A land of annihilation where two great worlds converge.
The Final War — which had originally spread across all planes and affected the entirety of the Astral Plane — now saw the Twilight of the
Armies from the Divine Kingdoms clashed fiercely with
Almost every few days, a terrifying tremor shook the void — the herald of a Law-level existence falling.
And those fortunate few Wizards who had obtained the divine essence of a deity and ascended to the realm of Laws, as well as the lucky ones who had slain a Law-level Wizard and instantly been deified or elevated in divine rank, appeared in large numbers as well.
The merciless war crushed every rule of the world; only raw, essential strength remained the ultimate standard by which all was decided.
…… In the swamp lands, within Renly's defensive sector.
With the Divine Kingdom's armies bearing Chip copies, a host of Lords of Calamity stationed in garrison, and even powerful reinforcements such as
The name of Renly, the Lord of Original Sin, had also spread far and wide, spoken of with both reverence and dread by Wizards and Gods alike.
Within the Serpent Castle, Renly stood suspended in the void. Behind him, the Nightmare Hydra roared ceaselessly, and vast quantities of black emotional power — imbued with the most intense of textures — were drawn into him in an unending stream.
"A place of war and destruction... truly the finest place to harvest the power of Original Sin."
Renly sighed in contemplation. Behind him, the Nightmare Hydra seemed to have crossed some kind of threshold, entering a domain far more profound and terrifying.
This place gathered the very essence of the entire Astral Plane — the weakest combatants here possessed the strength of Morning Star Wizards at minimum! The quality of emotional power was terrifyingly high! Moreover, in this environment where survival from one day to the next was never guaranteed, the dark aspects in the hearts of those lower-ranking Wizards and soldiers of the Gods were infinitely amplified, granting Renly a fearsome boost in power.
"Still... no matter how great that power may be, what does it amount to before
At this thought, Renly's expression darkened involuntarily. The memory of his last direct confrontation with the two great Wills replayed ceaselessly within his mind.
Ding! Spatial Law calculation: 1.97%! Insufficient data!
Temporal Law: unable to calculate!
On the Chip's interface, within its most critical task bar, two brilliant notifications blazed with blinding prominence.
"To channel the power of Space-Time, to master the Laws of Space-Time..." Renly rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "My path of Original Sin. With the power of the Nightmare as its foundation, it should be more than sufficient to contain the power of Space-Time — but how do I channel it? Perhaps..."
He suddenly thought of the Wills of Wizards and Gods.
Though their power was earth-shaking, there still seemed to be a subtle gap between them and the legends of Ninth-Level Wizards — "omniscient, omnipotent" — which gave Renly a sense of unreality.
"Perhaps… even the Supreme Gods and the Wills of Wizards haven't reached the Ninth Level. They've only grasped a portion of the power of Space-Time — much like my previous half-step Seventh-Level state…"
A vague possibility surfaced in his mind, causing Renly's eyes to brighten slightly. "If that's the case…"
"Lord of Original Sin…"
At that moment, a layer of the Earth's power, carrying the message of an invitation, reached Renly's ears.
"Mother of the Earth's Core!"
Renly took a single step forward, and in the blink of an eye arrived in a layer of profound darkness deep underground. There, the Mother of the Earth's Core awaited in her true form, resembling a magma core, with Inosit standing beside her.
This guide of Renly's in the Wizard World had apparently reaped some benefit of her own as well. She had already advanced to the Eighth-Level Wizard realm.
"Congratulations, Inosit!" Renly greeted her with a smile.
"Just got lucky. With the Mother of the Earth's Core's help, I slew the Elven God of Hatred, Severas, and obtained its divine essence…"
Inosit said modestly.
Renly studied her with a long look. Regardless, choosing the evil path of Hatred still required a measure of resolve.
However, beings like Inosit were not rare among the Wizards and Gods. Renly merely let out a brief exclamation before shifting his attention entirely back.
"Mother of the Earth's Core, has the time come?"
"Yes. I humbly hope for your assistance!" the Mother of the Earth's Core's tone was very deferential.
After all, the current Renly was her equal in strength, and as for subordinates, he commanded a host of Calamity Lords and fighters like Shar. He also possessed an Eighth-Level demigod avatar. His influence was vastly greater than the Mother of the Earth's Core's — he occupied a critically important position even within the entire Wizard camp. Any proposal he made demanded the attention of the whole Wizard Alliance.
"Please, go ahead…" She had been helping him all along. Renly had no objection to offering her aid in return and strengthening their alliance.
"I would like to ask you to help me kill Chantea, the Earth Mother Goddess!" the Mother of the Earth's Core spoke in a heavy voice, while an expression of "as expected" appeared on Renly's face.
The Mother of the Earth's Core had already reached the absolute peak of the Eighth Level, yet due to the weakness of her own path, she was unable to channel the power of Space-Time.
But now, as long as he devoured the Earth Mother Goddess Chantea, a being of mighty divine power, and used her power of the Earth to compensate for the deficiencies of his own path, he could perfect his foundation and lay a solid groundwork for his future ascension.
For an Eighth Level Wizard at the absolute limit, such an opportunity to mend one's own path was even rarer and more elusive — one that could never be abandoned. For it, any price would be worth paying.
"Have you found traces of her?"
Among the beings of mighty divine power, the Earth Mother Goddess existed on the same tier as the Nature God, Sivanas. Divine rank had long since lost all meaning for them, for they already stood at the pinnacle of all deities — second only to the Supreme God!
To deal with such an existence, even Renly dared not be careless.
"Of course. As a critical combat force, she must also be assigned to the most fiercely contested war zone…"
The Mother of the Earth's Core waved her hand, and a vast luminous screen materialized before them. Countless hills emerged upon it, forming a rough map of the battlefield.
"The green areas represent zones with the lowest combat intensity, while the red areas are the main battlegrounds where both sides are locked in struggle. The deeper the red, the more fierce the contest…"
The Mother of the Earth's Core pointed to three regions on the map that had already turned a deep purplish-red: "Gale Ravine, the Dark Prison, and your Swamp — Blade Ridge line are all zones of the highest intensity. I've received intelligence that the Earth Mother Goddess Chantea will appear at Gale Ravine. I've already applied for a transfer there…"
"I see…"
Renly stroked his chin, studying the map in contemplation.
"The Swamp — Blade Ridge line is being held by myself and another Wizard at the limit. We just dealt the gods a harsh lesson, so there shouldn't be any major engagements in the near future. However, the forces I can spare are very limited. So, I'll give you one of my Sin Runes. All you need to do is send me a signal, and my true body will immediately head to Gale Ravine…"
After reaching an agreement with the Mother of the Earth's Core and discussing the details of their coordination, Renly's figure vanished instantly into the depths of the earth, leaving only Inositol and the Mother of the Earth's Core behind.
"You should go prepare as well…"
At the Mother of the Earth's Core's instruction, Inositol bowed respectfully and withdrew. The black ring within his body gleamed with an even more resplendent radiance.
……
The camp of the gods. Deep within the heart of a divine kingdom filled with verdant plants and the sweet fragrance of blossoms and birdsong.
"Chantea… I hope you understand your duty…"
A layer of blooming flowers unfurled and coalesced into the face of Sivanas, the Nature God. Having lost his true form, his understanding of the Dao of Nature had only deepened, and he had now quietly risen to become the leader among the gods.
"Of course. Lure the Mother of the Earth's Core, and ideally kill the Lord of Original Sin along with her…"
Chantea spoke slowly, her voice heavy with the rich power of the earth: "I have quite an interest in their path to the Earth's Core as well!"
"The most critical point… is that both Original Sin and the Earth's Core are Eighth-Level Pinnacles from the Wizard World, and the most vital core entities… killing them would be an enormous blow to the Wizard World…"
Sivanas's expression grew grave: "Because this task is so heavy, there will be other gods assisting you…"
"I understand…"
Chantea's voice was solemn as her true form slowly merged into the earth.
It was not only the Wizards who wished to hunt the gods — the gods also coveted the Wizards' power of laws. And so a battle filled with conspiracies and traps began to spread outward from Gale Ravage.
……
"Hsss…"
At that moment, in the void of the Giant Serpent Castle.
The Nightmare Hydra hissed. The emotional force of Original Sin from across the entire Astral Plane, especially from the main battlefield, condensed into black mist like an enormous spider's web, spreading across the entire battlefield and keeping everything under tight surveillance.
"Hm? The scent of envy directed at me… and greed…"
The heads of the Nightmare Hydra representing
"Heh heh… so it's you lot…"
Lin Lei sneered. Hovering above the entire battlefield, the Nightmare Hydra that fed on emotional force was like the queen spider at the center of a vast web — no disturbance on its strands could escape his notice. Even beings of laws, so long as their minds held any cracks, could still be influenced by the force of Original Sin.
But Lin Lei had always been cautious in guarding this secret. Finally, his trump card for turning the tide had come into play.
"The Earth Mother Goddess Chantea, the Nature God Sivanas, and that one…"
Lin Lei stroked his chin: "How should I make use of this ambush? Perhaps… I should do this. If this plan succeeds, the Final Battle could well be concluded within a hundred years!!!"
A precise plan formed instantly in Lin Lei's mind.
More than that, he manipulated the web of emotions, sending out certain complex influences to begin interfering with the judgment of other law-level existences.
With Lin Lei's current strength, even if the God of Prophecy were reborn, any attempt to divine the future would yield nothing but a thick fog.