Chapter 544 |
In this otherworldly universe, divine power among mythical beings is categorized in a rather straightforward and crude manner.
A true god with Lesser Divine Power has a maximum divine energy capacity of 3,000 points.
Above that, Weak Divine Power allows for 10,000 points, Intermediate Divine Power holds up to 30,000, and once a god crosses the threshold into Greater Divine Power, they undergo a transformation, leaping straight to 100,000.
The upper limit for Peak Divine Power was a staggering 1,000,000.
Of course, this refers only to the limit of divine energy stored within a Deity’s true body and does not necessarily reflect a god’s overall divine output.
In practice, many Gods of Faith store their excess divine power in their Divine Kingdom, incarnations, or even divine artifacts. Of these, their Divine Kingdom was particularly important as it acts as a reservoir that can replenish the Deity’s true body when needed.
In a sense, one’s Divine Kingdom serves as a divine energy storage tank. For example, even a god with only 3,000 divine power in their true body might have reserves in their Divine Kingdom that could exceed 100,000 or even more.
Thus, some faith-based deities who have survived since the early Silver Age, though weaker in terms of raw divine level or burst power, can possess terrifying amounts of divine energy overall.
And this is one of the reasons why the Ancient Gods have gradually declined.
As innately divine beings, they are born with full control over their divinity and it’s corresponding laws. They don’t require a Divine Kingdom to manifest their divine realms. Most enviable of all, they can draw divine energy directly from the cosmic void.
However, whether out of pride or other reasons, they seldom establish their own Divine Kingdoms.
Because of this, their total divine power usually falls short of the gods of faith. Although their true bodies may be far stronger than those of equal rank, they simply can’t match their opponents in a war of attrition.
Over time, this has caused the Ancient Gods to lose ground in their prolonged struggles against the faith-based deities.
To sum up the difference in one sentence: in terms of raw explosive power, the Newer Gods are no match for the Ancient Gods. When incarnations or true bodies clash outside of a Divine Kingdom, the Ancient Gods usually emerge victorious.
But in a drawn-out battle—or when God’s of Faith retreat into their Divine Kingdoms—the Ancient Gods often find themselves unable to prevail. In fact, they’re frequently the ones who get worn down over time… or even fall prey to ambushes.
Still, nothing is absolute.
The foundation of a faith-based god is their believers. If their source of faith is destroyed, then no matter how much divine power they’ve accumulated, even if they remain hidden away in their Divine Kingdom, in the end, they’re merely waiting for death.
Some powerful Ancient Gods, such as the World Tree, can absorb divine energy at a rate that matches their consumption during peak combat.
In such cases, they have no fear of attrition battles.
Moreover, a few Ancient Gods have chosen to establish Divine Kingdoms of their own, like the Ancestral Dragon and the younger generation of Dragon Gods, thus addressing their weaknesses.
This is also why Reinhardt was practically invincible among his peers. Below the Greater Divine Power level, few are even willing to fight him.
Anyway, back to the present.
With his Divine Kingdom, incarnations, and numerous divine artifacts, Uller’s total divine power definitely isn’t inferior to Eve’s current strength.
However, this place was not his Divine Kingdom.
And the one taking action here… was merely one of his incarnations.
So no matter how refined this incarnation was, it can never truly surpass the strength of his true body. In fact, it’s difficult for it to even wield a third of the true body’s divine power.
In contrast, Eve’s situation was vastly different.
First, the body she was using was essentially a backup vessel forged from the laws of life by the former World Tree and thus, its resilience was no different from that of a true divine body.
Second, Eve’s divine rank had already surpassed Uller at this point. The power within this incarnation had grown tremendously along with Eve’s rising divinity.
So when all this factor was considered, even though Uller employed some method which was capable of sealing divine domains and suppressing law-based powers—it still wasn’t enough.
Moreover, had Luria and Alyssa been present, and Reinhardt not intervened, perhaps Uller might have stood a chance.
But unfortunately for him… he was abandoned.
The moment the Platinum Dragon King made his move, the outcome of this divine battle was already sealed.
With that thought, Eve’s body blazed with light, and her divine power erupted in full force.
In an instant, a vast forest materialized in the void, covering the entire sky and trapping Uller at its center!
The forest was immense…
To the astonished eyes of orcs and players on the ground, it looked as though the entire Elven Forest had been lifted into the heavens.
Of course, this wasn’t a real forest, but a projection of Eve’s divine power.
Feeling the overwhelming energy and oppressive divine majesty around him, Uller’s expression changed drastically.
He raised his war axe and cleaved downward, roaring:
“Forests again! Always forests! Do you really think you’re the heir of Yggdrasil!?”
His silver divine power slashed out like a crescent blade, cutting through the massive trees and reducing them to nothingness.
But the forest was simply too vast.
Wherever Uller struck down any trees, new ones would immediately sprouted and took their place.
Watching him swing his divine axe in frustration, Evé simply shook her head.
“Uller… you’re just too weak.”
Then, with a snap of Eve’s fingers—
The entire illusory forest burst into radiant light as tree after tree twisted and transformed into vicious vines, before lunging toward Uller.
With a furious snort, Uller unleashed his full divine might. His silver power coalesced into countless beasts of ice and snow, baring their fangs at the encroaching vines.
Alas, the number of vines were far too many, and far too strong.
Therefore, no matter how many frost beasts Uller summoned, they were all eventually ensnared and devoured by the oncoming vines.
This… was a clash of divine powers.
All the changes occurring in the surroundings were, in truth, manifestations of divine power.
But from the very beginning, Uller’s failure was already written in stone.
As he felt his divine power draining rapidly from within, the God of Winter and Hunt grew increasingly alarmed.
He simply could not comprehend how this newly ascended Goddess of Life could wield such overwhelming divine might!
By now, he was almost certain—this goddess could not be the World Tree herself.
Whether it was her personality or her combat style, she was vastly different from the Yggdrasill he remembered.
Not to mention, her true body was physically present, something the immobile World Tree could never achieve.
No—at most, they merely resembled each other in appearance.
And strangely, that only left him more confused…
Could a true god, tainted by the power of faith, truly grow this powerful?
Or perhaps—she hadn’t only inherited the World Tree’s divinity, but a portion of her power as well?
That must be it.
Her original race appeared to be elven royalty, no less and the elves had always served the All-Mother of the Gods.
In that light, inheriting some form of Yggdrasill’s legacy wasn’t entirely implausible.
But… things had already come this far.
He had forced her true body to appear. So how could he possibly retreat now?
With bloodshot eyes, Uller glared fiercely at Evé and shouted once more:
“Lord Hodür! Do it now! I can’t hold out any longer!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth, from the direction of Sandstorm City where the supposed World Tree’s Divine Kingdom was said to be—a pillar of green light shot into the heavens!
And immediately right after, a second pillar of green light descended from the sky and struck directly at the illusory forest of divine power that Evé had conjured!
With a deafening boom, her illusionary forest began to dissolve as if affected by some mysterious force. In a flash of brilliance, it was completely absorbed and returned to nothingness…
As the radiance faded and she sensed a familiar energy within it, Eve’s expression turned slightly solemn.
“The Crown of Nature…” she murmured.
It was one of the three divine artifacts of the former World Tree.
It was the physical embodiment of the laws of nature, which were capable of healing, assimilating, and amplifying natural forces and laws. It could even influence laws and powers linked to nature itself.
Just now, it had assimilated the nature-based divine power in Eve’s forest, and then reversed it, thereby absorbing her divine projection into itself.
Within a sealed space where laws were already suppressed and her manipulation of them constrained, the use of Crown of Nature, which could freely affect the laws of nature, had become the perfect counter to Eve!
After all, the Laws of Life and the Laws of Nature were deeply intertwined with one another.
In this sealed space, any divine power Evé released would immediately be affected by it, even if she tried to purge every trace of nature from her divine essence.
However, once she confirmed that the artifact had indeed been borrowed from the God of War and Destruction, a faint light of understanding flickered within her eyes.
Before this holy war began, Evé had considered the possible trump cards her opponents might use…
Perhaps a forced descent of a god’s true form at great cost, or perhaps the use of powerful divine artifacts to suppress her power.
And among those predictions, she had considered one possibility in particular:
That her enemy might use the Crown of Nature.
Because only this Crown could simulate the World Tree’s Divine Kingdom with such perfection.
And according to her calculations, this was the most likely scenario to come true.
The time has come.
She whispered inwardly.
With a single thought, every holy statues of Eve within every Temple of Life in both the Elven Forest and the Ouros demirealm all began to radiate with a gentle, holy glow…
In Florence, in Kenorland, in Seigües City, in Chosen City…
Altars had long been prepared in every location where Eve’s statues was worshipped. At each altar stood solemn, devout believers of the Goddess of Life.
Saintess Alice stood before the glowing statue, her expression a mix of fervor and awe:
“Praise be to Nature. Praise be to Life. Praise be to the great Goddess Eve!”
“A miracle is descending. It is now time to summon the lost Divine Kingdom of the Matriarch…”
With reverence, she traced the symbol of the Scepter across her chest and began chanting in ancient Elvish, her voice rising and falling rhythmically:
“Patadoma… Asnata…”
As Alice chanted, every believers of Eve across everywhere, led by stationed Life Priests, also began to recite the ancient Elvish chant:
“Patadoma… Asnata…”
Patadoma.
In ancient Elvish, it meant Nature.
Asnata.
It referred to Life.
Together, they formed the full name of the World Tree’s once-lost Divine Kingdom—The Cradle of Nature and Life!
“Patadoma… Asnata…”
The prayers and chants of her believers echoed without pause.
Thousands of elves bowed in reverence. Over a hundred thousand mixed-blood humans prostrated themselves on the ground in devout worship. Even within Eve’s divine kingdom, more than a hundred Oak Guardians knelt on one knee before the projection of the World Tree at its center.
“Patadoma… Asnata…”
Over a hundred thousand voices prayed in unison, calling out the ancient names together. At the same time, the prepared altars across the land began to shimmer with a soft glow, amplifying the prayers and summoning until the air itself seemed to vibrate with divine resonance.
The fervent, zealous chanting rang throughout the Elven Forest, across the realm of Seigües, and—strengthened by an unknown force—transformed into a mysterious rhythm that spread outward into the cosmic void.
At that moment, the Crown of Nature, having just absorbed Eve’s divine power, suddenly reacted as if summoned by an unseen force.
It released a brilliant pillar of green light, shooting skyward.
Simultaneously, from the direction of Sandstorm City, countless vines and trees erupted from the ground, rapidly growing into a small forest.
Under Uller’s stunned gaze, the horrified stares of the orcs, and the excited eyes of the players, the entire world suddenly began to quake violently.
Even the ambient mana in the air started to rise!
Seeing this, Eve’s lips curved into a faint smile.
Just as expected…
In Eve’s previous tests, the Scepter of Life which was one of the three Divine Artifacts of the World Tree had shown a mysterious reaction whenever the incantation to summon the World Tree’s divine kingdom was spoken.
And now, with the Crown of Nature which was crafted from a part of the very divine realm of the World Tree itself, such a resonance was bound to be even stronger.
Although Evé now had a vast number of believers, the overall quality of their faith still left room for improvement. On its own, it wasn’t enough to accurately position and locate the World Tree’s lost divine kingdom.
But with the Crown of Nature activated, everything changed.
Once awakened, the Crown would magnify the call to such a degree that the true Divine Kingdom of the World Tree would once again reappear to manifest itself!
This had always been part of Eve’s plan.
Of course, if the artifact had already recognized a master, it would have been impossible for Eve’s summoning to affect it.
However… the time it takes for a True Artifact to recognize a master is proportional to its rank.
And when a True Artifact is powerful enough—such as the World Tree’s three legendary relics—its recognition period becomes incomparably long.
Even in all of recorded history, these three artifacts rank among the top ten most powerful divine artifacts.
Thus… a mere thousand years was nowhere near enough time for the God of War to claim ownership of it!
That was the source of Eve’s confidence in turning the tables in her favor.
Of course, if Uller’s side had chosen not to use the Crown, then Evé also had other contingency plans prepared in advanced…
But here and now, her gamble had paid off!
Moreover, the moment the Crown of Nature was activated, its overwhelming divine fluctuations masked the voices of Eve’s believers.
The laws of nature are deeply intertwined with the growth of the material world.
Though they cannot directly affect Seigües origin, the use of large quantities of nature-aligned divine power can influence the realm’s ambient mana to a certain degree.
Therefore, the ripple effect would be interpreted as the result of Uller’s side using the Crown in their battle against the Goddess of Life, destabilizing the power balance of the realm of Seigües and thus triggering the reappearance of the World Tree’s divine kingdom!
The radiant pillar of light surged into the sky and lingered for a moment before slowly fading…
Then, without warning, another pillar of green light burst forth from the northern reaches of the Elven Forest!
A strange and ancient power drifted in from the far north, carrying the weight of ages and an aura of antiquity.
At that same moment, every being secretly observing the divine battle in the Desert of Death, and every ancient will recently awakened on Seigües, and every true god whose faith still lingered within this realm, all turned their gaze toward the north.
There, on the celestial dome, a ghostly image of a ruined, ancient forest flickered into view then vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“As I thought… The former divine realm truly did fall within Seigües.”
Gazing at the northern sky, Evé murmured in her heart.
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