In the Overgod Plane of Aether, within the city of Light—
A projection of Lord Augusta descended directly above the city, suspended in the sky.
Everyone inside and outside the city witnessed this scene.
"Highgod! You've violated the laws set forth by the Sovereigns. I, Augusta, Sovereign of Light, hereby declare you guilty of a capital offense!" Augusta's gaze locked onto the Highgod committing slaughter within the city as a brilliant beam of light shot forth from above.
The Highgod, upon seeing the immense divine face of a Sovereign appear and hearing the man identify himself as the Sovereign of Light, was instantly gripped by a sense of mortal danger.
Back in the Material Plane, he had already heard of the Sovereign of Light. The Radiant Church was the most dominant power in his home plane. Especially the Plane Overseer who had once imprisoned him—he had claimed to hail from the Sovereign of Light's Sovereign legion.
Now, facing the Sovereign of Light in person, the Highgod knew he stood no chance. He immediately tried to flee.
The teleportation array to the Material Plane wasn't far. If he could reach it, he might escape this crisis.
But how could Augusta's attack be so easily evaded? The blinding beam of Sovereign energy shot forth at incredible speed—far beyond what a mere Highgod could avoid.
Just then, a voice echoed in the Highgod's ear.
"Why run? A Sovereign projection only possesses the power of a typical commander. If you go all out, you can shatter it."
The Highgod was stunned. Who was using divine sense to speak to him? Why couldn't he sense the origin of this voice?
With no time to think, the Highgod immediately thrust his divine spear forward with full strength.
This strike contained his most powerful five-way fused attack.
The blow collided head-on with the Sovereign projection's attack—dispersing Augusta's divine strike in an instant.
Augusta was stunned. A mere God-level being had dared to counterattack a Sovereign?
It reminded him of Beirut from long ago.
Rage surged in Augusta's heart. This Highgod had to die today.
His true body began racing toward the city from afar.
"I will see you reduced to ash!" Augusta's thunderous voice boomed through Light City.
But the Highgod didn't flinch. He unleashed another spear strike, once more empowered by his five-way fusion. It pierced the Sovereign's immense face, dispersing it again in furious light.
The Highgod knew: Augusta's true body was almost here. He had to escape now—or he never would.
But a Sovereign's speed was unparalleled, and Augusta was already in the Overgod Plane of Aether. He would arrive in moments.
Before the Highgod could reach the teleportation array, a suffocating, heaven-shrouding aura descended upon the city.
At that moment, every soul in the city felt suffocated by the divine pressure. No one could move.
"Highgod, you have angered this Sovereign. I now pronounce your death sentence!"
The Sovereign of Light's true form acted. Forget Shuras—even most Sovereigns could not resist.
After all, Augusta ranked fifth among the Sovereigns.
He raised his Overgod weapon—a supreme divine sword—and brought it down to strike.
The Highgod could only watch in unwilling despair as death approached.
Just as the divine blade was about to fall, a Amethyst barrier suddenly appeared!
The Overgod sword landed heavily upon the crystalline shield, causing it to tremble violently—
But it did not break.
Gasps of disbelief rang out everywhere.
That was Augusta's Overgod weapon! Even Sovereigns wouldn't dare take a direct blow from it.
Yet this unexpected Amethyst barrier had completely blocked Augusta's sword. Who could have imagined such a thing?
Was this the Redbud Sovereign's crystal barrier?
Everyone, including the Four Chief Edict Sovereigns, watched in astonishment from the shadows.
If this truly was the Redbud Sovereign, then it meant…her strength had already reached Overgod-level!
That crystalline barrier, even if it wasn't quite on par with an Overgod artifact of material defense, it was already close to that tier.
The next instant, a figure streaked through the sky—it was indeed the Redbud Sovereign.
"Augusta," she questioned coldly, "you, the Sovereign of Light, actually acted against a God-level being? Have you forgotten the agreement between Sovereigns?"
At that moment, everyone present understood—her power had truly reached the level of an Overgod.
Especially her Amethyst barrier—it could even block attacks from an Overgod material artifact.
This meant her material defense was likely the strongest in existence.
Of course, few knew that Orloff, aside from possessing a supreme soul defense artifact, also had a supreme material defense artifact.
In terms of raw defense, Orloff still ranked number one.
But all the Sovereigns present believed this newfound strength of the Redbud Sovereign came from the aid of Sadius.
Naturally, this matter was closely related to Sadius—after all, he had signed an equal-contract soul bond with the Redbud Sovereign.
Back then, Sadius had already been able to inject a golden energy containing Destruction, Earth, and Amethyst essence into her body for her use.
Now that Sadius had become an Overgod, through their soul contract, he could even temporarily inject Aether essence into her, allowing the Redbud Sovereign to experience a brief surge in power.
Therefore, with Sadius' help, the Redbud Sovereign's strength absolutely rivaled the Four Chief Edict Sovereigns.
Without his help, she would only be at the level of a standard Rule Sovereign.
Even Augusta now realized that something was wrong. The Redbud Sovereign's power was completely on par with his own.
"Zijing, this Highgod violated the laws set by the Sovereigns—combat is forbidden in cities. I acted to execute him. What's wrong with that?"
"Indeed," she replied, "we did agree that combat was forbidden in cities. That's true."
"Then what's the issue? I executed him according to the rules."
"But…is this city one of the officially recognized cities of the Sovereigns?"
"I, Sovereign of Light, recognize it!"
"You think this is your Light Plane? That it only needs your recognition?"
At that moment, the Sovereign of Thunder arrived.
"The Redbud Sovereign is right," he said. "This is the Overgod Plane of Aether. The Aether lineage Sovereign has not yet been born. Thus, only the Overgod has final authority. Since the Overgod hasn't recognized this city as an official domain or sub-domain, it's merely a free city where Gods gather. There is no rule here forbidding combat."
The Thunder Sovereign desperately hoped battles would be allowed—only then might he have a chance to reclaim control over the teleportation array.
"Utter nonsense!" Augusta was furious.
All he wanted was to kill a single Highgod. Now Zijing and Hurlay were both making him lose face. At this point, he wanted nothing more than to slay them both.
"If you won't accept this, why don't we let the Overgod himself issue judgment?"
Augusta knew that if Sadius stepped in, the odds of him siding with Augusta were slim.
He could not let Sadius appear.
"There's no need to trouble the Overgod with such matters. Let us vote among the Sovereigns instead," Augusta suggested.
"But the Aether lineage Sovereign has not yet been born. Isn't it rash for us from other lineages to vote on Aether matters?"
"As long as the votes in favor exceed half the current Sovereigns, then even if the Aether Sovereign returns—what could he say?"
Augusta's scheme was well calculated. Most Sovereigns were aligned with one of the Four Chief Edict Sovereigns. As long as the Four gave their approval, most others would follow suit.
Each Chief Edict Sovereign controlled a teleportation array. Naturally, they would want to defend their authority.
Augusta was the first to build a city. Surely the others would follow and do the same.
If they opposed this vote, then in the future, other Highgods might fight in their own cities after teleporting from the Material Plane.
The Four Chief Edict Sovereigns would certainly understand this, and thus support Augusta's proposal.
Augusta even consulted Orloff, who also voiced his support.
"Very well," the Redbud Sovereign said with a smile. "Then let all the Sovereigns bear witness."
She seemed supremely confident of victory.