If this had happened before, after reaching Paragon in the Fate Rule, his Sovereign clones' overall strength would have increased a hundredfold. That would have been far more worthwhile than simply acquiring an Offensive Supreme Artifact—the Offensive Supreme Artifact of the Destruction Rule could only increase Desterie's physical attack power tenfold, which was still less useful than a dose of Willpower.
But things were different now. The Four Divine Beasts had laid their cards on the table by revealing the Supreme God Mirror, Uthred was furious, and many Sovereigns were watching like tigers waiting to pounce. Desterie was beset on all sides and surrounded by danger, so staying alive had become far more important.
With the Companion White Jade protecting his soul, Desterie firmly declared, "I want a Supreme Material Defense Artifact!"
"I shall grant your wish!" the Supreme God of Destruction replied indifferently, extending his left hand, which was wreathed in an aura of decay. A black soft armor slowly appeared, gradually solidifying. Astonishing power began to surge and spread from it, and the space around them shuddered and fractured.
"This is a Destruction Supreme God Soft Armor, a Supreme Material Defense Artifact. Only those who have reached the Sovereign level can withstand the terrifying energy within a Supreme Artifact and truly make it recognize them as its master." The Supreme God of Destruction released the soft armor and pointed at it from afar. Its surface glow immediately faded, leaving it plain and unremarkable as it dropped into Desterie's hand.
Then, without anyone noticing, the Supreme God of Destruction vanished completely.
Desterie also used a drop of blood to bind himself to the black-and-gold soft armor. At once, the Supreme Defense Artifact merged with the surface of his body. The strongest physical defense in the Coiling Dragon Subsidiary Universe had been born!
Having finished all this, Desterie immediately returned to the Mulan Material Plane.
Meanwhile, more and more Sovereigns rushed to Hell after hearing the news. But when they arrived, they were surprised to find the Four Rules Sovereigns standing in silence, exchanging puzzled looks.
It was Uthred, the senior figure of Hell, who finally broke the silence. He turned to Lilith. "Lilith, Desterie was once your Sovereign. You should ask him to come out.
"True, with him holding the Termination Bead, none of us can complete the Supreme God Mission. But if he never comes out, he'll have no chance of obtaining the other two Supreme God Tokens, either. So let him hand the token over to me, and we can wipe the slate clean. I'll even owe him a favor!"
Vivian also urged her, "Eldest Sister, this matter can't be settled without Desterie. We can't all go to the Spatial Turbulence outside his home Material Plane and then project ourselves into the plane, can we? As for who gets the Supreme God Token in his possession, we'll have to wait until he arrives to discuss it."
Orloff stroked his beard and smiled, saying nothing as he quietly considered how to persuade Desterie. Deep down, Augusta was urging him fiercely to compete for the Supreme God Mission by force, but Orloff paid him no heed.
Lilith smiled. "Uthred, I'll summon Desterie. But you can keep your favor. If he hands over his Supreme God Token, it'll only be to me."
As she spoke, she took out a Sovereign Summoning Scroll. Such scrolls weren't only used by Sovereign Emissaries. Sovereigns on good terms with one another often exchanged them as a convenient way to "make a call." They were merely everyday consumables, but to a Sovereign Emissary, they were precious treasures.
Lilith ignited the scroll with a thought. At that instant, Desterie, far away in the Mulan Material Plane, felt a summons from somewhere beyond. He had a good idea of what was going on.
His will followed the summons upstream and descended across the distance. In an instant, a projection appeared beside Lilith, formed from a great gathering of Fate Sovereign Power. It took on Desterie's appearance.
Having completed the Supreme God Mission, Desterie felt relaxed and at ease. He looked around with keen interest, glancing at Uthred, Xingyi, and the Four Divine Beasts, then at the Sovereigns who had arrived afterward. Some, like Lilith and Vivian, were familiar to him; others were merely acquaintances. He smiled lightly. "Everyone, I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
The Sovereigns surrounded him, each with their own schemes and hidden agendas.
The Four Divine Beasts glared at Desterie, while the Sovereign of Destruction managed to force out a smile. "Desterie, you dared to snatch the Supreme God Token right under my nose. Not many Sovereigns have that kind of nerve!"
Orloff cheerfully tried to smooth things over. "His nerve is indeed beyond that of ordinary people. You need only look at how he risked self-exile to seize a Sovereign Spark back then."
Lilith smiled as well. "Ever since I've known Desterie, he's never once backed down."
At that moment, Augusta's voice rang out in Orloff's mind. "Orloff, why are you helping him? You should join Uthred and force him to hand over the Supreme God Token!"
"Augusta, Desterie's home Material Plane gives him an innate position of invulnerability. There's no point in trying to force him. Even if we killed a Sovereign right now and gave the Sovereign Spark to a Highgod from his home plane to refine, we still couldn't defeat him.
"To get the Supreme God Token, we have to maximize Desterie's benefit—and make him realize that relying on me is the only way to do that. Across the endless planes and among countless divine beings, people gather for profit and scatter when it's gone. That's an eternal truth." Orloff answered Augusta calmly and methodically in his mind.
Vivian, the Sovereign of Life, smiled. "Desterie, do you remember how I asked you a few years ago why you were collecting those black-pearl-like Heaven and Earth Exotic Items? You didn't tell me then that they were Supreme God Tokens!"
Desterie replied with a smile, "Lady Vivian, and all of you, regarding the question Lady Vivian just raised, I can swear by the Supreme God of Fate that before the Four Divine Beasts revealed the Supreme God Mirror today, I had never seen or heard anything about its contents. Otherwise, may the Overgod immediately strip me of my Sovereign clone and take away my Willpower.
"Before this, I did think there was something unusual about the Black Pearl, so I paid special attention to it. But I couldn't possibly have known it was a Supreme God Token based on intuition alone."
Not having obtained the Supreme God Mirror, yet knowing what a Supreme God Token was and deliberately collecting them, would indeed have been highly suspicious.
Vivian's expression showed that she understood. With the oath to the Overgod as proof, she no longer suspected him. Instead, she smiled gently. "I see. I used to pity Edric for losing his life over this, but now I see he doesn't deserve my pity after all."
Desterie knew that although Vivian believed him now, she still disapproved of him having killed Edric while outwardly acting in accordance with her wishes. But Desterie had no reason to indulge her or obey her.
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