Within the spatial turbulence, Augusta struck first.
Since he had made his move, Augusta naturally held nothing back. He directly drew the Destiny Overgod Sword and slashed toward the location of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns.
Boom!
A white sword aura over a thousand meters long shot forth from Augusta's blade.
Although Augusta was still concealing the 0.8 portion of Will he had received from the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, under the enhancement of the Overgod artifact, the might of this strike was in no way inferior to an attack from a Chief Sovereign of the Edicts.
The spatial turbulence itself was split apart by Augusta's slash.
Facing the incoming sword aura, all of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns except Sovereign Redding changed expression.
None of them had expected Augusta to truly attack them.
As for Sovereign Redding, ever since the oath in his mind had shattered, he had already known that this calamity was unavoidable for the four brothers.
It meant...
Their fused innate divine ability could not kill the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta.
Having come to this realization, when faced with Augusta's attack, Redding did not use the fused innate divine ability as everyone expected. Instead, he directly unleashed his own innate divine ability—Dragon Roar.
"Roar!"
A gigantic Azure Dragon phantom over a thousand meters long appeared behind the Azure Dragon Sovereign. Following a resounding dragon's roar, the speed of Augusta's attack toward the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns suddenly dropped, becoming as slow as a slow-motion replay.
No...
It wasn't just Augusta's attack that had slowed.
Within a certain area before the Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding, even the flow of the surrounding spatial turbulence slowed by dozens of times.
This was the Azure Dragon divine beast's innate divine ability, arguably the strongest innate divine ability in the Magical Universe.
Over these thousand-plus Ordinal Eras, Locke had collected, if not one hundred percent, then at least over sixty percent of the divine beast blood essences from all the divine beasts that had appeared within the Magical Universe.
After analyzing these divine beast blood essences and understanding the principles behind their innate divine abilities, Locke had continuously expanded his own foundation.
Among the countless innate divine abilities of those innumerable divine beasts, only the Azure Dragon possessed an innate divine ability related to the Laws of Time.
Even members of the Azure Dragon Clan within the Four Divine Beast Clan, after undergoing a bloodline baptism using Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding's divine beast blood essence, could, if they absorbed enough Sovereign blood essence to sufficiently purify their bloodline, use the Azure Dragon's innate divine ability—Dragon Roar.
Dragon Roar was also the only innate divine ability in the Magical Universe that would affect its target regardless of how powerful that target was.
Because what Dragon Roar influenced...
Was the supreme Laws of Time within the Hongmeng Universe.
Unlike the Laws of Space, the Laws of Time were formless, intangible, and supreme.
Only the Laws of Time could resist the Laws of Time.
Although the true gap in strength between the two sides exceeded a hundred thousandfold, under the effects of Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding's innate divine ability, Dragon Roar, Augusta's personal flow of time was slowed by dozens of times.
From the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta's perspective, his speed had not changed in the slightest. He was still charging toward the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns at tremendous speed.
But to all the other Sovereigns watching...
Augusta's movements had become slow motion.
"Hm?"
"What are the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns trying to do?"
The newly ascended Sovereigns, upon seeing that even the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta was affected by Redding's innate divine ability, paid even greater attention to the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns.
Those who had witnessed the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns use their fused innate divine ability before, however, frowned.
Once the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns unleashed their fused innate divine ability, both time and space within a certain range would be completely frozen.
Only the attack generated by their fused innate divine ability could move.
That was precisely why every Law Chief Sovereign feared the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns so greatly.
The moment they entered the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' attack range...
It meant certain death.
Back then, when Wind Chief Sovereign Bayer and the first Water Chief Sovereign had ambushed the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns, both had entered their attack range simultaneously.
Under the power of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' fused innate divine ability, both Bayer and the first Water Chief Sovereign had been frozen in time and space, able only to watch helplessly as the attack bore down upon them.
In the end, the first Water Chief Sovereign had simply been less fortunate.
She was struck by the fused innate divine ability and died instantly.
After killing the first Water Chief Sovereign, the power of the fused innate divine ability dissipated.
Meanwhile, Wind Chief Sovereign Bayer, terrified by what he had witnessed, fled immediately.
Yet now...
Faced with the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta's attack, why weren't the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns using their fused innate divine ability?
Why had only Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding used his own innate divine ability, Dragon Roar?
Seeing Augusta restrained by his innate divine ability, the Azure Dragon Sovereign shouted toward his three brothers,
"Go!"
Immediately afterward, Redding wrapped his three younger brothers with his Sovereign power and flew toward the Infernal Realm.
Although the shattering of the oath meant he would have to bear the consequences of breaking it...
Since the punishment would not be personally carried out by the Overgods themselves, Redding still wanted to struggle one last time.
He didn't know what trump card the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta possessed.
But he knew...
There was a very high possibility that the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' fused innate divine ability simply could not kill Augusta.
Having realized that, Redding had no intention whatsoever of fighting Augusta.
Instead, he intended to use Dragon Roar to delay Augusta's pursuit before escaping into the Infernal Realm.
Although the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns had never pledged allegiance to the Chief Sovereign of Destruction, Wordred, after residing within the Infernal Realm for so many years without causing any harm, they had effectively been accepted by the Sovereigns of the Infernal Realm.
Once they returned there...
Even if Augusta had ten times the courage, he would not dare tear open space and pursue them into the Infernal Realm.
Doing so would be a direct provocation against the Chief Sovereign of Destruction, Wordred.
At that point, in order to uphold his own authority, Wordred would certainly take action against the Light Chief Sovereign.
In other words...
As long as the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns escaped into the Infernal Realm...
They would be safe.
"The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns actually ran!"
"Could it really be as the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta said? That their fused innate divine ability can kill other Law Chief Sovereigns, but not him?"
"Perhaps they simply didn't dare gamble."
"As long as they don't use the fused innate divine ability against the Light Chief Sovereign, they still have some hope."
"But once they use it and fail to kill Augusta..."
"They'll truly have no choice but to await death."
The escape of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns was completely beyond the expectations of every Sovereign watching the battle.
However, it didn't take long for everyone to understand their intentions.
The reason the Death Chief Sovereign had ranked the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns at the third tier, equal to the Law Chief Sovereigns...
Was precisely because their fused innate divine ability could threaten the Law Chief Sovereigns.
In the end, they had proven this by taking the life of the Water Chief Sovereign.
However...
That single move was all they possessed.
If their fused innate divine ability proved ineffective against a Law Chief Sovereign...
Then before a Chief Sovereign, the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns truly would be no different from ordinary Lesser Sovereigns.
No...
Watching the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns fleeing through the spatial turbulence, the observing Sovereigns all shook their heads.
When it came to escape speed, even Intermediate Sovereigns probably couldn't match the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns over short distances.
Whenever the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta drew near, Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding would immediately unleash Dragon Roar to slow him down.
After being hindered several times by Dragon Roar, Augusta also realized what the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns were planning.
Immediately, instead of pursuing them in a straight line, the Light Chief Sovereign relied on his speed—which was several times faster than that of a Lesser Sovereign—to take a wide arc, arriving before the section of spatial turbulence leading to the Infernal Realm ahead of them and cutting off their retreat.
Seeing this, the expressions of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns changed drastically, forcing them to change direction and continue fleeing.
"The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns... are probably doomed today."
Every Sovereign who saw Augusta blocking the path toward the Infernal Realm arrived at the same conclusion.
Indeed, the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns were relying entirely upon Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding's Dragon Roar to delay Augusta's pursuit.
But everyone knew that a divine beast's innate divine ability consumed blood essence.
An ordinary divine beast possessed only twenty or thirty drops of divine beast blood essence.
Because the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns regularly extracted their own blood essence every so often for the clan's Ritual Baptisms, they normally maintained a considerable reserve of Sovereign blood essence within their bodies.
However...
No matter how much Sovereign blood essence they had stored, it could not withstand Redding's current rate of consumption.
As the stored Sovereign blood essence was exhausted, Redding began consuming the Sovereign blood essence within his own body.
Looking at Redding's increasingly pale face, the Vermilion Bird Sovereign Nimo couldn't help but say,
"Big Brother, let's fight him!"
"If this continues, once your Sovereign blood essence is exhausted, we still won't escape."
"That's right, Big Brother! Let's fight him!"
"Exactly! If we fight, we still have a chance to win. If we don't, we're one hundred percent going to die!"
Hearing the words of his three younger brothers, Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding fell silent.
After a long while, he finally let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry, brothers."
"I've dragged all of you down with me."
"Big Brother, what are you talking about?"
White Tiger Sovereign Lauis bumped Redding with his shoulder.
"Our conflict with the Light Chief Sovereign mainly stems from Wind Chief Sovereign Bayer."
"Augusta wants to recruit Bayer into his faction."
"And we are simply the sincerity he's showing him."
"No..."
"That's not what I meant."
Redding shook his head.
Indeed, Lauis was right.
The Light Chief Sovereign Augusta wanted to recruit Wind Chief Sovereign Bayer under his command, and to resolve the grudge between them, he had to kill the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns.
But in Redding's eyes...
Augusta and Bayer were merely the trigger for this life-and-death crisis.
The real cause...
Was that he had broken the oath he had sworn with Chief Sovereign Locke and now had to bear the consequences of violating it.
After all...
That oath had been made in the name of the Overgods.
"My brothers, this secret has been buried in my heart for countless years."
"Now that the four of us have fallen into such a desperate situation..."
"If I still don't tell you, I'm afraid I won't be able to die in peace."
"My brothers..."
"Do you still remember what happened when I first went to find you?"
"Mm."
Sovereign Bowe nodded.
"I remember. At that time, Lord Locke hadn't even become a Paragon, yet he already had the courage to negotiate with the four of us..."
"Thinking back now, after Lord Locke became a Sovereign and steadily climbed to the pinnacle of all Sovereigns, I truly admire him."
"Indeed. Looking back now, Lord Locke had already displayed extraordinary wisdom and courage back then."
"If our positions had been reversed, I certainly don't think I'd have had Lord Locke's courage to negotiate with Sovereigns."
The words of the three Sovereigns all came from the bottom of their hearts.
Simply from the fact that the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns had rarely left the Infernal Realm after being ranked alongside the Chief Sovereigns, one could tell that although the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns acted arrogantly toward outsiders...
They were, in truth, extremely cautious individuals.
"Indeed. I, too, admire everything Lord Locke has accomplished."
Although his current life-and-death crisis stemmed from the oath he had made with Lord Locke, Sovereign Redding bore no resentment toward Chief Sovereign Locke.
Back when they had sworn the oath, its contents had simply required him to protect Locke from attacks by other Sovereigns for one hundred million years.
To Redding...
Exchanging one hundred million years of protection for the possibility of obtaining power capable of threatening the Law Chief Sovereigns was an enormous bargain.
What Redding had never expected...
Was that those Sovereigns of the Infernal Realm would fight so shamelessly.
Bloodpeak Sovereign provided the arena.
Sovereign Muya personally sent out a divine clone to participate.
Who wouldn't have been fooled by that?
The battle between Locke and Muya's wind divine clone displayed only the strength of a Prefect, allowing Locke to defeat Muya's wind divine clone.
Had the oath within Redding's soul not shattered, he never would have known that Locke had actually been fighting a Sovereign's divine clone.
Later, during the Sovereign War, Redding secretly ambushed and killed Muya's divine clone, which he considered his revenge against Muya.
However, during that period, because of the widespread rumor that refining Sovereign sparks could increase one's strength, the divine clones of most Sovereigns were attacked and destroyed.
As a result, Redding's assassination of Muya's divine clone caused hardly any disturbance.
(End of Chapter)
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