Leilin's gaze was quite grave.
"If not for my interference, the other party would very likely have obtained full authority over the
"Even now, as long as they consolidate their position steadily and recruit another lord or two, they'll undoubtedly gain an overwhelming advantage..."
"However, none of that has anything to do with me anymore."
Although it would certainly arouse the wariness of the other Hell lords afterward, with his goal achieved and his power greatly increased, he now possessed the foundation to crush them all.
Given enough time, uniting all of Hell and making the title of Lord of Hell a reality was entirely within reach.
"Hm? It seems they've also sent me a message—they want to talk?"
Shortly after, Leilin received another mental pulse, a message from Asmodeus.
"True enough—I'm an outsider with the shallowest roots, the easiest to win over... What a pity. The goodwill of a devil like this isn't worth trusting at all. And the best way to break the game is to jump right out of it!"
A peculiar smile appeared on Leilin's face.
"Azrock!"
"Great Lord, your servant is here!"
Inside the Iron Tower, the various devil armies that had been stationed there had already evacuated swiftly—otherwise, within the divine kingdom, they would have been easily wiped out and absorbed by Leilin.
At this moment, Azrock and a portion of Leilin's believers had been summoned back here.
"I'll be leaving for a period of time. Handle the affairs of Dis in my stead. Additionally, I have some tasks I need you to complete!"
As for his devil subordinate, Leilin naturally assigned tasks without any hesitation.
Azrock had absolutely no room to refuse. Or rather, the prospect of governing an entire plane was something it found rather enjoyable.
"The authority is still in my possession. Once I've departed, even Asmodeus will be powerless to do anything about it..."
Before departing from Hell, Leilin turned to cast one last glance at the burning city of steel.
"And once I've completed my plan and successfully ascended to godhood, even if it still harbors some scheme, it'll probably have no choice but to choke on its own blood…"
Leaving
Most importantly—Leilin was already a Lord of Hell! He inherently held the authority to permit devils entry into the Material Plane!
Therefore, what countless planar travelers found to be an insurmountable chasm was, in Leilin's eyes, nothing more than his own backyard.
Before many of the other Hell Lords had even begun to react, he had already returned to the Material Plane in secret.
Bankes Island. The newly constructed imperial capital of Faolan. Within the temple of the feathered serpent god
"My Lord! You are the World Serpent who commands all things, and slaughter is the blade in your hand…"
The divine statue within the temple radiated a hazy glow, and the assembled priests immediately dropped into reverent prayer. Tifa, having received the divine oracle, made her way to the rear of the temple and found Leilin standing there in his white robe.
"My Lord! Per your instructions, we have already relocated Baron Jonas and his wife, along with the other estate servants, to the royal capital…"
Tifa's gaze burned with fervor as she bowed respectfully and delivered her report.
"Mm! Good!" Leilin nodded. Ever since his ascension to Demigod, these relocations had actually been quietly underway for some time.
He would never entrust his family's safety to the Goddess of Luck,
And now, it was all the more imperative to bring his family within the scope of his own control. He had absolutely zero trust in the credibility of temples and gods…
However, once they had arrived on Bankes Island, Leilin could breathe a little easier.
After all, this was his territory. Not only were the majority of the natives his followers, but he also possessed an entire functioning church. Several Legends, plus a host of divine-touched totem spirits and a Demigod giant scorpion serving as his enforcers and muscle.
If the enemy dared to pursue him here, they would only be beaten to death by a coordinated assault!
"To completely annihilate this place, they would need at least a cross-ocean expeditionary force numbering in the hundreds of thousands of elite troops. And they'd have to pay the price of losing massive numbers of high-level professionals, multiple Legends, and even several divine avatars!"
A crimson gleam flickered in Leilin's eyes.
"Strictly speaking, even if the churches that besieged me last time joined forces, suffering such losses would leave them critically weakened. And in a pinch, I could simply defect to their enemies' camp and ally with other evil gods…"
"Even under circumstances where the cost is completely disproportionate to the gain, I'm afraid even the Goddess of the
Given the cognitive capacity of a deity, these thoughts flashed through Leilin's mind in an instant.
"How has the Empire been faring recently? And are there any unusual developments on the mainland and on the Fao Lan Islands?"
As a theocratic state, when Leilin the god was absent, the pontiff of the Great Serpent Church, Tifa, held supreme authority.
With his years of traveling across the mainland, his extensive experience in the ups and downs of life, and a team of well-educated priests, managing the entirety of Bankes Island posed no significant problem.
"On the Empire's end, the first season's rice has been planted, and the plague has been brought under control thanks to the free distribution of Holy Water…"
Tifa paused only briefly to gather his thoughts before answering fluently: "As for Fao Lan Island, the withdrawal of the Jonas family caused some disruptions, but the other civil officials are still in place, so trade hasn't been affected too greatly…"
"As for the mainland, the temples my Lord mentioned last time haven't made any major moves. However, the Church of Helm, God of Protection, has declared our Lord a false god!"
At this point, there was unmistakable anger on Tifa's face.
For devout believers, their god was not merely their spiritual faith — it was everything they had!
"Those heretical gods dare to slander our Lord like this! One day, we will make them pay the price! We will wash it clean with blood!"
"So it shall be!"
Leilin made this promise without the slightest hint of embarrassment, even though, strictly speaking, he was indeed a false god.
"However… at a time like this, we still need to exercise patience for now! All of our current priorities must be directed toward the development of the Empire!"
Leilin was a god, and his words were divine oracles. For believers like Tifa, understanding was no prerequisite for obedience — even without understanding, they had to carry out his commands!
Thus, no matter how furious Tifa was, he could only suppress the anger in his heart and respectfully comply with Leilin's instructions.
After watching Tifa leave, a contemplative look settled in Leilin's eyes.
"A large-scale invasion is unlikely. The only things worth guarding against are elite squad raids and decapitation tactics… After that comes the farming… Once I ascend to **True God** status, I can truly stand above the rest and establish a proper foothold. More importantly, I'll be able to crack open the crystal barrier of the
The **True God** rank was an enormous threshold in the Gods' World!
The gods were the favored children of that world, and only a true deity could achieve eternal existence and attain immortality. Even upon death and fall, as long as the faith of believers still existed in the material world, they could re-emerge from the river of time and space!
Furthermore, the defensive power of a divine kingdom was legendary — even a Greater Deity would pay an enormous price to breach it, offering supreme protection to the true body of a god.
Moreover, only a True God would be regarded with respect by other deities, and only then could one establish the foundation for equal dealings with them.
In other words, only after ascending to True God would
"Among the requirements for **True God** status, I already possess the divine fire and divine power. Next come the divine domain and the divine kingdom. Once these elements are perfected, I must then accumulate the power of faith and raise the Throne…"
As for the steps to apotheosis, Leylin now understood them with perfect clarity, without the slightest confusion.
"My divine domain… it's already decided that I'll ascend through **Slaughter**.
Leylin's expression grew somewhat heavy.
The rules of apotheosis in the
However, such deities were invariably very weak, and could only become subordinate gods under a Greater Deity, relying on that patron for protection.
After all, given the current level of civilization and enlightenment in the world, it was far too much to expect the populace to immediately embrace an entirely new concept.
Such deities typically needed hundreds or even thousands of years to develop. The advantage was that they would have little conflict with existing gods, and their potential was not bad either.
With Leylin's knowledge, he had instantly thought of several domains that did not yet exist in the World of Gods but held excellent development potential — yet he had dismissed every single one!
There was only one reason: they took far too long, and their combat power was far too weak. Neither suited his current situation!
By comparison, the domain of **Slaughter** had no such problem. First, its destructive and offensive power was formidable enough to meet Leylin's needs. Second, its growth potential was excellent — it could at minimum support a Greater Deity!
The catch was that for an established divine domain that already conflicted with other gods, achieving apotheosis was far from simple.
"With my current number of believers — even factoring in the deficiency of the natives' faith, where it takes ten to match one continental believer — it should still be enough for ascension. What's truly holding me back is the domain of **Slaughter** itself…"
To bear a powerful divine domain through apotheosis necessarily required far more power of faith.
By Leylin's estimation, if he were to ascend through a domain like **Disease**, his current power of faith would already suffice. But the faith required for **Slaughter** was at least ten times that of **Disease**!