The icy-blue, pale-green, scarlet, and ochre auras merged together with the aid of the energy of heaven and earth. A terrifying pressure instantly enveloped Hope.
The Four Divine Beasts—the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—were each Super Divine Beasts, unique existences in this world. Even their individual innate abilities could rival Wukun's.
And thanks to the blood ties between them, the Four Divine Beasts could combine their Innate Divine Abilities and unleash a Combined Innate Divine Ability drawn from all four Super Divine Beasts.
This Innate Divine Ability was undoubtedly the greatest in the entire Magic Universe. If the Four Divine Beasts weren't Sovereigns, they might have shattered the legend of the Paragon High-God's invincibility.
Even as Lower Sovereigns, the Four Divine Beasts could unleash attacks on the level of a Sovereign. If they were Sovereigns themselves, no one without a Soul Defense Supreme Artifact could stand against them. That was the fundamental reason so many Sovereigns were interested in them.
"But you're still only four Lower Sovereigns. You're nowhere near strong enough to kill me!"
Feeling the fluctuations in the energy of heaven and earth, Hope's placid expression turned thoughtful. Then a flash of confidence crossed his eyes. The long sword in his right hand trembled, letting out a series of deep rumbles.
The ice armor covering Hope's body rumbled as well. Each ice crystal began to shine with a white aura, forming a spiraling sphere of light around him.
The energy of heaven and earth descended upon Hope. An irresistible binding force instantly constricted around him, making his body falter.
The Four Divine Beasts' Innate Divine Ability could affect time and space. Its binding force left even a Sovereign unable to dodge, forcing them to withstand it head-on. That was how the Four Divine Beasts could fight Sovereigns.
Their Innate Divine Ability had a powerful soul attack, but it was meaningless if it missed. With a Sovereign's speed, evading an attack from the four of them wasn't especially difficult.
But their Innate Divine Ability could bind their enemy, and even a Sovereign couldn't break free by force.
When Hope felt the energy of heaven and earth descend, he merely formed a material defense around himself to prevent the Four Divine Beasts from launching a sneak attack. Then his soul power erupted within his mind.
A transparent phantom entered the space between Hope's brows and plunged straight into his soul. A green aura surged from deep within it, clashing with the phantom in an instant.
Hope's eyes were tightly shut. His body gave a slight tremor, and blue light began to well up across his skin.
"Now! Attack!"
Reding didn't intend to let the opportunity slip by. After returning to human form, he roared and took the lead, channeling the Sovereign's Might within him.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Under Reding's control, the golden sphere of light turned icy blue once more. The three behind him supplied divine power, and pale-blue ripples from magic arrays flickered across the sphere.
"Die!"
Reding's hands became dragon claws and swept forward. The magic array surged with a sharp aura under his control, and an enormous white phantom transformed into a ten-thousand-meter-long blade. With thunderous force, it cleaved through the void and descended upon Hope.
The Four Divine Beasts' combined ultimate move—Four Elements Water-Style Azure Dragon Ice Blade!
"Bzzzz!"
The ice crystals covering Hope's body suddenly fused together, forming armor as immovable as a mountain. The white blade crashed into it with a thunderous impact, but couldn't break through his defense.
"Get ready to attack again!"
Reding frowned and prepared to strike once more, but in the next instant, his pupils contracted.
Hope had suddenly opened his eyes. With a casual sweep of his right hand, he turned the Four Divine Beasts' white ice blade into mist. It promptly dispersed.
"He recovered instantly? How is that possible?"
Lius, the White Tiger Sovereign, was the first to react. He stared at Hope in disbelief, momentarily stunned.
"He... He doesn't seem to have been affected at all?"
Nimo, the Vermilion Bird Sovereign, gaped at Hope in equal disbelief.
They had been prepared for Hope to withstand one use of their Innate Divine Ability. But they'd expected him to need some time to recover, and to suffer serious injuries. He shouldn't have been completely unaffected like this.
"You've had your turn. Now it's mine!"
Icy-blue light flashed in Hope's eyes. Then he shot toward the Four Divine Beasts like a meteor.
"Whoosh!"
A fierce sword beam appeared out of the void and struck toward Reding with unstoppable force, leaving him almost no time to react.
"Watch out! Defend!"
Reding's expression changed drastically. He immediately retreated, and all four of them channeled their divine power, unleashing Four Elements Water-Style Azure Dragon Defense before the sword beam could land. They formed an icy-blue sphere of light.
"Bang!"
A violent impact shook the sphere. Countless cracks spread across it before it suddenly burst apart. The Four Divine Beasts reappeared, each with a trace of blood at the corner of their mouth.
Hope didn't pause. His sword rumbled as it shot straight toward Reding.
"Now! A second Innate Divine Ability!"
A glimmer flashed through Reding's icy-blue eyes. His voice rang out swiftly in the other three's minds.
Reding moved. His Spatial Ring flashed, and a mass of blood glowing gold appeared and flowed into his body. At the same time, four glowing masses of blood fused into the bodies of the Four Divine Beasts.
In the next instant, a peerlessly brilliant blue radiance burst from the Azure Dragon's scales and rapidly spread into a ring of light. A phantom of a giant green dragon appeared behind them, its crimson eyes flashing.
Azure Dragon Innate Divine Ability—Dragon Roar!
"Roar!"
"Grrr!"
"Roooar!"
As three roars sounded at once, four strange energies that shook the entire world suddenly emerged.
With the White Tiger's furious roar, its phantom appeared, its body covered in dark patterns. Green energy gathered on its forehead, and a black marking shaped like the character for "king" radiated a rhythm like the wind.
White Tiger Innate Divine Ability—Tiger Howl!
A scorching flame ignited on the Vermilion Bird's wings in an instant. Its terrible heat seemed to set the entire space ablaze. The scarlet flames turned golden, and the Vermilion Bird was soon surrounded by a golden sea of fire.
Vermilion Bird Innate Divine Ability—Bathed in Fire!
Strange patterns appeared across the Black Tortoise's ochre shell, fitting together seamlessly like a magic array and forming an impenetrable defense. Endless power filled its eyes, and for a moment, the whole world seemed to stop.
Black Tortoise Innate Divine Ability—Stasis!
The four terrifying energies fused together once more. A strange energy of heaven and earth descended, instantly making Hope's body falter. A transparent phantom slipped between his brows.
"This time, you can die without a worry!"
Reding returned to human form. His face was pale and drained, but he couldn't hide his joy.
"Wonderful, big brother! Hope's such an arrogant bastard. He deserved to die!"
Lius changed back into the white-robed man. His long eyebrows rose, and a beastlike, bloodthirsty smile curled his lips.
"At last, we can change our situation."
Excitement flushed Nimo's face. Flames spilled from beneath her scarlet feathered robes.
Bowen, the Black Tortoise, said nothing. He simply stood quietly beside the other three, smiling as he looked at them. All the oppression they had endured for so many years seemed to have finally been released.
But in the next instant, a cold voice reached the four of them.
"Do you really think you've won?"
As the Four Divine Beasts stared in shock, Hope's face looked slightly pale. But a moment later, he had recovered, and he narrowed his eyes at them.