The Wager

Chapter: The Wager

Lincoln's Divine Sense swept through the area; only a Sovereign could travel through the Spatial Turbulence. And there were very few Sovereigns who would barge directly into his Divine Plane like this.

It was indeed a Sovereign, and one Lincoln had not expected: the Dark Chief Sovereign, Dark.

"To think the Chief Sovereign would grace my humble abode. If you had any business, you could have sent someone to notify me, and I would have handled it, Lincoln," Lincoln said, pausing his research. His voice was full of smiles, but there was no sign of welcome on his face.

Dark looked around. "If you were truly sincere, you wouldn't have waited for me to come looking for you."

"I didn't realize you were actually collecting such rare and exotic beasts. I wonder if you've had any success?" Dark asked nonchalantly.

Seeing that Dark was clearly here with ill intent, Lincoln became vigilant. Although he was certain he could win if they fought, he couldn't rule out the possibility of an accident.

Lincoln's Divine Sense pierced through his plane and into the Spatial Turbulence, but he found no other Sovereigns lying in ambush...

"I am ashamed to say it is all just busywork. While there are some results, they are of no use to us Sovereigns," Lincoln said to Dark, his expression blank.

"I thought you had reached the Paragon level in your research," Dark said, walking closer casually. The pressure of the Chief Sovereign caused every living being in this Divine Plane to feel suffocated and distressed.

What had gotten into Dark? Lincoln was utterly baffled. They had been at peace for years, and Dark was even on good terms with Aridona, who had defected to Orf. Why was he acting like a madman now toward someone backed by the Life Sovereign and the Death Chief Sovereign?

"Chief Sovereign, you are being rather decisive. What if one day I do reach the Paragon level?" Lincoln retorted.

"Since you haven't, shouldn't you rein in your Sovereign Army? You've been expanding for millions of years, turning countless Material Planes into a mess. Others might think it is I, the Dark Chief Sovereign, stirring up trouble!" Dark feigned anger.

"Very well. Then, before this Plane War ends, let us have a battle to decide the ownership of each other's Divine Spark." While a Chief Sovereign Spark was good, a Darkness Element one was useless to Lincoln. However, upon reflection, among the Sovereigns of the other six elemental laws, there were several who possessed a Darkness Divine Clone, so he decided readily.

First, without overwhelming strength, it was impossible to achieve ten consecutive victories in this era. Second, while an extra portion of Willpower from a Darkness Divine Clone was important, it paled in comparison to the benefits of safely refining more Divine Sparks.

However, even if he didn't kill Dark now, he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a pleasant face.

"Fine!" To Dark's surprise, Lincoln agreed with unusual swiftness.

After Dark left, Lincoln began to ruminate. Someone was coveting his Divine Spark, but it certainly couldn't be Dark. As fellow Darkness Sovereigns, such a scheme was worthless.

The Four Divine Beasts were a possibility, but they had not yet truly revealed Chief Sovereign-level strength, and they were clearly plotting for a Chief Sovereign Spark right now, so they should have no time for other distractions.

In any case, no Supreme God oath had been sworn, so he didn't need to worry about his bluff. How could Dark really give away a Divine Spark over a moment of angry words? Besides, that was clearly only half the story.

Unexpectedly, Lincoln retorted, and Dark mocked him, "Paragon? Since you think you can reach the Paragon level, if you can defeat me, I will destroy my own Darkness Divine Clone and give you the Divine Spark! How about that?"

The shift was sudden. They had just been discussing a life-or-death matter, and now it had suddenly turned to the Plane War.

As for the battle, even if Lincoln had made no other progress in these millions of years, dealing with Dark would be easy. Even if he somehow failed to defeat Dark, he could play with words and use a Life Divine Spark to settle the debt.

Among those few, Orf and Augusta were of one mind, but given Orf's absolute rationality, the chance of him acting was extremely low. He hadn't had much contact with Uterede, so he couldn't say he was above suspicion, but Uterede himself did not have a Darkness Divine Clone. Hullei also lacked one, and Hela was absolutely impossible unless she was hiding it very deeply. As for Vivian, the first Sovereign he had ever met, they had grown distant over the years.

Lincoln thought to himself, It's just a matter of finding some cannon fodder; I can recruit a few easily. I don't care about nine or ten consecutive victories.

"You are quite prompt, but it's not as if we can just avoid the duel forever if your laws don't reach the Paragon level!" Dark added.

If a conflict truly broke out, obtaining this Darkness High Sovereign Spark would not help him; instead, it would expose his strength and hinder his future plans.

Lincoln was amused to the point of laughter. Dark's inexplicable outburst and his attempt to goad him into a fight were far too obvious, yet the methods were too crude. Who could be behind this? Augusta? After all, Augusta was the only Sovereign who might hold a grudge against him.

"Chief Sovereign, you jest. If one could reach the Paragon level through research, why would there be so few Paragons among the Sovereigns?" Lincoln parried.

"And if you cannot defeat me?" Dark seized the opportunity to press him—and failing to defeat him included a draw. "Then your Divine Spark must be given to me as well!"

Not to mention trading a Sovereign clone for a Chief Sovereign Spark, even trading a Chief Sovereign clone for a second one would not be a loss.

"Don't be too delusional. You couldn't break through to the Paragon level with Faith Power ten million years ago, and you certainly can't now!" Dark continued to refute.

After all, his army's propaganda promoted Sovereign Lincoln, not the God of Darkness.

"Fine, I hope the Chief Sovereign keeps his word!" Lincoln agreed. Being able to win and being able to kill were two different things, but with Dark's words, this Chief Sovereign Spark was now temporarily held in escrow.

Dark wouldn't swear a Supreme God oath, but Lincoln could.

Lincoln, however, did not believe it. In this day and age, what Sovereign would care about faith in the Material Planes? Even if one did, they should have come to him directly, not to Dark.

Things had gone more smoothly than Dark had imagined. Dark looked at Lincoln intently, and a trace of worry began to stir in his heart. This was a battle of life and death, yet Lincoln had dared to agree so readily. In this confrontation, who was the hunter, and who was the prey?

But the die was cast, and Dark could not see more clearly or think more deeply for the moment, so he continued, "Very well, it is settled. By the way, since you mentioned the Plane War, it is set to begin in a few hundred years. As a Darkness Sovereign, you must contribute. Our Darkness Divine Plane has already achieved eight consecutive victories. Recruit some Sovereign Envoys to participate in this war and ensure a ninth victory."

But aside from the four Rule Sovereigns and Hullei, no one else could drive Dark to act.

Moreover, if the goal was just the Darkness Divine Spark, there was no need to target Lincoln. In this light, the mastermind's target was likely Lincoln himself, and the Divine Spark was merely an afterthought.

However, without a formal reason, no one was willing to violate the Sovereign agreement and become a target of public criticism, nor did they want to tear through the veil of who was plotting against Lincoln.

Well, as long as he observed carefully in the future, he would be able to determine who was pulling the strings behind the scenes. In fact, a beautiful figure had already appeared in Lincoln's mind, but he found it truly hard to believe.