In addition to Algenis, the Pirate Emperor, there were also four "Pirate Kings" beneath him, each possessing Seven-Star Fiend-level strength.
Yet looking at the Sovereign Legion marching out, there were only three Seven-Star Fiends among them. In terms of top-tier combat power, Locke's Sovereign Legion was already one short compared to the Nether Sea pirates.
Furthermore, the numerical disparity was enormous—millions of pirates versus just over fifty thousand Sovereign soldiers.
Even though every soldier in Locke's legion was a Highgod, among the millions of pirates, the number of Highgods—while perhaps not equal—would not be far behind.
Moreover, the pirate side had one additional Seven-Star Fiend.
It could be said that under Algenis' command, the pirates of the Nether Sea were in no way weaker than a fully staffed Sovereign Legion.
But despite such unfavorable expectations from the outside world, the soldiers of Locke's Sovereign Legion showed no loss of confidence in victory.
Over the years, some Highgods with talent in magic formations, though unable to create full-scale magic battle formations, had learned simpler ones.
These simpler formations could not draw upon the augmentation of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, but they allowed squad leaders or company commanders to completely unify the attacks of their subordinates.
Magic battle formations empowered by the Laws enhanced attacks multiplicatively.
Those without such augmentation merely combined attacks additively.
Yet even so—
When the attacks of one hundred ordinary Highgods were unified, even a Five-Star Fiend would be instantly slain.
When the attacks of one thousand Highgods were combined, even a Six-Star Fiend would fall.
Of course, those capable of coordinating a thousand Highgods possessed no small degree of mastery in magic formations.
They themselves could fully control formations with up to ten nodes, unifying the strength of ten Highgods and invoking the Laws to gain augmentation, thereby achieving Six-Star Fiend-level power.
Under the watchful eyes of the major factions of the Netherworld, Locke's Sovereign Legion clashed head-on with the pirate forces occupying the eighty-one islands of the Nine Nether Sea.
It had to be said—these pirate groups capable of holding entire islands were anything but ordinary.
Every pirate captain possessed at least Five-Star Fiend-level strength.
However, before Locke's Sovereign Legion, pirate groups led by Five-Star Fiends had virtually no ability to resist.
Usually, a single squad leader with their soldiers was enough to annihilate them completely.
Even without magic battle formations, the squad leaders of Locke's legion were no weaker than the pirate leaders.
With the addition of formations, the battles became nothing more than one-sided massacres.
…
"I see…"
"Man has no constant form, just as water has no constant shape…"
In the Water Divine Plane, within the Misty Fortress in the sky, Locke's Fate Sovereign clone slowly opened its eyes.
Through years of governing the water Laws to suppress other conflicting Laws, Locke had gained deeper insights into both the Water Laws and the Laws of Fate.
And in the midst of these realizations, a phrase from his previous life—something he could not even recall where he had seen—suddenly became clear in his mind.
In that instant, the degree of fusion between the Water Laws' profound mysteries and the Laws of Fate surged dramatically.
A person's fate was like the form of water—both shared a similar nature, constantly shifting in response to external influences.
Under normal conditions, water remained liquid.
At high temperatures, it turned into mist.
At low temperatures, it froze into frost.
Though mist and frost might appear similar on the surface, their essence was entirely different.
So too with human fate.
The same individual, when shaped by different experiences, could undergo transformations that appeared similar yet were fundamentally distinct.
In this moment of enlightenment, Locke's fourth Water Law profound mystery fully fused with the Laws of Fate, increasing his power a thousandfold.
"Now, in terms of pure strength, my Fate Sovereign clone has surpassed the other three Rule Sovereigns. Only Lilia remains stronger than me."
At this point, Locke's fusion of Water Laws and Fate Laws had reached the equivalent of eight fused Laws—comparable to the strength of twelve fused Laws from a single system.
Previously, Locke was already ten times stronger than ordinary Law Sovereigns.
Now, with a thousandfold increase, his strength surpassed even Great Perfection Rule Sovereigns by a hundred times.
Of course, because Orloff possessed an additional portion of willpower from the Light Sovereign Augusta, and both the Life Sovereign Wawaya and the Destruction Sovereign Wordred had bodies comparable to Sovereign artifacts—
In practical terms, Locke was only about ten times stronger than the three Rule Sovereigns.
And with their Sovereign artifact-level defenses, defeating Wawaya and Wordred would not be easy.
Still, the surge in strength brought a smile to Locke's lips.
The sense of achievement that came with each breakthrough was intoxicating.
In the Netherworld, Locke ended this round of cultivation.
In the past, he had always enjoyed such moments alone.
But now, he had someone he wanted to share them with.
Raising his head, Locke looked toward the peak of the Netherworld Mountains.
Taking a single step, his figure vanished, reappearing before the Sovereign's palace at the summit.
With his newfound understanding—"man has no constant form, water has no constant shape"—his mastery of the Water Movement Technique had reached a new level.
Though not as profound as spatial teleportation, in terms of short-distance movement speed, it was no inferior.
Of course, Locke was referring to short distances.
Compared to cross-planar teleportation like that of planar teleportation arrays, he still fell short.
"Rumble…"
The tightly shut doors of the Sovereign's palace slowly opened, and the Death Sovereign stepped out.
"Well, well. If I remember correctly, this is only the second time you've come to my palace in all these years."
Though a hint of joy flashed in her eyes upon seeing Locke, she could not help but tease him.
It was true—since bringing Locke to the Netherworld Mountains, aside from the one time he came seeking help to restore his brother Cole's memories, Locke had always stayed at his residence halfway up the mountain.
For all these years, it had always been the Death Sovereign visiting him.
"So, what is it this time? Need my help with something?"
Standing beside him, she casually hooked a strand of crimson hair behind her ear with her little finger and smiled.
Back then, when she restored Cole's memories, Locke had promised to help her once.
But as Locke's strength grew too rapidly, that promise had effectively become meaningless.
After all, among Sovereigns, she was already the strongest—who would she need Locke to deal with?
Seeing her expression, Locke shook his head with a smile.
"No. I just have something I'm happy about, and I wanted to share it with you."
"My Sovereign clone in the Water Divine Plane had a breakthrough not long ago. I've completed the fusion of the fourth Water Law profound mystery with the Laws of Fate."
"Oh, that really is good news—"
The Death Sovereign began to congratulate him, but suddenly froze mid-sentence, as though time itself had halted.
Slowly, she turned her head and looked at him again.
"Locke… did I hear that correctly?"
"You're saying you've made another breakthrough in your fusion of Water Laws and Fate Laws?"
"Mm."
"Hiss…"
She drew in a sharp breath, staring at him in shock.
"Locke, not long ago, I told Wawaya that you might achieve this breakthrough within a trillion years."
"But I never imagined you'd do it this quickly."
"Neither did I."
Locke sighed softly.
"I originally thought it would take ten million years to push the fourth Water Law to its limit, and perhaps another ninety million to achieve the breakthrough."
"But a single moment of enlightenment allowed me to complete the fusion tens of millions of years ahead of schedule."
"Congratulations, Locke."
A faint, complex emotion flickered in the Death Sovereign's eyes as she offered her congratulations.
"Then, Locke—shall we convene a Sovereign Assembly now and announce that you stand on equal footing with the four Rule Sovereigns?"
Locke paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"No, Lilia."
"Breaking through this bottleneck makes me very happy."
"But for now, I only want to share this joy with you."
"As for everyone else… we can tell them after we've enjoyed this moment long enough."
"I don't want those Sovereigns doing something that ruins my mood."
With that, Locke extended his hand toward her.
"Beautiful Lady Lilia, may I have the honor of inviting you to travel across the planes with me?"
Between Locke and the Death Sovereign, there had always been an unspoken understanding.
And as Locke's strength grew, that understanding gradually changed.
To the Death Sovereign, she felt she might never again encounter someone as brilliant as Locke.
Likewise, Locke felt that in this world, no one but her would tolerate him so completely.
Faced with someone who could threaten them, the choices of the other three Rule Sovereigns were the "normal" ones.
Yet the Death Sovereign had chosen the "abnormal" path.
The reason behind that—Locke could sense it.
It was just that before, the gap in their strength had been too great.
So great that even if he wished to speak, he dared not.
But now…
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