Chapter 423: The King of the North

“No—”
Under Donald’s spell, the intense energy fluctuations surging within the Glorious Reaper diminished at a visible pace, and even after those fluctuations vanished, they did not stop.
Soon, the Glorious Reaper’s once youthful face and strong body rapidly aged. In just a few breaths, the once-mighty Glorious Reaper was gone, leaving only a skeletal remains, thin and hunched like a dried corpse.
At that moment, the dying man still spoke in a hoarse, dry voice: “Great Divine Lord, you are the embodiment of the sun, the king of dawn—do not abandon me, your most devout believer…”
This was the punishment imposed by the laws of nature after transcending natural limits. Without divine power, how could a mortal survive for hundreds of years?
Meanwhile, blood gushed from Donald’s mouth and nose. Clearly, using a mortal body to strip away the power granted by such a powerful being as the Lord of Dawn was too much to bear.
It was only because Donald already possessed a perfect divine body, along with elven blood and the enhancements from a Hunter of Demons’ heroic physique, and had paid part of his divine power through the Book of Truth to offset other losses, that he could withstand the backlash from using legendary spells against divine power.
If it were an ordinary legendary warrior, they would likely explode instantly into a cloud of blood, sacrificing all their magic, life force, and even their soul to achieve such a dramatic reversal. If dealing with a chosen one of a true god was already so difficult, what about targeting a true god itself?
“It seems my power isn’t strong enough yet!” Donald lamented inwardly. He had grown a bit arrogant lately.
The Glorious Reaper died without receiving salvation from the Lord of Dawn. The backlash of the laws of nature was too powerful. At the moment he took his last breath, this once-omnipotent Bloodhand Butcher, the Lord of Dawn’s second chosen one, ended his life and turned into ashes, not even a bone remaining.
As for whether the Lord of Dawn would revive this chosen one, that was beyond their knowledge.
The battle lasted for a long time, but ended quickly. Due to the urgency earlier, no one noticed that the fluctuations of the laws beneath the dungeon had ceased at some point.
Celt VII, who had been guarding in front of the dungeon altar and hadn’t come out, now appeared outside the palace as well.
“So…”

Donald saw the joy and excitement in King Celt VII’s eyes, and his suspicions were confirmed to a large extent. When he saw a strong figure appear at the exit of the underground palace, walking toward the rising sun with a holy glow surrounding him, he was 100% certain of his thoughts. King Celt I, the founder of the dynasty—His Majesty Charles Celt—had successfully ignited the divine fire and been officially deified! After igniting the divine fire, the barrier above the palace that concealed the gods’ sight returned to normal. This was likely why the Lord of Dawn did not arrive in time to save his chosen one—since he had already been deified, sending his own power now would have been an act of outright hostility. A force descending from afar could hardly rival a fully deified demi-god, even one who had just ignited their divine fire. So, there was no need for the Lord of Dawn to take action and risk humiliation! Yet, this sensible and calm choice by the Lord of Dawn filled Donald with rage. If their roles were reversed and he were the true god, he would risk losing some face to save his most devoted followers, never giving up on those under his care just for pride. “Donald!” King Celt I’s majestic voice rang out—this was the inherent power of a demi-god, not something King Celt I deliberately did. “Thank you for your help. Hundreds of thousands of Celt’s people will also be grateful for your contributions to me, Celt. Now, it’s my turn as the god of Celt to do something for you!” After becoming a demi-god, his body, originally transformed from that of the God of Winter Wolves, finally stabilized in its current human form. This was one of the benefits of being transformed by the power of the laws and tempered by the divine fire. However, King Celt I’s stature also grew to be as tall as twenty feet. Donald had to look up at him and said, “There’s no need to rush. You can protect me once you’ve stabilized your strength and gotten familiar with your powers. Wait, have you already formed a divine office?” As he spoke, Donald scanned King Celt I’s condition using the Book of Truth and was surprised to find that he had already formed a divine office just by igniting the divine fire, thus becoming a new god. No wonder the Lord of Dawn hadn’t sent his power to save his chosen one. If it were just an ordinary demi-god who had just ignited their divine fire and hadn’t fully mastered their powers, sending some force into the chosen one’s body might still give them a chance to escape successfully.

There’s probably also the reason that after being deified, Celt I’s strength exceeded expectations!
“Indeed. At the critical moment of igniting the divine fire, I sensed an impending disaster outside and, worried about Celt’s people, conceived the idea of permanently guarding this land. Somehow, during the deification process, this divine position was formed!”
“A Guardian God of the North? That’s good too. This divine position not only has potential for growth but is also extremely useful!”
“What? Surely there won’t be any negative effects? Could it be that I’m on the path to becoming a totem god?”
Donald shook his head with a smile and said,
“That’s not the case. Regional Guardian Gods are similar to totem gods but differ in some ways. Both possess equal power within their respective regions, but totem gods are terrestrial deities whose domains serve as their divine kingdoms, with their true forms residing within those domains. In contrast, Regional Guardian Gods, as gods of faith, will ultimately reside in divine kingdoms outside their regions. The advantage of their divine authority is that they can more easily manifest in their local area, but it remains extremely difficult for their true forms to appear in the main world!”
Celt I sighed in relief and said,
“That’s good. I was afraid I might have chosen the wrong path and hindered future development! In fact, even becoming a totem god would be a viable option for me—as long as I can protect Celt and this land of the North, it’s worth it!”
“It seems I’ve taken the lead over you. I hope you, Donald, will also ascend to the level of an immortal demi-god soon, so we can guard this land together. Otherwise, dangerous ambitious individuals might take advantage of the situation!”
Donald nodded silently. He understood that it was likely because Celt I, the former founder-king, had such deep affection for the land and kingdom he had created that he couldn’t let go, which naturally led to the formation of such a divine authority.
Celt I was now truly the king of the North!