Chapter 218: Taibela Refuses to Let It Go
In a material plane within the vast Multiverse.
The Four-God Alliance, led by Taibela and others, hovered beyond the planar barrier, observing this World. They felt a gnawing discomfort at the slow pace of their war.
Because the God of Hope was unreliable and finally began acting like a proper deity, their alliance’s combat power had surged. They enjoyed a period of great advancement, raking in Faith Power like never before.
However, they soon discovered that their planar invasions were becoming increasingly difficult. Even the most unremarkable planes would unexpectedly spawn incredibly powerful individuals who, from start to finish, refused to believe in gods and stood firmly against them.
Previously, the Seven Gods’ usual method for dealing with these “thorns” was to buy them off, offering them status and power. With the Seven Gods’ accumulated resources and their guises as benevolent deities, they could easily acquire the halo of “world righteousness,” gaining the loyalty of these powerful individuals.
After all, when the Seven Gods first appeared, they were already in conflict with each other. For the intelligent beings of this Universe, choosing to join another god’s side by opposing a particular deity was a very common option. Mortals, with their fleeting lives compared to the eternal existence of gods, could do little else but cling to a powerful patron for a more comfortable existence.
In reality, the Seven Gods’ faction had already reaped most of the divine beings in this Universe who harbored any intent to resist. Therefore, no matter which faction these “thorns” from various worlds chose, they would inevitably end up becoming tools for the Seven Gods. Strategically possessing an absolute advantage, winning wars was incredibly simple and smooth for the Seven Gods.
The Seven Gods’ greatest reliance was their backing by countless Worlds and the accumulation of timeless epochs. After conquering a plane, believers’ souls would ascend to their Divine Kingdoms to become supplicants. Powerful adversaries would be utilized as residual waste, their souls forged into formidable Soldiers. Thus, no matter how powerful a World was, it could not possibly defeat the Seven Gods who had the advantage of tens of thousands of years.
The challenge faced by the Seven Gods was not whether they could win, but rather the cost of conquering a World. Although they possessed immense accumulated power, it was absolutely unacceptable to conquer a World through ruthless means. Their goal was to conquer the entire Multiverse, requiring them to keep their war machine perpetually running with the least possible expenditure.
This was why they created the façade of mutual opposition. Before the formal invasion began, they would first allow the target World to deplete its own strength. Then, when all parties were weakened, they would make their grand entrance, effortlessly reaping all benefits and achieving a penta-kill glory. Afterward, the World would either become a breeding ground for believers or be directly molded into a void-plane as planned. The Seven Gods’ armies would then briefly rest before charging towards the next World with the same playbook.
This tried-and-true strategy had been unfailingly effective throughout the Multiverse. The Seven Gods’ faction grew rapidly, with the cooperation of pre-arranged church organizations. Worlds that hadn’t developed beyond their singular existence had no chance of resistance.
However, this “universal solvent” strategy was gradually losing its efficacy. It wasn’t that they couldn’t win; rather, the cost was increasing, and their profits were shrinking. If this continued, invading a World might even result in a loss. What was the point of fighting then?
The Four-God Alliance found that the number of powerful individuals exceeding a plane’s general strength was increasing. Most annoyingly, these individuals believed in no gods and openly spread the truth that all these gods were in cahoots. Even if not everyone believed, such suspicion made it difficult for the Seven Gods’ churches to instigate world wars in their target Worlds, making it hard to create a scene of easy reaping.
If this were the only issue, the Seven Gods could have swept through like an autumn wind, eliminating resistance forces in that World with a bit more resource expenditure. However, the powerful individuals emerging from these Worlds possessed immense personal strength and extreme caution, prioritizing survival skills before growth, making them like unkillable cockroaches that became even stronger each time they appeared.
Simultaneously, they possessed strong charismatic leadership and organizational capabilities. Just a few such individuals working together could quickly raise a well-equipped army, with weapons seemingly appearing out of thin air. The Four-God Alliance had every reason to suspect they were being targeted. They didn’t want to gnaw on bones; they only wanted to fight easy battles.
Apart from the God of Knowledge, the primary objective of the remaining Six Gods in their wars was to harvest more Faith Power. But due to the existence of these “thorns,” the cost of invasion had increased linearly, making the expenses unrecoverable. The Six Gods were growing weary of fighting and wanted to consolidate the territories they had already occupied.
Even with the four of them banding together in an alliance, the cost of tackling these difficult challenges kept rising, to the point of drawing blood. They needed to seriously contemplate what they were facing. Was this region particularly difficult, or had the entire Universe changed in this manner? If it was the former, they planned to request other gods to switch war zones, as it was better for a fellow Daoist to suffer than for themselves. If all remaining planes in the Universe entered “hell mode” after a certain point, they would have to apply to the God of Knowledge to change their strategy, at least demanding greater rewards.
Having been manipulated by Nalinir numerous times, these gods had learned to be calculating. They rationally understood why they were fighting, and instead of rashly starting another campaign after setbacks, they were flexibly seeking to change their approach.
While fighting in the plane, the Four Gods discussed their future path. Suddenly, Taibela froze. Not only outside the plane, but her Incarnation on the battlefield, engaged in combat with the resistance forces, seemed to halt in shock and was subsequently surrounded and annihilated by the enemy.
“Sister La, what did you realize?” the God of Hope asked with concern. Due to her considerable cunning, Taibela served as the strategist for the Four-God Alliance, always identifying overlooked issues. Therefore, the other three gods placed great importance on her opinions. Something that could shock her so profoundly must be quite significant.
After a long while, Taibela regained her composure and said resentfully, “It has nothing to do with you. One of my Temples was burned down by the Saintess!”
The other three gods looked puzzled. Wasn’t a Saintess the most devout believer? Why would she burn down her own god’s Temple? Taibela seemed reluctant to discuss it. She tilted her head and looked at the Sea God, “Prepare yourself, it seems there are big problems in the Eternal Night World, and your little Saintess is not simple either…”
“Damn it!”
Before Taibela could finish, the Sea God cursed. She also sensed that her statue in the Naga Empire had been toppled, and the Faith Power from there had been completely severed. There was likely a severe problem in the church there. However, thanks to Taibela’s warning, although the Sea God was angry, she did not suffer the same mental stagnation from shock as Taibela. She calmed herself, realizing that the opponent’s actions were well-prepared, coordinated in timing, and demonstrated a high level of understanding of Divine Power and faith, leaving her no chance to counter. She had been careless!
“What do you plan to do about this?” the Sea God asked.
“I’m still considering it, but I definitely won’t let it go,” Taibela replied, her eyes filled with malice. She could afford to lose an Incarnation, and she didn’t care about the loss of Faith Power from the Terra Kingdom. But to be deceived by Tasika for so long, to grant her strength and artifacts, hoping she would complete her plans in the Eternal Night World… only for it to fall into the enemy’s scheme. This was blatant collusion! She had always exploited others, and she had never been exploited before! She felt that Tasika and whoever was behind her had issued a blatant provocation, and they absolutely could not be allowed to get away with it.
“Perhaps you should calm down and deal with the current situation first. It’s just one plane, after all,” the Sea God advised with some concern. They were gods who had conquered countless planes; a temporary loss was not important. As long as their grand plan was fully implemented, victory would be theirs. However, making a wrong decision in a moment of impulse could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Taibela’s chest heaved. Seeing her comrades looking at her with worry, she forced herself to suppress her emotions and said softly, “Alright, after we conquer this World, I will make a decision.” Her previous Incarnation had been destroyed, and now she directly channeled Faith Power, generating another Incarnation in the invading plane. It began a rampaging slaughter, like a peerless mower, to vent her frustration! “Eat shit, Tasika!”
***
Deep in the sea, in the royal capital of the Naga Empire.
The massive statue of the Sea God, which was taller than the palace roofs, was a majestic structure and one of the origins of the city’s magical shield. It held a special significance for all Nagas. It represented the Sea God’s favor towards them, a point constantly emphasized by the Sea God’s church, which used it to assert their dominance over the Naga Empress.
Since their defeat in the war for landing points against the Sea Kingdom, the Nagas had lost the initiative and were constantly being invaded by mermaids. The protracted war had exhausted everyone. To sustain the war effort, the Naga Empire accepted substantial aid from the Terra Kingdom, opening concession areas and supporting free trade. Along with trade, totemic bracelets and the “Blissful Illusions” entered the Naga Empire. The immense pressure of reality could be relieved in the virtual world, and the public’s happiness index had even risen compared to the past.
However, the side effect was that people were spending less time on faith and prayer. Compared to the stimulating games and beautiful women in the virtual world, their former spiritual solace suddenly seemed less appealing. A normal church would certainly create various obstacles to the promotion of “Blissful Illusions,” such as implementing policies like minors being unable to log in, to ensure the proportion of believers across the entire Naga Empire from a young age.
But Nicole, already a mole from the Azurevine Empire, would naturally not obstruct Roger’s plans. Using the excuse of dealing with rebellious subordinate races at the Naga border and being unable to extricate herself, she relinquished her management of the church. The elite of the Sea God’s church had all been taken away by her. She was spreading the Sea God’s faith among the subordinate races, and these fanatics were happy, believing it was the Lord’s glory shining in all directions! In reality, she was merely drawing hatred for the Naga Empress!
The mediocre individuals left in the royal capital were incapable of effective countermeasures. Coupled with the Naga Empress’s long-standing hatred of rising divine authority, this led to an increasing proportion of “Blissful Illusions” replacing faith. Although the totemic bracelets and “Blissful Illusions” were controlled by the Terra Kingdom, the Terra Kingdom only wanted to profit from the Nagas and would not interfere with the Naga Empress’s decisions. Therefore, despite the risk of inviting wolves into the fold, the Naga Empress firmly suppressed divine authority. “To repel invaders, one must first secure the interior.”
Under the combined pressure of multiple forces and her own ineffectiveness, the Sea God’s church received less and less public support. Simultaneously, Nicole’s bloody and cruel actions at the border continuously drew hatred. In recent years, the public’s perception of the Sea God’s church had plummeted.
Finally, during a border conflict that broke out today, Saintess Nicole, while using divine arts to console injured believers, accidentally exposed a demonic aura. In her panic, she cast the wrong spell, consequently revealing her true demonic form! At the scene were the church’s clergy, countless Sea God believers, and heretical cultists from subordinate races – a total of 100,000 people witnessed this scene.
The demonic Nicole, holding the scepter representing her saintly status, shouted loudly, “Continue fighting! What are you looking at? Keep killing those heretics!”
But the believers present showed no reaction. They were merely pondering why a seemingly fallen demon could also be connected to their god. At this moment, the leader of the heretics, who was being cornered, stepped forward and mocked furiously, “Sea God, Hahaha! He’s nothing but a fallen evil god, Hahaha! Only an evil god can raise a demon as a Saintess, Hahaha!”
He commanded the heretics to counterattack. The Sea God’s church forces, who had held an absolute advantage, were mentally unprepared to continue fighting and were quickly dispersed. The heretics stormed into the Sea God’s church, toppled the Sea God’s statue, and then blew up the entire cathedral. They captured Nicole alive and, using a teleportation array, brought her to the royal capital. Presenting the “Saintess” who embodied both demon and holy light, they crushed the faith of the Sea God’s believers in the royal capital. “The one we believe in… is an evil god?” The heretics then destroyed the largest cathedral in the royal capital, and the Sea God did not descend with his wrath. “Your Sea God is guilty and cannot refute you!” the heretic leader declared loudly.
However, his triumph was short-lived. He was soon killed by the palace guards, and the other heretics were imprisoned. Nicole was also rescued. Of course, due to Nicole’s terrifying appearance, she was thrown into the imperial prison and personally interrogated by the Naga Empress.
However, when Nicole entered the immaculately clean and luxuriously decorated prison cell, she saw the Naga Empress, who rose to greet her. The two of them clinked glasses and celebrated: “Long live the Empire, Long live the Naga, Long live the People!”
This was a scheme of self-inflicted injury. Because the Nagas’ faith was too strong, even after countless preparations, they had to mar the Sea God’s and Saintess’s images to the worst possible extent to smoothly transition to a state of disbelief, minimizing the possibility of internal strife. On the same day, the Sea Kingdom also proactively proposed signing an indefinite ceasefire agreement with the Naga.
Explosive news began to spread. Shana, who had just left the Empress’s award ceremony, was stunned. “What? Tasika is an ally of the Empire?” “Then what have I been rebelling against all these years…?” Her mentality shattered, even more so than Taibela’s.
