Book 19, Metamorphosis – Chapter 48, The Death of Linley

Magnus was a Highgod Paragon. The range of his divine sense was quite wide, far surpassing that of ordinary commanders. But in terms of distance, it was still incomparable to that of a person using Sovereign’s Might! In particular, when a Highgod Paragon used Sovereign’s Might, the reach was astonishingly great.

“So there he is!” Magnus revealed a hint of a smile on his face.

“Swoosh!” Magnus drilled into the ground.

Bebe, who saw this from far away, clenched his fists tightly, his eyes red. He knelt on the desolate ground, powerless, as he said in a low voice, “Boss, Boss! You have to live! You swore that you would reach the pinnacle of training. Don’t die just like this!”

Reisgem, freed from his bonds, discovered that Reihom was already near the brink of death. “Reihom!” With a furious howl, Reisgem’s body completely arched backwards, and then he shot the violet spear in his hands forward with full power.

“Swish!” Space tore apart as the violet blur, covered with black light, shot towards Chegwin.

“Eh?” Chegwin had to relinquish giving Reihom a final deathblow and instead hurriedly block the spear.

“Clang!”

Chegwin’s body was knocked backwards, but he was completely uninjured.

“Don’t even think of killing Reihom.” Reisgem hurried over, staring furiously at Chegwin. Chegwin just leisurely smirked at Reisgem. “Reisgem, you want to protect this Reihom? Yes, if you protect him, I really am not able to kill him. However, it’s pointless. You aren’t able to protect someone whom Mr. Magnus plans to kill.”

Reisgem knew this all too well; once Magnus returned, Reihom would be finished.

“Reihom, hurry and run.” Reisgem sent mentally. “The farther, the better. It’d be best if you fled across the river, to the other side of the Planar Battlefield.”

“Alright.” Reihom didn’t mince words. His body immediately shrank, and he flew at high speed towards the Stellar River.

“Hm?” Chegwin wanted to block him, but Reisgem stood in front of him.

“Hmph.” He won’t be able to escape.” Chegwin laughed calmly. Oman was by Chegwin’s side as well. Oman and Chegwin, together, feared neither Reisgem nor Bebe.

The Planar Battlefield. Deep underground.

Linley was burrowing underground at high speed.

“I ran so far. He shouldn’t be able to catch me. However, using Sovereign power to sense is quite troublesome.” Linley said to himself. “Still...why are there two people using Sovereign power to track me?” Linley didn’t understand. Given that he himself was using Sovereign power, Linley naturally could easily detect that others were using Sovereign power to search for him.

“Linley, you won’t be able to escape.” A voice rang out in Linley’s mind.

Linley’s face changed. “Magnus!”

Linley, who had used Sovereign’s Might, could sense Magnus searching for him.

“One of the auras of Sovereign power belongs to Magnus. Then the other one?” Linley murmured to himself.

But at this moment, another voice echoed in Linley’s mind. “Hurry up and turn left. Move in a straight line towards the left.” Linley was startled. This voice was actually Bluefire’s! Clearly, Bluefire had also used Sovereign power to send him a message through divine sense. Hearing Bluefire’s voice, the hope in Linley’s heart swelled.

“Don’t drop your guard. That Highgod Paragon is fairly close to you. I’m quite a distance away. Hurry and turn left!” Bluefire sent frantically.

Linley didn’t hesitate any further, immediately moving at high speed to the left.

As for Bluefire and Magnus, the two both began to chat through divine sense fueled by Sovereign power.

“Halt, Magnus. Why don’t you release Linley.” Bluefire said.

“Impossible!” Magnus didn’t hesitate at all, continuing to pursue after Linley at high speed. His speed was far faster than Linley’s. Bluefire could clearly sense that Magnus was constantly drawing closer to Linley, making Bluefire even more frantic. He worried that he wasn’t going to make it in time.

“If I want to kill someone, no one can stop me.” Magnus didn’t give Bluefire any face at all.

Highgod Paragons didn’t fear other Highgod Paragons. Although they were all powerful, they also weren’t able to do anything to each other. As for Sovereign’s...unless it was absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t get involved in the affairs of Highgods.

With but a thought, Linley made his Sovereign power become translucent, drifting outwards like spiritual energy. The scope of this spiritual energy was very great, and it easily detected the location of Magnus. “Not good. He’s actually just three kilometers away from me. Bluefire?” He expanded the scope to fifty kilometers, but still didn’t discover Bluefire.

Linley was frantic.

Although Linley was prepared to die, he wouldn’t so easily die.

“Two kilometers.” Linley could clearly sense how the other was continuously drawing closer at astonishing speed. “One kilometer!”

Five hundred meters. Given Magnus’ speed, even if he was trapped within the Blackstone Space, he would still be able to catch up to Linley. Linley gritted his teeth. “No other options. This is my only option!” Bluefire was clearly too far away and was still on the way. Linley could only grit his teeth and suddenly dive downwards.

“Oh, suicidal, aren’t we?” Magnus laughed calmly, his speed not slowing at all.

The deeper one went into the underground of the Planar Battlefield, the more dangerous it was. At a certain depth, spatial rifts would appear. These places were places which even Highgod Paragons were rather leery of. Once one broke through into a spatial rift which transported you into ‘chaotic’ space, one would be lost within. That was a terrifying thing indeed.

Linley making this arrangement was akin to diving into death in search of life!

“Three hundred meters, two hundred meters, one hundred meters...” Linley could clearly sense how Magnus was still drawing closer to him, even within the Blackstone Space.

“Whoosh!” Linley’s body continued to dive underground.

“Whoosh!” Suddenly, a spatial tear that was multiple meters long appeared, slicing past his body, causing a patch of earth and rock to disappear.

“Here we are.” Linley understood that he was already at the borders, while at the same time, Linley also discovered through his divine sense that a hundred meters below, there were many spatial rifts.

“If you are able to do so, keep going down.” A disdainful sound rang out.

Linley used his divine sense to scan. He clearly sensed that Magnus was just twenty meters above him. But suddenly, Linley became overjoyed. “Bluefire!” Bluefire was less than ten kilometers away. Earlier, when Linley fled and Magnus pursued, they were moving in the same direction. Magnus naturally had to waste quite a bit of time while chasing him.

But as for Linley and Bluefire, they were moving in opposite directions towards each other.

“He’s quite fast.” Magnus noticed Bluefire’s astonishing speed as well. “He seems to be a level faster than me.” Magnus instantly understood that the newcomer possessed a terrifying level of power.

“Still, he won’t make it in time.”

Magnus gave the below Linley a cold look.

“Linley, there’s actually someone who appears to be a Paragon who has come to save you. However, he won’t make it. To show my respect for him, I will let you die under my most powerful attack.” Magnus’ voice rang out, while at the same time, a translucent globe of light appeared in his hand. This fist-sized globe of light actually had a lotus petal hovering within it.

Linley didn’t dare go down any further. He just frantically flew forward, wanting to pull away from Magnus.

“Stay your hand!” Bluefire thundered.

“Hmph.” Magnus just let out a cold sneer.

“Swish!”

The translucent globe of light shot out like lightning, tens of times faster than even Magnus himself. Linley was only able to move half a meter before that translucent globe of light entered Linley’s body, at a speed which made Linley completely unable to dodge. The translucent globe of light directly entered Linley’s mind.

“Break!” Linley, through his Sovereign power, wildly attacked that translucent globe of light.

This translucent globe of light violently expanded, encompassing the entirety of Linley’s damaged soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. And then, like pushing through rotting garbage, it broke through the bandage, and the lotus petal charged directly into Linley’s sea of consciousness.

It was like a meteor smashing into water.

Linley’s spiritual energy was completely unable to block it.

This translucent lotus petal slowly swiveled, emitting blinding light, like a small sun illuminating Linley’s sea of consciousness. It rapidly shot towards Linley’s soul, as well as the souls of Linley’s three divine clones! Linley frantically used his Sovereign power to clash against it, but it was like an egg smashing into a stone; he wasn’t able to do anything to it at all.

The swiveling translucent lotus petal emanated thousands of rays of light, which stretched out to the four souls in Linley’s body!

“Father. Boss Yale. Second Bro George...and Delia, your elder brother. They will all return. I didn’t disappoint you!” This was Linley’s final thought, and at this moment, the corner of Linley’s lips curved upwards slightly, revealing a hint of a smile. And then, his consciousness was completely exterminated.

Highgod Paragons...even a Highgod Paragon of wind like Bayer who used a soul attack was able to make Linley dazed and unable to respond. When a Highgod Paragon of Fate like Magnus made his move using Sovereign power to execute his supreme attack?

If Linley was able to resist an attack such as this, then Highgod Paragons really wouldn’t live to their reputations.

“You thought you’d go deep underground and find life from death?” Magnus glanced into the distance, where Linley’s body lay there in the earth, with no hint of life at all as Sovereign power leaked from him. “This sort of method is effective against experts who specialize in material attacks, but useless against experts who specialize in soul attacks.”

Soul attacks could be executed at long range.

Deep in the Planar Battlefield, there would be no place to run!

“Eh?” Magnus suddenly turned to stare in the distance.

“Crackle...” The surrounding earth was instantly burned into nothingness, and Linley’s body lifted into the air. A white-robed figure descended from the skies. Upon arriving by Linley’s body, he stretched his hand out, gently resting it on Linley.

“Eh?” Bluefire’s forehead creased slightly.

“Yet another Paragon has appeared in the universe?” Magnus lifted an eyebrow, looking towards Bluefire.

Bluefire just let out a cold snort. His body rose upwards, and the earth that blocked him all transformed into nothingness. “Interesting.” Magnus rose into the skies as well.

Reisgem and Bebe both cared about Linley; they, too, hurried towards this direction. Oman and Chegwin also hurried over. The four of them all used Sovereign power; naturally, they discovered Bluefire’s presence.

“Bluefire, Bluefire.” Bebe held a hint of hope in his heart.

But moments later, when Linley suffered the soul attack, Bebe clearly sensed that Linley’s soul began to weaken at an astonishing speed. The souls of Highgods were very powerful. Bebe could sense it like a sun. But now, Linley’s soul aura was growing weaker and weaker, until finally...

It could no longer be sensed!

Bebe’s tears silently began to drip down.

His Boss...had died?

Died?

“Aaaaaaaaah!” Bebe howled in utter misery, but just as he started howling, the sound cut off.

The nearby Reisgem, seeing this, knew that the situation was bad. In addition, he too reached out with his Sovereign power divine sense, only to find that there was no hint of life within Linley at all.

“Dead?” Reisgem was stunned. “Im...impossible!”

Soon, Reisgem and Bebe saw in the distance a white-robed figure. As for Linley, his body lay there on the ground, without any hint of life. His Sovereign power had completely dissipated as well. As for Magnus, he stood there calmly.

“Magnus!” Bebe’s eyes were crimson, and his tears streaked downwards. He bellowed, “Remember me, I will definitely kill you, definitely!!!”

“I’ll wait for you.” Magnus gave a calm laugh.

Kill a Paragon? If a Paragon wanted to flee, even a Sovereign wouldn’t dare say claim complete confidence in being able to kill the Paragon.

“Let’s go.” Magnus said calmly.

Oman and Chegwin nodded slightly. Magnus immediately led Oman and Chegwin to leave. Suddenly, Magnus turned to look towards Bluefire. “What’s your name?”

“You aren’t worthy of learning it.” Bluefire said calmly.

Magnus raised an eyebrow, gave a cold snort, then turned and led Oman and Chegwin away.

On the desolate ground, Linley just lay there, not a hint of life coming from his body. Bluefire stood to one side, while Reisgem and Bebe flew over. Reisgem said in disbelief, “Impossible. He couldn’t have died, just like that. He has the Soulstone my mother gave him. How could he have died, just like that?”

Bebe, who was moving towards Linley, suddenly sensed something. “Eh? The Boss’ soul?”

At a closer distance to Linley, Bebe could faintly detect the existence of Linley’s soul. Only, Linley’s aura was so weak as to be at the absolute lowest limit. Even Bebe, whose soul was linked to his, had to draw near in order to just barely detect it.

“The Boss is alive!” Bebe called out in delight.

“I already scanned him.” Bluefire shook his head and sighed. “Linley is indeed not yet dead, but, his soul is like a tiny flame flickering in the cold wind, about to go out at any point. And that’s only because he has this ‘Soulstone’ which is constantly providing him with energy, giving him a chance at life. Otherwise, he would have died long ago.”