For someone who had undergone soul mutation and fused profound mysteries of different elements, strength could not be judged by ordinary standards. His opponent might well have some secret trump card.
Although Roger now had no fear of soul attacks, and his speed was decent,
his physical defense was still sorely lacking.
So, until he understood his opponent's trump cards, Roger did not want to take any risks.
"That Bell was so fast." Only now did Beverly begin to feel a lingering fear.
A Midgod with that kind of speed was unquestionably far stronger than him.
If a fight had actually broken out,
he would have been in serious trouble.
They might have been able to kill all of their opponent's Lowgods,
but they would certainly have paid a price.
They knew Roger's strength very well. The chances of him dying in battle were slim.
That meant the one who died would most likely have been him or Hagson.
"Let's go. We'll keep patrolling. As long as Bell doesn't provoke us, we won't provoke him either."
Only after Bell and his companions had completely disappeared over the horizon
did Roger turn around and resume his patrol.
At the same time, he silently resolved to devote himself to secluded training once he returned and reach the Highgod level as soon as possible!
If he had already been a Highgod when he encountered Bell this time,
Roger could have tried making a move without hesitation.
No matter how powerful someone with soul mutation was, there was a limit to what a mere Midgod could do.
But unfortunately...
Elsewhere.
"Bell, why didn't you attack just now? Those three belonged to some Nether Luo Tribe. They looked like they should have plenty of good stuff on them."
Dennis, a water-element Lowgod, spoke in a low voice.
"Exactly, Bell. We might have gotten quite a few good things if we'd killed them," another Lowgod, an attractive woman with purple hair, agreed.
"What do you know?" His heart still pounding, Bell glanced into the distance, toward the place where he had parted ways with Roger and the others.
"That man in the gray robe had unfathomable strength. I didn't dare act rashly."
"You didn't dare?" Dennis found it hard to believe. "Those three should all have been Midgods, right? Even you were afraid of them?"
"That man's soul was also very unusual. Its strength was no weaker than mine, and he gave me a very dangerous feeling."
Recalling his secret clash of souls with Roger, Bell was equally uncertain of Roger's strength.
"He's undergone soul mutation too?"
The purple-haired woman cried out in surprise.
"I'm not sure, but his strength definitely isn't ordinary." Bell frowned deeply. "Forget it. It's best not to provoke a mysterious expert like him. I could tell he was just as wary of my strength, so going our separate ways was the best choice. If we'd really fought, there's no telling how many of us would have died."
"Yes. Whatever you decide, Bell." The other Lowgod, who had remained silent all this time, spoke up.
"Let's go around the Nether Luo Tribe and keep running. Hermann won't give up hunting us."
Bell glanced back, then chose a direction and continued onward with the three others.
In the blink of an eye,
another half year passed.
Roger and his two companions had completed nearly half of their patrol.
Over those six months, they had encountered no more unusual situations, though they had discovered quite a few interesting Sanctuary creatures.
Roger had even killed them himself, collecting their souls to study later.
"My lord, another half month ahead should bring us to Nightshade Canyon," Beverly said, pointing into the distance.
"All right. We'll rest there. Thank you both for your hard work along the way," Roger said as he spread out his soul power.
Hagson and Beverly had indeed been very diligent throughout the journey, and Roger had noticed it all.
"It's no trouble. It's our honor to accompany you on patrol, my lord," Beverly said with a smile.
In the past, even if they had wanted to do this, they would have had to consider whether they were strong enough.
Take Bell, whom they had encountered earlier. With their strength, they might well have already met their end.
Several days later.
While flying over a grassland, Roger suddenly sensed a peculiar fluctuation of life.
"Hmm? Something's there."
Roger immediately signaled for Hagson and Beverly to gather around. "Spread out, you two. We'll form a triangle and surround that big tree up ahead."
"Understood!"
Without asking why, Hagson and Beverly immediately did as instructed.
Whoosh!
Roger switched to his wind divine clone. The profound mystery of speed, which he had cultivated to a bottleneck and was only a hair's breadth from mastering, erupted. His entire body became a blur as he flew toward the gigantic tree ahead, which towered thousands of meters high.
"Yoo! Yoo!"
Suddenly,
when Roger came within a little over a hundred meters of the treetop,
an urgent series of cries rang out.
"Haha, someone really was hiding here."
Hagson and Beverly had also moved into position around it.
"Who are you? Why are you approaching this place?"
After the urgent cries, a woman appeared, dressed entirely in white, her face beautiful but cold.
"Haha, you're on my territory, yet you're asking who we are?"
Roger laughed casually. Judging by the aura she gave off, she was only a Lowgod.
Although her soul aura was somewhat strange, vastly different from a human's, she was still only a Lowgod.
Roger now had complete confidence in facing any Lowgod!
Of course,
that excluded freakish Lowgods like Hemmers, who could thrash Seven-Star Fiends even at the Lowgod level.
But if Roger could put some distance between them and launch a soul attack first, even that would not be an impossible fight.
"Your tribe?" Despite facing three Midgods, the cold, beautiful woman remained composed. "I've never heard that this land belonged to anyone. How do you have the nerve to claim that?"
"Hmph, you're only a Lowgod, yet you dare be so arrogant! You'll soon find out who owns this territory!"
Beverly had a fiery temper and immediately lost the urge to hold back.
"Heh, you humans really are strange. I was living perfectly well here, but the moment you arrived, you declared this your territory. How absurd."
"..."
Although Roger felt she had something of a point, he still believed in the principle that whoever was stronger was right.
"Enough talk. Explain where you come from first. If you show a better attitude, we might even let you join our tribe."
Roger signaled for Beverly to calm down, then addressed the cold-faced woman, whose race he could not identify.
"Hmph! You hypocritical humans! I refuse to associate with you. There's still time for you to leave. Once I'm truly angry, it'll be too late even if you want to go!"
"Haha, you want us to leave? Do you think you're a Highgod?"
Even the relatively levelheaded Hagson could not help mocking her when he heard that.
"Enough. Use whatever abilities you have. Let me see just who you really are."
Roger spoke calmly, but two illusory javelins flickered in his eyes, ready to launch at any moment.
"Since you're courting death, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
The cold-faced woman shouted sharply. In an instant, the phantom of a fox a thousand meters long appeared behind her.
The phantom's eyes stared fixedly at Roger.
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