Chapter 24: Nine Victories
"Twelve-winged divine seraph?" Linley let out a slight sigh of relief. The lower the level of an angel, the faster they died.
"It's very rare for a twelve-winged divine seraph to be born. Nowadays, the twelve-winged divine seraphs in the angel race are purely accumulated over an infinite amount of time. The Sovereigns of Light won't casually dispatch twelve-winged divine seraphs on errands. Sometimes, millions of years pass without a single twelve-winged divine seraph being sent out. Your mother became a twelve-winged divine seraph less than ten thousand years ago. The probability of her dying is almost negligible." Beirut said with a smile.
Only then did Linley feel completely at ease.
"Haha, Grandpa Beirut, your reasoning has made me much more relaxed." Linley now had enough confidence in rescuing his mother.
"Oh, right, Grandpa Beirut." Linley flipped his hand, and a earthen-yellow Sovereign spark emitting earthen-yellow light appeared in his palm. "This is an extra gain from this trip."
"A Sovereign spark?" Beirut was startled.
Linley nodded with a smile. "I went to the Divine Light Plane with that Augusta. Who would have thought that the Overgod of Lightning, Huerle, would follow me as well. Furthermore, the other five Overgods of Laws were also trailing far behind. When I made my move against Augusta, that Huerle actually ambushed me, trying to kill me and seize the Overgod artifact. I swung my sword back!"
Beirut immediately laughed. "So, you got this Sovereign spark?"
"Right. That Huerle's Lightning Overgod clone escaped fast enough. I just gave him a little lesson. I destroyed this Earth Sovereign clone." Linley frowned. "I'm thinking now, who should I give this Earth Sovereign spark to? Grandpa Beirut, what do you think?"
"The Earth Sovereign spark..." Beirut frowned. "Qinghuo could use it. But giving it to him would only slightly increase his strength, putting him at the mid-level Sovereign stage. It wouldn't have much impact on the overall situation. It's best to find an upper-level god. But finding an upper-level god who cultivates the Laws of the Earth... in your Baruch clan, it's really hard to find one right now."
Linley smiled helplessly.
There were quite a few upper-level gods in the Baruch clan, but they had all refined divine sparks. Finding one who had truly cultivated to the upper-level god stage on their own, and was of the Earth attribute, was truly impossible to find.
Refining a Sovereign spark had a prerequisite: one must have cultivated to the upper-level god stage independently.
"What's the hurry?" Beirut said with a smile. "Just keep it for now. When the right person comes along, you can give it to them."
"Haha, alright. I'll keep this Sovereign spark as a heirloom of my Baruch clan." Linley said cheerfully. "Grandpa Beirut, please also notify those in Dragonblood Castle who are willing to come to the Infernal Realm to come over." Linley was now fully capable of ensuring the safety of his loved ones in the Infernal Realm.
The Overgods of Edicts whose strength surpassed Linley's had no enmity with him.
Even if they did, they wouldn't be as shameless as the Overgod of Light, threatening to destroy his family.
"That's fine." Beirut nodded with a smile. "These five thousand years, they've been quite bored in the Yulan Plane. After all, when it comes to experts, there are far more in the Infernal Realm. In the Infernal Realm, they have many more places to roam and explore."
Linley didn't rush to open the Wind Divine Plane. Instead, he stayed in the Infernal Realm to receive his family and friends. During this time, Linley also devoted himself to cultivating the fusion of laws, occasionally spending time with his family and brothers.
In the first year after the great battle between Linley and Augusta, Linley's reputation spread the most wildly.
Linley had severely wounded the Overgod of Light and, with a single sword strike, killed the Earth Sovereign clone of the Overgod of Lightning, Huerle, scaring Huerle into fleeing in panic.
This achievement was naturally spread by the five Overgods of Laws.
The news was too shocking, and soon, almost all Sovereigns knew of it.
Linley's status had instantly risen to become a super expert surpassing the seven Overgods of Laws and ranking below the four Overgods of Edicts.
Immediately, within that short year, over a dozen Sovereigns came to pay their respects to Linley. When Sovereigns met, they would just eat some fruit, drink some fine wine, and chat casually.
About a year after the battle with Augusta.
In the Infernal Realm, Bloodpeak Continent, Youlan Prefecture, Tiansi Mountain Range, Linley's Sovereign residence.
In a quiet courtyard, on the soft grass, Linley sat cross-legged, wearing a loose robe. The wind occasionally blew by, lifting Linley's hair.
Like a teleportation, a figure gradually condensed and appeared in front of Linley.
Linley opened his eyes and looked at the newcomer. The newcomer was dressed in a blood-red robe, none other than the Bloodpeak Sovereign, Parsh. Linley smiled and said, "Parsh, what made you think of coming here?" Not long ago, when Parsh had come to see Linley, Linley had addressed him as Mr. Parsh, but the Bloodpeak Sovereign absolutely refused to accept that.
He even wanted to address Linley as "Milord." After all, Linley's strength was evident; even among Overgods, he was considered a powerful existence.
In the end, the two compromised and treated each other as friends, addressing each other by name.
"What, I can't come if there's nothing?" The Bloodpeak Sovereign smiled and sat down on the grass. "I actually have a very important matter today."
"Speak." Linley listened attentively.
The Bloodpeak Sovereign smiled and said, "You don't have any Sovereign envoys yet, do you?"
"Uh... why did you think of that?" Linley said, amused. "Whether I take on Sovereign envoys or not, Parsh, is that any of your business?"
"No." The Bloodpeak Sovereign shook his head. "To tell you the truth, the planar wars occur once every trillion years, and each planar war consists of five battles. So far, three have passed. In about six hundred years, the fourth planar war will begin."
"Which two planes are fighting?" Linley asked with interest.
"Our Infernal Realm and the Celestial Realm." The Bloodpeak Sovereign said solemnly, "Linley, the upcoming fourth planar war is extremely important. Because... in the previous nine battles, the Celestial Realm has won nine consecutive victories."
"What?" Linley was startled.
Linley also understood that after becoming a Sovereign, there were only three ways to gain the power of divine will: first, by refining a Sovereign spark; second, by reaching the Great Perfection; and third, by having one's own divine plane win ten consecutive victories in the planar wars.
Of course, there was also Linley's case of soul mutation, but that special circumstance didn't apply to all Sovereigns.
"If I remember correctly, the Celestial Realm, a long, long time ago, once achieved ten consecutive victories." Linley frowned.
"Right." The Bloodpeak Sovereign quickly added, "The seven Sovereigns of the Fate system have already received the reward once. Therefore, the Sovereigns of the other systems don't want the Fate system to receive the reward again. Especially, they don't want the Overgod of Fate to improve further, because he's already strong enough."
Linley nodded slightly.
"Since the birth of the universe, whenever a side has achieved nine consecutive victories, the other planes generally join forces to prevent that side from winning the tenth. Usually, when all planes join forces, the success rate is extremely high. However, throughout countless ages, there has been one failure. That time, the Celestial Realm won, and the seven Sovereigns of the Fate system received the bestowal."
The Bloodpeak Sovereign said solemnly, "This time, no matter what, we cannot let them win again. This is a direct order from the Overgod of Destruction."
Linley couldn't help but smile.
In the eyes of the Overgod of Destruction, his only opponent was probably the Overgod of Fate.
"If you don't want him to win, why bring up Sovereign envoys?" Linley laughed.
"To prevent him from winning, we need enough strong experts on our side." The Bloodpeak Sovereign shook his head. "But many experts know that this planar war will be incredibly crazy. Absolutely crazy! So, many commander-level figures are unwilling to get involved."
Linley nodded with a smile.
All planes would be fighting with everything they had, and the Celestial Realm would certainly do the same. It was easy to imagine the level of madness. Unless someone had one hundred percent confidence and wasn't tired of living, they probably wouldn't enter.
"How do those commanders know the importance of this battle?" Linley asked curiously.
The reward for ten consecutive victories should be a secret among Sovereigns.
"According to past precedent." The Bloodpeak Sovereign smiled bitterly. "In this most insane battle, both sides will go all out. Without violating the Sovereign pact, they will do everything possible to make their own side stronger. Therefore! Both sides will bestow Sovereign power upon every participant in the war! Two drops per person!"
Linley was dumbfounded.
Crazy, truly crazy!
Everyone entering the planar war would be given two drops of Sovereign power. Even a commander-level expert, if attacked by ten upper-level gods working together, would probably be finished.
"Although those commanders don't know the secret of ten consecutive victories, they do know that the participating upper-level gods will all receive Sovereign power. How many commanders would dare to enter?" The Bloodpeak Sovereign smiled bitterly. "Originally, we didn't want to bestow so much Sovereign power either. But if we don't, and the other side does, won't we lose? There's no choice!"
Linley also understood the dilemma of both sides.
They knew it was too crazy to let every participant use Sovereign power, but there was no other way.
"Fighting on the Stellar River passage, a group of commander-level experts, especially those with Sovereign artifacts, will play a huge role." The Bloodpeak Sovereign said solemnly. "Therefore, the Overgod of Destruction's intention is for you to recruit six Sovereign envoys. According to Sovereign rules, a lower-level Sovereign can recruit two Sovereign envoys, a mid-level Sovereign can recruit four, and an Overgod can recruit eight. You have three lower-level Sovereign clones, so you can recruit six."
Linley nodded to show he understood.
"But I haven't refined any Sovereign artifacts." Linley said helplessly.
"Sovereign artifacts are nothing to us; we can refine one in about ten thousand years." The Bloodpeak Sovereign laughed. "Which Sovereign hasn't lived for billions of years? But there's an agreement among Sovereigns: for the sake of balance among gods, when bestowing upon a Sovereign envoy, only one artifact can be given."
"Linley, if you don't have any Sovereign artifacts, I can give you a dozen or so." The Bloodpeak Sovereign said casually. In the Infernal Realm, many gods made a living by refining artifacts.
Similarly, for Sovereigns, refining a Sovereign artifact only required enough time to nurture it; it was very simple.
"Alright, since you've said so, no problem." Linley nodded with a smile. Then Linley asked curiously, "Parsh, I don't understand. Since so many Sovereigns are joining forces, why are you still worried that the Celestial Realm can win? What gives the Celestial Realm the edge?"
The Bloodpeak Sovereign nodded. "The Celestial Realm itself is the strongest of the four higher planes. Moreover, the Edicts of Fate are strange in their attacks. Therefore, in planar wars, the Celestial Realm has won a great many victories. Normally, we don't care, but when they've won nine in a row, we can't be careless."
"For this tenth battle, as far as we know, they've already used their most terrifying tactic." The Bloodpeak Sovereign smiled bitterly. "And this tactic has a very high success rate."
"What tactic?" Linley asked curiously.
"The Overgod of Fate will ask the Overgod of Light, Augusta, for help, borrowing a large number of twelve-winged divine seraphs." The Bloodpeak Sovereign said solemnly. "Linley, you should know that when fighting on the Stellar River, losing is mainly due to cowardice, due to a rout. As long as one has self-awareness, one knows fear and will rout."
Linley nodded. He knew the scene of a defeated army collapsing like a landslide.
When both sides fought on the Stellar River, the river was only so wide, and only so many could fight at once. Once a rout began, even those behind who hadn't fought yet would be affected.
"But twelve-winged divine seraphs are different. They are absolutely loyal to the Overgod of Light. If the Overgod of Light orders them to die, they won't hesitate for a moment." The Bloodpeak Sovereign said helplessly. "Moreover, each of these twelve-winged divine seraphs is at least at the Seven-Star Demon level, and some are even close to the commander level!"
"Tell me, a group like this, unafraid of death, strong in strength, and capable of forming various battle formations with incredibly clever coordination, without any selfish motives—how astonishing would such an army's role be in a planar war?" The Bloodpeak Sovereign sighed. "Fortunately, each twelve-winged divine seraph is extremely difficult to produce. Gathering enough of them requires an extremely long time. In the past, the Overgod of Fate has only borrowed from the Overgod of Light twice. It's not that he didn't want to borrow more, but because twelve-winged divine seraphs are too hard to produce."
Linley couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Unafraid of death, no fear of dying, good coordination, strong strength.
On the Stellar River passage, because they weren't afraid of death, there was no possibility of a rout. To win, one had to kill all the twelve-winged divine seraphs.
Such an army was truly terrifying!
"Because of this, the Overgod of Fate owes the Overgod of Light two favors." The Bloodpeak Sovereign said with a faint smile. "The Divine Light Plane itself doesn't have many experts and has won fewer times. The number of twelve-winged divine seraphs is too small; they can only be used as a trump card once or twice. So, he doesn't need them himself and trades them for favors from the Overgod of Fate."
The Bloodpeak Sovereign said with emotion, "I know that he once used a favor to ask the Overgod of Fate for help. Because of his own luck, plus the Overgod of Fate helping him once, he was able to obtain that Overgod artifact."
Linley suddenly understood.
"So the Overgod of Fate owed him two favors, used one, and has one left." Linley fully understood now.
It seemed that the Overgod of Light hadn't lied to him. If he had really pursued him to the Celestial Realm back then, the enraged Overgod of Light might have indeed asked the Overgod of Fate to kill him.
"But this time, the Overgod of Fate owes him another favor." The Bloodpeak Sovereign said with a faint smile. "The batch of twelve-winged divine seraphs accumulated over these countless years will probably be sent to battle. That Augusta is really lucky, monopolizing the two reincarnation pools that can produce twelve-winged divine seraphs. He also searches for pure souls from material planes. Over time, the twelve-winged divine seraphs gradually accumulate. Ah, having such a group of fearless divine seraphs is really troublesome."
"Oh, indeed troublesome." Linley smiled, but suddenly—
Linley's expression froze, and his face instantly turned pale!
"Linley, what's wrong?" Parsh also noticed that Linley's expression was off.
"You, you said they accumulate a batch of twelve-winged divine seraphs and then send them all to the planar battlefield?" Linley stared at Parsh. "All of them?"
"Yes, almost all of them." The Bloodpeak Sovereign asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Your expression is off."
"No, nothing. Parsh, I need to calm down for a while. You go back first." Linley's heart was in utter chaos at this moment.
"Oh." The Bloodpeak Sovereign was puzzled but didn't ask further and left.
The empty courtyard was left with only Linley.
"This batch of twelve-winged divine seraphs will almost all be sent to the planar battlefield... In such a crazy battle, they will probably be almost completely wiped out. It would be good if even ten percent survive." Linley's heart was panicked to the extreme. "My mother... she should be among them. If she is sent to the planar battlefield—"
Linley was terrified.
"What do I do?" Linley's mind was completely in turmoil.
Rest for a day!
No choice, I have to ask for leave.
I pushed myself to write in the last few days of last month, forcing myself to write continuously to complete the goal. I was completely holding on!
Staying up late until four in the morning, writing left my head completely empty today.