Twelve-Winged Angel
“Hey, Grandpa Beirut, why are the four clan leaders here?” Linley looked towards Beirut, puzzled.
Linley’s divine sense had easily detected that Gislason and the rest of the four were within his estate. Only, there were in the east gardens of the estate.
“Oh, about that…” Beirut said awkwardly. “Linley, when you went to kill Augusta, I thought that this matter would be resolved without a hitch. And I also knew…that Gislason and the others had always wanted to take revenge for their four ancestors. Thus, I told them in advance, so as to let them be happy about this.”
Linley was stunned. He didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
“Are they…waiting for my good news?” Linley truly didn’t know whether he should laugh or do…something.
Beirut tugged at his beard, coughing twice. “After I told them, they were extremely excited. They simply couldn’t wait, so they decided to stay in your estate, so that they could immediately come find you once you returned. I imagine…the guards and the maids of the estate, upon seeing you return, have already informed the four of them. They will be arriving soon.”
Without a quiet hall.
Gislason and the Vermillion Bird Matriarch were both seated. The White Tiger Patriarch was frowning and pacing back and forth, while the Black Tortoise Patriarch was standing at the doorway, anxiousness in his eyes.
“Elder Brother, when will Linley return?” The Black Tortoise Patriarch couldn’t help but turn and speak in a deep, booming voice.
“Sovereigns move extremely quickly. Based on my calculations, it should be soon. Stop standing there at the doorway and sit down. Calm down and wait patiently.” Gislason urged.
“How can I possibly sit down at a time like this?” The Black Tortoise Patriarch had a hint of impatience on his face. Clearly, he was quite frustrated and uneasy.
The Vermillion Bird Matriarch, seated next to Gislason, let out a helpless chuckle. “Elder Brother, stop criticizing Third Brother. Even I, sitting here, don’t feel calm in the slightest. Sovereigns are extremely fast, and so today he will definitely return. I wonder if Linley was able to succeed or not.”
“Lord Beirut said it himself.” Gislason said. “Given Lord Beirut’s temperament…would he say something he wasn’t confident of?”
“Right.” The others all acknowledged this.
Despite that, however, the four clan leaders still felt nervousness in their hearts.
“Patriarch, Patriarch.” Right at this moment, a figure flew over at high speed.
“Whoosh!”
Gislason and the Vermillion Bird Matriarch all suddenly stood up, and the four clan leaders looked towards the maid who was flying over. The maid called out hurriedly from afar, “Lord Linley has returned! He is at Lord Beirut’s estate!”
“Swoosh!”
Streaks of light flashed past, and the four figures disappeared from within the hall.
Beneath the large tree. Next to the stone table. Linley and Beirut were currently seated, facing each other.
“They are coming.” Linley took a sip of wine, then let out a resigned laugh.
“This is all my fault.” Beirut shook his head, letting out a resigned, awkward chuckle. “To be honest, I still don’t understand. The Chief Sovereign of Light is a Chief Sovereign, but not a Paragon. How could it be that his power was ten times greater than what we predicted it to be? The Divine Light Plane has never won ten consecutive rounds in the Planar Wars.”
“Unless…Augusta has a Sovereign clone.” This was Beirut’s judgment.
Linley pondered for a long time, but could only come to this conclusion as well.
But this seemed to be impossible.
“The chances are quite low.” Linley shook his head. “I’ve met more than sixty Sovereigns by now. Not a single one of them shares the same aura as the Chief Sovereign of Light. If the Chief Sovereign of Light had a Sovereign clone, how could he possibly manage to hide it from the other Chief Sovereigns? The Chief Sovereigns of Death and Destruction were born with the creation of the planes themselves. Even if others might be fooled, those two would not.”
Beirut nodded as well.
What, exactly, was the reason for the Chief Sovereign of Light to be more than ten times as powerful as they had predicted?
“Linley!” A frantic voice rang out.
Linley turned to look. He saw four streaks of light surge forward, then solidify into four figures. It was Gislason and the other three clan leaders. The stable, reliable Gislason; the grim, callous White Tiger Patriarch; the wise, intelligent Vermillion Bird Matriarch; the taciturn, reserved Black Tortoise Patriarch. All of them were staring towards Linley with blazing, eager eyes.
“Has the Chief Sovereign of Light been killed?” The Vermillion Bird Matriarch couldn’t help but ask.
Linley and Beirut shared a glance, and then Linley laughed bitterly. “Gislason, I’ve disappointed you. I wasn’t able to kill Augusta!”
Linley didn’t explain further.
Gislason and the other three were stunned. And then, they let out forlorn, awkward smiles.
“Linley.” Gislason bowed. “I know that for Lord Beirut to tell us about it meant that he had felt a certain degree of confidence. This time was a failure…we very much would like to know, Lord Linley, will you kill the Chief Sovereign of Light in the future?” The other three clan leaders immediately looked towards Linley.
Linley’s divine sense stretched across the entire Skyrite Mountains. Given the power of his divine sense, if there were any other Sovereigns watching, they wouldn’t be able to avoid drawing his attention.
“I’m uncertain as to exactly when I will kill him. But once I have enough power, I will.” Linley said solemnly.
Gislason and the other three looked at each other, then smiled gratefully towards Linley.
“Thank you.” The four all bowed slightly.
“No need. I’m a member of the Four Divine Beasts clan as well, after all.” Linley let out a low sigh. Actually, the grateful look in the eyes of Gislason and the others only made him feel even guiltier. After all, he hadn’t killed Augusta yet.
“Alright.” Beirut laughed. “The four of you can go back and rest. The Four Divine Beasts clan has been able to wait twenty thousand years for vengeance; there’s no need to be impatient now.” Beirut could sense that things were a bit awkward right now between the four clan leaders, himself, and Linley. It was best to have them leave for now.
Gislason and the other three immediately left.