The Four Divine Beasts Clan only discussed it briefly before preparing to make a move against the Barbary Clan.
After all, in their eyes, the mere Barbary Clan wasn't worth taking seriously.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, at the Barbary Clan's estate in the Water Divine Plane.
"Clan Leader, according to the news the Ashcroft Clan sent from the Underworld, something seems to have gone wrong with the people from the Four Divine Beasts Clan who went after Young Master Sean?"
The butler spoke cautiously.
The Ashcroft Clan was an Asura Clan in the Underworld and had originally had no connection with the Barbary Clan.
But the Four Divine Beasts Clan was arrogant and overbearing, and had offended many people.
As a result, many clans they had bullied had secretly begun communicating with one another.
They didn't dare openly resist the Four Divine Beasts Clan, but they could still quietly trip them up.
In the original timeline, the Eight Great Clans of the future had formed their ties in much the same way, united by a common, powerful enemy.
After this incident, the Reinass Clan in Hell soon learned what had happened and quietly spread the news.
When the Ashcroft Clan in the Underworld received it, they immediately began looking into the matter.
The Ashcroft Clan quickly uncovered some information about the incident.
Of course, that was also because the Four Divine Beasts Clan members couldn't keep their mouths shut. They would say anything, making it easy to find out what had happened.
"How has the Four Divine Beasts Clan reacted?"
Barbary's tone was indifferent, giving no hint of his feelings. But his clenched fist showed how deeply shaken he was.
"Well, I heard they might... might be planning to wipe out our Barbary Clan."
The butler wiped his forehead and spoke uncertainly.
Of course, he wasn't uncertain because he thought it was impossible. He was only unsure because the news had come too easily.
It was as if the Four Divine Beasts Clan hadn't even tried to cover anything up, and hadn't forbidden its members from talking.
It was almost as if they were telling Barbary outright: You know what's coming, but it won't do you any good. You can't change a thing.
"You've gone too far! You've gone too far! Four Divine Beasts Clan, I'll never forgive you!"
The veins bulged on Barbary's forehead. He flipped the table over and gasped for breath, his furious roar echoing through the entire estate.
He had never imagined the Four Divine Beasts Clan would go this far. He had already abandoned his youngest son, yet this was still how things had turned out.
For the sake of his clan, he had endured a Seven-Star Fiend's wanton insults and apologized with a smile. He had swallowed his grief and cast his youngest son out of the clan.
And now the Four Divine Beasts Clan still planned to destroy them, all because a few of their members had died while pursuing Sean.
What did the Four Divine Beasts Clan take him for? A lump of dough they could knead however they pleased?
He, Barbary, was an Asura. Did the Four Divine Beasts Clan really think he had no temper?
After the Four Divine Beasts Clan received the news from the Underworld, Gaiselesen immediately contacted his sister Gaia and the other three clan leaders.
After discussing the matter, they decided to wipe out the Barbary Clan and issued a clan order for everyone in the Water Divine Plane to prepare for battle.
In theory, the matter should have been kept strictly confidential. But members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan had never cared about that. They went out drinking and openly bragged that they would wipe out the Barbary Clan.
Besides, Gaiselesen and the others hadn't taken the matter seriously, and certainly hadn't thought to forbid their people from talking.
Combined with what they had learned from the Ashcroft Clan in the Underworld, Barbary could be certain that the Four Divine Beasts Clan was preparing to move against them.
Barbary knew that the only reason things were still calm was that the Four Divine Beasts Clan was waiting for its people to assemble.
After all, Barbary was an Asura. To kill him, they would need someone of comparable strength.
If no Asuras joined in and they relied on Seven-Star Fiends to surround him, their losses would be severe.
Though the Four Divine Beasts Clan was powerful, Asuras weren't easy to kill.
If they sent their Seven-Star Fiend Elders to surround an Asura, some of them would certainly die. That was not what they wanted.
So the best approach was to use Asuras to surround Barbary.
The Four Divine Beasts Clan had only five Asuras of its own: its four clan leaders and the Azure Dragon Clan's First Elder.
Even Bru, the Azure Dragon Clan's talented elder, was only said to be approaching the commander level. His actual strength still fell short.
Of course, there were also several Chief God's Envoys belonging to the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns. They could just about be counted as Asuras of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
But officially, they answered only to the Chief Sovereigns. They weren't members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan and didn't have to follow its orders.
In practice, though, as long as Gaiselesen asked and the request wasn't too unreasonable or distasteful, they would do him the favor.
After all, Chief God's Envoys held far less standing than the Chief Sovereigns' children.
As Lower Sovereigns, they could each take two Chief God's Envoys. In theory, the Four Divine Beasts could have eight envoys—that is, eight Asuras.
So in theory, the Four Divine Beasts Clan could send out as many as thirteen Asuras.
Of course, their ranks of Chief God's Envoys weren't full; they had only five.
But even five would be more than enough. Barbary was alone, and though he had some friends, none of them would get involved in a conflict with the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
"Clan Leader, what should we do?" After a long silence, the butler cautiously asked.
Barbary fell silent. What should they do? He wanted to know that himself. Should he fight to the death? What would be the point?
Even if he knew in advance that the Four Divine Beasts Clan planned to move against them, what could he do? Was there any way to turn things around?
At most, he could act first before Gaiselesen and the others arrived, killing a few more Seven-Star Fiends from the Four Divine Beasts Clan to vent his fury.
But afterward, the clan would still be doomed. Barbary himself would most likely die, and he couldn't even take an Asura down with him.
The Four Divine Beasts Clan's Asuras were all children of Chief Sovereigns, equipped with Sovereign Artifacts and an inexhaustible supply of Sovereign's Might.
If they surrounded Barbary, he could give everything he had and still wouldn't be able to take one of them with him.
Besides, as children of the Four Divine Beasts, they all had a sheet of parchment that let them contact their Chief Sovereigns. The Chief Sovereigns wouldn't stand by if someone tried to kill them.
The Chief Sovereigns usually didn't interfere in battles between gods. But if anyone tried to kill their children, they would make sure he understood why they were Chief Sovereigns!
"Give the order. Select promising young clan members and send them in groups to different Material Planes. At the same time, send everyone in the clan who's a Six-Star Fiend or above to the Radiant Plane!"
Barbary thought for a long time before finally speaking, with some difficulty.
"The Radiant Plane? Clan Leader, you mean...?"
The butler seemed to understand. He appeared to recall the one time the Four Divine Beasts Clan had ever suffered a setback.
"Across the four Supreme Planes and the Seven Divine Planes, only the Augusta Clan would dare stand against the Four Divine Beasts Clan. But I don't know whether they'll accept us."
Barbary muttered to himself, without much confidence.
But at this point, he had no choice but to try, however slim his chances.
Twenty years later, at the Four Divine Beasts Clan's estate in the Water Divine Plane.
"Elder Isaac, it seems the Barbary Clan's people are trying to flee?"
Below the main hall, an Highgod knelt and reported.
They had spent these years investigating the Barbary Clan's situation.
"Oh? They're well-informed. But do they really think they can get away?"
Isaac spoke with contempt, not taking Barbary seriously at all.
Flee? If fleeing worked, where would that leave the Four Divine Beasts Clan's reputation?
Over the years, plenty of people who had offended the Four Divine Beasts Clan had tried to escape. They had all died anyway.
"Don't bother with them. Just keep an eye on Barbary himself. Once he's dead, the rest won't be a threat."
Isaac answered calmly.
Barbary was the only Asura in his clan, and the only one the Four Divine Beasts Clan considered worth even a little attention.
Once he was dead, the rest wouldn't matter. It made no difference where they ran.
"But..."
The person reporting below was at a loss for words.
Keep an eye on Barbary? You want us to do it? Why don't you go yourself?
Barbary was an Asura, for heaven's sake. Why should an ordinary Highgod like me be sent to watch him? Even you couldn't keep track of him.
If Barbary wanted to leave, no one from the Four Divine Beasts Clan in the Water Divine Plane could stop him.
All we knew was that he hadn't left while under our observation. But if he wanted to slip away in secret, how could we possibly find out?
"You don't need to worry. Barbary won't abandon his clan and flee alone. Just make sure their people don't start leaving in large numbers."
Isaac seemed to realize that his instructions hadn't been quite appropriate, and amended them.
But it was clear that Isaac had underestimated Barbary's resolve to make a clean break.
Barbary knew that this time, they faced utter ruin.
So he had decisively left behind more than seventy percent of the clan, along with some Seven-Star Fiends, for them to carry on as usual and lull the Four Divine Beasts Clan into a false sense of security.
He secretly sent some of the clan's promising young members to Material Planes as a precaution. Then he took the remaining elders and headed straight for the Radiant Plane.
Barbary knew that although the Augusta Clan wasn't afraid of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, they wouldn't start a fight with them for no reason, much less act on behalf of the unfamiliar Barbary Clan.
His only bargaining chip was his loyalty. Barbary had already decided that if the Augusta Clan agreed to take them in, he would swear by the name of the Overgod to serve them forever.
Even for a clan as powerful as the Augusta Clan, Asuras were a precious resource. Including their Chief God's Envoys, they had just over ten.
A being of Barbary's caliber who was willing to swear allegiance would be an asset to them.
The only question was whether they would be willing to provoke the Four Divine Beasts Clan for his sake.
To be honest, Barbary wasn't confident. But this was the only solution he could think of.
If the Augusta Clan rejected his offer, he would have no choice but to fight the Four Divine Beasts Clan!
When that happened, he would go into hiding and target the weaker members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
That way, even if Gaiselesen and the others eventually surrounded and killed him, at least he would have gone down fighting.