Chapter 1983: Chapter 1983. Visiting a Protector Deity
Inside Heavenly Citadel, Tip was organizing the guild. The guild army had suffered many casualties after repeated battles with the underworld forces. Even Penny was heavily wounded. Their resources took a deep dive after spending so much to keep the guild army fighting strength throughout the war. Now, they had to reacquire those resources to rebuild. He organized guild members into teams and gave each team an assignment. Everyone was wearing a gloomy expression. Tip couldn't blame them. Though they beat the underworld forces in the war, they lost the main goal, which was to prevent Master from becoming a God.
Now that their enemy was a God, they couldn't imagine a good future. Everyone was depressed.
As they somberly received the assignments, the object of their ire appeared out of nowhere. Master floated above and gave them a condescending gaze. Everyone looked back at Master like a statue without knowing what to think.
"Who is in charge here?" Master asked when none of the players said a word.
Everyone turned to Tip. Tip gulped before he spoke, "I... No, you are in charge."
Master grinned. He said, "You are quite quick-witted. For that, I will reward you by staying my hand. Although your guild has been a thorn in my side for a long time, I know it's not your fault. It's your leaders. I could obliterate this entire headquarters with a flip of my palm, but I am a magnanimous God. I will not hurt you. Don't worry."
Everyone heaved a relieved sigh hearing that.
"However," Master continued, and everyone tensed again. "I will not forgive you if I find out you hide those leaders of yours."
"We... We are not... They are not here," Tip said.
"I know. I have swept this headquarters," Master stated. "I expect you to report to the authorities once they are back, or if you learn their whereabouts... Does any of you know their whereabouts?"
Everyone shook their heads. Tip did the same. Although he knew Jack was at this so-called Creator's Secret Garden, he did not know its location.
"Hm... Okay. I believe you," Master said. He couldn't read minds, but he had superb perception and senses. Combined with his knowledge of micro expressions, this allowed him to detect when someone was lying.
"Remember. Report to the authorities once you learn their whereabouts. If you are found guilty of defying my commandment, you will learn firsthand what it means to be smitten by a God."
Once Master finished speaking, the entire place rumbled. Everything suddenly broke apart. The ceiling, the walls, and the floor broke into pieces. No one was hurt, though. The rubble fell away from them. In an instant, they found themselves outdoors. The main building of their guild headquarters was no more. Only its basement was left.
"This will be my only warning," Master said. He then vanished.
Everyone just stood there without moving. They couldn't believe they had a God for an enemy. Only a bleak future awaited them. Many of the players there had the thought of quitting the guild.
*
Master continued to busy himself. He went around collecting his former subordinates, primarily Mistress, Motherboard, and Sizhad. He also went and freed Gridhacker from Everlasting Heavenly Legends' jails. He saw Sinful Pleasure inside the jail but left the dwarf there. He had no use for the psycho.
He couldn't find Ronald, his last heavenly enforcer. He didn't waste too much time searching for the guy. If that gunslinger didn't want to enjoy his blessings, it was his loss.
One day passed, and Master went to Magna Masat, the capital of Verremor. Due to the war with the underworld forces, only three countries had intact territories, Themisphere, Verremor, and Sangrod. He brought Mistress and another portion of his demon army to Magna Masat.
Same as in Thereath, Master affirmed his authority in the orc capital. He appointed Mistress as the new sovereign. He only needed the throne in Themisphere to experiment with, so he let Mistress destroy the throne here and become the new sovereign. Four Winds' sovereign level was not that high anyway, so it was not a waste. Furthermore, Mistress would want no less but to be a sovereign again.
Water Lily and the other Lord Chiefs were there, but they couldn't and didn't dare to protest. They bowed their heads and played along. Like the Themisphere's officers, they had also been instructed to endure. Four Winds promised that they had a plan to take down Master. They just had to be patient and bear the humiliation until the time arrived.
Master took their obedience as their fear of him. He relished this fact. He enjoyed the feeling of knowing that everyone had no choice but to obey him. His narcissism blinded him from seeing the optimism inside these people's eyes.
Master gave Mistress the same instruction. She was to govern in his name and organize a force to reconstruct the neighboring country, Aurebor. Considering that country was Mistress' previous territory, he figured the woman would be happy about the task.
Mistress didn't show any emotion as she received the task. Even with her haughtiness, she knew Master could slay her with a thought. She was seriously wondering now if she had made the right decision to help this man.
Master then did the same at Sangrod. There, he installed Motherboard as the sovereign. Arlcard stood aside and let them destroy the throne. He had received the same instruction from Jack to stand down. Since Arlcard didn't show any resistance, Master didn't bother doing anything to him.
Master left after that. No one knew where he went.
*
Master reappeared somewhere underwater. Below him was a huge depression on the seafloor. It was a trench. As he went down this trench, it was revealed that the trench's wall was filled with many artificial caves. Shadows were seen inside these caves. Something was living inside the caves.
The water here was murky, but Master could see everything. Those inside the caves were the nagas. This was the settlement of the minor race that lived under the inner sea.
As he observed the place, he sensed growing pressure from underneath. Bubbles of water rushed out from the bottom of the trench. With these bubbles came a voice that caused the
entire water to quiver.
"New God, what are you doing in my domain?!"
Something gargantuan rushed out from the depths of the trench. It was a titanic serpent. Almost as big as the Caelum Whale. This was the deity that protected the Nagas, the Serpent
God.
"I want something from you," Master said. The pressure the Serpent God exuded didn't affect
him.
"There is nothing for you here. Begone! Or you will regret it," the Serpent God threatened. Master grinned. "It is true that as a fledgling God, I might not defeat you. However, you are also unable to defeat me."
"Do not assume that, new God!" The Serpent God hissed. The bubbles around him increased in number. So much that it covered the entire water around the two. They couldn't see anything past these bubbles.
The bubbles suddenly burst into jets of pressurized water that converged on Master. With so many bubbles, the pressure exuded by this attack was astronomical. Yet, none of the jets of water could touch Master. Master also had a bubble. This bubble encapsulated him and prevented the jets of water from touching him.
The Serpent God doubled down on the pressure. His body glowed bright blue. This blue light converged on Master and intensified the pressure many times. Master's protective bubble finally couldn't take it and burst. The pressurized water and light engulfed Master.
Despite seemingly being bested, Master's laughter echoed through the water.
"Hahaha! Not bad, serpent. Not bad."
An energy shockwave radiated out and repelled the pressurized water and light. Master was visible again. He didn't seem perturbed. The energy shockwave he produced also couldn't hurt the Serpent God. Their power was seemingly equal. Neither side could get an advantage
over the other.
However, the shockwave Master generated was not directed only at the Serpent God. It
radiated in all directions. The Serpent God might have negated the energy coming at him, but the rest of the shockwave continued onward. This rampant shockwave struck the trench's wall. As a result, the portion of that wall crumbled. The nagas inside the caves were hit by the
fallen rocks and entombed.
"You...! Despicable!!" The Serpent God hissed.
"I am," Master replied with an evil grin. He aimed one hand at the trench's wall. That hand unleashed a powerful blast that destroyed more portions of the wall.
"Stop it!!!" The Serpent God exclaimed.
Master paid no heed. Rapid blasts shot out of his hand. The Serpent God zoomed toward the wall and erected a dense water curtain that blocked the blasts.
"Hehe," Master snickered at the attempt. He flailed his two arms, and many energy orbs flew
in multiple directions.
The Serpent God expanded his water curtain to protect a larger area. But in doing this, he weakened the overall durability of the water curtain. Master zoomed from one side to the other and shot concentrated blasts. The weakened water curtain couldn't negate these blasts. Their residual energies got through the water curtain and hit the trench's wall, killing more
nagas hiding inside.
"I said, STOP...!!!"
This time, Master did stop.
"Are you willing to listen to my demand now?" Master asked.
The Serpent God gritted his teeth. He asked with unwillingness, "What do you want...?"