The Planar Wars

by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi

  Faced with the Chief Sovereign of Death, he was completely unable to resist her power or to require her to do anything. All he could do was speak powerlessly. In his despair, he even forgot to speak with respect. If he were clear-minded, he would never have acted in such a way.

  Bebe stared at the Chief Sovereign of Death as well, his eyes also filled with disbelief.

  “This is your punishment,” the Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly.

  “Sovereign!” Bebe suddenly strode forward.

  “Impudence!” There were two maids standing at the two ends of the upraised dais of the palace. One of them barked coldly, “Stand back!”

  Bebe stood there, his head raised as he stared at the Chief Sovereign of Death. “Sovereign, you are an invincible Chief Sovereign! Right, I did kill a Spirit Snake. As to whether or not that was ‘Tina’, I have no idea.” Bebe held his head up high. “Sovereign, you arranged for people to test us. How was I supposed to know it was just a test? She was trying to kill me. Was I not allowed to fight back?”

  “Bang!”

  Bebe suddenly fell to his knees, but his head was held high as he stared at the Chief Sovereign of Death. “I don’t believe that I was wrong. If the Chief Sovereign of Death feels I was wrong, then punish me. Just punish me directly, and not my Boss. It was I who killed the Spirit Snake. I did the deed, and I will accept the punishment for it. Don’t get my Boss involved! Come, if you want to kill me, then kill me!” Bebe, head held high, stared straight at the Sovereign with an unruly, untamed look.

  Linley, hearing this, was stunned.

  Arthurs and Bailey, at the front of the palace, stared at Bebe in amazement. Even the golden snake and the silver serpent, that husband-and-wife couple, were rather stunned.

  “Excellent.” The Chief Sovereign of Death looked downwards calmly at Bebe.

  “Bang!”

  A terrifying presence swept out, and with a “whap” sound, Bebe was crushed downwards, smashing into the floor of the palace. However, Bebe still pressed his fists against the ground, forcing his waist straight. He continued to hold his head high as he stared at the Chief Sovereign of Death.

  “Swish!”

  Linley suddenly moved in front of Bebe. He raised his head high, staring at the Chief Sovereign of Death. “Chief Sovereign, it was I who ordered Bebe to kill that Spirit Snake. At that time, we wanted to acquire the Abyssal Fruit. But that Abyssal Snake was preventing us, so I ordered Bebe to kill him, while I would seize the chance to acquire the Abyssal Fruit! Bebe was just obeying my orders.”

  “Bebe,” Linley mentally shouted at him, “Are you insane? Once you die, you won’t even have a divine clone left behind. You’ll truly be dead. What will Ninny do? What will your daughter, Ina, do? And Beirut will be heartbroken as well.”

  “Boss.” Bebe looked at Linley.

  “Shut your mouth. Don’t say a thing,” Linley shouted mentally.

  Bebe stuttered, but in the end, maintained his silence.

  Linley raised his head to look at the Chief Sovereign of Death, seated high above him. That invincible aura was indeed enough to inspire dread. Linley stared at the Chief Sovereign of Death. “Sovereign, punishment is punishment, reward is reward. How can they cancel each other out? I am willing to take my punishment! I only ask you, Sovereign, to save my father and brothers. Even if you want to kill me, I won’t say a single word of complaint!”

  Kill Linley?

  Bebe suddenly turned, staring at Linley, who was standing there with his back ramrod straight.

  “What?” Arthurs and Bailey stared in disbelief. As for the colossal golden snake and the silver serpent, they and their nine children all stared in Linley in amazement.

  “Boss, what are you doing?!” Bebe shouted back frantically.

  “Bebe, if I’m killed, I’ll still have my divine fire clone back at the Yulan continent. Although I won’t be able to become a supreme expert by relying on my divine fire clone, for the sake of my father and my brothers, so what if I’m not able to be a supreme expert?” Linley sent mentally. “But if my father and brothers end up having their souls dispersed and destroyed in the Netherworld, even if I become an expert on Beirut’s level, I will never be at peace and regret it my entire life! Grandpa Doehring once, for my sake, allowed his soul to be dispersed. My brothers, my father, they still have hope. I can’t give them up just for the sake of becoming a supreme expert!”

  Bebe was stunned.

  “If I can let my family and friends all be alive and well, even if I give up glory and power, so what?”

  Linley raised his head, looking towards the Chief Sovereign of Death.

  “Reward is reward, punishment is punishment?” The Chief Sovereign of Death repeated these words, and then stared downwards at Linley. “Linley, your future is limitless. Are you willing to give up your future potential for the sake of those weak little undead?” The Chief Sovereign of Death’s words caused Linley’s body to tremble.

  Clearly…

  The Chief Sovereign of Death also knew that Linley had a divine clone in another plane.

  “I am willing.” Linley held his head high.

  Sometimes, a person should maintain his pursuits. Sometimes, a person had to give them up.

  Today, giving up his pursuits might mean he would never become a supreme expert. However, he would have his family and have his lifelong friends. This was enough to satisfy Linley. After all, it was hard to achieve perfection in everything!

  The Chief Sovereign of Death stared at Linley, then said calmly, “You are willing to give it up, but… I’m not going to agree.”

  Linley, who had already prepared himself, was stunned.

  “You feel that rewards and punishments cannot cancel each other out, but… as far as I’m concerned, they should. This is a rule that I have set. What you need to do is to obey my rules!” The Chief Sovereign of Death laughed coldly as she stared down towards Linley, as though she were looking at a maddened ant.

  Bebe suddenly rose to his feet.

  “Sovereign…”

  Linley stretched his hand out to stop him while shouting mentally,”Bebe!” Bebe’s face was purple. He turned to stare at Linley.

  “The result of offending a Sovereign is to die for nothing. Understood?” Linley sent mentally.

  Linley raised his head, looking at the Sovereign. He said, one word and sentence at a time, “Sovereign, really… is there really no hope at all?” When Linley thought of the grief his father had lived in for so many years, and how he had died without even successfully avenging Linley’s mother… and how Boss Yale had collapsed to the point of begging for Reynolds to kill him… Linley felt heartsick when he thought of his father and friends.

  “Boss.” Bebe looked at Linley, sensing his grief.

  “Sovereign!” Suddenly, the nearby Arthurs spoke out. “Sovereign, aren’t the Planar Wars starting soon? Didn’t you say that if a Commander is killed… why not just change that a bit?”

  “Oh?”

  The Chief Sovereign of Death actually let out a rare laugh. “Arthurs, you really are clever. I nearly forgot.” And then, she turned to stare at Linley and Bebe. “Linley, I have wonderful news for you. You wish to save your father and friends, yes? There is hope. There is still a little bit of hope.”

  Linley and Bebe both immediately raised their heads to stare at the Chief Sovereign of Death up above.

  “Hope?” Linley felt a blaze of eagerness in his heart.

  The Chief Sovereign of Death said, “Seven Divine Planes, Four Higher Realms. Between them, there is an extremely rowdy event that will occur every trillion years. The Planar Wars.”

  Linley’s heart trembled.

  Planar Wars. He had heard of them long ago, but all he knew was that the battle between two planes was extremely fierce. A war which resulted in an extremely high number of experts falling.

  “And now, the Divine Darkness Plane and the Divine Light Plane are currently undergoing a Planar Wars battle! The Divine Dark
ness Plane belongs to my Netherworld side! The Netherworld’s Lords of Tartarus are qualified to participate. To encourage them, the rules of the Planar Wars state… that if they are able to kill ten enemy commanders, they would be able to make a request of a Sovereign of their side. You could ask the Sovereign to make a Sovereign artifact for you; attack, material defense, spiritual defense, you can choose for yourself what you want. The Sovereign will definitely accomplish it for you!”

  “But of course, you can make an earlier request,” the Chief Sovereign of Death said. “You can now go assist the Divine Darkness Plane’s side. If you kill a commander, I will help you find one of your family or friends and allow them to regain their memories. If you kill two, I will help you save two. If you want to save many people, work hard to kill the enemy commanders.”

  Linley’s eyes instantly lit up.

  “Done,” Linley hurriedly said.

  “Don’t be impatient. I forgot to warn you; in the Planar Wars, commander-level experts are all at the Lords of Tartarus level, which is what the Infernal Realm calls ‘Purgatory Commanders’,” the Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly. “The weakest amongst them should be comparable to you, while the strongest… are Highgod Paragons.”

  Linley’s facial expression instantly froze.

  They were all Purgatory Commander level experts? Those who were commanders… were the likes of Reisgem, or the castle lord of Miluo Island, ‘Mosi’. For Linley to kill experts like them?

  “In the Planar Wars, ‘commander’ is a position of high rank. Naturally, they consist of the supreme experts of the various planes,” the Chief Sovereign of Death said slowly. “If you wish to become a commander, the prerequisite is that you are a Lord of Tartarus, or a Lord Prefect of a prefecture. Only by doing so are you qualified to enter. You can imagine what level of strength is needed. If you go kill them, but end up meeting someone who is stronger… you’ll be finished.”

  Linley felt as though a massive boulder was crushing down upon his chest, making it hard to breathe.

  He wanted to go fight!

  But… did he have the ability to? Those weren’t mere Seven Star Fiends; they were Purgatory Commanders, Lords of Tartarus, the most supreme of experts, and they included amongst them invincible figures comparable to Beirut and Dunnington. To kill them?

  The Chief Sovereign of Death stared down at Linley. “This is the ‘hope’ that I spoke of. Originally, killing an enemy commander came with a reward! But you can use it to instead save your loved ones. For each commander you kill, I will save one of your loved ones!”

  Bebe stared angrily at the Sovereign.

  This was too unfair! Killing a commander was a tremendous merit, but the Chief Sovereign of Death would only save a single person? However, if Linley wished to save his loved ones, this was the only path. There were no other options!

  “If you are afraid, you can leave now,” the Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly.

  “I accept!” Linley raised his head, staring up at the Chief Sovereign of Death.

  Even if he had to climb up a mountain of knives or descend into a sea of flames, Linley would make the attempt!

  PART II

  METAMORPHOSIS

  33

  DESIRE

  The Planar Wars. Just by listening to the Chief Sovereign of Death describe it, Linley knew how dangerous it had to be. However, Linley still chose to go! After all, aside from the Chief Sovereign of Death, the other Sovereigns wouldn’t be able to help him!

  “Whether or not you accept has nothing to do with me.” The Chief Sovereign of Death stared down at Linley. “Everyone who represents the Netherworld who has accomplishments in the Planar Wars will be rewarded by me. No matter who! I’m just acting according to the rules, not just for your sake. I’m simply telling you about this.”

  Linley took a deep breath.

  “Sovereign, what must I do in order to go participate in the Planar Wars?” Linley raised his head and asked.

  The Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly, “The ‘Purgatory’ of the Infernal Realm or the ‘Tartarus’ of the Netherworld all have interspatial doors that lead directly to the Planar Battlefield. The Planar Battlefield is connected to all seven of the Divine Planes and all four of the Higher Realms. Hurry up and come up with a way of going to my Netherworld’s Tartarus. By travelling through the interspatial gate, you’ll arrive at the Planar Battlefield!”

  Linley frowned.

  Tartarus?

  The book that Beirut had given him regarding the Netherworld hadn’t mentioned a ‘Tartarus’ region. Actually, it was the same for the Infernal Realm’s books; there had been no mention of a ‘Purgatory’.

  “Sovereign, might I ask where Tartarus…” Linley was about to speak out.

  “Hmph.” The Chief Sovereign of Death waved her hand.

  Immediately, a very thin book covered in black light flew down, landing in front of Linley. The Chief Sovereign of Death stared down at Linley and said, “Since you have the courage to go to the Planar Battlefield, then I too am interested in seeing… if you, Linley, will survive to kill some commanders, or if you will be killed by other commanders who will then be rewarded for it!”

  Linley wasn’t angry at all. Accepting the book, he bowed slightly. “Thank you, Sovereign.”

  And then, Linley immediately began to flip through the book. The book was very thin, just ten pages long. Given Linley’s memory, all he needed to do was sweep through it with a few glances. A few seconds later, the contents of these ten pages were imprinted deep within his mind.

  “So this Tartarus is deep within the Nether Sea?” Linley couldn’t help but raise his head to look towards the Chief Sovereign of Death.

  It was too far away!

  If he wished to go to Tartarus, he would first have to completely leave the Netherworld’s continent and enter the Nether Sea, then venture deep into the Nether Sea before reaching Tartarus. If he rode on a metallic lifeform and hurried forward, he would probably need three centuries or so. This took up far too much time, and… even if he hurried there, the Planar Wars might have concluded already. He couldn’t accept this.

  “Sovereign, how long will the Planar Wars go on for,” Linley asked hurriedly.

  The Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly, “Each Planar Wars goes on for a thousand years! This time, the battle between the Divine Light Realm and the Divine Darkness Realm has already gone on for nearly a hundred years. More than nine centuries remain. You have plenty of time to go!”

  Plenty?

  There was more than enough time to take part in the war, but Linley didn’t wish to waste any time. The more time he wasted, the greater the danger his father and brothers were in of dying a final death. In addition, the more time he took, the more of the weaker commanders would die in the Planar Wars. By the time he arrived, most likely the surviving commanders would be the exceedingly powerful ones.

  Such as Beirut… Dunnington… Reisgem… Mosi…

  The images of these figures appeared in Linley’s mind!

  “Sovereign, then Bebe and I will head out immediately,” Linley said, bowing.

  Bebe had to swallow his discontent and bow before leaving as well.

  “Go then,” the Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly. “But I advise you that before heading to Tartarus, you should first become a Lord of Tartarus. That will also be very helpful to you in actually entering the Planar Wars. Arthurs, you lead the way for Linley. Send them out of the Abyssal Mountain!”

  “Yes, Sovereign!” Arthurs bowed.

  “First become a Lord of Tartarus, and then enter the Planar Wars?” Linley was rather puzzled.

  But Linley didn’t ask any more questions. Linley and Bebe looked meaningfully at Bailey in an expression of goodwill, and then strode out of the Sovereign’s palace, following Arthurs and flying away.

  “Mistress, that Linley seems to be quite confident. It seems he knows almost nothing about the Planar Wars.” By now, the silver serpent Yennaway was all
smiles, quite delighted. Yennaway knew a great deal regarding the savagery of the Planar Wars, and the struggles between the commanders. In addition, this was a war! Not a one-on-one duel!

  Sometimes, multiple commanders of one side would join forces to attack another!

  “Thank you, Sovereign.” The silver serpent, Yennaway, laughed while bowing. She believed that the Sovereign had done this for the sake of letting Linley go and lose his life there as a way of helping Yennaway get revenge.

  “Thank you, Sovereign.” The colossal gold snake and his nine children all bowed in gratitude as well.

  The Chief Sovereign of Death glanced calmly at them. “Enough. You can all leave now. Bailey!”

  Bailey’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly walked forward to the center of the palace. The Chief Sovereign of Death was finally going to allow him to become an Emissary.

  AT THE BASE of the Abyssal Mountain.

  Linley and Bebe parted with Arthurs.

  “Linley, before leaving, I must tell you something,” Arthurs said solemnly. “Perhaps you aren’t aware of this, but the Sovereigns all have an agreement. At most, they will give their Emissaries or their children a single Sovereign artifact! Regardless of which Sovereign’s Emissary it is, they will at most receive a single Sovereign artifact.”

  “A single one?” Bebe frowned.

  Linley was stunned. “Just one?”

  But yes, that was indeed true!

  For example, the Azure Dragon clan’s Patriarch, Gislason, only had a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. The Grand Elder, Gaia, only had that armor-type Sovereign artifact that merged with her scales. Given how much the Sovereign Azure Dragon cared about his children, why would he give them just a single one each? Linley finally began to understand.

  “The Sovereigns don’t wish for too great of an imbalance to appear amongst Highgods either,” Arthurs explained. “If, hypothetically, a Highgod not only had an armor-type Sovereign artifact that merged into his body, but also a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact and an attack-type Sovereign artifact, then tell me… even if this sort of Highgod was weak in terms of understanding the Laws, wouldn’t he be terrifying?”