"Haha..."
Excited, hearty laughter echoed across the Star River Passage.
"We did it!"
"It's over!"
The six lone surviving Chief God's emissaries, including Brale and the other five, as well as the remaining warriors of the Infernal army, all wore smiles on their faces. Their joy didn't come from achieving a draw. It was because—they were still alive! They had survived this terrible Planar War.
Three hundred Seven-star Demons, and barely over forty had survived.
Those who had lived certainly had reason to celebrate!
Tens of thousands of miles away, atop a mountain peak.
The various Chief Gods were engaged in animated conversation.
"Auf, this time you've lost!" The Sovereign of Destruction, Utred, finally allowed a trace of a smile to appear on his face.
The Sovereign of Fate, Auf, chuckled. "Haha... Utred, this draw does indeed count as my loss. But tell me, Utred—the reason your Infernal side came out ahead this time is mainly because of those six Chief God's emissaries who formed the battle formation. Which Chief God do they belong to?"
Auf showed no discouragement or dissatisfaction over losing, still smiling genially.
"They're Lin Lei's six Chief God's emissaries!" the Sovereign of Destruction said directly.
"Oh?" The Sovereign of Fate, Auf, turned his gaze toward Lin Lei.
Even the other Chief Gods who had overheard the conversation between the two Sovereigns turned to look at Lin Lei. So the six who had played such a crucial role in this Planar War were Lin Lei's emissaries.
"Lin Lei, this time you helped Utred quite a bit." Auf smiled as he looked at Lin Lei.
Lin Lei smiled faintly. "They're only six emissaries. If you, Lord Auf, had found a Paragon Highgod, a Paragon Highgod in a desperate fight could easily kill one or two hundred Twelve-winged God Angels. That would have changed the outcome of the war just the same."
Those six working together had played a role in the war close to that of a single Paragon.
"A Paragon Highgod? Which of those Paragons would be willing to risk their lives to enter this battlefield?" The Sovereign of Fate, Auf, chuckled lightly. "If there were no danger, they'd be happy to do a favor. But with stakes this high, not a single Paragon would want to come."
For a Paragon, even a Chief God Artifact meant nothing special.
So what could a Chief God offer to attract a Paragon Highgod? Nothing! Naturally, none of the Paragons could be bothered to participate in the war.
"Lin Lei, I'm curious—who developed the battle formation your six Chief God's emissaries used?" The Sovereign of Fate, Auf, inquired.
"This battle formation is called the 'Reincarnation Battle Formation.' One of my Chief God's emissaries spent hundreds of millions of years researching and perfecting it." Lin Lei made no effort to hide the information.
"The Reincarnation Battle Formation... Reincarnation... Reincarnation!" The Sovereign of Fate, Auf, murmured the name several times, then nodded slightly and smiled at Lin Lei. "That emissary of yours is absolutely a top-tier figure among magic array researchers. To fuse different types of energy into a unified whole, with such low energy loss—I must say, I'm impressed!"
"Hey, Auf, you lost, and you're still this happy?" The Sovereign of Death laughed softly.
The Sovereign of Fate, Auf, smiled serenely. "Win or lose? Gain or loss—these things are all relative. You can't judge by the surface result... Haha..." Auf laughed heartily and with genuine pleasure. "Everyone, I won't be lingering here. I'm heading back to the Celestial Realm. Oh, and Lin Lei..."
Auf suddenly looked at Lin Lei with a grin. "When you have time, you really should come visit my Augus Garden. I've invited you many times already."
"I will, certainly." Lin Lei agreed without hesitation.
And so Auf, leading the Chief Gods of the Celestial Realm, tore open space and flew away.
"Auf..." Lin Lei sighed with admiration in his heart.
Over this past period, through his several encounters with the Sovereign of Fate, Auf, Lin Lei had come to admire the man greatly.
"Whether winning or losing, gaining or losing, he remains completely composed—as if nothing in this world could ever anger him." Lin Lei marveled at the thought. In this Planar War, had Auf won, he would have received an additional grant of sovereign willpower. Yet Auf had come within reach of success only to let it slip away, without his expression changing in the slightest, without a trace of discouragement.
This kind of mental fortitude was beyond what the other Sovereigns could match.
Infernal, Provan Mountain Range.
Half a year had passed since the Planar War, and Lin Lei's estate was as tranquil as ever.
"Wendi has gone out to make his way in the world too." Lin Lei walked along the corridors of his estate, gazing at the younger generation of the Baruch Family training on the distant grasslands. "Every one of them is so eager for battle. It seems like before long, most of these younger members will also be venturing out into Infernal to gain experience."
Lin Lei followed the corridor and turned into a secluded garden.
In a corner of the garden, Bei Bei was chatting with Nissa about something, the two of them laughing so hard they were doubling over.
"Hm?" Lin Lei turned and saw his father, Hogg, and his mother, Linda, walking in through the garden entrance.
"Lin Lei." A smile naturally appeared on Hogg's face.
"Father, Mother." Lin Lei immediately bowed.
"I've been looking for you—I have something to discuss," Hogg said with a smile. "Your mother and I have been thinking about visiting some material planes for a proper tour. Why don't you and Dilia come along with us?" There were countless material planes, and many of them had their own unique characteristics.
There were strange races and entirely different civilizations.
Touring countless material planes was far more interesting than remaining in the supreme plane of Infernal.
"No thanks." Lin Lei declined with a shake of his head and a smile.
"You child..." Hogg couldn't help but shake his head with a resigned smile, while his mother, Linda, said with a grin: "Hogg, don't pressure Lin Lei. He can go whenever he wants."