Chapter 202 What Does It Mean to Be the Right Hand of God, the Vice Lord of Heaven? (Two-in-One)
There are cows, oh, there are cows!
Watching the evil god sculpture that gracefully arced through the air and landed in Rast’s hands, the cult leader’s eyes were bloodshot, nearly spitting bl**d.
There was no way around it; after all, no matter how devoted one was, seeing their normally cold and unattainable goddess willingly undressing and throwing herself at others was enough to break anyone’s defenses.
“It can’t be, this can’t be!”
“You must have deceived the Lord’s sacred object with illusions! This absolutely cannot happen!”
His hands trembled uncontrollably, a savage roar erupted from his throat, and he shakily reached for the pistol at his waist.
However, before the cult leader could aim his handgun at Rast—
Bang—
A gunshot echoed throughout the cult’s base.
The shot didn’t come from in front of him, where Rast’s camp was, but from behind him.
The cult leader wore an expression of disbelief, his hands clutching his back where the b*llet had pierced through, his expression frozen.
Then, he fell straight to the ground, emitting a dull thud, like a broken sack hitting the floor.
“You damned liar!”
“Clearly exposed by the Lord’s sacred object, yet you still tried to take desperate measures to harm the true blessed one!”
An angry voice erupted from the ranks of the cult leader’s loyal followers.
Perhaps concerned that the cult leader was not yet fully dead, or perhaps fueled by the anger of having been deceived by him earlier, these formerly devoted followers fired many more bullets into the cult leader’s corpse lying on the ground.
They didn’t stop until the cult leader’s body was thoroughly riddled with holes, resembling a hornet’s nest.
Clearly, after witnessing the recent theological debate and the choice made by that sculpture, along with seeing the cult leader breaking down—
Even the cult leader’s most loyal followers recognized his actions as desperate attempts when his scheme was uncovered.
And the more fanatically these people had previously followed the cult leader, the more frenzied their anger and hatred became after choosing to sever ties.
“I am truly sorry, Blessed One.”
“We were momentarily oblivious and fell for this liar’s flowery words.”
“We almost acted against the Lord’s true messenger… Please punish us, Blessed One.”
“No worries.”
In response to these surrendered followers, Rast only shook his head slightly: “The Lord loves all people; even if you were deceived, as long as your faith has not faded, you remain the Lord’s believers, worthy of entering the Lord’s eternal kingdom after d*ath.”
As he spoke, Rast did not expend much energy addressing the ecstatic cultists before him.
He focused all his attention on the evil god sculpture in his hand, which lay obediently in his palm, engraved with crimson patterns.
This sculpture, forged from black iron, was something Rast was thoroughly familiar with.
The pollutants of the evil god, the source of the Iron Cross Plague… in a sense, it could be said to have interrupted the entire civilization process of the Sixth Epoch, shifting from a flourishing golden age to a dark age.
During those three centuries of cycles, Rast had possessed this sculpture countless times; he knew every detail and texture of the sculpture by heart.
However, at that time, Rast was still merely a budding first-tier extraordinary person, trapped in Deep Blue Harbor, with all extraordinary knowledge reliant on his own exploration. Concepts such as gods, the Throne of Radiance, pollutants, and mental waves were barely understood.
Because of this, his utilization of the evil god’s pollutants had been quite superficial; most of the time, he only treated it as a tool for gathering monsters and attracting the attention of nearby Iron Crosses, nothing more.
But at that moment.
Having become a Night Traveler and experienced so many night worlds, numerous echoes of history, even personally infiltrating the Gravekeepers as a spy and uncovering many secrets from the First Epoch, mythical beings, and the Age of Gods…
Rast’s strength, perspective, and knowledge had changed drastically since he was trapped in Deep Blue Harbor.
So—
At this moment, facing the evil god sculpture before him, he couldn’t help but entertain bolder thoughts.
“God of d*ath?”
“You said you once sensed the aura of the God of d*ath in a kingdom and knew how to enter the Abyss where the God of d*ath sleeps?”
“You also know where the Gravekeepers’ stronghold is, and the whereabouts of the Eternal Night Monument that has survived from the First Epoch?”
There were agitated mental waves emanating from the black iron sculpture, continually transmitting to Rast’s mind.
After Rast’s attempts, he roughly grasped the state of the evil god sculpture.
On this pollutant lingered a trace of the source of the Iron Cross Plague, the god’s consciousness from the evil god.
Although it was merely a negligible fragment of consciousness, perhaps not even a ten-thousandth of the true essence, it was still a genuine divine consciousness. So when the cult leader claimed this sculpture was the Lord’s sacred object, representing the evil god’s will, it wasn’t entirely incorrect.
However, because the gods of the present were trapped within the Throne of Radiance, the consciousness left behind in this sculpture was currently isolated from the divine body and couldn’t connect; they existed independently.
Additionally, before the sculpture was fished up from the deep sea by the cult leader, it had been lying at the bottom of the ocean for a long time, experiencing a prolonged slumber, and had only recently resurrected and reactivated, so its mental operations were still not very smooth.
In simple terms—this fragment of the evil god consciousness had “suffered brain damage” from sleeping too long and was currently not very bright.
Because of this, just moments ago, when Rast casually transmitted some information about the old God of d*ath and the Gravekeepers, he drew this fragment of evil god consciousness in like fishing for a biting fish.
After all, Rast was no longer the inexperienced person he once was.
The leads he possessed regarding the Age of Gods and the Gravekeepers were sufficient to attract the attention of a divine consciousness.
This made it abandon its chosen blessed one, the original cult leader—
And instead, it eagerly turned to Rast, seeking him out.
“More exalted than the starry sky, older than the radiant sun, omniscient and omnipotent, great Lord, please be patient.”
Rast transmitted a wave of thoughts to the evil god sculpture.
“Even though I know of the Gravekeepers and the location of the Abyss where the old God of d*ath sleeps…”
“Given the current state of your divine consciousness, even if you understand the leads, it may be difficult to achieve your goals.”
Rast spoke slowly, in a tone similar to coaxing a child.
“Thus, our immediate priority is to find a way to complete your Arrival Ceremony—”
“Let your power transcend the Throne of Radiance, achieve descent, and directly manifest in the world.”
“Only after completing your descent can your mighty power be exerted on the Western Continent—whether it be the Eternal Night Monument within the Gravekeepers’ organization or the old God of d*ath sleeping in the Abyss, with the Star Cup and Authority currently ownerless… all will become your prey at that time.”
Hearing Rast’s persuasion, the fragment of evil god consciousness gradually calmed down, no longer as agitated as before.
Of course, this calmness did not stem from its newfound intelligence or clarity.
Rather, it was due to Rast’s child-like coaxing skills being particularly effective, making it believe that this blessed one was indeed clever and capable of alleviating its burdens.
“My blessed one, what you said does indeed hold some truth.”
“If so, then let us first complete the Arrival Ceremony, allowing my true body’s power to descend upon the mortal realm, for that was the original plan.”
On the evil god sculpture, the faint crimson patterns flickered.
Due to the existence of the Throne of Radiance, the gods stored within it cannot freely descend their powers upon the Western Continent.
They can only exert their influence through their faith-based organizations or interfere with the present world via pollutants.
Even the so-called “divine descent” has considerable limitations.
The divine body of the gods absolutely cannot directly descend upon the Western Continent—the so-called divine descent is actually selecting a vessel and carrier in the mortal world, with the evil god descending part of its consciousness and power into that vessel to walk among the living as a “half-body” or “incarnation.”
However, such divine descent also means that the choice of the vessel is of utmost importance.
After all, if the vessel for the descent cannot withstand the divine power and consciousness of the deity, then even if the descending divine power is immensely strong, it would be akin to a child wielding a huge hammer, unable to exert its full force.
Originally, the purpose of the Deep Blue Harbor evil god was to let the Iron Cross Plague completely erupt on the Western Continent, allowing the civilization of the Sixth Epoch to comply with the natural order and enter a weakening dark age; divine descent was merely a means to achieve that purpose and showcase its prestige.
All that was needed was to create momentum; the actual effectiveness of the divine descent was not important.
Thus, its original plan was to casually select a believer as a vessel and carrier, directly complete the descent, after all, such a vessel was disposable—use it until it broke, without caring for it.
However, at this moment, alongside the information obtained from Rast, its thinking had changed.
“Divine descent” was no longer merely for show; it needed an incarnation post-descent to explore the Abyss, obtain the legacy of the old God of d*ath, and even attempt to acquire the Eternal Night Monument from the Gravekeepers’ organization.
With that, the Deep Blue Harbor evil god’s requirements for the descent vessel and carrier suddenly became much more demanding. After all, both the Gravekeepers and the old God of d*ath were beings of equal status with the Deep Blue Harbor evil god…
The vessel they chose for divine descent must be able to withstand the fierce divine battle of equals; otherwise, if the vessel were to shatter mid-fight, that would be quite laughable.
At the very least, casually picking a believer as a vessel for descent would absolutely not suffice.
The Deep Blue Harbor evil god’s consciousness fell into deep thought.
But soon enough, it suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and its eyes brightened.
“Your soul and mental power… seem quite pure.”
“In terms of serving as a vessel and carrier for my descent, the resilience of your soul is particularly important; only a strong and pure soul can withstand the immense pressure of divine descent.”
“In other words, as a vessel for descent, you are the optimal choice.”
“However, this means that your body will completely become the vessel for my power, and your soul will be utterly ground to dust before my divine consciousness, leaving no self-awareness…”
At this point, the Deep Blue Harbor evil god’s consciousness fell into slight hesitation.
Ordinary believers were everywhere, easily found and treated as disposable consumables for divine descent; once used, they were unimportant.
But beyond praising the Lord all day, those people were utterly useless; however, a person like Rast, who was clever and proactive, capable of offering insights and easing the burdens of the Deep Blue Harbor evil god, was an extraordinary exception among believers.
Letting such a sensible and obedient individual be the vessel of divine descent, a one-time consumable, would make even the Deep Blue Harbor evil god feel somewhat regretful.
Once it descended, it would undoubtedly seek to establish a vast church on the Western Continent, even a terrestrial kingdom.
At that time, someone like Rast could undoubtedly become a leader of this sect, a king of the divine kingdom, assisting it in holding dominion over faith.
Not to mention, possessing so many secrets about the Age of Gods, which were highly valuable information.
“To sacrifice oneself for the Lord, becoming the vessel that brings your glory back to the mortal realm, is my supreme honor.”
However, in the face of this hesitation, Rast displayed an earnest expression, his gaze unwavering.
As if seeing through the consciousness’s concerns, he spoke again: “As for the secrets I know in my heart, once the Lord descends into my body, you only need to directly grind my soul to dust and extract those memory fragments from my soul.”
“My self-awareness dissipating, my d*ath is trivial—”
“But if that delays your display of glory in the mortal realm, hunting the Gravekeepers and the old God of d*ath, becoming the king of all gods and the god of gods, that would be a sin I could never atone for, even in d*ath.”
“Please, allow me to become the vessel of your descent!”
The light of determination shone in Rast’s eyes, like a lion hiding within.
What does it mean to be the right hand of God, the Vice Lord of Heaven? (Shrug)
(End of Chapter)
