Locke's words drew immediate ridicule from the Highgods of the Azure Dragon Legion.
One after another, they sized him up openly, sneering without restraint.
And to be fair — they had reason for confidence.
If every random Highgod who arrived demanded an audience with Commander Havos and was granted one, what would become of the Azure Dragon Legion?
In Hell, Locke — the "legendary Seven-Star Fiend" — was renowned.
Unless one lived in a remote, isolated tribe cut off from the outside world, his name would be known.
But the rise of Fiend Castle had only begun a few hundred years ago.
Locke's effortless defeat of Prefecture Lord Kurus had happened only a few years prior.
That people of the Water Divine Plane did not recognize him was perfectly normal.
"Oh?"
Locke showed no surprise at their reaction.
He understood well — without connections to introduce him, making a scene was the only way to force Havos to appear.
And so—
He showed no courtesy.
He raised his right hand and flipped his palm downward.
"Thousand-Mile Sky-Cleaving Palm!"
Boom!
A massive hundred-meter palm formed from Water elemental Laws condensed above the Highgods and pressed down.
"Pff! Pff! Pff! Pff!"
Locke used only the Profound Mystery of Waterbody Technique.
Yet under the amplification of his ninefold divine power, it still reached nearly Four-Star Fiend strength.
Most of these Highgods were ordinary — at best Three-Star Fiend level.
They had no power to resist.
With a single strike, Locke smashed dozens of Highgods into Dragon's Belly Island, burying them more than ten meters underground.
Their Highgod defensive divine artifacts shattered instantly.
Their divine bodies were heavily wounded.
"Enemy attack! All units assemble!"
The remaining soldiers, who had previously dismissed Locke entirely, were shaken to the core.
But they were the Sovereign's face.
They could die.
They could not flee.
If they died in battle, their kin would be protected by the Legion.
If they fled—
Even if the Sovereign did not act, others would target their families to curry favor.
Thus—
Even knowing Locke was overwhelmingly powerful—
They charged.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Nearly a thousand Highgods, leading over ten thousand Gods, launched a coordinated assault.
Countless streams of divine power laced with various Laws streaked forward like a torrential storm.
The Laws themselves grew chaotic under the weight of tens of thousands of attacks, forming a raging Law tempest.
"Impressive in form… but lacking substance."
Locke shook his head.
If this were a thousand epochs in the future, he would not dare face a Sovereign Legion alone.
But now?
Divine cultivation had not yet matured.
No one studied the deeper mysteries of heaven and earth.
No magic formation battle arrays existed.
Without such coordination, their attacks were dense—
But not transformative.
Locke simply traced a line through the air.
Rip—
Space split open.
A crack dozens of meters long appeared before him.
All incoming attacks were swallowed instantly.
Not a single one reached him.
Of course, as Locke had not comprehended Spatial Laws, the universe's rules dictated that energy would rapidly fill and repair the rift.
Under the bombardment of tens of thousands of divine attacks, the tear closed swiftly.
But Locke could reopen it at will.
Unless their combined assault reached Seven-Star Fiend level and pierced through the spatial rift—
They posed no threat.
"What kind of monster is this…?"
The Legion soldiers turned pale.
They were not ignorant.
From what Locke displayed—
He could likely annihilate the entire Legion by himself.
Some even believed—
He must be a Sovereign incarnation.
Only a Sovereign could achieve such power!
"Since you're finished attacking… it's my turn."
As the spatial rift sealed, Locke looked over the tens of thousands before him.
A surge of pride rose in his chest.
Across history—
Aside from Sovereigns—
Who else could stand alone against nearly a hundred thousand gods?
"Boom!"
Divine power erupted from him.
Then—
"Frozen Hell!"
Boundless cold exploded outward.
In an instant, the air across dozens of li froze.
All gods within range were instantly encased in ice sculptures, falling from the sky.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Tens of thousands crashed to the ground like hailstones, carving craters across the island.
Locke had no killing intent.
The ice preserved their divine bodies.
The frost did not invade internally.
They merely needed time to break free.
During that time—
They could not stop him.
He had come seeking Sovereign Redding's help—
Not enmity.
"Now," Locke said calmly, folding his arms, "am I qualified to meet Commander Havos?"
The remaining soldiers, less than half of the original force, stared at him in defeat.
"Yes… sir. I will report to Commander Havos immediately. Please wait."
But before anyone could depart—
The world fell silent.
The very heavens stilled.
Locke's expression changed slightly.
He had never witnessed a Sovereign's descent.
But this—
This felt like a prelude.
The pressure descended first.
Then—
Vast quantities of Water Sovereign power gathered in the sky, forming a majestic, enormous face.
Sovereign Projection.
"Greetings, Sovereign!"
The Azure Dragon Legion soldiers dropped to one knee.
Locke did the same.
A Sovereign's dignity was inviolable.
Before achieving Paragon-level willpower—
No one could afford disrespect.
Under willpower—
All beings were equal.
And only willpower could resist willpower.
"Greetings, Sovereign Redding."
Locke knelt on one knee and lowered his head.
"…Oh?"
The voice from the projection carried mild surprise.
Redding had not expected that the Highgod who nearly crippled his Legion would kneel without hesitation.
He had encountered talented Highgods before—
Arrogant ones.
They envied Sovereigns.
Believed Sovereigns merely had good luck.
Claimed that by strength alone, many Sovereigns were unworthy.
Redding never cared.
Sovereigns and gods existed on entirely different planes.
The opinions of ants meant nothing.
But Locke—
Was different.
As a Water Sovereign, Redding had already fused four profound mysteries under the amplification of faith power, becoming a thousand times stronger than when he first obtained his Sovereign spark.
When Locke tore open space earlier—
Redding had sensed it.
He felt the aura of four fully fused profound mysteries.
That was why he descended.
He had assumed Locke was one of those arrogant challengers.
But Locke's respectful kneeling proved otherwise.
The arrogant would never bow.
"Who are you?"
"Sovereign Redding, I come from Hell. I am the founder of Fiend Castle — Locke."
He did not hesitate.
He had come precisely for this meeting.
"I have come to the Water Divine Plane to seek you."
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