Shaking his head, Locke decided not to dwell on the matter any further.
Whether Hongng had interfered with the Overgod Talisman or not, there was no way for him to verify it.
Nor did he know whether the previous four Overgod missions had been issued all at once, or in sequence.
If they were carried out one after another—if the second mission could not begin before the first one was completed—then Locke had nothing to worry about.
He had more than enough ti and patience to help the Chief Sovereign of Death gather the three Overgod mission tokens.
As long as there was any news about one of the tokens, even if it appeared in a material plane, Locke was unconcerned.
While a Sovereign's true body could not enter a material plane that was not their ho plane, creating a Law clone posed no issue.
Given Locke's attainnts in the soul, even a re Law clone was not sothing divine-level experts could hope to resist.
But if the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts had all received their Overgod Talismans at the sa ti…
Locke had no desire to see the other three wielding Overgod artifacts while Lilia was still forced to keep up appearances with a re Sovereign artifact.
"Increase the scope of the search," Locke said. "And while you're at it, find out whether any other factions besides ours are also gathering natural treasures."
"Yes, Lord Locke."
"Oh, right, Oakes. Was there sothing else you ca to see about?"
Only after finishing the matter of the Overgod tokens did Locke turn back to Oakes.
"It's like this, Lord Locke."
"Today, an Highgod in the Sovereign Army nad Celes asked about Lord Locke…"
"Celes?"
Locke looked surprised.
"That fellow actually joined the Sovereign Army?"
"Lord Locke… this Highgod nad Celes, is he truly one of your juniors?"
"Haha, you've got that wrong, Oakes."
"When I was still weak, Celes was the emperor of the strongest empire in our plane. Back in the material plane, I even served as one of the empire's Grand Dukes."
"As for the junior you ntioned, that should be Mira."
"She's a younger mber of my clan whom I guided after I had achieved success in cultivation and returned to my ho plane."
"So, what? Did both of them join the Sovereign Army?"
"No…"
Oakes inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had co to report this to Lord Locke.
This Celes really was soone Lord Locke knew personally.
As for Lord Locke saying that he had once served under Celes as a Grand Duke while Celes had been emperor, Oakes found nothing strange about it.
In this world, strength reigned supre.
For Lord Locke to have served a stronger figure when he was weak was perfectly natural.
And judging from Celes's attitude toward Lord Locke, it was obvious that Celes clearly understood that Lord Locke's power now far surpassed his own. Naturally, he would never expect Lord Locke to serve him again in the Netherworld.
Still…
in the material plane, Lord Locke had served Celes.
Yet now, in the Higher Plane, Celes had in turn co to serve Lord Locke.
Oakes could not help but wonder what expression Celes would make when he learned that the Sovereign he now served was none other than Locke himself.
"Lord Locke, the only one who joined the Sovereign Army is Celes."
"And although he only has the strength of a Six-Star Fiend, he is highly talented in magic battle formations. Not long ago, with less than a full company under his command, he defeated the First Battalion."
"Oh?"
Locke raised an eyebrow, genuine surprise appearing on his face.
Celes possessing Six-Star Fiend strength did not surprise him.
But for him to defeat an entire battalion using a magic battle formation—that truly delighted Locke.
After all, the Sovereign Army he had established was a level stronger than the armies of other Sovereigns.
Other Sovereign Armies accepted Gods and even Highgods who had fused with divine sparks.
But Locke's Sovereign Army was composed entirely of warriors at the strength of Three-Star and Four-Star Fiends.
Anyone capable of becoming a squad captain in his Sovereign Army was either a Five-Star Fiend, or soone capable of defeating one through the use of a magic battle formation.
He truly had not expected Celes to achieve such accomplishnts in this field.
If that was the case, then among the legions under his command, he now already had two forces capable of conducting regular warfare through magic battle formations.
"And what about Mira?"
"This…"
Oakes shook his head.
"Lord Locke, I don't know much about Lady Mira. I only know that she is currently a Seven-Star Fiend-level expert, and even among the independent experts she commands considerable prestige."
"A Seven-Star Fiend?"
Compared to Celes, Mira reaching Seven-Star Fiend level was equally astonishing to Locke.
He had never imagined that Mira—whom he had once judged in the Frostsnow Plane as having only God potential—would grow to such a degree.
Before this, Locke had thought that if she could reach the sa Six-Star Fiend level as Celes, it would already be a blessing beyond expectation.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Locke lightly drumd a finger against the armrest of his seat, producing a crisp sound.
"Oakes, go back and ask Celes and Mira what they want."
"If they wish to see , then bring them here."
"Yes, Lord Locke."
"What? Lord Oakes agreed to bring us to see Teacher Locke?"
Hearing the news from Celes, Mira stared in shock.
Until now, she had believed that the only way to et Teacher Locke was to pass through the mist and enter Nethermountain herself.
But now Celes was telling her that Oakes, the commander of the Sovereign Army, had agreed to take them to et him.
"Yes."
Celes nodded.
"You know how I recently succeeded in forming a large-scale magic battle formation and beca the commander of the Fifth Battalion, right?"
"So, when I was summoned by Lord Oakes, I brought up Locke."
"After all, I figured that since that fellow has managed to live on the sa mountain as the Sovereign, his status should be above even Commander Oakes."
"Instead of us struggling here over how to climb Nethermountain, it seed better to have Commander Oakes pass along a ssage and tell that guy to co down."
"But I really didn't expect that even after learning we were here, Locke still wouldn't leave Nethermountain. Instead, he wants Oakes to bring us up to see him."
"I really don't know what he's thinking."
"Teacher must have his reasons."
Mira imdiately defended him.
"Yes, yes, everything Locke does must surely have a reason."
"But what worries now is this—"
"Is it really okay for us to just go up there?"
"Hmm?"
Mira looked up at Celes, puzzled.
"Mira, I've known Locke longer than you have."
"Even though we didn't spend much ti together, I'd say I understand him sowhat."
"When he was still weak, Locke was extrely cautious."
"Back in the Frostsnow Plane, when his divine clone ca to the imperial capital to see , his Saint-level true body would secretly hide sowhere so well that even my divine sense couldn't find him…"
"So, this all feels strange to ."
"Normally, once Locke learned we had arrived, he would definitely co down from Nethermountain to et us."
"But instead, he wants us to go up to him."
"Doesn't that imply…"
Celes lifted his gaze toward the vast chains of lightning that wrapped around the entirety of Nethermountain.
"…that Locke cannot leave Nethermountain?"
"I heard that those chains of lightning weren't always there."
"They only appeared a few hundred thousand years ago, suddenly sealing off Nethermountain and the entire surrounding range as so kind of powerful barrier."
"Tell , Mira—"
"Do you think that barrier is ant to keep people out of Nethermountain…"
"…or to keep soone inside from leaving?"
Whoosh!
The mont Celes said this, Mira instantly appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him toward the Sovereign Army encampnt.
"Hey, Mira, what are you doing?"
Caught off guard, Celes tried to resist.
But how could a Six-Star Fiend possibly break free from the grip of a Seven-Star Fiend?
His struggle only made things worse.
What had begun as being pulled quickly turned into being dragged outright, his feet carving two shallow tracks across the ground.
"I'm going to see Teacher Locke."
"If Teacher Locke really is imprisoned by the Sovereign, just as you said…"
"…then even if it costs my life, I'll save him."
"Hey, Mira, are you crazy? That's a Sovereign—"
When a stern-faced Mira arrived before Oakes with a thoroughly defeated-looking Celes in tow, even Oakes was stunned.
"Celes, Mira… what exactly are you two doing?"
"Haha, Lord Oakes, it's nothing. We were just fooling around."
"Fooling around?"
Oakes's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, and sudden understanding dawned on him.
People nowadays…
really did play rather wildly, didn't they?
Judging by the grass stuck to Celes's clothes and the dirt sared along the cuffs of his trousers, it certainly did look like they had been roughhousing.
"Lord Oakes, thank you for bringing us to see Teacher Locke. Mira is deeply grateful."
"No, no, no—please don't."
Seeing Mira bow to him, Oakes quickly stepped aside.
What a joke.
This was Lord Locke's own junior.
In terms of closeness, she undoubtedly ranked above him.
And given her cultivation speed, there was a very high chance that in the future she would reach the sa level as himself.
Such a person was more than worthy of Oakes's respect.
"Lady Mira, I do not have the authority to bring you into Nethermountain on my own."
"It is only because Lord Locke has agreed to see you that I dare bring you there."
"No, I still must thank Lord Oakes."
"If not for you passing along the ssage for us, we have no idea how long it would have taken for Teacher Locke to even learn that we had co here."
"Hehe…"
Oakes simply smiled and said nothing.
From the mont he t Lord Locke earlier that day, Oakes had already realized—
Lord Locke had almost certainly known of Celes and Lady Mira's arrival long before today.
(End of Chapter)
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