"Finished venting?"
After the Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta, had finally finished venting his anger and returned to the pavilion, the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff spoke casually.
"Finished? How could I possibly be finished?"
It would have been better if Orloff hadn't said anything. The moment he spoke, Augusta's anger flared up once more.
"I spent countless years preparing for this. I finally seized the one opportunity when the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns left the Infernal Realm and killed them."
"And yet that little rat stole away both the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses and their Sovereign sparks."
"That fellow even dared reject me and actually dispersed my projection..."
"When have I ever suffered such a loss?"
"I'd already made my plans. I even transmitted my command through divine sense to every Sovereign except the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts and Chief Sovereign Locke's faction, forbidding them from communicating with Beirut."
"I wanted Beirut to become meat on the chopping block, living in terror for a trillion years before I slaughtered him myself!"
"But who would've thought that some insignificant Lesser Sovereign of Destruction from the Infernal Realm would actually dare oppose me?"
"Doesn't he fear that I'll enter the Infernal Realm and kill him?"
"Enough, Augusta."
Orloff stood up and placed a hand on Augusta's shoulder, forcibly pressing him back onto the stone stool in the pavilion.
Brilliant white light erupted from Augusta's body.
Yet beneath Orloff's palm, that white radiance burst like a soap bubble at the slightest touch.
With a muffled grunt, Augusta had no choice but to sit down quietly.
Although Augusta now possessed both the Will granted by Orloff and the additional Will gained from the ten consecutive victories in the Planar Battlefield, allowing him to be regarded as a Paragon Law Chief Sovereign...
Orloff still possessed one more Paragon-level Laws foundation than Augusta, as well as a body with the strength of a Sovereign artifact.
As a result, Orloff's strength exceeded Augusta's by well over a hundredfold.
In other words, before Orloff...
Augusta would still be instantly killed.
"Say those words to people outside if you like."
"But do you really dare charge into the Infernal Realm?"
After forcibly making Augusta "calm down," Orloff continued,
"The Destruction Chief Sovereign Wordred isn't much weaker than I am."
"In fact, if I didn't possess a soul-defense Overgod artifact, even Wordred's innate divine ability would pose a considerable threat to me."
"With that being the case, do you still dare go to the Infernal Realm?"
"Hmph!"
Hearing Orloff's words, Augusta merely snorted coldly and said nothing further.
Although Augusta was arrogant and looked down upon everyone weaker than himself...
He did possess one admirable quality.
He knew his limits and absolutely would not provoke someone stronger than himself.
Especially not the Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, who were capable of killing him.
Not long ago, the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wordred had transmitted a message to Augusta, informing him that he would protect Beirut's divine clone within the Infernal Realm.
If Augusta dared use any means whatsoever against Beirut's divine clone while in the Infernal Realm, Wordred wouldn't mind charging into the Light Divine Plane to teach Augusta a lesson.
After conducting some investigation, Augusta learned that it was actually a Lesser Sovereign of Destruction from the Infernal Realm who had ignored his threats, explained the Sovereign Covenant and Sovereign duties to Beirut...
Furthermore, he had personally introduced Beirut to the Destruction Chief Sovereign, convincing Wordred to agree to protect Beirut's divine clone within the Infernal Realm.
This made Augusta fly into a furious rage.
Yet he didn't dare do anything within the Light Divine Plane.
Left with no other outlet, he came to the Celestial Realm, to Orloff's residence, to vent his frustration.
Originally, Augusta had hoped Orloff would help him recover some face.
He wasn't expecting Orloff to immediately fight another battle against the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wordred.
But at the very least...
Shouldn't Orloff make a clear statement that Augusta was under his protection?
Unfortunately...
In Orloff's eyes, Augusta's behavior was no different from children playing house.
There was no way he would fight the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wordred simply to help Augusta vent his anger.
That fellow was an absolute battle maniac, with an almost irrational sense of pride.
Losing would be one thing.
But if Orloff won...
He could already imagine Wordred pestering him for battle after battle for quite some time.
Unless Orloff displayed strength that overwhelmingly surpassed Wordred's...
Only then would the Destruction Chief Sovereign finally give up.
But that didn't fit Orloff's own plans.
"Besides, the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wordred has already shown you considerable respect."
"He merely agreed to protect Beirut's divine clone within the Infernal Realm."
"I believe Beirut understands Wordred's meaning and won't dare let his Sovereign clone leave his native Material Plane."
"However..."
"I've heard that in exchange for Wordred's protection, Beirut handed over the Sovereign blood essence refined from the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses."
"Th-this..."
Large beads of sweat appeared on Augusta's forehead.
Although Orloff's tone hadn't changed in the slightest, as the other half of the same being, Augusta naturally understood...
The calmer Orloff appeared, the more serious the matter truly was.
The primary reason for killing the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns had been because Orloff needed their divine beast blood essence to research the mysteries behind their fused innate divine ability, hoping to raise his strength even further and reach the realm attained by the Death Sovereign and Chief Sovereign Locke.
Now...
The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' blood essence had been used by Beirut to purchase Wordred's protection.
Although Beirut certainly couldn't have handed every drop over to Wordred...
This had completely cut off the possibility of Augusta and Orloff obtaining the remaining Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' blood essence from Beirut.
"Augusta."
"You should understand that the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' blood essence contains the secrets behind their fused innate divine ability."
"Although Wordred is still somewhat weaker than I am, there is no denying that he is a genius."
"He will inevitably unravel the mysteries behind the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' fused innate divine ability."
"Perhaps by then..."
"Even if I use neither my soul-defense Overgod artifact nor my material-defense Overgod artifact, I still won't be his opponent."
"Tell me..."
"What should I do about the consequences brought about by this mistake?"
"W-wait, Orloff..."
Seeing that Orloff seemed ready to do something, Augusta's face changed dramatically.
Unfortunately...
The gap between their strengths was simply too vast.
Before Orloff, Augusta possessed virtually no ability to resist.
Thus...
Augusta transformed into a streak of white light and merged into Orloff's body.
Boom!
After merging with Augusta, Orloff's appearance underwent noticeable changes.
First...
His elderly, kindly face became somewhat younger.
His features also became more resolute.
Meanwhile, elegant golden patterns appeared across his white robes.
His soul aura likewise underwent subtle changes.
If Orloff were to leave the August Garden in this state...
No one would recognize him as either Orloff or Augusta.
At this moment, Orloff kept his eyes tightly shut.
White and golden Sovereign power flowed around his body.
Only after a long time did he finally let out a sigh and disperse the Sovereign power surrounding him.
As someone willing to do anything in pursuit of greater strength...
When the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff first learned about the uniqueness of soul mutates, he had once attempted to transform himself into one.
In the end...
He failed.
After countless years of experimentation, Orloff had naturally come to understand the reason.
Like divine beasts, the Bula Clan was a miraculous race created by heaven and earth.
At birth, each member possessed affinity with only a single element or a single Edict.
Later, after using the Bula Clan's innate ability to divide themselves into two individuals, the separated half would, under the workings of the natural laws, obtain its own independent elemental affinity.
Although the two halves could merge back into one body and wield divine power and Laws from both elements...
They could not fuse those divine powers and Laws the way a soul mutate could, nor could they ascend to a higher realm because of it.
The fusion of their Sovereign power failed.
White radiance erupted from Orloff's body.
When the white light finally faded...
The figures of the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff and the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta once again appeared within the August Garden.
"Haa... haa..."
Unlike Orloff, who felt virtually nothing...
The separated Augusta appeared to have suffered an enormous mental shock.
He dropped to both knees, supporting himself with his hands against the ground as he gasped heavily for breath.
Whenever two separated members of the Bula Clan merged again, all of their emotions, preferences, and personalities fused together.
The stronger party's emotions and preferences naturally dominated, suppressing those of the weaker one.
As the primary consciousness during the fusion...
Orloff's heart contained only his obsession with cultivation and becoming stronger, together with his unwavering conviction toward all things.
Under that overwhelming obsession and conviction...
Every one of Augusta's emotions was completely suppressed.
During that period...
Augusta resembled those whose desires had been completely washed away by Vice Admiral Tsuru's Wash-Wash Fruit in One Piece.
Once they separated again...
The rebound of all the suppressed emotions and desires forced Augusta to relive the terror of having every aspect of his personality completely erased.
To Augusta...
Those emotions and desires were proof of his own existence.
If they all disappeared...
Then what difference would there be between himself and Orloff?
It was precisely because of this that after every fusion with Orloff...
Augusta would remain trapped in this fear for quite some time.
Only after a long while did Augusta gradually recover his sense of self as his emotions and desires slowly returned.
His Sovereign power rippled outward, evaporating the cold sweat covering his body, and his condition completely recovered.
Seeing Augusta regain his composure, Orloff smiled gently before speaking words that caused Augusta's heart to grow cold.
"Augusta."
"Nearly every member of the Four Divine Beasts Clan has undergone baptism with the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' blood essence. Their bodies all contain traces of that Sovereign blood essence."
"I hope that the next time you come here..."
"You'll have gathered enough Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' blood essence for me."
"Otherwise..."
"I'll have no choice but to remain in our fused state for an extended period while researching how to turn our souls into a soul mutate..."
"Don't worry."
"Next time, I'll definitely bring back even more Sovereign blood essence than could have been refined from the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses."
"Mmm. Go."
...
The Four Divine Beasts Clan...
Was finished.
This became the common consensus shared by every major power throughout the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes.
No one knew exactly when it had begun.
But throughout the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes, every major power second only to the Four Divine Beasts Clan had simultaneously launched campaigns against them.
In the Seven Divine Planes and the three Higher Planes other than the Infernal Realm, most of the Four Divine Beasts Clan's Highgod experts had already been summoned back to the Infernal Realm by Gislason and the others.
As a result...
When those branch clans faced attacks from the powerful local clans of their respective planes, they suffered devastating losses.
Only within the Infernal Realm...
Because experts from the branch clans across the other planes had returned, the Four Divine Beasts Clan suffered relatively light losses and still retained enough strength to launch counterattacks against those who had attacked them.
The other ten planes, however...
Were another story entirely.
Most members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan were slaughtered.
The bloodlines within their corpses were extracted.
Some surviving clan members were even kept alive in captivity, their blood essence extracted at regular intervals.
Under these circumstances...
Gislason had no choice but to dispatch part of the clan's experts to the other planes to rescue surviving clansmen and escort them back to the Infernal Realm.
The rescue operation carried out by the Four Divine Beasts Clan across the other ten planes...
Lasted for a full three thousand years.
Over those three thousand years...
The countless powers of the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes witnessed the fall of the once-supreme Four Divine Beasts Clan from its peak.
Naturally...
As the war dragged on, the news of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' deaths could no longer be concealed.
After three thousand years of continuous slaughter across the ten planes...
Of all the Four Divine Beasts clansmen who had originally lived throughout the other eleven planes...
Less than one in a hundred thousand ultimately managed to escape back to the Infernal Realm.
Of course...
Every clansman who successfully returned from the other planes—unless blessed with extraordinary luck—was an elite among elites.
Even without Sovereign power...
They still ranked among the strongest within their own level.
...
"In the elder brother, as of now, the majority of our clan's forces have successfully withdrawn back to the Infernal Realm."
Within the Azure Dragon Hall in the Skyrite Mountains of Indigo Prefecture in the Infernal Realm, Gais, the White Tiger Clan Leader, reported to Gislason.
Compared to more than three thousand years earlier...
Gais had become noticeably steadier, while much of his former hot temper had faded.
Perhaps because of everything he had experienced over these years, his temperament had been tempered.
Even his outward appearance seemed more mature than before.
"Mmm. Gais, you've done well."
Gislason nodded.
The task of bringing their clansmen back from the various Divine Planes had been led by Gais, with Tia and Feman assisting him.
Although the number of clansmen who ultimately returned to the Infernal Realm was insignificant compared to the original size of the branch clans...
For the current Four Divine Beasts Clan...
Every additional Highgod meant one more source of strength.
Furthermore...
After recovering the majority of the Sovereign power held by their clansmen across the other planes...
The Four Divine Beasts Clan's reserve of Sovereign power had gradually become much more plentiful.
(End of Chapter)
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