Book 20, The Crown’s Riddle – Chapter 31, The Chief Sovereign Descends
Indigo Prefecture. The foremost of its ten cities; Indigo City. The northern district.
This was where the Lord Prefect, Beirut, lived. Because it was within the city, there was no need for many prefectural soldiers, but despite that, there were still tens of thousands of maids, servants, and guards. These days, Linley and Bebe remained within Beirut’s estate, paying attention to any news which came from the Infernal Realm regarding the red caltrop diamond.
Linley and Bebe’s estate. Linley was seated atop a stone chair, flipping through an intelligence report.
“Boss, any news about the red caltrop diamond?” Bebe came out from the door, asking with a smirk.
Linley finished the report, tossing it to the table and shaking his head with a laugh. “There’s no news at all. These intelligence reports are as useful as catching the wind or chasing after shadows; there isn’t a single report that comes close to that report regarding Brodie. Unfortunately, the soldiers in control of the Muja Continent’s teleportation array belong to their Sovereign and can’t be ordered about by normal people. The Muja Army has countless soldiers. It truly is too difficult to discover where Brodie might have been teleported to.
Up till now, Linley still believed...
The red caltrop diamond which Brodie had acquired was probably real! The divine clone he had left behind was done to entangle pursuers and draw their attention. As to where Brodie’s true body had gone? Linley very much wanted to know.
“It is tricky.” Bebe sat down, then grabbed a red, slick fruit on the table. He began to chomp it down, and juice dribbled from the corner of his lips. “The soldiers in charge of the Muja Continent’s teleportation array are constantly changing. This month, one squad is in charge of sending people away from the Infernal Realm; next month, it’s another squad. The number of soldiers that one would need to speak to in order to thoroughly investigate several decades worth of events will most likely be quite high! If you were to go openly and boldly, you will definitely draw attention from the Muja Sovereign!”
Linley nodded slightly.
Last time, he had many excuses for as to why he went to catch Brodie. He could just say that he was interested in this treasure and wanted to see it for himself. After all, even ordinary Lord Prefects and Seven Star Fiends who saw that intelligence report and scryer recordings were moved to find it. Actually, many of those who went in search of the red caltrop diamond didn’t actually believe it was an Overgod talisman.
They only went in search of it because of the unusual abilities it had displayed.
But for now, that matter was temporarily on hold. If Linley were to openly go to the Muja Continent and investigate in such a thorough manner, others would certainly feel suspicious! After all, given the status of a Paragon, the red caltrop diamond shouldn’t be too useful. If one occasionally investigated, that was one thing, but if one constantly investigated, it was indeed suspicious.
Bebe pursed his lips and snorted. “Brodie really was a bit greedy.”
“A Highgod who fused with a divine spark, and a treasure that allows him to easily defeat Six Star Fiends. He knows what matters.” Linley laughed calmly. “In addition, I imagine that after passing through the teleportation array, he paid the fee several times and teleported through multiple planes. Who knows where he ended up?”
Bebe nodded in agreement as well.
“So we won’t be able to get it?” Bebe said unhappily.
“One day, we will.” Linley said with a calm laugh. Still, his words lacked conviction.
Linley had already sent his other three divine clones to lead his family and friends back to the Yulan continent. Linley remained here because he indeed to acquire the red caltrop diamond at any cost! To Linley, the red caltrop diamond represented the only chance Grandpa Doehring had of coming back to life! There was no way Linley would give up!
Bebe, seeing the look on Linley’s face, nodded as well. “After Brodie acquired the red caltrop diamond, of course he wouldn’t be willing to be ordinary again. There will come the day when news of him once more spreads out.”
Linley laughed and nodded in agreement.
“Whooosh...” The cool wind of the Infernal Realm blew past the white phosphorous tree within the courtyard. The leaves of it, already yellow, floated down in the breeze, covering the courtyard within a layer.
“Eh?”
Linley and Bebe’s faces turned grave. They couldn’t help but stare upwards, and upon doing so, Linley couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. “What an eye-piercing brilliance.” That figure in midair seemed like a scorching white sun. The light emanating from his entire body was simply too brilliant, forcing others to narrow their eyes.
A powerful aura emanated forth from the dazzling ‘sun’.
Linley took a close look. Only then was he able to tell that there was a human figure within the ‘sun’. This person had long golden hair, golden eyebrows, and a pure white face that was devoid of any hair, aside from the golden eyebrows that drooped down past his ears. A loose golden robe embroidered with gold covered his entire body, but it only enhanced his powerful physique.
The eyes of the man seemed like two miniature suns. They were eye-piercingly brilliant, and made others feel as though they couldn’t stare directly at this man.
“A Sovereign?” Linley instantly came to this conclusion. “Light-type aura. It seems this is a Sovereign of Light. Why has a Sovereign of Light come?” Linley didn’t understand.
“Greetings, Sovereign.” Linley bowed and said.
“Greetings, Sovereign.” Bebe immediately bowed as well.
The Chief Sovereign of Light gave an emotionless downwards glance to Linley and Bebe. His gaze was calm, like that of an emperor staring down at lesser creatures. After some time, the Chief Sovereign of Light finally spoke. “Are you Linley?”
“Yes.” Linley looked very respectful, but his heart was filled with confused thoughts.
Why had this Sovereign come? Could it have been for the Overgod talisman? Or was it for the sake of Chegwin? When faced with this situation, Linley instantly began to think of many possible responses. Although he came up with quite a few, Linley still felt nervous and uneasy. After all, with the Sovereign here in person, if the Sovereign wanted him dead, he only had to wave his hand.
After he had arrived, the Chief Sovereign of Light had set up his Godrealm, making it so that Linley and Bebe were placed in a region separated from the outside world. Nobody in the outside world could see what happened here.
“This is...a Sovereign?”
The Lord Prefect, ‘Beirut’, turned to look towards the air above Linley and Bebe. His face couldn’t help but change. “Why did a Sovereign of Light come to my place?” Beirut hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth and flew at high speed towards Linley and Bebe. He feared Sovereigns of Light, but he cared deeply about Linley and Bebe. He couldn’t just stay uninvolved!
Linley was currently speaking with the Chief Sovereign of Light, who hovered there in the air.
“This did indeed happen! Because of what had happened, many of the Sovereigns of the Infernal Realm paid attention to this matter, but clearly, this information was falsely made. I have no nine soul pearls, nor do I have an Overgod decree.” Linley raised his head and looked at the Chief Sovereign of Light as he spoke calmly.
The Chief Sovereign of Light’s glowing gaze expanded, making it so that Linley couldn’t help but feel his eyes hurt as he stared upwards.
“Linley, I give you one chance. Hand over the nine soul pearls. Otherwise, die!” The Chief Sovereign of Light said calmly.
Linley felt shocked. “Why is the Chief Sovereign of Light so certain that I hold the nine soul pearls? No; only Bebe, Olivier’s family, and Molde knows this for sure. Molde died long ago, and Olivier has returned to the Yulan continent. There shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Sovereign, I truly don’t understand.” Linley raised his head, pretending to speak in anger. “Last time, the Sovereign of Wind also questioned me in this manner, but the results were clear; that news was fake. Most likely, there might not even be an Overgod mission. Why, Sovereign, must you insist that I have the nine soul pearls?”
Right at this moment, a violent ripple emanated from the surrounding area. Someone was passing through the Sovereign’s Godrealm, entering within.
“Hrm?” The Chief Sovereign of Light turned to look.
“Whoosh!” A figure flew in at high speed. When Linley looked closely, he saw that it was Beirut!
“Grandpa.” Bebe was overjoyed.
The Chief Sovereign of Light looked down at the figure before him. Upon seeing Beirut, his face couldn’t help but sink. With a cold snort, he said, “Beirut. You actually dare come see me?”
Beirut, hearing this voice, couldn’t help but feel startled. Upon raising his head, his face changed and he called out in shock, “Chief Sovereign of Light!”
“Chief Sovereign of Light?” Linley was secretly startled.
Based on the information Linley had available, there were eleven Chief Sovereigns, with the four Chief Sovereigns of the four Edicts being the most powerful. Second only to those four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts was this Chief Sovereign of Light!
“Chief Sovereign of Light, why have you come to my place?” Beirut said in a low voice.
“Why?” The Chief Sovereign of Light’s gaze turned very cold when he looked at Beirut. “This friend of yours, ‘Linley’, claims that he does not have the nine soul pearls, and that the information regarding the Overgod mission is false as well. Unfortunately...I now know very well that your friend is lying!”
Beirut stood next to Linley.
“Lying?” Linley said solemnly. “Chief Sovereign, even though you have the exalted status of Chief Sovereign, you can’t just casually besmirch my reputation.”
“Besmirch?”
The Chief Sovereign of Light waved his hand, and a green piece of paper appeared within it. Afterwards, the Chief Sovereign of Light used divine power, causing rays of power to shoot out from that green paper which then formed into lines of words and pictures which hung there in midair. It was a power akin to a ‘scryer recording’; this was just a simple usage of power.
Linley, Bebe, and Beirut all looked at the words and images in midair.
“Overgod decree?” Beirut was stunned.
“That...that’s the Overgod decree?” Linley was startled.
The words described the Overgod mission very carefully, and the contents of it were identical to the contents of the paper which Molde had sent out.
“Linley, I acquired this Overgod decree, which is proof that the information is true. It seems that information wasn’t just wildly made up. As I see it, you had best no longer dissemble. Just hand it over.” The Chief Sovereign of Light looked down at the three of them and spoke in a cold voice.
“Boss, that’s the Overgod decree. This is going to be trouble.” Bebe said hurriedly.
Linley just raised his head and said, “Chief Sovereign, I congratulate you very sincerely for acquiring the Overgod decree! It seems the Overgod mission is a real one. But I must say...just because the Overgod mission is real, does that have to mean that the nine soul pearls and the Overgod decree are all truly in my hands? But clearly, the Overgod decree is in your hands, Chief Sovereign.”
“Stop lying. I have no interest in hearing your lies. Will you or won’t you hand it over? If you don’t, then don’t blame me for acting.” The Chief Sovereign of Light gave his final warning.
“Mr. Augusta.” A voice rang out.
The Chief Sovereign of Light swept his gaze across. Within his Godrealm, a figure slowly began to materialize. This man had long, blood-red hair, and was dressed in a blood-colored robe. Linley, seeing this, felt secretly delighted. “The Bloodridge Sovereign!”
“Boson?” The Chief Sovereign of Light frowned.
“Mr. Augusta.” The Bloodridge Sovereign smiled. “I already heard the news. Everything was caused by false information. But not long ago, it was already determined that the Overgod mission wasn’t necessarily real, and that the news that Linley was in possession of the nine soul pearls was also false.”
The Chief Sovereign of Light gave him a cold glance, then waved his hand and made the green paper face the Bloodridge Sovereign.
The Bloodridge Sovereign gave it a glance, seeing the words on it. He couldn’t help but feel shocked. “This is the Overgod decree?”
“Is it still false? Clearly, the information is real. I imagine that this sort of news wouldn’t be randomly made up. Linley definitely has the nine soul pearls.” The Chief Sovereign of Light stared coldly towards Linley. “Linley, I’ve already told you that you have only two choices. Hand it over or die. You decide.”
The Chief Sovereign of Light completely ignored the Bloodridge Sovereign’s presence!
“Chief Sovereign.”
Linley raised his head and said, “I told you that I don’t have the nine soul pearls, yet you refuse to believe me. And so you will kill me? But I have to tell you something; I have other divine clones in other places. Even if you kill me, you won’t be able to open my interspatial ring. Thus, even if I have the nine soul pearls and you kill me, you still won’t be able to acquire it. What’s more, I don’t have them!”
“Divine clones?” The Chief Sovereign of Light frowned. “Where?”
“A material plane.” Linley said honestly.
“My Yulan Plane.” Beirut smiled.
“Hmph.” The Chief Sovereign of Light gave Beirut a cold glance.
“Excellent. You actually hid your divine clones in a material plane. You are quite clever.” The Chief Sovereign of Light said coldly. “You claim that you don’t have the nine soul pearls. Remove the binding you have over your interspatial ring and let me investigate it. Do you dare?”
“If you search it and don’t find it, will you leave, Chief Sovereign?” Linley asked.
“Don’t waste my time.” The Chief Sovereign of Light’s face sank.
“Fine. Since you, Chief Sovereign of Light, insist on searching my interspatial ring just based on your suspicions...then I, Linley, will today let you inspect it.” With but a thought, Linley divided his body into two, simultaneously retrieving two interspatial rings. After removing the bindings, Linley raised his head to look at the Chief Sovereign, then laughed calmly, “I imagine, Chief Sovereign, you know that I currently only have these two divine clones present. You can go ahead and investigate these interspatial rings.”
Linley then tossed them towards the air, towards the Chief Sovereign of Light.