It wasn't just the City Guard.
Even the residents living in the buildings beneath Locke and Vice City Lord Ryan jolted awake the moment they sensed the terrifying auras colliding above their heads. One after another, they abandoned their cultivation chambers and fled for safer areas.
Locke swept his gaze across the surroundings, his brows knitting slightly.
Combat was forbidden within city limits—this was a rule laid down personally by the Sovereign Gods.
When Locke had instantly killed those two Demigods earlier, the disturbance had been small, not nearly enough to draw the attention of a Sovereign God.
But a clash between two Highgods was another matter entirely. That level of battle could cause serious damage to an entire city.
Locke knew very well that within every city—aside from the City Lord, the Vice City Lords, and the City Guard—there were also troops from the Sovereign God's legion stationed inside.
True, in this era the Sovereign Gods were obsessively harvesting faith, and most of their legionnaires had been dispatched to the material planes. As a result, only a small number of Sovereign God soldiers remained stationed in cities.
But few did not mean none.
If those legionnaires reported the situation and drew a Sovereign God's projection down upon the city, that Sovereign God would not bother to distinguish right from wrong.
Anyone who violated the rules set by the Sovereign Gods would be executed—without exception.
Without willpower authority, Locke wouldn't even be able to withstand a single thought from a Sovereign God's projection.
What's more, Rockpeak City wasn't home only to the Sovereign God's legion.
There were other forces as well—forces belonging to the Violetjade Sovereign God.
Locke didn't know whether Violetjade Castles had already spread to every city in Hell, but at the very least, across the Violetjade Continent, every city possessed one.
He suspected this was the domain of one half of the Violetjade Sovereign God couple.
Because the two Violetjade Sovereign Gods were bound as one, they split their paths: one acted like the other Sovereign Gods, sending legion soldiers to the mortal realms to reap faith, while the other built power directly in Hell, gathering faith from gods themselves.
The Violetjade Castle was born from that design.
Locke was certain of one thing—if he truly fought Ryan inside the city and caused large-scale destruction, the Violetjade Sovereign God would absolutely seize the opportunity to descend a projection and punish both of them for violating the rules.
That was why, the instant Ryan prepared to strike, Locke immediately stopped him.
"Wait!"
"What? Regretting it now? Want to beg for mercy?" Ryan sneered.
"No, Vice City Lord Ryan. You misunderstand," Locke said calmly.
"I'm not asking for mercy."
"With the strength the two of us possess, fighting here will cause significant damage to the city."
"And you wouldn't want our battle to draw the attention of a Sovereign God, would you?"
At those words, the fury around Ryan visibly cooled.
As a Vice City Lord of Rockpeak City, Ryan had personally witnessed the might of a Sovereign God before.
Every time he recalled the scene of a Sovereign God's descent, his soul trembled.
A flicker of fear passed through his eyes.
Locke had indeed violated Rockpeak City's rules—Ryan had to discipline him.
But if, in doing so, Ryan himself ended up violating the rules set by a Sovereign God…
Naturally, Ryan wouldn't say that out loud.
"What?" he scoffed. "Do you think I'll let you off just because I'm afraid of a Sovereign God's punishment?"
"I never thought you'd let me go," Locke replied, shaking his head.
"Nor do I believe I'm weaker than you."
He actually found Ryan a little… endearing.
The fear leaking from Ryan's soul was practically thick enough to dye the air black, yet his mouth was harder than a divine spark.
"Doesn't Rockpeak City have a dueling arena?" Locke continued.
"Fighting there doesn't violate the Sovereign God's rules. We can both go all out."
"Vice City Lord Ryan—changing the battlefield to the dueling arena shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Ryan stared at Locke for a long moment, then snorted.
"Kid, just for that suggestion alone—if I defeat you later, I'll spare your life."
With that, Ryan withdrew his Divine Domain and shot toward the dueling arena.
Locke moved just as decisively.
With a thought, he removed the soul imprint from his spatial ring and tossed it down to Little White, who had only just recovered his breath on the ground.
"Little White," Locke said calmly,
"when Vice City Lord Ryan and I start fighting, if anyone opens a betting pool—"
"Put everything in that ring on me."
"Bet on my victory."
"Yes, Lord Locke!" Little White answered instantly.
Catching the spatial ring, Little White looked up at Locke with eyes blazing in fanatic admiration.
His lord was simply too incredible.
Before today, Little White had believed Locke to be a Highgod—that was why he could so easily crush and kill Gods.
But from the exchange between Locke and Vice City Lord Ryan just now, Little White finally understood—
Lord Locke wasn't a Highgod.
He was only a God.
And yet, a mere God possessed strength comparable to—if not exceeding—that of ordinary Highgods.
Then what would happen once Lord Locke truly became a Highgod?
Just the difference in divine power alone would increase his strength tenfold.
But given the power Lord Locke was already displaying, would his strength really increase by only ten times?
A hundredfold wasn't impossible.
In that instant, Locke's image in Little White's heart grew even taller.
He felt that when Lord Locke eventually ascended to Highgod, he might even possess the qualifications to challenge a Prefecture Lord.
"To think… that I, Little White, could follow a future Prefecture Lord in this lifetime…"
"Hehehe…"
As Locke's very first follower, Little White was certain he would be heavily valued.
At the very least, an Upper—no, a Highgod divine spark would be inevitable.
Suppressing his giddy excitement, Little White followed the other gods toward the dueling arena.
"Hey, did you hear? Someone's challenging Vice City Lord Ryan at the dueling arena!"
"What? Ryan's a Highgod—did another Highgod come to Rockpeak City?"
"No idea, but anyone daring to challenge a Vice City Lord must at least be a Highgod, right?"
"I wonder how long it'll take this time. Last time Vice City Lord Evan challenged Ryan, I remember he was nearly beaten to death in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
"Yeah, I saw that fight too. If the City Lord hadn't intervened, Evan wouldn't have left the arena alive."
As Little White flew along with the crowd, he listened to the gods discussing the challenger's identity and strength.
When he heard them speculating how quickly Vice City Lord Ryan would defeat Lord Locke, Little White felt nothing but disdain.
"A bunch of narrow-minded fools," he snorted inwardly.
"How could any of you possibly comprehend Lord Locke's strength?"
Thinking of the spatial ring Locke had entrusted to him, Little White's heart trembled even now.
Four hundred and ninety million inkstones.
Just taking that out would scare a god to death.
If Lord Locke lacked confidence, would he wager such a staggering sum on his own victory?
Still, Little White couldn't help feeling a little conflicted.
Back when he hadn't yet reached godhood, he'd accompanied Lord Locke to the Violetjade Castle. Even then, he'd noticed how interested Lord Locke was in that metallic lifeform costing over eight hundred million inkstones.
If Lord Locke won this fight, he'd finally have enough to buy it.
But then…
What if Little White's divine power wasn't enough to keep the metallic lifeform flying for long periods?
Would Lord Locke abandon him?
Despite the unease in his heart, Little White carried out his orders with absolute seriousness.
By the time he reached the spectator stands outside the dueling arena, Locke and Vice City Lord Ryan were already standing in midair.
At that moment, two Gods were still fighting on the arena platform below.
Seizing the gap, many gods immediately produced tables and began acting as bookmakers.
Before long, crowds gathered around them, placing bets based on their own judgments.
Little White didn't rush to wager.
Since Lord Locke had entrusted him with something this important, he couldn't afford to let him down.
This money determined whether Lord Locke could successfully purchase a metallic lifeform. There could be no mistakes.
Little White had zero doubts about Lord Locke's victory.
What he did doubt was whether these bookmakers actually had the ability to pay out such an enormous sum.
If he chose the wrong one and Lord Locke won but the winnings couldn't be paid, Little White feared Lord Locke would be deeply disappointed.
As for whether the bookmakers would dare default…
After Lord Locke's victory, who would still have the courage to owe him money?
Hadn't Vice City Lord Ryan himself already been defeated?
Soon, Little White fixed his gaze on a particular bookmaker.
That stall had the largest crowd.
More importantly, Little White recognized the emblem on the bookmaker's robes—
A violetjade flower.
The symbol of the Violetjade Sovereign God and the Violetjade Castle.
"Everyone placing bets, hurry up!" the bookmaker shouted.
"Betting closes as soon as the current duel on the arena ends!"
"Now, the odds are as follows—"
"Vice City Lord Ryan wins within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea: odds 1 to 0.5!"
"Vice City Lord Ryan wins within the time of burning one stick of incense: odds 1 to 0.8!"
"Vice City Lord Ryan wins within one hour: odds 1 to 1!"
"Vice City Lord Ryan wins within half a day: odds 1 to 1.5!"
The bookmaker rattled on.
Little White listened for a long while—yet still didn't hear any odds for Lord Locke winning.
Finally, after the bookmaker finished announcing the odds for Ryan winning within three days, Little White couldn't help but speak up.
(End of Chapter)
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