Trouble?
Lin Lei's brow furrowed upon hearing this, but he remained silent, merely watching Augustus and waiting for him to speak.
"Lin Lei, I'll tell you straight. It would be difficult even if another Sovereign came to me and asked me to release a twelve-winged god-angel." Augustus said solemnly. "You must have heard that I borrowed Lord Uft's twelve-winged god-angel legion. But it was only a loan; the twelve-winged god-angel still belongs to me."
Lin Lei nodded slightly.
He had also heard the Death Sovereign say that even her influence might not be enough to make Augustus release a twelve-winged god-angel from servitude. One could imagine that granting such freedom would be extremely troublesome.
"It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that..." Augustus shook his head with a smile. "I'm sorry."
Lin Lei's brow furrowed slightly.
"Augustus, it's just a single twelve-winged god-angel!" Lin Lei said seriously. "If there are any difficulties, tell me."
Augustus shook his head and smiled. "This involves certain secrets I don't wish to disclose publicly. But I'll tell you this: the cost to restore a twelve-winged god-angel to freedom is so steep... Hmph. Ever since the world's creation and my ascension to the position of Light Sovereign, I have never once allowed a twelve-winged god-angel to regain its freedom. From that, you should be able to grasp just how complex the involved secrets are."
"Is there really no way at all?" Lin Lei felt a hint of anxiety rising in his heart.
"There is, but the difficulty is immense, and the cost is far too great. I am unwilling to pay it." Augustus shook his head.
Lin Lei could no longer remain calm.
He understood that what Augustus said might very well be true.
"Augustus." The Fate Sovereign, 'Uft', spoke up with a faint smile from beside them. "I can see that Lin Lei has come this time with great importance placed on that twelve-winged god-angel. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sought you out in person. You should think of some way to help Lin Lei as much as possible. If the cost is so high, then let Lin Lei compensate you for it."
"Yes, I am willing to compensate you for your losses." At this, Lin Lei steeled himself and could only say this.
Perhaps doing so meant Lin Lei would be taken advantage of terribly, but he had no choice.
Kill Augustus?
His strength was insufficient, not to mention that the Fate Sovereign, 'Uft', was right beside them.
"Haha, compensate?" Augustus took a drink of wine and scoffed. "Lin Lei, you have no idea how steep the cost is to restore a twelve-winged god-angel to freedom! Let me put it this way: the cost is so high that my heart aches as much as if half my children had died!"
Lin Lei was secretly shocked.
Parents naturally value their own children highly. Although Augustus had many children, for the pain to equal losing more than half of them... one could imagine just how enormous the cost must be.
"Augustus." The Fate Sovereign, 'Uft', frowned from the side. "The loss is great, the cost high, but there must be a limit. You should still try your best to help Lin Lei. You can make some demands. I believe Lin Lei will also compensate you." Uft was also speaking on Lin Lei's behalf.
Lin Lei could sense it...
Ever since the Destruction Sovereign had revealed her ultimate move, 'Space-Time Disarray', the Fate Sovereign's attitude toward him had become quite favorable. This time, he was helping him speak as well.
"Speak. As long as you're willing, and if there is a condition I must agree to." Lin Lei looked at Augustus.
"Lord Uft speaks truly. The cost, no matter how high, has a limit. But that limit is already almost more than I can bear. If you, Lin Lei, are willing to give me your Sovereign Artifact, then I could agree," Augustus sneered. "But Lin Lei, would you be willing to give me your Sovereign Artifact?"
"A Sovereign Artifact?" Lin Lei was startled.
The preciousness of a Sovereign Artifact was something any God Sovereign understood clearly.
"A Sovereign Artifact... Mother..." Lin Lei thought silently.
"Speak something realistic." The Fate Sovereign, 'Uft', frowned from the side. "Augustus, all your god-angels combined are not as important as a single Sovereign Artifact. Asking for a 'Sovereign Artifact' is too excessive. Just state something that can be acceptable to both parties."
Augustus smiled faintly. "I can't think of what Lin Lei could possibly have that would be enough to compensate for my loss..."
Lin Lei grew anxious in his heart.
"Augustus!" Lin Lei was about to speak.
"Hmm?" Augustus suddenly looked at Lin Lei. "Lin Lei, I just thought of one thing. If you agree, we might be able to negotiate."
"Speak." Lin Lei secretly felt a sense of relief.
The Fate Sovereign, 'Uft', nearby saw this and nodded with a smile.
"I know about your relationship with Beirut." Augustus snorted coldly. "That Beirut, he once took from me..."
"State your demand directly." Lin Lei spoke up. He was most worried that Augustus would ask him to kill Grandfather Beirut.
Augustus glanced at him and sneered. "It's obvious the two of you are close. Rest assured, I won't ask you to kill Beirut. My demand is... give me 100 drops each of the four divine beasts' blood essence! Then, I will spare no cost to give you the twelve-winged god-angel you want."
"A hundred drops each?" Lin Lei couldn't help but cry out. "Augustus, do you know how much blood essence the four divine beasts had in their entire bodies?"
Augustus laughed inwardly at this.
He had deliberately named a high price so there would be room for negotiation.
"Even if you killed me and Beirut, it's impossible to have that much of the four divine beasts' blood essence," Lin Lei shook his head. "Back then, the Destruction Sovereign took the majority of it from Beirut for her experiments. What remained in Beirut's possession was only a portion. And Beirut himself conducted experiments, consuming quite a bit of the blood essence. What's left now is very, very little."
Hearing this, Augustus's brow furrowed.
He knew the Destruction Sovereign had taken away a large amount of the four divine beasts' blood essence, and he also knew that Beirut had conducted some experiments.