So what if Chief Sovereign Locke knew?
Even if his strength had been amplified by the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' fused innate divine ability...
The gap between himself and Chief Sovereign Locke was still as vast as heaven and earth.
As for the other Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
The Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred swept his gaze across them.
The Death Chief Sovereign Lilia had been the strongest Law Chief Sovereign before Chief Sovereign Locke appeared. Even now, the Sovereign Pact established by the Death Chief Sovereign remained the "law" that all Sovereigns were required to obey.
If Wodred remembered correctly...
After the Death Chief Sovereign became a Paragon, her strength had exceeded that of himself and the other Edicts Chief Sovereigns by a thousandfold.
If she hadn't improved much over the years...
Then perhaps, relying on "Spacetime Chaos," the technique he had created based on the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' fused innate divine ability, he might have a chance to contend with the Death Chief Sovereign Lilia.
However...
Wodred also knew that the number of times he could use Spacetime Chaos depended entirely on how much of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' blood essence remained in his possession.
Once all of that blood essence was exhausted...
It would be like a machine that had run out of fuel.
Even the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred would be unable to use the technique again.
Meanwhile...
Even the Death Chief Sovereign Lilia's casual attacks possessed power comparable to Wodred's Spacetime Chaos.
Once he ran out of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' blood essence...
He would have no ability whatsoever to resist her.
Spacetime Chaos was Wodred's greatest trump card.
Only a fool would use his ultimate technique merely to clash head-on against the Death Chief Sovereign's ordinary attacks.
Therefore...
After letting his gaze linger on the Death Chief Sovereign for only a moment...
Wodred shifted his attention toward the Life Chief Sovereign Vivian beside her.
When he noticed the awkward expression on Vivian's face...
Wodred immediately understood.
It seemed that among the Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
The Life Chief Sovereign Vivian's increase in strength was the "hundreds" Chief Sovereign Locke had referred to.
Admittedly...
To continue increasing one's strength after becoming a Sovereign...
Was already an extraordinary achievement.
Just look around.
Other than the Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
Had any other Sovereign improved in strength?
The Light Chief Sovereign Augusta had exhausted every scheme imaginable...
Yet all he had managed was obtaining one reward of additional Will through ten consecutive victories in the Planar Wars, increasing his strength tenfold.
For the Life Chief Sovereign Vivian to have increased her strength by over a hundredfold...
Was already a miracle beyond even Augusta's reach.
However...
In Wodred's eyes, now that he had comprehended Spacetime Chaos...
The Life Chief Sovereign Vivian, whose strength had only increased by a hundredfold...
Had already fallen behind.
She was no longer worthy of his attention.
Afterward...
The Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred turned his gaze toward the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff.
That single glance caused Wodred's heart to tighten.
Facing Chief Sovereign Locke's words...
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff merely wore a gentle smile and nodded slightly, as though agreeing completely.
Could it be...
That the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff's increase in strength was also measured in the thousands?
At that thought...
Wodred's expression became solemn.
Among all the Sovereigns...
Aside from Chief Sovereign Locke...
The person Wodred valued the most was not the overwhelmingly powerful elder sister, the Death Chief Sovereign...
But rather...
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff, who had begun as a mere human before ultimately ascending into the ranks of the Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns.
Back then...
When the Death Chief Sovereign held the very first Sovereign Assembly...
Established the Sovereign Pact...
Defined the hierarchy of Sovereigns...
And declared the Edicts Chief Sovereigns to be the highest rank among Sovereigns...
The Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred had questioned whether the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff truly possessed the qualifications to stand among the Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns.
To answer Wodred's doubts...
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff and the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred fought a great battle.
At that time...
Orloff's true strength was in no way inferior to Wodred's.
However...
In order to conceal the relationship between himself and the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta...
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff only relied upon perfected Fate Edicts together with a Paragon's Will to strengthen himself.
He never used the additional portion of Will originating from the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta.
A single additional portion of Will represented a tenfold difference in strength.
Even so...
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff was only slightly at a disadvantage against the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred.
In the end...
Through the use of exquisitely refined techniques...
He managed to force the battle into a draw.
At that time...
In the eyes of the Sovereigns...
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff had unquestionably been the weakest among the Edicts Chief Sovereigns.
However...
As time passed...
With his astonishing comprehension and research ability...
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff forcefully created techniques such as Golden Samsara, elevating the toughness of his body to the level of a Sovereign artifact.
How could such talent and genius fail to earn Wodred's respect?
Therefore...
After seeing the expression on the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff's face...
The Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred never once suspected that Orloff was merely putting on an act.
Instead...
He believed that the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff had truly increased his strength by a thousandfold.
Meanwhile...
After hearing Chief Sovereign Locke's words...
Linley felt a whirlwind of emotions.
He had truly believed...
That after becoming an Edicts Chief Sovereign...
He had already reached the very peak among Sovereigns.
But now...
It seemed that among the Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
He was still the weakest.
If he wished to stand on equal footing with the other Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
He would need to refine at least one more Sovereign spark.
Aside from the hundredfold amplification granted by fused divine power and additional Will...
The strength of four-element fused divine power would also allow Linley's body to fully reach the level of a Sovereign artifact.
However...
Linley glanced at Chief Sovereign Locke standing beside him.
Very wisely...
He buried that thought deep within his heart.
What a joke.
Now that Linley had already displayed the terrifying strength of an Edicts Chief Sovereign...
Even the strongest Law Chief Sovereign, the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta, had been effortlessly defeated by him.
What wind-element Sovereign lacking a death wish...
Would dare provoke Linley and generously offer him a wind-element Sovereign spark?
If no Sovereign provoked Linley...
Linley naturally wouldn't deliberately hunt down a wind-element Sovereign simply to increase his own strength.
Linley firmly believed...
That if he truly dared to do such a thing...
Before he even finished refining the Sovereign spark obtained after killing another Sovereign...
Chief Sovereign Locke would already appear before him...
And execute him for violating the Sovereign Pact.
Likewise...
Until Linley obtained another wind-element Sovereign spark...
Probably every wind-element Sovereign except Beirut would keep as far away from him as possible.
Although...
Chief Sovereign Locke had already personally demonstrated through his own achievements that his accomplishments required no Sovereign sparks as decoration...
The current Sovereigns still lacked sufficient trust in Linley.
After all...
Not every Sovereign was Chief Sovereign Locke...
Capable of resisting the temptation brought by a Sovereign spark.
Just look at the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta.
For a single additional portion of Will that increased his strength tenfold...
He had nearly gone mad.
Not to mention someone like Chief Sovereign Linley...
For whom refining another compatible Sovereign spark would increase his strength by hundreds—or even thousands—of times.
"Orloff."
"It's been over a thousand calendrical cycles since our last spar."
"And coincidentally..."
"Chief Sovereign Locke just said that the Edicts Chief Sovereigns have all increased their strength by hundreds or even thousands of times over the years."
"So..."
"How about taking this opportunity..."
"And fighting me once more?"
While Linley was still deep in thought...
He suddenly heard the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred challenge the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff.
Linley immediately looked up.
He saw that nearly every Sovereign present had shifted their attention toward the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff.
For these Sovereigns...
What greater fortune could there be than witnessing two battles between Edicts Chief Sovereigns on the same day?
Indeed...
Although, in the eyes of the Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
The battle between Linley and the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta had been nothing remarkable...
The Light Chief Sovereign Augusta was still far from matching a true Edicts Chief Sovereign.
However...
To the other Sovereigns...
The combat strength Augusta displayed had already reached the level of a genuine Edicts Chief Sovereign.
Even if the Edicts Chief Sovereigns themselves refused to acknowledge him...
That did nothing to diminish Augusta's power.
Therefore...
The battle between Augusta and Linley before Linley revealed his full strength...
Could still be regarded as a clash between Edicts Chief Sovereigns.
And now...
The Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred had challenged the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff.
One could easily imagine...
That the battle between the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred and the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff...
Would be far more spectacular than the battle between the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta and Lord Linley.
After all...
One battle had been nothing more than Linley's overwhelming domination of Augusta.
The other...
Would be a contest between evenly matched opponents.
Perhaps...
Through the battle between Lord Wodred and Lord Orloff...
They might even glimpse the secret behind how the two Edicts Chief Sovereigns had increased their strength by hundreds and thousands of times.
If they could grasp even a fraction of that mystery...
Then perhaps...
By the next Sovereign Assembly...
Their own strength might finally improve as well.
Unfortunately...
To the disappointment of all the assembled Sovereigns...
The Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff declined the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred's invitation to spar.
Well...
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a refusal.
He merely postponed their battle until after the current Planar War concluded.
"Hahaha..."
"To have a Chief Sovereign of equal strength with whom I can verify the progress I've made over these years..."
"Is indeed a most delightful thing."
"However..."
"We are currently in the midst of the Planar War."
"The Sovereigns' primary responsibility should still be overseeing the Planar Battlefield."
"Once this Planar War ends..."
"We shall have a proper battle to our hearts' content."
"Tsk..."
"You fellow..."
Hearing the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff's response...
The Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred frowned.
One couldn't really say Orloff had rejected the challenge.
His words clearly carried an affirmative meaning.
He had accepted.
Yet...
One also couldn't say Orloff had truly accepted it.
After all...
He had postponed the battle until after the Planar War ended.
There was absolutely no possibility of fighting Wodred right now.
The troublesome part was...
Orloff's reasoning was flawless.
The Planar War...
Was a responsibility entrusted to the Sovereigns by the Four Overgods.
To reduce the burden upon the Magical Universe...
A portion of divine beings had to perish every trillion years.
The Planar War existed precisely for that reason.
Throughout the duration of each Planar War...
The Sovereigns had to determine, according to the number of beings living within their respective planes...
Exactly how many of their own plane's inhabitants must die in that war.
The number of deaths could exceed the required amount...
But it absolutely could not fall short.
Why was there a rule stating that after the Planar War ended...
Anyone without a badge could not leave the Planar Battlefield through the teleportation array?
The Planar War had been fought for countless years.
It was impossible for the Commanders and soldiers entering the battlefield not to know this rule.
Then why...
After every Planar War...
Were there still so many people killed by the Sovereigns simply because they no longer possessed the appropriate badge?
Could it really be that so many people accidentally lost them?
Commander badges and soldier badges...
Were indestructible treasures as far as the Commanders and soldiers within the Planar Battlefield were concerned.
But to the Sovereigns...
Destroying them required nothing more than a single thought.
A Sovereign's divine sense could instantly envelop the entire Planar Battlefield.
Within that battlefield...
Which people should live...
And which people could live or die...
The Sovereigns all knew perfectly well.
If, by the end of the war, the total number of casualties on both sides had not reached the figure the Sovereigns desired...
Then...
For those people whose lives were considered optional...
If they had hidden away their Commander badges or soldier badges...
Their badges would be silently destroyed beneath the pressure of the Sovereigns' Will.
As for those soldiers who lost their badges...
They had no idea that their badges had secretly been destroyed by the Sovereigns.
Instead...
They merely believed that the chaos of battle had unfortunately caused them to lose them.
Among the Sovereigns present...
Probably only Beirut, Bluefire, and the Azure Dragon Sovereign still remained unaware of this truth.
"Very well."
"Then we'll postpone our battle until after the Planar War ends."
"When that time comes..."
"If your growth fails to satisfy me..."
After snorting a few times...
The Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred said nothing further.
"Very well, everyone."
"The primary purpose of convening this Sovereign Assembly..."
"Was to introduce our new Edicts Chief Sovereign."
"Now..."
"After this battle..."
"I believe everyone has gained a much deeper understanding of Chief Sovereign Linley."
"This Sovereign Assembly may therefore be considered a complete success."
"Is there anyone among you Sovereigns..."
"Who still has matters that need to be resolved?"
"If so..."
"Now is the perfect opportunity to raise them."
"Perhaps they can be settled before everyone here."
"If not..."
"Then I shall declare this Sovereign Assembly concluded."
Hearing Chief Sovereign Locke's words...
Linley's eyes lit up.
He immediately stepped forward.
"Lord Locke..."
"I have a matter that I wish to discuss with the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta."
"I wonder..."
"Would you be willing to preside over it and ensure fairness between us?"
(End of Chapter)
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