Chapter 245: Fragments of the Divine Essence
It was too late to react. Donald and his four companions took less than a minute to defeat the Thornbird God and seize it along with its totem, with the actual battle lasting just a few breaths. Their ability to end the fight so quickly stemmed not only from their numerical and strength advantages but also from the Thornbird God’s lack of experience in such situations, leading to inadequate responses. If the Thornbird God had been smart enough to fight them head-on, even if the three of them were slightly stronger, they wouldn’t have been able to end the battle so swiftly.
Shortly after Donald and his companions teleported away, a burly man with dark skin and a head as large as a bucket, along with a grotesque figure with a pale face, split lips reaching to his ears, and wax-like growths on his ears, arrived at the valley battlefield almost simultaneously. The empty altar and the absence of any divine energy indicated that the Thornbird God had been completely erased from this world. The speed and brutality of this act filled the neighboring totem gods, the Blackfish God and the Greenfish God—both only slightly stronger than the Thornbird God—with deep unease.
Some traces of the previous battle remained, but most were swept away by Vincent’s storm-like sword energy as he left. The few remaining clues couldn’t reveal much about what had happened. After examining the scene, the terrifying-looking Greenfish God analyzed, “Brother, I think Ying Po was created by a giant bird in the sky or a powerful sea monster. If it were a mortal challenger, they wouldn’t give up the chance to become a god. And even powerful gods capable of such things probably wouldn’t care about the Thornbird God’s meager strength! Only those giant birds and sea monsters could swallow both a person and their totem in one gulp.”
The Blackfish God, who resembled a burly man, nodded with his huge head and said, “You’re right! It must be that!” Among the two, the terrifying Greenfish God always acted as the strategist, while the Blackfish God, though strong, was rather simple-minded. After observing carefully for a while and finding no further clues, the two totem gods concluded that it must have been a sea monster attack.
Since the Thornbird God had been devoured by an unknown sea monster, the Thornbird tribe’s population and territory were quickly absorbed by the Blackfish and Greenfish tribes, allowing both to grow stronger. Meanwhile, the two totem gods kept a close watch, fearing that the unknown entity might turn its attention to them after consuming the Thornbird God. However, after many days of suspicion with no incidents occurring, they relaxed their vigilance, planning to exploit the benefits gained from the Thornbird tribe before joining forces to conquer the nearby islands and further strengthen themselves.
Once the three nearby large islands were unified, their strength would increase dramatically, and they might no longer need to pay tribute to the tribes on the continent every year to seek protection. After succeeding, Donald and the others were instantly transported, thanks to the group teleportation spell, to a small desert island dozens of miles away. This island was a hiding place Donald had previously surveyed; it was only a kilometer in diameter and completely uninhabitable. Strong winds and waves could flood the entire island, which was why it hadn’t been occupied by humans or other intelligent beings. Apart from some low shrubs, there were no other large plants, though there was a rock formation several meters high on one side. Donald then used his magic to turn the rock into mud, digging out a spacious cave that could accommodate a dozen people. He further transformed the mud into stone, creating a smooth and polished stone chamber. He also placed several flames to drive away the moisture, turning it into a rare, cool, and dry resting place by the sea. After the battle, the five of them hadn’t used up much energy, but they were all excited. After all, this was the legendary God Slayer! Although it was only a gold-tier mechanical deity, it was still a true god—not a false god that merely stole faith and possessed only a faint divinity. Especially Carlisle, who had always aimed to defeat true gods, was extremely excited. “We can divide the loot now!” “Hurry up!” Donald waved his hand to create a shield that blocked divine power before taking out the totem of the Bird God. By now, the totem had lost its original brilliance and sacred aura. Even though Vincent and the others lacked divinity, they could sense that its power had completely vanished, leaving it as mere magical material. “How is this possible…” Before Carlisle could finish speaking, Donald took out another small, transparent object the size of a fingernail, shaped like an irregular rhombus, as if broken off from a complete crystal. This object emitted a dazzling light like stardust. As soon as it appeared, it caught everyone’s attention. “Is this what you meant by a fragment of a divine essence?” “It’s beautiful…” The Book of Truth could extract the laws and divinity from totems, condensing them into divine seals and domain seals that together formed fragments of divine essence. Though such fragments were far less powerful than true divine essences due to their incomplete nature, they still held significant significance.
A divine essence is the authority granted to a true god by the power of laws, and it is the core of all a true god’s powers, so it naturally cannot be obtained easily. Thousands upon thousands of the weakest fragments of divine essences are needed to form a complete divine essence at the demi-god level, while more than ten times as many such fragments may be required to create a complete divine essence for a new true god.
Yet it is precisely these fragments of divine essences, formed by transforming incomplete portions of laws within totems, that allow beings below the demi-god level to merge together and gain some divine power.
Although they are true gods of the totemic type, the domains they control extend beyond just their own territories, encompassing other related laws and powers.
For example, the totemic divine essence of the Thrasher God contains elements related to wind, wind elements, and birds—several domains and powers. However, the superficial understanding of these domains and powers by the Thrasher God is of little use to humans like them; instead, the Book of Truth uses them as nourishment to transform them into the wind domain, ultimately forming one fragment of divine essence.
This fragment contains only one seal of the wind domain and two seals of the wind and wind elements—making it the weakest fragment of divine essence, so much so that it can hardly even be called a fragment at all; it’s more of a pseudo-fragment.
But their target, the Thrasher God, is itself just the weakest of the totemic gods, so it’s no wonder their gains fell short of expectations.
“Our earlier estimates were incorrect. We didn’t expect that all the power of a single Thrasher God would only result in one fragment of demi-god-level divine essence, and moreover, one related to the wind domain—perfect for Vincent to merge!”
As soon as Donald spoke, Carlisle’s face fell, and the female sword saint also appeared disappointed. Only Vincent showed extreme joy. Even this usually humble marquis could no longer maintain his composure, his gaze fixed on the fragment of divine essence in Donald’s hand with such intensity that it seemed capable of burning through the bottom of a pot.