sovereign Diya.
This was mainly because when Diya had the Wind-type Sovereigns send messages, his battle with Linley hadn't even started yet.
"Even if Linley refined an extra Sovereign spark, that would only give him one more portion of willpower. How could he match you, Diya?"
"The gap between a low-level Sovereign and a high-level Sovereign is enormous."
A chorus of incredulous voices filled the air. These Sovereigns couldn't believe it.
A mid-level Sovereign was nearly a hundred times stronger than a low-level Sovereign, a difference of two portions of willpower. The gap between a high-level Sovereign and a low-level Sovereign was even greater.
"This Linley didn't just refine one Wind-type Sovereign spark. Before that, he had already refined two Sovereign sparks!" Diya said.
"One person refining three Sovereign sparks?" Even the white-robed, white-haired Fate Overlord couldn't help but look at Linley.
"Could it be that Linley killed other Sovereigns before this?" someone immediately asked.
"There are quite a few Sovereigns who didn't come today, so perhaps..."
Linley silently watched the Sovereigns argue among themselves. Beside him, Beirut suddenly spoke up with a loud laugh: "Everyone, I am Beirut. I believe you've all heard about what happened nearly twenty thousand years ago. Back then, I obtained four Sovereign sparks! I and Azurefire here each used one, and the other two Sovereign sparks were given to Linley to refine. So, Linley has only killed one Sovereign—Trexia."
Many Sovereigns glanced at Beirut and fell silent.
What Beirut had done twenty thousand years ago had spread quickly among the Sovereigns.
"Diya, even if Linley refined three Sovereign sparks, that would only give him two extra portions of willpower compared to an ordinary low-level Sovereign, making him comparable to a mid-level Sovereign. How could he possibly deal with you?" a man with blue hair and fish scales on his forehead said with a smile.
"Don't forget, everyone, Linley is a Paragon," the Bloodpeak Sovereign reminded them with a smile.
"Even if he's a Paragon, hmph, could a mid-level Paragon Sovereign defeat Diya?" other Sovereigns retorted.
"Everyone!" the Wind Sovereign Diya sighed deliberately. "I used all my ultimate techniques, yet I still couldn't harm him. I couldn't even force Linley to use his Azure Dragon clan's innate divine ability. The reason Linley is so strong is mainly because he possesses a Life-type Overgod artifact!"
Instantly, an uproar erupted.
"An Overgod artifact!"
All the Sovereigns, including most of those who had been silently watching the show, were shocked. Even the other Sovereigns, including Augustus, fixed their gazes like lightning on Linley.
"That's right," Linley admitted, nodding under everyone's scrutiny.
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves!
The Sovereigns who had originally been watching with detached amusement completely changed their mindset.
"This Linley, relying on an Overgod artifact, only managed to gain a slight upper hand against Diya," a golden-haired man with a lightning mark on his forehead thought to himself. "This Overgod artifact is wasted in his hands! If I could obtain that Overgod artifact, with my abilities, I might even have hope of rivaling the four Over Sovereigns!"
This man was the Lightning Sovereign.
The Lightning Sovereign had another Sovereign avatar, which naturally gave him an extra portion of willpower, making him stronger than an ordinary Sovereign. However, the Radiant Sovereign possessed an Overgod artifact, so among the seven Elemental Sovereigns, the Radiant Sovereign ranked first, and the Lightning Sovereign ranked second. The gap between them wasn't too large. If the Lightning Sovereign obtained the Overgod artifact, he would surpass the Radiant Sovereign and even threaten the four Over Sovereigns!
"An Overgod artifact!" The Lightning Sovereign's heart was already filled with the desire to seize the treasure. "A mere Linley, relying on an Overgod artifact, is only this strong—no threat! The real trouble now is the other Sovereigns. If I want to seize this Overgod artifact, I doubt any of the other Sovereigns will be willing to give it up."
The Lightning Sovereign's gaze swept over the other Sovereigns.
Indeed, the other Sovereigns were also tempted.
An Overgod artifact!
If they obtained it, they would surpass the other Sovereigns!
"Hmph, all of them want to seize it?" the Radiant Sovereign Augustus sneered inwardly. "With me here, they're just dreaming. But... the Over Sovereigns being here is troublesome." Augustus was also wary—he feared the four Over Sovereigns.
Just because of Diya's words, revealing the fact that Linley possessed an Overgod artifact, all the Sovereigns qualified to seize the treasure were now tempted!
"Linley, I can't kill you, but other Sovereigns can," Diya was very satisfied with the scene he had created.
Linley, however, showed no sign of worry. His gaze swept over the eleven Sovereigns present: "I suspect quite a few Sovereigns are now filled with greed. But once I kill Augustus, I imagine these Sovereigns will be too scared to make a move." Linley had no concerns at all.
The strength he had displayed was only one percent of his true power.
The Sovereigns present also understood that the seventh Overgod mission since the creation of the universe had been completed by Linley. In recent days, many Sovereigns had been toyed with by him. But no one dwelled on that. If a mere Highgod had toyed with the Sovereigns, they would have been furious and sought revenge.
But Linley's strength was at the Sovereign level. Who would dare retaliate?
Moreover, the situation was now very delicate.
Among the eleven Sovereigns, not a few coveted Linley's Overgod artifact. The Sovereigns themselves were well aware of this! They were also afraid that if they made the first move, others would take advantage. So everyone was on high alert.
"Linley refined three Wind-type Sovereign sparks, combined with his Paragon strength and the Overgod artifact, he indeed has that level of power. But—" the Life Overlord's voice turned cold and stern, "killing a Wind-type low-level Sovereign just because he's strong? This completely violates the original agreement."
Linley spoke up: "Lord, before I refined the Wind-type Sovereign spark, my strength wasn't this great."
The Destruction Overlord said indifferently, "Even without refining the Wind-type Sovereign spark, you surpassed an ordinary mid-level Sovereign. Killing Trexia is a violation of the agreement."
"Everyone," Beirut quickly stood up and said, "There are two things I must mention. First, when Linley was still a Highgod in the Infernal Realm, Trexia once tried to kill him. Fortunately, the Bloodpeak Sovereign Pash stopped him. Second, when Linley was returning to the Yulan Plane from the O'Kalien Plane through the spatial turbulence, Trexia ambushed him midway. If not for Azurefire and me risking our lives, Linley would have been killed long ago. Trexia repeatedly tried to harm Linley. Linley's retaliation should not be considered a violation of the agreement, should it?"
The black-robed Destruction Overlord glanced at Beirut: "In the spatial turbulence, he ambushed Linley? Who can prove that?"
"Lord," a voice suddenly rang out. "Although I have some enmity with Linley, I must admit that Trexia did indeed ambush Linley and the others back then. I observed this with my divine sense, and there is absolutely no mistake."
Linley couldn't help but turn to look.
The speaker was none other than the Radiant Sovereign Augustus.
PS: Chapter one is here!