"Louis, has it ever occurred to you that this guy might be lying?"
Edley's words dripped with malice as he addressed Louis XXIV, who stood beside Azrael.
Since his side was currently outnumbered, the strategy was simple: sow discord.
He didn't need to turn anyone against Azrael, just make them hesitate to help.
Louis XXIV raised an eyebrow at Edley's provocation, then glanced at Azrael with a faint smile. "Lord Azrael, he says you're lying to me."
Azrael understood Edley's game perfectly. The man was suggesting that the information he'd shared about breaking through to Sovereign-tier was false.
After all, if it were true, why was Azrael still only at Sovereign-tier?
However, after actually reaching Sovereign-tier himself, Azrael had realized his earlier words to the two men were correct, just incomplete.
Breaking through to Sovereign-tier did require world consciousness, but that wasn't the only requirement.
As for what else was needed, Azrael himself didn't know yet.
With this in mind, he frankly shared his new understanding with Louis XXIV.
There was no need to hide such things. After all, they were allies. If Louis XXIV could break through to a higher level before him, the pressure on Earth would surely be greatly alleviated.
Furthermore, there was no conflict of interest between them. The real conflict lay between Edley and himself.
"You heard him, Edley."
Louis XXIV shrugged at the Indo-American Federation Sovereign after receiving the updated information from Azrael.
Meanwhile, Catherine looked somewhat puzzled. She'd only come to mediate a fight between Sovereign-tier Lore Cardians, yet she'd stumbled upon such important information.
Edley's expression darkened considerably at this exchange.
The scene froze for a long moment.
Time passed, and just as Motian was beginning to grow impatient, Edley's expression suddenly shifted.
The middle-aged man in the dark blue suit smiled broadly, saying calmly, "Mr. Azrael, there's no need for hostilities."
"Our conflict isn't truly irreconcilable, is it?"
This was, of course, a lie, and everyone present knew it.
Even Azrael knew the two men across from him probably hated him to their cores.
However, he also understood that with Louis XXIV and Catherine now on the battlefield, today's fight was over, as long as Edley and Motian weren't complete fools.
While Azrael had a decent relationship with the [Near-God] and [Empress] beside him, it was unrealistic to expect them to proactively attack two Sovereign-tier Lore Cardians.
Their relationships weren't that close. Their willingness to show up was already a significant favor.
Of course, if Edley and Motian initiated combat, that would be another matter entirely.
This was also why the two sides hadn't yet engaged.
Seeing Edley perform such a rapid about-face, Azrael's lips curled slightly. "I hope you truly believe that."
He thanked Louis XXIV and Catherine, then vanished under Shiraori's dimensional magic.
Louis XXIV and Catherine disappeared an instant later, leaving Edley and Motian floating in midair.
After a moment's silence, Motian spoke with a grim expression. "Edley, you should know this isn't over yet, right?"
"Wait until I've dealt with matters back home, then we can discuss this privately."
Having summoned Brahma to his side, Motian now dreaded to think about the situation within the Mughal Empire.
While he didn't particularly care whether his subordinates lived or died, if too many perished, his enjoyment would undoubtedly suffer.
Crucially, his current strength was insufficient to kill Azrael alone.
Hearing this, Edley twitched his lips. "Thank you so much for the reminder. I'll contact you as soon as I finish what I'm doing."
With the Golden Emperor's promise secured, Motian didn't linger. He immediately returned to the Mughal Empire.
Edley, on the other hand, remained hovering in place, expressionless, until a long moment later when a thunderous crash suddenly erupted.
Looking at the dead fish floating belly-up across the ocean's surface, he gritted his teeth and growled, "Azrael!"
For Edley, who prioritized profit above all else, everything that had happened was utterly unacceptable.
He'd given away a treasured resource for nothing. He'd lost Apache and the others without achieving his goal. After being sealed, the Indo-American Federation had been plundered.
It was as if he'd gained nothing while losing everything.
Most importantly, Louis XXIV had taken the Antarctic Peach!
Thinking of this, Edley nearly vomited blood. He regretted not using his full strength to kill Azrael when he'd had the chance.
But regret was useless now.
His first priority was retrieving that peach.
As for whether this would offend Louis XXIV, well, there were many ways to rob someone.
Meanwhile, Azrael had already returned to the Empire of Aetherlight. He knew another difficult battle with Edley was inevitable, and Shiraori alone would still struggle to secure victory.
Fortunately, his card-creation plan was only missing one or two materials.
Azrael now regretted that, had he known Motian would release Edley, he would have simply plundered the Indo-American Federation's material library entirely.
"Tsk, what a missed opportunity!"
At that moment, Lucian and the other two Masters hurried to Azrael's residence.
Azrael had informed them about the attack on the Earthshattering Star satellite long before setting out.
There'd been no need to tell them, actually, the commotion in the sky had been visible to anyone with eyes.
The small meteorites formed by the shattered satellite had created a dazzling meteor shower across Earth's sky.
Seeing that Azrael bore no visible wounds, Lucian and the others breathed sighs of relief before asking with great concern, "Azrael, what happened?"
"Has Edley been released?"
Hearing this, Azrael nodded, then recounted what had just transpired.
Upon hearing that Louis XXIV and Catherine had offered assistance, Lucian and the other two exchanged meaningful glances.
This demonstrated that Azrael's external identity was proving quite useful.
They hadn't forgotten that Azrael still held the title of Prince of France.
While the immediate crisis seemed averted, Lucian and the others knew deep down that the situation between the Empire of Aetherlight, the Mughal Empire, and the Indo-American Federation was essentially irreversible now.
It was unfortunate they couldn't offer more substantial assistance.
Azrael, seeing through the three elders' thoughts, shook his head slightly. "Teachers, you should handle the internal affairs of the Empire."
"I'll take care of everything external."
He was confident. After reaching Sovereign-tier, virtually no one on Earth could threaten him in a one-on-one situation. At worst, they'd simply fight to a stalemate.
Not wanting to continue on this topic, Azrael asked another question. "What's the situation with the Mughal Empire now? Any news?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Lucian and the other two suddenly grew solemn.
After a brief silence, Tempest spoke. "A Sovereign-tier secret realm has indeed descended upon them."
"Without Motian's suppression, they've already suffered heavy casualties in that short period."
"That's because the Sovereign-tier demon hasn't taken direct action yet."
Azrael understood why the Sovereign-tier demon hadn't attacked personally.
After all, while Brahma's condition was indeed compromised, the Sovereign-tier demon was also in poor shape. Brahma's sudden disappearance would surely arouse its suspicions.
What if it was a trap?
Therefore, it had initially sent its lesser demons to conduct probing attacks.
Thinking of this, Azrael nodded slightly. "Keep monitoring the Mughal Empire. I'm afraid that madman Motian will do something desperate."
"By the way, what's the situation in Velkairos now?"
He was asking about the Four Evil Gods. Because of their presence, Velkairos's reconstruction had been delayed, and even the surrounding cities had been evacuated long ago.
Lucian answered Azrael's question almost without hesitation. "Nothing unusual, just like before."
The old man now spent almost all his time in Velkairos. Few people understood the city's situation better than he did.
Hearing this, Azrael's face showed no relief.
The Four Evil Gods would inevitably descend, it was just a matter of time.
After conversing about Edley and the others, Lucian and the other two departed. The Empire of Aetherlight was currently experiencing numerous developments that required their attention.
Azrael leaned back in his chair, staring out the window at the sunset, lost in thought.
Nearly half a month passed without major incident throughout the Empire of Aetherlight.
Besides the updated second chapter of "The Overbearing Master Falls in Love with the Silly Neighbor," little else of note occurred.
However, this tranquility had little bearing on the Lore Cardians currently stationed in the ruins of Velkairos. They were still discussing the magnificent meteor shower that had occurred not long ago.
"The other day, I was shocked when Lord Azrael's satellite shattered. I thought it was an alien attack, but thankfully, it was just the seal breaking."
"I don't think a hostile Sovereign-tier Lore Cardian escaping is better than an alien attack."
"True, but come to think of it, I made a wish during the meteor shower the other day, saying I'd return home and get married once things here were over."
"?"
"?"
Hearing this terrifying death flag, several Lore Cardians present immediately tried to cover the speaker's mouth.
However, before they could move, a continuous tremor caught their attention.
Stepping outside, they saw a crack, like a wound in reality itself, slowly opening along the distant coastline of Velkairos.
The Empire's Lore Cardians present were stunned for a moment, then their expressions changed drastically.
"Alert! Alert!"
"This is all your fault for raising that flag!"
"Can you please stop being so superstitious? We need to trust science!"
Amidst the piercing alarm, the Empire's Lore Cardians quickly assembled.
Meanwhile, Lucian stood before the rift, observing the unfolding events with a solemn expression.
The next moment, Azrael appeared beside the old man.
He gazed at the slowly forming spatial rift not far ahead and muttered, "This day came later than I expected."
Frankly, Azrael had originally thought the Four Evil Gods would descend again when he reached Master-tier, but it had taken until now.
It seemed the Soul King had driven this secret realm quite far back in their previous encounter.
With a casual sigh, Azrael summoned Shiraori, intending to use dimensional magic to try expelling the secret realm from Earth once again.
Unfortunately, after a moment, the white-haired girl shook her head slightly, her eyes remaining closed, indicating her inability to do so.
Azrael sighed at this, though he wasn't particularly disappointed.
After all, from his previous conversation with Earth's World Consciousness, he'd learned that although Great Britain was still on Earth, the actions of the [World-Devouring Disaster] had already created cracks in the planet's barrier.
This situation undoubtedly favored the arrival of secret realms.
"Teacher, you go back and organize the defenses. I'll handle this."
Azrael was ready to send Shiraori in to open the Four Evil Gods' eyes the moment the secret realm fully formed.
Upon hearing his words, Lucian didn't say much, simply patting him on the shoulder and leaving two concerned words. "Be careful."
With that, the old man returned to the defensive positions and began directing the Lore Cardians to build a stronger defensive line.
Elsewhere, in a world resembling a nightmarish patchwork, a Frankenstein-like giant sat cross-legged before a constantly twisting dimensional rift.
As he gazed at the secret realm's imminent exit, he silently recalled the information his subordinates had shared with him long ago.
"What a shame. If only I had encountered this world sooner."
The giant was undoubtedly the Four Evil Gods.
As recorded, they possessed the ability to devour other secret realms, or perhaps "splicing them together" would be a more accurate description.
His lament stemmed from the fact that if he had encountered Earth sooner, he wouldn't have ended up in such a horrible, confused state.
Though powerful, he was also incredibly fragmented, both internally and externally.
The Four Evil Gods sighed at this thought, then recalled their previous, utterly failed descent.
While unsuccessful, it had only strengthened their resolve to splice a portion of this world onto themselves.
At this moment, the spatial rift before the Four Evil Gods gradually stabilized, eventually forming a massive entrance to the secret realm.
He immediately stood, ready to step through and unleash disaster upon the world outside.
But before he could even approach the entrance, a white-haired girl appeared in his own world.
With just one glance, the Four Evil Gods confirmed the white-haired girl was a formidable figure on their own level. There was no need to speculate on her identity, she must be one of those strange beings called biological cards from the outside world.
Given that, the only option was battle.
He was also very interested in this power called cards.
The next moment, two figures, one massive and one small, collided, and a tremendous shockwave swept across the surroundings.