"Good. Everyone has worked hard during this time."
Locke nodded to the Fiends gathered to welcome him and spoke plainly.
"But don't worry. Now that I'm here, Thunder Punishment Castle won't be able to run rampant for much longer."
"Lord Locke is invincible!"
"Fiend Castle is invincible!"
The moment Locke finished speaking, the Fiends erupted into thunderous cheers.
Most of them had joined for the mission rewards, yes—but being personally involved in building their organization into one of the most powerful forces in Hell filled them with immense pride. Their sense of belonging to Fiend Castle had grown stronger than ever.
Especially since the cultivation methods provided by Fiend Castle had improved many of their strengths.
Even those Highgods who had cultivated their way to godhood on their own were experiencing a kind of second spring in their lives, eager to push toward even higher realms.
In this era, anyone who could become a Highgod through their own cultivation possessed exceptional talent.
Before joining Fiend Castle, many of them had believed they had already reached the end of their path.
But after becoming Fiends, they realized—
For Highgods, true cultivation had only just begun.
Over the past few thousand years, quite a few Highgods had already discovered points of compatibility between two Profound Mysteries.
Perhaps ten thousand years.
Perhaps a hundred thousand.
But eventually, their strength would rise to an entirely new level.
Because of that, they felt genuine gratitude toward Fiend Castle—and toward Locke.
After reassuring the Fiends and stabilizing morale, Locke led Ryan, Rockpeak, and Haiyun Prefecture's Prefect Lord, Clifford, into the top floor of the Fiend Castle headquarters.
"Rockpeak. Ryan. The two of you have done well."
"In less than four thousand years, you've grown to this level. You haven't disappointed me."
"No, Lord Locke," Rockpeak replied, shaking his head.
"Our strength has improved somewhat, but compared to the person who founded Thunder Punishment Castle, we're still far behind."
"That you had to personally handle this matter—it's our shame."
Clifford couldn't help glancing at the two of them.
If not for Rockpeak and Ryan stepping in earlier, Haiyun Prefecture would likely have joined Thunder Punishment Castle just like the other five prefectures.
From the strength they had displayed, the two clearly possessed the combat power of Six-Star Fiends—otherwise they could never have resisted the two Six-Star enforcers of Thunder Punishment Castle.
Yet what shocked Clifford was this—
They were merely subordinates under Locke.
How many others like them existed within Fiend Castle?
A chill ran through him.
He had once assumed Fiend Castle was simply a loose organization.
But now it seemed that powerful Fiends had secretly pledged themselves to Locke long ago.
"No. This isn't your fault," Locke said calmly.
"You don't know who our enemy is this time."
With a flick of his hand, three drops of energy radiating terrifying pressure appeared in his palm.
They glowed with destructive power.
"What…?"
"Sovereign's Power?"
As high-ranking Fiends, Rockpeak and Ryan immediately recognized it.
They had seen the mission Locke released earlier. But since only Prefecture Lords could accept it, they hadn't participated.
Still, that didn't mean they failed to recognize the treasure in Locke's hand.
"That's right. This is Sovereign's Power—of the Destruction Sovereign."
Locke lifted the three drops with divine sense and floated them toward Rockpeak, Ryan, and Clifford.
"Take them first. Then I'll explain who our enemy really is."
"Yes, Lord Locke!"
Clifford knew perfectly well what accepting a drop meant.
Once he took it, he would be permanently tied to Fiend Castle's war chariot.
But faced with Sovereign's Power—
He simply couldn't refuse.
Even though he had already guessed that Thunder Punishment Castle also had a Sovereign backing it.
Once all three accepted the drops, Locke finally continued.
"Rockpeak. Ryan. Clifford."
"You've probably guessed already—both Fiend Castle and Thunder Punishment Castle have Sovereigns behind them."
"These organizations are simply tools for Sovereigns to gather faith from the gods of Hell."
"But don't worry. Sovereigns won't personally interfere in battles between gods."
"For beings of their status, fighting us directly would damage their reputation and invite ridicule from other Sovereigns."
"At most, they'll push forward a god to compete with us for Hell's faith."
"The master of Thunder Punishment Castle—the one chosen by that Sovereign—I'll deal with him myself."
"As for the other Six-Star enforcers of Thunder Punishment Castle, that's your responsibility."
"Because they have Sovereign backing, I don't know whether they've been given Sovereign's Power. If they use it during battle, it will be extremely dangerous for you."
"That's why I'm giving you this in advance—for self-protection."
"As long as they don't use Sovereign's Power, we'll avoid using ours as well."
"But if your lives are truly in danger, don't hesitate."
"Use it."
Locke smiled faintly.
"I still have over a hundred drops of Sovereign's Power given by our Sovereign to pay the Prefecture Lords."
"First we'll deal with the chaos caused by Thunder Punishment Castle."
"Then the entire world will understand something."
"The expansion of Fiend Castle cannot be stopped."
"As for any Sovereign's Power we consume—after this battle, I'll simply request more from our Sovereign."
"Yes, Lord Locke."
Clifford and the others relaxed slightly.
Since they too had a Sovereign behind them, there was nothing to fear.
And with a drop of Sovereign's Power now in their possession, they felt a surge of anticipation.
For a Six-Star Fiend—
Using Sovereign's Power meant gaining strength comparable to a Shura.
Shura—the highest rank within Fiend Castle.
The idea that they could wield such power, even temporarily, left them exhilarated.
After reassuring the three of them, Locke did not personally make a move.
Instead, he remained stationed in Haiyun Prefecture.
Rockpeak, Ryan, and Clifford began constructing Fiend Castle branches across the prefecture and gradually infiltrating cities that already contained Thunder Punishment Castle branches.
Compared to the entirety of Hell, Bloodpeak Continent was only one-seventh of its territory.
And throughout Hell, gods already recognized Fiend Castle and its ranking system.
Thunder Punishment Castle's sudden appearance was hardly welcomed.
Although its master had forcibly compelled the armies and guards of five prefectures to register as Thunder Punishment Enforcers, Fiend Castle's reputation was far greater.
Whenever a city had both organizations—
Most people chose Fiend Castle.
Whether it was posting missions, registering as a Fiend, or conducting intelligence trades, Fiend Castle remained the preferred destination.
After all, Fiend Castle branches now existed across nearly all of Hell.
Thunder Punishment Castle, by contrast, hadn't even covered one-third of Bloodpeak Continent.
For gods who wished to travel across Hell, it was far too limited.
Under the overwhelming momentum of Fiend Castle's influence, Thunder Punishment Castle simply couldn't stop the expansion into the remaining five prefectures.
Battles between Thunder Punishment Enforcers and Fiends never ceased.
But compared to Fiend Castle—which enjoyed support from over half of Hell—even having two Sovereigns backing it wasn't enough for Thunder Punishment Castle.
Great power didn't necessarily mean great management.
Once Locke arrived on Bloodpeak Continent, morale inside Thunder Punishment Castle began to crumble.
After all—
Locke's title, the Legendary Shura, carried enormous prestige.
Nearly every god in Hell acknowledged his strength.
Thunder Punishment Castle's master might be powerful…
But against Shura Locke?
No one was certain he could win.
The Fiends of Fiend Castle had absolute faith in Locke.
To them, he was the strongest.
Thunder Punishment Castle's enforcers, however, didn't share that confidence in their own lord.
In Tianshan Prefecture
"How are your preparations, Muya?"
"I can already sense that Locke the Fiend has arrived on Bloodpeak Continent."
In Tianshan Prefecture, Bloodpeak Sovereign Pax sat opposite Muya's lightning divine clone and spoke calmly.
Muya shook his head.
"Not quite ready yet."
"Even with the faith power you provided, the further one goes in fusing Profound Mysteries, the harder it becomes."
"I've consumed vast amounts of faith power already, but I'm still a step short of completely fusing the fifth Mystery."
"If I want to truly finish the fusion…"
"I'll need at least ten times more faith."
"Ten times…" Pax sighed.
It wasn't that he didn't possess that much faith power.
But he needed it for his own cultivation as well.
His cooperation with Muya had always had a clear goal—
To gain a share of Fiend Castle's faith so he could further comprehend the Edict of Destruction.
If he handed Muya ten times more faith now, Pax himself wouldn't make progress for ten thousand years.
"I'm sorry, Muya. I've already done everything I can in that regard."
"I understand."
Muya nodded calmly.
Receiving Pax's support at all already proved his sincerity.
If Muya demanded more, he would simply be ungrateful.
And Muya had no intention of becoming that kind of person.
(End of Chapter)
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