"Overlord?"

Although Orloff had already made up his mind, Augusta disagreed. He wasn't willing to bargain with an "ordinary Overlord," so he said, "Desterie, if the Supreme God Mission hadn't been exposed, you could indeed have completed it quietly. But now that everyone knows about it, how can you possibly complete it if you hide in the Material Plane forever? You might as well hand over the token and earn a favor from one of the Four Rules Sovereigns."

As long as Desterie handed over the token, Augusta was confident that Orloff's strength and connections would be enough to secure it.

Just then, Uthred glanced abruptly at Xingyi, then turned back with a thoughtful look and fixed his gaze on Desterie. A private transmission reached Desterie's ears. "Desterie, it turns out your strength hasn't reached the Sovereign level. You could barely withstand Xingyi's material attack.

"But you were still classified as a Sovereign. If this comes to light, you'll be in danger. You'll have the status but not the strength, and who knows how many Sovereigns will target you.

"If you're willing to follow me, I'm confident I can keep you safe. And, as Augusta said, I owe you a favor."

Desterie looked at Uthred in surprise, then at Xingyi, and replied without the slightest concern, "Your offer is very tempting, my lord, but I don't believe anything in the world is worth more than a Supreme God Token."

Then Desterie raised his voice and spoke over the public channel. "Everyone, you've all been urging me to hand over the Supreme God Token, but I'm unwilling. If you can't offer something that truly moves me, then come to the Mulan Material Plane and take it by force. Perhaps then I'll feel pressured enough to hand it over."

His words caused an uproar. No one had expected Desterie to be so resolute.

Lilith watched the scene with amusement. "What would be enough to move you?"

But she valued the Supreme Artifact just as much, and sent him a private transmission as well. "For old times' sake, Desterie, if you ever decide to hand over the Supreme God Token, I hope you'll consider me first."

She knew that there was no point forcing the issue.

Desterie looked around once more. Dozens of Sovereigns had arrived by now, including quite a few who had no interest in the Supreme God Mission and had come purely to watch the spectacle. At last, he fixed his gaze on Xingyi and said with a meaningful smile, "What in this world could compare to a Supreme Artifact? Of course, a Sovereign Spark!"

At his words, the Middle and Lower Sovereigns of the Life, Destruction, and Death factions felt a chill run through them. They could only fear that some Overlord might really offer them up as gifts!

Xingyi was especially rattled. He had only just reported Uthred to the Sovereign of Destruction, and now Desterie was plainly staring at him. Cold sweat poured down his back.

Seeing this, Uthred gave a cold laugh. "Anyone who dares target a Destruction Sovereign had better consider whether they can bear the consequences."

The Life and Death Sovereigns clung close behind Vivian and Lilith. The two Sovereigns smiled as well. "The Netherworld and the Life God Realm aren't easy targets either. If you have the courage, come and challenge us now."

Desterie, meanwhile, kept staring intently at Xingyi.

At last, Xingyi's composure faltered under his gaze. He snapped angrily, "Desterie, why are you staring at me? Don't think I'm afraid of you. Hmph, your strength hasn't actually reached the Overlord level, has it? Your soul defense is just unusually strong. When I stopped you just now, you nearly lost your momentum. If your material attack or material defense were strong enough, how could I have affected you?"

What? Desterie wasn't strong in every respect? His material defense wasn't strong either? The Sovereigns all turned to look.

"Desterie, looks like we can't keep this hidden anymore." Lilith's laughter rang out in his mind. "I originally asked Vivian to have you classified at the Overlord level, which would also have given us more voting power in the Sovereign Council. I never expected the truth to come out so soon—that you're only exceptionally strong in soul defense."

Desterie gave a rueful laugh, then saw Vivian give him an apologetic nod. He replied, "That's all right. I've come up with a better plan."

Orloff, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. "Desterie, completing the Supreme God Mission on your own will be very difficult. Even if you obtain the Destruction Offensive Supreme Artifact, it will only increase your material attack tenfold. I can teach you how to obtain a Sovereign Artifact Body, which would increase your material defense a hundredfold. In return, I'll get the Supreme God Token. We're both Fate Sovereigns; we should stand together, trust one another, and help each other."

A Sovereign Artifact Body? Desterie was indeed tempted by the offer. He fully believed Orloff had the ability to make it happen. Unfortunately, he had already completed the Supreme God Mission, so there was no way to find another Supreme God Token for Orloff.

Of course, even if he hadn't completed it, and even if he were tempted, he still wouldn't give the token to Orloff. If Orloff gathered the Defensive Supreme Artifact, everyone might as well give up.

Besides, a Sovereign Artifact Body couldn't strengthen material attacks. A powerful body could indeed increase the force of a material attack. The God-Eater Rat, for example, could increase its material attack a hundredfold. Hermes could increase his material attack nearly ten thousandfold, yet his body still hadn't reached Sovereign Artifact level. Clearly, a body's strength and the degree to which it amplified material attacks weren't absolutely connected.

Desterie smiled. "Lord Orloff, you've made a very generous offer. But could you let me clear things up with Xingyi first?"

Orloff stroked his beard and smiled. "Of course. We should give you the chance to clear your name."

Seeing Orloff's behavior, Leiding, Nemo, Ers, and Bowen sent a private transmission. "Our suspicions were right after all. Orloff is speaking up for Desterie, and they're playing off each other. They must have been in league for a long time!"

Nemo and the others nodded silently. With all Four Sovereigns present, they only dared say a little about such an unimportant matter.

When Xingyi saw Desterie look at him again, still calm, unashamed, and utterly unconcerned, he became even more defensive. "What? Was I wrong? I realized something was off when I stopped you just now. Thinking about it carefully, the Four Divine Beasts joined forces back then and failed to kill you, yet you didn't even fight back. If you had, you could have gained four Sovereign Sparks out of nowhere."

Uthred agreed. "That's right. When Vivian suggested classifying you as an Overlord, none of us thought much of it, and you slipped through the cracks. You've certainly had your fill of being an Overlord all these years."