Book 19 - Metamorphosis Chapter 30: Canteen?

"What a terrifying fellow!"

Bebe was utterly frightened as well. That palm-edge blow from earlier had already made him feel great danger. Bebe himself knew that this full-force sword blow from a Sovereign weapon was something which Beirut might be able to deal with bare-handed, were he here, due to his insights into the profound mysteries. But Bebe was no Beirut! He definitely wouldn't be able to take it head on so easily.

"My insights into the Laws are far too inferior to Grandpa's! I'd best not try to push it." Bebe didn't hesitate at all. As that sword chopped down, within his sea of consciousness, an adorable little Godeater Rat instantly activated a drop of Destruction-type Sovereign's Might. Bebe had two bodies as well...

One was his divine darkness clone, while the other was his Saint-level original body. Only, the Saint-level original body remained in the shape of a Godeater Rat; it was much like how Beirut's three sons all had original bodies that were in the form of rats. Normally, the original bodies were merged into the divine clones. Bebe understood that if his divine darkness clone died, his original body would unquestionably die as well.

"BOOM!"

A black light emerged, covering Bebe's entire body as he was once more knocked away at high speed, smashing viciously into the ground. With a "BANG" sound, a deep crevice appeared in the earth. But his body wasn't damaged at all.

"Thank goodness." Linley let out a sigh of relief.

Reisgem, Reihom, and Linley all flew towards Bebe at high speed.

"Bebe." Linley hurriedly helped Bebe up.

"Heh heh, Boss, I'm fine. He wasn't even able to scratch me." Bebe chortled. However, Linley, Reisgem, and Reihom didn't relax their vigilance; Bebe had used up a drop of Sovereign's Might in order to escape the earlier tribulation. Linley couldn't help but to look back towards Bayer, who stood there not moving.

Bayer was looking at Bebe with curiosity.

"Sovereign's Might?" Bayer wasn't angry at all. "Godeater Rats really are an incredible type of divine beasts. One worthy of me using a drop of Sovereign's Might as well!"

"BANG!"

A faint green light suddenly erupted forth like flames from Bayer's body, but then retracted back into it. Not a single hint of it was dissipating! Clearly, as a Highgod Paragon, he could perfectly control Sovereign's Might. This scene caused Linley and the other three to feel terror in their hearts.

"He is using Sovereign's Might as well!" Linley called out mentally in alarm.

"Not just a Sovereign weapon, but also using Sovereign's Might!" Reisgem was so angry, he wanted to curse. For Bayer to do this was absolutely too abusive!

Bayer actually had a hint of a smile on his lips. He looked at Bebe. "To let me use both a Sovereign weapon and Sovereign's Might...even in death, you should feel proud." After speaking, his body once more flickered forward. Although Reisgem's Amethyst Space was always active, Bayer's speed was still so fast...that Linley and the other two weren't able to block at all.

Although no aura of Sovereign power emanated from Bayer's body, he clearly had already used it.

"He used Sovereign's Might. Bebe won't be able to hold on." Linley worried mentally.

Immediately, an enormous coiling Azure Dragon Phantom appeared in the air behind Linley. At this critical moment, not hesitating at all, Linley used his own innate divine ability...Dragon Roar!

Bayer's soul heard the roar of the dragon as well.

Unconsciously, Bayer's body paused for a moment, but afterwards, Bayer's speed returned to normal. That bit of influence was negligible for him. Linley felt sourness as well. "Bebe's innate divine ability isn't capable of doing anything to a Highgod Paragon, and it seems this technique of mine is also negligible for him."

Linley had a certain feeling...

That when he used this technique against Bayer, it was like he was an ant trying to shake a tree. Perhaps this was a very special ant, but the only result was that the leaves of the tree trembled slightly.

"BEBE!!!!" Linley felt agonized at his helplessness, and his soul howled in misery.

"SHKREEEEEEEE!" An exceedingly ear-piercing howl rang out, carrying a certain wild savagery.

"BANG!"

Space twisted and coiled about, and then multiple spatial tears appeared. Bebe was once again knocked backwards, blood flying everywhere. Seeing the brilliant blood, Linley's face instantly turned white. Before this, he had still held some hope...but Linley didn't actually despair yet either.

Because he could still feel Bebe's existence!

"Haha, you want to kill me!? Grandpa's words really were correct! We Godeater Rats have the number one defensive strength in all the planes of the universe! If I don't use Sovereign's Might, my body is like a divine spark. After using Sovereign's Might...there is no Highgod capable of killing me!" Bebe called out, seeming to be rather crazed.

Linley discovered, to his astonishment, that although Bebe's chest did indeed have a wound carved into it, with fresh blood flowing...the wound wasn't too deep.

"How can that be?" Bayer stared at Bebe in astonishment.

His full strength sword blow still wasn't able to kill him?

"Hmph. My muscles and my skin are equally tough, but the hardest part of my body is my bones! The bones throughout my body are infused with a large amount of divine spark essence! Haha...just now, I was afraid, because in the past, when that Sovereign badly injured me with one blow, my bones were broken. I thought that after using Sovereign's Might and with a Sovereign weapon, your attack would be comparable to that Sovereign's attack." Bebe boasted.

Although Beirut had previously told Bebe how terrifyingly great the defensive power of a Godeater Rat was, and although Bebe had always been very self-confident...

At the Abyssal Mountain, his defenses were easily shattered by the Abyssal Fruit Tree, and even his bones had been broken. This caused Bebe to begin to doubt himself.

As he saw it...

A Highgod Paragon, using a Sovereign weapon with Sovereign's Might, should be comparable to a casual blow from a Sovereign. But now, it seemed, that although the attack power of a Highgod Paragon was indeed terrifying, compared to a Sovereign, he was still vastly inferior.

"Haha...formidable, formidable!" Reisgem began to laugh delightedly as well. "Bebe, you thought just because he used Sovereign's Might and a Sovereign weapon that he would be comparable to a Sovereign? Then you are ridiculously mistaken. Highgods, compared to Sovereigns, are far, far too weak. Bebe, what makes Sovereigns so powerful isn't their Sovereign artifacts or their Sovereign power; rather, it is their Will! An attack that contains a Sovereign's Will is a truly terrifying attack."

Linley and Bebe were both stunned. A Sovereign's Will?

Will was something that was incorporeal; how could it be powerful?

"Aside from Highgod Paragons, if a Sovereign wishes to kill a Highgod, there's no need to even lift a finger. The Sovereign only needs to wish it. That's what a Sovereign's Will is!" Reisgem laughed loudly. "A Highgod that uses Sovereign's Might and a Sovereign using Sovereign's Might...the difference in power is more ten thousand times, because of the Will of the Sovereign!"

Linley now understood.

He had heard long ago that a Sovereign could kill a Highgod with but a thought, and that only Highgod Paragons could slightly resist. At that time, Linley hadn't understood...how could a Highgod be killed by a mere thought? Why?

So it seemed...that there was something known as the 'Sovereign's Will' which existed.

"The Will of a Sovereign is this powerful?" Linley didn't understand why.

But Linley didn't have time to ask Reisgem.

Because at this moment, Bayer's face finally grew solemn. He stared coldly at Bebe. "Godeater Rats refine divine spark essences to strengthen their own body. As far as material defenses go, amongst all the varied divine beasts, you Godeater Rats truly can be ranked number one. I admit that I won't be able to injure you with material attacks. Then...listen to a song of mine!"

As soon as his words fell...

Linley, Reisgem, Bebe, and Reihom began to hear a certain melody in their minds. That song constantly echoed throughout their mind, carrying with it a strange, magical power. When he first heard it, Linley was able to resist for a second or two, but after that, he became entranced by the music and entered a dazed state.

And...as soon as he heard that song...

Linley's divine clone had immediately, unstintingly, used up a drop of water-type Sovereign's Might! Linley's earth-type Sovereign's Might had been used up long ago, and he only had two drops of water-type Sovereign's Might. By using up a drop now, he would only have one more remaining.

Of the group of four, only a single person immediately regained his faculties after being momentarily dazed.

That was Reisgem!

His accomplishments in the soul were exceedingly great. Linley, Reihom, and Bebe had all entered a dazed state, but fortunately enough for Linley and Reihom, Bayer didn't want to kill them, just make them dazed. As for Bebe...just as his soul entered a dazed state, he also began to suffer a strange soul attack.

Logically speaking...

In a dazed state, one wouldn't know to use Sovereign's Might to resist. Generally speaking, when faced with the soul attack of a Highgod Paragon, the result would be death.

However...

"Bayer, enough." Reisgem growled, launching a soul attack towards Bayer as well.

"How can this be!" Bayer paused his attack as well.

Linley, Bebe, and Reihom regained their mental clarity, and Linley felt cold sweat drip down his back. "Even after using Sovereign's Might, I wasn't able to resist. However, I didn't die. It seems he didn't attack." Linley understood that without him actively controlling his damaged soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, it definitely wouldn't be hard for this person to kill him.

But he hadn't died. Clearly, Bayer didn't want to kill him.

"How can this be? You...you have a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact?!" Bayer looked at Bebe.

"Uhh...." Bebe shook his head. "I just have a soul-protecting artifact."

"Impossible! A soul-protecting artifact capable of blocking my 'Soul Nirvana' melody? You...you definitely have a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact!" Bayer wasn't willing to believe it. Bayer now had finally lost his earlier confidence. He stared at Bebe. "How can you have a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact? You are a Sovereign's Emissary?"

Bebe shook his head.

"Soul-protecting Sovereign artifact? Grandpa told me that it was a soul-protecting artifact." Bebe didn't understand it.

Linley finally relaxed. Whether it was a soul-protecting artifact or a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact...clearly, Bayer wasn't able to do anything to Bebe. Although Bayer was terrifying, and most likely would be able to easily kill Linley, Reisgem, or Reihom...

He wasn't able to kill Bebe!

Bebe's material defense and soul defense had both reached monstrous levels.

"According to legends, the Bloodridge Sovereign bestowed a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact to Beirut. I didn't expect that he would actually transfer it to you." Bayer laughed coldly. Everyone knew that Beirut had a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, but Bayer now believed that Beirut had actually transferred the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact to Bebe.

"Hey, what else are you going to do? You aren't able to kill Bebe. Aren't you going to leave?" Reisgem snorted.

Bayer took a deep breath, regaining his calm.

"If I'm not able to kill him, then I...will push him into a region of chaotic space!" Bayer said coldly, while stretching out his hands. He was standing in midair, and suddenly, with him at the center, multiple strands of faint green energy ribbons sprang out from his hands. Those hundred-plus hundred-meter energy ribbons all coiled towards Bebe.

"Push him into chaotic space?" Linley was stunned as well.

"ROAAAAAAAAAAR!"

Reisgem suddenly let out an absolutely enraged growl, and behind Reisgem, the illusion of an enormous monster that was over a hundred meters tall suddenly appeared. This monster had 108 spikes on its back, and was a monster that Linley was very familiar with; it looked just like the 'juvenile amethyst beast' Linley had previously seen.

Instantly, 108 rays of violet light exploded forth from Reisgem's body, each filled with black-colored Sovereign power.

With Reisgem at the center, those rays of violet light completely covered and surrounded Linley, Bebe, and Reihom, actually forming a black, spherical cocoon which was covered with violet light.

"Amethyst Rampart!" Bayer frowned.

The Amethyst Space was actually just an innate supreme technique of Reisgem's; in truth, it couldn't be considered a 'divine ability'. Divine abilities consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual energy! This 'Amethyst Rampart' was Reisgem's true, innate divine ability! Once this technique appeared, there was no way for Bayer to break through the Amethyst Rampart for now as well.

Moments later...

The Amethyst Rampart disappeared. The Amethyst Rampart couldn't actually be sustained for very long.

"Reisgem, it seems you insist on protecting this Godeater Rat." Bayer said coldly. "Fine, then. I admit that with this Godeater Rat having used Sovereign's Might, I'm unable to kill him. However...once his Sovereign's Might dissipates, I refuse to believe that he'll be able to escape my sword again. Given the speed of my sword, I trust that you won't be able to block at all."

Linley frowned.

Bayer's words were reasonable. Although Bebe had used a drop of Sovereign's Might, it was constantly dissipating. Soon, it would be completely gone.

Bebe's material defense was indeed strong, but when he used Sovereign's Might, his defense was still breached. He had to rely on his bones to take the blow head on.

But if Bebe didn't have any Sovereign's Might left, while Bayer was still able to perfectly control his own Sovereign's Might without wasting it...given that Bayer would be able to use it for a very long time, when Bebe's ran out, would Bebe be able to block?

"Boss! I've been eating divine sparks for many years, but the number that I've eaten isn't enough yet. My bones aren't as tough as Grandpa's yet. If I don't use Sovereign's Might, while that Bayer uses both a Sovereign weapon and Sovereign power, my skull probably wouldn't be able to resist that sword of his." Bebe sent frantically.

Linley began to feel nervous as well.

Bebe's Sovereign power was constantly dissipating. But Bayer? Not a hint of it was leaking out. How were they supposed to compete against him?

"Eh?"

Reisgem stared. "What...you want to compete with ME in seeing who has more Sovereign's Might?"

Bayer was startled.

Reisgem turned towards Linley and Bebe and laughed, "Linley, Bebe, I forgot to tell you something after you two joined my hunting squad. Since you two are members of my squad now, I, as the captain, should treat you without holding anything back." As he spoke, Reisgem made a tossing motion, and two rays of violet light flew towards Linley and Bebe.

Linley and Bebe immediately stretched their hands out to receive it.

Linley lowered his head to look at it. It was a 'canteen' that was completely made out of carved amethysts. This sort of canteen, although quite intricately designed, was familiar to Linley. When he had been in the Yulan continent, ordinary soldiers would always carry these types of canteens with them.

"Is this a water canteen?" Linley was puzzled.

Linley reached out with his divine sense, passing through the obstruction of the amethysts, to inspect the insides of the canteen. And when he did...he was badly shocked.

"Gaaah! Destruction-type Sovereign's Might?! This...an entire canteen?!" Bebe called out in shock as well.

Linley was similarly stunned.

He, too, realized that this canteen was actually filled with liquefied Sovereign's Might. An entire canteen full of it!

"Take it. The young master gave me a canteen as well." Reihom said.

Linley and Bebe stared towards Reisgem, stunned.

Reisgem snickered, then waved his hand. "Just take it. It's just Destruction-type Sovereign's Might. My mother has plenty of it. She has an entire lake filled with it, so I filled a few canteens with it. I have plenty. You keep it. Those Redbud Army soldiers have a salary. You guys are my squadmates, and this can be considered your salary." To Reisgem, the only son of a Sovereign, of course this was something that didn't matter much.

Sovereigns agreed amongst themselves to only give a single Sovereign artifact to Deities, but there was no limit to the amount of Sovereign's Might they could bestow.

"A...canteen?" Linley felt his head grow dizzy.

Sovereign's Might was normally measured out by the 'drop'.

"A canteen of Sovereign's Might? How many drops is that?" Linley couldn't even imagine it.

Bayer felt a headache as well. Good heavens. He was a Highgod Paragon, true, but although a Sovereign might give him some Sovereign's Might, the Sovereign naturally wouldn't treat him as she might treat their her own son, filling an entire lake with Sovereign's Might and letting her son take as much of it as he wanted. "Compete with the son of a Sovereign in Sovereign's Might?" Bayer felt resigned.

Reisgem rubbed his nose. "Bayer, my divine clone had already informed my mother of what is going on here. Although my mother won't be able to make it here immediately, she can arrange for some people to come. I imagine that as time goes on, my mother will personally come to the Planar Battlefield."

Sovereigns generally wouldn't interfere in the matters of Highgods.

But it was only natural for a Sovereign to interfere when her own son was in danger.

And not all Sovereigns were the same; generally speaking, if an ordinary person became a Sovereign, that person might have countless children and so wouldn't care too much about them. But the Redbud Sovereign was like a divine beast, an exceedingly rare, unique individual. She had only a single son.

"Whew." Bayer shook his head and laughed bitterly.

"This Godeater Rat's defense is indeed powerful. Although I'm not able to kill him, I don't consider is as being a loss of face. As least I tried. There's nothing Occluar will be able to say to me." Bayer gave Reisgem's group a final glance, and then his body flickered and disappeared as he left.

Linley and Bebe each held a canteen, staring as Bayer departed.

"Ah, he finally left." Reisgem let out a long breath. "A Highgod Paragon. I was afraid that this fellow would go crazy. Fortunately, I managed to scare him off." Reisgem was frightened as well. If Bayer really did go crazy and decide to kill them all, Reisgem wouldn't even have time to cry. At worst, Bayer would just have to hide in a material plane and never go to the Divine Planes or the Higher Realms again.