Chapter 420: Direct Confrontation

These true gods of the dark or evil factions may seem similar to those abyssal demons, but their conflicts with the gods leading the righteous faction are merely due to differing positions or opposing divine roles. In reality, as true gods of the main world, they share common interests—using the many intelligent beings in this world as a source of power for their beliefs.

This makes these true gods naturally strive to maintain stability in the main world, unlike those abyssal demon gods who have completely abandoned the main world and sided with the bottomless abyss. Their divine kingdoms are established in the abyssal realms, where they, like lurking vipers, constantly covet the souls of the intelligent beings in the main world, seeking to draw various material realms into the abyss.

Due to a covenant signed by all the gods, even a powerful supreme god like the Lord of Dawn cannot act recklessly in the main world and can only operate within the limits permitted by the covenant.

Nevertheless, the Lord of Dawn’s formidable power is beyond the reach of ordinary kingdom forces. Apart from the Five Great Kingdoms and Celt, other smaller kingdoms, duchies, and the few remaining city-states lack the strength and heritage of the Five Great Kingdoms. Thus, they must form alliances with other forces, interconnecting their fates for mutual defense against external threats. This interconnectedness also gives pause to any powerful forces that might target them.

As for Celt, due to its vast territory and sparse population, it lags far behind the Five Great Kingdoms in terms of advanced power. At the demi-god level, it has only Celt I as its sacred spirit. Although possessing demi-god strength, it is greatly restricted and cannot be as free as other demi-gods, with weaker capabilities as well.

Fortunately, the continental dangers act as a barrier, as travel between the north and south of the continent is only possible by sea. Any other force seeking to invade must overcome this challenge. Additionally, the two brother kingdoms of Polin and Gardrel block the most powerful divine forces in the central and southern regions, allowing Celt to develop freely over the years.

Of course, the role of the Agricultural Goddess Church cannot be ignored. The wise decision made by Celt VII to introduce this church was crucial. Although agriculture is not a particularly powerful divine role, it is essential for the intelligent beings of the main world. Even the Lord of Dawn must show respect to this goddess.

Thus, among the vast majority of commoners on the continent, even those who were not believers held a reverent attitude toward the Goddess of Agriculture, elevating her to the status of a supreme deity. Yet the Goddess of Agriculture was the least ambitious among the neutral deities, with a loose church structure that rarely got involved in secular political disputes. Therefore, introducing the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture was the best choice—it eliminated any pretext for other churches to spread their teachings without affecting royal power. At the same time, the protective umbrella provided by the Church of the Goddess of Agriculture could also be very useful. All these thoughts flashed through Donald’s mind. Now that the opponent’s demi-god warriors had appeared, his four legendary protectors outside likely couldn’t confront them head-on. It seemed he needed to step in sooner. Donald signaled to Celt VII, who nodded solemnly—he was the most suitable person to stay behind and guard the underground palace. Besides, aside from Donald, no one else would likely allow him to leave the palace. Indeed, aside from Carlisle and Nozdorm, the two legends who were different from ordinary ones, the other two couldn’t withstand the pressure of the true god’s chosen ones approaching. Looking up, one could see a beam of white light coming from the south, as dazzling as the rising sun. Within the light, a figure in white robes, walking barefoot, seemed to be striding through the air as if on solid ground. If ordinary people saw this scene, they would surely think some sacred being had descended, leaving an imprint of faith in their hearts. Such a entrance could not only deal the greatest psychological blow to the opponent but also bring additional benefits to the church’s missionary work. Donald despised such manipulative tactics the most. In his past life, several aunts and uncles in his rural hometown had been lured by locals and eventually joined the church, undergoing brainwashing day after day. As for religious freedom, Donald didn’t really object to it—after all, believing in what one does is a personal choice. But the methods used by those missionaries made him uncomfortable. At first, they used necessities as bait to attract housewives to their lectures. During these so-called sermons, they gradually brainwashed them into believing that following their faith was the trend, and those who didn’t were outdated. Moreover, believing in their faith offered tangible benefits. In reality, those rural women, whose beliefs still remained at a superstitious level, didn’t have a proper understanding of religion. How many of them even knew any doctrines? They just listened to whatever the organizers said!

In this manner, like boiling a frog in warm water, during the two years before Donald left, church organizations of all sizes emerged like mushrooms after rain across the rural areas of the country. Since these organizations were relatively peaceful and merely existed to make a living, unlike those extreme religious groups, the state took no action against them; otherwise, they would have been banned long ago!
In Donald’s view, this approach was similar to the strategy of encircling cities from the countryside during the revolution. Over time, if generations remained immersed in such a religious atmosphere, it might lead to some kind of abnormal development, resulting in shocking and tragic consequences. By then, it would be too late to address the issue—such cases were not without precedent. Human thoughts are the easiest to manipulate; with the right methods, by tapping into the psychology of the majority, even university professors could be made superstitious.
In this world where a true god existed, there were a variety of preaching methods—ranging from miracles of the true god’s personal descent to the magical techniques used by priests on a daily basis—all of which could make ordinary people who lacked supernatural abilities feel awe and develop reverence.
Due to his past experiences, Donald grew increasingly disgusted with these tactics used by the true god’s followers, which were deceptive yet brought no real benefits. In his eyes, the relationship between the true god and believers was similar to that between a factory and its employees: one side provided faith in exchange for conveniences that ordinary people did not have in life, and the chance to be reborn in the divine realm after death—much like workers receiving wages, health insurance, and pension benefits. The true god, in turn, reaped benefits from the power of faith, akin to the profits generated by a factory.
But when deception arose in this relationship, the true god became like a cruel capitalist exploiting laborers, exploiting their blood to enrich oneself. Wouldn’t such a true god be exploiting the lives of believers for profit? In this regard, the Lord of the Glorious Dawn was no different from those dark true gods and evil deities. Judging from Celt’s recent actions, wasn’t this extreme justice-loving true god merely engaging in immoral acts under the guise of justice?
“Hmph, trying to be mysterious! Is that all the Lord of the Dawn has to offer?”
Donald snorted coldly and sent instructions to Nozdorm in his mind.

Upon receiving his master’s command, the Bronze Dragon King let out a long roar and transformed into a massive dragon fifty-five feet in length. Its formidable dragon power surged forth like a giant wave, causing all living beings within ten miles to feel deep fear and awe, instantly shattering the opponent’s seemingly divine presence.

The Glorious Reaper, who had fallen from the altar, snorted coldly. Raising his rough palm, he unleashed a terrifying giant hand made of holy light, striking down from above the Bronze Dragon King.

“Argh…”

Feeling the threat of this attack, Nozdorm roared in anger. Divine light flashed across his body as his pale blue tidal domain expanded, instantly blocking the enemy’s holy light giant hand, which was even larger than his own body. Under the force of the domain, the holy light hand quickly collapsed.

However, the holy light, which repelled other forces extremely, caused quite a problem for the Bronze Dragon King. He had to drive it out to regain control of his domain; otherwise, if that strange holy light entered his body, things would get very troublesome!

Donald certainly wouldn’t let the opponent act recklessly. Through telepathy, he instructed the others to hold their positions, knowing that the Church of the Dawn Lord would surely send more than just this demi-god warrior. Meanwhile, he drew the spear of Natural Fury. The power of natural divinity flowed within him as he activated his first natural domain against the enemy.

“Die!”

Faced with this unconventional domain attack launched by magician Donald, the Glorious Reaper was somewhat surprised but didn’t pay it much mind. Before the enemy’s domain could surround him, this chosen one of the Dawn Lord, the powerful demi-god warrior, simply spat out a word and unleashed a powerful attack.

This beam of light, like a burning sword, shot straight toward Donald’s green natural domain, aiming squarely at his chest.

Donald remained unmoved. Instantly, he activated the power of his domain. The sword of light collided with the expanded domain, but instead of an explosion, it produced a screeching sound, as if a red-hot knife was being inserted into cold oil.

The seemingly indestructible sword of light seemed to melt away, gradually shrinking. At the same time, Donald pointed his spear forward, concentrating the rule-based power of his natural domain on the opponent’s attack. To his surprise, the enemy’s light, which repelled all purifying forces, wasn’t invincible against him. In fact, his natural domain also had a strong repulsive force against such extreme power—or rather, it wasn’t repulsion but assimilation.

Donald keenly realized that his Natural Domain was using the power of rules to transform the radiant force capable of burning an opponent’s soul into sunlight that illuminated everything. The light and heat thus provided considerable energy to his domain, making it even stronger.
This was the wonder of the Natural Domain—it might not be the most offensive domain, but it was certainly one of the most inclusive.
In no time, not even a breath later, that scorching sword of light was absorbed by the Natural Domain as nourishment. The vast domain, spanning thousands of feet, covered the area near the entrance to the underground palace.
Feeling the strangeness of this domain, the chosen one of the true gods also stopped in his tracks, greatly impressed by this legendary human mage.
He could see that this domain was different from those of ordinary legendary powerhouses; it was more akin to a divine domain unleashed by a demi-god.
Could this mage be a manifestation of one of the true gods?