"Belongings of mortals belong to mortals, and those of gods belong to gods. This is divine ordinance, sir. I implore you not to walk the path of error!"
Bente spoke with a distinctive, compassionate tone.
"Tch! I despise holy-men like you the most. The key is that you've been completely brainwashed…"
Raylin glanced back and, as expected, once again saw the legendary priestess of the Goddess of the
"Since you understand this, then you should also know that the will of two Greater
Bente's eyes held compassion, as if he were truly saving the world itself.
"I'm sorry… the things you promise hold absolutely no interest for me." Joking! Did he really think that after surrendering the avatar of
Even if they did, Raylin wasn't sure he would want it!
Moreover, Raylin was accustomed to taking what he wanted by his own hand. He had no desire for their charity. Their very attitude caused a glint of killing intent to flash in the depths of his eyes.
"Stubborn fool!"
This outright rejection left Bente momentarily stunned, which then erupted into immense fury.
"Attack!"
At his command, five high-tier legendary priests stepped forward, forming the rudiments of a pentagram formation. A powerful sealing force instantly enveloped Raylin at its center.
"As I thought… once pleasantries fail, you resort to brute force?"
A dangerous smile traced Raylin's lips. "Fortunately, I am not without preparations…"
Looking at Raylin, now encased within the pentagram, a compassionate smile graced Bente's face. "This formation is further empowered by my god's divine might. It is utterly impossible to break from within.
"A decent sealing array. Even for me, breaking it from the inside would require some effort…"
Raylin first regarded the brilliantly glowing matrix, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Upon hearing Bente's words, a mocking smile immediately appeared on his face. "In the end, you invited a legendary powerhouse to assist, only to deal with him yourselves. That must have been quite troublesome, I imagine?"
"You overestimate yourself. Our Church can afford the loss of a single legendary, even one of your caliber…"
Bente sighed. "It seems Raylin has already been corrupted by greed. Strike!"
"That's exactly what I was about to say. Strike!"
Raylin nodded.
"To think that at this point, he still…" The fury in Bente's heart coalesced ever more fiercely, and in that instant he truly made up his mind — even if it cost him some reputational damage, he would kill Raylin right here and now.
But the very next moment, his expression changed violently.
"Wooo…" Deathly spiritual energy, black as ink, had at some unknown point blanketed the surroundings. Countless massive skeletal hands struggled their way up from underground with deafening shrieks, some still bearing patches of muscle that hadn't fully decomposed, letting out furious roars.
"A necromancer who desecrates souls…"
The priests' bodies immediately blazed with the radiance of divine arts.
"Heh heh heh…" The mass of bones laughed in unison, coalescing into the shape of a colossal horned skull that slammed directly into the pentagram array.
BOOM… Although divine arts were the bane of necromantic spells, the two were actually mutually counteractive in nature. The pentagram array, bombarded by the deathly spiritual energy, began to tremble violently — like cold water poured into boiling oil.
Crack! Crack! Countless black fractures spread across the entire array like human blood vessels, and then it shattered with a thunderous crash.
"The intensity of this deathly spiritual energy… a high-tier legendary necromancer!" Bente exclaimed in shock and rage, a mouthful of blood staining the pristine white collar of his robes crimson.
"You guessed correctly — too bad there's no prize…"
Raylin's figure vanished without a trace the instant the array shattered. When the flash of black light faded, he had already reached the outer perimeter of the encirclement.
"After him!" Bente ignored his injuries entirely, bellowing one order after another.
The reinforcements he had brought this time were formidable — not only did they include several legendary priests of the Weave Goddess, but an entire regiment of holy knights as well.
"Crkhhh!" "Crkhhh!"
Unfortunately, all of them had been swallowed by a veritable tsunami of white skeletal soldiers. When it came to a ceaseless supply of cannon fodder, very few spells could rival necromantic summoning.
"Stay right there…" Bente roared through gritted teeth, his eyes splitting with fury, activating several high-grade divine artifacts in rapid succession.
But what appeared before him were enormous walls forged entirely of bone, and a grotesque skeletal face seemed to gaze at him with cold indifference from within, its hollow eye sockets emanating an aura of utter deathly stillness.
"It's a legendary necromancy spell —[Wall of Bones], a formidable defensive technique said to require even a legendary paladin to hack through hundreds of strikes before it can be broken…"
Bente recognized the origin of the colossal wall, and at last his injuries could no longer be suppressed. He coughed up several mouthfuls of fresh blood.
"Find out who did this!"
After coughing up blood, Bente flatly refused the assistance of anyone trying to support him, his eyes burning like a starving wolf in winter. "A high-tier legendary necromancer — follow that lead and bring me a name…"
Easier said than done. Bente knew full well that high-tier necromancers enjoyed extraordinarily long lifespans, and some had long since converted into Liches. Who knew how many were still hiding in some forgotten corner of the world? Pinning down the caster's identity was utterly impossible.
Moreover, even if they did discover the culprit — what good would it do, given the current situation?
"Damn it… Damn it…"
In the end, the archbishop could only let out the anguished roar of a wounded beast, all to no avail.
……
The scene shifted.
The fragment of Malar's avatar that Lei Lin had deliberately allowed to escape streaked across the sky like a golden meteor, punching through several hastily materialized blockades before instantly teleporting to the Outer Planes.
However, just as it was about to head toward Malar's true body — the divine domain known as the Beastlands — a hand suddenly seized it.
The avatar of Malar kept roaring, radiating waves of frenzied emotion that sent divine power surging like crashing storms, yet before that single hand all of it dissipated like a gentle breeze.
"Be quiet!"
A displeased voice rang out, each syllaby seemingly carrying the weight of cosmic law, accompanied by vast divine power at every motion. The Malar avatar in its grip froze instantly.
"So there is someone who can intercept Malar's avatar in the material plane…"
The Weave rippled as a goddess with eyes like starlight descended directly, gazing at the owner of the powerful hand that had subdued the avatar.
"It deviates somewhat from the plan, but it remains within our control…"
The deity who held Malar's avatar utterly helpless had a peculiar appearance. He wore plain warrior's garb, his face ancient beyond measure, his eyes wrapped in bloodstained bandages, and his right hand was entirely missing — looking for all the world like a crippled old soldier of iron will.
Yet using only his left hand, he had pinned the Malar avatar in place like a helpless slime, unable to so much as twitch.
This was
"Very well, Lady of the Weave, let us go together and pay Malar a visit..."
Tyr spoke unhurriedly, and together with the Weave Goddess, he made his way to the outskirts of the Beastlands.
Once there, that golden slime-like avatar of Malar appeared even more agitated, and from deep within the divine realm, a tremendous roar boomed forth.
"Enough! Malar, swear an oath upon the River Styx — declare that you will no longer take part in our conflict with the orc divine pantheon — and I shall return your avatar to you. Silvermoon City will also recognize the current geographical boundary, designating the entire Dark Forest as territory of the Black Blood Tribe..."
The Weave trembled, carrying the Weave Goddess's words directly into the heart of the divine realm.
Malar's roar subsided momentarily, but it did not step out from its divine realm.
Though it was a beast, it was no fool — the god of justice Tyr was right outside! If it dared to emerge, Tyr would surely destroy it.
And even the Weave Goddess would likely be pleased to see that happen.
So Malar steadfastly refused to leave its divine realm, letting out only the occasional bestial roar of ambiguous meaning.
Of course, for gods, reading each other's thoughts was an effortless and simple matter.
……
After a long while, Tyr nodded, sent the Malar avatar in his grasp directly into Malar's divine realm, and departed the Beastlands together with the Weave Goddess.
"Well... the Malar business has been settled. I do have you to thank for your help..."
The Weave Goddess
"With our combined divine power, we would likely have had a solid chance of forcibly breaking into Malar's divine realm, slaying it, and casting its true spirit into the Astral Plane..."
Tyr replied calmly.
"But... it is a true god, after all! Without knowing when the divine war will begin, we cannot afford to expend too much of our divine power ahead of time... Besides, though Malar is a lone wolf, I know it has ties to the Fury pantheon..."
The Weave Goddess explained evenly, leaving Tyr in silence.
Even a god of justice must learn to compromise, or it would have fallen long ago.
"The preparations in the mortal realm are nearly complete. Though those legendary figures each have their own schemes, they're all essentially under my control..."
Numerous images flickered before Mystra's eyes, each one depicting recent events.
"After the campaign to hunt down the divine avatars, the battle of the legends should commence. When the time comes, I will send the divine artifact down and have the chief paladin challenge the orc emperor Saladin, who wields the Thunder God's Hammer..."
Tyr spoke according to what had been previously agreed upon.
"Justice shall inevitably triumph over evil — this is decreed by the grand will of the multiverse. And what I now represent are all the suffering common folk of the North..."
The god's gaze seemed to pierce through the barriers of time and space, witnessing everything...