Backstab

� Chapter Backstab

Vivian hurriedly took her hand and comforted her. "Eldest Sister, don't lose heart. Your strength is no weaker than a Paragon's. Sooner or later, you'll cross that threshold too."

"But, Eldest Sister, I came to see you for more than just a bit of gossip." The Red-Haired Girl looked up at that. Vivian continued, "Do you know how many Divine Clones this new Chief God has?"

When the Red-Haired Girl didn't answer, Vivian answered for her. "Besides his Dark Sovereign Clone, he has six other Divine Clones. He has the talent to cultivate every Law, and by now, they should all have reached the Asura level!"

"What?!" The Red-Haired Girl was far more shocked than before. Lucky souls had become Chief Gods several times over the countless years, but this was the first time she'd heard of anyone with seven Divine Clones.

"So, Eldest Sister, I'm asking you to keep the Lightning Lower Sovereign Spark in your possession safe. Otherwise, if he becomes a Chief God of all seven elements, even we won't be able to stand against him!" Vivian said solemnly. "When someone refines a Sovereign Spark, their Chief God clone gains one portion of Willpower, while their other Divine Clones gain only eight-tenths. But Hullei said that both his Thunder Sovereign clone and his Earth Sovereign clone gained two full portions of Willpower, not 1.8. That's enough to prove that every Sovereign Spark can grant each of a Chief God's clones one full portion of Willpower."

"He may not have the nerve to hunt Chief Gods," the Red-Haired Girl said instinctively.

"I already told him the terms of the Sovereign Pact and warned him. But, Eldest Sister, once you've thought it through, with advantages like his, wouldn't you be tempted to do it?" Vivian reminded her, her gaze solemn. "He's already a Chief God. Sooner or later, he'll learn that refining another Sovereign Spark also boosts the strength of his existing Chief God clones."

"It's easy to foresee that once he's hunted enough Chief Gods, he'll start hunting Sovereigns. With his strength, if he refines a High-level Sovereign Spark and gains six portions of Willpower, he'll be ten thousand times stronger than a Paragon Sovereign. He could kill even us in an instant. Even if his Laws never reach the Paragon level, no other Chief God could match him."

The Red-Haired Girl looked at Vivian, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. "It's been so many years, Vivian. I haven't seen you like this in ages. I'd almost forgotten this side of you. What are you planning to do?"

Vivian rose and paced beside the Red-Haired Girl, her hands clenched tight. "As long as he isn't a Chief God, no matter how many Divine Clones he has, he can't cause trouble. Because of the Sovereign Pact, we can't kill him ourselves, but Augusta can. If Augusta could kill Aikes, he can certainly kill Lincoln too. Or, if Augusta can't do it, we can lure Lincoln into hunting Chief Gods ahead of time. Then we'll have a legitimate reason to kill his Chief God clone."

The Red-Haired Girl remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Lincoln knew nothing of Life Sovereign's "backstabbing." After his Wind Divine Clone returned to the Chainis Plane laden with spoils, he immediately equipped all his Divine Clones with Sovereign Artifacts. Then his Light God Clone set off for the Darkness Divine Plane, while his Wind Divine Clone took Aier boating on the Azure Sea.

Aier leaned her head against Lincoln's shoulder, her bare feet splashing in the water as she watched him fish in silence. The little boat drifted with the current, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Lincoln, do you really think you'll catch anything like that?"

Lincoln smiled. "There's a saying I like: 'Jiang Taigong fishes, and the willing take the bait.'"

Aier laughed. "You're saying things I don't understand again. Who's this Jiang Taigong?"

Lincoln laughed but didn't answer. Suddenly, the float bobbed. He yanked the rod and pulled up a huge black carp. "Have the best chef in the Alpas Empire prepare this fish for us later. It's been so many years—I could use a change of taste."

"Now's the time to call those youngsters back, too. I've become a Chief God, and there are plenty of things I should delegate. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to keep running around myself. If any of them are strong enough, I might even consider making them a Sovereign Envoy." Lincoln changed the subject, bringing up something else.

In the Underworld, atop Nether Mountain, Iwina watched Life Sovereign leave and returned to the Red-Haired Girl's side to attend her. Suddenly, the Red-Haired Girl said, "Iwina, seven Divine Clones. That's quite something!"

Iwina hadn't been there earlier and had no idea what the Red-Haired Girl was talking about, so she stood quietly and listened without speaking.

Seeing this, the Red-Haired Girl sighed. "You people really are so dull. All right, you can go back. I haven't been out in ages. I feel like going for a stroll."

"Yes, Chief Sovereign!" Iwina replied. The Red-Haired Girl was, in fact, a Chief Sovereign herself—the Chief Sovereign of the Underworld!

In the capital of the Alpas Empire, Lincoln and Aier sat in a private room at a luxurious restaurant. The table held only one dish and a plate of condiments: "Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate," a dish whose sauces cost millions of times more than the main ingredient. "Now that I've eaten it, this fish has made its own leap through the Dragon Gate," Lincoln said, picking up a piece.

"Does that mean the fish should thank you?" Aier rolled her eyes.

"Of course. How many fish in all the planes could end up in a Chief God's stomach..." Lincoln had only just begun when he suddenly sensed Divine Sense sweep across the entire plane. As a Chief God himself, he couldn't mistake it: Death Sovereign Power. It had to be Death Chief Sovereign. He just hadn't expected her to arrive so soon.

At the center of the Azure Sea, in front of the Cyan Light Jade Wall on Orchid Ice Island, Lincoln's Dark Sovereign Clone was studying the profound mysteries of the Fusion Law, striving to reach Paragon. He abruptly opened his eyes. Death Sovereign Power appeared out of nowhere before him, gathering into the form of a Red-Haired Girl.

"May I ask who you are?" Though he already knew the answer, Lincoln asked anyway.

The Red-Haired Girl gazed at Lincoln and smiled. "You're a lucky young man. But it's rather dull that you're so low-key even after becoming a Chief God. You should know, no Chief God has been born across all the planes for a very long time."

The Red-Haired Girl hadn't answered directly, but Lincoln didn't press her. After all, she was one of the Four Rule Sovereigns; he didn't mind letting her put on a bit of a show. As she spoke, the Red-Haired Girl observed Lincoln too. She'd originally planned to bring her Water Divine Clone to the Material Plane, but placing one of her Divine Clones right under another Chief God's nose would have been unwise—too risky. With no other choice, she'd traveled through Spatial Turbulence to the vicinity, then controlled her power to form an Energy Avatar.

Chief Gods could form a giant face or a clone from far away, but only within the range of their Divine Sense. Otherwise, it was impossible. And if they projected an image across planes, it would have only the strength of their Chief God clone with Willpower and Sovereign's Might removed—in other words, somewhere between a newly advanced Asura and a Paragon.