"The Path of Faith! It's essentially a contract between the gods and mortals! Mortals offer their faith and receive divine spells, as well as the right for their souls to ascend to a divine kingdom after death..."
Leilin gazed down at the figures below—now barely qualified as ordinary believers—his eyes flickering with a gleam of light.
"And if the returns are greater, they won't hesitate to worship even false gods—which is exactly why there are still so many demons and devils with followers in this world..."
Of course, a god's income of faith was limited, so they naturally could not bestow divine grace without limit. Otherwise, they would only operate at a loss, and their divine power would be severely depleted—possibly even causing them to lose their divine throne entirely!
But now that Leilin's foundation was still newly established, the initial dividends distributed to believers naturally had to be generous—otherwise, how would he attract others to join the faith and worship a non-existent "Feathered Serpent God"?
Since his true body was still in slumber, he couldn't actually respond to his believers' prayers or grant them divine spells.
In truth, the Targarian Winged Serpent phantom from earlier, along with the granting of bloodline spells, had all been an act staged entirely by Leilin himself.
He and his true body shared the same soul origin, so even Tifa couldn't detect any flaws in his disguise.
As for the quasi-spell abilities? While bloodline bearers in this world could only rely on inherited traits, for someone like Leilin who had reached the half-seventh-rank as a Sorcerer, experiments like bloodline modification held absolutely no fears.
Sorcerers were inherently the supreme rulers among bloodlines, and his mastery of bloodline power had reached the absolute pinnacle. Using some of the bloodlines he had captured before, artificially creating a few "bloodline bearers" was an effortless task.
In the
Hence, the fervent gazes from the people below were entirely understandable.
Bloodline bearers! Quasi-spell abilities! And inheritable to boot!
This level of attraction was more than enough to keep these subordinates temporarily united under the banner of the Feathered Serpent God's church, fighting and bleeding on Leilin's behalf.
"Excellent! We march! Slay those Beastkin! Our God is forever watching over us!"
Leilin announced this decision in a booming voice.
Just at that moment, another voice rang out in his mind, making the curve at the corner of Leilin's lips widen even further.
[ding! Level 3 magic network analysis: 100% complete! Host has obtained all Level 3 spell templates. Spell amnesia effect automatically suppressed! All Level 3 spells now require no material components for casting!]
The analysis of the Level 3 magic network had been just one step away from completion, and now it had fallen into place naturally. It even gave Leilin the sensation of being blessed by the world's primordial force.
Throughout history, every being who had ascended to godhood had been blessed by the world's primordial force—they were the favored children of the world's will.
"It seems the slumbering will of the gods can no longer manipulate the world's primordial force—so it's left an opening for me?" Leilin's smile grew broader. "In the name of our God—we attack!"
"Our God!" "Our God!"
The battle fervor of the crowd below surged to its peak. Of course, Leilin would never admit that his own subtle influence had played a part in this.
*** Dark Forest. Inside the high-ranking Beastkin camp.
"Damn it! There are other humans out there!" The half-beastman commander from before slammed a trembling half-beastman to the ground, snorting two plumes of steam from his nose.
"Fortunately, they only overran the outer perimeter—they haven't reached the core!"
On the other side, a half-beastman priest gripped a staff of human bones in his hand and added coldly.
"To bolster the camp's security, I intend to conduct a major sacrificial ritual. Hopefully, it will earn our Lord's favor and prompt him to send Slayers from his divine realm to aid us..."
Mara, the Hunting God—whose true form was an ape-like monstrosity—had apparently not shed many of its bestial traits even after successfully ascending to godhood. It harbored a morbid craving for slaughter.
Within its divine realm, it had even created a peculiar species bred specifically for the hunt—Slayers!
Even the lowest-ranking Slayer possessed power exceeding that of a high-ranking professionist! If the mortal believers' offering pleased Mara, it would even open a passage and dispatch elite forces from its divine realm.
Compared to a god's incarnation, these forces from the divine realm were somewhat weaker, but the advantage was that they were replenishable—making them far less of a loss if sacrificed.
"Slayers?"
The high-ranking Beastkin bared his teeth, clearly pained by the cost of the required offering. "We already have more than enough strength here. But to ensure absolute safety... fine, let's do it. I believe... if we can offer a Legendary Red Dragon as a sacrifice later, our Lord will be most pleased..."
"Then I shall begin..."
The Beastkin priest approached a small altar within the camp—clearly the heart of the encampment, which had somehow survived Tifa's raid largely unscathed.
But the instant the priest set foot upon the altar, his expression changed drastically.
Wooo! Wooo! Wooo! Crimson divine power surged outward from around the altar, its dazzling light conveying some kind of urgent message.
"Enemies ap—"
The voice was cut short. Then a flash of frigid light streaked past—a blade of such piercing sharpness it seemed capable of freezing space itself, plunging deep into the chest of a high-ranking Beastkin.
"A near-Legendary rogue! It's the ambusher from last time!" The Beastkin leader roared, slamming his fist into the ground. A powerful shockwave rippled outward in all directions.
[Earthen Fist]! A high-level martial skill erupted, sending invisible ripples that forced a streak of dark shadow out from the void.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The black figure leapt with extraordinary agility, its form flickering as it covered hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. Along the way, other Beastkin dropped with their throats clutching.
"You won't escape, you treacherous ambusher!" The Beastkin leader's face twisted with ferocity as he gave chase at full speed.
But just as he reached the camp gate, the priest's voice rang out: "Watch out for traps! They have powerful spellcasters!!!"
The warning came a beat too late. Just as the Beastkin leader skidded to a halt, an eerie figure wearing a silver mask materialized from thin air, a terrifying spell already formed in their hands.
—Level 5 Spell: [Dragon's Breath]!
A powerful, corrosive force instantly blanketed the surroundings, causing the fur on the Beastkin leader's chest to blacken and scorch on its own.
"Damn it!" The Beastkin commander retreated in rapid succession, a dark green glow flickering constantly over his body.
His powerful battle aura resisted the dragon breath's erosion at full speed, while behind him, the Beastkin priest continuously cast healing divine spells.
By the time he had retreated over a dozen meters, the Beastkin leader had fully escaped the range of the dragon breath—but the ordinary Beastkin nearby were not so fortunate. They all lay writhing on the ground, and in an instant, the camp gate was awash with wailing and cries of anguish.
The area-of-effect power of mages had always been what battlefield commanders feared most!
"Who are you?" The Beastkin leader clearly hadn't recognized Leilin beneath his disguise. The latter's overwhelming power and sinister aura made the Beastkin feel as though he were facing a mortal enemy.
"This sensation of devouring everything!" The Beastkin leader's pupils contracted as he sized up Leilin—this was the most dangerous enemy he had ever encountered.
Swish! Swish!
Without giving the leader a chance to speak further, Tifa immediately pressed the attack. The full power of a high-ranking professionist approaching the Legendary realm erupted from his body, with quasi-spell abilities flashing intermittently. He fought one against five, single-handedly pinning down five high-ranking Beastkin.
"Charge! Raaargh..."
A wave of fighters charged toward the camp. Leading the charge was a sinister lion-headed figure whose body was nearly pitch black. He let out a savage roar, and a ring of white bone armor materialized around him as several bone lances thrust forward, piercing through several来不及 escape Beastkin and pinning them to the ground. Blood slid down the white bone spears.
"Kill!"
An army of scum gathered from various races—who had recently been unified under Tifa—surged into the Beastkin camp in full force.
With the precedent already set, these scoundrels, desperate to gain the power of bloodline bearers and even pass it on to their descendants, fought with one hundred and twenty percent of their capability!
Even though their enemies were protected by Mara, the Hunting God, they too had the mysterious Feathered Serpent God
It had to be said that the talents Tifa had selected all possessed genuine strength—they could hold their own against the Beastkin in the camp.
—[Mass Frenzy]!
—[Mass Healing]! The Beastkin priest from before had retreated to the rear, watching the enemies ahead with a grave expression.
The enemy's races were a chaotic mix, making it impossible for him to determine which faction they belonged to.
"Could it be... that a new power has already risen in this area? With near-Legendary experts, this organization cannot be underestimated!" the Beastkin priest muttered to himself, raising his hand as he prepared to unleash a long-gathered spell.
—[Dispel Magic]!
A pillar of purple light descended from the sky, interrupting the Beastkin priest's spellcasting. Leilin stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the Beastkin priest on the ground with leisurely composure.
"Your opponent is me." Leilin's eyes were ice-cold. Previously, to conceal his true strength, he had held back his full arsenal—but under this identity as a "divine emissary," he had no such reservations.
With a casual gesture, Chain Lightning was already streaking forth. White-blue arcs of electricity crackled and leapt, striking down several low-ranking priests.
Taking out the priests first in battle—that was the golden rule of every engagement, and Leilin certainly wouldn't stand by while those low-ranking priests leisurely healed his enemies and provided support.
Once the Beastkin priest felt Leilin's gaze lock onto him, his heart went cold—as though he were facing a dragon.
A flurry of detection spells flashed through his mind, but what they revealed made his expression change dramatically.
"A being with divinity! Which god do you serve?!" The Beastkin priest, shaken by the false divinity Leilin had simulated, demanded in a low voice.
Very few on the Continent of