Alliance
A large number of guards had been moved to watch over the ceremony. The lax guard allowed the devil hunter to sneak inside easily. When he saw the sacrifices on the altar, a disturbed look appeared in his eyes. ‘Blood sacrifice?
‘Poor followers. Only our Lord truly cherishes us, even if we worshippers make mistakes he kindly gives us his guidance…’ A sense of superiority surfaced in the hunter’s mind as he compared himself to these people. Comparing this sacrifice with the methods of the Giant Serpent Church, his devotion actually grew a bit. His faith stat would’ve grown by a few points if such a thing existed.
*Wooooo—* The sacrificial ceremony reached its peak at that moment, the heart of the altar pooling with blood. An indistinct silhouette walked out of the boiling blood, with a human head but the body of a lion.
“Ukekelu! The mighty Ukekelu has descended!” The old shaman bowed in agitation as he started chanting prayers, followed by the other worshippers.
“...” Ukekelu lowered his head, looking at the shaman as he spoke in an unknown language. It caused the shaman’s expression to change immediately.
“The Lord says there is a spy here. Guards!” The guards that looked like ravenous wolves immediately howled out.
‘Not good, I’ve been found!’ The devil hunter squatting in the grove felt his heart freeze, and he prepared to break out and escape.
“Ugh!” However, bright light burst forth from the giant snake emblem on his body at this moment. He soon lost consciousness, his body taken over by a great will.
“Lord of Debanks Island, the Giant Serpent sitting upon the throne… Welcome, Your Majesty Leylin!” The human-headed lion hovered in the air, releasing a few howls. The old shaman retreated alongside his guards, leaving the place to the two.
“Mm. Long time no see, Your Highness Ukekelu.” Leylin found it sluggish to move around in this body, like a huge elephant who’d been squeezed into human armour. However, that didn’t matter much. His conscient was only borrowing this body, so even if it perished he’d only lose a vessel and some divine force. It wouldn’t be much.
The demigod in front of him was a part of Leylin’s alliance. Legendaries had their own circle in the prime material plane, and the same naturally held true for demigods.
Unfortunately, numerous demigods were placed in an awkward position. Not only did they have lack gods willing to protect and promote them, the divinity within their bodies clashed with specific other gods that caused delays in their ascension. They’d formed cliques of their own to help each other for this very reason.
Poison Scorpion was one such god, and so was Ukekelu.
“If you’ve come to the marshes yourself you must have important matters to discuss…” Ukekelu said as he sharpened his claws. He was quite envious of Leylin’s following and his distance from the mainland. Even more importantly, this person had begun preparing for ascension before even becoming a legendary; his schemes were shocking.
“Have you heard about Poison Scorpion?” Leylin directly revealed the purpose of his trip.
“The Church of Protection… Those lunatics!” Ukekelu’s face grew unsightly at the mention of the topic. Helm’s church was clearly the nemesis of all false gods; just its mention would be such a powerful deterrent.
“Poison Scorpion has already fallen. Either of us could be the next target…” Leylin’s soft words caused Ukekelu’s face to darken. Between the two of them, he was both an easier target and a closer one.
Looking at the other party becoming restless, Leylin revealed a confident smile. “We have to come up with countermeasures.”
“It’ll be easier to have Helm fall than have him abandon his duty, and both are impossible.” Ukekelu was clearly aware of his own position.
“Mm, but he’s only bound to slay false gods. What about true gods with their own divine kingdoms?” Leylin revealed the primary purpose of his trip.
“True god? You plan to ascend?” Earth-shattering shock rippled out from Ukekelu’s body of blood.
“Of course, there’s no demigod who doesn’t want to.” Leylin didn’t cover his intentions up in the slightest. Ascending was indeed the best solution against Helm’s Church.
“Pity… I haven’t accumulated enough faith to ascend. If I try now I’ll only face the backlash of the World Origin Force, falling immediately.” Ukekelu was indeed tempted, but he ultimately shook his head.
“Of course, if Your Majesty Leylin has such intentions, I would definitely fully support you!” On the other hand, Leylin didn’t trust such verbal promises.
“Your Highness is the oldest of us demigods, I believe there shouldn’t be a huge deficit for you… Would this be enough to bridge the gap?” Leylin seemed to see in Ukekelu a fish that wouldn’t bite without bait. He smiled in secret as he revealed a diamond emitting golden light, having it float towards the other.
“This… Divine force suiting my role, and experiences of ascension… Why do you have this, and why are you willing to give it to me?!” Ukekelu was obviously frightened by Leylin’s present.
“Your Highness doesn’t have to worry much about the source. However, I’m sure your chances of ascension will increase significantly with this?” Leylin’s secretive smile caused Ukekelu to think that a true god was supporting him. After all, a demigod couldn’t get a hold of such items.
However, this was enough for a demigod. As expected, Leylin saw greed and ambition rising within Ukekelu’s gaze. No demigod would be able to reject such temptation, even if they knew a trap lay in wait.
Ukekelu had been a demigod for a long time. If he didn’t advance soon, he would share the fate of Poison Scorpion. The Church of Protection wouldn’t ever let him off as long as he was a demigod.
Numerous expressions flashed past that face of blood, but ultimately Ukekelu still absorbed the diamond into his body, “I shall accept Your Majesty’s presents. What price do you require for them?”
“A simple agreement, and no matter which of us manages the last laugh we have to assist the other demigods…” Leylin faintly smiled.
“I’m going to the Sea of Death and the Dark Grasslands after this. They’ve been demigods too long as well…”
“You want us to advance together to reduce the attention?” Ukekelu wasn’t stupid, and he managed to catch Leylin’s intentions quickly. It was of benefit to him as well, so he naturally didn’t object.
“Thats right… We can also aid Poison Scorpion before that… After all, he’s one of us.” Unknowingly, Ukekelu suddenly felt an extreme chill in his heart after seeing Leylin’s smile.
……
Within a city on the mainland, inside the huge Church of Tyr.
“Paladin Rafiniya!” An old warrior-priest walked into the room, unswerving determination on his face.
This room was largely unfurnished except for necessary supplies, with no extravagant furniture. The owner of the place was frugal.
“Cardinal!” Although Rafiniya looked the same as before, her body had grown more well-rounded, and her face was filled with more mature charm. Even though she still looked young, she knew everything had changed.
Years of experience had moulded the feeble-minded knight into a paladin of justice. She was now the legendary Holy Paladin, the Knight of Light! Her position had grown constantly inside Tyr’s church, and she’d even amassed numerous followers.
“The Lord has a mission for you!” The old cardinal warrior passed a scroll to Rafaelia.
“The target is the Poison Scorpion Church. They intend to use their descendant to revive their fallen demigod. When he revives, the Poison Scorpion Lord will definitely bring suffering to the masses. Our Lord has decided to take action for the sake of justice!”
Looking at the sacrifices and consumption of blood as detailed in the documents, Rafiniya felt like she couldn’t repress the anger in her chest anymore.
“To fight for justice!” She suddenly drew out her long sword and solemnly agreed.
“Very well! Another thing...”
“During this operation. Other forces like the Giant Serpent Church might be there to lend assistance, you’ll have to be careful…” When the cardinal said this, it seemed difficult for him to speak.