Volume 26: Ruins of Forgetfulness

Chapter 494: The Glance of Revenge

Even a lower-tier true god would suffer greatly if it were to directly face an attack of Catastrophic Destruction unleashed by a true god without any resistance, let alone the fact that the Red Demon God was actually only a demigod totem god!

The reason it had managed to hold on so far was due to the black divine radiance emitted by the helmet artifact on its head, which helped it resist the forces tearing it apart from below.

At the critical moment when the Red Demon God and the power of Catastrophic Destruction were locked in a tense standoff, Donald sensed faint spatial fluctuations and a mighty presence. He immediately decided not to launch any further attacks but instead waved his hand, releasing a beam of divine light that instantly pulled the already severely damaged Red Demon God into the Land of Truth.

Once inside such a powerful divine realm, even if the Red Demon God unleashed ten times its usual strength, it would be like a trapped beast, unable to escape. Moreover, with three breaths left, the Red Demon God, already weakened by Catastrophic Destruction and the rules of the divine realm, immediately lost its ability to resist—no action from Donald was needed.

“Seeking death!”

Seeing his last trusted ally captured by the enemy, the God of Turbulent Winds immediately lunged at Donald with a fierce grab.

“Be careful of his artifact…”

The King of the North, who arrived shortly after the God of Turbulent Winds, couldn’t intervene in time and could only shout from afar, hoping to warn Donald not to underestimate his opponent and avoid being deceived by appearances and injured by that powerful grabbing artifact. As for the Messenger of Dawn, he certainly wouldn’t kindly care about Donald, a potential enemy of the Dawn Lord.

Without Charlie’s reminder, Donald had already sensed the opponent’s formidable power. He thrust his spear forward, and with a clang, the two artifacts collided, generating an even more intense shockwave than when the Heart of Kings and the Grabbing Claw had clashed before.

The material of the Heart of Nature was, in theory, stronger than that of the Heart of Kings—after all, it was his personal artifact, crafted from the best divine materials at his disposal. The grabbing artifact’s material was also extraordinary; though its origin was unknown, it was likely no worse than that of the Heart of Nature. However, its governing principles were not as powerful as those of the Divine Punishment derived from the Wrath of Nature. Yet, the user of the grabbing artifact possessed two ranks higher combat strength than Donald, making this clash seem evenly matched.

The power of Divine Punishment from the Wrath of Nature tried to invade the opponent’s artifact, but the God of Turbulent Winds’ immense divine strength instantly repelled this foreign force.

Next, the God of Chaotic Winds suddenly changed his attack method. The flying claw resembled a pair of metal gloves, covering his left hand, just like a robotic arm from a science fiction movie. With its fingers spread, its sharp claws reached out toward Donald. At the same time, another divine armguard on his right arm also struck along with the flying claw.

The divine artifacts in the Totem Continent were generally crude in construction. Whether it was the sub-divine artifacts Donald had seen before or these two divine artifacts from the God of Chaotic Winds today, most of them only possessed one additional ability; otherwise, they relied mainly on their physical attacks. This made the Totem Gods more adept at close-quarters combat, similar to mortal warriors. Clearly, most of these divine artifacts were created by the Totem Gods based on the divine objects they obtained. However, even those who were close to them, like the God of White Mountain, never revealed the origins of these divine objects to Donald, as if there were some unspeakable reasons behind it.

The only exception Donald had seen was the Door of Indefiniteness, which he had taken from the God of Stone Bear earlier. The craftsmanship of this true divine artifact was extremely complex, filled with an artistic flair reminiscent of the era of mages—something completely unlike the style of the Totem Gods. This made Donald wonder if the Totem Gods had some secret location from which they could obtain numerous divine objects, even artifacts left by their predecessors. This was supported by the conclusion reached by one of the higher gods in the Pantheon, who was skilled in prophecy and exploration, after observing the Totem Continent—that the quantity of divine artifacts produced there was not much higher than that of the main continent.

When it came to close-quarters combat, Donald wasn’t as wary as ordinary law-based true gods. His divine domain also included melee professions, and it even had a very powerful lineage of heroic professions. In fact, at the level of true gods, various professions essentially converged; there was little difference between warriors and mages. However, true gods like Donald, who rose from mortal mages, were rare throughout the history of the main world. The most famous example was the Goddess of Magic, Euliana. This mysterious woman had been a secret mage even before becoming a god. This was a niche profession among mages, combining elements from both the spellcraft and enchantment schools, specializing in casting spells and enchanting through rune markings. Most true gods in the main world might have possessed some magical abilities during their mortal days, but they were mostly warriors by profession.

It seems that warriors with strong wills are more likely to embark on the path of becoming priests. However, Donald knew that this was also because mages, including the ancient archmages, who possessed a spirit of exploration and research, were more eager to understand the many laws of the universe rather than choosing one specific set of rules to follow a unique path! Thus, it was easier for mages to reach the levels of legend and demi-god compared to warrior professions such as swordsmen and knights. But when it came to becoming priests, they made the mistake of trying to grasp too much at once. Without powerful artifacts like their own Truth Books to assist them, aside from those mages who truly did not wish to become gods, the number of true gods in the main world was indeed small. This was also due to the nature of mages—they were better suited to be researchers of laws rather than their controllers! As proven, even the great Creator God was fair! As a divine spear, Fury of Nature’s purpose was not merely to unleash divine thunder from afar; if that were all, Donald would have crafted it as a divine bow instead of a spear. Even when attacked up close by the mid-tier god Windstorm, whose combat power was comparable to that of a true god, Donald showed no fear or hesitation and fought head-on! At this stage of the battle, aside from the two true gods, Charlie and Bassetto, no one else could intervene. Even Uther, the Holy Light Angel wielding a sub-divine artifact, could only hold back from the periphery! Even the aftereffects of the battle between the four true gods could seriously injure legendary warriors like Carlisle and Vincent if they were hit, let alone being directly attacked by Windstorm, a mid-tier god with a true divine artifact. So everyone else could only watch from afar, several miles away. Only Uther, having received Donald’s instructions, said goodbye and left the battlefield. Soon after, Uther returned, his storage space now containing the totem of the Red Demon God along with hundreds of years of that being’s collection. Donald believed that it would take some time for them to defeat Windstorm, and he guessed that the other factions would also be arriving here soon to complete their tasks. Before acting, they had agreed that at the start of the battle, as long as it did not interfere with completing their tasks, whatever gains each party obtained from their own targets would belong to them. The loot from the final battle would then be divided according to each party’s contribution!

Therefore, it would be too long to delay here with the God of Chaos, so Donald sent Uther to the lair of the Red Demon God to retrieve the spoils that couldn’t be collected earlier, so as to avoid jealousy from others who might arrive after achieving their own goals and cause further trouble.
“Finish it quickly!”
Donald said to his two other divine companions through telepathy.
The Sea God Bassetdo and King Charles of the North exchanged nods, then the Sea God, clad in azure armor, emitted a sea-blue divine light. Taking advantage of the battle between the God of Chaos and Donald, he suddenly spread his arms and charged at them.
At the same time, King Charles of the North, wielding swords in both hands, charged like a true knight from behind the God of Chaos.
Faced with the sudden attacks from these two divine beings wielding divine artifacts, the God of Chaos had to abandon his advantage and drop Donald as a priority, focusing entirely on defending against both enemies.
Meanwhile, Donald stepped back twenty paces, seizing an instant when the God of Chaos couldn’t dodge. He emitted two destructive dark red beams from his eyes, trapping the God of Chaos instantly.
Under the attack of Donald’s gaze, the God of Chaos trembled violently, unable to counterattack the other two divine beings as before. He could only use his two divine artifacts to block their attacks, suffering severe shocks once again.
Besides the two mastery spells—Great Prophecy and Great Law—that allowed him to ascend to the divine realm, Donald had prepared three legendary spells for this mission.
It should be noted that even divine beings have a limited number of times they can cast spells beyond the legendary level. For example, aside from the mastery spells he possessed, which could be reused multiple times at a cost, without the aid of divine artifacts or the Book of Truth, he could cast legendary spells at most seven times a day, two divine-level spells beyond legend, and one extraordinary divine power granted by divine authority each day.
Exceeding this limit would cause permanent damage to his body and soul. While one or two instances might not matter, repeated use could affect his potential for future ascension. Without a strong enough body and soul, it’s impossible to bear a more powerful divine essence and divine authority!
This is what mages in the main world call the “spell slot”—a term originally proposed by archmages, referring to the maximum number of spells of all levels a caster can release without external assistance.

It’s simply because individual talents and abilities vary, so this theory only holds true among ordinary mages. Many exceptionally gifted and powerful spellcasters transcend ordinary limits, which is why this theory has never been established as a fixed rule. Of the three legendary spells Donald prepared, one, the Great Annihilation Spell, has already been used, along with the two powerful and rare legendary spells: the Divine Revenge Gaze and the Time Replication Spell.