Chapter 21: Unexpected
"Augusta. Still trying to escape?" Linley swept a cold gaze toward the five Sovereigns after retrieving that Overgod Medallion, then directly charged into the collapsing spatial rift, pursuing Augusta.
The terrifying spatial rift devoured seawater while simultaneously shrinking rapidly.
In the distance, the five Sovereigns, including Wind Sovereign Deya, all had terror in their eyes.
"This, this is Linley?" a man shrouded in a black robe said, trembling.
"One sword strike shattered a Sovereign artifact? Too terrifying. That Huerle was the Lightning Sovereign. He also had an Earth Sovereign clone. But just now... if he had run even a little slower, he would have lost his life." The Water Sovereign's beautiful face was also pale. These Sovereigns all felt a wave of belated fear. If they had followed their plan and actually tried to seize Linley's Overgod artifact, then perhaps—
Among the five of them, it was uncertain how many would have survived.
"Deya. You deceived us?" The other four Sovereigns couldn't help but look at Wind Sovereign Deya.
Deya's eyes were also full of shock. He quickly said, "Everyone. Are you all so frightened that you've lost your senses? When Linley fought me, the strength he revealed was roughly equal to mine. If he had been this strong back then, tell me, would I still be alive? Clearly, this Linley was hiding his strength before!"
Upon hearing this, the four Sovereigns could only smile bitterly in their hearts.
Linley's sword strike just now had indeed scared them into confusion. Even the Lightning Sovereign couldn't withstand Linley's single blow, so how could Wind Sovereign Deya? This wasn't Deya's fault. They could only blame Linley for concealing his true power.
"Whoosh, whoosh—"
The sea wind howled.
Within a radius of ten thousand miles, there was no trace of life, only the desolation left behind after the brief battle between the three Sovereign-level powerhouses!
The Lightning Sovereign Huerle had long since fled the Divine Light Plane, while Deya and the other five Law Sovereigns stared at the barren aftermath of the battle, feeling as if a stone was pressing down on their hearts. Linley's sudden display of terrifying strength had grown to a level that frightened them.
At this moment, a single thought arose in their minds—
"How could Linley's strength be this great?"
Within the chaotic void, multicolored spatial currents wildly surged.
How could Linley's strength be this great?
This thought wasn't limited to the five Sovereigns. It also occupied the mind of the current Light Sovereign, Augusta.
"Even if I was caught off guard and couldn't unleash all my power, he still shouldn't be this strong," Augusta thought, utterly stunned by Linley's sword strike. It felt like a series of heavy mountains crashing down one after another, severely injuring him the moment he tried to block.
Augusta couldn't help but glance back at Linley.
With flowing brown hair, Linley's gaze was sharp as a blade. He coldly stared at the distant Augusta, holding the Life Overgod Sword, and charged toward him at an astonishing speed.
At this moment, Linley seemed like a primordial giant born at the dawn of creation. He was unstoppable!
"If I succeed in this battle, I'll have no major regrets in this life," Linley thought, his battle intent higher than ever before.
From a child in Wushan Town to gradually rising until now, standing at the peak of the Sovereigns—through this journey, his greatest regret was not reviving Grandpa Doehring. Clearly, reviving Grandpa Doehring was an impossible dream! Linley had only one goal—
Kill Augusta, free his mother, and also fulfill his duty to Grandpa Beirut and the Four Divine Beasts clan.
"Augusta must die!"
Linley's battle intent soared into the sky. Dark green Sovereign power surged within his body.
"Boom!" Like a streak of light, he instantly surpassed the other spatial currents and shot straight toward Augusta!
Augusta's escape speed was also extremely fast. He looked back and saw Linley's murderous gaze, his heart trembling. He quickly sent a mental message: "Linley, your strength has already surpassed mine. We can discuss any issues. Why must we fight to the death?"
Linley remained silent, simply charging at maximum speed.
"Linley—" Augusta was about to speak, but Linley's speed had already brought him right in front.
"Hmph."
Linley's Life Overgod Sword, like a flaming meteor, shot toward Augusta. The unstoppable, world-destroying aura already filled Augusta with dread. Augusta, unable to speak further, let out a low growl. The light sword in his hand traced a clever curve and met Linley's Life Overgod Sword.
"Clang!"
A deep sound rang out.
The surrounding spatial currents instantly exploded, and countless spatial cracks appeared. Augusta was sent flying like a tattered sandbag, blood spraying from his mouth.
Earth Law—Earth Shatter!
"Hmm? Still not dead?" Linley frowned.
Earth Shatter was Linley's strongest move in the Earth Law. In terms of power, it was roughly equal to his current fusion technique, Sword Intent.
"Logically, since I'm using fused Sovereign power, which is a hundred times stronger, he shouldn't be able to withstand it," Linley thought, somewhat surprised by Augusta's strength. Then he smiled coldly. "Hmph. It's no wonder he could suppress the other six Law Sovereigns. Augusta truly has the strength to back it up."
As he thought this, Linley continued his pursuit of Augusta.
In the vast void, only the two of them remained.
"Hmph." Augusta wiped the corner of his mouth and glanced back at the approaching Linley. Gritting his teeth, he sent another mental message: "Linley, tell me, what conditions do you want to stop this fight? Whatever you ask, just say it!"
"Oh."
Linley looked at Augusta and said coldly, "You want me to name conditions? That's simple... You just need to let me kill your Light Sovereign clone. As for your divine clone, I might spare its life." Linley studied Augusta, watching his reaction.
As expected.
Augusta's face darkened. "Linley, I'm sincerely negotiating with you. But if you say that, then—"
Even as his voice echoed, Augusta suddenly transformed into a beam of light. The Fate Overgod Sword in his hand shot toward Linley's head at an astonishing speed. "Ssss—" Where the light sword passed, extremely fine cracks appeared in the space.
"So fast." Linley was startled.
Linley countered with a thrust of his sword—Earth, Collapse!
Linley felt an incredibly powerful force transmitted through the Life Overgod Sword in his hand. The impact was so strong that his palm went slightly numb. The force then traveled into his body, causing a violent tremor, and blood surged into his throat.
"Pfft!"
Linley was sent flying, blood spraying from his mouth.
"How is this possible? How did his attack suddenly increase so much?" Linley was completely stunned.
"Swoosh!" The cold-faced Augusta followed up with another thrust toward Linley.
Linley, too shocked to dwell on it, surged his dark green Sovereign power within his body. His figure instantly shifted to the left, teleporting a thousand miles away before steadying himself.
Linley stared at the distant Augusta and said in a low voice, "Augusta, it seems I need to reevaluate you!"
At this moment, Augusta held his light sword, his eyes full of killing intent. He let out a low laugh. "Reevaluate me? Likewise, I need to reevaluate you. You fought Deya to a draw, yet your strength is nearly a hundred times greater than his. A mere Demigod, yet this strong..."
"Augusta. The other Sovereigns only think you have one more Overgod artifact than them, and since it doesn't match your attribute, it only boosts your strength tenfold. But it seems you're far stronger than them." Linley scrutinized Augusta.
Only now did Linley realize that Augusta was the absolute number one among the seven Law Sovereigns.
In the past, Linley had thought Augusta and the Lightning Sovereign were roughly equal in strength. But now, the gap was enormous.
"To have been so arrogant and domineering for so many years, he must have had something to rely on," Linley thought to himself.
Augusta, in the eyes of not just Sovereigns but even many Commander-level experts, was a tyrannical, arrogant, and overbearing Sovereign. He valued face and had a vast number of women—just look at the number of his children. Also, consider the domineering nature of the Light religion in the material planes.
After all, the doctrine was personally crafted by Augusta himself.
Yet such a person had sat firmly in the position of Light Sovereign for countless years, even completing an Overgod mission to obtain an Overgod artifact. Of course, Augusta had his own backing.
"For countless years, except when I slightly revealed my true strength against the Four Divine Beasts, no one has ever forced me to show my real power." Light Sovereign Augusta held his light sword, smiling at Linley. "Your strength is decent, and your potential is great. But compared to me, there's still a bit of a gap."
Linley was now alert: "Right, I suspected back then how Augusta managed to withstand the combined ultimate technique of the four ancestors. Indeed, Augusta's true strength is far higher than I expected."
"Today, either you die, or I die," Linley said coldly.
"Haha. It seems one of us will ultimately fall," Augusta said, gripping his light sword, his killing intent soaring.
Linley held the Life Overgod Sword, facing him coldly. Multicolored currents swirled around them.
"Crack—"
A very faint, dense sound of bones vibrating came from within Linley's body. At the same time, Linley's entire form underwent a rapid transformation. Dark green dragon scales instantly covered his entire body, and on the surface of the scales was a barely visible layer of fascia.
Ferocious dark green spikes also emerged from Linley's forehead, elbows, knees, and back. A dragon tail quickly extended, even twitching and snapping a few times.
Seeing this, Augusta couldn't help but frown slightly.
"I have a feeling!" Linley's cold, dark golden eyes stared at his opponent. "Augusta, today, you die!"
The moment the words fell, Linley, holding the Life Overgod Sword, moved like teleportation, instantly crossing dozens of miles. The emerald-green Life Overgod Sword, like a green divine dragon, devoured its way toward Augusta. Countless dark green sword energies, like numerous venomous snakes, bit at Augusta simultaneously.
A transparent sword shadow was also mixed in, shooting toward Augusta.
Linley's ultimate technique, Fusion Law—Sword Intent!
Space shattered like glass, torn into fragments and even nothingness by the dark green sword energies.
"He should be dead by now," Linley thought, staring ahead.
Suddenly, within the center of the dark green sword energies, a white light shot into the sky.
"Still not dead?" Linley was shocked.
This move of his contained both soul and material attacks. But then again, Augusta had resisted the Four Divine Beasts' innate technique, so his soul defense was clearly very strong.
"Since you're not dead, take another one."
The dark green light dissipated, revealing Augusta's figure. At this moment, Augusta was covered in blood, and the energy-formed clothes were in tatters. Clearly, in that situation, he couldn't even maintain his clothing intact. But immediately, white light flowed over his body, and the blood and wounds all vanished, his clothes restored to perfection.
"What a terrifying attack. It even contained a soul attack." Augusta barely caught his breath.
But his spreading divine sense suddenly detected that demonic dark green figure, like a fiend, had already reached him. An emerald-green sword pointed straight at his head.
Sword energies crisscrossed.
"Not good." Augusta flipped his palm, the tip of his light sword aiming directly at the tip of the Life Overgod Sword.
But at that moment—
"Whoosh!" Like an awl, Linley's metallic, gleaming dragon tail curved around from behind, its sharp tip stabbing toward Augusta's head.