Chapter 411: The Utilitarian Value of the God of Winter Wolves
Sera had no idea what Donald was thinking. After all, he was merely an intelligence derived from a virtual divine entity, not a true being. Moreover, even a true god could not arbitrarily peer into the minds of intelligent beings who were not his followers!
The phantom of this great Archmage Lord pointed at the giant wolf on the altar and asked, “Although the seal and magic array can hold for a while, before you truly take control of the Sky City, I need to ask—how do you plan to deal with this wolf? This is my greatest concern before I fall into eternal death. I hope you can resolve it perfectly without leaving any hidden dangers!”
“I can assure you that once it falls into my hands, not to mention a newly risen god, even a more powerful being won’t fare well!”
Donald said this with bright eyes, his tone and expression as if a tailor had found the fabric of his dreams or a gourmand had encountered a rare and precious dish.
Truly befitting the body of a true god, in Donald’s divine vision, every inch of fur on this slumbering giant wolf emitted a faint glow, containing various rules related to ice, snow, and cold. Even the sharpest and hardest mundane weapons could not harm such a body protected by these rules.
“Oh? It’s not that I don’t believe you, but after capturing this God of Winter Wolves, apart from sealing it and continuously draining its divine power, I really don’t know what else to do! This is completely different from the true gods and their avatars we’ve captured before. The virtual divine entity system is built upon the divine essence and rule authority of true gods. During the peak of the Arcane Empire, we had many methods specifically targeting those true gods!”
Donald confidently claimed something that even his former master, the great Archmage Lord, had failed to accomplish, leaving Sera skeptical.
Donald didn’t care. If it were just him, even with such an unclaimed divine body, it would likely take dozens or even hundreds of years to truly utilize it. But with the Higher Divine Artifact, the Book of Truth, dealing with a newly risen god that was sealed and in extreme weakness wasn’t easy, but it certainly wouldn’t require much effort!
To prove his promise, Donald immediately released the projection of the Book of Truth, unleashing its seemingly invincible divine light to envelop the entire giant wolf. Then he stepped forward, a massive sword wreathed in flames appearing in his hand—Amps’ Demon-Slaying Sword, borrowed temporarily from another half-plane.
A being of such a lofty status, even among divine artifacts, belonged to the highest tier; only a sub-legendary weapon or an extremely powerful legendary weapon could cut through it.
Wielding the Demon-Slaying Sword, Donald promptly pierced a small hole in the Body of the Winter Wolf God. Under the intimidation of the light from the Book of Truth’s projection, the Body of the Winter Wolf God trembled, seemingly trying to break free from its bonds, but it was quickly suppressed by both the Book of Truth and the seal. Its original healing ability, which could instantly mend wounds, now left it bleeding profusely.
Soon, Donald collected the divine blood from the three crystal vials—enough for all the mages above bronze rank in his domain to conduct an experiment!
Next, he stripped off the softest and finest wolf skin from its abdomen. Even with the sharpness of a sub-legendary weapon like the Demon-Slaying Sword, this task was quite laborious, demonstrating just how tough the fur of this wolf god was.
It wasn’t out of cruelty that Donald did this—it was simply because, for a mage, these were just materials. Moreover, the Body of the Winter Wolf God wasn’t some pitiful creature; it was a terrifying evil god that slaughtered cities and exterminated entire tribes, feeding on fear. Such a being certainly didn’t deserve pity!
By doing this, Donald ensured full utilization of everything. After all, a true god’s vitality was far beyond that of ordinary beings. Whether it was the lost divine blood or the wolf skin, it could be quickly restored in a short time. This way, he not only obtained divine material from the true god but also slowed down its recovery, buying more time to repair his mana extraction array!
This was truly killing two birds with one stone—why not do it?
Seeing Donald efficiently process the materials taken from the Body of the Winter Wolf God, Sera’s face showed a satisfied smile.
“As expected, you truly are the heir I chose. Now I can rest in peace forever!”
Hearing this, Donald was stunned and asked, “What? Senior Sera, you…”
Sera smiled contentedly and said:
“Don’t feel sad. After all, I’m not the real Sera—just memories preserved by the original entity. Once an heir is found, there’s no more regret, and I can rest in peace. All my memories and knowledge will merge into the virtual divinity, making it easy for the heir to access them at any time!”
Although he had long known that the Sera before him wasn’t a real being, hearing such an ending still made Donald feel somewhat choked. After all, he was a flesh and blood person, not a emotionless machine!
“Senior, can’t you stay? With your guidance, it will be easier for me to master the Sky City in the future.”
Sera shook her head.
“I’m tired of repeatedly recalling the same memories every day. Besides, before discarding these soul memories, the original entity installed a self-destruction program to prevent these memories from developing true wisdom and emotions due to the virtual divinity, thereby acting against the original entity’s will and doing terrible things to gain true life!”
“So don’t grieve for me. Just treat it as if I never existed!”
On the surface, Donald agreed to Sera’s wish, but a bold idea arose in his heart.
If the computer intelligences in past novels could gain independent wills, why not create a suitable body for this Sera? Even undead creatures like liches could be reborn. Since this Sera was a will born from a virtual divinity, it must have its own soul. It probably wouldn’t be more difficult than reviving Chikofield!
After explaining all the important locations in the Sky City, the Sera in Donald’s mind prepared to carry out its final mission.
It took Donald to a rather ordinary room in the former command center. Touching the metal table in the center of the room, golden light appeared through the cracks, and a passage opened up in the table surface. A mechanism released a strange hexahedral crystal.
“This is—a divinity?”
Donald exclaimed in surprise. This divinity crystal was far more complete than the demi-god divinity and the divine core of the Destroyer Monarch he had obtained before. It was clearly a divinity on par with a lower true god or even a mid-tier god!
Sera explained, “Indeed, this is a virtual deity formed through the power of laws, based on the partial divinity of a mid-tier god. Although it doesn’t possess a divine domain like that of a true god, its rank is completely comparable to that of an ordinary mid-tier god’s divinity.”
“Throughout history, there have been nine Sky Cities in total. That unfortunate mid-tier god contributed five of them to our Arcane Empire. My floating fortress, Sera, is one of them. The materials for the virtual deities of the remaining four Sky Cities come from other sources!”
“Now, by leaving your blood and soul imprint on it, the Sky City will truly become yours!”
Donald wasn’t overly excited upon hearing this. He simply cut his middle finger, allowing his soul imprint to merge with this ownerless virtual deity.
No matter how good a virtual deity might be, it remained just a virtual one—it wouldn’t grant its user immortal life, nor did it possess a will or soul capable of bearing the immense powers of a true god. Acquiring such extraordinary abilities all at once would likely lead to destruction in the end.
What he truly valued was the method used by the great archmages to create and enhance deities. Only those who understood it could appreciate just how extraordinary and powerful it was.
As soon as his blood, bearing the soul imprint, dropped onto the deity crystal, it immediately merged with it, transforming the originally transparent virtual deity into an amber-colored golden hue.
When the last trace of the deity crystal was transformed, Donald felt a dual connection—both spiritual and physical—to the crystal before him, as if it were part of his own body.
When his mind touched the deity, he felt his thoughts expand infinitely, instantly covering the entire Sky City and its surroundings. Within these bounds, he felt as powerful as a god who could do anything.
Soon, Donald retracted his mind, unshaken by this powerful illusion, as he had more important things to do.
Seeing that Donald had taken control of the virtual deity system and truly become the master of the Sky City, Sera’s face showed a complex mix of relief, reluctance, and liberation. Then, her figure suddenly seemed to shatter, turning into streams of light and merging into the virtual deity.
At that moment, Donald, now the new master of the virtual deity system, extracted a hazy glowing mass from the deity crystal and stored it in his own consciousness world using the Book of Truth.
“I’m sorry, Senior Sera. Please wait for a while!”
After talking to himself, Donald’s consciousness once again immersed itself in the Virtual Divine Entity system, organizing all the permissions he could obtain. Truly worthy of the name “divine entity,” the Virtual Divine Entity could do almost everything that a true god could, except for creating avatars or a true divine kingdom; it could even grant divine spells to believers on behalf of the true god! With a thought, Donald was transported to the energy control center where the Mithral Core was located, which Carlisle and the others were visiting. This time, he didn’t use any teleportation spells or mental transmission—instead, he relied on the powers of the Virtual Divine Entity. “I have now taken control of this Sky City. Next, I need to take it away from the Far North and return to Dalaran. Please follow me!” After sending the others into the demi-plane, ignoring King Celtus I’s astonishment at seeing such a thing for the first time, Donald summoned the Book of Truth and the Virtual Divine Entity. Using their combined power, he pulled the entire massive Sky City into the Land of Truth!