Chapter 441: The Sea God Kingdom

At that moment, Donald raised his hand and clenched his fist. A crystal-like object glowing with golden flames appeared in his palm—somewhat similar to the divine core he had obtained from the body of the Destroyer Monarch. It seemed like an illusory creation, yet it was even more durable than pure gold. The core itself appeared to be moving slowly, as if alive; rather than a crystal, it was more like a mass of light that resembled one.

Without hesitation, Donald plunged this light core, formed from the power of the laws, into Clinton’s chest. Instantly, the core merged into him like liquid.

With this incomplete divine authority integrated, a semi-divine flame formed within Clinton’s body. At the same time, the Silver Swordmaster was immediately transformed by the power of the laws.

Of course, this process was much easier than a true semi-divine being igniting their divine flame, as this was merely a power bestowed by a true god. Donald had considerable control over it, ensuring that his elect would not suffer soul burns or struggle to keep up with the transformation.

When the power of the law flame subsided and the transformation was complete, a divine glow appeared on Clinton’s tall frame. Donald saw that this subordinate, who had first followed him and accepted his role as an elect, had instantly risen from a Silver rank to a semi-divine level.

Such a dramatic leap was one of the main reasons why mortals chose to worship true gods. Even those with poor innate talents who could never surpass the Gold rank would likely choose to become believers of true gods if given a path to progress—95% of them would do so. They would offer their faith in exchange for greater power and longer lives, which was certainly worth it for them.

Of course, most mages did not belong to this group. Spellcasters’ perseverance could sometimes be even stronger than that of warriors with unyielding wills.

Since Clinton was a pure warrior, Donald bestowed upon him the powers related to the Hunter class, including its divine authority and domains. This would grant him enhanced abilities derived from Donald’s own Hunter powers—whether it was the Sacrifice Flame or the Sacrifice Domain—far surpassing those of ordinary semi-divine beings in terms of magical power and domain strength.

Becoming an elect meant being in the presence of a true god, achieving a form of immortality that was purer even than that of semi-divine beings. After all, semi-divine beings were not absolutely immortal unless they became true gods.

Besides believers, clergy, and electives, there are also those favored by the True God—usually mortals highly regarded by the True God or beings with a close relationship to Him. These favored ones don’t need to be electives and don’t receive much power from the True God, but they are enveloped in His radiance and can gain some divinity. Catherine and the old butler immediately became radiant as favored ones; especially Cord, who was already old among ordinary people, seemed to have rejuvenated by a dozen years, his body restored to its prime in his thirties thanks to the power of divinity. The old butler was overjoyed for Donald and filled with enthusiasm, no longer thinking about retiring. Now that his young master had become the True God, he resolved to continue serving him until the end of time. As for Catherine, Donald had other plans for granting her the status of a favored one—considering their potential offspring in the future, the status of an elective wouldn’t be suitable, as electives are also divine beings, and it’s difficult for gods to produce normal offspring; more often, what results are abnormally malformed and incurable abominations. Donald didn’t want to create any monsters, so it was best to keep Catherine as a mortal for now. After finishing these preparations, Donald set off right away. He really didn’t place much importance on faith. After the consumption from igniting the divine flame, there were still tens of thousands of soul forces left in the Book of Truth—creating thousands of believers shouldn’t be difficult. Unfortunately, heroic units had a uniqueness constraint; otherwise, he could have simply summoned a dozen or twenty heroes to form an elite clergy force. Once they grew stronger, his Natural Guardians Council could have dominated the North and swept across the continent. When heading to the Sea God Kingdom, Donald didn’t choose to travel by alchemical airships or magic ships at first. Instead, he teleported the relevant personnel to the underground entrance at the border between Gadré and Polin. Donald had previously had Jerm establish a stronghold here—a Mystery Tower he created himself. Though not as powerful or complete as a mage tower, it was a formidable magical fortress with a silver mage in charge.

After meeting with the mixed-blood dark elf mage and learning about recent developments, Donald was quite satisfied with the progress here. Jerm’s qualifications made him the most suitable person to govern this upper region of the dark lands. Under his leadership, Dalaran’s outpost here had grown into a bustling underground town. Its location between surface and underground forces also facilitated excellent trade, especially since Dalaran’s food and canned goods were highly popular among the underground forces, leading to strong sales.

After spending a few hours in this shallow underground townland named Dusk, Donald sent out a magic ship to take everyone straight to the direction of the Sea God Kingdom.

The Sea God Kingdom occupied a remote area in the southeastern corner of the main continent—a narrow coastal strip along with some islands. Due to its complex terrain, remote location, and fertile land, there had originally been only a few small human settlements. The locals mostly made a living through fishing and hunting. Although life was tough, they were not under the control of any national forces and had a certain degree of autonomy.

Of course, it was inevitable that fugitives and thieves would gather in this lawless area, which also served as a stronghold for pirates in the southern seas. No noble would choose such a place over the commercially prosperous and fertile southern plains as their territory.

However, the situation here had completely changed. A minor noble from the Thoron Commercial Alliance offended a powerful figure in his country and was forced to abandon his original territory. He was granted this vast but barren land, effectively becoming an exile here.

The nobles who had assumed this minor noble would die at the hands of thieves or pirates within a few years were surprised to learn that he received the favor of a true god. Not only did he eliminate the threats in his territory, but he also planned to break away from Thoron and establish a kingdom with the support of the True God Church.