Chapter 26 【True God】!
Leaffall City.
The fleet docked near the Agate River is ready, the riverside breeze carries a scent of earthy musk, and behind him come the shouts of sailors. Soren glances at the distant Leaffall City, shakes his head and sighs, slowly saying, “It’s over.”
Everything here has come to an end.
After delaying for more than a month, he has finally sent back all the believers he needed to Modo City. Those who still insist on staying in Leaffall City are not worth his time, and as for their future fate, Soren is not interested in paying too much attention. After all, due to his arrival, the Half-Orc Army has suffered two consecutive heavy blows, and Eugene, under Soren’s pressure, has to slow down, indirectly buying Leaffall City some breathing space. As for who will be the true victor in the end, Soren has no interest in knowing.
Because he knows the turbulent years are about to come!
“My lord.”
An old man dressed in bishop’s robes approached Soren. He is one of the few surviving bishops of the church, a high-level priest with a profession level exceeding 16. He humbly bent down and said, “All the believers have been sent away. However, there are still many kin inside Leaffall City. If we make an effort, we might persuade them to leave.”
Soren turned to glance at him and shook his head, “No need.”
“The power of the nobles will not sit idly by while we take others away, and a greater disaster is coming. I foresee that the gods will descend into the mortal realm; at that time, we will face even greater challenges.”
The gods descending into the mortal realm?
Bishop Feywood trembled at this, muttering, “How is that possible?!…”
Soren silently observed him. At this point, revealing a bit about the Saint’s Cataclysm is no problem, as weak divine powers have already appeared, and many powerful legendary figures can probably guess something. The impact of the divine descending onto the Material Plane is tremendous, as one can see from Soren’s current abilities. He barely meets the standard of a weak deity and already possesses the terrifying power to single-handedly sack a city.
When the Saint’s Cataclysm truly erupts, gods, demons, devils, and ancient evils will all emerge!
If conflicts break out among them, the entire plane will be affected.
“Step back.”
Soren gently waved his hand and disappeared from the spot in an instant. Gods and believers shouldn’t have too much contact; otherwise, there won’t be enough mystery. Although the priest before him serves him in herding believers, Soren isn’t prepared to say much to them; after all, he still cannot bestow divine techniques and, strictly speaking, he is still in the ‘pseudo-god’ stage.
This aspect of the church should still be left to the mind sorcerer—Die. With her abilities, managing a church is entirely effortless.
“Leaffall City!”
Soren took one last glance in the direction of Leaffall City and slightly shook his head, “The artifact has fallen into my hands; I do not know if the werewolves will turn against the half-orcs.”
“Regardless, I still hope that this city can hold out!”
As a lawful evil individual, Soren actually has a strong aversion to chaos, so he does not mind making some changes with his own power.
This time, more than twenty thousand people were moved from Leaffall City, which is a small part compared to nearly one hundred thousand half-elves. However, Leaffall City has only about a hundred thousand inhabitants, and the distribution of half-elves is quite common along the roads. The population capacity of a city is also limited. If it were not for the large number of displaced civilians residing in Leaffall City, the population would hardly maintain more than tens of thousands. In such a situation, those willing to follow Soren are mostly church believers. To move them, Soren had to utilize considerable manpower and resources.
But all of this is worthwhile!
Because with the coming of the Saint’s Cataclysm, Soren’s prestige might drastically decrease. If the Ocean Goddess appears in the mortal realm, he cannot claim to be the king of the sea any longer. His capacity for mobilizing pirates will undoubtedly diminish; after all, the Ocean Goddess is the true ruler of the sea. The terrifying wave of turmoil will encompass the entire Material Plane. The influence of wealth will far surpass what it is now. The later it gets, the weaker Soren’s influence will be, making it much harder to orchestrate such large-scale affairs again.
This time is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Because now Soren is simply being observed by other forces; in the future, if he dares to act so boldly, it will be other ‘deities’ watching him.
This concept is completely different!
One warship after another sails along the Agate River toward the sea; the dragon-headed warship commanded by the half-elf first mate has already returned to Fury Sand Island, and the first batch of sent-away believers has probably arrived at Modo City.
“My lord!”
The figure of the veiled mind sorceress appeared beside Soren. She slightly bent and lowered her head in respect, then slowly said, “All the believers have been pacified.”
“The mental suggestive seeds have been planted; they will remain quiet throughout the journey.”
“All arrangements have also been completed with the priests. The first batch of priests has been sent to Modo City, and they will help manage these common people. Some of the other priests remain on Fury Sand Island and will return with us.”
“Master.”
“Although these priests are obedient now, this is only temporary. If you cannot bestow divine techniques for a long time, their faith might waver.”
“Do you have any plans for what to do next, Master?”
Soren turned to glance at her.
Regarding the future high priest of his church, he had nothing to hide, slowly saying, “Although the prayers of the believers have already granted me some divine power, it seems I have not fully reached the standards of a deity. Perhaps it is because I cannot connect to the realm of deities. Normally, as a god, I should also possess legendary-level priest capabilities.”
“But in fact, I still cannot cast divine techniques!”
Regardless of profession, even purebred warriors who achieve deification can possess priestly abilities above legendary level.
However, this kind of priestly power obtained in this manner does not consume divine technique slots but directly uses the divine power of the deity as consumption. If a deity already has priestly levels, it is equivalent to possessing two sets of divine technique consumption systems: one brought by their own profession level and the other exercised by their own divine power. Soren has currently accumulated 3 points of divine power but has not obtained any divine technique abilities yet, which is difficult to determine. This might be related to him not having officially achieved deification.
Hearing this, the mind sorceress nodded slightly and slowly said, “Perhaps Master should hold your deification ceremony as soon as possible.”
“Without formal deification, there is no mastery of the rules!”
“In fact, Master, you are not even considered a pseudo-god right now, because many pseudo-gods can still bestow limited divine techniques on some believers. You currently govern the church relying on your immense martial power and your own influence, but divine techniques are ultimately the foundation of the church. Priests without divine techniques can still be tempted to join other divine churches.”
Soren nodded, “I understand.”
“However.”
“This may not necessarily be my fault; perhaps I chose an incorrect timing. Have you not noticed that these priests do not seem overly surprised about losing divine techniques? It is likely that more and more priests are losing the ability to use divine techniques!”
“The stars in the sky are becoming increasingly dim.”
“The gods seldom respond to the prayers of mortals anymore.”
“It seems that now only those pious priests remain who can still utilize divine techniques. I have a feeling that some significant event is about to occur.”
Soren raised his gaze to the sky.
Since when had the moon in the sky dimmed considerably? It seems that with the first batch of stars losing their shine, the high and mighty moon has also grown weaker.
“Lady Silver Moon!…”
A strange expression appeared on Soren’s face. He turned to look at the mind sorceress behind him and slowly said, “Perhaps I am still unable to bestow divine techniques, but if I am to hold the deification ceremony, I must directly become a 【True God】!”
“Only then.”
“Will we not provoke the hostility of others.”
True God?!
Hearing this, the mind sorceress trembled all over, then bowed her head and said, “My lord, do you already possess the qualifications to become a 【True God】?”
Soren shook his head, “Not yet.”
“But it is only a little bit away!”
………………
True God!
Divinity, divine profession, divine power.
When all three elements are sufficient, the opportunity to become a 【True God】 will also come.
Strictly speaking, Soren can deify at any time. But if he were to do so in his current state, he would be a standard 【Pseudo God】 because he does not yet possess the capability of 【Weak Divine Power】. The strength of deities serves as a boundary; 【True God】 and 【Pseudo God】 are two different standards. One is a true existence qualified to exercise divine authority, while the other is a half-baked facade put up forcefully. The former can fulfill the obligations and responsibilities that deities should perform, while the latter might wholly deceive and exploit believers.
For example, not being able to guide the souls of believers.
The Vampire Son is a standard 【Pseudo God】. His divine power does not meet the standard, and setting the “God of Half-Elves and Wanderers” as his goal is also an attempt to advance himself into the domain of 【True God】. It is precisely because he achieved deification with a 【Pseudo God】 identity that his church is unloved and resented, justice views him as an enemy, and evil sees him as a traitor.
This is a serious matter!
Because once labeled as a 【Pseudo God】, washing away that label in the future will be very challenging.
This is a stain that both justice and evil care about!
The prayers of believers represent an enormous volume of information that becomes a significant burden for deities, especially when paired with the divine requests of priests.
Only when divinity, divine profession, and divine power meet all standards can deities truly manage all of this. If the standards are not met, it could result in madness or complete distortion of the mind, just as Soren initially experienced with prayer faith!
A pseudo-god is just a pseudo-god.
It is like attempting to fly an airplane without a license; such behavior is extremely abhorrent in the realm of gods, and the consequences are far more severe than driving without a license. Most pseudo-gods will experience some form of distortion due to insufficient foundations. Even if they successfully advance to the field of 【True God】 in the future, this stain will remain on them because they violated the rules of deities.
This is a matter of timing.
If you deify once all conditions are met, then you are a 【True God】, and everything follows the order as per rules — first, possess the abilities of a deity, and then earn the qualifications of a deity. But if you cannot wait, and any of the hardware fails to meet the standards of gods, and you rush to deify, then you are violating the rules of divinity and will immediately be stamped with the label of a 【Pseudo God】.
Once labeled as a 【Pseudo God】,
Neither the gods of justice nor those of evil will favor you. They will remember who challenged the rules of deities. Even if you later advance to 【True God】, this perception will linger in the influence of many gods.
Because they will think:
“Look! It’s that guy! He was trying to act cool and deify without meeting the standards of a deity!”
………………
Naturally, Soren would not choose the path of being a 【Pseudo God】.
This is fundamentally related to divine credibility and the first impression you leave on other deities upon achieving divinity. Because as long as the first impression you leave is not that of a 【Pseudo God】, even deities from opposing factions will acknowledge your identity.
They may call you evil, but they will not label you a fraud, because you have the qualification to stand shoulder to shoulder with them!
………………(To Be Continued…)
