Chapter 88: Divine Realm
2015-07-01
Author: Floating Tower
“Alarm! Alarm!”
“Intruders detected! … Intruders detected! …”
As the cold metallic sound echoed, a translucent light screen immediately appeared on the surface of the Arcane Tower, followed by the Tower Spirit’s figure emerging at the top of the tower, coldly stating: “Activate Level One Combat Readiness Status! … Activate the Arcane Tower Defensive Force Field! … Initiate Defensive Combat Plan! … Golem Legion activated! …”
Rumbling!
The walls of the Arcane Tower suddenly caved in, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps as golem puppets walked out from within the tower. These golems were far from the craftsmanship standards of the Material Plane, with the lowest level being special metal golem puppets. As for the diamond golems, magical energy propellers, and magical energy guards, there were countless more. The civilization of the Arcane Empire not only endowed them with powerful melee capabilities but also granted many golems aerial capabilities and various means of ranged energy attack.
But ultimately, the result did not change at all!
The defensive force field of the Arcane Tower shattered as easily as an eggshell, and the golem legion was easily surrounded and torn into scrap metal by monsters surging from the spatial rift.
Divine Kingdom.
The realm belonging to deities.
After death, followers would be reborn in the Divine Kingdom, with most devout followers transforming into Prayer Weavers, becoming the indigenous people of the Divine Kingdom. A smaller portion of zealous followers would become powerful Holy Spirits, some even directly remade into forms reminiscent of Angels by the deities’ strong divine power. Since the birth of Angels, many deities have attempted to transform their zealots into angelic forms, but sometimes the nature of factions’ good and evil could lead to variations like the Apostles of the Abyss and Fallen Apostles.
These two forms are extremely similar to the appearance of Angels!
Followers reborn in the Divine Kingdom possess nearly infinite life, and the cost of this near-immortal life makes them a part of the Divine Kingdom; their own life and death becomes fully intertwined with the deities themselves. Prayer Weavers cannot leave the realm of the deities unless during a Divine War. Only then can they participate as the core forces of a particular deity in battle. For any deity, if they throw all Prayer Weavers into combat, it signifies they are prepared to fight for their life and death.
A long time.
The Divine Kingdom is like an energy reservoir, with churches developing followers in other planes, and the deity screening for quality followers before guiding them to the Divine Kingdom. Many of these followers will become Prayer Weavers and Holy Spirits. Some exist as ordinary reincarnated beings, where the quality of their soul and the fervor of their faith determine their identity upon entering the Divine Kingdom. This is similar to souls that have fallen into the Bottomless Abyss, where some can directly transform into Greater Demons, while others can only become Abyss Worms (monsters of Biological Level 1).
There’s a significant difference, isn’t there?
But this is the rule of the Multiverse; the power at the spiritual level is amplified by the rules of other spaces after losing their physical forms.
For example, Soren.
If he were to accidentally die, given the purity of his soul and his willpower, as long as his soul does not perish for some reason, then reincarnating as a Greater Demon would be easy for him. However, he would have forgotten too much by that point; any reincarnation would lead to a loss of a large amount of memory, and even the followers of deities are the same; upon entering the Divine Kingdom, they will only retain memories of their devout faith, while other memories will gradually fade away until they completely disappear. (Note: “Analysis of Certain Data Regarding the Divine Kingdom,” Volume Three.)
How many followers does the Spider Queen have?
She has ruled the Drow for a remarkably long time, and in the thousands of years of her timeline, new followers enter her realm every day. Perhaps some of these followers might be consumed in the struggles against other deities. However, this total still continues to increase; otherwise, the Hell of Magic wouldn’t have grown to the size of a plane. (Note: “The Unknown Relationship Between Prayer Weavers and the Size of the Divine Kingdom.” Volume One.)
Rarely does an outsider enter the realm of deities.
No one truly understands what lies within the Hell of Magic, but merely from glimpsing one corner of it, the accumulated power of the Spider Queen over a long time is formidable. The figures of the Prayer Weavers are few; leading the charge is a swarm of dark demonic spiders and various monsters transformed as a punishment by the Spider Queen.
They overwhelm everything like cannon fodder; the Spider Queen cares little for the consumption of these beings.
Thousands upon thousands.
More and more demonic spiders appear, along with other unspeakable monsters.
Gazing through the dimensional rift in the sky, one can vaguely see a colossal forest in the darkness, resembling a massive spider web, with a palace sitting like a spider matriarch at its center.
This is the kingdom of Rosé!
Or rather, this is just part of the realm.
………………
“Damn it!”
“These annoying guys are truly relentless!”
The Vampire Son glared grimly ahead, where a fully armed team of Paladins stood before him. But that wasn’t the core issue; the key point was that one of the Paladins held a weapon that even he feared. Although that weapon had not yet been drawn, the deity’s sensing ability had already alerted him to an extreme danger!
A squad of legendary-level Paladins.
Even the weakest among them is a high-level Paladin, with the presence of a high-level priest of the God of Justice, as well as some professionists he couldn’t even identify.
Possibly an advancement of Clerics.
“What are they planning? A bunch of people coming to the Underdark? Do they intend to purify evil here?”
The Vampire Son was always ready for battle. Among the Paladins before him was one wielding a heavy hammer in one hand and a thick black tome in the other. This burly man surprisingly exerted substantial pressure on him. This was something he rarely encountered since ascending to divinity as a vampire; a Paladin capable of threatening him was likely no mere legendary figure.
“Keepers of the Codex, Judges, Executors! …”
The Hell Poet’s expression was also serious; he seemed to have severe injuries whose origin was unknown. He directly communicated telepathically: “It looks like some special legendary organization! … That sword is extremely dangerous! I’m concerned it might be that thing! …”
“Not easy to deal with!”
“The Wanderer and the God of Half-Elves have already been dealt with! Our goals have been achieved! I need some time to absorb His power!”
“We need to find a way to shake off these annoying guys! …”
………………
On the other side.
The Paladins observed the two individuals before them with serious expressions, and even without using any detection spells, they could sense the evil emanating from the other side.
Entering the Underdark was quite a risky move.
However, they had compelling reasons to be there, so the lineup for this operation was quite luxurious.
Even a certain legendary weapon had been brought here.
“Purifying evil?”
Standing aside in the formation was a Cleric, adorned with the emblem of the Lord of Radiance on his chest, who had previously been active on the front lines against demons but was here for some special personal reasons.
At this moment, he stared at the Vampire Son in front of him. Seemingly realizing his identity, he slightly shifted his gaze to the nearby Paladin and said: “Vampire – Reinhardt. One of the Demon Sons of Fear. He instigated bloody slaughter in the southern continent, turning many innocent people into vampire thralls. He ultimately became a demigod in the guise of a vampire, operating secretly after founding a church, but has never ceased his evil schemes; his followers wreak havoc everywhere, and many instances of vampire infestations are undoubtedly linked to him.”
“Due to his existence, at least tens of thousands have been brutally murdered! …”
………………
The atmosphere gradually becomes tense.
The surrounding space had long since been locked down; the leading Paladin glanced at the two enemies before him, then slowly placed his palm on the black tome, solemnly stating: “Evil must be judged!”
This battle is nearly unavoidable.
If they allowed these two inconceivably evil enemies to escape, their future paths would leave an everlasting hole.
This is akin to witnessing demons run rampant in the mortal realm but remaining indifferent.
Moreover.
They are not without chances of victory, as this time they even brought the Holy Avenger with them.
A fifth-tier artifact.
Although its power has not yet been fully restored to artifact level +6, as long as the Holy Avenger is in hand, they would still have a considerable chance against even the mightiest evil god.
………………
“Item Type: Holy Avenger – Cassomir【+5】
Item Level: 【Fifth-tier Artifact】
Item Description: The Holy Avenger is the ultimate weapon for Paladins to combat evil forces! There are nearly no evils in lower planes that can contend with its power. Cassomir is a legendary weapon, perhaps one of the most powerful weapons in the Material Plane. However, its origins and history have been completely forgotten. This sword holds power that instills fear and trepidation in evil; even the mightiest gods and demons have heard of its name. But this is not its true strength, as this artifact is missing its most crucial part.
Equipment Requirements: 14 points of Strength required, can only be used by Paladins.
Equipment Effect: Artifact features. 50% magic resistance, dispel magic (three times), +15 sharpness, +10 penetration, +15 durability, +10 armor piercing, +10 holy damage.
Artifact Effect: 【Magic Resistance】. While wielding this artifact, the holder gains 50% magic resistance, with any spells targeting the Holy Avenger’s master having a 50% chance to fail.
Weapon Special Effect: 【Dispel Magic】. This weapon casts a legendary-strength dispel magic effect on any enemy it strikes.
Weapon Feature: 【Against Evil】. This weapon deals an additional 10 points of holy damage when striking any evil enemy.”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
