The man in yellow agreed with the man in white. "I think Third Brother is right. We shouldn't provoke too many Overlords for now. No matter how much that Water Overlord Polk hides like a turtle in its shell, there'll come a day when he can't hold back."
The man in green clenched his fist. "Then we'll just have to endure it. One day, our Four Divine Beasts will have their chance to rise!"
These three men and one woman were the backers of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, and were Sovereigns of the Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind Elements.
Leiding, the Azure Dragon Chief God of the Water Element; Nemo, the Sovereign of Vermilion Bird of the Fire Element; Us, the White Tiger Sovereign of the Wind Element; and Bowen, the Black Tortoise Sovereign of the Earth Element.
"Damn it!" Nemo slammed his fist on the round table. "If even one of us had obtained a Mid-level Sovereign Spark, we could have used him as the core of our combined divine ability. Then we wouldn't have feared even the Four Rules Sovereigns! Instead, we're in this situation now, where a mere Intermediate Sovereign like Angnak dares to compete with us!"
Hearing Nemo's words, the other three Sovereigns merely shook their heads slightly. There was no point in dwelling on such hypotheticals.
The Netherworld, the heart of the Jiuyou Domain, Yangu Island.
The most famous place on Yangu Island was Yangu Mountain. It wasn't home to some super-strong expert; rather, it was where the spatial gate to the Plane Battlefield was located. During each Plane War, countless people passed through here on their way to the Plane Battlefield.
A number of ancient stone houses were scattered across Yangu Island.
Inside one of the stone houses, very close to Yangu Mountain, Desterie and Dalayer were playing Chinese checkers. After a long while, Dalayer pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, tossed down the marble in her hand, and stood up to leave.
On the board, all of Desterie's pieces had reached Dalayer's territory, securing him yet another victory.
Seeing Dalayer leave, Desterie laughed. "What, trying to be a sore loser again? You said we'd play three more rounds. Can't take it already?"
Dalayer pushed open the window and turned her back to Desterie. "You're always attacking, and I can't even fight back. What's the point of playing?"
Desterie laughed. "You gave me the thing you treasured most. How could you possibly defend against my attacks?"
Just then, the entire Yangu Island suddenly began to shake violently. Desterie's expression grew grave as he felt the tremor. He exchanged a glance with Dalayer, and they flew out together, heading toward Yangu Mountain, which burned in the darkness.
Deep inside Yangu Mountain, at the heart of the island, stood a vast and imposing hall. In its center was a black pool about ten meters in diameter. At the center of the pool stood a gate five meters wide and ten meters tall. Black light shimmered across its surface as it emanated strange fluctuations.
The gate was dark and terrifying. It was the source of the tremor.
At that moment, the gate was slowly opening, revealing a deep passageway shimmering with light. The soldiers who had been waiting to guard it all steeled themselves. From that moment on, for the next thousand years, powerful experts would pour through the gate to fight to the death.
The first to arrive at the gate to the Plane Battlefield was naturally the Lord of Yangu Island, a gaunt, dark-skinned man with red hair.
He was about to address the soldiers when he sensed something and looked toward the passageway leading into the hall. He murmured, "They're here already?"
A moment later, Desterie and Dalayer flew out of the passageway.
Desterie wasn't surprised to see the Lord of Yangu Island. He smiled. "Lord of Yangu, I thought I'd be the first to arrive, but you got here even earlier. Looks like you've been waiting here for quite some time! When are you planning to go in again? I'm going in right away."
The Lord of Yangu was a man of few words. He replied calmly, "The Sovereign places great importance on this Plane War, so naturally I have to be on high alert and give it my all. As for when to go in, I'll be going in immediately.
"Red Sand Lord, please. My brother here is in charge of distributing Sovereign's Might. Red Sand Lord, the two of you can claim four drops. Once you've collected them, take a red Commander Badge and a black Soldier Badge, and you can enter."
Knowing he would be taking part in the Plane War, Desterie had naturally made preparations. But no matter how powerful someone was, to act freely in the Plane War, he had to hold a position such as Prefect, commander, or lord in one of the two Divine Realms involved. That way, he could serve as a commander and act freely after entering the Plane Battlefield.
Of course, for beings like Paragons, even if they entered with a Soldier Badge, no one would dare treat them like ordinary soldiers.
Desterie had once been a Prefect in the Heavenly Realm and could have joined the Plane War as a commander, but he would have had to represent the Heavenly Realm. Anything else would have been a slap in the face to its Sovereigns.
So, ten thousand years earlier, after he'd searched in vain for the Supreme God Token, the Black Pearl, Desterie had stopped traveling and come to Jiuyou to challenge the previous Red Sand Lord.
With strength already at the threshold of Paragon, and a set of three Sovereign Artifacts to back him up, it would have been difficult for him to lose. He quickly claimed the position of lord, then settled near the passage to the Plane Battlefield.
After collecting the Sovereign's Might and entering the passage with Dalayer, Desterie finally confirmed his suspicions: the distribution of Sovereign's Might was a special privilege granted only to those with a Ten-Win Streak.
This battle was going to be exceptionally fierce.
As they walked through the passage to the Plane Battlefield, Desterie clasped Dalayer's hand. When she'd learned he planned to risk his life in the Plane Battlefield, Dalayer had refused to stay safe in the Material Plane with his Death Divine Clone, no matter what. She'd insisted on facing the danger alongside him.
After walking for a long while, a light suddenly appeared ahead. Desterie shot forward.
Meanwhile, on the Heavenly Realm's side, two Fate Intermediate Sovereigns, four Fate Lower Sovereigns, and a few other Sovereigns had gathered at Xingdou Mountain, in the residence of Orloff, the Sovereign of Fate.
Gatherings organized by Orloff, the Sovereign of Fate, were usually packed with guests. Compared to previous meetings, however, this one seemed especially quiet.
Boteer, the Fire-style Lower Sovereign, complained, "Lord Orloff, those Sovereigns are all fair-weather friends. At such a critical moment, they still refuse to come and discuss things with us!"
Orloff's face was kind and gentle. He smiled and shook his head. "If the Heavenly Realm gets a Ten-Win Streak this time, then all seven Sovereigns in the Fate System will gain another share of Willpower. They and the other Overlords may not want to see that happen. It's just as well they didn't come. We can discuss things ourselves.
"Everyone, tell me: what preparations have you made for this Plane War?"
Augusta, who had a red mole on his face, immediately burst into laughter. "Lord Orloff, I've once again sent all the Twelve-Winged God Angels I've been saving up for you. They're sure to play a major role in the decisive battle!"
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