Book 17, Indigo Prefecture â Chapter 52, Two Drops of Sovereignâs Might
Phusro, Gislason, and everyone else were momentarily speechless.
âGrandpa!â
At this moment, Bebe immediately spoke out, his face filled with delight. âI know why they are puzzled. It is because everyone saysâŠthat according to legend, only a Highgod who has become a Paragon is able to perfectly control Sovereignâs Might.â
Beirut looked around at the people within the room.
âLegendâŠall of you know that is just a legend, right?â Beirut laughed calmly. âParagon Highgods are able to do it, but does that necessarily mean that no other Highgods are able to do it? All of you are too rigid in your thinking!â
Legends were nothing more than legends, after all!
Reality wasnât necessarily the same as legends.
âBeirutâŠadmirable, admirable. No wonder your almighty Sovereign values you so much.â Phusro laughed. Generally speaking, Emissaries were mere subordinates to their Sovereign. The death of a Sovereignâs Emissary just meant that the Sovereign could go find another one.
But some Emissaries were exceedingly valued and held in high regard by their Sovereign.
For example, Highgod Paragons. Although Beirut wasnât a Highgod Paragon, his Sovereign still held him in extremely high regard.
âForget about me; your Sovereign values you greatly as well.â Beirut laughed.
Phusro, hearing this, couldnât help but laugh as well. That fire-type Sovereign had personally competed against him, starting with material attacks and spiritual attacks and moving to other aspects. Only at the very end did the fire-type Sovereign reveal his identity. For a Sovereign to lower himself to spar with PhusroâŠnaturally, he didnât view or treat Phusro as an ordinary chess piece.
As Phusro and Beirut chatted, the four Patriarchs and Elders just stood there and listened, not daring to interject. After all, the two were both Sovereignâs Emissaries.
Beirut turned to glance at Linley, and then instructed Gislason and the others, âEnough. Everyone, no need to keep crowding the two of them in this room. Linley and his wife undoubtedly have quite a few private words they want to share with each other. You can go out for now.â
Only now did Gislason and the others come to their senses, and they hurriedly nodded.
âLord Prefect, Linleyâs wife has been treated and cured thanks to your arrival. Tonight, our Four Divine Beasts clan will host a celebratory banquet for her cure and your arrival. What do you say?â Gislason said.
âAlright then. Tonight, you can send someone over. For now, I want to chat with Bebe for a time.â Beirut laughed as he looked at Bebe, rubbing Bebeâs head.
Bebe just cocked his head sideways, immediately dodging.
âLord Prefect!â Suddenly, a clear voice rang out. âThereâs something I want to beg of you, Lord Prefect.â
âLittle Sis.â Gislason couldnât help but hurriedly send through divine sense, âLetâs hurry up and leave.â Clearly, upon seeing that Beirut had already asked them to leave, it would be imprudent for them to stay.
Beirut couldnât help but frown, dissatisfied. He turned to look, and he saw that the speaker was the Grand Elder of the Azure Dragon clan. The Grand Elder clan said solemnly, âLord Prefect, this time, quite a few others aside from Linleyâs wife had also fainted, and their situation is the same as hers! I wonder, Lord Prefect, if you would be willing to helpâŠâ
âHmph!â Beirut let out a cold snort. His thick black eyebrows suddenly turned stiff, and his gaze turned cold as he looked at her.
âLittle Sis!â Gislason barked as well.
âLaughable!â
Beirutâs gaze drilled down towards the Grand Elder. âSaving a person uses up Sovereignâs Might! Uses up my own energy! It is easy for you to sayâŠand whatâs more, what do the lives of your people have to do with me? By your line of reasoningâŠwhenever anyone in the entire Infernal Realm is wounded or in danger, I, Beirut, should appear and rescue them!â
Seeing Beirut angered, the clan leaders and Elders of the Four Divine Beasts clan were shocked.
Good heavens. The only reason why their Four Divine Beasts clan was able to survive here within the Skyrite Mountains was all because of Beirut. If Beirut simply stopped helping them, the entire Four Divine Beasts clan, under the combined attacks of their enemies, would be finished.
Faced with Beirutâs anger, the Grand Elder didnât dare to say another word either.
âLord Prefect, I apologize. My little sister is just worried about her clansmen.â Gislason said apologetically, and then immediately led everyone away.
âBeirut, when you lost your temper, you frightened that female Elder so much, she didnât dare say another word. Jeeze, Beirut. You couldâve just said no. Why lose your temper?â Phusro laughed. Beirutâs face returned to its normal, pleasant smiling expression as well.
âPhusro, thereâs no need to receive outsiders like them with a smile at all times. Otherwise, some people will go farther and farther out of bounds.â Beirut said with a calm laugh
Beirut wasnât the soft-hearted type. In the battles in the Yulan continent, no matter how many people died, Beirut hadnât cared at all. As he saw it, life and death were both part of the laws of nature.
Each person would eventually die.
Deities would theoretically have an unlimited lifespan, true. But in the entire Infernal Realm, countless Deities were dying in battle each day. If they didnât have a connection to him, why would he care about them and why would he intervene?
âGrandpa, letâs go back.â Bebe urged.
Beirut began to laugh. âRight. Weâre disturbing Linley and his wife.â
âLord Beirut, thank you, truly.â Linley held Deliaâs hand as he spoke words of gratitude towards Beirut. Beirut had saved Delia this time, yet there was nothing Linley could do to repay this.
âHahaâŠ.â Beirut began to laugh. âAlright. I wonât disturb you two, husband and wife, any further.â
Beirut immediately led Phusro and Bebe away, and in the entire room, only Linley and Delia remained.
Within the room.
Linley began to slowly explained what had happened in recent days to Delia. Delia just sat there listening. Although Linley was very calm when speaking, Delia could sense from Linleyâs words how much terror and despair Linley had felt, as well as the excitement he had felt when hope had been birthed from despair.
âDelia, if Lord Beirut hadnât saved you this timeâŠI really cannot even begin to imagine what the future would be like, after you died.â Linley sighed emotionally. âTraining? Training for what? Even if I become powerful, whatâs the point? Without you, no matter how powerful I am, whatâs the point?â
Deliaâs death, to Linley, would have caused his future to fade to utter black.
He wouldnât have any hopes!
He wouldnât have any motivation!
Hearing his words, Deliaâs eyes glistened with moistness. She immediately stretched her arms out, hugging Linley. She hurriedly said, âLinley, say no more. Iâm already healed now. Iâm fine!â
âRight. You are fine!â
Linley stroked Deliaâs face and nodded. âDelia, I have never been so excited, so happy, so energetic before! When I saw you open your eyes, when I saw the colors in your eyesâŠI felt as though my entire body was filled with life!â
âFor your sake, for our childâs sake, I will continue to strive hard to continuously improve myself, to become powerful!â Linley looked at Delia. âWith you by my side, I fear nothing!â
The tears began to roll down Deliaâs face as she listened, but her face was covered with a smile of contentment and bliss.
âDelia!â Linley stretched his hand out, and a drop of water-type Sovereignâs Might appeared. âThis is water-type Sovereignâs Might. This time, if I had given you a drop of Sovereignâs Might early on, you wouldnât have been in any danger. Fortunately, you are fine now, but I donât want this sort of event to occur again. Take this drop of Sovereignâs Might!â
âLinley, noâŠâ Delia, upon seeing the Sovereignâs Might, immediately refused.
âTake it!â
Linley said solemnly, âDelia, after this event, I now understand that there will be times when I cannot protect you. By holding a drop of Sovereignâs Might, at a critical point in time, you will be able to preserve your own life. This Sovereignâs Might is highly effective in both soul defense and material defense. Delia, donât refuse!â
Delia looked at Linley. She knew him very well and understood his temper.
âFine. Iâll take it.â Delia didnât refuse any further.
Only now did a smile appear again on Linleyâs face. He stretched his arm out, pulling Delia closer, and she nestled into his embrace. âAfter having lost something, one values it all the more. Iâve tasted loss once. I donât want to taste it again!â
âYou wonât, you wonât.â A smile was on Deliaâs face.
âRight.â
Linley said in acknowledgement. For a moment, both fell silent.
And just like that, the two leaned against each other, sensing each otherâs breathing, enjoying that warmth, that peaceâŠ
That very night. The Skyrite Mountains. The four clan leaders of the Four Divine Beasts clan, a large group of Elders, and even many Elders who had lost their most powerful bodies were gathered together for a banquet. After all, the guest of honor this time was the savior of their Four Divine Beasts clan, the Lord Prefect of Indigo Prefecture!
When they knew of the relationship between Beirut, Bebe, and Linley, all of them were shocked.
Exchanging toasts and celebrating joyously, everyone drank together happily.
âElder Linley!â Gislason, seated on the throne at the front of the hall, said in a loud voice, âThis time, you battled against eight Elders. Although you used up a drop of Sovereignâs Might, you also killed fully five of the enemy Seven Star Fiends.â
Linley couldnât help but look towards him..
âI know that you specialize in the Laws of the Earth. This time, I had a meeting with the Patriarch of the Black Tortoise clan. Killing five enemy Elders is a major accomplishment. The clan thus bestows upon you two drops of Sovereignâs Might; one drop of water-type Sovereignâs Might, and one drop of earth-type Sovereignâs Might.â Gislason laughed as he spoke.
âLinley, by using this earth-type Sovereignâs Might with your Gravitational Space technique, the power will be much greater.â A deep, rumbling voice rang out. It was the Black Tortoise Patriarch
Linley hurriedly stood up, moving to the center of the hall.
At the same time, Sovereignâs Might floated out from the hands of Gislason as well as the Black Tortoise Patriarch. One was a blue drop of water, while the other was an earthen yellow liquid. Linley immediately accepted them, storing them into his Coiling Dragon ring.
âThank you, Patriarchs.â Linley bowed.
âAfter having rendered merits, one must be rewarded. This is the rule of the clan.â Gislason laughed. âAlright. Take your seat again. Everyone, keep drinking.â
Phusro and Beirut, also seated in the front of the main hall, exchanged glances, then laughed.
Below them, however, the unassuming Elder Forhan felt unhappiness in his heart.
âFather.â Emanuel sent through divine sense.
This was a major celebratory event, and so many people had come. The clan still held in great esteem those warriors who had lost their most powerful divine clones in battle and who in terms of power were no longer worth of being called âEldersâ. These people still had a fairly high status within the clan, and they were invited to attend this banquet as well. Emanuel was one of them.
âThe Patriarch seems to be too biased.â Emanuel sent through divine sense. âAccording to the rules of the clan, if an Elder uses up a drop of Sovereignâs Might in battle, generally speaking, heâll just receive another one in compensation. Even if the Elder rendered a significant amount of merit, at most heâll just receive some words of praise. After all, the clan no longer has much Sovereignâs Might left.â
âHmph.â Forhan replied through divine sense. âItâs all because of the Lord Prefect of Indigo Prefecture. Otherwise, how could they give Linley two drops of Soveriegnâs Might? I really donât know how Linley has such bullshit luck. He actually even has a relationship with the Lord Prefect of Indigo Prefecture!â
Forhan was extremely unhappy.
Linley being in possession of the Azure Dragon ring was something which Forhan was already rather unhappy about. And now, it seemed as though Linleyâs relationship with the Lord Prefect of Indigo Prefecture was incredibly strong as well. Naturally, Forhan was smoldering. But although he was angry, he didnât dare show it on his face.
On his face, he was still smiling. He even raised his glass in a toast. âElder Linley, truest congratulations. Come, cheers!â
Linley was seated on the left seat of honor, fairly close to Beirut, who was seated in the front of the hall. Beirut looked towards Linley, then said through divine sense, âLinley, I heard that on the way back, you suffered a joint attack from eight enemy Elders?â
âRight.â Linley was puzzled by this as well. He sent back through divine sense, âThis is indeed fishy. First of all, I changed my appearance. Second of all, as soon as I exited the city, they attacked en masse. And third, the enemy sent out eight Elders! They wouldnât do that without complete certainty.â
Beirut was momentarily silent, then sent back through divine sense, âPhusro discussed this with me as well. Iâve carefully analyzed the situation, and I suspectâŠthat someone within the clan probably leaked out your information.â
Linley was stunned.
âLinley, tell me, is there anyone you suspect?â Beirut sent mentally.
Linley naturally had someone he suspected.
âLord Beirut, I have no proof at all. And thereâs no way to be absolutely sure if there is even a traitor involved at all! Empty suspicions are useless to voice.â Linley sent.
âDonât worry about if it is âuselessâ or not. Just tell me, is there someone you suspect! Tell me who the person you suspect is!â Beirut said.
Linley hesitated, then said, âThere is a person. That time, when I mounted on my metallic lifeform and left, he saw me leave as well. Within the clan, the only people I have a conflict with is him and his son.â
âWho is it?â Beirut asked.
âForhan!â Linley finally said the name.
âWhich one is he? Is he within the hall?â Beirut asked.
âYes.â Linley replied. âHeâs the fifth one on the row in front of us.â
Beirut followed Linleyâs gesture. Turning his head, he saw that Forhan was currently exchanging toasts with another Elder while saying, âThe clanâs situation is growing tougher and tougher. Last time, when I encountered an enemy Elder, I was nearly finished.â
âOh, the one with gold hair?â Beirut sent back through divine sense and asked.