Paying A Visit
Telling him about the essentials of his divine kingdom and worshippers, Leylin left the responsibility of allocating duties to Tiff. The pope made preparations to take some people back to the prime material plane.
Leylin paid little attention to all that, instead shifting his attention to the spoils of war. He had taken three of the Nine Hells in one move, alongside a chunk of the prime material plane. It had given him great profits, and the resources, treasures and the like couldn’t escape Leylin’s checks after Avernus and Minauros had been converted to his divine kingdom.
Unsurprisingly, the greatest profits were from the Sahuagin God Sekolah. He was after all a true god, and his accumulations over tens of thousands of years were definitely something. Just the treasure trove Thultanthar had found could fill up the greatest of warehouses, filling up a not insignificant portion of its dimensional space.
Shaylin and Ilyo spent their time doing inventory. With their knowledge, they probably wouldn’t let any valuable item slip by.
It had to be said that after conquering a true god’s kingdom, Leylin was instantly much wealthier than before. He greatly increased his own resources, and was even regretful that he had let Kurtulmak go.
With the flying city having shown itself, the remaining gods definitely would be on their guard against such surprise attacks. It wouldn’t be so easy to kill gods anymore.
“But… the greatest harvest is this!” Leylin turned his palm over, and a golden crystal appeared. It undulated with powerful laws, and just its presence caused small streams to appear in the surroundings. The sound of the ocean rang forth from the crystal, and the figures of numerous sahuagin, the sharkmen, could be seen living within.
Sekolah’s divine domain was that of the Sahuagin, and this was Leylin’s greatest harvest from killing him. It represented a complete law, able to cause other Magi of laws to go crazy. Even the gods that were interested in the faith of the Sahuagin, those related to the ocean, would be willing to pay a huge price to make an exchange with Leylin.
“It really isn’t very useful…” Leylin had no interest in a domain pertaining to a specific race. No god or demigod not related to the seas would be interested in it.
However, if he could condense the divine domain of the ocean instead, probably all of the gods would be in a hurry to obtain it. After all, much of the prime material plane was water, and the ocean was a source of faith able to support a greater god.
“There’s few able to make an exchange with me. If I were to choose… Umberlee and Talos?” There were many ocean domain deities, but even as a lesser god Leylin wouldn’t consider most of them. Those gods weren’t even comparable to him, and there wasn’t much use in getting them on his side. The only two choices were Umberlee the Intermediate Goddess of the Ocean, and the Greater God of Storms Talos.
‘Talos is obviously the better option when it comes to power, but it’s not always about power with allies. Besides, he’s of the storm domain and his faith is concentrated around the natives of numerous islands. He wouldn’t be as interested in beings of the ocean…’ Leylin’s eyes flashed with thought.
Just at that moment he sensed divine force approaching him, and he involuntarily revealed a smile
*Whoosh!* The seas surged outside Leylin’s divine kingdom, and a god’s avatar stood upon the ocean spray.
She was dressed in flowing blue, the bottom of her clothing merged with the endless waves of the sea. Her look was one of divine dignity as she held what seemed to be a golden trident with endless waves rippling forth from its tip.
The lady did not advance, waiting outside his divine kingdom. The avatar of an intermediate god would still just be free food if they entered a lesser god’s divine kingdom. Instead she sent out her energy undulations, like an identification used when knocking on the door.
“Umberlee?” The unique nature of the divine force allowed Leylin to identify it in an instant.
“Welcome, my Lady!” He moved to the boundaries of his divine kingdom instantly, golden light opening up a path to enter. “I am the Master of Massacre, the Ruler of Devils. I express my goodwill to the Goddess of the Ocean.”
Umberlee squeezed out a slight smile and entered his divine kingdom, her fearlessness causing Leylin to nod to himself.
‘Rumours say Umberlee is a moody goddess, even capsizing a few ships at sea for fun and using such fear to obtain faith… It looks like she’s rather intelligent.’ This goddess had made quite a name for herself on the waters. There were many of the Scarlet Tigers who worshipped her.
Leylin was currently seeing another side of this goddess. She seemed calm and wise, ascertaining his goodwill with one look as she entered the divine kingdom of an unknown god without fear. She was both gutsy and scheming.
The two of them arrived at the huge church of the holy mountain. Watching Umberlee, Leylin suddenly revealed a smile, “Lady Umberlee, may I know why you’re here today?”
“I’m here for the divinity of the sahuagin.” Umberlee had a hoarse voice, but there was a magnetic feel to it, sounding rather unique. She didn’t beat around the bush at all.
“Oh? While this divinity is indeed useless to me, why are you so sure I’d trade with you?” The smile about Leylin’s lips widened, “I have more than just one choice. There’s Talos as well, the God of Storms would probably want the faith of an ocean race. After all, the sharkmen are quite large in number…”
“Talos would just kill you and take all your divinities away,” Umberlee fiddled with the golden trident in her hands, “But I’m different. We’re close to each other in power, and without any conflict of interest we’d make for strong allies…”
“Haha… well said!” Leylin applauded, throwing the golden crystal over.
“Hmm?” Umberlee seemed slightly confused, evidently not expecting Leylin to be so generous. The crystal buzzed with excitement the moment it reached her hand, glowing water rippling around it as proof of the compatibility. Fusing with it wouldn’t require much effort.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll just leave?” Umberlee looked at Leylin, as if trying to see through him.
“I believe in your reputation, my Lady, you’d treat another god with respect.” Leylin was very confident, not the least bit worried that she would not pay him back. Such self-confidence obviously came from his own strength, which caused a myriad of emotions to flash in her eyes.
“I came here for a trade. However, it seems I can’t quite satisfy you!” Umberlee laughed wryly, a similar golden crystal appearing in her hands. The faint sounds of blades clashing sounded from the crystal, full of the taste of blood and murder.
“Divinity in weaponry… While it’s incomplete, it’s more compatible with your massacre domain. It shouldn’t take much divine force to mend it, this is one of my prized possessions…” Umberlee introduced.
“Not bad Those battle gods should like this… Unfortunately…” Leylin shook his head. Having chosen his path, he had no plans of lusting after other laws.
“Alright… well, what do you need?” It was obvious that Umberlee valued this divinity greatly. After all, the sahuagin were a huge race in the ocean, and obtaining this would allow her to consolidate her power in her own domain. There was no substitute.
If this crystal fell into the hands of another, they could make use of the sahuagins’ faith to have designs on her ocean domain. This was something she definitely couldn’t tolerate.
“An alliance, a single instance of help— with certain conditions of course—, and you need to guide me into the Celestial Hall.” Leylin stated his demands. Forming a so-called alliance and guiding him into the Celestial Hall would take Umberlee no effort at all. However, that one instance of assistance was somewhat useful.
Umberlee was rather surprised by Leylin’s lenience. It took her a long period of silence before she nodded.
“In my name as Umberlee, I swear to uphold a single request of the God of Massacre Kukulkan as long as it is within my capabilities…” The Styx materialised itself. An oath made to the abyssal river under the truename of a god was quite restrictive, and even greater gods wouldn’t be able to wriggle their way out of the situation. Leylin naturally eased up.
“The first time a new god enters the Celestial Hall, the palace of ten thousand gods, they need someone who’s already a god to lead their way. As your ally, I’m willing to be your guide.” Umberlee’s grim face seemed to loosen up, revealing a flowery smile.
…...
At the highest point of the World of Gods, its core, was a boundless sea of origin force. A golden shrine floated within this sea.
The doors held the power of spacetime, and the history of the entire world was engraved into the walls, detailing the rise of the many gods. It was filled with a sense of archaic wisdom. With just one look, Leylin felt his mind blown by the vastness and magnificence of the palace.
‘Spacetime strength… A domain only rank 9 Magi can touch upon…’ Leylin sighed with awe in his mind.
Umberlee continued speaking to him. “The Celestial Hall was created by the Overgod, and only true gods qualify to enter it. It will remember your aura the first time you walk in, and a pedestal that is uniquely yours will be erected…”
‘Mm… Only legendary World Wills like those of the World of Gods and Magus World can imbue a place with spacetime powers…’ Leylin naturally knew that World Will of the World of Gods was referred to by the gods as their Overgod. It had incomparable strength, and even set up all of the gods’ laws. Its influence spanned across the various worlds that formed the cluster.
However, the World Wills of both the World of Gods and the Magus World had been greatly injured in the Final War, pushing them into a deep sleep as they recovered from the damage. The Overgod had sealed the World of Gods within the crystal sphere, resulting in the current situation.