Shaking his head, Locke decided not to dwell on the matter any further.
Whether Hongmeng had interfered with the Overgod Talisman or not, there was no way for him to verify it.
Nor did he know whether the previous four Overgod missions had been issued all at once, or in sequence.
If they were carried out one after another—if the second mission could not begin before the first one was completed—then Locke had nothing to worry about.
He had more than enough time and patience to help the Chief Sovereign of Death gather the three Overgod mission tokens.
As long as there was any news about one of the tokens, even if it appeared in a material plane, Locke was unconcerned.
While a Sovereign's true body could not enter a material plane that was not their home plane, creating a Law clone posed no issue.
Given Locke's attainments in the soul, even a mere Law clone was not something divine-level experts could hope to resist.
But if the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts had all received their Overgod Talismans at the same time…
Locke had no desire to see the other three wielding Overgod artifacts while Lilia was still forced to keep up appearances with a mere Sovereign artifact.
"Increase the scope of the search," Locke said. "And while you're at it, find out whether any other factions besides ours are also gathering natural treasures."
"Yes, Lord Locke."
"Oh, right, Oakes. Was there something else you came to see me about?"
Only after finishing the matter of the Overgod tokens did Locke turn back to Oakes.
"It's like this, Lord Locke."
"Today, an Highgod in the Sovereign Army named Celes asked me about Lord Locke…"
"Celes?"
Locke looked surprised.
"That fellow actually joined the Sovereign Army?"
"Lord Locke… this Highgod named Celes, is he truly one of your juniors?"
"Haha, you've got that wrong, Oakes."
"When I was still weak, Celes was the emperor of the strongest empire in our plane. Back in the material plane, I even served as one of the empire's Grand Dukes."
"As for the junior you mentioned, that should be Mira."
"She's a younger member of my clan whom I guided after I had achieved success in cultivation and returned to my home plane."
"So, what? Did both of them join the Sovereign Army?"
"No…"
Oakes inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had come to report this to Lord Locke.
This Celes really was someone Lord Locke knew personally.
As for Lord Locke saying that he had once served under Celes as a Grand Duke while Celes had been emperor, Oakes found nothing strange about it.
In this world, strength reigned supreme.
For Lord Locke to have served a stronger figure when he was weak was perfectly natural.
And judging from Celes's attitude toward Lord Locke, it was obvious that Celes clearly understood that Lord Locke's power now far surpassed his own. Naturally, he would never expect Lord Locke to serve him again in the Netherworld.
Still…
in the material plane, Lord Locke had served Celes.
Yet now, in the Higher Plane, Celes had in turn come to serve Lord Locke.
Oakes could not help but wonder what expression Celes would make when he learned that the Sovereign he now served was none other than Locke himself.
"Lord Locke, the only one who joined the Sovereign Army is Celes."
"And although he only has the strength of a Six-Star Fiend, he is highly talented in magic battle formations. Not long ago, with less than a full company under his command, he defeated the First Battalion."
"Oh?"
Locke raised an eyebrow, genuine surprise appearing on his face.
Celes possessing Six-Star Fiend strength did not surprise him.
But for him to defeat an entire battalion using a magic battle formation—that truly delighted Locke.
After all, the Sovereign Army he had established was a level stronger than the armies of other Sovereigns.
Other Sovereign Armies accepted Gods and even Highgods who had fused with divine sparks.
But Locke's Sovereign Army was composed entirely of warriors at the strength of Three-Star and Four-Star Fiends.
Anyone capable of becoming a squad captain in his Sovereign Army was either a Five-Star Fiend, or someone capable of defeating one through the use of a magic battle formation.
He truly had not expected Celes to achieve such accomplishments in this field.
If that was the case, then among the legions under his command, he now already had two forces capable of conducting regular warfare through magic battle formations.
"And what about Mira?"
"This…"
Oakes shook his head.
"Lord Locke, I don't know much about Lady Mira. I only know that she is currently a Seven-Star Fiend-level expert, and even among the independent experts she commands considerable prestige."
"A Seven-Star Fiend?"
Compared to Celes, Mira reaching Seven-Star Fiend level was equally astonishing to Locke.
He had never imagined that Mira—whom he had once judged in the Frostsnow Plane as having only God potential—would grow to such a degree.
Before this, Locke had thought that if she could reach the same Six-Star Fiend level as Celes, it would already be a blessing beyond expectation.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Locke lightly drummed a finger against the armrest of his seat, producing a crisp sound.
"Oakes, go back and ask Celes and Mira what they want."
"If they wish to see me, then bring them here."
"Yes, Lord Locke."
"What? Lord Oakes agreed to bring us to see Teacher Locke?"
Hearing the news from Celes, Mira stared in shock.
Until now, she had believed that the only way to meet Teacher Locke was to pass through the mist and enter Nethermountain herself.
But now Celes was telling her that Oakes, the commander of the Sovereign Army, had agreed to take them to meet him.
"Yes."
Celes nodded.
"You know how I recently succeeded in forming a large-scale magic battle formation and became the commander of the Fifth Battalion, right?"
"So, when I was summoned by Lord Oakes, I brought up Locke."
"After all, I figured that since that fellow has managed to live on the same mountain as the Sovereign, his status should be above even Commander Oakes."
"Instead of us struggling here over how to climb Nethermountain, it seemed better to have Commander Oakes pass along a message and tell that guy to come down."
"But I really didn't expect that even after learning we were here, Locke still wouldn't leave Nethermountain. Instead, he wants Oakes to bring us up to see him."
"I really don't know what he's thinking."
"Teacher must have his reasons."
Mira immediately defended him.
"Yes, yes, everything Locke does must surely have a reason."
"But what worries me now is this—"
"Is it really okay for us to just go up there?"
"Hmm?"
Mira looked up at Celes, puzzled.
"Mira, I've known Locke longer than you have."
"Even though we didn't spend much time together, I'd say I understand him somewhat."
"When he was still weak, Locke was extremely cautious."
"Back in the Frostsnow Plane, when his divine clone came to the imperial capital to see me, his Saint-level true body would secretly hide somewhere so well that even my divine sense couldn't find him…"
"So, this all feels strange to me."
"Normally, once Locke learned we had arrived, he would definitely come down from Nethermountain to meet us."
"But instead, he wants us to go up to him."
"Doesn't that imply…"
Celes lifted his gaze toward the vast chains of lightning that wrapped around the entirety of Nethermountain.
"…that Locke cannot leave Nethermountain?"
"I heard that those chains of lightning weren't always there."
"They only appeared a few hundred thousand years ago, suddenly sealing off Nethermountain and the entire surrounding range as some kind of powerful barrier."
"Tell me, Mira—"
"Do you think that barrier is meant to keep people out of Nethermountain…"
"…or to keep someone inside from leaving?"
Whoosh!
The moment Celes said this, Mira instantly appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him toward the Sovereign Army encampment.
"Hey, Mira, what are you doing?"
Caught off guard, Celes tried to resist.
But how could a Six-Star Fiend possibly break free from the grip of a Seven-Star Fiend?
His struggle only made things worse.
What had begun as being pulled quickly turned into being dragged outright, his feet carving two shallow tracks across the ground.
"I'm going to see Teacher Locke."
"If Teacher Locke really is imprisoned by the Sovereign, just as you said…"
"…then even if it costs me my life, I'll save him."
"Hey, Mira, are you crazy? That's a Sovereign—"
When a stern-faced Mira arrived before Oakes with a thoroughly defeated-looking Celes in tow, even Oakes was stunned.
"Celes, Mira… what exactly are you two doing?"
"Haha, Lord Oakes, it's nothing. We were just fooling around."
"Fooling around?"
Oakes's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, and sudden understanding dawned on him.
People nowadays…
really did play rather wildly, didn't they?
Judging by the grass stuck to Celes's clothes and the dirt smeared along the cuffs of his trousers, it certainly did look like they had been roughhousing.
"Lord Oakes, thank you for bringing us to see Teacher Locke. Mira is deeply grateful."
"No, no, no—please don't."
Seeing Mira bow to him, Oakes quickly stepped aside.
What a joke.
This was Lord Locke's own junior.
In terms of closeness, she undoubtedly ranked above him.
And given her cultivation speed, there was a very high chance that in the future she would reach the same level as himself.
Such a person was more than worthy of Oakes's respect.
"Lady Mira, I do not have the authority to bring you into Nethermountain on my own."
"It is only because Lord Locke has agreed to see you that I dare bring you there."
"No, I still must thank Lord Oakes."
"If not for you passing along the message for us, we have no idea how long it would have taken for Teacher Locke to even learn that we had come here."
"Hehe…"
Oakes simply smiled and said nothing.
From the moment he met Lord Locke earlier that day, Oakes had already realized—
Lord Locke had almost certainly known of Celes and Lady Mira's arrival long before today.
(End of Chapter)
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