Chapter 469: The Mantis Stalks The Cicada, Unaware Of The Oriole Behind

In a simple thatched cottage in the Holy Dragon Kingdom’s capital.

That was the slums of the capital. The people who lived there were poor people without money or power. At that moment, two young children were surrounding an old man in the thatched cottage.

A statue of a G.o.d was placed on the table in front of the old man. The statue looked like it was wearing s.h.i.+ning golden armor. Gears of different sizes were floating on its back. Its face was handsome, and its eyes were filled with love and all-encompa.s.sing light.

“Great G.o.d of Light, Baldur, please bless our family to live peacefully this year. Bless us with a healthy life. If the taxes collected by the kingdom can be reduced by 30 percent, it will be even better.”

The old man put his hands together and prayed sincerely to the statue. After praying, he even stretched out his right hand and drew a cross on his chest.

“Grandpa, is that G.o.d effective? I feel like you’re praying to him every day, but I don’t see our lives getting better.”

The younger of the two little boys around him curled his lips.

The old man smiled and reached out to pat the little boy’s dirty hair. “Don’t underestimate that G.o.d. He is the G.o.d of Light, Baldur. His authority is to control the light. Other than that, he also controls hope. In the past, the Demoness Church, which dominated the kingdom and caused the Holy Dragon Kingdom to fall into darkness, was destroyed by the G.o.ds led by Baldur! Other than that, you were in a bad state when you were born. I prayed to Baldur, and you got better.”

“You can choose not to believe in the other six G.o.ds, but you must believe in the G.o.d of Light, Baldur! It doesn’t matter if the wishes I prayed for don’t come true; many people place their hopes in the G.o.d of Light. He might not be able to give priority to my wish. As mortals, we have to understand the G.o.ds.”

The young child did not seem to buy the old man’s words. He was still pouting. “The reason my brother and I were able to survive was probably due to our tenacious vitality. It has nothing to do with the so-called G.o.ds! If that G.o.d of Light is really powerful, then let that sculpture s.h.i.+ne. That way, I will believe that he has divine power and not some imaginary thing made up by others.”

Just as the youth’s voice fell, the old man shook his head and was about to explain something.

Swis.h.!.+

Suddenly, the statue of the G.o.d placed vibrated. Immediately after, a gentle light appeared on it. The light turned from gentle to dazzling and lit up the entire house.

“The G.o.d of Light, Lord Baldur, has responded to our wishes. Peter, he heard what you said. Praise the merciful G.o.d and guide my ignorant child.”

The old man hurriedly knelt on the ground and prayed to the glowing statue of the G.o.d of Light. The child was also shocked by the scene in front of him; he opened his mouth but could not speak.

At the same time, in the cathedral at another part of the royal city.

“Your Eminence, the statues of the seven G.o.ds of the Holy Dragon Kingdom have been shaking. There are different colors of light bursting out from them. What does that mean?”

In the Hall of the G.o.ds, where the seven sculptures were placed, a red-robed archbishop and a few of his followers were looking at everything in front of them in astonishment.

Among the seven sculptures of the G.o.ds, other than the seventh sculpture of the time traveler, the sculptures of the other six G.o.ds were emitting a surging light. With each breath, it seemed like those sculptures were about to come to life.

“Those sculptures are the symbols of the G.o.ds and also the channel for us to communicate with them. Judging from the aura emitted by those sculptures, I can feel the aura and fury of war. It seems that the G.o.ds are at war.”

The red-robed archbishop stretched his hand outward and drew a cross on his chest. Sensing the aura emitted by the sculptures of the G.o.ds, he said carefully.

“The G.o.ds are at war. How is that possible? The seven G.o.ds had always been united and harmonious, protecting the Holy Dragon Kingdom together. Compared to the other kingdoms, the Holy Dragon Kingdom has seven G.o.ds. Just the number alone is enough to crush them. There is no reason for the G.o.ds to start a war now. Is there anything that can make them fight each other?”

A kingdom usually only had one G.o.d, at most two. That was because too many G.o.ds would cause internal strife due to a lack of believers.

The Holy Dragon Kingdom had seven G.o.ds, which had always been the pride of the kingdom’s priests. In the past, the Demoness Church had one G.o.d, the Primordial Demoness. However, after the Demoness Church’s fall, King Landhar III supported the kingdom’s seven G.o.ds. The advantage of having many G.o.ds was that the people of the Holy Dragon Kingdom could always find a G.o.d that they liked. If one G.o.d was not satisfactory, then they could choose another G.o.d.

For example, there were always G.o.ds that believed in war and hunting. In some port cities near the sea, the residents believed in the G.o.d of Storms and Navigation, Agares. The women believed in the G.o.ddess of Moon and Love, Diana, while the farmers mostly believed in the G.o.ddess of Earth and Fertility, Gaia. Some of them even believed in multiple G.o.ds.

In other kingdoms, the ma.s.ses might be divided into two groups—one believed in G.o.ds, and the other did not. However, in the Holy Dragon Kingdom, the ma.s.ses were different. Most of the people there believed in G.o.ds. The only difference was that they believed in different G.o.ds.

Crack!

Before the archbishop could open his mouth to answer, the statue of Agares, which symbolized the storm and voyage, cracked. Then, the crack expanded. Agares’s statue, standing on a big s.h.i.+p with a harp in one hand and an arrowhead in the other, seemed to be giving directions to others. Then, he turned into pieces on the ground. As the statue shattered, the energy that permeated his body also dissipated.

“Did the statue shatter?”

The people in the church stared blankly at that scene, their expressions turned ugly.

That was not a good omen. Were the G.o.ds really fighting each other?

“If it is really a battle between the G.o.ds, does it mean that there will only be one G.o.d left? I wonder who will be the last remaining G.o.d. What if the G.o.d that the people believe in disappears?”

A few priests muttered to themselves anxiously. At that moment, the archbishop reacted and waved his hand. “Quick, send someone to the other churches in the capital to see if they have experienced something similar. Also, get someone to go to the palace and tell His Majesty about this. Let His Majesty decide what we should do next.”

Then, the archbishop turned his head to look at the five glowing sculptures in front of him. “If there is really going to be a battle between the G.o.ds, then there is only one G.o.d who will survive in the end, and that is the G.o.d of Light, Baldur.”

“Why do you say that, Your Eminence? The other G.o.ds are not weak either, especially the G.o.d of War and Hunting, Ares. Couldn’t he defeat Baldur in a fight? Furthermore, the battles between the G.o.ds are very similar to the battles between the humans. There will be cliques. If the other G.o.ds were to join forces, even the G.o.d of Light, Baldur, might not be able to win, right?”

A priest who had not left the church asked doubtfully after hearing the archbishop’s words.

The red-robed archbishop shook his head. “That’s because you don’t understand the power of the G.o.d of Light, Baldur. Of course, there are some secrets about the G.o.ds that only the pope and the archbishop can access! I can’t tell you too much, but I can tell you that Baldur is not on the same level as the other G.o.ds, even if the other G.o.ds were powerful. At least, it’s impossible to use numbers to suppress Baldur because he alone is an army.”

“Is the G.o.d of Light, Baldur, that powerful?” The priest clearly did not believe him. At that moment, more than half of the guards suddenly rushed in from outside and shouted anxiously, “Oh, no! Your Eminence, please go out and take a look. Just now, a few figures that look like the incarnations of G.o.ds appeared in the sky above the capital. They are fighting.”

“What did you say?”

The red-robed archbishop cried out in surprise. He did not hesitate and rushed out. He looked up at the sky and saw several black figures fighting. One of the black figures was Gaia, who was thousands of meters tall. There were also a few human shadows that he could not see clearly. However, the blood-stained divine kingdom that they had used in the shattered s.p.a.ce and the dark red moon that they had summoned seemed to fit with the characteristics of the G.o.ds.

…

In the sky, several thousand meters above the royal city.

At that moment, Watson and Nia were floating in the air. They were witnessing a great battle between the G.o.ds.

That was the first time Watson had seen a G.o.dly existence fighting in front of him. The chaos and scale of the scene far exceeded his expectations.

Ares, the G.o.d of War and Hunting, had joined forces with the G.o.ddess of Moon and Love, Diana, and Gaia, the G.o.ddess of Earth and Fertility. They stood in three corners, respectively, to besiege Baldur. The attacks landed on Baldur’s body like a storm but were blocked by Baldur’s light s.h.i.+eld.

Baldur was very powerful, but he was only one G.o.d after all. Plus, he was facing attacks from three G.o.ds. In just a few minutes, the s.h.i.+eld made of light on his body cracked several times, and the armor on his body fractured as well. There were wounds on his body.

“Everyone, work harder. As long as we break the body that Baldur occupies and force him back to the divine realm, then victory is ours.”

The void around Ares continued to shatter. In the cracked black hole, weapons stained with the blood of G.o.ds or other creatures flew out and occupied the entire sky. Many of those weapons were at starlight-tier. Ares’ eyes would sparkle as he spoke, his face filled with killing intent.

The number of believers he had in the kingdom as the G.o.d of War and Hunting was the least. It was not because he was weak but because the seven G.o.ds had an agreement. The number of faith a G.o.d could absorb depended on their abilities. For example, Agares, the G.o.d of Storms and Navigation, absorbed the faiths of the fishermen and seafarers in the coastal areas, while the G.o.ddess of Moon and Love absorbed the faiths of most of the women in the capital.

Those were all significant sources of faith. The faith he absorbed came from the kingdom’s army. Since the Holy Dragon Kingdom had been living in peace for many years, the kingdom’s army was also very lax. There were not many people who believed in him sincerely. That caused him to be ranked last among the seven G.o.ds. That made him unhappy for a long time.

Compared to Baldur, who was known as the leader of the seven G.o.ds, he was a G.o.d who did not have a stable source of faith. However, unlike him, Baldur had a power called hope and was in charge of the light.

“The power of hope is really convenient. As long as a person is in a desperate situation or when they encounter difficulties, they can pray to Baldur in exchange for the so-called hope so that they can break out of the predicament! Using that method to deceive the faith of ignorant humans, Baldur’s method is really despicable. I really don’t see how he resembles the G.o.d of Hope.” Ares muttered softly, his words filled with dissatisfaction toward Baldur.

He was jealous of Baldur. He was obviously the same as Baldur—both of them did not have a fixed source of faith, but why was Baldur able to absorb more faiths than him? He was not satisfied. So he joined hands with other G.o.ds to defeat Baldur. Then, he would defeat the other G.o.ds, and occupy Watson’s body.

As long as he obtained that thing, he would be able to roam the divine realm. He would no longer need to treat the other G.o.ds with fake sincerity. Even if he had to give up on absorbing the faith from the people in the Holy Dragon Kingdom, it would not matter.

Just as Ares was thinking about that, Baldur tore off the broken armor on his body and threw it away, revealing a muscular body full of injuries

“I am tired of defending myself. I will not be polite anymore! If I had acted earlier, I would have been able to explain. I would like to apologize to everyone. You have risked your lives descending from the divine realm to this place. The outcome of this battle has already been decided from the start. If I had explained it to all of you earlier, then this would not have happened.”

“Baldur, what are you talking about?”

Diana snorted in dissatisfaction. With a wave of her hand, a flaming meteorite fell from the sky and smashed toward Baldur’s head. Then, she stretched her fingers outward, Baldur’s body was immediately added with hundreds of gravitational forces.

As the G.o.ddess who commanded the moon, Diana controlled the moonlight and other moon attributes, such as gravity and the ability to see and summon the moon to the ground.

At the same time, Gaia also attacked. Two huge palms that were even more powerful than the mountain range grabbed Baldur. After Baldur dodged the attack, Gaia’s palm turned to the huge burning meteorite that Diana summoned.

Holding the meteorite in her hand, Gaia was like a pitcher, throwing the meteorite at an even faster speed and strength.

The falling meteorites, coupled with Gaia’s throwing, caused the clouds in the sky to be scattered. The meteorite sh.e.l.ls whistled as they fell into the kingdom, creating many holes around the capital.

A meteorite hit a forest not far from the capital. The burning airwave had turned the forest into ashes. There was also a large lake, which was initially a famous tourist spot near the capital. After the meteorite hit it, the lake water instantly evaporated. The water mist spread in all directions. Even a few bridges connecting to the center of the lake had shattered. A meteorite also exploded on the nine huge walls surrounding the capital. The crushed stones rolled toward the capital, destroying half of the city walls. The people in the capital were wailing non-stop.

Initially, the G.o.ds were still concerned about the people in the capital. However, when they realized that Baldur was about to lose and the opportunity to obtain Watson was right in front of them, they could not care too much about that. Compared to Watson, the so-called faith was trash.

Facing the combined attack of the three G.o.ds, Baldur continuously dodged while in mid-air. However, he was unable to escape the combined skills of Gaia and Diana. The meteorite that Gaia shot out increased its speed and strength, and the earth’s power caused the size of the meteorite to fluctuate. Even though Baldur was swift, he was still hit by a huge meteorite. The sound of his bones breaking and crushed reverberated through the sky.

“He’s. .h.i.t. Baldur is done for.” Diana cheered.

Her joint technique with Gaia was called the Chain Planet Catapult. She created the meteoroid, then Gaia threw it into the air and imbued it with immense power. Then, Gaia imbued it with gravity to track the enemy; no matter how fast their enemies were, they would not be able to escape it. As the number of meteoroids increased, they would hit their enemies eventually.

When Diana smiled, Gaia heaved a sigh of relief. Her body shrank to the size of an average human. She flew to Diana’s side and began to look at Ares vigilantly. Meanwhile, Ares’s eyes flashed as he stopped what he was doing.

Baldur had already been defeated. The next battle would be between the three of them.

Just as they were thinking about that, Baldur, who was about to be vaporized entirely by the huge meteorite, suddenly stretched out a hand and snapped his fingers.

With a m.u.f.fled sound, the entire world had changed. Gears of different sizes appeared behind Baldur. Those gears were biting and pulling each other to form a gear world. Then, voids suddenly opened behind Baldur. The doors emitted a powerful and attractive force, attracting the meteors in the sky, including the one that hit Baldur.

Before the meteors entered the doors, they were shattered by some kind of beam shot out from the void. Then, huge wars.h.i.+ps floated out from behind the doors.

Those wars.h.i.+ps were purple and covered in an energy field. The wars.h.i.+ps were shaped like a shuttle, and there was a long cannon barrel on each side of the wars.h.i.+p. The front part of the cannon barrel emitted beams of light. It was clear that those beams did the magic that had just shattered the meteorites.

After shattering the meteorites, the cannons began to move toward the center. They fused and turned into an even larger cannon hole. Just the scattered cannon barrels were enough to shatter the meteorites that were like stars. One could imagine how powerful the fused cannonb.a.l.l.s were.

“All the wars.h.i.+ps are on standby. Divine Power Star Destroyer Cannons are ready. Preparing to fire in ten seconds!”

At least ten thousand wars.h.i.+ps appeared in the sky. They were several hundred meters in size and covered the entire sky. Ares and the other two G.o.ds were surrounded.

“What the h.e.l.l is that?” Ares stared at the tens of thousands of wars.h.i.+ps floating above his head, disbelief written all over his face.

“Are those from the legendary third era, the Void dynasty created by humans imitating the technology of the G.o.ds?” Diana exclaimed.

“That’s right. You guessed it right.”

Baldur waved his hand in response to the G.o.ds’ questions, and the front section of wars.h.i.+ps immediately lit up. Tens of thousands of blazing rays gathered, and each ray of light had enough power to pierce through the surface. If fired simultaneously, the three G.o.ds and the capital would be destroyed, turning into a blank s.p.a.ce.

The magma in the core of the earth would flood and submerge the earth, causing severe damage to the kingdom. As the G.o.d of Light, it seemed inappropriate for Baldur to do such a thing.

However, there was nothing wrong with him doing such a thing. Before he became one of the Holy Dragon Kingdom’s guardians, he had another ident.i.ty—the prince of the third era’s Void dynasty. At that time, the third era had already reached its end, and the Void dynasty’s influence had reached its peak. They were no longer satisfied with staying in that world, so they attacked the divine realm.

In front of the G.o.ds, even the most advanced void fleet of mankind was still vulnerable to them, and the humans had lost the G.o.ds’ protection, so there was no way for them to fight against the G.o.ds. Hence, the king ordered Baldur, who was still a prince, to become the new king and lead the remaining Void dynasty’s soldiers to search for a place to live in the divine realm.

Baldur did not disappoint his father’s expectations. Not only did he find a habitable star for the Void dynasty in the divine realm, but he also cultivated the sovereign tier, allowing the power of the G.o.ds to fuse with the technology of the Void dynasty.

In the past, when he was in the Void dynasty, Baldur was called the Son of Light, and after he transformed into a G.o.d, he was called the G.o.d of Light. In the history of mankind, the third era’s Void dynasty was destroyed because they overestimated themselves and challenged the G.o.ds after they became powerful, resulting in a fault in the magic technology of human history. No one knew that the people of the Void dynasty were not destroyed. Instead, they took the initiative to leave the world and took all the technology with them.

“The reason I am called the G.o.d of Hope is not that I forced the honor on myself, but because the people of the Void dynasty gave me that t.i.tle! My hope is for my people, not for the world. So for the glory of the Void dynasty, let everything dissipate under the light,” Baldur muttered to himself.

Every G.o.d had a divine kingdom, and in those divine kingdoms lived believers who provided faith to the G.o.d. To ordinary G.o.ds, those believers’ role was only to provide faith.

However, he was different. His divine kingdom was inhabited by many people from the former Void dynasty. Many of those people’s strength was close to that of G.o.ds. In addition, they possessed techniques comparable to G.o.ds, and with the support of his divine power for so many years, those people had already transformed his divine kingdom into something that could be called a weapon of war.

His people were not only believers; they were also soldiers. The two most powerful weapons he had obtained in his divine kingdom were the gears he had displayed behind his back called Gears of Machinery and Wisdom.

Tens of thousands of wars.h.i.+ps were released at that moment. Each of the wars.h.i.+ps possessed power comparable to G.o.ds. He had the help of tens of thousands of G.o.dly soldiers. Meanwhile, Ares, Gaia, and Diana were only three G.o.ds.

Three against ten thousand, they were not on the same level at all.

“Baldur, you despicable fellow! You actually hid such a powerful force in your divine kingdom, yet you never told us about it. It seems that you have never treated us as your companions. ”

Ares was shocked by the scene of tens of thousands of wars.h.i.+ps firing their cannonb.a.l.l.s simultaneously. A miserable expression appeared on his face, and in the end, he did his best to summon all the ancient weapons from the many spatial cracks that appeared around him. Countless ancient weapons of the starlight-tier flew into the sky like locusts, turning into a group of meteors.

Unfortunately, in front of the wars.h.i.+ps, weapons of the starlight-tier were like toothpicks. When they touched the surface of the wars.h.i.+ps, they were deflected away. After that, they were drowned by the Divine Power Star Destroyer Cannons fired by the battles.h.i.+ps. Ares turned into ashes in mid-air. Before he fell, Ares raised a middle finger toward the sky and slowly dissipated.

“Baldur, we will fight it out with you!”

Gaia and Diana looked at each other. They knew that Ares was dead, and they could not live any longer. They rushed into the sky. Gaia turned into a giant while Diana’s body also expanded, turning into a dark red star. The two gigantic bodies flew into the sky and collided with the two wars.h.i.+ps. Then, before the two G.o.ddesses could fly any higher, they were swept by the wars.h.i.+ps’ Divine Power Star Destroyer Cannons, and they exploded into pieces in mid-air.

“It’s all over.”

With the death of the three G.o.ds, a ma.s.sive energy tide appeared in mid-air. Baldur watched everything with a cold expression, wiping the blood off his body and waving at a floating void wars.h.i.+p. A beam of emerald light immediately fell upon Baldur’s body.

Baldur’s battered body, which the meteor had struck, began to heal rapidly. It was one of the void dynasty’s abilities—healing rays.

The Void dynasty had studied the void to its limits, and all functions could be transmitted across s.p.a.ce by compressing into light rays, just like healing rays. It was a technique to compress healing spells into light rays, and it was a technique to send light into the human body.

While Baldur was being healed, Nia and Watson were quietly retreating from the battlefield.

“I did not expect Baldur to be so powerful. If you were to fight him, how much of a chance do you have of winning?”

“If it were me in the divine realm, I would have defeated him even though it would have been difficult. If it were me now, I would have no chance of winning,” Nia said quietly as she looked at the sky.

Nia was a diamond-tier elite, and there was a gap between her and the starlight tier. It proved that Baldur was really powerful.

“Master, now that the three G.o.ds have been forcibly sent back to the divine realm, Baldur’s next target is you. I will try my best to stall him for a period so you can take the opportunity to escape.”

“Escape? Where to?”

Watson smiled bitterly. “Baldur has planted a race chess piece in my body. Even if I leave now, I will be forced to go to him later. The reason I am far away from the battlefield is not to escape but to stay far away from Baldur to avoid being affected by his attacks. It is also convenient for me to collect the power of the dead G.o.ds.”

Watson opened his hand—there were three ma.s.ses of pitch-black matter, squirming about. Two of the ma.s.ses of black matter emitted a blood-red color, while the last one contained a thick aura.

Those were the remains of the G.o.ds after the three G.o.ds died in battle. Watson had used his ability to control the direction to draw them into his hand. Facing the scattered ma.s.ses of pitch-black matter in his hand, Watson did not hesitate. He immediately activated the fusion system.

“Fusion system, activate!”

[Congratulations, Master, for fusing with the incomplete remains of the G.o.ds and obtaining the complete remains of the G.o.ds.]

Following the sound that rang in his ears, Watson placed the substance that had been fused into a golden ball of light into his mouth. The abilities of the three G.o.ds instantly appeared in his mind.

[Congratulations, Master, for obtaining the Moon Kingdom, the Earth Kingdom, and the War Kingdom. Congratulations on acquiring the abilities Throwing Chain of Planets, the Summoning of Unlimited War Weapons, and the Doubling of Giants.]

There was no need to explain the three kingdoms. The three kingdoms were the most basic powers of the three G.o.ds. After obtaining them, Watson would be able to control the moon like Diana, such as summoning stars or controlling gravity. He could also control the blood of others, like Ares, the G.o.d of War, and make them go crazy.

He had also obtained three other abilities. Among them, he had just seen the combination of Diana and Gaia’s skill with the meteorite. It was so powerful that it even injured Baldur, who had no choice but to use his full strength.

As for the Summoning of Unlimited War Weapons, it was Ares’ ability. Its effect was that Watson could replicate any weapon that he had seen before. The abilities of the replica would be the same as the real one. Furthermore, they could be repaired after being damaged. The only difference was that repairing it required a large amount of energy.

As for the Doubling of Giants spell, the move made Gaia’s body grow larger. That move could allow the body to expand countless times and also increase the body’s strength. If he needed strength, it was a practical move.

“With the addition of Agares’ abilities, I’ve obtained four divine kingdoms and four special divine skills. If it weren’t for the fact that I had a race chess piece implanted in my body, that fight would have been a great profit for me.”

Watson sighed as he extended his right hand downward. Following his actions, the Divine Power Star Destroyer Cannon, initially attacking the surface after destroying Ares and the other G.o.ds, barely turned a weak angle. It brushed past the walls of the royal city and blasted it into the ground.

A ma.s.sive pit of unknown depth appeared. Boiling magma rose from within it. The magma spread along the huge pit and flowed to the side of the wall of the royal city, causing a huge burning hole in the wall. The lava was still spreading into the capital and would soon cover the entire capital. At that time, any elite who could not fly out of the capital would die.

The guards who discovered that scene sounded the alarm and relayed the news back to the capital. For a moment, many residents felt uneasy and rushed out of their houses. Some people did not even have the time to take their luggage. For a moment, everyone cursed as they fought their way out.

“Hurry up and leave. I heard that boiling lava had appeared outside the city walls. It will soon spread into the capital.”

“D*mn it, why are the G.o.ds fighting for no reason? I have several houses in the capital. If my a.s.sets are destroyed because of the lava, I will suffer a huge loss.”

Many n.o.bles continued to curse.

In a wooden house close to the slums, not far away from those people.

The old man who had just prayed to Baldur was leading the two children outside in a panic. While running, he comforted the two children. “It’s okay. Lord Baldur just appeared. Apparently, he heard our prayers. No matter what happens outside, we’ll be fine.”

The two little boys were silent. The older one stared at the glowing statue in his grandfather’s hand and nodded in relief.

He had not believed in the G.o.d, but after the statue had lit up when he asked it to s.h.i.+ne. That proved that Baldur had divine power. In addition, the battle that had happened—no matter who saw it, they would understand that it was a battle between G.o.ds.

“Lord Baldur will definitely protect us.”

The old man repeated those words. Just as he walked out of the slums with the two children, he was pushed aside by the crowd on the street. He did not even hold the statue in his hand properly, and it fell out. It was crushed by a few people who were in a hurry.

“My idol! You dare step on an idol? You will be punished.” The old man ran forward hurriedly and reached out to pick up the broken sculpture. The sculpture had gradually lost its light; the old man would cry if he could.

No one cared about the old man. His young grandson, who was not far away from him, watched everything with widened eyes. The boy knew that the sculpture had lost its light as it fell to the ground

In the cathedral.

“Your Eminence, the battle in the sky has ended. Just as you guessed, the G.o.d of Light, Baldur, has won.”

A priest stood behind the red-robed archbishop and looked at the five broken sculptures on the ground. His expression was complicated. Only two sculptures remained in the cathedral. One was Baldur’s sculpture, but the light emitting from the statue was fading. On the other hand, the statue of the time traveler had not lit up at all.

“I did not expect the G.o.ds to fight amongst themselves. For some reason, this year was a disaster for the priests. We priests had collectively lost our ability to sense the G.o.ds for one day. Now, the kingdom has lost five of its seven G.o.ds. The power of the priests to believe in other G.o.ds will be significantly weakened! Not only that, the faith of the believers in the kingdom will also be impacted.”

The red-robed archbishop sighed. They needed the blessings of the G.o.ds to become stronger, and they also needed the names of the G.o.ds to plunder money. If the G.o.ds disappeared, the people would no longer believe in them; who would send money to the servants who served the G.o.ds?

“I wonder if this will turn into the same situation as the Demoness Church ten years ago. Oh, right! I just sent my men to the palace to deliver the news. His Majesty should have known about this matter by now. I wonder what His Majesty said about this matter.”

“Your Eminence, our men have just gone to the palace to report. Unfortunately, His Majesty is not in the palace. According to the reports from the people in the palace, His Majesty seems to have left a long time ago.”

“Not in the palace? If His Majesty is not in the palace at such an important time, then where could he be?”

The archbishop stared blankly at the sky, his expression melancholic with a hint of uneasiness.

In the sky…

After firing a few Divine Power Star Destroyer Cannons and digging a few holes deep into the earth’s core, Baldur came before Watson under the protection of many void wars.h.i.+ps and lowered his head to take a look. He said, “Watson, it seems like you’ve already devoured the cores of the other G.o.ds. That saves me the process of helping you collect them. Don’t worry, after I’ve fused with you, I’ll use that thing in your body to repair the ground! As for now, I hope that you can cooperate with me and not resist me.”

“Do you think that if I could resist you, I would still stay here?” Watson raised his hands and smiled bitterly.

His words stunned Baldur for a moment, and then he shook his head with a smile. “Watson, you are a fascinating person. If it weren’t for the thing in your body, perhaps you could have relied on your own efforts to become a G.o.d and enter the divine realm. It’s a pity.”

As he spoke, Baldur raised his hand and placed his palm on Watson’s forehead. Watson immediately felt like he had lost control of his body. Even though his will was about to be stripped away, an inexplicable and powerful force entered his body, gradually turning his body into someone else’s.

During that process, Nia raised her hand, wanting to stop Baldur’s actions. However, Watson turned his eyes with difficulty and gave Nia a look, indicating that she should not act rashly. Even if she did not understand, Nia still obeyed Watson.

At that moment, Baldur coughed. Black blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth, causing him to hunch his body in pain. Watson also recovered his freedom and laughed. “Lord Baldur, do you think that you have already won? It might not be appropriate to say that now. I don’t know if you have heard an old saying in the Holy Dragon Kingdom—the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”