Deep Behind Enemy Lines

The Darkness Overgod Black laughed. "With a Sovereign Emissary like him, the Sovereign of Death is hardly any worse off than a Paragon!"

All the Sovereigns took pride in having a Paragon-level Sovereign Emissary, so the compliment pleased the Sovereign of Death greatly. It also made her regard Desterie more favorably.

Desterie had no idea he'd become a topic of conversation among the bored Sovereigns. As he flew, he suddenly spotted a vast formation of winged beings ahead, standing in perfect order. The instant they saw him, they attacked as one.

Angels—over a thousand Twelve-Winged God Angels! Desterie realized at once.

Their attack was disciplined and coordinated, far more so than the chaotic assaults he'd faced earlier.

But their perfect formation also made them easier for Desterie to evade. He slipped past them with ease and continued deeper behind the Heavenly Realm army. Finding Croken was what mattered!

The angels were merely war machines with no free will. Their orders focused on advancing, so they made little effort to stop Desterie as he flashed past.

"Quick, let's kill him!" The commanders of the Heavenly Realm grew furious as they watched Desterie draw closer from afar.

This was the Plane Battlefield, and the decisive battle was underway. Did he think this was his own backyard, to stroll in so brazenly?

One after another, they activated Sovereign's Might and charged forward, unleashing every kind of attack—blades, swords, spears, axes, physical blows, and soul attacks.

But soon, they were dumbfounded.

The man moved along an unpredictable path with bizarre, elusive maneuvers, deftly "dodging" most of their attacks. The few that did hit him had no effect. In contrast, whenever one of them with weaker physical defenses took a counterattack, half his body was usually hacked away!

One unlucky fellow was even struck directly in the Godhead and died on the spot. His Commander Badge fell into Desterie's hands.

Under the influence of Strong Luck, Desterie had perfect evasion and aim, and fought with ten times his usual strength!

"He has a full set of Sovereign Artifacts!" one commander finally realized, then hurriedly retreated.

If you already had all the Sovereign Artifacts, what were you doing on the Plane Battlefield?

"I have no desire to kill. But if you stand in my way, don't blame me for showing no mercy!" Desterie displayed the Commander Badge he'd just acquired and spoke coldly.

Seeing the commanders cease their attacks, Desterie continued on his way.

Before long, he finally found Croken, who was fully equipped and preparing to head to the front lines. Croken looked utterly astonished when he spotted Desterie deep in enemy territory.

"Desterie, you...?" Croken asked.

"Looks like that Paragon High-God isn't on this passage," Desterie said, making up an excuse before striking up a conversation with Croken.

"Lord Iluka is on another Plane Passage. This one is teeming with Twelve-Winged God Angels. Once Lord Iluka wins, he'll come attack this passage. Desterie, you're unlucky too. You were once a Prefect of the Heavenly Realm, but now you have to fight on behalf of the Netherworld. Otherwise, you could have witnessed this victory!

"Who could have imagined we'd have not only a thousand Twelve-Winged God Angels from the Radiant Divine Plane, but also a Paragon helping us? You don't even have a single Paragon!"

Desterie grinned. He didn't care who won. As for the lack of Paragon support, that was only to be expected. The Paragons were unwilling to get involved in a match that counted toward the Ten-Win Streak, even though they didn't know why. He had no idea how that Destruction Grand Perfection had been persuaded to take part.

The one thing Desterie couldn't understand was why no Twelve-Winged Fallen Angels had joined the battle. The Dark God Plane had always stood with the Netherworld. Given that a share of Willpower was at stake, surely the Sovereigns wouldn't begrudge sending a few fallen angels.

"Too bad I couldn't find him. I was hoping to wipe away my past humiliation here!" Desterie said with a smile. Of course, if Iluka had been there, he would have found another excuse.

"Prefect of Jinyang, do you think beating us makes you the equal of a Paragon? Lord Iluka may call you the strongest below the Paragon level, but you're far too arrogant!" The speaker was a black-haired old man Desterie didn't recognize, though he could tell the man cultivated the Laws of Light.

"That's Commander Fenguang of the Heavenly Realm. He's no weakling. Even you wouldn't find it easy to kill him. You're in enemy territory, so don't start a fight," Croken briefly explained, then continued, "Everyone, if the Sovereign sees us cowering behind the angel army, he'll surely be displeased. It's time we joined the battle!"

Before he'd even finished speaking, Croken shot forward, passing the angels and heading straight for the front lines.

The sight made Desterie's eyelid twitch. There was no need to put himself in danger for the Sovereign.

That was what he thought, but he didn't stop Croken. He wouldn't interfere with any of Croken's decisions, lest he alter the future.

"Since Iluka isn't here, there's no point in my staying. Until next time!" After tossing out those words, Desterie followed Croken.

Soon, they returned to the front where the armies clashed. Desterie watched Croken and the spatial rifts around them with unwavering focus, all while weaving through a storm of physical and soul attacks. Now and then, he casually killed a nearby commander or soldier, pushing his concentration to the limit.

Victory or defeat would be decided today, at this very moment!

The battle raged fiercely. Every second, famous Seven-Star experts and Asuras who usually commanded respect fell where they stood. The two Plane Passages had become veritable Purgatories.

Under the pressure of the Twelve-Winged God Angels, the forces in Desterie's Plane Passage were steadily driven back. Their retreat was slow, but defeat was only a matter of time.

Watching from outside, Uthred, Sovereign of Destruction, fixed his gaze like a sword and snapped, "Your Sovereign Emissary is clearly so powerful. Why is he just skirmishing over there? If he'd put his strength to use, they might still win this Plane Passage!"

Uthred's eyes blazed. If Sovereign's Will could descend onto the Plane Battlefield, or if any avatar could take part in the decisive battle, he would have killed that lazy, evasive fellow as a warning to the others!

The Sovereign of Death looked displeased as well, but still said, "My emissary has his reasons! Why are you getting angry, Uthred? If you could find a Paragon High-God to join this Plane War like Orloff did, you wouldn't have to demand that my emissary throw himself into the fight!"