"You truly misunderstand, Death Sovereign."
When the Fate Sovereign Orloff saw the Death Sovereign flick her whip, the corner of his eye twitched slightly as he explained, "The Destruction Sovereign and I came here merely as a precaution."
"After all, according to the proposal raised by Sovereign Locke during the previous Chief Sovereign Assembly, any Sovereign carrying out the regulation of a Divine Plane's Laws is under the protection of the Four Rule Sovereigns."
"Anyone attempting to attack a Sovereign during the process of Law regulation will be hunted down by all four Rule Sovereigns."
"The Destruction Sovereign and I came here because we feared someone might attempt to attack the Sovereigns currently regulating the Water Divine Plane…"
"Oh?"
The Death Sovereign raised an eyebrow and looked toward the Fate Sovereign Orloff.
"So, your meaning is that you think I would attack two mere Lesser Sovereigns?"
"Of course, not…"
The Fate Sovereign Orloff waved his hands repeatedly, the smile on his face remaining unchanged.
"As one of the creators of the Sovereign Pact, how could the Death Sovereign personally violate the very agreement she established?"
"However, since we promised that Sovereigns regulating the Laws would be protected by the Four Rule Sovereigns, we naturally must show some form of stance to the other Sovereigns."
"We must let them understand that if any Sovereign truly dares to attack those regulating the Laws, we Rule Sovereigns will genuinely pursue them to the end."
Facing Orloff's sophistry, the Death Sovereign snorted coldly.
"Orloff, you really are an annoying fellow."
"So many Sovereigns regulated Laws before this. Why didn't I see the two of you guarding them then?"
"That is because those Divine Planes all had Chief Sovereigns overseeing them. They could at least resist attacks from other Sovereigns for a short time while waiting for our reinforcements."
"But in the Water Divine Plane, although Sovereign Locke is temporarily serving as the Water Chief Sovereign, he himself is not stationed there. That is why we specifically came here to guard it."
"Hmph."
The Death Sovereign sneered but said nothing further.
After all, the Fate Sovereign Orloff truly was basing his explanation on the content of the Fourth Chief Sovereign Assembly initiated by Locke.
However, while the Death Sovereign did not care much, Locke certainly did.
Locke himself had not expected this situation either.
In order to avoid further provoking the other three Rule Sovereigns, after his Fate Sovereign clone finished regulating the Laws of the Water Divine Plane, it had immediately returned to the Netherworld.
This time, Locke needed Water Sovereign power, so he had sent the Death Sovereign to the Water Divine Plane to exchange for some Water Sovereign power from the two Water Low Sovereigns.
Exchanges of Sovereign power or Sovereign artifacts between Sovereigns were nothing unusual.
After all, the subordinates under a Sovereign were not necessarily all of the same element.
Within Sovereign armies and among Sovereign Emissaries, it was extremely common for subordinates to differ from the Sovereign's own affinity.
And for gods, the Sovereign power bestowed by a Sovereign of the same element allowed them to unleash the greatest possible combat strength.
Thus, when assigning Sovereign missions, Sovereigns would often use Sovereign power exchanged from other Sovereigns as rewards for particularly promising subordinates.
But this time, the Destruction Sovereign Wordred and the Fate Sovereign Orloff had used the agreement Locke himself established to obstruct the Death Sovereign.
That angered him.
With a thought, Locke's Fate Sovereign clone flew out from his body, then stepped directly into the spatial turbulence.
After entering the spatial turbulence, Locke turned his head toward the Life Sovereign, Wawaya.
"Lady Wawaya, are you planning to stop me?"
"Ah, Locke…"
Wawaya sighed softly.
"So long as you have not yet obtained power surpassing the three of us combined, I still believe maintaining the current balance is the best outcome for this world."
"Indeed. I agree with that as well."
Locke nodded.
"That's why I've always been able to understand some of your actions and have done my best to restrain myself."
"But, Lady Wawaya, just because I'm willing to suffer a little grievance doesn't mean I'm willing to let Lilia suffer alongside me."
"So, step aside, Lady Wawaya."
"If you continue standing in my way…"
"I may have no choice but to attack you."
"Ah…"
Wawaya rubbed her forehead with a headache.
Deep down, she stood on the side of her elder sister, the Death Sovereign.
But she also understood that because of Locke's existence, the Destruction Sovereign Wordred and the Fate Sovereign Orloff were already as tense as drawn bowstrings.
As long as she remained on their side, they still felt the balance of power favored them and could maintain their calm.
But the moment the Life Sovereign Wawaya openly stood with the Death Sovereign, the final string in Wordred and Orloff's hearts would snap.
At that point, they might disregard every cost and attempt to erase Locke first.
And once a war broke out between the Four Rules, no one knew how much destruction it would bring to the universe.
"Locke Sovereign, I don't know what exactly Big Sister intends to do in the Water Divine Plane."
"How about you tell me instead? I'll go there in her place to handle the matter, while you return to the Netherworld. How does that sound?"
"Too late, Lady Wawaya."
Locke shook his head.
"If this had happened earlier, I would truly appreciate the help you offered to me and Lilia."
"But now, the important thing isn't what Lilia intends to do in the Water Divine Plane."
"It's that the Destruction Sovereign and the Fate Sovereign are bullying Lilia."
Wawaya fell silent.
Her divine sense was also focused on the spatial turbulence outside the Water Divine Plane.
From her perspective, the exchange between the three Rule Sovereigns had been perfectly normal. Although the Death Sovereign had already drawn her weapon, there had been no real sign of battle.
So, from what angle exactly had Locke concluded that the Destruction Sovereign and Fate Sovereign were bullying her?
As though sensing Wawaya's confusion, Locke softly said:
"The moment the Fate Sovereign Orloff used the agreement I established to rebut Lilia, he was already bullying her."
After all, it was an agreement he personally established.
No matter how disadvantageous it became to her, she would never refute the pact Locke himself had created.
"Ah?"
At the instant Wawaya lost focus for a brief moment, Locke spoke with absolute authority:
"Edict: Double Speed."
The next instant, Locke's figure transformed into a streak of white light within the spatial turbulence, passing directly beside Wawaya as he shot toward the Water Divine Plane.
Wawaya reached out to stop him.
But in the end, her hand merely passed through the fading white afterimage behind him.
"So fast!"
Wawaya was shocked.
Although she had momentarily lost focus because of Locke's protectiveness toward the Death Sovereign, someone at her level should not have failed to react to the speed of another Rule Sovereign.
Yet the reality was that while she had reacted, she still failed to stop Locke.
Without daring to delay, Wawaya immediately turned around and chased after him.
But what happened next shocked her even more.
Her travel speed was actually slower than Locke's.
...
Within the spatial turbulence outside the Water Divine Plane, the three Rule Sovereigns simultaneously turned their heads toward the same direction.
Two powerful auras were rapidly approaching.
Those auras belonged to Sovereign Locke and the Life Sovereign.
What truly shocked the Destruction Sovereign Wordred and the Fate Sovereign Orloff, however, was that Locke's speed within the spatial turbulence was actually faster than Wawaya's.
And not by just a small margin.
Moreover, the moment they sensed Locke's aura, his voice also rang out beside them.
"It seems I've truly troubled Lord Wordred and Lord Orloff by failing to remain stationed within the Water Divine Plane all this time."
"In that case, from this moment onward, my Fate Sovereign clone shall permanently remain within the Water Divine Plane, so that other Sovereigns won't find opportunities to come stir up trouble here again."
Wordred's expression darkened.
Did Locke really think they couldn't hear the implication in those words?
What "other Sovereigns causing trouble"?
Wasn't he directly referring to them?
Wordred glanced toward the Fate Sovereign Orloff.
To his surprise, despite Locke's obvious sarcasm, the smile on Orloff's face still did not change.
However, Locke's next sentence not only startled Wordred—even Orloff's expression stiffened, and the calm smile on his face finally froze.
"However, I am ultimately a Fate Sovereign. Temporarily acting as the Water Chief Sovereign while stationed within the Water Divine Plane is somewhat inappropriate."
"Therefore, I intend to station both my Water divine clone and my Fate Sovereign clone within the Water Divine Plane together."
"I assume the two of you have no objections?"
As Locke spoke those words, his figure arrived beside the others, standing directly before the Death Sovereign as he addressed the Destruction Sovereign Wordred and the Fate Sovereign Orloff.
These words nearly made both Wordred and Orloff lose composure.
What had all their efforts been for?
Hadn't they been doing everything possible to prevent Locke from hunting Water Sovereigns and obtaining a Water Sovereign spark—thus becoming a terrifying existence far beyond their reach?
If Locke truly stationed both his Water divine clone and Fate Sovereign clone inside the Water Divine Plane, then what could they even do anymore?
As long as Locke's Water divine clone remained outside the Water Divine Plane, they could still maneuver somewhat and prevent him from killing Water Sovereigns to seize a Water Sovereign spark.
But once both clones permanently entered the Water Divine Plane, then whenever Locke wished, he could instantly kill the Water Sovereigns there and seize their Sovereign sparks.
At that point, they would have no way to stop him.
Unless the three Rule Sovereigns permanently stationed at least two of themselves within the Water Divine Plane to monitor Locke at all times.
But how could that possibly happen?
Leaving aside the fact that doing so would amount to openly tearing apart all pretenses with Locke—
If they truly pushed Locke too far and he decided to disregard everything and hunt the Water Sovereigns anyway, then their conflict with Locke would truly become one of endless life-and-death hostility.
(End of Chapter)
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