Chapter 518: In the Divine Kingdom

"Keep a close eye on her, and wait for me to come out to deal with her. Mind you, I said keep a close eye, not mess her up."

Human bloodline softened the wildness of the Dark Elf, and her light brown skin gave the assassin a unique charm. On the Jade River in Zhendan, Sinuoli had once briefly possessed three Dark Elf slaves; although the final experience was not exactly pleasant, he had not lost interest.

"Understood, understood, we stake our heads on it!"

Duoluomao and Luosi did not think that much; the debauched old veterans believed Sinuoli simply did not want anyone to settle blood debts from previous conflicts and ruin his precious spoils of war.

"Let us see how effective all those preparations are!"

Standing before the stone carving, Sinuoli took a deep breath and began to connect to the passage. Ranald taking the initiative to show up in the guise of his top chosen one was the best indicator—He had been pushed to the limit.

"I'm coming in!"

The overwhelming divine power pried open a mottled vortex, and amidst the praises of the crowd, Sinuoli threw himself into it. The increase in strength was offset by the burden of entering with his true form; the pressure brought by crossing the distorted space and breaking through the boundary resistance was similar to that time he was sucked into the Slaanesh Realm.

"Good heavens, managing his own Divine Kingdom like this really fits his style. I wonder if this is entirely autonomous by the god or influenced by the demands of believers."

Recovering from the discomfort, Sinuoli felt as if he had arrived at a medieval version of the Weinisiren or Bihaijinsha—an all-encompassing entertainment complex. Those who gained Ranald's favor would enter here—until they lost all their capital.

"What is this, a Dwarf?"

"A stone-head with a short stature can get in too?"

"Why not ask him what happened outside?"

Regrettably, the buildings were no longer as magnificent as they once were; as Ranald's divine power waned, they looked much more dilapidated. The residents within pointed at Sinuoli; it seemed a bit difficult for the Dwarf race, known for being steadfast and honest, to become a great swindler.

"Interesting, when Mother Goddess just awakened, the Divine Kingdom was probably collapsed beyond recognition; Ranald's is much better. But it is still not enough to give birth to things like the Stormcast Eternals, otherwise, there should have been a group of security guards or something coming out to pin me down."

Not being blocked was exactly what Sinuoli wanted; he soared into the air and headed straight for the highest level of the building. There, a mottled and somewhat decadent power was entrenched, waiting for the final judgment.

"Dwarf, still in your mortal flesh and you actually dare to break into my Divine Kingdom? Are you not afraid that I will fight you to the death?"

"Afraid, of course I'm afraid. But do you know how much I invested in the Spring Thunder Operation? I wore out my old face and spent enough gold coins to keep your disciples working overtime for decades. Now, does a big fish like you still have the strength to struggle?"

On the throne, Ranald's face was still covered by five-colored flowing light and could not be seen clearly. A strange coin was tossed back and forth between his palms; he seemed to be relying on this Artifact known as the Lucky Coin to fight for a glimmer of survival.

"Your methods far exceed what your apparent status should possess. I cannot guess it, I cannot guess it."

Unable to toss the desired result again and again, Ranald let out a long sigh. After he realized that the run on his faith had slowed down after he bestowed divine grace, the participants in the operation immediately spread rumors that he had fallen, which was an even more fatal blow.

"The Great Dao is a struggle, do not blame me."

Sinuoli did not intend to waste more words with the God of Trickery; his divine power manifested into a pair of hammer and axe and flew straight at him. The collision between transcendents was the most simple and unadorned clash of power, until one side's divine power was exhausted.

"Boom!"

"Fine, fine, fine! As long as greed remains in the hearts of mortals, I shall have a day of return."

Ranald tossed the Lucky Coin, which transformed into a hazy yellow Shield to block, then raised his hand to tear through space, and after a moment of hesitation, he leaped out.

"Leave me..."

Admittedly, he had hidden a snare formed by the Oath Authority, but Ranald's actions were clearly not in his contingency plan. Outside the Divine Kingdom was the Warp! Wasn't this just delivering himself, well-seasoned, to the dining table of the four gluttonous guests?

On second thought, would it be any better if he fell into his own hands? Knowing there was a disparity in strength and fighting fiercely was the way of a warrior, not a swindler; saving some protective divine power to escape instead offered a chance.

"When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer. I wonder how helpless and desperate the ancestors were in their Divine Kingdom when the Ancestor Gods stepped into the Twilight."

Sitting on Ranald's throne and overlooking his Divine Kingdom, which began to disintegrate from the edges at a speed invisible to the naked eye because there was no divine power to maintain it, Sinuoli calmed his mind to carefully perceive the mysteries within.

"Why leave this treasure behind? I suppose it wasn't a wasted trip."

After a long while, Sinuoli noticed something unusual among the sand and rubble. It was a fragment of the Lucky Coin; as soon as he touched it, the ownerless Wealth Authority contained within merged into his body like a tired bird returning to its nest.

"Wealth, the side that is at odds with me. Mine is biased toward creation, and his, well, is to bewitch people's hearts."

In addition to enhancing his existing Divine Art, Sinuoli gained the ability to incite the endless greed for wealth in others—those with weak wills might imperceptibly degenerate into slaves to so-called money.

"Who wouldn't like shiny little money?"

Mimicking the act by manifesting his own Lucky Coin to toss around, Sinuoli stepped out of Ranald's Divine Kingdom with satisfaction. Wait—satisfaction? Why would he split the Wealth Authority and leave it for him even as he fled into the Warp?

"Hiss, I'm afraid I've been tricked after all! Dealing with this kind of guy is a job for Tzeentch!"

Associating the fact that he locked onto Ranald through the resonance between shared Authorities, it was not hard to guess that he either had another passage to sneak back into the Mortal World, or he still had believers and hiding places in nearby worlds.

"You have finally returned!"

"May your glory last forever, the bane of the wicked, the guardian of the good!"

"My God, did the trip go smoothly?"

"Hmm."

The carefully prepared plan had not been fully realized, and Sinuoli's mood was not that high; he flicked the Lucky Coin to shatter the stone carving and turned to leave. As for explaining more? Let God's things be God's, mortals need not worry.

"How long was I inside?"

"Five days and four nights, Your Majesty. Also, after the third day, some of your Human subordinates showed some restlessness."

"Three days? I guessed two days; after all, if I had lost, what awaited you all was the wrath of a true god. It seems the divine power displayed along the way was even more shocking than I imagined."

The Steam Sailboat added full power and headed north again. After spending some time re-evaluating the transcendent creatures active in the Old World, Sinuoli had time to handle official business—but before he interrogated the prisoners, the Little Beard, who could not be as urgent as he was but was always thinking of getting ahead, came to report one after another.

"Assassin—where is that half-Elf woman? Bring her here."

"Don't put your dirty hands on my butt!"

Sensing Sinuoli's suppressed anger, the Dwarfs quickly executed his order. It was less like an escort and more like the assassin walking in front with her long legs, while the warriors had to struggle to control her speed.