"Oh?"
Edmond glanced at Oakes in surprise.
Three hundred miles away.
That distance already exceeded the normal range of a Highgod's divine sense.
Typically, even when focusing their divine sense in a single direction, most Highgods could only scan a little over one hundred kilometers.
Oakes was only a God.
Although the Three-Star Fiend badge on his chest told everyone he was stronger than ordinary Gods, Edmond hadn't expected his perception range to be this vast.
When Oakes eventually became a Highgod, his range would likely expand even further.
It seemed this Oakes was much stronger than Edmond had assumed.
Perhaps the strength of a Three-Star Fiend was not even his limit.
In truth, Edmond had overestimated him.
Oakes was still a God, and his divine sense itself had not reached Highgod level.
However, as a dual-soul mutate, his soul power was extremely strong.
The range his soul power could spread was no smaller than a Highgod's divine sense.
Edmond followed the direction Oakes indicated with his own divine sense.
Soon he found the group Oakes had mentioned.
They were moving directly toward the metal lifeform the caravan was riding.
"Hostile intentions…"
Edmond frowned.
The enemy had five Highgods.
Their side had eight Highgods.
But ever since the secret of fusing Profound Mysteries had spread, people no longer believed numbers alone determined victory.
A high-ranking Fiend could easily defeat dozens or even hundreds of weaker ones.
"Oakes, get ready," Edmond said.
"I'll notify Gross and the others."
"If a fight breaks out and things go badly, take control of the metal lifeform and escape immediately."
After giving instructions to Oakes and the others, Edmond sent a divine sense message to Gross.
Receiving the warning, Gross immediately led his team of three Highgods out of the metal lifeform.
They stood atop the griffin's head.
"Everyone," Gross said calmly, "when performing escort missions and encountering bandits, the first thing we do is greet them."
"Greet them?"
The three Highgods exchanged confused glances.
Gross nodded.
"We're Fiend escorts hired by a caravan. Our duty is to protect the people and cargo."
"Fighting bandits is part of the job."
"But from the merchant's perspective, they don't want bandits to develop grudges against them."
"If bandits suffer heavy losses during a failed raid, they won't dare hate the Fiends who defeated them."
"So, they'll place all their resentment on the merchant guild instead."
"When that happens, they may spend years targeting the guild."
"If they ever see the guild traveling with weak protection, they'll attack immediately."
"So, when facing bandits, we must protect this caravan and consider the guild's future."
"The best way to minimize losses on both sides…"
"Is to greet them first."
By the time Gross finished speaking, the approaching figures were already visible.
"Now I'll show you how to greet bandits."
"Watch carefully."
Gross stepped forward and suddenly unleashed his divine power.
The Fire Laws surged around him.
"Meteor Rain!"
Dozens of blazing meteors formed in the sky.
They crashed down toward the incoming bandits with terrifying force.
The attackers clearly hadn't expected such a decisive strike before their identities were even confirmed.
But their reactions were fast.
"Ice Barrier!"
"Earth Pulse Guard!"
"Hurricane!"
The Highgods within the meteor's range immediately unleashed defensive techniques.
However, among the five Highgods, only two protected the Gods behind them.
The other three defended only themselves.
Impact
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"AHHH!"
The meteors slammed into the ice barrier.
Massive explosions cracked the shield.
The shockwaves meant little to Highgods.
But the Gods behind them suffered terribly.
The blazing heat that leaked through nearly melted the barrier.
The Water Highgod had to cast three additional barriers to finally block the attack.
Meanwhile, the Earth Highgod's Earth Pulse Guard performed far better.
Seven or eight meteors struck it without breaking the defense.
Clearly his strength far exceeded the Water Highgod's.
The remaining three Highgods were unharmed.
But the Gods behind them were devastated.
At least seven Gods died instantly.
The remaining dozen or so had to burn large amounts of divine power just to restore their bodies.
"Friends ahead!"
Gross's voice rang out across the battlefield.
"I am Gross, a Four-Star Fiend of the Fiend Castle."
"Could you give me some face and withdraw?"
Back on the griffin metal lifeform, Gross turned to his stunned teammates.
"See? That's how you greet them."
"If they give us face, they'll retreat on their own."
"If they don't, most of their hatred will focus on us, not the merchant guild."
"Of course, if they still target the guild later, there's nothing we can do."
"In that case, the guild will just have to hire higher-star Fiends."
He continued explaining.
"For bandits who break the rules like that, Fiend Castle issues extermination missions every ten years."
"If they survive the first one, they'll be safe for ten years."
"But the next extermination will send even stronger Fiends."
"So far, no bandit group has survived three extermination missions."
The three Highgods nodded.
The pattern was well known:
First extermination: Five-Star Fiend leaderSecond: Six-Star Fiend leaderThird: Seven-Star Fiend leader
Few bandit groups even survived the second.
That was why Fiends didn't fear bandits' grudges.
Backed by Fiend Castle, those bandits would rarely live longer than twenty years.
Even those who survived usually disbanded and fled.
Once marked as bandits, they could never register as Fiends.
Fiend Castle would even distribute their soul auras and place bounties on them.
Some Fiends specialized in hunting such targets.
The reward might be small, but they kept all the loot.
Many bounty hunters were far richer than ordinary mission Fiends.
"Damn it!"
One of the Highgod bandits roared.
"You're just a Four-Star Fiend, yet you killed so many of my subordinates and still expect the five of us siblings to give you face?"
"You're ugly enough already—yet your imagination is even uglier!"
CRACK.
Gross's smile vanished.
He had roamed Hell for tens of thousands of years.
This was the first time anyone had called him ugly.
Cultivation transformed one's body.
Divine power allowed gods to reshape themselves into ideal forms.
No one who reached godhood could truly be ugly.
Most simply kept their original appearance out of habit.
But even then, their skin, aura, charisma, and presence far surpassed mortals.
Calling a god ugly was a serious insult.
Gross chuckled coldly.
"It seems my greeting earlier caused some misunderstanding."
"In that case…"
"Allow me to introduce myself again."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Fire Laws surged above his head.
The sky within a thousand meters turned crimson.
Gross raised his divine sword high.
Divine power and Fire Laws poured into the clouds.
"Divine Judgment!"
With a roar, he swung the sword downward.
The fiery cloud condensed into a hundred-meter flaming greatsword.
It descended toward the bandits.
"Damn it!"
The bandits' expressions changed drastically.
Especially the Gods.
The earlier meteor attack had already forced them to expend enormous divine power to restore their bodies.
Now another devastating attack was coming.
And this time—
They might not survive.
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