The Four Divine Beasts Clan was universally acknowledged as the number one clan throughout the Seven Divine Planes and the Four Higher Planes.
Its members were spread across all Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes.
Within every Divine Plane and Higher Plane, the number of Four Divine Beasts clansmen was nearly equal to the combined population of the clans ranked second through tenth.
This time, when the Four Divine Beasts Clan of the Water Divine Plane sought revenge against the Babari Clan, they mobilized no less than one-third of their members.
Many people speculated how long the Babari Clan would be able to hold out before being exterminated by the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
However, once the battle truly began, the various factions were astonished to discover that the side holding the upper hand was actually the Babari Clan—the very clan everyone had believed would be destroyed.
At the beginning, the Four Divine Beasts clansmen who had arrived were indeed able to contend against the Babari Clan's experts with the enhancement of Sovereign power.
Unfortunately, throughout the Divine Planes and Higher Planes, the Four Divine Beasts Clan had gone over a hundred thousand years without receiving any Sovereign power delivered from the Infernal Realm's main branch.
Given the sheer size of the Four Divine Beasts Clan within the Divine Planes, daily battles were unavoidable.
Moreover, because Sovereign power had always been abundant, very few people had ever developed the habit of "conserving Sovereign power."
Now that no new Sovereign power had arrived from the Infernal Realm's main branch, many members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan possessed fewer than five drops of Sovereign power.
Once their Sovereign power was exhausted, the true strength of the Four Divine Beasts clansmen was immediately revealed.
Those who had possessed the strength of Seven Star Fiends now only had the strength of Five Star Fiends.
Those who had once possessed the strength of Six Star Fiends were reduced to merely Three or Four Star Fiends.
Those who had been Five Star Fiends were now merely ordinary Gods.
Even those who had once possessed the strength of Highgods had become nothing more than Demigods who were only slightly stronger than Saint-level experts within the Divine Planes and Higher Planes.
Having suffered a hundredfold decrease in strength, the Four Divine Beasts clansmen suffered disastrous casualties under the Babari Clan's attacks.
The remaining members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, after witnessing the fate of those who had lost the enhancement of Sovereign power, immediately split into two completely different camps.
Although they themselves had brought little Sovereign power with them, they had naively believed that the other clansmen still possessed plenty of Sovereign power.
As such, they had intended to simply hold back and wait until the Babari Clan was destroyed before claiming a share of the spoils.
However...
When everyone thought the same way, that itself became a major problem.
Some members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan who already possessed very little Sovereign power immediately fled after witnessing their clansmen being killed once their Sovereign power ran out.
The other group, however, chose to fight desperately.
Even if they died, they intended to drag members of the Babari Clan down with them to avenge the clansmen who had already fallen.
Unfortunately, the strength of these Four Divine Beasts clansmen had always been supported by Sovereign power.
And a single drop of Sovereign power only allowed them to maintain that overwhelming strength for roughly thirty breaths.
Once the effects of the Sovereign power disappeared, and they no longer had any Sovereign power left to sustain themselves...
They were instantly slaughtered by the Babari Clan.
The extermination campaign launched by the Four Divine Beasts Clan against the Babari Clan lasted no more than half an hour from beginning to end.
Yet within that brief half hour...
The Four Divine Beasts Clan's current predicament was completely exposed.
The Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes were unimaginably vast.
The primary reason the Four Divine Beasts Clan had been able to occupy the majority of the regions rich in resources throughout those planes was their enormous population and their seemingly inexhaustible supply of Sovereign power.
Now, throughout every plane, it had already been over a hundred thousand years since the Four Divine Beasts Clan had last received a fresh supply of Sovereign power.
The reserves possessed by the clansmen stationed throughout the Divine Planes and Higher Planes were almost exhausted.
This battle against the Babari Clan allowed all the other forces within the Water Divine Plane to see that the Four Divine Beasts Clan was now nothing more than a paper tiger.
Thus...
More and more native forces began probing and testing the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
Under this trend, many of the Four Divine Beasts Clan's strongholds suffered tremendous blows, and quite a number of their clansmen fell as well.
As a result, the Four Divine Beasts Clan in the Water Divine Plane simultaneously contacted their clansmen in the other Divine Planes for reinforcements while urgently requesting the Infernal Realm's main branch to send over the Sovereign power accumulated during the past hundred thousand years.
Unfortunately...
Since none of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns had descended, the Infernal Realm simply did not possess enough Sovereign power in reserve to distribute.
Within the Infernal Realm, the Four Divine Beasts Clan was unquestionably the main branch.
The Four Divine Beasts Clans in the other ten planes were merely branch families.
Since everyone was a branch family, if Sovereign power were sent to the Water Divine Plane, then should it not also be sent to the branch families in all the other Divine Planes and Higher Planes?
Therefore, after extensive discussion among Gislason and the other three clan leaders, the request from the Water Divine Plane's branch family was ultimately rejected.
Furthermore, because they had been unable to contact their fathers for such a long time, the four clan leaders of the Four Divine Beasts Clan had already begun to develop a very ominous premonition.
They immediately ordered the clansmen in the Water Divine Plane to gather together and prioritize distributing the remaining Sovereign power to clansmen who were Highgods and above.
Unfortunately...
What Gislason and the others did not realize was that those standing at the very peak were destined to be coveted by countless hyenas.
Had Gislason acted more forcefully and sent a batch of Sovereign power to the Water Divine Plane's branch family, allowing them to wipe out the forces challenging the Four Divine Beasts Clan with overwhelming force...
Then at least, before the Four Divine Beasts Clan's Sovereign power had been completely exhausted, the other forces would have remained unable to distinguish reality from bluff and would naturally have hesitated to provoke them.
Instead...
The Water Divine Plane branch gathering all of its members together became the spark that ignited the countless years of resentment accumulated by those hyenas after generations of oppression under the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
Thus...
The war between the Four Divine Beasts Clan and the native clans of the Water Divine Plane officially began.
...
"Damn it! Tia, stop stopping me! I'm going to the Water Divine Plane right now and wipe out every force that dares challenge our Four Divine Beasts Clan!"
Within the Azure Dragon Clan's territory in the Skyrite Mountains of the Infernal Realm, Gess, the White Tiger Clan Leader, glared furiously at Tia, the Vermilion Bird Clan Leader.
"Calm down, Second Brother."
Tia held Gess back and growled in a low voice.
"I feel exactly the same as you do. I want nothing more than to tear every one of those people who dared offend our Four Divine Beasts Clan into pieces."
"But until Big Brother gives the order, we cannot act recklessly."
"That's right, Second Brother."
The Black Tortoise Clan Leader, Feynman, also spoke.
"If Big Brother gives the word, I'll accompany you to the Water Divine Plane and annihilate every force that has dared raise its hand against our Four Divine Beasts Clan."
"But before Big Brother gives the order, what we need to do is remain ready at all times—not rush out like you are."
Hearing his two younger brothers speak, the anger in Gess's heart subsided somewhat.
Nevertheless, he still turned his gaze toward Gislason, who sat in the seat of honor within the great hall.
"Big Brother, what do you think?"
"...Sigh."
Hearing Gess's question, Gislason rubbed his forehead and let out a long sigh.
"My three brothers..."
"The Babari Clan and the other forces leading the resistance in the Water Divine Plane are indeed a serious threat."
"If we don't eliminate them, our Four Divine Beasts Clan will never again be able to hold its head high in the Water Divine Plane."
"But compared to those matters..."
"I still believe that re-establishing contact with Father and the others is our highest priority."
"So long as we can contact Father and obtain enough Sovereign power and Sovereign blood essence..."
"The unrest in the Water Divine Plane will be suppressed very quickly."
"Otherwise, even if we go to reinforce the Water Divine Plane's branch family now, without sufficient reserves of Sovereign power..."
"It won't only be the Water Divine Plane."
"The other six Divine Planes, the three Higher Planes..."
"And perhaps even the Infernal Realm itself..."
"Our Four Divine Beasts Clan may come under attack from the other great clans."
"When that happens..."
Hearing Gislason's words, the expressions of the other three clan leaders changed dramatically.
That's right.
The Four Divine Beasts Clan's true problem was the severe shortage of Sovereign power.
As long as they possessed sufficient Sovereign power, the rebellion within the Water Divine Plane could be crushed at any time.
But if they still failed to contact their fathers before all of their Sovereign power was exhausted...
"Then, Big Brother, what do you think we should do now?"
"First..."
"Have every branch family throughout every plane—not just the Water Divine Plane—gather together at their branch strongholds to avoid unnecessary casualties."
"Then..."
"Tia."
"Yes, Big Brother."
The Vermilion Bird Clan Leader, Tia, immediately stood up, prepared to receive his assignment.
"Tia."
"The four of us have already searched Father's and the others' Sovereign Palaces."
"We found no trace of them."
"The clansmen in the other Divine Planes have likewise received no news from Father and the others."
"If Father and the others knew what our Four Divine Beasts Clan is currently facing, they would have rushed back long ago in anger, bringing us more Sovereign power so that we could strike back without mercy."
"But now..."
Gislason slowly shook his head before speaking in a deep voice.
"So I suspect Father and the others are currently not within any Divine Plane or Higher Plane."
"That means..."
"They are most likely within the Spatial Turbulence and therefore remain unaware of our current situation."
"Tia."
"I need you to secretly leave the Bloodridge Continent and quietly travel to the Amethyst prefecture Continent."
"Go to the Amethyst Mountains and request an audience with the Amethyst Sovereign."
"Ask the Amethyst Sovereign to deliver a message to Father and the others in the Spatial Turbulence, informing them of our current predicament and asking them to return to the Infernal Realm as soon as possible."
"Understood."
Tia nodded.
Although among the four brothers Gislason possessed unquestionably the greatest strength...
When it came to speed, even Gess was slower than Tia.
He was therefore the most suitable person to seek out another Sovereign to deliver a message to the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns.
As for why they did not ask the nearby Bloodridge Sovereign...
That was due to the longstanding grievances between the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns and the Bloodridge Sovereign, as well as between the Four Divine Beasts Clan and the Bloodridge Sovereign Army.
Under such circumstances...
How bold would Gislason and the others have to be to seek help from the Bloodridge Sovereign?
Following Gislason's instructions, Tia quietly slipped out of the Skyrite Mountains.
After putting some distance between himself and Indigo Prefecture, he released a metallic lifeform.
It transformed into a Vermilion Bird over a hundred meters long before carrying him toward the Amethyst Mountains on the Amethystprefecture Continent.
Even with Tia's speed, the journey from the Skyrite Mountains to the Amethyst Mountains still took more than ten years.
...
A metallic lifeform shaped like a Vermilion Bird came to a stop outside the Amethyst Mountains.
Tia flew out of the metallic lifeform and waved his hand, storing it back into his interspatial ring.
After confirming his bearings, he transformed into a streak of crimson light and entered the mist surrounding the Amethyst Mountains, flying toward its depths.
The members of the various clans stationed outside the Amethyst Mountains to prevent others from entering completely ignored Tia's arrival.
Although these clans had established a blockade around the Amethyst Mountains and collected entrance fees from the Deities seeking to enter in search of Amethyst crystals...
They also knew perfectly well whom they could afford to offend—and whom they absolutely could not.
The strongest expert in their clan, their own clan leader, was only a Five Star Fiend.
If they dared stop great figures with the strength of Five Star Fiends or above, they wouldn't even need those experts to act.
Their own clan leader would personally kill them.
On the ground, the Demigods and Gods lined up to enter the Amethyst Mountains looked toward Tia as he flew directly inside, their eyes filled with envy.
If only they possessed such overwhelming strength...
How would these guards dare speak to them so arrogantly?
The mist within the Amethyst Mountains had a considerable effect even on ordinary Highgods.
However, for someone like Tia, who possessed Prefect-level strength, its influence was minimal.
Even so, despite being only slightly affected by the mist, Tia did not dare recklessly fly through the Amethyst Mountains at full speed.
Besides the Amethyst Sovereign herself...
The Amethyst Mountains were also home to the Amethyst Sovereign's son, an extremely famous supreme expert among Prefect-level experts—
Reisgem.
Reisgem had first appeared before the world alongside Lady Rena of Locke's lineage several hundred cycledexes ago.
Although Reisgem had ultimately failed to break through to Paragon and therefore had not been able to join the Netherworld's Mount Nether lineage...
His strength unquestionably belonged among the very strongest beneath the Paragons.
A suspected Paragon.
Furthermore, Reisgem had participated in dozens of Planar Battles, personally killing more than thirty Commander-level experts and collecting a complete set of three Sovereign artifacts.
It could be said that even if he encountered a true Paragon, Reisgem would still be able to retreat safely.
And indeed...
That was exactly the case.
During the Planar Battles, Reisgem had clashed with the Wind Paragon Bayer on multiple occasions, yet Bayer had been unable to do anything to him.
(T/N: Who the hell is that??? Isn't that the wind chief sovereign's name???)
After all...
As the son of a Sovereign, Reisgem had never lacked Sovereign power.
(End of Chapter)
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