"An Innate Divine Ability? Not a bad ability."
Ninisha glanced at Emmanuel and Fuerhan, whom Gaislesen and the others had rescued, and raised an eyebrow slightly. She didn't pay them much attention.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The few survivors quickly regrouped. Gaislesen and the other four Asuras stood in front of Bulu and the others, their eyes bloodshot as they glared at the purple figure not far away.
At that moment, all the Four Divine Beasts Clan's elders had fallen, including five Sovereign Envoys and dozens of Seven-Star Fiends. Only seven people remained.
"You bastard! You dared to kill so many members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan. We'll never let you get away with this!"
Gaislesen stood in front of Bulu, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He took a deep breath, then stared coldly at Ninisha. Flipping his right hand, he produced a piece of parchment that emanated a strange ripple.
"Vmmmm—"
As the parchment burned away, a powerful pressure appeared between heaven and earth. Countless azure droplets gathered from thin air, and Sovereign's Might began to fuse.
At that moment, a Sovereign descended!
"A Sovereign? It's actually a Sovereign?"
Under the terrifying pressure, the onlookers turned pale with shock and scrambled to their knees.
Fuerhan and Bulu, standing behind Gaislesen, looked delighted, then respectfully knelt as well.
The only ones still standing were Gaislesen and his four companions, Ninisha, and Yage Huerlei, not far away.
In the void, azure droplets took shape, and an enormous elemental face appeared, transforming into the face of a stern-looking man.
The Azure Dragon Sovereign—Reding!
"Father!" "Uncle!"
The instant Reding appeared, Gaislesen and the others' eyes grew even redder, as if they had suffered some terrible injustice.
"Ninisha pays her respects to the Sovereign!"
Ninisha stopped what she was doing and slowly put away her Sovereign Artifact. Then she bowed slightly, acknowledging the Sovereign.
The Azure Dragon Sovereign's face showed no particular emotion. He merely glanced around, pausing briefly on Ninisha, who was still standing, and Yage Huerlei, farther away.
"Father! You must give us justice! Ninisha killed dozens of our clan's elders!"
Tears filled Gaia's eyes as she cried out, pointing at Ninisha with trembling hands.
"Father! You must give us justice!"
Gaislesen also looked up at the Azure Dragon Sovereign, humiliation and resentment showing in his eyes.
But Reding didn't answer right away. His gaze passed over Ninisha and Yage. Then his expression shifted, and Sovereign's Might surged. The whole area seemed to be sealed off by an immense force as a layer of white mist gathered. The onlookers were swept away in an instant, leaving only Yage Huerlei behind.
"Yage pays his respects to the Azure Dragon Sovereign!"
Yage Huerlei came back to his senses and turned slightly pale. He bowed to the enormous face. As the child of a Sovereign, he didn't have to kneel before other Sovereigns, but he still had to show basic respect.
"Yage, is Ninisha your father's envoy?"
Reding's voice rang out slowly, reaching Yage Huerlei's ears.
A Lightning Paragon was killing members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, while the son of the Thunder Sovereign stood nearby. The Azure Dragon Sovereign couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it.
Yage was stunned by the Azure Dragon Sovereign's question. His expression then changed as he answered, "Sovereign, I just happened to be passing by. Ninisha isn't my father's Sovereign Envoy."
At Yage's answer, the Azure Dragon Sovereign narrowed his eyes, then looked at Ninisha. His gaze turned much colder. If she were the Thunder Sovereign's Paragon envoy, he would have to think things over. But if she wasn't...
"Ninisha, Lightning Paragon. You're quite impressive."
The Azure Dragon Sovereign spoke slowly, his tone giving no hint of his feelings. He seemed utterly unconcerned by the Four Divine Beasts Clan members who had died.
But then Reding's eyes turned colder. "Still, no one gets to bully members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan. You must answer for this. Serve as my envoy for a trillion years, and that will settle the matter."
Hearing the Azure Dragon Sovereign Reding's words, Ninisha frowned slightly. She had known that he would side with the Four Divine Beasts Clan, but she hadn't expected him to ignore what had happened and immediately declare that she had bullied them.
When the Azure Dragon Sovereign finished speaking, Gaislesen and the others were overjoyed. Yage's expression shifted as he looked at the Spatial Ring in his hand. Inside was a piece of parchment that could summon the Thunder Sovereign Huerlei.
"A Paragon Highgod of the Lightning Element. If Father could make her his envoy... But the Azure Dragon Sovereign's attitude..."
Yage was torn over whether to summon his father. On the one hand, Ninisha was a Paragon Highgod of the Lightning Element, and his father Huerlei would surely be willing to take her on as an envoy. Especially now, with the Azure Dragon Sovereign using his power to pressure her. If the Thunder Sovereign stepped in to stop him, Ninisha would surely be grateful.
But the Azure Dragon Sovereign had already made his position clear. If his father came, the two sides would certainly clash. His father Huerlei had told him a few things about the Sovereigns. Yage knew that the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns acted as one and were a match for a Sovereign. He couldn't say whether offending them for the sake of a Paragon was worth it.
After a moment's silence, Yage gritted his teeth and prepared to take out the parchment. He would leave the final decision to his father Huerlei.
But just as Yage was about to summon Huerlei, two more streams of Sovereign's Might gathered in the void, making him stop instinctively.
"Two Water Sovereigns?"
Looking at the Sovereign's Might that had suddenly gathered before him, the Azure Dragon Sovereign Reding narrowed his eyes. He was a Water Sovereign himself. Though the Four Divine Beasts were, in truth, a small unified group, he still knew something about the Water Sovereigns.
There were six Sovereigns in the Water Elemental Plane. The other four weren't particularly close, and it was rare for two of them to act together. The only ones who often appeared together were the oldest of the Water Sovereigns, the Sovereign of Water, and Palhouse, who had sworn lifelong allegiance to the Sovereign of Water back when he was a Seven-Star Fiend.
As Reding's thoughts settled, two figures slowly took shape. A round-faced middle-aged man stood behind a black-haired young man with sharp brows and bright eyes. Both looked calmly at Reding.
"The Sovereign of Water!"
Reding's expression turned solemn. His enormous elemental face disappeared, transforming into a blue-haired man in blue robes. He bowed slightly to Hope.
"Reding pays his respects to the Sovereign!"
Reding's tone wasn't particularly respectful, but he still observed the proper courtesies. The Four Divine Beasts might be a match for a Sovereign, but that didn't mean each of the four held the status of one. When facing a Sovereign alone, basic respect was still necessary.
"Ninisha is my envoy."
Hope nodded slightly and glanced at Reding. Then he spoke casually, but with an unmistakable air of authority that left no room for anyone else to interfere.
"I see. Reding was presumptuous."
Reding glanced at Ninisha, then looked away, his tone even.
"The Sovereign of Water?"
At Reding's words, the children of the Four Divine Beasts turned pale. They exchanged glances, lowered their heads, and didn't dare say another word.
Though they were arrogant and overbearing, they knew what a Sovereign represented: one of the eleven most powerful beings in the world, someone even their ancestors couldn't claim to defeat with certainty.
"Ninisha pays her respects to the Sovereign!"
The instant she saw Hope, Ninisha knelt on one knee in the void. Her voice held a little more reverence.
A Paragon Highgod didn't have to kneel before a Sovereign. But Hope had helped Ninisha before she became a Paragon, so he was her benefactor, unlike the other Sovereigns.
"Rise, Ninisha. You're already a Paragon. There's no need for this."
Hope nodded and spoke gently to Ninisha. Once she had risen, he turned to Reding, his expression once again as calm as still water.
Reding watched Ninisha pay her respects to Hope without changing expression. Then he asked in an even tone, "May I ask why the Sovereign's envoy attacked members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan?"