Bernard, Ogwin, Hanbrit, and Gatembie stood dumbfounded.
They had all witnessed the battle just now. In front of Belute, Adkins had been utterly helpless, like an infant. What was most monstrous was that... Adkins had struck with all his might, his attack landing squarely on Belute's head, yet Belute had sustained not a single scratch.
"Ridiculous, ridiculous."
Belute shook his head with a sigh, then flew directly north towards the metallic fortress. In truth, Belute had been prepared for this battle for a long time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have voluntarily left the fortress to fight Adkins in mid-air.
"Hah..." Ogwin and the others let out a long, deep breath of relief.
Thankfully, Belute had ignored them and left directly. Otherwise, even the four of them together wouldn't have withstood a single strike from his staff.
"Terrifying," Hanbrit exclaimed softly.
Bernard looked down at the two headless corpses below, his grief profound. "Young Master!" He immediately flew downwards. He had been extremely close to Adkins, and they had spent an enormous amount of time together. Now that Adkins was dead, Bernard was utterly distraught.
Ogwin's eyes, however, lit up.
"A spatial ring!" Ogwin had spotted a spatial ring on the finger of Adkins's Light God clone corpse among the two bodies below. "Inside Adkins's spatial ring, there's a Highgod divine spark." Ogwin's heart began to tremble.
Ogwin had always dreamed of becoming a Highgod!
And now, the opportunity had arrived!
"Perhaps that spatial ring itself is Light-attributed," Ogwin thought to himself. He immediately stole a glance at Gatembie and Hanbrit beside him, only to find that they too had a glint in their eyes and were also glancing around at the others.
The three looked at each other and smiled.
They all understood each other's thoughts. Among the four subordinates under Adkins, perhaps only Bernard had little ambition for that Highgod divine spark; it simply wasn't suitable for him to refine. The other three, however, all harbored such desires.
"Hanbrit, Gatembie, you also want that Highgod divine spark in the spatial ring, don't you?" Ogwin communicated directly via divine sense.
A hint of amusement flashed in both Hanbrit's and Gatembie's eyes.
Gatembie transmitted via divine sense: "However, the first thing we need to deal with is this Bernard. He's the strongest; if we don't kill him, there's no way we can get that spatial ring."
"Alright, let's work together and kill Bernard. As for the divine spark, once we have it, we'll check its attribute. Whoever it suits gets it!" Hanbrit said, and Ogwin and Gatembie immediately agreed.
The three exchanged glances, and without a word, simultaneously flew downwards.
"Lord Adkins!" Gatembie called out, his voice tinged with sorrow.
"Don't be too sad, Mr. Bernard," Hanbrit also flew down and said.
Right now, Bernard was immersed in grief. Over the years, scene after scene of his time with Adkins flashed through his mind, and tears couldn't help but slide down his cheeks. He had no idea what was going through the minds of Ogwin and the other two.
"Attack!" Ogwin commanded via divine sense.
Almost simultaneously, weapons appeared in the hands of Ogwin, Gatembie, and Hanbrit. In an instant, they lunged towards Bernard, not far away. The killing intent was clear in the eyes of the three mid-tier gods; they held nothing back.
"Not good." Bernard instantly sensed the terrifying aura behind him and immediately transformed into a streak of lightning, fleeing forward.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast a powerhouse might be, there is always an acceleration process at the start of fleeing. At this moment, his speed wouldn't be at its peak. Meanwhile, Ogwin, Gatembie, and Hanbrit had all reached their extreme speeds and were attacking from three sides.
"What are you doing!" Bernard's furious roar resonated in the minds of Ogwin and the others via divine sense.
Bernard had already turned around, facing the three head-on, while also retreating backwards.
"Die!"
A flash of cyan sword light, holy, radiant light of the Pure Light, and a war blade infused with an aura of destruction. The full-force attacks of three mid-tier gods instantly reduced the ancient, primeval trees and thorns that had stood for countless years in the surrounding area to powder. The earth itself caved in.
"Damn it!" Bernard was a clever man; in an instant, he guessed their intentions.
With no time to flee, he gritted his teeth. Bernard transformed into a human-shaped bolt of lightning, wielding the Highgod artifact 'Gothic Spear' and thrust it directly at the strongest among the three, Gatembie, determined to break through their encirclement and escape with his life.
Would Ogwin and the others let him escape?
"Boom!"
Three against one!
The earth heaved and rippled like waves. Within a radius of nearly a thousand meters, boulders, trees, and some magic beasts were instantly reduced to dust. Dust flew into the air, but the battle was already over. The light in Bernard's eyes dimmed, and he crashed down, following in Adkins's footsteps.
"Thump!" Gatembie, a hole pierced through his chest, also crashed to the ground.
That Gothic Spear was not merely a physical attack; it also contained a soul attack. Although Bernard died after withstanding the combined blow of three mid-tier gods, even in death, he had dragged down the strongest of the three, Gatembie, to serve as his cushion in the afterlife.
Bernard was indeed worthy of being the strongest among the original four.
"Phew." Ogwin and Hanbrit also felt a shiver run through them. As the dust settled, they looked at each other, both feeling fortunate. If Bernard's dying attack had targeted either of them, they wouldn't have been able to dodge it either.
"Hanbrit, whichever attribute the divine spark in this ring turns out to be, it goes to the one who possesses that attribute," Ogwin said with a smile.
"Naturally," Hanbrit replied with a smile. "However, the one who doesn't get the divine spark gets to keep the Gothic Spear. How about that?"
"Haha, of course I agree," Ogwin said.
Four corpses now lay on the ground: Adkins's two headless bodies, along with Gatembie's and Bernard's. Meanwhile, Ogwin and Hanbrit were happily discussing the division of spoils.
"Who will bleed onto this spatial ring to claim ownership and retrieve the divine spark inside?" Ogwin looked at Hanbrit.
Hanbrit said, "Ogwin, don't you trust me? You open the spatial ring first." Ogwin nodded and smiled, then walked towards Adkins's Light God clone body. Just as he reached Hanbrit—