In most transactions, ordinary divine beasts or special lifeforms were only willing to part with a few drops of blood essence.
But if one refined it directly from a corpse, the yield would rarely be less than fifty drops.
Of course, if the divine beast or special lifeform happened to possess an interspatial ring, Ryan and his group would not leave it behind.
After sweeping across the battlefield and collecting the majority of divine beast and special lifeform corpses, Ryan's team immediately withdrew—without lingering for even a moment.
The tides of war shifted unpredictably. No one knew when the next battle would erupt, or whether the enemy had gained new experts.
Living constantly under the shadow of sudden death wore heavily on the nerves. If not for the authority of the Sovereigns keeping order, the soldiers might have long since broken and fled.
Ryan's group was no exception.
Even though they hadn't directly participated in the large-scale clashes of the Sovereign Legions, the repeated assaults and defenses of their stronghold had already filled the five of them with exhaustion toward the battlefield.
Thus, after their stationed service in the Celestial Realm reached seventy thousand years, Ryan led Rockpeak, Clifford, Bella Kess, and Ismail to the battalion commander's tent.
"Commander Frank."
"Oh? Captain Ryan."
At the sight of Ryan, the battalion commander—Frank—quickly stood and stepped forward to greet him.
This was the same commander whose strongest divine clone had been killed several tens of thousands of years ago.
Although his Saint-level original body had fused with a divine spark to recover his strength, his future prospects were effectively cut off.
That said, at their level, further advancement was already nearly impossible, so he didn't dwell on it.
The reason for his courtesy toward Ryan was simple—over the past tens of thousands of years, Ryan had saved his life multiple times.
Moreover, the fact that this stronghold still stood at all was due, in no small part, to Ryan's efforts—at least half the credit belonged to him.
Without Ryan, this place would have long since been wiped out by the Celestial Realm's forces.
"Sir Ryan, this is your team's reward for the past ten thousand years. I prepared it earlier—I was just about to send it over."
After inviting them to sit, Frank retrieved a drop of Destruction Sovereign power from his interspatial ring and handed it to Ryan.
"Thank you, Commander Frank."
After storing the drop of Sovereign power, Ryan spoke calmly.
"This time, we've come to bid you farewell."
"Farewell?"
Frank froze, clearly confused. "What do you mean by that?"
Ryan sighed.
"To be honest, Commander Frank, these seventy thousand years of guarding have left us weary of war."
"We don't intend to continue this mission."
"We plan to return to Hell, find a quiet place, and live in seclusion. We don't want to be involved in this war anymore."
"…What?"
Frank's expression changed instantly.
The only reason he had survived this long was because someone like Ryan—a powerful Seven-Star Fiend—was here to support him.
If Ryan left, then in the next battle… he might very well die.
"Sir Ryan, have I ever wronged you in any way?" Frank's voice turned sharp. "Why would you push me to my death like this?"
Ryan frowned.
"What nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever try to kill you?"
Frank's eyes turned cold.
"In this situation, if you refuse to continue the mission and choose to leave, isn't that the same as sending me to my death?"
"You know very well—without you, this stronghold cannot hold. I will likely be killed by another battalion commander from the opposing side."
"And yet, you still choose to leave. If that's not wishing me dead, then what is?"
"I treated you well all these years…"
"Commander Frank… have you forgotten what we are?"
Rockpeak stood up, letting out a sigh.
"We are Fiends. We take missions, complete them, and receive rewards."
"What made you think we were like you—subordinates of a Sovereign who must fight to the death?"
"Over the years, Captain Ryan has saved you no fewer than eight times. You've received rewards from the Sovereign—we never asked you to share even a fraction."
"And now that our mission is complete and we want to leave, you accuse us of trying to kill you…"
"Commander Frank, I find your character disgraceful."
"Bang!"
Enraged by Rockpeak's words, Frank struck out with a punch.
"I'm speaking to your captain—who gave you the right to interrupt?!"
"Rockpeak!"
Ryan's expression darkened instantly.
"Earth Prison!"
He stomped the ground. In an instant, the earth surged upward, forming a cage of condensed earth-element Laws around Rockpeak, sealing him within.
"Boom!"
Frank's punch slammed into the earthen cage, blasting it backward and tearing open spatial cracks dozens of meters long around the tent.
Ryan's face turned cold.
That strike—there was no doubt—had been meant to kill.
"Well done, Frank."
"Earth Fist!"
With a flick of his hand, the ground beneath Frank erupted. A massive earthen hand formed and clenched tightly around him, lifting him into the air.
"You've angered me."
Because of the disparity in strength, Frank had assumed Rockpeak was merely an ordinary subordinate.
But how could he have known?
Ryan and Rockpeak had shared millions of years together.
They were brothers in all but name.
An attack against himself—Ryan could tolerate.
But an attack against Rockpeak?
Unforgivable.
The earthen hand brought Frank before Ryan.
Ryan clenched his fist—and struck.
"Boom!"
"Pfft—!"
The punch shattered his own earthen construct, smashed through Frank's highgod defensive artifact, and obliterated most of his body in a single blow.
"How… how is this possible?!"
Frank's face twisted in shock.
Ryan… was this powerful?
A single punch had nearly killed him.
Was he truly only a Seven-Star Fiend… or was he actually a Prefecture Lord?
All these years, Ryan had fought using fused Laws—never revealing his full strength.
But as a rock-type special lifeform, his physical body was far stronger than any highgod artifact—over ten times stronger.
His true strength lay in close combat.
Even against a Prefecture Lord, he could hold his ground for a time.
Frank, a mere ordinary Seven-Star Fiend, had no chance of withstanding such power.
"Ryan… spare me! Please, spare me!"
Seeing Ryan raise his fist again, Frank panicked.
He had no divine clones left.
If he died now—he would truly be gone.
"I am a soldier under Sovereign Pash of Blood Peak! If you kill me, the Sovereign will avenge me!"
Ryan's eyes turned cold.
"You think I care?"
His fist fell.
Frank's head exploded. Ryan grabbed the divine spark, letting the headless corpse collapse to the ground.
"Ryan!"
Rockpeak rushed over from a distance.
Thanks to the Earth Prison, he had not been injured—but the sight before him made his heart sink.
They might not even be able to return to Hell anymore.
"…I'm sorry. I've dragged all of you into this."
Rockpeak turned to Clifford, Bella Kess, and Ismail.
Killing a Sovereign Legion commander…
Even if they hadn't participated, without Sovereign backing, they would all be seen as challengers to Sovereign authority.
"Don't say that," Clifford shook his head. "From what he said and did, it was clear what kind of person Frank was."
"Even if Ryan hadn't acted, he would've forced us to stay."
"And if Ryan refused, we'd all be trapped here together."
"He simply didn't realize how strong Ryan really was."
"Enough," Ismail said. "What's done is done."
"The question now is—where do we go?"
"Killing a commander under Sovereign Pash means we can't return to Hell."
"The other divine planes are still at war. Maybe not as intense as here—but not by much."
"So—do we stay in the Celestial Realm and defect, or hide somewhere else?"
He looked at Ryan.
"What do you think?"
"We go to the Netherworld."
"…What?"
"Why?"
Only Rockpeak understood immediately.
"Ryan… you're going to find Lord Locke?"
"Lord Locke?"
"That's right… we still have Lord Locke!"
"But… is he in the Netherworld?"
Ryan nodded.
"Over two million years ago, Lord Locke warned us that a great war among the planes might break out. He told us—if we wanted to avoid it, we should go to the Netherworld."
"And Oakes—the one who's been relaying his orders—is the Prefecture Lord of Shadowmoon Prefecture in the Netherworld."
"We'll go find Oakes. See if he can contact Lord Locke."
"Then let's move!"
"If we delay any longer, word of Frank's death will spread—and we might not even make it through the teleportation array."
"Let's go!"
The five of them shot into the sky as streaks of light, heading toward the nearest interplanar teleportation array.
Only after they left did the remaining soldiers of the Blood Peak Legion dare to enter the tent.
When they saw Frank's corpse, terror spread across their faces.
They immediately ordered a full evacuation.
Without a Seven-Star Fiend-level commander, a single enemy expert could slaughter hundreds of thousands of soldiers in an instant.
Staying here meant certain death.
Locke, meanwhile, had no idea that Ryan and the others had killed a commander of the Blood Peak Legion and were now heading toward the Netherworld in search of him.
As for Blood Peak Sovereign Pash—
he had already learned everything from his subordinates' reports.
Yet upon seeing Ryan in the recorded projection, he suppressed his anger and chose not to act personally.
He was waiting.
Waiting for Locke to give him an explanation.
Because he recognized Ryan.
This was the Fiend who had once delivered a message for Locke to Sovereign Muya—personally acknowledged as a Six-Star Fiend.
Pash believed that once Locke learned of this, he would come forward.
After all—
Sovereigns naturally upheld each other's authority.
The dignity of a Sovereign could not be profaned.
When that time came, Pash could even offer Locke a way out—spare Ryan, and only execute the others.
But to his surprise—
even after Ryan and his group left the Celestial Realm and vanished into another plane…
no apology ever came.
"Damn it…"
Within his palace, Pash's expression remained calm—but his heart burned with fury.
"How many times has he ignored me now?"
"Locke… just let me find out which Sovereign you are…"
"When I do, I'll repay every bit of this humiliation—piece by piece…"
"…and make you regret it."
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next Bonus Chapter at 600 powerstones