Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 16, The Verdict
“Augusta is helping me?” No matter how calm Linley was, he was still startled.
But immediately afterwards, Linley understood the reason. He couldn’t help but laugh coldly to himself. “Help me? He probably is worried that I will be judged as being guilty and be killed by the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts. By then, the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts will decide on what to do with my Overgod artifact. He won’t have the chance!”
Just after Augusta spoke...
“Chief Sovereigns.” Yet another person, a Sovereign of Fire with tousled, straw-like hair, spoke out. “In the Infernal Realm, it is true that Teresia had made trouble for Linley, trying to force Linley to hand over the nine soul pearls and the Overgod decree. Afterwards, it was the Bloodridge Sovereign, Boson, who appeared to protect Linley. I can attest to this as well.”
Linley glanced at that Sovereign of Fire, puzzled. “He is a Lesser Sovereign of Fire. I have no relationship at all with him, and he isn’t qualified to try and seize the Overgod artifact. Why is he helping me as well?”
Two Sovereigns had spoken out in a row. The four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts looked at each other, engaging in a private discussion through divine sense.
“I was the one to intervene. Naturally, I can bear witness as well.” The Bloodridge Sovereign, Boson, laughed.
“Since that’s the case...” The Chief Sovereign of Life was about to pronounce the verdict.
But right at this moment...
“Your Excellency, back then, although Teresia might have gone a bit too far, he was a Sovereign, while Linley was merely a Highgod.” The Sovereign of Wind, Diya, said in an unhappy, icy voice. “Even if a Sovereign applies a bit of force to a Highgod, what’s the big deal? In addition, Linley didn’t even die. What, do we Sovereigns now have to be courteous to Deities? If we offend them a bit, they will be qualified to take revenge upon us?”
“No matter how wrongly a Sovereign treats a Deity, it is only natural and proper.” Diya spoke in a solemn voice.
The Sovereigns fell silent.
They had to admit that this was reasonable as well. In the eyes of Sovereigns, Deities were indeed nothing more than ants. Even if they lowered themselves to kill Deities, it was just a matter of the Sovereign losing face; there was no one who would say the Sovereign was wrong.
“After Linley became a Sovereign, Teresia didn’t offend him any further.” The Chief Sovereign of Wind, Diya, snorted coldly. “Given the situation, Linley had no excuse to kill Teresia.”
Diya understood that his chances of acquiring the Overgod artifact were low.
And so, he wanted Linley to die right away! Dying in the hands of the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts would be good!
“Haha...” Linley rose to his feet, staring at Diya. With a snicker, he said, “Diya, what sort of logic is this? A Sovereign killing a Deity is never wrong? This judgment of yours is only from the viewpoint of Sovereigns. But from the standpoint of Deities? If a lofty, exalted Sovereign were to come kill them, wouldn’t they feel hate, feel resentment? It isn’t that Deities refuse to avenge themselves; it is that they don’t have the power to avenge themselves!”
“Hmph. Even wild beasts with low intelligence, at the point of death, will bite back, much less Deities!”
Linley said solemnly, “Deities don’t have the power to take revenge, and so they will naturally die with a heart filled with resentment. But if they have the power to take revenge, they absolutely will!”
“In addition, the Pact of the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts also mentioned the issue of whether or not there was enmity between the two sides. I ask you, was there enmity between myself and Teresia or not?” Linley asked.
Diya couldn’t help but fall silent.
“Enough.” An ancient, warm voice rang out. The speaker was the Chief Sovereign of Fate. “Diya’s logic is flawed. Enmity is enmity. How can enmity be divided up according to time or level? When one suffers humiliation when one is weak, can it be that after they grow powerful, they cannot take revenge? This matter comes to an end here. This situation is quite clear to me. I view Linley as not being in violation of the Pact. Not guilty!”
The words of the Chief Sovereign of Fate made it so that the other Sovereigns no longer dared to argue.
“I, too, view him as being not guilty. Everyone else?” The Chief Sovereign of Life smiled as she looked around.
“Not guilty!” The Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta, laughed.
“Not guilty!” A black-haired, black-robed man spoke out.
“Not guilty!”
...........
Of the eleven Chief Sovereigns, aside from Diya, the other ten all viewed Linley as being not guilty! Actually, generally speaking, as long as the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts had pronounced Linley as being without guilt, that was enough. However, face still had to be given. The four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts would still give the other Chief Sovereigns a chance to speak.
A clear laughter rang out. It was the violet-robed Chief Sovereign of Death. She swept the area with her gaze, then chortled, “Since everyone agrees, then we have come to a conclusion with regards to the matter of Linley killing Teresia. Linley has not violated the Pact of Sovereigns. Not guilty! This matter is ended. Everyone can leave now.”
At this moment, Linley let out a sigh of relief.
“Linley. This was over even faster than I thought it would be. Today, the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts didn’t make any trouble for you, and aside from Diya, the other six Chief Sovereigns weren’t hard on you either. There were almost no voices of dissent.” Beirut sent mentally. “You have to thank the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts for how easily this matter was concluded.”
“I understand.” Linley nodded.
Actually, in a matter like this, whether one was found guilty or not guilty was completely up to the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts. Today, it was quite clear that although the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts occasionally spoke in severe tones, in reality, they were partial towards Linley.
This matter was at an end. The sixty-plus Sovereigns bade each other farewell, then left, either on their own or in small groups. However, there was something quite odd; not a single one of the eleven Chief Sovereigns were in a hurry to leave.
Diya was the Chief Sovereign of Wind. For him to remain in the Divine Wind Plane made sense.
But why weren’t the other Chief Sovereigns leaving?
“I wonder where Linley is going? I have to follow him and see which teleportation portal he goes through. That will make it easier to follow him.” Augusta had this plan, but in his heart, he still didn’t feel confident. “However, the other Chief Sovereigns, including the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, are actually still here. None of them are in a rush to leave. Can it be that the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts are also interested in taking the Overgod artifact?”
Of the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, the Chief Sovereign of Life, Death, and Destruction all had material weapons as their Overgod artifacts. Only the Chief Sovereign of Fate was in possession of a soul-protecting Overgod artifact.
Atop the deck of the ship, the Redbud Sovereign flew over, then quietly said through divine sense, “Linley, Boson and I will leave now. We won’t be able to help much by remaining here. But, by the looks of it...the Chief Sovereigns have remained, most likely because the majority of them have covetous desires upon your Overgod artifact. Thus, you must be careful.”
“I understand. Thank you.” Linley sent.
“Thank me for what? I’m not able to help you. These Chief Sovereigns...given your power, you will be able to deal with most of them. The ones you need to beware of are the Chief Sovereign of Light, the Chief Sovereign of Lightning, and the Chief Sovereign of Fate! The other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts already have Overgod weapons, and don’t need to fight over another one. However, the Chief Sovereign of Fate rarely fights and rarely offends others. He might not engage. And thus, you need to worry more about the other two.”
“Understood.” Linley recognized this logic.
“Beirut, Bluefire, Linley, we’ll leave now.” The Redbud Sovereign and the Bloodridge Sovereign bade Linley’s group farewell, then left.
Linley and the other two exchanged glances.
“Linley, what will you choose to do?” Beirut sent.
“Can I possibly cower back at a time like this?” Linley sent. “Grandpa Beirut, Bluefire, let’s head towards the teleportation arrays now. You two will first return to the Yulan Plane, just to be safe. After I kill Augusta, I will notify you.”
Beirut and Bluefire exchanged a glance, then nodded and agreed. They understood that by remaining here, they would only impact Linley.
“It’s for the best. However, Linley, your true power truly has surpassed that of the Seven Elemental Chief Sovereigns. Still, you need to be careful; the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts are truly too powerful. They are staying here as well, and I am worried that something might happen. Thus, even if you want to attack and kill Augusta, you have to be cautious and alert. Once the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts appear to have a desire to kill you, immediately flee.” Beirut sent.
Beirut and Bluefire didn’t want to see Linley being killed by the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts.
After all, Linley was the pillar of the three Sovereigns of Yulan.
“Don’t worry.” Linley laughed. “Come, let’s go to the teleportation array.”
Linley’s group of three immediately headed out, flying towards one of the teleportation arrays.
“Linley is headed out.” The Chief Sovereigns who had remained here hesitated only slightly, and then two of them began to follow after Linley’s group of three.
Augusta intentionally hesitated for a while longer, then flew towards the teleportation array as well. “Given the flying speed of Linley’s group of three...they move at less than a tenth of my speed.” Augusta, although confident, didn’t dare to underestimate the Chief Sovereigns of the other Laws. Those Chief Sovereigns all had their own supreme techniques.
“Of the Seven Elemental Chief Sovereigns, in terms of speed, I’m the fastest! I will have an advantage in seizing the Overgod artifact.” The Chief Sovereign of Lightning turned to glance at the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts. “Of those four, three have Overgod weapons already and shouldn’t intervene. As for the Chief Sovereign of Fate, given his personality, he probably won’t go fight over a treasure.”
The Chief Sovereign of Lightning also flew over, trailing after Linley’s group.
The Chief Sovereigns all began to fly away, and even the Chief Sovereign of Wind, Diya, began to fly back to his base.
Only the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts remained!
The four of them still didn’t leave. At this moment, the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts were currently chatting privately through divine sense with each other.
“Wodred [Wu’te’lei’de], you are as confident as that?” The Chief Sovereign of Death smiled charmingly towards the Chief Sovereign of Destruction.
“Orloff [Ao’fu], do you agree or not?” The Chief Sovereign of Destruction was looking at the white-haired, white-robed Chief Sovereign of Fate. And then, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction let out a cold laugh. “If you are afraid and won’t agree, then forget it.”
“Haha, if you are going to talk like this, and given how good the conditions we have agreed on are, how can I not accept?” The Chief Sovereign of Fate still had a smile on his face.
“Excellent.” The Chief Sovereign of Destruction nodded slightly.
“Elder Sister, it seems we’ll have something fun to watch.” The Chief Sovereign of Life had a smile appear on her face as well.
While the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts were discussing this matter, Linley’s group of three had already flown very far away, and were close to the teleportation array at Windflow Mountain.
“Windflow Mountain is up ahead. Grandpa Beirut, Bluefire, we’ll part ways here.” Linley hovered in the air.
“Be careful.” Beirut and Bluefire both felt nervous for Linley.
And then, Beirut and Bluefire both flew towards Windflow Mountain, teleporting through it and returning to the Yulan Plane. Even if battle was to erupt, the two of them weren’t qualified to interfere. Because the only ones who were...were Chief Sovereign level figures.
“Hmph. All six of them are following me.” Linley easily saw through his divine sense that there were six Chief Sovereigns following him. “Fortunately, the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts haven’t come.” Linley let out a sigh of relief. The only ones he feared were the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts.
Moments later...
The first to arrive was the Chief Sovereign of Lightning.
“Linley.” The Chief Sovereign of Lightning smiled as he flew over and greeted Linley warmly.
“Oh, you live up to being the Chief Sovereign of Lightning. Your speed is so fast. I’m busy, though, so I won’t disturb you for now.” Linley smiled as he moved away, flying past the Chief Sovereign of Lightning. The Chief Sovereign of Lightning’s face changed slightly.
Linley just drew away from him, flying directly towards the second figure that was flying over, the Chief Sovereign of Light.
“Linley.” Augusta frowned. For Linley to voluntarily approach him aroused his suspicions, but then, he understood. “Hmph. Who cares what he wants. Linley’s power is just average. Even if he is a bit more powerful than I expected, he won’t be a threat to me.”
“Augusta.” Linley laughed as he went to welcome him.
“Is there something you need, Linley?” Augusta was still quite friendly.
“I want to thank you for your help just now, Augusta.” Linley smiled.
“I did what was proper.” Augusta laughed.
“Augusta, I have something important to do in the Divine Light Plane. By then, I’ll probably need your help. I wonder if you would be willing to help me, Augusta?” Linley said with a laugh.
Augusta’s heart lurched.
“He is going to go with me to the Divine Light Plane?” Augusta was now completely puzzled. “Can it be that Linley thinks that the little bit of power he has is enough to threaten me? Hmph, it makes sense. In his battle against Diya, he didn’t even use his innate divine ability. Since Linley seeks death, I can’t be blamed.”
Augusta immediately laughed. “Haha, of course I can.”
“Then let us go together.” Linley laughed calmly.