Luolie, the lord of Crimson Island, moved with incredible speed. Light Element God Level experts were naturally adept at speed, and against an opponent like Redding, Luolie dared not be careless. Attacking with all his strength, he was even faster than usual.
Channeling divine power into his sword of light, the lord of Crimson Island attacked far faster than an ordinary Highgod expert.
The other two Highgod elders of Crimson Island only had time to see a flash of blinding light.
"Die!" The lord of Crimson Island gripped his sword and thrust at Redding with all his strength, his laughter tinged with madness.
With this strike at Redding, the lord of Crimson Island used the profound mysteries of the Laws of Light to their utmost, unleashing power far beyond his usual level. A flush of excitement appeared on his lean cheeks.
At that moment, the lord of Crimson Island no longer wanted Redding and Nemo to join Crimson Island.
If he killed Redding and Nemo and took their Divine Sparks, he could give them to the Midgods under his command to refine and still gain two Highgod-level fighters.
Two Highgods he could control would be far more useful than two Highgod experts who were no weaker than him but would not obey his orders.
Luolie, however, did not know that Redding and Nemo were both Midgods who had fused profound mysteries, not Highgods.
Of course, there was no way the Highgod elders of Crimson Island could kill Redding and Nemo.
The sword of light wielded by Luolie, the lord of Crimson Island, was about to pierce Redding between the brows. When only two meters remained, Luolie felt as though a thick wall stood between him and Redding. No matter how he slashed at it, the sword of light in his hand could not advance another inch.
The lord of Crimson Island's gaze hardened. White light flickered around him as he circled Redding, striking again and again in an attempt to find a weakness in his defense.
The other two Highgod elders also drew their Highgod Artifacts and attacked Redding.
Compared to Nemo, who was fighting five opponents nearby, Redding appeared to be on the back foot under the attacks of the lord of Crimson Island and the two Highgod elders, unable to strike back.
Only Luolie, the lord of Crimson Island, who kept up his attacks, knew that although Redding appeared unable to retaliate, in truth they simply could not break through his defense.
As he controlled his defense, Redding carefully gauged the lord of Crimson Island's strength. As a Light Element Highgod, the lord of Crimson Island attacked with incredible speed. Redding estimated that even now, he could only barely match him in speed.
Of the Four Divine Beasts, only White Tiger Laius was confident he could decisively surpass the lord of Crimson Island in speed.
The lord of Crimson Island wanted Redding to serve under him, but Redding had much the same idea.
Aside from being somewhat smaller, Crimson Island was already nearly as prosperous as the cities that would later be ruled by Sovereigns.
To create such a bustling marketplace in the Infernal Realm at its current, relatively undeveloped stage, the lord of Crimson Island had clearly put in a great deal of effort.
Thus, Redding could not help but entertain the thought of bringing the lord of Crimson Island under his command.
Of the Four Divine Beasts, White Tiger Laius was fine in a fight, but he was utterly unsuited to tasks like managing a city and handling logistics.
Black Tortoise Bowen was a little better, but only a little. Without Redding's help with planning, he could not manage at all.
Vermilion Bird Nemo was decent enough, but she fell somewhat short compared to the lord of Crimson Island.
As for Redding, to maintain his overwhelming lead in strength, he would have to devote his spare energy to cultivation.
A chief steward capable of handling logistics was therefore especially important.
In Redding's plans, once the four siblings obtained enough Amethyst from the Zijing Mountains, they would begin building a force of their own.
In the Four Overgod Planes, going it alone was out of the question. Only with enough God Level experts could they gain an advantage when searching and competing for Sovereign Sparks in the future.
Thus, the moment the lord of Crimson Island invited Redding to join him, Redding had already decided to bring him under his command. A God Level expert skilled at managing a force was especially important to the Four Divine Beasts.
It was not just about competing for Sovereign Sparks. Knowing how the Four Divine Beasts had ended in his previous life, Redding did not intend for the four of them to rely solely on one another as they had before, even after becoming Sovereigns.
In his previous life, the Four Divine Beasts had been arrogant and aloof, looking down on everyone except a handful of Sovereign-level experts. They had given the Four Divine Beasts Clan vast quantities of Sovereign's Might and indulged the clan as it oppressed God Level experts across the planes.
Because of what the Four Divine Beasts had done, after the four were slaughtered by Augusta, not a single Sovereign was willing to shelter the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
Suppressing his emotions, Redding turned his gaze back to the lord of Crimson Island.
"For the future of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, the first step starts with you!"
Looking at the lord of Crimson Island, Redding let out a dragon's roar. Azure scales began to grow over his arms, his pale fingers gradually changing shape as sharp dragon claws emerged.
In just a few breaths, Redding completed his Dragon Transformation.
The next second, the lord of Crimson Island, who had been attacking relentlessly, suddenly felt the defense blocking him vanish.
Before the lord of Crimson Island could rejoice, a dragon claw covered in azure scales reached toward him.
The sword of light in the lord of Crimson Island's hand thrust straight at the claw.
With a cold snort, Redding raised his claw and slapped the spine of the lord of Crimson Island's sword.
The powerful blow nearly knocked the artifact from the lord of Crimson Island's grasp.
Pressing his advantage, Redding moved in, closing the distance between them.
After his Dragon Transformation, the defensive strength of Redding's divine body had increased dramatically, enough to withstand blows from a Highgod Artifact.
With Redding closing in, Luolie, the lord of Crimson Island, who had just seen the power of his claw, instinctively tried to put some distance between them, but Redding was faster.
Both claws shot out. One seized Luolie's artifact sword of light, while the other stabbed straight at his chest.
Puchi!
Redding dug into the chest of Luolie, the lord of Crimson Island, his dragon claw easily tearing through the defense of his divine body. The pain in his chest left Luolie's consciousness somewhat hazy, and his grip on his artifact loosened, sending the longsword falling toward the ground.
Gripping the lord of Crimson Island by the throat with one hand, Redding raised the other. Two giant pythons formed from Water Element divine power coiled toward the other two Highgod elders.
Seeing their island lord so easily dealt with by Redding, the two Highgod elders realized things were going badly and tried to flee.
But Redding was faster. The two giant pythons coiled around the Highgod elders in an instant.
Their bodies, formed from water elements, slowly writhed and tightened, trying to crush the two Highgod elders.
Crack, crack!
Under Redding's control, the two giant pythons tightened their coils further and further, until even the bones of one Highgod elder began to crack.
Redding tightened his five fingers, his claw clamping down on the lord of Crimson Island's throat. "Will you let me plant a Soul Seed in you, or do you want me to dig out your Divine Spark?"
A rasping sound came from the lord of Crimson Island's mouth as he nodded heavily, allowing Redding to grip his throat without daring to resist in the slightest.
Redding had subdued him so easily just now that the lord of Crimson Island had realized the gap between them. If Redding choked him to death, wouldn't that be a terrible injustice?
Even if he had a Soul Seed planted in him, the lord of Crimson Island was unwilling to let this powerful Divine Clone perish just like that.