The Balor's evil power was merely the catalyst.
What truly mattered was the subtle, long-term guidance Leilin had been imparting since Rusekh was young, and the doubts Rusekh had begun to harbor about her own faith.
Now, everything converged at this singular turning point.
The evil Primordial exulted, sensing the fall of a devoted Paladin who had reached the Legendary rank!
"Haha... Evil, good, justice—what do any of these truly mean? Everything I've strived for... what was it all for?"
Rusekh collapsed to her knees, weeping bitterly as flickering flames began to coalesce around her body.
The phantom of
"Aaaah!"
Black flames engulfed Rusekh in an instant, tearing a piercing scream from her lips.
Within the flames, her body underwent a terrifying transformation. Her once-pretty face became alluring and bewitching, while a pair of black feathered wings unfurled from her back, making her resemble a fallen dark-winged angel.
—Amid the roar of the Hellish Primordial, Rusekh transformed directly from a devoted Paladin into a Legendary Succubus of Hell!
A point of black light expanded and enveloped Rusekh, pulling her down into Hell in an instant.
But just as she was about to enter the fourth layer, a dark crimson ray suddenly materialized behind her.
Under its influence, the first three layers of Hell—Leilin's Divine Kingdom—emitted a tremendous suction force, pulling Rusekh straight inside.
The cheated devils and Lords of Hell roared and cursed, yet none dared intrude into Leilin's Divine Kingdom to forcibly seize her.
"A Succubus transformed from a Legendary Paladin?"
Leilin knew better than anyone what was happening within his own Divine Kingdom.
In truth, when a Paladin of this caliber fell, the resulting corruptive power was every Hell Lord's greatest desire. Moreover, the Paladin herself would become one of the most devoted devils or demons—perfect enforcers for those Hell or Abyssal Lords.
But Leilin currently had no time to spare on her.
After ordering Isabelle to receive this new subordinate, a terrifying floating city vanished from his Divine Kingdom in an instant.
Beyond the Orc Wasteland, a fearsome divine war had reached its most intense phase.
With every passing moment, fallen divine champions streaked across the skies of the divine kingdoms like shooting stars.
Storms, tsunamis, earthquakes—countless catastrophic disasters manifested across the Orc Wasteland, driving the orc petitioners to weep and scream, believing they had arrived at the end of days.
Outside the divine kingdoms, a dense army of heroic spirits formed enormous battle formations. Several million professional warriors—an astonishing sight rarely witnessed in the material world.
Only true gods possessing a Divine Kingdom could amass such staggering forces.
Two Greater
"
Even for a Greater God, assaulting the United Divine Kingdoms of the Orc Pantheon was a costly endeavor.
Gruumsh, also a Greater God, still possessed considerable reserves and foundations.
Amid the blaring of orc horns, several United Divine Kingdoms' orc petitioner armies rallied together, forming a defensive force under the leadership of the Goddess of Life, Rusekh.
Gruumsh and Bagthru's avatars had all joined forces, standing before Mystra and
The struggle over the Northern Territories was not merely a war for territory in the material world—it was a contest of faith among the gods.
Mystra could never abandon the Silver Moon Alliance, not unless she was willing to suffer a massive decline in her faith. Gruumsh was no different.
Divine wars sparked by conflicts in the material world were nothing new throughout the history of the gods.
"If this is your choice..."
Tyr, the blind and maimed God of Justice, slowly raised his arm.
"Charge!"
An army of Paladins, their faces resolute and radiating sacred light, surged forward like a tidal wave, crashing directly into the outermost divine kingdom of the Orc Wasteland.
"Damn it... that's my divine kingdom!"
Bagthru, the Orc God of Strength, bellowed in fury. Terrifying waves of divine power rippled from every one of his avatars.
"Your opponents are us..."
A flash of teleportation light appeared.
"Gruumsh, your pantheon's strength has been severely depleted. You have no chance of victory..."
Mystra and Tyr focused their attention squarely on Gruumsh.
Given the structure of the Orc Pantheon, if the chief god Gruumsh were defeated, gravely wounded, or slain, the complete destruction of the pantheon would not be far behind.
Moreover, Mystra currently held an overwhelming advantage.
She and Tyr alone could hold Gruumsh at bay, but the remaining Orc God of Strength and Orc Goddess of Life could not possibly hold back the bulk of their forces.
Mystra's side had originally lacked support from other pantheons, making their overall strength appear somewhat lacking.
But now, several of the enemy's key fighters had been gravely injured and put to slumber, instantly erasing that gap—and even giving Mystra the opportunity to crush her opponents in one decisive blow!
Wars between Greater Gods were prolonged affairs. Mystra and Tyr harbored no illusions of completely toppling Gruumsh and the Orc Pantheon in a single battle, but at the very least they intended to inflict severe damage and gain an advantage for future conflicts.
"Damn it... you contemptible wretches!"
Gruumsh, standing at the forefront, furrowed his brow. His figure split apart, instantly dividing into more than a dozen avatars, each radiating terrifying divine power!
As a Greater God, Gruumsh's ability to create avatars and recover was nothing short of terrifying.
In the Outer Planes, each of his avatars possessed power rivaling that of a Lesser God!
Against a Lesser God opponent alone, Gruumsh could overwhelm them with avatars.
Unfortunately, his opponents were also Greater Gods—and there were two of them!
When Gruumsh finally summoned all his avatars, Mystra and Tyr exchanged a glance, their eyes reflecting a look of expectation fulfilled.
Subsequently, even more divine avatars emerged from their ranks.
A ball of light, enclosing a weapon shaped like an impossibly sharp prismatic spike, appeared in Tyr's hand.
"Iechel's Thorn!"
Even Gruumsh's face showed a deep expression of wariness at this god-slaying weapon of terrifying power.
"Mystra, Tyr! If you insist on war, then come in!"
Gruumsh cast a long, hard look at the two Greater Gods before him, then retreated directly into his Divine Kingdom.
Breaking into a Greater God's Divine Kingdom was no simple task.
With the defenses Gruumsh had established in his own stronghold, even Iechel's Thorn would lose much of its effectiveness under the rules of the Divine Kingdom.
Furthermore, thanks to Gruumsh's efforts and the sacrifice of several of Bagthru's avatars, enough time had been bought.
Rusekh had already stabilized the situation within her Divine Kingdom and assembled a sufficient orc army, ready to deliver a crushing counterattack to the invaders!
"I knew it would come to this!"
Tyr shook his head with resignation.
Divine wars between gods inevitably devolved into wars of attrition in the end—a scenario neither he nor Mystra wished to see.
"How are things in the material world?" Tyr asked.
"The armies of both sides have assembled at Thunder Canyon, ready for the decisive battle at any moment... On our side,
Shifting lights flickered in Mystra's eyes as the entirety of the material world seemed to flow before her in an instant.
"Then we absolutely cannot leave now..."
Tyr seemed to have made his decision. His right hand swept downward!
BOOM!
The void tore open with a massive black gash. A crescent-shaped blade of light materialized instantly and struck the edge of the Orc Wasteland.
The attack of a Greater God caused the entire wasteland to tremble. At its edge, a terrifying rift appeared, and a torrent of storms mixed with the battle cries of Paladons poured into the Orc Wasteland.
"Charge!"
The orc army, standing in readiness, charged with bloodshot eyes the moment they saw the Paladin legions.
The orc petitioners within the Divine Kingdom were, at minimum, devout followers of the orc gods. They naturally fought with far greater fanaticism than ordinary soldiers, and received the amplification of the Divine Kingdom to boot.
The Paladin legions and wizard armies, meanwhile, excelled in elite quality and sheer numbers. The two sides crashed together like two terrifying torrents, and the entire world seemed to freeze for a single heartbeat at the moment of impact.
"You dare enter my Divine Kingdom—this will be your gravest mistake!"
A booming voice echoed from the void. The entire sky of the Divine Kingdom instantly darkened into a mass of storm clouds.
Tear! Tear!
Lightning forged from Primordial Force howled as it descended. The mere afterglow of these bolts annihilated vast swathes of troops.
"The Laws of Lightning... Gruumsh, you're still coveting the Portfolio of Thunder!!!"
Tyr looked up at the lightning streaking across the sky and was the first to cry out in alarm.
This lightning, imbued with the power of Laws and terrifying beyond measure, was clearly far more than a simple simulation of divine power within a Divine Kingdom. It was genuine lightning of Annihilation—truly containing the Laws themselves!
And the Portfolio of Thunder represented the ultimate destructive power!