Book 19, Metamorphosis – Chapter 27, A Change
Occluar’s corpse just lay there on the desolate earth.
“He died!” Linley sighed in his heart. “Occluar was an expert on the level of Reisgem. Even Highgod Paragons would find it hard to kill him. Aside from a Sovereign acting against him, generally speaking, it would take a group of experts to kill an expert like him. But Bebe’s innate divine ability, ‘Godeater’...” Linley couldn’t help but look towards Bebe.
At this moment, Bebe was by the side of the corpse of the elfin Occluar. He let out a snort. “You actually ignored me!”
“Haha, Bebe, you really are the perfect counter to soul specialists who aren’t at the Paragon level yet!” Reisgem laughed while walking over, slapping his arm around Bebe’s shoulders. “It seems we are a perfect match! Your soul attacks are number one, and while my material attacks aren’t number one, they are still at the very top. With us joining forces, who can stop us?”
Reisgem glanced sideways at the corpse on the ground, then snickered. “Hey, experts, experts...this is what happens. Now that his most powerful body is dead, even if he has divine clones remaining, how much value could they possibly hold?”
Right at this moment...
“Hmph!” A cold snort rang out. Reisgem suddenly moved, transforming into a violet blur which streaked across the skies.
“What’s going on?” Linley hurriedly turned to look as well, only to see Reisgem chasing towards a certain direction, with a black blur fleeing from him. Linley couldn’t help but feel shocked. “There was someone else nearby? It seems just now, I was so focused on Occluar that I didn’t even notice that someone was snooping nearby.”
Linley carefully watched Reisgem pursue and attack the fleeing person.
Mid-pursuit, Reisgem suddenly emanated a violet light from his body, which formed into his Amethyst Space. The fleeing black figure immediately began to move much slower, after having been caught by it.
“Swish!”
A violet light shot out from Reisgem’s hand, shooting forward like a meteor, so fast that the black blur wasn’t able to dodge at all. “Crackle...” The violet light instantly traversed the less than hundred meters of distance that separated Reisgem and the black blur. The nearby space began to ripple like water, and some faint spatial cracks could be seen as well. With a ‘bang’ sound, the violet light drove into the black blur’s body, and it immediately exploded, sending fragments shooting out in every direction, while that violet light finally solidified.
This was a fairly short, 1.5 meter long cavalry lance that was completely covered with a dark violet color.
But of course, it could also be used as a javelin, or for close quarters combat.
“A Sovereign weapon!” Linley understand that this was Reisgem’s one and only Sovereign weapon. “When Reisgem throws this as a javelin, the power is as terrifying as this! It created spatial fractures!”
Linley clearly remembered how very minute fractures in space had appeared upon the lance being thrown.
This was the first time Linley had ever seen someone capable of causing spatial cracks appear, here in the Planar Battlefield! “This Reisgem trains in the Edicts of Destruction, and his understanding in its profound mysteries is formidable to begin with. He is also very strong as well. Matching that with a Sovereign weapon...it truly is as he said; his material attacks, amongst commanders, might not be the best, but it is at the very top.”
Linley now completely understood how powerful Reisgem was.
Soul attacks and material attacks; he approached perfection in both. If one had to point out a weakness...most likely, it was that he was a bit afraid of Bebe. Bebe’s ‘Godeater’ technique was the perfect counter to him, unless Reisgem went and acquired a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. Unfortunately, although his mother was a Sovereign, she couldn’t just give him another one; he needed to acquire more military merits.
“Motherf*cking...it’s a Deathgod Golem!” Reisgem burst into a torrent of curses as he walked over.
“It is indeed a Deathgod Golem. No point in being angry.” Linley said. “Who knows where the person behind it is hiding. After realizing how powerful you are, he probably fled long ago.”
“Each time I see a ‘target’, kill it, and find out afterwards that it was a Deathgod Golem, I feel pissed.”
Reisgem pointed towards the gold badge on the ground with one finger. “There’s only a single gold badge, while there are four of us. How should we divide it, everyone?”
Linley and Bebe couldn’t help but look at each other.
A commander badge!
To Linley, every single commander badge represented that he would be able to save another one of his family or friends! Linley deeply desired to acquire this commander badge, but Linley also understood that since the four of them had set up this four person hunting squad, they had to abide by the rules of it. He couldn’t demand that others give up their spoils of war to him as well.
“Linley, what do you two think?” Reisgem looked over.
As Reisgem saw it, there was no need for him to divide between himself and Reihom, as the two were very close to each other. Although Bebe and Linley had just joined the hunting squad, although they were acquaintances, they actually didn’t have a very deep relationship yet, and so he couldn’t just make a casual decision.
“Let’s do as we said originally.” Linley said with a laugh. “The four of us will divide any rewards equally. However, clearly, we only have a single gold badge here right now. How about this? Reisgem, you and Reihom will each have one share, while Bebe and I will have one share. I imagine you two won’t have any objections to this, right?”
“Of course not.” Reisgem laughed as well.
Reisgem and Reihom wouldn’t quibble over military merits, much like how Linley and Bebe wouldn’t either.
“As for this commander badge, either of our two sides can take it. If you take it this time, then we’ll take the next one. If we take it this time, then next time, you’ll take it.” Linley said with a calm laugh.
“Fine then.” Reisgem very straightforwardly reached out with his arm, snatched up the commander badge, then tossed it to Linley. “You two just joined our squad, so we’ll let you take the first one. The next commander badge we get is ours though.”
Linley accepted it, not standing on ceremony, and laughed while nodding. “Fine. Next one is yours.”
Linley clenched the gold badge. He couldn’t help but feel excited in his heart. “Yet another one!” Linley wanted to rescue his father, Yale, George, and Dixie, who had also died an unjust death. Dixie was Delia’s one and only elder brother, after all. As for those who had died normal deaths, who had died deaths with no regrets, Linley didn’t see the need to make them regain their memories.
After all, the likes of Uncle Hillman had lived for centuries, with a full house of children and grandchildren. They had lived carefree lives, then died of old age.
Since they had died with no regrets, why disturb them in their rest?
But as for Yale, George, and his own father ‘Hogg’, they had all died miserable, unjust deaths.
“Linley, it’s just a commander badge. Is it really worth you having such a look on your face?” The nearby Reisgem couldn’t help but smirk while speaking.
“Uh.” Linley awoke from his trance. He immediately laughed, then collected the gold badge. “I was just thinking about a few things.”
The nearby Bebe sighed emotionally as well, “Reisgem, you’ve come here to get enough badges so as to trade for a Sovereign artifact, but although the Boss and I also have come to acquire enough badges, our purpose is different. You don’t understand how important these badges are to my Boss.”
“Oh?” Reisgem immediately grew surprised. “What’s so important?”
Bebe immediately began to chat in secret with Reisgem, while Linley just shook his head and laughed.
“Reisgem, what should we do with this Sovereign artifact?” Linley said.
“What should we do? Just toss it there.” Reisgem said.
Linley and Bebe were both stunned.
“Toss it?” Bebe said, startled.
Reisgem gave it a casual kick, then snorted. “Of course. What, do you think we should take it with us? The Sovereign will come to reclaim it eventually, anyways. There’s no point to taking it with us. In addition, Occluar clearly had other divine clones outside, so there’s no way for us to use the Sovereign artifact either. There’s no point to bringing it.”
Linley and Bebe, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but trade glances. Still, they had to admit that Reisgem’s words were reasonable.
“Let’s go. Keep moving.” Reisgem said with a laugh. “Given the power of our hunting squad, haha...what have we to fear, here in the Planar Battlefield? Haha.”
Linley couldn’t help but to laugh as well. Their four man hunting squad once more headed out, dividing once again into two squads, traveling at a distance of three kilometers or so.
Next to a short hill within the Planar Battlefield.
A golden-haired, black-robed man had a look of astonishment on his face. “Who would have imagined that the news which has been circulating amongst the commanders about Beirut having come is false! The person who used that innate divine ability isn’t Beirut; it is someone else. Aside from Beirut, there’s actually someone else capable of that technique! This is terrible. And, by the look of it, that youngster with the straw hat is completely unrestrained and has no taboos, unlike Beirut who cares greatly about his status.”
The person who had used the Deathgod Golem and had seen Bebe kill Occluar was this man.
“I have to tell my friends about this news!”
The golden-haired man gritted his teeth, immediately fleeing.
Most of the commanders in the Planar Battlefield, especially those who were within the same alliance, had some degree of pre-existing relationships with each other. They would all share some important news with each other. For example, when Bebe and Linley had arrived in the Planar Battlefield, that commander in the headquarters had planned to join forces with Linley and Bebe, and also provide them with some news. Only, because he didn’t recognize the two of them, he didn’t do it.
The news that the person who used the innate divine ability ‘Godeater’ was a youngster who wore a straw hat rather than Beirut quickly spread through the commanders at an astonishing speed.
At the sides of the Stellar Sea, within an alliance base. Within an estate formed from elemental essence, a man dressed in sky blue robes was walking forward with large strides towards the gates.
“Milord.”
The guards at the gates immediately opened it. They all knew...that this person was a commander-level expert and a good friend of their own lord.
“Bray [Bu’lei], why did you return?” A red-robed woman within the courtyard was drinking some wine. She smiled as she glanced at the blue-robed man who had walked in. “Didn’t you go out to kill a few commanders, so as to acquire a few extra badges?”
“Not anymore. I didn’t expect that yet another variable came into play.” The blue-robed man let out a snort, then sat down. Grabbing a bottle of wine, he raised his head and chugged it down.
“Variable?” The red-robed woman was puzzled.
The blue-robed man grumbled unhappily, “Wasn’t there a rumor prior to this that Beirut had come? If it really was Beirut who had come, I wouldn’t be afraid; Beirut and I have met before, and we can be considered to have something of a relationship. If I encounter him, he wouldn’t act against me. In addition, someone as proud and arrogant as Beirut generally wouldn’t lower himself to kill ordinary commanders, so long as they didn’t offend him.
“It’s precisely because I was under this impression that I went roaming about the Planar Battlefield! But who would have imagined that just now, a good friend of mine sent me the news that the person who used the ‘Godeater’ innate divine ability wasn’t Beirut. It was a youngster wearing a straw hat!” The blue-robed man shook his head. “Forget it. I don’t have a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. It’s best if I don’t run around outside wildly. If I encounter that youngster, I’ll die a damnably unfair death!”
Hearing this, the red-robed woman understood.
“There’s a second divine beast, ‘Godeater Rat’?” The red-robed woman also understand how grave this news was.
Amongst Highgods, there were many people who understood how important it was to gain a high degree of insight into the soul, and there were many who were extremely skilled in soul attacks and defenses. Additionally, even amongst Sovereign artifacts, soul-protecting Sovereign artifacts were the hardest to forge. Generally speaking, even if a Sovereign was to give an Emissary an artifact, it would only very rarely be a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
Thus, soul-protecting Sovereign artifacts were exceedingly rare.
Additionally, many commanders were extremely confident in their soul defense abilities. For example, the likes of Reisgem and Occluar would still be able to hold on, if just barely, against the soul attack of even a Highgod Paragon. As they saw it, there was no point to acquiring a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. It was thus better to acquire a different type of Sovereign artifact.
But after Beirut suddenly rose to prominence, many people learned...that the most terrifying soul attack amongst Highgods wasn’t that of a Highgod Paragon; rather, it was Beirut’s innate divine ability.
But given the status which Beirut possessed, he would rarely lower himself to go massacre ordinary commanders.
Thus, no one was worried about him.
But now, yet another person had emerged who was capable of the ‘Godeater’ ability, a person no one knew. Those experts who were neither Highgod Paragons nor had soul-protecting Sovereign artifacts...they now began to worry.
They no longer dared to confidently wander outside as they previously had. Those who did go outside hid, using Deathgod Golems to scout for them.
“Haha...the appearance of this youngster...” The red-robed woman began to laugh. “There weren’t many commanders who dared to freely wander the Planar Battlefield to begin with. Now, with people like you bowing out as well...most likely, the only people wandering the Planar Battlefield will either belong to extremely powerful squads or be truly invincible, unbeatable figures.”
“Forget it. Wait for the final battle. I’ll acquire the military merits during the final battle. If push comes to shove, I can even wait for the next Planar War to finish acquiring enough military merits. Where on earth did this youngster come from? After leaving the Planar Battlefield, I’ll need to make some investigations.” The blue-robed man said with a sigh.