In other words, the current Argenis had also stepped into the third tier of commander-level experts, just like Oakes.
Ryan, after consuming the Netherworld Fruit, had become a commander who had fused five Profound Mysteries.
However, even with the addition of his physical strength, Ryan's overall power only placed him at the very peak of the fifth tier—still inferior to fourth-tier commanders who possessed a Sovereign artifact.
Therefore, in the battle to encircle and suppress Argenis, Ryan could at most play a restraining role.
In fact, if Argenis were ruthless enough, he could simply ignore Ryan altogether and endure his attacks head-on.
After all, no matter how much damage Ryan inflicted, as long as he could not kill Argenis in a single blow, Argenis would be able to recover completely in a very short time thanks to the gray flame.
Thinking of this, Locke shook his head.
Becoming a Sovereign was inconvenient in this regard.
If he were still a Paragon, someone like Argenis could be casually killed with a wave of his hand, allowing him to easily seize the Bloodshadow Flame and obtain the second Overgod talisman of the Death Overgod.
But now, as a Sovereign, bound by the Sovereign Pact, he could not act against a Deity unless that Deity had offended him.
In the future struggle over Overgod talismans more than a thousand cycles later, even the Sovereigns had paid great prices to hire Paragons to compete for them.
If Argenis ultimately managed to escape from Oakes and Ryan, then in order to obtain the second Overgod talisman, Locke would have no choice but to personally intervene.
Of course, even if Locke intervened, he would not directly attack Argenis. Instead, he would prepare to pay a price to exchange for the Bloodshadow Flame.
After all, no Deity would dare refuse a Sovereign's request.
…
"Kill!"
In the skies above the Nether Sea, thousands of figures clashed in fierce combat. Multicolored divine power painted the heavens in dazzling hues.
On one side was Locke's Sovereign army.
On the other were pirates dressed in all manner of strange and varied attire.
From the battlefield situation, the pirates numbered over seven thousand, and their strongest member was a Seven-Star Fiend.
After tens of millions of years of war, although the pirates of the Nether Sea had been steadily pushed back by Locke's Sovereign army—and now controlled only eighteen islands—newcomers had continuously arrived from all over the Netherworld during that time, joining the pirate ranks.
After all, in this world, if one sought greater cultivation resources, plundering was the fastest path.
The pirates of the Nether Sea were infamous even within the Netherworld as a major plundering force.
The reason Oakes and his forces had been unable to completely exterminate the pirates over tens of millions of years was precisely because new individuals constantly joined them—beings eager to seize the lives and wealth of others—keeping both their numbers and their strength at a relatively stable level.
Among these newcomers were not a few experts at the Seven-Star Fiend level.
These newly arrived pirate experts not only had to contend with the attacks of Locke's Sovereign army but also faced suppression from the native pirate factions of the Nether Sea.
Some Seven-Star Fiends, under pressure from the established pirate forces, ultimately chose to join the ranks of the One Emperor and Four Kings, strengthening those factions.
Others, more powerful, rose through constant battles against the One Emperor and Four Kings, eventually seizing an island and earning recognition.
These powerful pirate groups came to be known as the "Seven Lords."
At present, the pirate force clashing with Locke's Sovereign army was led by one of the Seven Lords—the "Mad Lord," Harald.
Just as Locke's Sovereign army earned merit by annihilating pirate groups and reclaiming control over the Nether Sea islands, the pirates themselves had, over tens of millions of years, developed their own system of gaining prestige.
The strength of a pirate faction was determined primarily by whether it controlled an island—and how many.
The strongest of them all, the Nine Nether Pirate Crew, controlled three islands.
Each of the Four Kings controlled two islands.
The Seven Lords each controlled one island.
Thus, the One Emperor, Four Kings, and Seven Lords formed the twelve strongest pirate factions of the Nether Sea.
Pirates without island bases, even if they obtained resources through plunder, had to exchange them through these twelve dominant factions.
Through buying low and selling high, these twelve factions had only grown stronger over tens of millions of years.
This time, the "Mad Lord" Harald sought to seize an island from Locke's Sovereign army's territory—expanding his domain and rising from a "Lord" who controlled one island to a "King" who controlled two.
If Harald succeeded in driving off the stationed Sovereign army and occupying the island, the balance of power in the Nether Sea would shift to one emperor, five kings, and six lords.
And this could very well become the signal for a full-scale pirate counterattack against Locke's Sovereign army.
After all, for a long time, it had been the Sovereign army pressing the offensive, forcing the pirates to shrink their territory and concentrate their elites for defense.
If even one island held by the Sovereign army were lost, it would signal weakness. More pirates would be tempted to seize islands and elevate themselves to the ranks of "Lord," "King," or even "Emperor."
At that point, even if the Sovereign army's soldiers were individually strong, spreading their forces across sixty-three islands would greatly dilute their strength.
It was entirely possible that they would be forced to abandon some islands and consolidate their forces, shifting from offense to defense.
At this moment, the island Harald attacked was defended by a company captain of the Sovereign army and his thousand soldiers.
Upon detecting the approach of the Mad Lord pirate crew, the captain immediately formed a magical battle formation with his troops, achieving power close to that of a Seven-Star Fiend and engaging the pirates in battle.
Although the pirates outnumbered them several times over, under the might of the magical battle formation, they were actually at a disadvantage.
Of course, after tens of millions of years of fighting, the pirates had already learned how to deal with these formations.
That was—never cluster together.
Spread out, move toward sparse areas, and seize opportunities to launch long-range attacks against the formation.
Even so, every time the soldiers within the formation launched an attack, pirates fell in swathes.
Harald stood in the air with his arms crossed, coldly watching the clash between his subordinates and the Sovereign army.
As the strongest among the Seven Lords, Harald's power was formidable even among Seven-Star Fiends.
Otherwise, he would never have risen so forcefully under the suppression of the One Emperor and Four Kings to claim his place among the Seven Lords.
Although the magical formation of this Sovereign army unit was impressive, if Harald personally took action, it was not impossible for him to break it.
However, observing the strength displayed by these soldiers, Harald began to think—
If he could subdue this force and make it his own, then once he seized this island and became a "King," he would not be inferior to the other Four Kings.
In fact, with this force assisting him, it might even be possible to dethrone one of them.
And if he could master this method of training troops, then perhaps even the supreme imperial seat among the pirates would not be out of reach.
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
Harald began to walk slowly through the air, step by step approaching the magical formation.
"Fall back! Lord Harald is about to act!"
Seeing his movement, the pirates immediately cried out in alarm.
At once, they abandoned the fight and fled frantically into the distance.
The title "Mad Lord" was not only Harald's epithet—it also described his combat style.
As a practitioner of the Destruction Laws, Harald fought with extreme ferocity. Once he entered the heat of battle, he made no distinction between friend and foe, attacking everything within range.
Thus, upon seeing Harald prepare to act, the pirates of his crew all wished they had more legs, fleeing the battlefield at top speed.
Yet as the pirates retreated, the soldiers of the Sovereign army did not relax.
On the contrary—their expressions grew even more solemn.
Just as the pirates had come to understand the Sovereign army over tens of millions of years, the soldiers of the Sovereign army were equally familiar with the pirate elites.
The low-level pirates were not worth remembering.
In every battle, countless pirates died at their hands. Rarely did they encounter the same face twice.
Those too weak simply died—again and again—making it pointless to remember names or soul auras.
But the One Emperor, Four Kings, and Seven Lords were different.
These twelve figures were the ones who had repeatedly hindered their campaign, preventing total victory even after all this time.
As long as these twelve remained alive, no matter how many pirates were slain, it would ultimately amount to nothing.
After all, across the entire Nether Sea, there was no shortage of individuals eager to join their ranks.
Even if reduced to a single survivor, they could quickly rebuild a pirate force.
Facing the attack of the Mad Lord Harald today, the soldiers of the Sovereign army already knew—
their chances of survival were slim.
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