Chapter 1114: Usurping the God

"Sun God Ge Weng?"

Tusu'er's face turned pale with shock, not understanding why Ke Er Sa Luo mentioned another deity, but after a moment's thought he frowned and replied, "The temple originally preserved many scriptures, but most were lost during the migrations and wanderings. However, some ancient doctrines do mention Ge Weng…"

He strained to recall, speaking uncertainly, "I remember that Ge Weng is the God of Flame, an ally of my lord in the heavens, and the most trusted ally; my lord calls him brother."

"Brother?" Ke Er Sa Luo's face showed surprise.

Could Ge Weng's relationship with Anse have been that close? That's indeed a divine secret.

"Yes." Tusu'er nodded, "My lord has been close to the God of Flame since the prehistoric era, allied for tens of thousands of years, never betraying."

Ke Er Sa Luo let out a cold laugh.

Tusu'er inferred some facts; Ke Er Sa Luo is a Divine Chosen, evidently learned the truth from the deity, and he whispered, "Has Ge Weng not fallen yet?"

"Of course not." Ke Er Sa Luo said gravely, "He not only lives well, but also seized my lord's 'Blazing Sun' divine office, merging it with the 'Dawn' and 'Dusk' offices into 'Sun', thereby ascending to Sun God."

"Ah…"

Tusu'er felt as if struck by lightning, his pupils dilating dramatically.

Ke Er Sa Luo's words contained so much information that they left his mind a blank, unable to speak for a long time.

Yet, what he cared most about was one thing, his voice trembling, "My lord… my lord has lost the Blazing Sun divine office?"

"Correct." Ke Er Sa Luo nodded.

"But those Divine Techniques…" As the high priest of the temple, Tusu'er knows deities far better than ordinary trolls, fully aware of what a divine office entails, and he said despondently, "Without a divine office, how does my lord grant the holy warriors Divine Technique?"

"He relies on a powerful relic," Ke Er Sa Luo explained half‑truthfully, "but that relic consumes a great deal of divine power, so it cannot currently bestow blessings on many believers."

"I see."

Tusu'er looked enlightened, yet still full of worry.

"The high priest should know that my lord made arrangements over ten thousand years ago; now he has revived smoothly. Though he lost the divine office, he wields a Divine Flame, but his divine power is weak, so he cannot yet reclaim the Blazing Sun office," Ke Er Sa Luo said.

"Throughout the ages, the temple's high priests have indeed passed down the Divine Edict: one must steadfastly keep faith, let the clan keep praying, and the deity will revive again, like the Blazing Sun rising…"

Tusu'er let out a bitter laugh and said no more.

The Blazing Sun tribe had worshiped for tens of thousands of years, its members uttering "Blazing Sun" daily, yet they did not expect that once the deity revived, it would no longer be closely tied to the Blazing Sun.

Ke Er Sa Luo said firmly, "The deity will sooner or later reclaim the Blazing Sun divine office."

"Yes!"

Tusu'er had just voiced support when Ke Er Sa Luo suddenly changed tone, "But not now." He instantly held Tusu'er's words in his throat, and asked cautiously, "Chief, you say the Blazing Sun divine office now belongs to Ge Weng; is it possible for him to return it to my lord?"

Ke Er Sa Luo gave no answer, but retorted, "Do you know how the deity fell back then?"

Tusu'er's expression changed.

"Ge Weng betrayed the deity, seized the Blazing Sun divine office, and my lord's fall was his plot!" Ke Er Sa Luo's face was full of hatred, his teeth clenched as he said, "He not only has no chance of returning the office, but once he learns my lord has revived, he will strike."

"My lord has only just awakened, his divine power is weak, he cannot even rebuild the divine realm; how could he possibly be Ge Weng's opponent?"

"The current Ge Weng is one of the strongest deities in the world!"

"Even when my lord was at his peak, he was far inferior to the present Ge Weng, not to mention he has just revived." Ke Er Sa Luo exhaled after speaking.

Tusu'er stared dumbfounded.

After a long while, he still could not fully believe and asked, "Chief, is Ge Weng really that powerful?"

"How much does the high priest know about the world beyond the Gulaman Empire?" Ke Er Sa Luo retorted.

Tusu'er replied, "It is said that the Gulaman Empire is merely a continent of this world. Over twenty thousand years ago, the great imperial seer Zuer deciphered the prophecy left by the Creator before departing. In the near future, a terrible disaster will sweep the world; trolls will face countless unbeatable foes, and even the gods will fall…"

"When Seer Zuer made the prophecy public, the Empire decided to activate the temple built by the Creator, sealing off the core Gulaman continent from the outside."

"Beyond the Gulaman Empire, there are several other continents, vast in size."

"Since the sealing, trolls have lost contact with the outside, unable to leave or enter." Tusu'er said slowly, curiosity deep on his face, "It's been over twenty thousand years; we still don't know what's become of the world beyond the Gulaman continent?"

Ke Er Sa Luo's eyes widened in admiration.

The temple's high priest truly was erudite, knowing far more than ordinary trolls. The vast majority of trolls didn't even know the outside existed, believing this forest was the whole world.

"The outside world has undergone several destructions and rebirths; now it is the Fourth Era," Ke Er Sa Luo summarized briefly.

"The dominant force of this era is humanity; they call this world Ai Lun E Si."

"Humans have established hundreds of nations."

"Among the three most powerful human empires, one is called the Ramon Empire; within the Ramon Empire and the surrounding dozen nations, there are over a billion humans, all followers of Sun God Ge Weng."

"Ge Weng's church is called the Sun Church, controlling territories larger than the Gulaman Empire, its influence spreading across all of Ai Lun E Si. Under its banner are millions of troops, making it one of the strongest forces in the world, second only to another human empire, the Oriense Empire."

"The divine power of Sun God Ge Weng stands shoulder to shoulder with the God of Magic worshipped by the Oriense Empire."

"What does the high priest think my lord should do?"

Every sentence from Ke Er Sa Luo struck Tusu'er's heart like a hammer: Fourth Era, humanity, three great empires, a billion believers…

Those words left Tusu'er gaping in astonishment.

After a long while, he digested the massive information, gave a bitter smile and said, "If what the chief says is true, I don't know what to do either."

A billion believers!

The figure filled Tusu'er with despair; he knew a deity's divine power depends on the number of believers. Even at the Gulaman Empire's peak, its troll population was under three hundred million, and they worshiped dozens of different deities.

Now the Gulaman Empire is fragmented, plagued by endless wars and internal strife; the total troll population across all tribes may not even reach one hundred million.

How can a deity with a billion believers be countered?

"The high priest need not be so despondent," Ke Er Sa Luo smiled, showing no sign of discouragement, and said calmly, "The deity foresaw this and has already made ample plans. We only need to carry out the deity's Willpower step by step, and we will avenge the deity!"

Tusu'er was inspired by his confidence, his spirit revived, and he hurriedly asked, "What should we do?"

"The Divine Edict has already been made very clear."

"Conquer other troll tribes, expand believers?"

"Correct," Ke Er Sa Luo said, "Even though the Gulaman Empire has been divided for a long time, if it can be unified again, we could reach about a hundred million believers. Though still far from Ge Weng's billion, we would have the strength to resist."

Tusu'er nodded slightly, then shook his head.

The Gulamun Empire has not been unified for over five thousand years; eighteen Loa deities occupy the vast majority of the empire's territories, and with the strength of the Sunfire Tribe, even the God‑Abandoned Land cannot be conquered, let alone the entire empire.

"It's indeed difficult, but not completely without chance," Kelsaro said dismissively, "Now the God has awakened; He will give the tribe full support."

Tusuer's eyes brightened slightly.

The Sunfire Tribe previously struggled to survive because they could not resist the Loa deities, but now it is different.

Even though the God has only just awakened, His divine power is already stronger than that of the Loa!

Back then, the trolls of the Gulamun Empire worshipped many gods, and the believers competed fiercely; but as the years passed, the worship of those gods among the trolls has almost vanished, leaving only the Loa deities.

No god can withstand the Sun God.

As long as believers can be cultivated, the God's power will grow, then He will grant the Holy Knights the Divine Technique; with the Sunfire Tribe's strength increasing, they can subjugate more troll tribes, the number of believers rises, the God's power strengthens again, forming a virtuous cycle.

If the early stage proceeds smoothly, as the God's followers increase, the Sunfire Tribe's strength will swell rapidly like a rolling snowball.

By the mid‑to‑late stage, the Sunfire Tribe will become unstoppable!

Tusuer's breathing quickened involuntarily, his heart pounding; he seemed to already envision the Sunfire Tribe re‑uniting the Gulamun Empire and seizing the Golden City Itaza.

Kelsaro looked at the reddened old troll and smiled inwardly.

"High Priest, there is a matter that requires you to act now, and only you can accomplish it."

"Chieftain, please speak."

"The High Priest should know that the increase of divine power requires a divine office, but the Sun divine office is held by Ge Weng, so the God must choose another divine office," Kelsaro finally revealed the purpose of revealing so much to Tusuer tonight.

Tusuer hesitated a bit; this meant the God would have to abandon the title "Sun God," the doctrine would need revision, and even the Sunfire Tribe would have to change its name.

Although only temporary, emotionally it was hard to accept.

The old troll struggled for a moment, then finally nodded, sighing, "For the God's grand plan, this is the only way," and then, curious, "I wonder which divine office our Lord has chosen?"

"Radiance."

Kelsaro answered softly.

"Radiance…" Tusuer whispered the word.

Kelsaro explained, "Radiance differs from the Sun, yet they are closely linked, and belong to the same line as the divine offices of Sun, Sunfire, Dawn, Dusk, and Light, so it will not affect the Holy Knights' cultivation of Holy Light Power and Divine Technique. In the future, if revenge succeeds and these divine offices are seized and merged, the Lord of Radiance's divinity and prestige will surpass the Sun God, becoming the most powerful deity in the world!"

Then he casually uttered a few tenets of the Lord of Radiance's doctrine, but did not go in depth, lest Tusuer become wary.

"Light is the source of the world; it dispels darkness and evil, bringing forth illumination and hope…"

"Lord of Radiance!"

Tusuer's eyes brightened; this title was no less impressive than Sun God, and seemed to carry a higher stature and greater divine power.

A flash of insight flickered in his eyes as he nodded, "I will incorporate the Radiance doctrine into the Sun doctrine, but we must not rush; tradition is hard to change, so we must proceed step by step, gradually guiding the tribe to accept the new doctrine without provoking a fierce reaction."

A smile appeared on Kelsaro's face.

"The revision of the Lord of Radiance's doctrine is entirely up to the High Priest," he said, expressing complete trust; it was most fitting for the church leader to interpret the new god.

Tusuer, brimming with confidence, assured, "Chieftain, rest assured."

"I trust the High Priest's handling of affairs," Kelsaro said with a beaming smile, then his expression grew serious and he whispered, "Ge Weng's divine power is great; we must not let Him notice that the God has revived. To be safe, the God needs to adopt an alias to conceal His identity."

"That should be so," Tusuer nodded, feeling nothing amiss, and casually asked, "Has the God already decided on an alias?"

"Yes," Kelsaro replied, "He has named Himself Saint Giliess."

"Lord of Radiance Saint Giliess!"

Tusuer recited it once, finding it quite smooth, then whispered it again.

Suddenly, he shivered all over, frozen in place.

The God's divine office has changed, and He now has a new divine name; when the doctrine is revised, although the believers remain the same, is the God still the same God?

When the name of Lord of Radiance Saint Giliess spreads across the world and everyone knows it, will He acknowledge that He once was the Sun God Anse?

Tusuer harbored an even more terrifying speculation.

If Saint Giliess is not an alias at all, He has long existed… The old troll's complexion shifted dramatically, unable to conceal his inner turmoil; he felt faintly that he might have guessed the truth, yet he dared not be certain.

Silence fell over the temple's summit.

Tusuer regretted deeply, but upon reflection, from the moment Kelsaro entered the Sun Temple, the Sunfire Tribe's future seemed already predestined.

Whether it be Zulazab, himself, or other tribe members, there was no room for choice.

Everything has been planned by the God!

"High Priest, the Sun God Anse is the Lord of Radiance Saint Giliess; the two are one and the same. We need not know which incarnation or which true name; from the tribe's perspective, acknowledging this single fact is sufficient," Kelsaro said softly.

"Then, is His awakening good or bad for the Sunfire Tribe?"

Tusuer fell silent.

He sensed sincerity and goodwill in the mysterious and powerful Kelsaro; the words also made sense, and after much inner struggle, he turned and looked down at the brightly lit Sarta, where the night wind carried the tribe's laughter and merriment…

"The Chieftain is right."

Tusuer suddenly turned back, looking at Kelsaro.

Those eyes, weathered by centuries, revealed wisdom and a hint of helplessness, yet his expression grew steadily resolute and devout, and, as in countless past prayers, he shouted loudly, "May Saint Giliess's Radiance illuminate the Gulamun Empire!"

(End of Chapter)