Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Eve of the Great War!
2016-04-01
Author: Floating Tower (诸生浮屠)
In the murky seawater, a dark red spread out.
Nearby, many dead fish floated on the surface, mostly poisoned. Further away, the bodies of the Naga tribe could be seen. In addition, there were many devilfish with twisted features. It was evident that a fierce battle had just occurred, but the warring sides were not land races; they were the Naga tribe and various sea creatures inhabiting the ocean. Among them were many rare ocean creatures not often seen in the Material Plane, including deep-sea lurkers that could only be found in the Bottomless Abyss.
“They are the followers of Dagon.”
A half-elf priest had a serious expression as he looked at the sea surface and then said to the attendant behind him, “Immediately send the news back to Modo City. It seems the Ocean Temple has already gone to war with the Demon Lord Dagon!”
The war in the deep sea had erupted.
After building up power for so long, the Abyss Lord Dagon could no longer resist challenging the Ocean Goddess.
He himself was the Obsidian Demon ruling the deep sea, seeking to seize control of the oceans of the Material Plane, the Ocean Goddess was an enemy Dagon could not bypass. It could be said that without thoroughly defeating the Ocean Goddess, Dagon would find it difficult to extend his claws into the Material Plane.
……………
Overseas Islands, Modo City.
As March gradually approached its end, the impact of the Saint’s Cataclysm struck again.
Soren frowned as he looked at the information sent back, murmuring, “So it has really begun? Then we might need to prepare to deal with the Lord of Shadows.”
The information received was plenty.
First, the orcs finally clashed with the prairie elves and achieved a great victory, capturing large swathes of land. The prairie elves had been forced to relocate to forested areas, and it was said that the wood elves were very dissatisfied with the orcs instigating the war. On the other side, the Ocean Goddess had begun a conflict with the Demon Lord Dagon, and the Naga tribe had confirmed serious clashes with the devilfish. Somewhere in the deep sea, there should be a massive portal connecting to the Bottomless Abyss, as many devilfish originated from the Shadow Sea on the 89th level of the Bottomless Abyss.
Such matters would certainly have to be dealt with by the Naga tribe and the Ocean Church. At most, Soren would just show his support.
The struggles beneath the sea would not affect the pattern of the Material Plane.
Of course.
Currently, the most critical news was still related to the Lord of Shadows.
The reason Soren felt it was almost time to act was also related to movements in another deity’s church recently.
The Lord of Radiance.
The Church of the Lord of Radiance had been making frequent mobilizations, subtly indicating plans to go to war with the Church of the Lady of the Night.
A powerful divine power from the Good Faction.
A powerful divine power from the Evil Faction.
Moreover, there was mutual prejudice, and old grievances had accumulated over many years. If the Lord of Radiance was really prepared to strike at the Lady of the Night, then Soren would have no last concerns. He basically wouldn’t have to worry about the Lady of the Night in the short term. Because facing a deity like the Lord of Radiance would surely give the Lady of the Night a headache.
This was the best time!
The Spider Queen’s attention was currently all on the Elven Pantheon, and once she dealt with her most hated Elven Pantheon, her focus would shift to other deities.
The Lady of the Night, now outpaced by the Lord of Radiance, would hardly have the energy to pay attention to the Lord of Shadows.
If Soren acted now, he wouldn’t have to worry about encountering enemies with powerful divine power to meddle and pick the fruits, and another important reason was that reports suggested the Goddess of Fortune had appeared in the northern regions of the continent.
The Goddess of Misfortune and the Goddess of Fortune.
These two twins of fate, transcending the gods, had finally made their appearance. Their struggle would pull the nerves of many deities, as the Saint’s Cataclysm was itself a torrent of fate.
Things in Modo City had gradually entered a stable state.
Negotiations and collaborations with the Northern Witch Council were slowly progressing. The Wizard Alliance also needed to discuss with the Archmages of the council. The demands put forth by Modo City were not low, and they might not easily agree in a short time.
With Gloria and the Fallen Witch around, Soren didn’t need to worry about his rearguard being unstable.
While the demons had not yet officially taken action, he felt he needed to find an opportunity to further enhance his power!
If he could advance to Medium Divine Power, Soren would hardly feel intimidated even when facing veteran deities. Furthermore, if he successfully killed the Lord of Shadows, Soren’s plan to establish his own pantheon would need to begin laying out its framework.
A pantheon.
The Divine Profession of Half-Elven would certainly need to separate from the primary divine profession after acquiring the Shadow divine profession. Soren had even more long-term plans for these matters.
……………
In a concealed basement.
Utred hurriedly walked in, followed by three grim-faced Wanderers. They were clearly trained assassins.
“Your Excellency Bishop.”
A cold female voice emerged from the darkness, and a woman with a rather captivating appearance who had a hideous scar on her profile appeared slowly, saying, “The recent movements in Modo City are unusual, and I’m worried our whereabouts have already been exposed.”
Exposed?
At this thought, Utred couldn’t help but grow pale. He slowly asked, “What about the internal news from the church? Hasn’t the support from the Church of Shadows arrived yet?”
d*mn Modo City!
God knows this opponent is so troublesome. Originally, the Lord of Shadows had Medium Divine Power, while Soren only had weak divine power. One church had developed for over a thousand years, whereas the other had been established only recently.
At the start of the operation, Utred thought it was merely a child’s play.
But after the true battle began, he found the enemy much more troublesome than he had imagined.
Soren was indeed a new god.
However, he had inherited the original Half-Elf Church, and he had nearly exhausted the resources of Leaffall City. The entire foundation of Leaffall City had been absorbed by Modo City, and the internal strength of the church was indeed stronger than the outside world might imagine.
More importantly, Soren had secular power.
Most divine churches were independent from the secular world; the Lord of Shadows did not control any kingdom and merely developed his church through his influence in the Material Plane, at most secretly controlling some cities through Shadow Thieves. But those cities could not compare to Modo City, where Soren could mobilize tens of thousands of warriors at a wave of his hand, while the entire Church of Shadows could barely muster even one-tenth of Modo City’s forces.
If it came to believers, the Lord of Shadows absolutely had far more than Soren!
But believers do not equate to combat power; the only ones who could join the battle within the Church of Shadows were the Professionists, and they had to be devout believers; those with general faith might not even fight for the cause.
However, Modo City had no such worries, for the army of Modo City was entirely under Soren’s command.
At first, it was undoubtedly the Lord of Shadows with the obvious advantage, but after the battle in Shipwreck Bay erupted, the situation had completely reversed.
Modo City continuously sent out Professionists to battle the Shadow Thieves and the Church of Shadows!
Some were not even church believers but well-known pirates; this battle began to turn unfavorable for the Church of Shadows once it entered a stalemate.
Because the Church of Shadows was facing the interests of all of Modo Island!
“Does my lord have any divine revelations to convey?”
Utred remained silent for a moment before suddenly asking, “What about the Shadow Thieves? Why have they not arrived yet?”
The woman standing before him shook her head.
Suddenly, there came a strange noise from outside, along with a muffled groan. The next moment, Utred’s expression changed drastically, and he panicked, “Something’s wrong!”
“There are enemies!”
His words had barely left his mouth when the sound of combat echoed from outside the basement door. Utred almost instantly dashed out; this was a sealed basement, and if he was surrounded inside, there would be nowhere to run.
Utred rushed out swiftly.
But before he could make any move, a dagger had already pierced into his back.
“Ise?! You!…”
The woman with the scar on her profile coldly withdrew her weapon, giving a frosty glance behind her before slowly releasing her spells and mocking, “I’m not Ise at all!…”
Her appearance gradually changed.
A significant feature was that her height suddenly increased quite a bit; soon her features became notably more delicate and cold, and finally, her ears slightly sharpened.
Half-Elf!
High Metamorphosis!
The Half-Elf assassin named Ise swung her hand to slice Utred’s throat and slowly said, “The Ise you mentioned died long ago.”
“If I didn’t do this, I wouldn’t be able to find your secret base!”
The Northern Witch Council.
In the last moments of his life, Utred suddenly realized.
Such exquisite metamorphosis could not be achieved by ordinary individuals; behind Modo City was the Northern Witch Council, and only high-ranking members of the Northern Witch Council could intervene to transform her into Ise’s likeness, and he had been completely oblivious to this.
Wizards!
d*mn wizards!
Although there were also wizards within the Church of Shadows, they could not compare to this old witch force. At most, they had Wanderers, then the priests serving the deities, followed lastly by the transitioned Shadow Sorcerers.
Life was gradually fading away.
The woman who had transformed into Ise cast a cold glance at the corpse on the ground and then vanished into the darkness. The battles of today had not yet begun; they had already located the Lord of Shadows.
Next, there would be a great showdown, which would determine the pattern of the Wanderers for the next few thousand years!
Lord of Shadows, Church of Shadows, Shadow Thieves.
Soren, Half-Elf Church, Modo City.
If Soren could defeat the Lord of Shadows, then a True God encompassing the Wanderer divine profession and the Shadow divine profession would appear within the Wanderers.
From now on, all forces related to the Wanderers would be brought under Soren’s command.
Likewise.
If the Lord of Shadows triumphed over Soren, his power would similarly increase dramatically! The combat between the two parties was destined for one thing: that from now on, the Wanderers and Shadow divine professions must merge!
……………(To be continued ~^~)
