Book 18, Highgod – Chapter 10, The Manner of Death
Dozens of figures flew over in the air in an impressive host, and the tens of Deities already present in the imperial palace flew over as well, terrified. In a short period of time, all eighty two Deities were assembled. Frightened and nervous, they stared at Linley. They didn’t know...what Linley was going to do to them.
They were frustrated as well. How could Linley be so powerful? They had come with Odin from the Planar Prison to the Yulan continent, but they had never held the ‘legendary’ Linley in any regard.
But it seemed...as though Linley was unreasonably strong.
“Lord Linley, these things have nothing to do with us. We just obeyed the orders of Lord Odin.” One of them, a green-haired, middle-aged man said hurriedly.
“It had nothing to do with us. Lord Linley, spare our lives.”
The eighty two all begged for mercy. Having seen Linley’s power, they understood that Linley was completely capable of just using his divine sense to attack all eighty two of them. Not a single one of them would escape.
“Shut your mouths.” Linley said emotionlessly.
Immediately, all of the eighty two Deities fell silent, not daring to say a word. The entire devastated imperial palace was deathly silent. Those ministers, palace attendants, maids, and guards who stood in the distance were in a state of panic as well. All these years...they had known that the experts under the control of Odin were all exceedingly strong.
But today, Odin had been beaten like a dog and was now lying on the ground. Those eighty two figures were standing there like a pack of slaves, not daring to make a sound. And the person who had caused all this was that brown-haired man!
“Fourth Bro. Delia. If you want to take revenge, do what you please to him.” Linley sent mentally.
Linley had no other options. He was unable to seal this clone’s divine power, because this person was a Highgod! Linley had to rely on the black stone in order to send Odin into a dazed stupor.
“This bastard!” Reynolds bellowed, and he flashed forward, moving like lightning. His entire body began to blaze with flames, and his right leg spun out like a tornado. “Bang!” It violently clashed against Odin’s waist, smashing Odin and sending him rolling forward on the ground into the distance, colliding with a distant stone pillar of the devastated palace. As Odin’s body smashed into the stone pillar, the stone pillar collapsed as well.
“Bastard. Bastard!” Reynolds muttered, his eyes crimson as he stared at Odin. He flew over once more, stepping on Odin repeatedly.
“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”
Reynolds was giving vent to his rage.
As for Linley, he just emotionlessly watched this happen. At the same time, a ball of water floated out from Linley’s forehead, and a blurry blue light reflected the events in the distance. Linley was using his divine water clone to execute the scryer technique, and was recording these events.
“Reynolds.” Delia growled.
Reynolds took a breather, turning to look at Delia, then stepping away to make way for her. As for Delia, she held the Spear of Cortez in her hands, then stabbed it viciously at Odin’s body. Chest, legs, thigh, arms, waist...Delia savagely used the spear to stab him while cursing nonstop at him, and as she did, her tears began to fall as well. “Big Brother...”
Dixie had died. No matter what sort of revenge she took, Delia still was unable to accept it.
“Delia, she...” Linley could completely imagine what sort of pain Delia was in...because he was suffering that same pain! Death wasn’t frightening, in and of itself, but to die the way Yale had, after having been tortured to the point of insanity? That was terrifying. “No matter what we do to torture this Odin, it won’t be enough. Won’t be enough!!! And his Death-type clone...I will definitely destroy it as well!”
“How vicious.” Those eighty two distant Deities watched as Delia and Reynolds took their vengeance, and their hearts quailed as they watched.
Reynolds and Delia were both taking a breather.
“The eighty two of you.” Linley turned to look at them.
“Lord Linley.” The eighty two were extremely respectful.
Linley said icily, “Each of you, come up with a method to humiliate Odin. Remember – humiliate! Just stabbing him with a sword isn’t enough! If someone is unable to come up with something...I will kill that person.”
The eighty two Deities were stunned.
“Oh?” Linley’s gaze was like an icy dagger as he swept them with his eyes. “Would you prefer death instead?”
The eighty two Deities stared at each other. Odin was their leader, after all. But after hesitating slightly, they all began to walk towards Odin. They knew their own limits...and they could tell that Odin was definitely going to die. Since he was going to die, humiliating him wasn’t a big deal.
“Odin, who would’ve thought that you’d have a day like this?” One of the Deities said, stabbing Odin viciously in the throat.
“Don’t kill him!” Linley growled.
The most important part was the head, as that was where the divine spark was located.
“Remember. Humiliate him!” Linley said coldly. “You call that humiliation! Not enough!”
These Deities looked at Linley, and then, gritting their teeth, they began to use all sorts of methods to humiliate him, either using the spears to stab at Odin’s nether regions, or even tearing his clothes off. Moments later...Odin’s body had become utterly horrific to behold. But seeing this, Linley didn’t feel satisfied at all.
His eyes were still like ice.
“Big Bro, everything’s ready.” A voice rang out from behind. It was Wharton.
“Bring those people over.” Linley ordered.
Immediately, a group of people began walking over from the various shattered walls of the palace. They were...beggars! These were beggars that had been summoned over from all over the imperial capital. Although the imperial capital was fabulously rich, it had its poor regions as well, along with a large number of beggars. Hundreds of filthy beggars had entered the imperial palace.
“Oho, so this is the imperial palace.” The eyes of the beggars were all shining.
“Go. Please, use your imagination to come up with ways to humiliate that person on the ground. Each of you will receive a gold coin, and whoever does well will be gifted with a hundred additional gold coins.” The youthful looking man leading these beggars said in a clear voice.
“A hundred gold coins?”
The eyes of the beggars lit up.
“Haha, humiliate someone? Easy.” A big fellow rushed forward.
“Those hundred gold coins are definitely mine.”
The hundreds of beggars, all wanting to be first and none wanting to be last, charged forward. They had no idea that the person on the ground was a Highgod. No idea that this was the emperor of the Odin Empire. All they knew...was that if they performed well, they would receive a hundred gold coins. To these beggars, a hundred gold coins was a sum of money which could make them go crazy.
“All of you, come.” The youthful leader immediately barked.
“Haha...” The first beggar immediately urinated into Odin’s mouth.
“That’s nothing.” The second beggar sneered, walking to Odin as well.
One beggar after another came forward, summoning all of their imaginations in their desire to win the hundred gold coins, and using all sorts of ways to humiliate this person.
“This...this...” Seeing this, the eighty two Highgods were in shock, and their faces turned white.
Compared to these beggars, they were simply too gentle; what they did could only be considered ‘punishing’. What these beggars were doing truly caused one to be in a state worse than death.
“Hey, this fellow’s skin is so tough. I’m not able to cut it open no matter what I do!” One beggar called out. This beggar was holding a needle, as though wanting to do something to punish him, but unfortunately...this was the body of a Highgod, after all. Although Odin didn’t specialize in body training, his body was still made from divine power.
How could an ordinary beggar possibly pierce the skin of a body formed from divine power?
“Next.” The young man said emotionlessly.
“I should be the winner. Those hundred coins should be mine. I haven’t even had the chance to use my skills.” The needle-holding beggar immediately called out.
“F*ck off.” A beggar in the rear pushed him aside. “Haha, it’s daddy’s turn now.” As he spoke, he flipped Odin’s body over...
“That’s...going a bit too far.” Some of the ministers weren’t even able to watch any further.”
But Linley just watched this emotionlessly, not a single hint of an expression on his face. Linley had to admit...these techniques did go a bit too far, and were enough to make a person go insane from humiliation. But he was only humiliating a single person, Odin. As for Odin? He destroyed all of the core members of the Dawson Conglomerate, forcing Yale to kill his own family.
In addition, he didn’t even let Yale die; he tormented Yale instead.
Compared to this, what was happening to Odin was quite ‘benevolent’.
“Let them go.” Linley said calmly.
“Yes.” The youth said respectfully, immediately leading the beggars away.
Linley stared at the filthy, naked, bloodstained body wearing tattered clothes, but felt no pity in his heart at all. At the same time, Linley retracted his spiritual power, but expanded his Blackstone Space once more, trapping Odin within.
Odin’s eyes opened!
“Eh?” Odin looked at himself. His face immediately changed.
“Bang!” Divine wind power swirled, and Odin’s body became completely purified, and a new set of robes appeared as well.
Odin forced himself to his feet, staring at Linley. “What did you do to me?”
“What did I do?” Linley laughed calmly. “Why don’t you watch for yourself as to what was done” With but a thought, Linley made the crystal ball above his head shoot out rays of blue light, forming a massive image in the air above them. The images began to move, replaying what had just happened.
Linley naturally had recorded it all.
After all, Odin had been in a state of spiritual stupor. If he didn’t know what had happened, how could Odin be tormented by it?
“This...” Odin’s face changed, and he couldn’t help but look towards Reynolds and Delia.
The scryer recording had finished displaying the images of what Delia and Reynolds had done. Next, it began to broadcast what the eighty two Deities had done. The tactics the eighty two Deities had used were far more excessive. Odin’s face was ashen, and he couldn’t help but turn to stare at those eighty two men. “You had the gall!”
The group of Deities couldn’t help but feel startled...but then they recovered, and one laughed, “Hmph, Odin, you are about to die. What are you being so arrogant for?”
“You...” Watching the various events occur, Odin grew speechless from rage.
“Odin, keep watching. The best part has yet to start.” Linley said calmly.
In the scryer recording, the beggars had appeared.
Odin’s eyes turned round. “Beggars?” He, Odin, was a venerable, exalted Highgod. To Highgods, even Saints were like ants. As for ordinary mortals, they were to be killed as he pleased...people as lowly as these beggars, Odin couldn’t even be bothered to look at.
He, a Highgod, to be spat on by mortal beggars? He thought he might go insane.
But the scryer recordings showed something even worse than he imagined.
The first beggar had urinated into his mouth.
Odin’s fists were clenched, and his face first turned ashen, then turned black, before turning red. His eyes seemed to spit fire at the images.
Those beggars, for the sake of the hundred gold coins, had used up all of their imagination, each one more excessive than the last. The scenes were utterly depraved and utterly disgusting. Odin was a person who pursued perfect and who cared deeply about his face. But what was happening in the scryer recordings was even worse to him than killing him. Odin’s entire body was trembling, and his mind was in a state of chaos.
Humiliation!
Incomparable humiliation!
Worse than death!
“Linley, you will definitely die in my hands. Definitely!!!” Odin stared at Linley with a deathly gaze.
“Odin, today’s just the first day. We’ll continue tomorrow.” Linley said calmly.
Odin was so angry that a hint of blood came out from his lips.
But then, Odin suddenly turned his head to the skies, laughing wildly. “Haha...you are vicious. Vicious!” Odin stared at Linley, as though he wanted to skin Linley alive. “Linley, I have to say though...your skill in humiliating someone is still rather lacking. Compared to what I did to your older brother, Yale? You are a long way off! Do you know how I tortured him, when I hung him up on that tree in the palace? Haha, I imagine...that he wouldn’t dare tell anyone of it. He wouldn’t even dare think about it. Haha...” Although he was saying this, Odin had already been tormented to the brink of madness.
Linley just stared at him coldly.
“No matter how incredible you are, all you will be able to do is destroy my divine wind clone. My most important body is my Death-type clone. If my divine wind clone is destroyed, it is destroyed. It doesn’t matter. If my son dies, I’ll have another one. Haha...let me tell you this. My Death-type clone went to the Netherworld long ago. If you have the ability to do so, come find me in the Netherworld! Haha, as for further humiliating me...haha, in your dreams!”
“BANG!”
While wildly laughing, Odin’s body suddenly exploded.
“Self-explosion?” The surrounding group of experts were all stunned. None of them had imagined that Odin would actually choose to die like this. Clearly, Odin was no longer able to withstand this sort of torment and humiliation, and had chosen suicide instead.
Linley’s gaze was like ice.
“The Netherworld?” Linley murmured to himself.