Beirut was extremely familiar with this divine sense.
After all, if one were to count it carefully, this had been the very first Sovereign he had ever faced directly.
"The Light Chief Sovereign, Augusta?"
The moment he sensed that divine sense, Beirut came to a halt.
Judging from the strength of that divine sense, the one approaching was unquestionably Augusta's true body as the Light Chief Sovereign.
In front of a Sovereign, the speed of Beirut's divine clone was little different from that of an ant crawling on the ground.
Sure enough, only a few breaths later, a streak of golden light appeared before Beirut, revealing Augusta's figure.
An overwhelming pressure erupted from Augusta's body.
Under that terrifying aura, although Beirut's current divine clone possessed strength comparable to a Paragon, he still had no choice but to lower his head and bow respectfully.
"Greetings, Lord Augusta."
"May I ask why Lord Augusta has come here?"
After bowing, Beirut looked at Augusta and asked in a deep voice.
"Heh, Beirut."
"You haven't forgotten what I said before, have you?"
Augusta sneered as he slowly raised his right hand.
"I said that if you ever dared leave the Yulan Continent, I would grind your bones to dust."
"Although only your divine clone has left the Yulan Plane..."
"That doesn't stop me from sending it on its way."
"Oh?"
"Lord Augusta..."
"Are you certain you dare kill me here?"
Faced with Augusta's threat, Beirut smiled.
"Have you forgotten what Chief Sovereign Locke did in the Yulan Plane?"
"I've come here specifically to ask Chief Sovereign Locke how the remaining three Sovereign sparks of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns should be distributed."
"If I'm killed before I even meet Chief Sovereign Locke..."
"Do you think Chief Sovereign Locke would avenge me?"
"What?"
Augusta's heart skipped a beat.
Not to mention that Chief Sovereign Locke had now displayed methods comparable to those of an Overgod.
Even before revealing such power...
Augusta would never have dared intercept and kill someone who was on his way to seek an audience with Chief Sovereign Locke.
Moreover...
Chief Sovereign Locke truly had created an entirely new space within the Yulan Plane for the Asura Prefects to fight in.
If killing Beirut's divine clone caused any delay to Chief Sovereign Locke's plans...
Not even the Fate Chief Sovereign, Orloff, would be able to save him.
At once, Augusta's expression shifted between red and pale.
The golden radiance gathered in his hand gradually faded away.
"Hmph."
"Little mouse..."
"I'll let you live a little longer."
"However..."
"I was the one who killed the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns."
"Although you stole their corpses afterward..."
"I believe I'm still qualified to sit in on any discussion regarding the disposition of those three Sovereign sparks."
"That question..."
"You should ask Lord Locke yourself, Lord Augusta."
Seeing Augusta back down, Beirut secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he had already prepared himself to lose this divine clone...
If he could survive, who would willingly choose death?
At the same time...
This gave Beirut an even deeper understanding of just how vindictive Augusta truly was.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Inwardly, Beirut made up his mind.
Until he obtained the protection of one of the Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
Or gained an ally whose strength rivaled a Law Chief Sovereign...
He absolutely would not leave the Yulan Plane recklessly again, lest Augusta seize the opportunity.
"Hmph!"
Augusta merely snorted coldly and did nothing further.
He had learned from the Fate Chief Sovereign, Orloff, that nothing happening within the Netherworld could escape the perception of the Death Chief Sovereign, who possessed the Heart of the Netherworld.
If he knowingly killed Beirut while the latter was on his way to seek an audience with Chief Sovereign Locke...
The Death Chief Sovereign and Chief Sovereign Locke would certainly have no objection to killing him on the spot.
Unable to vent the fury filling his chest...
Augusta suddenly grabbed Beirut's hand.
Secretly exerting force...
He squeezed Beirut's bones until cracking sounds echoed continuously.
"What are you doing, Lord Augusta?"
The intense pain caused cold sweat to appear across Beirut's forehead, yet he still questioned Augusta calmly.
He was absolutely certain that...
Within the Netherworld...
The Light Chief Sovereign did not dare kill him.
"What am I doing?"
"Aren't you on your way to seek an audience with Chief Sovereign Locke?"
"At your leisurely pace..."
"How long do you expect Chief Sovereign Locke to wait?"
"I might as well take you there myself at the fastest possible speed."
As soon as he finished speaking...
The Light Chief Sovereign transformed into a streak of golden light and shot toward Mount Nether.
A Sovereign's flying speed exceeded fifty million kilometers per second.
As the Chief Sovereign who specialized most in speed...
Augusta's top speed reached one hundred thirty million kilometers per second.
At such terrifying velocity...
The Beirut being dragged along behind him experienced violent friction against the air, causing blazing flames to engulf his entire body.
Fortunately...
After refining the wind-element Lesser Sovereign spark, Beirut's divine clone also possessed Will.
Shielding himself with that Will...
He barely managed to survive.
Otherwise...
The pressure generated solely by that incredible speed would have been enough to kill him outright.
Well...
Unless he had used his original Godeater Rat body, whose physical toughness rivaled a divine spark.
Only then could he have survived such overwhelming force.
Augusta's burst of speed startled the Sovereigns residing in the Netherworld.
How many years had it been...
Since any Sovereign had flown at full speed within a Divine Plane or Higher Plane?
After all...
Crossing an entire Divine Plane or Higher Plane by flight required at least half a day.
Traveling through the spatial turbulence, on the other hand...
Only took a few minutes.
As a result...
It wasn't until Augusta had already flown for some time across the Netherworld that the local Sovereigns finally reacted.
They extended their divine senses toward him, curious to see whose subordinate was still traveling in such an old-fashioned manner.
However...
The moment they recognized the Light Chief Sovereign...
They immediately understood.
As a Sovereign who did not belong to the Netherworld...
Not even Augusta dared tear open space from the spatial turbulence and enter the Netherworld directly.
Thus...
After arriving in the Netherworld...
Flying normally was his only option.
Judging by the direction Augusta was traveling...
Everyone immediately realized that he was either going to seek an audience with the Death Chief Sovereign...
Or with Lord Locke.
Of course...
What amused the Netherworld Sovereigns even more...
Was the flaming ball of fire clutched in Augusta's hand.
Looking carefully...
Wasn't that the Godeater Rat, Beirut—the very mouse who had recently snatched victory from Augusta's jaws?
When had those two started traveling together?
However...
Judging from Beirut's miserable appearance...
Their relationship seemed even worse than everyone had imagined.
Just look at Beirut's nearly crushed hand bones...
And the Will protecting him that was on the verge of collapsing.
The Sovereigns could only shake their heads speechlessly.
At the same time...
They gained an even deeper appreciation of just how petty the Light Chief Sovereign truly was.
If he could torment even a Sovereign's divine clone like this...
Then if Beirut ever actually fell into Augusta's hands...
His fate would undoubtedly be ten times worse.
Feeling the scrutiny of all those divine senses...
The corners of Augusta's mouth twitched.
As the Light Chief Sovereign...
Among his believers, he was the one and only supreme deity.
Whenever he traveled, he always did so with unmatched grandeur.
Yet now...
He had no choice but to rush toward Chief Sovereign Locke in such an embarrassingly low-class manner...
All while being watched by the other Sovereigns.
More importantly...
This was the Netherworld.
No matter how irritated Augusta felt toward the Sovereigns here...
He dared not vent his anger upon them.
As the saying went...
Even if you wanted to beat a dog, you had to consider its master.
Every Sovereign in the Netherworld served under the Death Chief Sovereign.
If Augusta dared attack one of them within the Netherworld...
He likely wouldn't even get the chance to strike before the Death Chief Sovereign suddenly appeared and slapped him to death.
This wasn't merely Augusta's imagination.
At present...
Augusta's strength was equivalent to that of a Paragon Law Chief Sovereign.
But what about the Death Chief Sovereign?
Leaving aside the gap between Paragons...
The Death Chief Sovereign possessed a body with the toughness of a Sovereign artifact...
The Will granted by being half of the Netherworld Sovereign...
The additional Will earned from achieving ten consecutive victories in the Planar Battlefield...
And finally...
The Heart of the Netherworld itself, which amplified her power by no less than a hundredfold.
Even without counting the increase granted by the "Laws of Reincarnation" she had comprehended...
Those advantages alone made her over ten thousand times stronger than Augusta.
To say she could slap Augusta to death...
Was practically flattering him.
The truth was...
She would probably reduce Augusta to dust with a single slap.
At Augusta's speed...
It took less than three hours for him to reach the Mount Nether range.
"Lord Locke..."
"Augusta requests an audience."
Before the countless Deities of Mount Nether...
Augusta dragged along a human-shaped torch, passed through the three layers of mist laid down by Locke, and arrived outside the thunder chains sealing the foot of Mount Nether.
Then he sent his voice into the mountain with his divine sense.
"Come in."
As Locke's voice sounded beside Augusta's and Beirut's ears...
A doorway suddenly appeared before them.
Beyond that doorway...
One could see the purple-gray Sovereign's Palace...
And the lofty throne within.
Suppressing the shock in his heart...
Augusta dragged Beirut through the doorway.
...
"Augusta greets Chief Sovereign Locke."
"Greetings, Death Chief Sovereign."
With a single step...
Augusta crossed directly from the foot of Mount Nether into the Sovereign's Palace atop the summit.
Lowering his head...
He gave a slight bow toward the throne and greeted Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign.
"Beirut greets Lord Locke."
"Greetings, Death Chief Sovereign."
Although Beirut had never met either Locke or the Death Chief Sovereign...
Under these circumstances...
He simply copied Augusta's form of address.
Surely...
Augusta wasn't going to mistake the identities of the Sovereigns.
"Rise."
"Yes."
"Thank you, Lord Locke."
"Thank you, Death Chief Sovereign."
After expressing his thanks, Augusta straightened up.
Beirut quickly followed suit.
"Augusta."
"Beirut."
"You two created such a commotion in the Netherworld just to come see me."
"What is it that you want?"
Hearing Locke's words...
Beirut didn't think much of them.
Augusta, however...
Broke out in a cold sweat.
From Locke's words...
What Augusta heard wasn't merely, "What business do you have with me?"
Instead...
He heard...
"You created such a commotion in the Netherworld."
Indeed...
A Sovereign flying at full speed all the way from the Undead Holy Mountain generated shockwaves powerful enough to devastate every living thing within a considerable radius.
Given Chief Sovereign Locke's character...
If he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation...
Then even if the Fate Chief Sovereign, Orloff, personally came to plead on his behalf...
Chief Sovereign Locke would still punish him.
"I'm sorry, Lord Locke."
The Light Chief Sovereign immediately admitted fault.
"I sensed that Lord Locke was closely watching the events in the Yulan Plane."
"So after discovering that Beirut had left the Yulan Plane and entered the Netherworld..."
"I immediately brought him here."
"Oh?"
Seated upon the throne...
Locke frowned slightly.
In truth...
Because Augusta had entered the Netherworld via the teleportation array...
And Locke hadn't been using either his divine sense or soul power at that particular moment...
He had no knowledge of what had happened between Augusta and Beirut.
However...
That didn't prevent Locke from understanding Augusta's personality...
Or the grudge between the two.
Under normal circumstances...
After discovering Beirut had left the Yulan Plane...
Augusta should have come to the Netherworld to kill him.
As for why...
The Light Chief Sovereign and Beirut had ultimately arrived here together...
The only explanation was that...
Just before Augusta was about to kill Beirut...
Beirut had said something.
Locke waved a hand.
Immediately...
A floating image appeared within the Sovereign's Palace.
The moment Augusta and Beirut saw it...
Their hearts both skipped a beat.
Because the scene shown in the projection...
Was precisely the place where Augusta had intercepted Beirut within the Netherworld.
"Reverse Time."
As Locke spoke...
Everyone within the Sovereign's Palace saw the projection begin playing backward at astonishing speed.
After only a dozen breaths...
The image rewound until it showed Augusta dragging Beirut along.
Then...
When it reached the moment Augusta first caught up with Beirut...
Time within the projection resumed flowing normally.
Soon afterward...
The entire conversation between Beirut and Augusta echoed throughout the Sovereign's Palace.
The scene caused everyone present to draw in a sharp breath.
Augusta was utterly horrified.
At the same time...
He silently rejoiced that he had not uttered any disrespectful words toward Chief Sovereign Locke or the Death Chief Sovereign while in the Netherworld.
As for Beirut...
There was no need to mention him.
Although he had already refined the White Tiger Sovereign's wind-element Lesser Sovereign spark and become the new Wind Lesser Sovereign...
The two methods Chief Sovereign Locke had displayed...
Had already completely surpassed Beirut's understanding of what a "Sovereign" was capable of.
Whether it was opening an entirely new plane within the Yulan Plane...
Or this present ability to reverse time...
Both were simply too terrifying.
(End of Chapter)
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