Chapter 330

The heavens and earth echoed with the War God's furious roar: "Cowardly God of Shadows, why did you ambush us!?"

The God of Shadows looked like a giant humanoid lightbulb, a mass of shadow Ningju from the light, as if a humanoid creature carried a massive magical lamp on its back.

Because the light was too blinding, the details of the shadow could not be seen; only the areas that might have been eyes and nose twitched, and the God of Shadows spoke with a hint of confusion: "Why are you still alive?"

"The King protected us! The War God and the Forge God formally pledge allegiance to the Immortal King in exchange for his protection!" roared the War God.

The God of Shadows spoke: "You have betrayed the Light, and now serve the dark dead. You are guilty."

The War God stamped his foot in rage: "Bastard! You ambushed us first! Tell me why! Aren't we allies!?"

"Under the Light, there is only shadow—what allies? The Storm of Faith is coming. I need your two divine cores."

"Ah! Die! I'll smash your divine core first!" The War God roared in fury and hurled his Hammer of Thunder toward the God of Shadows.

A massive, bald-headed hammer spun through the air, wreathed in violent lightning, as the War God, the Forge God, the God of Shadows, and the God of Arbitration clashed.

It was a brutal battle; the final outcome was the God of Shadows' head shattered by the War God's hammer, while the War God himself was cleaved in two by a single blow of the God of Arbitration's sword.

The mighty War God was slain; naturally, the Forge God could not match the God of Arbitration, and his head was severed.

The Forge God, eyes wide with unextinguished rage, glared at the God of Arbitration as the latter pulled out all their divine cores—including the God of Shadows'.

Then, a flash of light from nowhere exploded outward.

The divine cores of the War God and the God of Shadows shattered on the spot; the Forge God and the God of Arbitration suffered severe damage.

The illusion faded slowly; all who watched stood stunned, unable to believe what they had seen: the dwarves' gods ambushed by the Light gods? The War God and Forge God pledged to the Immortal King? The God of Arbitration used their divine cores to block the Storm of Faith?

"What is the Storm of Faith? Is it the Soul Storm the King mentioned? What is that thing? It shattered two divine cores on the spot—even the God of Arbitration hiding behind them was injured? Was the God of Arbitration only injured?"

At that moment, a furious roar came from nearby: "Cowardly Light gods! How dare you ambush the War God and the Forge God! Brothers, kill this servant of the Light first, then smash the Church of Light!"

The voice, the tone—it was identical to the War God's in the illusion. Ang thought the War God had returned. He turned—and saw Huang Tong charging forward with twelve Thunder Guards.

Anthony's tailbone went cold: "Bad. We're now the Grand Archbishop and the Ascetic—now we're enemies?"

Thirteen dwarves charged in unison, overwhelming in force. At the spearhead, King Huang Tong's muscles swelled, petrified, and with a tight grip, his hammer flared with lightning.

Clutching the hammer's haft with both hands, the dwarf king leapt high; the hammerhead tore loose vast sheets of lightning, as if dragging in a massive web of spatial electricity, then gathered it all into one crushing blow.

If the Thunder Guard's demonstration on the way had been a one, Huang Tong's strike was at least five times stronger.

Anthony trembled in fear: when power exceeds normal levels by several times, all tricks become meaningless. Even if this hammer struck the ground beside them, the explosion would fling everyone away.

Just as Huang Tong's hammer was about to strike, Ang raised his hand. A purple-gold bone hand seized the hammer. Before all eyes, Ang completed Luo Ke's transformation—becoming a purple-gold skeleton.

"D…Death Lord?" Huang Tong, weapon and all, was held aloft by Ang, stunned by this sudden change.

First, he was shocked that the Ascetic An had suddenly become the Death Lord. Second, he was shocked that the Death Lord had caught his strongest strike bare-handed. Bastard—is this an illusion? Am I still inside the War God's chessboard illusion?

Anthony rubbed his hands: "King Huang Tong, we're allies, we're allies! We, too, have pledged allegiance to the Immortal King, just like the War God and the Forge God."

"Puh… a… ally?" Huang Tong muttered, releasing the hammer and stepping down.

Ang shoved the hammer into the Palace of Rest, then pulled out other things: a dozen Thunder Titans, Night Watchers, Mouthy Horses—turning the tables and surrounding Huang Tong's group.

The transformation ended. Ang returned to his original form. Huang Tong stared, trembling—he didn't know if Ang had reverted because his transformation time was up, or if he had chosen to revert to regain control.

Anthony sighed: "King Huang Tong, we never imagined such a thing happened. The Light gods are despicable—they ambushed the War God and the Forge God."

Huang Tong instinctively replied: "Yes, despicable. You betrayed your alliance and ambushed your allies."

"No no no, King Huang Tong—it was the Light gods who betrayed the alliance and ambushed us." Anthony emphasized.

Huang Tong sensed the surging holy power on Anthony's body, his mind struggling to catch up.

After watching the War God Chessboard's record, Huang Tong's heart swelled with boundless rage: the War God and Forge God had been ambushed by the Light gods? And their divine cores used to block the Storm of Faith?

These treacherous humans! Kill them!

Huang Tong immediately attacked the Grand Archbishop and Ascetic An, seeking vengeance for the War God and Forge God—only to find them transformed into the Death Lord, who had effortlessly deflected his strongest strike and told him: We're allies now…

The change came too fast. Too fast for him to adjust.

"You're impersonating the Church's Grand Archbishop?" Huang Tong asked, puzzled.

"No no, I am the Grand Archbishop of the Church—the Pope's Regent." Anthony smiled, his eyes sincere, his expression earnest.

"Then… you betrayed the Church?" Huang Tong asked.

"How can you say that? The Light betrayed us." Anthony corrected.

"Yes yes yes—the Light betrayed us." Huang Tong felt the power of language for the first time.

After further discussion, Huang Tong gradually understood one thing: Grand Archbishop Anthony and Ascetic An were truly heretics of the Church of Light.

But now, one was the Grand Archbishop of the Eastern Diocese, the other a revered Ascetic with the standing to run for Pope.

Originally, they should have been on opposing sides. But after watching the record replay, they realized the War God and Forge God had pledged to the Immortal King—now they were on the same side.

"No one would believe it. Yesterday I was a loyal ally of the Church of Light; today I'm an enemy. Yesterday I was your ally; today… wait, still your ally?"

Changed sides, yet the ally remained the same—who would believe it?

"Exactly. No one would believe it. Even if we said it, we wouldn't admit it—we'd just call you a liar. Once you step out that door, I'm still the Grand Archbishop of the Light, and he's still Ascetic An." Anthony added a warning tone.

Huang Tong's heart tightened. He nodded frantically. Yes—no one would believe it. No proof, no evidence. Everyone would think he was lying.

He'd better keep his mouth shut, or risk alienating his ally. But keeping secrets was hard for dwarves—who didn't drink? And after drinking, they couldn't even remember what they'd said.

From the War God Chessboard, Ang pulled out the Drive Core. The group prepared to leave.

Huang Tong hesitated, then asked: "Since we're allies… could you sell us the Drive Core?"

Anthony glanced at Ang. Seeing no reaction, he replied: "This is a divine core. What will you pay with?"

"Ssshh—divine core?" Huang Tong's eyes widened like copper bells. He shook his head: "Can't afford it."

Ang returned the others to the Palace of Rest. The two left the dwarves' territory. Watching their retreating figures, Huang Tong opened his mouth several times, but finally dared only to mutter softly: "My hammer…"

His hammer had been taken by Ang. That was the King of Dwarves' hammer—the pinnacle of dwarven forging, crafted from the finest materials and techniques. Gone like that?

Once the dwarves were out of sight, Nageles and Du Luo's voices finally erupted from Ang's body. Since watching the full record, they had been arguing nonstop, focused entirely on what the Storm of Faith was.

"The Storm of Faith is the Soul Storm—just a different name." Du Luo said.

"If the Storm of Faith is the Soul Storm, then what is the Wind of Rest? We discussed this before—the Soul Storm was likely the Wind of Rest. The King warned the Witch to beware the Soul Storm—he meant the Wind of Rest."

"Then our previous conclusion was wrong. The Wind of Rest cannot produce such an effect."

"Could it be that the Soul Storm and the Storm of Faith are not the same thing?" Nageles asked, puzzled.

"No. If it were merely the Wind of Rest, the King wouldn't have warned the Witch. Only that strange flash required caution."

At the mention of the flash, Nageles' attention shifted instantly, no longer caring about the distinction: "What was that flash? How strange—it shattered two divine cores instantly, even injured the God of Arbitration hiding behind."

"Couldn't see it. Just a flash. Who knows what it was." Du Luo grumbled.

"Ugh, this damn War God Chessboard—doesn't even record clearly. Even a door lock would record better."

Anthony couldn't help interject: "It might not be the Chessboard's fault. Maybe the flash just looked like that."

"What do you mean?" Nageles asked.

"I don't know exactly when the flash occurred, but during the King's disappearance, I felt no anomaly. Meaning—the flash wasn't visible to everyone."

"Not visible to everyone? Then who could see it?" Du Luo asked. His tone wasn't a question—it was a leading prompt, steering thought toward his point.

Who could see it? What disappeared during that time? The gods!

"So only gods could see the flash?" Nageles asked.

"But why did the King warn the Witch?" Du Luo murmured.

Suddenly, a spark flashed through all three minds: "The Witch has a divine core!"

Anthony smacked his thigh, excited by the guess.

If the Storm of Faith—or Soul Storm—is the same thing, and it targets gods, the most likely explanation is that the Witch has a divine core, which is why the King warned her.

"Alright, let's assume that for now. Let's move to another question: why did the King kill the gods? Hypothesize—under what circumstance would the King need to kill the gods?"

"Could it be, like the God of Shadows, he wanted to use divine cores to block the Storm of Faith?" Anthony speculated.

Du Luo disagreed: "The Storm of Faith is likely a storm of belief power. Perhaps he wants to cut off its source—fewer gods, fewer sources of the storm."

"Chain reaction? Each affected divine core feeds energy into the storm?" Nageles said.

Nageles, Anthony, Du Luo—all were among the brightest minds of the age, each with unique strengths. Together, they quickly generated dozens of hypotheses and deductions, none certain to be true.

Ang listened silently. His Hand of Transcendence had long reached into the space, drifting to water and fertilize.

Human joys and sorrows differ. They chattered excitedly; Ang only found them noisy. Growing things was more fun.

For a gardening skeleton, growing things was his true calling.

The previous divine cores had been harvested; the Divine Flowers had withered. Ang dug them up and replanted new seeds. After some time, new buds formed, nurturing new divine cores.

Without the Speed Death Aura to accelerate, this would be a long process. The ancient elf druids took hundreds of years to grow the Divine Body.

But compared to divine cores, elf beans would be his next primary crop. After repeated simulations, he had summarized their growth traits—they could sprout and grow without heavenly soil.

This would greatly remove cultivation limits. If elf beans could grow in ordinary soil, it would be a food revolution—one elf bean could satisfy a commoner's entire meal.

The heavenly elf beans had been harvested several times. He now had enough seeds to expand cultivation.

But before that, he needed to store the half divine core. The dried flower buds were perfect for holding divine cores.

After drying, they shrank into a watermelon-sized ball, shaped like a resurrection fern—perfect for holding a divine core.

But after pulling it out, Ang noticed something strange had happened to the divine core.

"Grown?" Nageles and Du Luo were called back.

Ang nodded. A barely perceptible change—perhaps increased by one part in a hundred thousand—but it had grown, not dispersed. Previously, the core would slowly disperse when left exposed, which was why Ang stored it in the dried flower bud.

Now, the core wasn't dispersing—it was growing.

"Could it be these divine runes? Bastard—did you forge the Forge God's divine core using divine runes?" Nageles gasped, then excitedly added: "If so, then by planting blank divine cores and carving the runes of vanished gods onto them, you could recreate every known divine core! I know all the runes—let's do it!"

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