Due to the semi-solidified spatial barriers scattered throughout this extraplanar space, flight speed was severely hampered, and the entire world remained in a backward, barely-civilized state with no long-range precision teleportation arrays. Because of this, when drawing up their plans, neither Francis nor Eir had considered the possibility of the Lord of War rushing over. After all, the Angenoma Empire and the Erdol Peninsula were separated by a not-insignificant inland sea, and the overland route was even longer. Even under ideal conditions, a Legendary powerhouse would need roughly two days to make the journey, while a false god like the Lord of War—who had yet to ascend to the Legendary realm—would need at least seven or eight days.
Moreover, no false god was willing to leave their "divine domain" in person for too long. Back when Anatanis had defeated Avando but failed to prevent his escape, she had merely instructed her priests and god-blooded heroes to hunt him down, returning to the Angenoma Empire herself at the earliest opportunity. For anything short of a matter of the utmost importance, she would send an incarnation at most—certainly not descend in her true body as was happening now.
Which was precisely why, when the expected incarnation of the Lord of War turned out to be his true body, unleashing ninth-tier power approaching the Legendary realm, Eir had been pierced clean through by a single arrow during her period of weakness.
"Estimating from the timeline, the Lord of War must have departed the Angenoma Empire a week ago. So he wasn't rattled by our wildly exaggerated descriptions—he must have come for other reasons. Could it be to fully subdue false gods like Aisin, the Moon Goddess? If that's the case, was this theological debate a trap all along?"
"But even sending an incarnation, combined with several high priests and god-blooded heroes, along with rallying the Moon Goddess and the Lord of the Netherworld, should have been more than enough to suppress the weaker sects. There was no need to take such an enormous risk by descending in person. Could there be yet another reason?"
One thought after another flashed through Francis's mind. False gods with prophetic abilities in this world were a minority—such as the Three Fates of the Northern Ice Plains—and among that small number, the Lord of War and the false gods of the two neighboring divine systems were emphatically not included. So he definitely hadn't foreseen Eir as a threat and arrived early on that basis. Besides, Eir's supposed threat was entirely manufactured at this point. Even if she might one day possess the power to bring about the Lord of War's demise, that day was not now—prophecy-type spells couldn't reach that far ahead or with that degree of precision.
On the surging torrent of the Sorna River, the deep, silent shadows cast by towering cliffs suddenly twisted and merged, rapidly rising to take on the form of Eir. However, her aura was far weaker than before—she had clearly sustained serious injuries. Had she not already grasped the secrets of the domain of resurrection, using the cycle of life and death to avert the killing blow, her true body would have fallen by now, with only an incarnation within her divine domain lingering on in desperation.
Eir felt no relief at having survived. That single arrow had utterly shattered the facade of her strength, exposing her weakened state to the Lord of the Netherworld, the Sun God, and all the other false gods. They would pounce on her like "lion-dogs" that had caught the scent of blood, no longer hesitating, swarming in to tear her apart.
Of course, compared to the false gods who had yet to make their move, the "Arrow of Anatanis" that had flashed briefly from the Temple of War was the truly existential threat. The iron-black arrow seemed to transcend the limits of space—in the span of a single blink, it could strike without leaving the faintest trace of its trajectory.
The Lord of War let out another furious roar as terrifying power rapidly coalesced around him. The false gods lurking nearby were stirring restlessly. Suddenly, Francis flickered forward, appearing above the Temple of War, and dissolved into a thick, abyssal black mist that spread outward like a vast bank of dark clouds, completely blotting out the sky.
Within the black mist, it was as though a colossal serpent the size of a mountain peak had raised nine glistening heads, their fangs sharp and gleaming.
In the next instant, the nine-headed hydra struck downward with savage force, splitting into nine streaks of pitch-black, horrifying sword-light, the surrounding black mist carrying with it an overwhelming aura of annihilation.
Each of the hydra's eight peripheral heads bore a different elemental attribute, but when they converged upon the central head, they became pure, distilled destruction.
This was why Sky Knights who carried the bloodline of the nine-headed hydra almost always bore titles intimately connected to ruin and death—"Eye of Hell," for instance.
BOOM! The Sorna River erupted into monstrous waves. The people on the banks felt the earth bucking and heaving beneath their feet, making it impossible to stand steady as their bodies swayed violently.
Meanwhile, the Temple of War had been engulfed in an impenetrable shroud of dark mist, obscuring everything within. But from the earthquake-like shockwaves and the constantly expanding and contracting black fog, one could guess just how ferocious the battle inside truly was.
"So it's you—Annihilation Fog… How long can you hold out against a Golden Knight-tier false god?" Ramiro's body swayed back and forth, no different from the people around him, but inwardly he was appraising Francis's true combat power.
By his own estimation, he himself could probably last thirty seconds against the "Lord of War," and if he threw all caution to the wind, escape was very much within reach. After all, the Lord of War was merely using his body instinctively along with the special abilities conferred by his "false god" status. Though his power had reached the peak of the ninth tier, his actual combat effectiveness was only comparable to a Golden Knight—nothing like the Primary Material World, where numerous refined systems for bloodline tempering and utilization had been developed. The higher-ranked a knight was, or the more prominent their great lord lineage, the greater their access to such knowledge, allowing them to develop combat styles and techniques tailored to their own strengths.
"This god-blessed one's strength is actually a shade greater than Avando's was back then…"
"Eir has been performing so mediocrely—could it be because she hasn't truly awakened or recovered yet?"
"Does she perhaps possess hidden, terrifying abilities?"
A false god who was inherently powerful but weakened by various circumstances could, at great cost, briefly unleash truly terrifying strength. And so the Sun God, the God of Wisdom, and the others hesitated once more, waiting for someone else to take the lead and wear down Eir's strength.
Suddenly, the stretch of the Sorna River near Eir turned ashen and pale, drained of all vitality, lifeless as death itself. The Lord of the Netherworld, robed in black, burst forth from the riverbed, surrounded by countless powerful undead creatures acting as his guard.
He had already pledged himself to the Lord of War and received missionary rights over the Sorna River Valley. Now he had to prove his worth, or face the Lord of War's fury afterward. Besides, the Lord of War had descended in his true body—it gave him confidence. Unlike the other six false gods, the Lord of the Netherworld did not hesitate; he struck immediately.
Ahhh! Screams erupted one after another as the rotting, nightmarish undead creatures surrounding the Lord of the Netherworld sent people stumbling backward in terror.
Two needle-thin points of red light danced erratically on the Lord of the Netherworld's gaunt, emaciated face, reflecting the diminished aura of Eir. Then, dragging his massive scythe wreathed in thick death energy, he swept it in a devastating slash.
Repent! Beg for mercy! And then accept my righteous judgment!
Facing Eir in her current state, his confidence surged wildly. The grudge from that morning's theological debate came flooding back.