Chapter 1125: The Ambitious Giant Bear

Wusoku's bear face immediately sank, and he buzzed, "Young troll, don't think that just because you've grasped some power you can swagger before me."

Kelsaro gave no reply.

"It seems you don't know," Wusoku hummed. "Boge Yan is already plotting to seize your temple. A few days ago it sent a priest under its command to deliver a message to me, wanting me to join forces with it to attack Yin He Nie Luo; I haven't agreed yet."

"Oh?" Kelsaro's eyes flickered.

The Flame God Boge Yan is one of the strongest Loa, its domain lies south of the God‑Abandoned Land, and its strength ranks in the top tier among all Loa, placing within the top five, far stronger than Wusoku.

When I controlled the Ancient Holy Altar, the third Loa that remained silent was Boge Yan.

Later I investigated in secret.

In the southern part of the Gula Man Empire, three Loa—Power God Wusoku and Thunder God Akunda—formed an alliance to oppose the Flame God Boge Yan.

Boge Yan's motives are easy to guess.

The Ancient Holy Altar at Yin He Nie Luo is the main altar, its authority one level higher than its own altar; if we don't strike early, when it later battles us we'll be at a severe disadvantage. An altar that has just taken control of a temple is the best moment to act.

It's hard to determine a victor among Loa, even a newly risen Aro is the same.

Therefore Boge Yan wants to ally with other Loa.

As expected, it also sent a priest to convey a message to Thunder God Akunda, so the three Loa can jointly besiege Yin He Nie Luo, gaining a large advantage.

Kelsaro quickly cleared his thoughts and asked, "Why didn't you agree to it?"

"Boge Yan is treacherous and cunning; I don't trust it," Wusoku twitched his bear snout. "Besides, I have my own reasons."

The Soul Eye detected a shift in its emotions, clearly it didn't tell the whole truth.

This giant bear is highly intelligent.

It didn't outright reject Boge Yan; a trust crisis is one reason, but more likely it's waiting for a price, not out of goodwill.

Kelsaro gave a playful smile on his face, yet made no response.

Wusoku looked at his expression and suddenly said, "I'm not that interested in your temple; one Loa temple satisfies me. That guy Akunda has been acting oddly these years, seems his mind is messed up."

"If Akunda and I agree to ally, we may end up being taken advantage of by Boge Yan."

"Given its ambition, if it thinks it can defeat me and Akunda, it will eventually strike us; I certainly cannot let it succeed."

Those words are very reliable.

From Wusoku's perspective, refusing to join an attack on Yin He Nie Luo indeed best serves its interests.

But saying it so bluntly surely serves its own purpose.

So Kelsaro gave no reply, waiting for him to speak. Seeing his continued silence, Wusoku's temper flared again, and he patiently said, "You just ascended to Loa, you're still weak; among the four of us your strength is the lowest. If you don't want Boge Yan to plot against you, I advise you to cooperate with me."

Kelsaro raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

He turned to glance at Zuan Ke, "I killed your followers, seized your city; are you still willing to cooperate with me?"

Flames rose in the giant bear's eyes.

That troll not only killed his own followers, he also destroyed his own temple; against another enemy he would never have such patience to negotiate, but this opponent differs from other Loa—he holds something Wusoku has coveted for years.

"If you ally with me, even if Akunda and Boge Yan join forces, it will be a two‑on‑two; I guarantee your temple won't be in danger."

"However, there are three conditions," Wusoku said gravely.

Kelsaro listened attentively, feigning great interest, "Please, speak."

He was more than willing to stall for time.

Because as Wusoku appeared outside Zuan Ke's city, Reslin had already teleported to the opponent's core city, Vodashir.

Like other cities dominated by Loa, Vodashir's architecture is centered on a Loa temple; when Reslin arrived, the whole city was under high alert, tens of thousands of troll berserkers blessed by Loa and additional troops roamed Vodashir inside and out.

Around the pyramid‑shaped Loa temple, from top to bottom, squads of troll guards were stationed.

The palace atop the temple was heavily surrounded by hundreds of elite berserkers; this is the entrance to the Ancient Holy Altar, Wusoku's lair.

Reslin directly teleported above the temple, remaining invisible.

He observed briefly and was instantly stunned.

Wusoku's palace was extremely crude and primitive, yet very sturdy; its walls and dome were built from massive rocks several meters thick, and the interior was cast with a thick layer of steel—truly a fortress of steel. Moreover, it drew energy from the Ancient Holy Altar to form an energy shield, equally impregnable.

The entire palace had only one exit.

That exit resembled a narrow passage, too tight for Wusoku's size, indicating he can shrink his body.

At this moment, the palace's exit was blocked by a massive rectangular iron block, apparently weighing over a thousand tons, sealing the way solidly with virtually no gap. The block bore bear‑claw scratches, making it easy to guess who did it.

Reslin fell silent, speechless.

Wusoku's method of blocking the door was simple and brute; such a heavy iron block could not be moved by any Loa or troll on the entire Southern Continent except him.

Moreover, outside the palace there were over a dozen Loa berserkers guarding constantly.

Thus Wusoku could safely leave his temple; even if enemies reached the temple, they couldn't enter the palace. Dismantling the palace would be no easier than moving the iron block, impossible to accomplish quickly, giving him ample time to return.

One word: impossible!

Reslin's gaze pierced the palace walls as thick as city walls, and he couldn't help but be surprised—Wusoku seems to understand magical knowledge?

The energy it drew from the Ancient Holy Altar powered the palace's rune array, which surprisingly created a spatial barrier.

Although this rune array had many flaws—any Holy Soul Wizard or Grand Mage could breach it without the Key of Doors—such a construct is rare on the Southern Continent, and it combines rudimentary spatial knowledge with Ancient Holy runes, showing Wusoku's hard work.

A bear that only knows melee combat is oddly obsessed with magical knowledge, and even has some insights…

Reslin always felt something off.

His figure flashed, and he instantly appeared inside Wusoku's palace; though the interior was dim, it was tidy and odorless, and the floor was covered with sheets of pelts forming a bear den dozens of meters in diameter—Wusoku's sleeping place.

The massive palace was piled with many stone slabs, some neatly stacked, others scattered around the bear den.

The slabs were covered with symbols and text, the handwriting hasty, evidently scratched directly with sharp claws.

The vast majority were troll script, with a few Ancient Holy runes.

Reslin glanced twice, and suddenly realized these slabs were Wusoku's "paper," filled with his research notes on magic and Ancient Holy runes. Of course, Wusoku didn't call it magic but witchcraft, and the Ancient Holy runes were divine script.

From these insights, Wusoku's research was deep, yet lacked a complete system; he could only rely on the Ancient Holy Altar to cast, sometimes effective, sometimes not.

The trolls of the Southern Continent revere strength, and even their priests possess formidable melee power.

Although priests practice sorcery, they treat it only as support, seeing it as a blessing of Loa or as innate abilities of certain beasts, and they have no concept of a "magic system," so their study of spells remains very rudimentary.

Wusoke is definitely an anomaly.

Reslin speculated that after mastering the Ancient Sacred Altar, it sensed the immense potential of energy application, became enamored with it, and studied it for centuries.

Even though Wusoke's innate talent is high, a single bear's trial could never match the crystallized wisdom of countless spellcasters accumulated by Ai Lun E Si over tens of thousands of years.

It also never created a meditation method.

If the Ancient Sacred Altar is lost, Wusoke cannot cast a single spell.

"Interesting."

Reslin swiftly scanned the inscription on the stone slab, a thoughtful expression crossing his face; before the golden wall on one side of the palace, his fingertip launched a magic missile, and instantly an array of Ancient Sacred Runes materialized, forming a magical gate.

He lightly pushed it; the Key of Doors activated, and the golden wall forged from Ancient Sacred Pure Gold melted away into a light gate.

He stepped forward into the gate, instantly teleporting underground.

A golden‑shimmering Ancient Sacred Altar appeared before him, situated within a massive cavern.

No Loa could ever station guards or set traps on the Ancient Sacred Altar; they do not trust trolls and lack the ability to lay traps there.

Nevertheless, Reslin cautiously surveyed the area, and after confirming safety, entered the shrine atop the Ancient Sacred Altar, where he saw the control platform inside. He lightly pressed the platform, and a golden panel rose, displaying dense Ancient Sacred Runes like a screen.

There are only two ways to seize control permission of the Ancient Sacred Altar: the controller voluntarily relinquishes permission, or the controller is killed.

The former is virtually impossible—no Loa would abandon the Ancient Sacred Altar—while the latter is extremely difficult, as a Loa who holds the altar stands in an invincible position.

However, the Ancient Sacred Altar has a flaw.

If one can breach the altar's control core, even without permission, attacking the golden panel—whether by physical strike or energy erosion—will trigger the altar's automatic defense mechanism, disrupting permission execution and temporarily preventing the Loa from invoking the altar's energy.

Historically, almost every defeated Loa lost the Ancient Sacred Altar in this way.

Lei En's understanding of the Ancient Sacred Altar surpasses any Loa's.

As long as he wishes, Reslin can not only interfere with the altar's permission but also sever the Loa's link to the altar, cutting it off completely!

And he can do it in an instant.

Moreover, given enough time, Reslin could directly decode the rune array and usurp the highest permission of the Ancient Sacred Altar.

But that requires more than half a month, is time‑consuming and laborious, and is less efficient than simply killing the Loa.

Reslin did not act immediately, standing on the golden panel and waiting.

Outside Zuan Ke City.

Wusoke was completely unaware that his shrine had been infiltrated and that he might lose permission, and he presented three conditions to Ke Er Sa Luo.

"First, you must withdraw your troops."

The giant bear looked toward the Radiant Legion within Zuan Ke City, surprise flashing in its eyes.

It had long heard of the Sunfire Tribe in the God‑Abandoned Land; those trolls who worship the Sun God cultivate holy light power and on average are slightly stronger than its own berserkers.

Ke Er Sa Luo gave no answer.

"Second, you must pay compensation." Wusoke continued, "All losses you caused to Zuan Ke this time must be repaid tenfold. You are responsible for rebuilding the walls and shrine; for each of your killed believers, you must relocate ten trolls from Yin He Nie Luo to Zuan Ke as replacement."

Ke Er Sa Luo remained silent.

"Third, you must obey my command." The giant bear stared at Ke Er Sa Luo in the sky, a cold edge lifting his mouth, "You are a newly appointed Loa, weak in strength; if you do not wish to become prey of Bergyan, you'd better follow my orders."

Ke Er Sa Luo asked, "What kind of order?"

"Tell me everything you know." Wusoke grinned, revealing two rows of colossal pillar‑like fangs, "For example, how you found the Liusai Altar, and how you moved your army to Zuan Ke—tell me all!"

Its three conditions, the first two were merely a cover.

What it truly wanted was the third.

Ke Er Sa Luo smiled wryly; his Soul Eye saw Wusoke brimming with excitement and anticipation, and he suddenly asked, "Do you seek the divine script knowledge?"

The giant bear's complexion froze.

"Not bad." it admitted calmly, in a deep voice, "You must have mastered the secret of divine script knowledge; other Loa may not see it, but I am clear. To move so many troops to Zuan Ke, you surely used the Creator's altar, involving the space we occupy—a profoundly advanced large‑scale sorcery!"

Ke Er Sa Luo smiled approvingly, "Your insight is sharp; no wonder you have studied the Ancient Sacred Altar for years."

Wusoke was momentarily stunned.

Before it could grasp Ke Er Sa Luo's meaning, Ke Er Sa Luo raised his hand, pale blue light glowing on the back of his hand.

The giant bear jumped, assuming Ke Er Sa Luo would act, then realized the blue light's energy was extremely weak; focusing, it soon saw a crystal‑like illusory gate form before Ke Er Sa Luo, leading to another familiar place.

"Vordashir!"

Wusoke's eyes widened; it was the location of its own Loa shrine.

It stared at the gate in the sky, asking excitedly, "What is this?"

The ethereal gate that Ke Er Sa Luo opened was no longer needed by Lei En, so he handed it over for use, perfect for masquerading as the Ancient Sacred Altar's application.

"A teleportation gate."

"Is this the divine script knowledge you claim to master?" Wusoke asked immediately, unable to look away, his eyes even showing a hint of mania.

Ke Er Sa Luo waved his hand to close the ethereal gate, and in Wusoke's puzzled gaze said softly, "Submit to me, and I may consider teaching you the divine script knowledge."

"Dream on!"

The giant bear's rage flared instantly, "Looks like you finally learned a lesson; I'll show you what true power is!"

Amid the roar, Wusoke's body swelled threefold wildly, vast divinity surged, his eyes turned crimson, every hair bristled with endless divinity, as if bloodied, emitting a towering blood‑red glow; his hind legs rose over a hundred meters high, his presence terrifying as a mountain.

Ke Er Sa Luo remained unmoved, hovering in the air and looking down at it.

Suddenly.

Wusoke sensed an anomaly, his aura suddenly waned, and he shouted in shock and anger, "This cannot be!"

(End of Chapter)