Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 26, An Extremely High Price!

Troublesome?

Hearing this, Linley couldn’t help but frown. Still, he didn’t say anything, instead just looking at Augusta, waiting to hear him speak.

“Linley, I will tell you the truth. Even if one of the Chief Sovereigns came and asked me to release a Twelve-Winged Angel, it would be difficult.” Augusta said solemnly. “You should know that I have loaned my Twelve-Winged Angel army to Lord Orloff before, but that was just a loan; the Twelve-Winged Angels still belong to me.”

Linley nodded slightly.

He had heard from the Chief Sovereign of Death that Augusta probably wouldn’t be willing to release a Twelve-Winged Angel, even if the Chief Sovereign of Death herself asked. From this, one could imagine how difficult it would be for a Twelve-Winged Angel to regain freedom.

“It isn’t that I don’t want to help you, only...” Augusta laughed, then shook his head. “Apologies.”

Linley frowned slightly.

“Augusta, it is just a single Twelve-Winged Angel!” Linley said heavily. “If you have any difficulties, just tell me.”

Augusta shook his head and laughed, “This involves some secrets that I don’t wish to make public. I can tell you this, though...the price of releasing a Twelve-Winged Angel is so high that....hmph, ever since the creation of the universe and ever since I became the Chief Sovereign of Light, I have never released a single Twelve-Winged Angel. From this, you should be able to imagine how complicated the secrets involved in this are.”

“Is there nothing at all that can be done?” Linley was rather frantic.

“There is. Only, it is too difficult, and the price is too great. I don’t wish to do this.” Augusta shook his head and laughed.

Linley was no longer able to stay calm.

He understood that Augusta was perhaps telling the truth.

“Augusta.” The nearby Chief Sovereign of Fate laughed calmly, “I can tell that for Linley to come here in person means that he cares deeply about that Twelve-Winged Angel. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come personally. Come up with a way to help out Linley a bit. If the price is high, let Linley compensate you.”

“Right. I am willing to compensate you for your loss.” Linley gritted his teeth. There was nothing else he could say.

Perhaps Linley would be badly taken advantage of, but Linley had no other choices.

Kill Augusta?

He wasn’t powerful enough, and the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, was right there.

“Haha. Compensate?” Augusta sipped some wine, then snickered, “Linley, you have no idea how high the price is for me to release a Twelve-Winged Angel! Let me put it to you like this. The price for restoring free will to a Twelve-Winged Angel is so high that to me, it would hurt as much as having the majority of my sons and daughters being killed!”

Linley felt shock in his heart.

Parents cared deeply about their sons and daughters. Although Augusta had many children, for him to say that the price was equivalent to losing the majority of this...one could imagine how terrifying the price was.

“Augusta.” The nearby Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, frowned. “Any loss and any price, no matter how great, has a limit. You should try and help Linley if you can. Tell him what you need, and I imagine he will compensate you.” Orloff spoke out on Linley’s behalf as well.

Linley could tell...

Ever since the Chief Sovereign of Destruction had executed that ‘Spacetime Paradox’ technique, the Chief Sovereign of Fate’s attitude towards Linley had markedly improved. This time, he was speaking out on Linley’s behalf as well.

“Speak. What do you need me to agree to, in order for you to be willing to do it?” Linley looked towards Augusta.

“Lord Orloff’s words are correct. No matter how high a price is, there is a limit. But this limit is beyond my ability to bear. If, Linley, you are willing to offer me your Overgod artifact, I am willing to accept.” Augusta snickered. “But, Linley, are you willing to give it to me?”

“Overgod artifact?” Linley was startled.

All Sovereigns knew exactly how precious an Overgod artifact was.

“Overgod artifact...mother...” Linley murmured silently to himself.

“Be practical.” The Overgod of Fate, Orloff, frowned. “Augusta, the value of all of your Angels combined is still less than an Overgod artifact. You go too far by suggesting it. Suggest something that is reasonable.”

Augusta laughed calmly. “I can’t think of anything that Linley might have that is enough to make up for my loss...”

Linley felt frantic.

“Augusta!” Linley was just about to say something.

“Hm?” Augusta suddenly looked towards Linley. “Linley, I suddenly thought of something. If you accept, then we can discuss this.”

“Speak.” Linley let out a secret sigh of relief.

The nearby Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, couldn’t help but laugh and nod as he saw this.

“I know about the relationship between you and Beirut.” Augusta snorted coldly. “That Beirut. In the past, he seized my...”

“Just go straight to the point.” Linley said. Linley was worried that Augusta wanted him to kill Grandpa Beirut.

Augusta gave him a glance, then snickered. “I can tell that the two of you are close. Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to go kill Beirut. My request is...to give me a hundred drops of blood essence from each of the Four Divine Beasts! If you do so, then I would be willing to release a Twelve-Winged Angel, despite what it would cost me.”

“A hundred drops each?” Linley couldn’t help but cry out in shock. “Augusta, do you know how many blood essence drops the Four Divine Beasts had in total?”

Augusta, seeing this, just laughed to himself.

He had intentionally set a high target, so that they could bargain.

“Even if you killed me and Beirut, you wouldn’t be able to procure that much blood essence.” Linley shook his head. “In the past, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction took away more than half of the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts from Beirut, so as to go and experiment. Only the remaining portion is in Beirut’s hands, and he used up a large amount of it in his own experiments as well. The remaining amount of blood essence is very small.”

Augusta, hearing this, frowned.

He knew that the Chief Sovereign of Destruction had acquired a large amount of blood essence, and he even knew a bit about Beirut’s experiments.

“If the amount is too small, I simply cannot accept.” Augusta snorted.

“Augusta, to tell you the truth, of the blood essences of the Four Divine Beasts, I myself have already used up some of the blood essence of the Azure Dragon to strengthen my own body. I have the least amount of the Azure Dragon’s blood essence. As for the other three types of blood essence, I’m able to procure a bit more.” Linley said. “Grandpa Beirut and I can give you, at most, eleven drops of the blood essence of the Azure Dragon. As for the other three blood essences, I will try to come up with a way to acquire twenty or thirty drops, but I can’t be certain as to the exact number. This is because I need to ask Beirut.”

Linley naturally wouldn’t report a precise figure.

Beirut had originally given Linley 81 drops of each blood essence. Linley now had less than forty drops of the Azure Dragon’s blood essence, but as for the other three, he had more than seventy.

“Eleven drops of the Azure Dragon’s blood essence?” Augusta looked closely at Linley, then nodded slightly. “Fine. Eleven drops of the Azure Dragon’s blood essence, and thirty of each of the other three Divine Beasts! I can’t accept anything lower. If you give it to me, I will release that Twelve-Winged Angel you are looking for.”

Linley let out a sigh of relief.

Finally, success.

“Thirty each? Augusta, because I don’t have the blood essence on me, I need to go ask Beirut. I cannot guarantee 100% the exact amount, but the difference shouldn’t be that great. Even if there is a difference, I will think of a way to compensate you for it.”

“Fine. Bring over the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts.” Augusta said.

“Haha...” The nearby Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, couldn’t help but laugh. “Augusta, isn’t cooperation excellent? However, Augusta, why do you want the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts? Why don’t you give it to me, and I’ll hand over some supreme techniques that I’ve developed to you.”

Linley couldn’t help but look at Augusta.

Because the Chief Sovereign of Destruction had lost the battle between himself and the Chief Sovereign of Fate, he had told the Chief Sovereign of Fate the secrets of his technique, ‘Spacetime Paradox’. If the Chief Sovereign of Fate then acquired the blood essences of the Four Divine Beasts, he would truly become invincible.

“Lord Orloff. I deeply admire Lord Wodred, and also want to try my hand at research.” Augusta said with a laugh.

At this same moment in time, in the Indigo Prefecture of the Bloodridge Continent of the Infernal Realm. Within the Skyrite Mountains.

Hogg was together with Wharton.

“Swoosh!” Linley’s form suddenly appeared.

“Big Brother.” Wharton couldn’t help but feel delighted, and the nearby Hogg look at Linley, startled. With a laugh, he said, “Linley, what is it?”

Linley had three Sovereign clones. On this trip to the Divine Light Plane, Linley had left his water-type Sovereign clone and his wind-type Sovereign clone in the Infernal Realm. Actually, Linley was different from the other Sovereigns, as he was a Soul Mutate, making it so that each of his Sovereign clones had access to fused Sovereign power!

In addition, the soul of each Sovereign clone was comparable in terms of Will.

It could be said that Linley, by himself, was comparable to three Chief Sovereign level experts.

Only, he had just a single Life Overgod Sword, and so whichever Sovereign clone which wielded the sword was the strongest one. This was why Linley didn’t use all three of his Sovereign clones to jointly attack the Chief Sovereign of Light. After all, if he did so...most likely, the Chief Sovereign of Light would deliver a sword blow to each and easily kill the Sovereign clones that didn’t hold the Overgod weapon.

“Father, make a trip with me. Let’s go locate Mother.” Linley said.

“What did you say?” Hogg suddenly rose to his feet, his eyes filled with shock.

“Big Brother, did you say, ‘Mother’?” Wharton was stunned as well.

“Linley.” Hogg gripped Linley’s shoulders with his hands, both of which were shaking. His eyes were red as he stared at Linley. “You, you found your mother?” Hogg’s love for his wife was so deep that it had sunken into his very soul. In the past, it was for the sake of searching for his wife that he had eventually lost his life.”

“Yes, Father.” Linley could feel his father’s excitement, and he couldn’t help but nod.

“Good.” Hogg was in a completely chaotic mental state, but then he came to his senses and said hurriedly, “Quick, take me there.”

“Let’s go! Wharton, you stay here. I’ll bring Mother and Father back today.” Linley said, and then his wind-type Sovereign clone led his father, Hogg, away from the Skyrite Mountains.

With Linley’s Sovereign clone leading the way, the two naturally travelled very quickly.

Augusta was currently seated in the middle of the water garden, within that luxurious island.

“Ten thousand years ago? A soul originally from the Yulan Plane?” Augusta, hearing Linley’s words, nodded. “Don’t worry. Sometimes, a million years will pass without a single Twelve-Winged Angel being born. I imagine there has only been one or two in the past ten thousand years. And it was offered from the Yulan Plane? We will find her easily.”

As he spoke, Augusta stretched out his divine sense.

“Oh, you are bringing someone as well?” Augusta laughed as he looked at Linley. He saw that Linley’s Sovereign clone was bringing Hogg towards them.

“That is my father.” Linley laughed and acknowledged it.

“The Twelve-Winged Angels are located in the nearby islands. They will arrive shortly.” Augusta said calmly. “My subordinates have completed their investigations. Indeed, on January 1st, year 9987 of your Yulan calendar, there was a female soul that was offered to me. The soul was extremely pure, and after the Angelic Resurrection Pool’s transformation, it became a Twelve-Winged Angel.”

Linley’s heart trembled.

“That’s her! That’s Mother!” Linley called out in his heart.

Linley was born on year 9982 of the Yulan calendar, while his younger brother, Wharton, was born on year 9986 of the Yulan calendar. His father, Hogg, had taken Linley’s pregnant mother, ‘Lina’, to the city of Fenlai, where medical services were superior. She had given birth there, and then gone to pray for blessings at the Radiant Temple. Afterwards, that next night in the hotel...

His mother had been seized and taken.

The Radiant Temple just so happened to be offering souls during the Yulan Festival anyhow.

“In a short while, you can give me the blood essence of the Four Divine Beasts. Only then will I let that Twelve-Winged Angel regain her freedom and leave with you.” Augusta said, then suddenly raised his head. “Alright. That Twelve-Winged Angel has already come.”

Linley’s eyes began to grow heated as he raised his head to look...

White robes fluttering. Brown hair, same as Linley’s. A beautiful woman descended from the heavens, with six pairs of pristine, pure white wings outstretched.

“Mother?” Linley held his breath.