Chapter 717: Defectors from the Abyss

The Nature Deities, who had caused quite a stir in the Pantheon recently, suddenly became low-key. However, the other true gods didn’t have the time to pay attention to this situation for now; most of them were busy dealing with the tense atmosphere in the Multiverse.

Although the Multiverse appeared calm on the surface, it was actually turbulent and on the verge of explosion. Under such circumstances, even the more sensitive true gods could sense the scent of war. Many signs indicated that, just as the great war a thousand years ago had led to the downfall of many true gods and the fall of the most powerful magic empire in the Main World, Banai, the Multiverse might soon face another widespread upheaval.

As a result, most gods were preparing for the impending war. Though the war might not affect them directly, it was always better to be prepared. Thus, the gods became as busy as squirrels stockpiling food for winter.

Unlike other layers of the Multiverse, which at least appeared calm on the surface, the lower realms were still bustling, except for the lifeless Underworld, which seemed unchanged for millennia.

There used to be only the Bottomless Abyss, where demons fought and slaughtered each other day after day. Now, with the addition of the Nine Hells, which stood in opposition to the Abyss, the bloodshed between the two realms never ceased.

Compared to the Abyss’s advantage of having a large population, the Nine Hells resembled those privileged immigrant countries from Donald’s past life, attracting many disaffected beings from the Abyss to join them.

Almost every day, defected Abyssal warriors joined the side of the Hells on the battlefield—a number far higher than what other races estimated.

To date, the population of the Nine Hells had exceeded 100,000 through various means. Though still smaller than the number of creatures in a single layer of the Abyss, the Hells were mostly elites who excelled at tactical coordination. Their losses on the battlefield were dozens of times lower than those of the Abyssal side, allowing the Hells to expand their power significantly in just a few years.

It’s worth mentioning that while the gods of the Nature Deities were establishing the rules of their divine kingdoms, Magi-Knight Carlisle, a semi-god and member of the Nature Deities, posed a question to Donald.

“Do you want to participate in the bloodshed?”

Donald wasn’t surprised by Carlisle’s question. Compared to the closed-door process of establishing rules, Carlisle, a battle fanatic, preferred to gain strength through combat.

It was only his desire to go to the Ninth Circle of Hell and personally participate in the bloody battles against the Abyss that made Donald somewhat understand.
“This could indeed be a good path for cultivation, but without a clear goal, even if you gain great power through those battles, you won’t be able to forge a divine role suited to yourself—unless you’re willing to become a virtual deity like the Lord of Hell!”
Carlisle shook his head immediately. Although becoming the Lord of Hell was a shortcut, the power bestowed upon him wasn’t his own, making it a poor choice for him.
After much consideration of his own situation, Carlisle believed that the endless battles between the Abyss and Hell were the best path for cultivation he had at the moment.
As one of the elders of Dalaran and the Natural Pantheon, he saw other beings who followed Donald having reached heights he could hardly match. Though confident in himself, Carlisle still felt pressured. So, he decided to go to the lower realms alone to participate in the battles and hone his skills on the battlefield.
Unlike King Charles of the North and Donald, who understood their own paths and could quickly forge divine roles once their divine flames were ignited, Carlisle had no clear direction for his future.
The divine powers he currently possessed covered domains such as curses, hatred, combat, swordsmanship, and blood. Curses and hatred stemmed from inheriting his father’s twisted divine bloodline and his hatred toward that father, while blood power came from the abilities of his unique artifact, the Blood Demon Sword.
Only combat and swordsmanship were powers he had honed himself, yet they were the weakest among the domains.
Even in his battle domain, he relied mostly on the power of curses and blood to restrain enemies, with the rest only serving to enhance his own abilities slightly.
This posed a problem for Carlisle’s path beyond becoming an immortal demi-god—curses and hatred were forces he despised, not to mention they originated from his cursed father. His blood domain also relied on external forces, leaving only combat and swordsmanship as truly his own, though still a long way from forming a divine role.
Moreover, as general domains, combat and swordsmanship made it difficult to form a divine role; at best, they could give rise to professional divine roles like those of swordsmen or warriors.

However, Donald had long ago explained to him the path forward. Such a priesthood was also a delicate and troublesome issue—one was a priesthood belonging to a powerful supreme god, while another field was controlled by many true gods, essentially blocking his way to becoming a true god. Thus, Carlisle decided he must find a new direction for himself. Having already achieved immortality, he had plenty of time to explore. After all, as long as he didn’t get involved in the struggles among powerful true gods, the chances of a demigod falling were extremely low; some ancient demigods had even existed for far longer than most true gods in the Pantheon. But considering the volatile situation in the multiverse and the fact that the natural gods often found themselves at the forefront of chaos, Carlisle wanted to do more for others rather than just cheering from the sidelines while others fought. Therefore, it was urgent to enhance his own strength. Donald understood Carlisle’s decision to participate in the bloody battles and wasn’t overly worried; he had already instructed Astymos, the King of Hell, to secretly protect Carlisle’s safety. Of course, even without Donald’s orders, Astymos would have done the same. As a king of hell at the peak of the mid-tier gods, Astymos was confident that he could save Carlisle’s life even if faced with a crisis, unless the abyssal forces sent against him were among the three greatest supreme beings. It wasn’t that Donald repeatedly urged him to act, but Carlisle simply disdained slaughtering low-level demons below legendary status and even refused to get entangled with legendary demons, as such actions would only grant him power bestowed by hell without true training. So Carlisle preferred to avoid battle, but once he fought, his targets were always challenging demigod warriors. Until he killed two of the abyssal demigod lords, which led to the emergence of a demon lord at the lower god level, Carlisle faced them fearlessly. This reckless behavior really gave Astymos, as his guardian, a headache.