Chapter 122: Help Yourself!
Finally, I have an artifact that belongs to me.
At this moment, Soren actually felt a surge of emotion, almost to the point of tears. He had been in this world for a long time. Even though he had ascended to godhood for quite a while, it wasn’t until today that he possessed a true artifact of his own. The fundamental reason is that artifacts in this world are extremely rare. Even during the peak of the Saint’s Cataclysm, the number of artifacts was still not very high. Icebane had been infused with a portion of the Demon Lord’s soul and divinity, and the foundation of the artifact had been completed. Now Soren just needed to infuse it with some of the Power of Laws.
Every artifact possesses a portion of its own Power of Laws!
This also explains why artifacts cannot be used casually. Even legendary items may have faction and class requirements.
Soren now had two choices.
One option was to infuse a bit of his soul power into it, causing this artifact to become his exclusive weapon. Even if others held it, they would not be able to unleash its power. In the material plane, there are such artifacts in the sorcerer family, exemplified by a particular ring, which has a long name that won’t be mentioned here. Its effect is that only direct descendants of this family’s bloodline can use it. Of course, if you possess an external specialty like Universal Skillful Hand, you could use it too.
The second option was to infuse it with Soren’s own Power of Laws, which is an evolution of his divine power.
This method is somewhat more common.
It’s akin to the ring of the Vampire Son Reinhardt, which can only be used by him but can also be used by other vampires. If Soren chooses to infuse his divine Power of Laws, then apart from himself, priests and believers of Soren can also use this artifact temporarily, provided they have received Soren’s permission.
This effect is similar to divine bestowal, used for dealing with powerful enemies when Soren’s main body is not in the material plane.
Many powerful deities have left behind such artifacts, but the prerequisite is that the deity possesses more than one artifact!
In the end.
Soren chose to infuse it with his divine Power of Laws, which would require some time back in Modo City. When the divine infusion was completed, the weapon’s power would become even stronger.
After all, an artifact cannot have just one or two weapon characteristics.
(Note: By choosing this option, Soren can infuse his divine power into the weapon at a necessary moment, allowing a sufficiently devout believer to temporarily gain a portion of his power to fight.)
Finally.
It came down to the name of the weapon. Since it had been upgraded to an artifact, he naturally needed to consider changing its name.
Naming something is incredibly troublesome.
Soren didn’t have a good choice at the moment, so he could only look at the future weapon characteristics. If he couldn’t think of anything, he might as well continue calling it ‘Icebane’. After all, a name is just a codename.
………………
Meanwhile.
In the third layer of the Hell of Bartok, a massive and magnificent palace suddenly erupted with a furious and terrified roar: “Impossible! My power!…”
“d*mn it!…”
“He actually took my power!…”
A terrifying aura spread, causing the entire palace to tremble slightly, but this voice did not carry outside. It only echoed within the palace, as the Demon Lord could not allow others to know his power had been weakened. Although he was immensely angry, he did not lose his rationality, especially given that he had many competitors and potential enemies.
An avatar represents a part of the soul.
If Soren’s demon avatar were to perish, it could result in a permanent decrease of some attributes. Similarly, if the Demon Lord’s avatar were to completely d*e, he would also lose some attributes and power.
The ratio is approximately one-twelfth!
After a long time.
The furious Demon Lord finally calmed down. His serpent-like body coiled on the throne as he began to contemplate his next move.
The lost power would not return. He was not a foolish Demon Lord; having lost some power, as a demon, he had to find a way to restore it or seize the power of others. With the arrival of the Saint’s Cataclysm, many Demon Lords had shifted their focus to other planes, temporarily reducing infighting by several degrees, so in the short term, no one would notice his weakness.
“Master!”
At that moment, a seductive succubus appeared outside the palace. They were a species similar to succubi, but belonged to the demon faction of Bartok, possessing some bl**d of fallen angels. These incredibly beautiful females were all succubi, and mortals who fell into their hands fared terribly, being drained completely of their physical form, with their souls not escaping the fate of corruption.
More terrifyingly, mortals killed by succubi became too enamored and their intelligence easily affected by it.
Without enough will, they could easily become low-level imps after corruption.
The Demon Lord Mammon is the embodiment of greed and desire. Within his palace, there were numerous succubus servants. At this moment, the head maid appeared, slightly bending to reveal her towering peaks, and spoke in a charming voice: “The Hell Poet wishes to visit you.”
(Note: The term “succubus” requires a comma every time, so let’s temporarily refer to her as a demon girl.)
………………
“The Hell Poet?”
Upon hearing this, the Demon Lord Mammon narrowed his eyes. He was not particularly concerned about the Hell Poet, as he was not highly ranked in Bartok, but he could not ignore him either, for he was a follower of the supreme ruler of Bartok, Lord of Hell Asmothiels. In a sense, the Hell Poet held a position in Bartok comparable to that of some low-level Demon Lords.
Mammon straightened his serpent-like body. He hated his current form, for it was not as powerful as his former infernal form, yet he dared not show any of this, as it was a punishment from Asmothiels.
After pondering for a moment, he slowly said, “Let him in.”
Soon.
The figure of the Hell Poet appeared outside the palace, and behind him stood a remarkably beautiful fallen angel exuding a demonic aura. A look of surprise and ecstasy flickered in the depths of Mammon’s pupils, but he concealed it well. He realized that this fallen angel’s soul was somewhat different.
“Your Excellency Mammon.”
The Hell Poet elegantly bowed his head in respect. He then slowly said, “I bring good news for you, perhaps we can attempt cooperation.”
“Cooperation?” Mammon narrowed his serpent-like eyes and laughed eerily, “Do tell?”
………………
Leaffall City.
With the Demon Lord’s avatar having been thwarted by Soren, the scales of victory had completely tipped in Soren’s favor.
The subsequent battles faced almost no difficulty; it was just that those ghouls hiding in the sewers posed a bit of a challenge. The servants of the King of Ghouls had already infiltrated under the city, making it extremely troublesome to completely clear them out. It is well-known that undead are easily created and resurrected, and the time and cost required for complete purification are too great.
By evening.
Leaffall City had completely changed hands, and the corrupted noble council, tempted and fallen by the demons, became the target of public outrage. Even some nobles of decent conduct became subjects of suspicion, believed to have possible dealings with demons. Angry citizens erupted into disturbances, their accumulated grievances bursting forth, with some even attempting to attack members of the noble council. However, these individuals were quickly and brutally suppressed by the elite army under Soren. The remaining members of the noble council became objects of protection by Soren.
Because he absolutely would not tolerate such near-rebellious behavior!
bl**d and fire.
Under the rapid and brutal suppression, the rebellious few civilians and a small number of soldiers were quickly slaughtered by the elite army. The calm citizens began to feel afraid and learned what it meant to obey, understanding that Soren was not a benevolent savior. He was a ruler with an iron-fisted approach.
Perhaps once they had rejected such dictatorial measures, but now they were merely weak sheep, needing a strong protector for their safety.
Any anger, any grievance, any suffering, should not devolve into chaotic violence.
This is Soren’s order!
Thus, after thousands of heads fell, Leaffall City swiftly restored order and calm as night fell. Beginning tomorrow, preparations would be made for population relocation. Soren absorbed part of the Leaffall City army while taking over the city’s defenses.
The Druids fell silent.
The infiltration of the Demon Lord represented their dereliction of duty, demonstrating their incompetence. The fact that they had failed to notice such serious corruption severely weakened the Druid Order’s discourse power.
Soren did not want to waste time.
His time was incredibly tight; with only two months until the New Year, Soren would need to address the first wave of cross-plane enemies in just over sixty days.
The planar barrier had completely failed due to energy storms!
The numerous spatial rifts meant that creatures from other planes could appear in the material plane at any time due to unforeseen events. In simple terms, a demon from the Bottomless Abyss could stumble upon a suddenly opened spatial rift while wandering and then, in the blink of an eye, appear in the material plane or elemental plane.
Modo City was also within the affected area!
In Soren’s memory, a demon legion and high-level devils had once appeared in the Amazon Islands, although these enemies were defeated by the immensely powerful Amazon Female Warriors.
However, this also meant that the Overseas Islands, very close to the Amazon Islands, would similarly become a disaster point!
Population transfer.
This should be the last time Soren relocates the population from Leaffall City. Those willing to follow him would be sent to the Overseas Islands, while those unwilling could stay in Leaffall City or go to the Elf Kingdom.
The Saint’s Cataclysm has erupted!
Half-Orcs are no longer a threat; the arrival of winter has slowed their offensive pace, and before the spring thaw, the Ascendant Eugene should be worried about how to deal with the suddenly appearing demons.
The terrifying age of turmoil has arrived.
All Soren could leave them with was a single sentence — “Help yourself!”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
