Volume 18: Internal Strife Among Demons

Chapter 306: A Fair Contract

Faced with the Sea God’s question, Donald remained silent. A contract formed from mental energy floated before the Sea God Bathedo.

Bathedo probed it with a puzzled mind and soon wore a strange expression—part anger, part something else.

“Well? Your Highness Bathedo! Do you have any doubts about this fair trade contract? Only by signing it can we ensure mutual non-aggression, so that I can feel at ease!”

“This isn’t just about mutual non-aggression, is it?” Bathedo said irritably. He was a legitimate true god who had stood out among many demigods. Though he had the support of the Three Glorious Gods, it proved his innate talent and determination were exceptional. He had risen from a golden warrior to a new god, overcoming countless fierce battles and crises without ever feeling discouraged. Yet now he was forced to yield to a mere mortal, who seemed entirely justified while he felt lacking in confidence.

“Of course, mutual non-aggression is just the basic condition! Your Highness Bathedo, you chased me here to the temple—surely you should compensate me for the shock I’ve endured?”

Bathedo didn’t realize that Donald was using the very term those people in his past life used most often in lawsuits or extortions—mental distress compensation!

The contract contained much more. First, from the moment it was signed, he, Bathedo, the Sea God, could not in any way, not even by plotting others, cause harm to Donald, his territory, or his close associates. This clause seemed simple but covered many aspects. For example, if Bathedo wanted to claim ownership of Starfall Bay, he could only do so with Donald’s consent; otherwise, he couldn’t attack Lord of the Seas Nozdorm!

In return, as the other party to the contract, Donald and his forces could not harm Bathedo, the Sea God. Of course, this clause was unnecessary—Bathedo didn’t think a single human mage could hurt him.

Second, the contract required Bathedo to unconditionally assist Donald three times as compensation for this incident. Of course, the enemies wouldn’t be beings beyond the rank of lower gods that he couldn’t handle.

Finally, when trading, Bathedo and his subordinate church forces should prioritize businesses within Donald’s territory as trade items, ensuring mutual benefit for both sides.

Apart from the second clause, the other two could be easily accepted by Basedo. But having him offer unconditional help to that guy Donald was simply unacceptable! However, sensing the will of the Agricultural Goddess, who had remained silent since earlier, he, as a true god, naturally knew she hadn’t left at all. Since he had already lost focus completely, he didn’t mind agreeing to one more condition and readily agreed to end things quickly! After all, she just wanted him to take action, and the enemies were likely mere mortals, not very powerful. So Basedo gritted his teeth, glared hatefully at Donald, and stamped his divine seal on the contract. As the entire contract dissipated into light before his eyes, a powerful force lurking in the world began to focus on both of them. With the Agricultural Goddess as witness, Basedo wouldn’t dare break the contract. Still, Donald, out of caution, chose to sign a plane contract instead. The reason it was a plane contract rather than a more secure supreme contract was that Donald didn’t want to reveal his ability to write supreme contracts. He didn’t want true gods to notice anything—it didn’t matter on the Totem Continent, but back in the main world, true gods had far greater and deeper awareness. If Donald wrote a supreme contract, it would surely arouse their surprise. Although a plane contract had lower binding power and only applied within its own world, it wouldn’t take effect once leaving the main world. But even after the Sea God ascended to his throne, as long as someone was his follower, they would still be bound by the contractual power emanating from the gods in the main world. Thus, his relatives and subordinates in the main world wouldn’t be threatened. By the time he could leave the main world himself, he probably wouldn’t fear a Sea God like Basedo anymore, and even if the contract was invalidated, it wouldn’t matter. So a plane contract was sufficient to ensure his safety. After signing the contract, the Sea God left behind one of his sacred emblems as a means of contact, then gritted his teeth, refusing to look at Donald again, fearing he might lose control and punish that mortal who dared pressure a true god, only to be punished by the power of the plane for breaking the contract. So he simply bowed respectfully to the Agricultural Goddess as a farewell and disappeared from before the temple. “You’re quite bold!” After the Sea God left, the Agricultural Goddess said to Donald with a smile mixed with slight reproach. But if others had heard the affectionate tone in her voice, they would surely be green with envy.

What merits does Donald have to earn the favor of a mighty goddess?
“Come to the temple!”
The goddess spoke, and Donald naturally dared not disobey.
Entering the simple yet solemn and spacious temple of agriculture, the first thing he saw was a giant statue made of greenstone, standing sixteen feet tall. The statue of the Goddess of Agriculture depicted a beautiful and mature woman with a kind expression and a plump figure, holding a sheaf of wheat symbolizing harvest in one hand and a horn in the other—completely different in demeanor from her previous appearance as she leaned over the young knight.
At that moment, a strong golden light enveloped the statue, and its eyes shone like stars in the night. Clearly, aside from the lack of a physical vessel, the will of the Goddess of Agriculture manifested solely through the statue, just as it had during her previous appearance.
“Thank you, Princess Eilien, for your kindness. Otherwise, the Sea God would have won this time!”
As soon as he entered the temple, Donald’s first words were to thank the goddess for her help. No matter why she had helped him, the fact remained that he had been saved thanks to her.
“Huh? Has your bloodline truly merged?”
The goddess’s statue’s gaze changed, and she spoke in surprise.
Although the statue was inanimate, with the will of the goddess attached, the situation was naturally very different. So Donald wasn’t surprised to see a change in its expression.
“Now Laurence will be happy!”
Seeing that the Goddess of Agriculture had discovered the issue with his innate divine bloodline, Donald was about to ask questions, but the goddess didn’t give him a chance.
“I won’t stay long. Don’t waste my divine energy. After today, your safety in the main world will be largely ensured. But I guess you can’t stay still. Last time, you left for months without any news. Who knows if you’ll encounter some powerful enemy again. But with Basedo as your enforcer, there should be no problem!”
Seeing that the Goddess of Agriculture seemed about to withdraw her will, Donald hurriedly said, “Princess Eilien, I have some news to share with you. Thank you for your care for me.”
“What news?”
“I wonder if you’ve heard the news—that another world, no less powerful than the main world, is about to merge with it!”
“What?”
Princess Eilien, who had planned to leave, exclaimed loudly.
If this news could make a princess lose her composure, one could imagine the shock it caused her.

At the Agricultural Goddess’s inquiry, Donald immediately recounted how he discovered the secret of the deep-sea monster Octopus, how he used that safe passage to reach the Totem Continent world, and everything he knew about the structure of that world.
According to Donald, since this information would eventually be discovered by the true gods, it was better to hand it over in advance to the true god he was close to as a favor.
In fact, if not for the obstruction of the terrifying spatial storms and the shielding effect of the plane’s will, Donald wouldn’t have had the chance to use this information as a bargaining chip. It was precisely because the power of these mighty true gods was greatly restricted in the main world that they failed to notice what was happening right under their noses.
After hearing Donald’s account, the Agricultural Goddess spoke with great delight.
“You’ve given me a huge surprise! Tell me, what reward do you want?”
Donald shook his head.
“Your Majesty, you’ve already helped me a lot. Since this information will be revealed sooner or later, no reward is necessary. This is just a small token of my gratitude to you!”
The Goddess sighed and said,
“You don’t realize how important this information is to the true gods. Fortunately, it’s in my temple, so it won’t be detected by those true gods with prophetic abilities. If I had known about it earlier, I could have made many preparations. When the new continent appears, I’ll be able to gain even greater benefits. Even if I don’t need it myself, I can use it to trade with other true gods, forcing them to pay a high price!”
“Your information is extremely useful to me, and it’s rare to get such detailed details. It seems I really need to thank you properly. Ordinary rewards would be insufficient. I’ll go back and make preparations now. Don’t worry. When a new chapter begins in the main world, I’ll give you a huge surprise as well…”
As she spoke, the light from the statue began to radiate, and a divine beam shot into the sky. Donald, unable to say anything more, realized that the Agricultural Goddess’s will had left the main world and returned to her divine realm.
As for the surprise Elaine mentioned, Donald didn’t pay much attention to it. Could she possibly make him a god right away?
Even for an upper god, achieving such things would likely be difficult, unless one was already the supreme god.
“Becoming a god? I don’t need anyone’s help…”
Believing in the extraordinary power of the Book of Truth, especially its divine codes, he was confident that his path to becoming a true god would go smoothly. If such an opportunity arose, he would give it to someone close to him. Who knows, he might even be able to establish a new pantheon!

Those wild ambitions that ordinary people dare not even think of seem like ordinary goals of getting promoted and becoming rich when it comes to Donald.