From Brue Charles's words, the Fiends could tell that the Charles Merchant Guild had clearly suffered losses in the past due to Fiends who refused to follow orders.
Because of that, Brue Charles placed great importance on command authority among the escorts.
Right from the start, he designated the two Four-Star Fiends as the leaders, and the remaining six Three-Star Fiends were required to follow their instructions.
None of the Six Three-Star Fiends objected.
In Hell, strength ruled above all.
And within the Fiend Castle system, rank was primarily determined by strength.
A lower-star Fiend might possess strength greater than their rank.
But a higher-star Fiend would always possess at least the strength of their rank.
It was impossible for a Five-Star Fiend to have only Four-Star strength.
Lower ranks might hide powerful individuals.
But among higher ranks, there were no weaklings.
That was common knowledge.
Although Oakes could display Five-Star Fiend-level strength when fighting at full power, he had no intention of showing off.
He had accepted this escort mission for two reasons:
The metal lifeform would carry him along his route.He wanted Yagonia to experience the life of a Fiend.
Seeing the cooperative attitudes of the Fiends, Brue Charles finally relaxed.
What he feared most were troublemakers.
When bandits appeared, such Fiends would often ignore commands and try to show off.
Even if they killed all the bandits, the caravan itself might suffer heavy losses without proper protection.
The Escort Plan
"Since everyone understands," Brue Charles said, "let's depart!"
He removed a metal lifeform from his spatial ring.
After tossing it into the air, it transformed into a hundred-meter-long griffin.
Once everyone boarded, the merchants went inside the rooms to rest.
Control of the metal lifeform was handed to the Fiend escorts.
One of the Four-Star Fiends stepped forward.
"My name is Gross. As you can see, I'm a Four-Star Fiend."
"I've done escort missions like this many times, so I have some experience."
"First, I'll explain the kinds of dangers we might encounter."
Gross proceeded to describe various scenarios:
Ambushes from banditsSurprise aerial assaultsGroups pretending to be merchantsLong-distance soul attacks
It was clear he was extremely experienced.
The number of situations he described suggested hundreds of missions, not merely a handful.
"To deal with these risks," Gross concluded,
"I suggest we divide into two teams."
"Edmond and I will each lead one team."
"We rotate every half month."
"For the first half month, our team will pilot the metal lifeform and scan ahead with divine sense."
"If an ambush appears, the piloting team protects the caravan."
"The resting team exits the metal lifeform and engages the bandits."
"Any objections?"
He added one final note.
"Since Edmond and I are Four-Star Fiends, if the attackers lack someone of equal strength, we will personally handle the combat."
Everyone nodded.
The plan was reasonable.
The six Three-Star Fiends were then divided into two teams.
Oakes and Yagonia were placed in Edmond's group, along with another Highgod.
Their team would rest for the first half month and remain in peak condition.
They would take over the patrol duties afterward.
Meanwhile – Blackstone Tribe
While Oakes and Yagonia began their journey to find Ryan, Locke's Saint-level true body had entered a strange state.
The Profound Mystery of Water Body Technique seemed to swim within the Edicts of Fate, gradually touching and merging with it.
But the process was extremely slow.
Locke knew he had entered a state of enlightenment.
Yet he also knew that even if this enlightenment ended, the fusion might still be incomplete.
So, he burned the faith power he had stored.
Under the support of immense faith power, the fusion accelerated.
At a certain moment—
The fusion broke through a threshold.
The technique entered an entirely new level.
At that point, even faith power could no longer significantly accelerate the process.
So, Locke stopped burning it.
One-Sixth Fusion
After a long time, Locke exited the state.
A hint of regret lingered in his heart.
If he could remain in that state longer, he might truly be able to fully merge Water Laws with Fate Edicts.
Still, the results were impressive.
The two had now fused to one-sixth completion.
That meant Locke could now unleash attacks at roughly Seven-Star Fiend level using the fusion.
For someone with two Paragon divine clones, that level of power wasn't particularly meaningful.
But the technique he had created from the fusion was far stronger than anything his Paragon clones had devised.
Feeling eager to test it, Locke extended his divine sense.
Soon he found a bandit hideout within range.
The Spear of Fate
With a thought—
A white spear of light formed above the bandit camp.
It descended instantly.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
A mushroom cloud rose hundreds of meters high.
Spatial cracks tore through the region, devouring everything.
When the smoke cleared…
The entire bandit camp had ceased to exist.
Only then did a portion of Locke's Fate divine power disappear.
The attack had not consumed energy beforehand.
Instead—
The energy was consumed after the enemies had already died.
Cause and Effect Reversed
This was the technique Locke had created:
Spear of Fate.
It reversed cause and effect.
The enemies died first.
Only afterward did Locke expend the power to create the attack.
The result preceded the cause.
Before Locke even acted, the enemy's fate had already been decided.
That was why he named it:
Spear of Fate.
Of course, because the fusion between Water Laws and Fate Edicts was only partial, the technique normally possessed Seven-Star Fiend-level power.
But if Locke used fused divine power, then unless the target was a Paragon or possessed a material defense Sovereign artifact, survival would be almost impossible.
"I'm really too powerful."
Locke couldn't help admiring himself.
If the fusion progressed further, how strong would he eventually become?
After imagining the possibilities for a while, he finally calmed down.
As a transmigrator, Locke understood something clearly.
The Coiling Dragon Universe was only a subsidiary universe created by Hongmeng.
If one could not transcend it and enter the Hongmeng Space, they would forever remain a fish in a pond.
"Transcendence…"
A trace of longing flashed in Locke's eyes.
But he quickly suppressed the thought.
For now, it was unrealistic.
There was only one known path to transcend the Coiling Dragon Universe.
The path taken by Linley.
One had to become a four-element soul mutate of earth, fire, water, and wind.
Then become Sovereign of all four.
Finally fuse those four Sovereign powers into Hongmeng energy, forming the Hongmeng Indestructible Body.
Only then could one enter Hongmeng Space.
But Locke possessed affinity only for Water.
The path Linley walked was impossible for him.
So, he would have to find another method.
Still, transcendence was far away.
Before anything else—
He needed to become a Sovereign.
If he wasn't even a Sovereign, what right did a mere Paragon have to speak of transcendence?
"The First Sovereign War…"
Locke gazed at the sky of Hell.
He could already feel the inevitable destiny of the universe beginning to move forward.
Back on the Escort Mission
Inside the metal lifeform, Oakes suddenly spoke.
"Lord Edmond."
"I sensed something ahead."
"About three hundred miles forward."
"There are five Highgod auras and more than thirty God auras."
"And they are not attempting to avoid us."
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