«Ха-ха…»
Восторженный, восторженный смех раздался по звёздной реке.
«Получилось!»
«Всё кончено!»
Шестеро уцелевших одиноких посланников Владык Богов — включая Бределла и его спутников — а также другие воины армии Ада, все излучали улыбки на своих лицах. Их радость была не потому, что бой закончился ничьей. А потому что — они всё ещё живы! Они пережили этот ужасающий межпространственный конфlict.
Тысячи Трёхсот Демонов Семизвёздного уровня — едва сорок с небольшим дожили до конца.
Те, кто выжил, определённо заслуживали того, чтобы радоваться!
На расстоянии в несколько сотен тысяч ли, на вершине горы.
Многочисленные Владыки Богов вступили в оживлённую беседу.
— Оуф, в этот раз ты проиграл! — На лице Владыки Разрушения Уттрейда наконец появилась лёгкая улыбка.
Владыка Судьбы Оуф хмыкнул:
— Ха-ха… Уттрейд, ничья действительно считается моим поражением. Но, Уттрейд, причина, по которой вам, команде Ада, удалось удержать равновесие, — это шестеро посланников Владык Богов, сформировавших боевой строй. Чьи это посланники?
Оуф не выказал ни малейшего разочарования или недовольства из-за проигрыша — он по-прежнему улыбался приветливо.
— Это посланники Лин Лэя! — прямо ответил Владыка Разрушения.
— О? — Владыка Судьбы Оуф повернул взгляд в сторону Лин Лэя.
Даже другие Владыки Богов, подслушавшие разговор двух Владык, тоже повернулись к Лин Лэю. Оказывается, те шестеро, кто сыграл такую важную роль в этом межпространственном конфликте, были посланниками Лин Лэя.
— Лин Лэй, в этот раз ты очень помог Уттрейду, — сказал Оуф с улыбкой.
Лин Лэй слегка улыбнулся:
— Это всего лишь шесть посланников. Если бы вы, Господин Оуф, нашли одного Совершенного Владыку Нижних Богов, то один такой в отчаянной схватке мог бы убить сто-другой Двенадцатикрылых Серафимов без особого труда. И тоже способен был бы изменить ход сражения.
Those six fighting as one had played a role nearly equal to one Highgod Perfect Master.
"A Highgod Perfect Master? Which of those Perfect Masters would be willing to risk their life to enter this battlefield?" the Fate Sovereign Ove said with a soft laugh. "If there were no danger, they'd be willing to do a favor. But something this dangerous? Not a single Perfect Master would agree to come."
For a Perfect Master, even a Sovereign Artifact wasn't worth much.
So what could a Sovereign possibly offer to tempt a Highgod Perfect Master into joining? Nothing! Naturally, one after another, the Perfect Masters couldn't be bothered to participate in the war.
"Lin Lei, I'm curious — who devised the battle formation your six God Sovereign messengers used?" the Fate Sovereign Ove asked, recalling.
"That formation is called the 'Samsara Battle Formation.' It was researched by one of my God Sovereign messengers over hundreds of millions of years," Lin Lei replied without much concealment.
"The Samsara Battle Formation... Samsara... Samsara!" The Fate Sovereign Ove murmured the name several times, nodded slightly, and then gave Lin Lei an approving smile. "That messenger of yours is absolutely a top-tier figure among magical array researchers. To be able to fuse heterogeneous energies together as one with such minimal loss — I have to say, I'm impressed!"
"Oh come on, Ove — you lost and you're still this cheerful?" the Death Sovereign remarked with a light laugh.
The Fate Sovereign Ove smiled mildly. "Win or lose, gain or loss — it's all relative. You can't judge by the surface outcome alone... Haha..." Ove laughed heartily and happily. "Everyone, I won't be staying any longer. I'll head back to the Kingdom of Heaven first. Oh, and Lin Lei..."
Ove suddenly turned to look at Lin Lei and said with a smile, "When you have time, you really must come visit my August Garden. I've invited you many times already."
"I will, definitely," Lin Lei answered promptly.
Without further delay, Ove led the God Sovereigns of the Kingdom of Heaven side, tore open the spatial fabric, and departed.
"Ove..." Lin Lei sighed with admiration in his heart.
Over this period of time, through his several interactions with the Fate Sovereign Ove, Lin Lei had come to feel a certain respect for the man.
"Regardless of winning or losing, success or failure, he remains utterly composed — as if nothing in this world could truly anger him." Lin Lei marveled at this. In this plane war, had Ove won, he would have gained an additional grant of Willpower. Yet he had missed that opportunity without so much as a flicker of emotion, not a trace of dejection.
That kind of mental fortitude was something the other Sovereigns couldn't quite match.
Hell, the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range.
Half a year had passed since the plane war, and Lin Lei's estate was as tranquil as ever.
"Wendy has gone out to make his way in the world too." Lin Lei walked along the corridor of his estate, gazing into the distance at the younger generation of the Baruch Family playing on the grassy grounds. "They're all so battle-hungry. I reckon it won't be long before most of these youngsters set off to roam Hell as well."
Lin Lei followed the corridor and turned into a secluded garden.
In a corner of the garden, Bei Bei was chatting with Nisse about something, and the two of them were laughing so hard they were doubled over.
"Hm?" Lin Lei turned and saw his father Hogg and his mother Lina walking in through the garden entrance.
"Lin Lei." A smile spread across Hogg's face.
"Father, Mother." Lin Lei immediately bowed respectfully.
"I need a word with you," Hogg said with a smile. "Lately, your mother and I have been thinking of visiting some material planes — just traveling around, taking in the sights. 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 peculiar races, entirely different civilizations.
Touring the myriad material planes was far more enjoyable than staying in a Supreme Plane like Hell.
"No thanks," Lin Lei said with a shake of his head and a smile.
"Oh, this child..." Hogg shook his head with a resigned laugh, while his mother Lina smiled and said, "Hogg, don't force him. He can go whenever he feels like it."