"Neighhh!"
Just as the Mage's Sword was about to strike, a flash of crimson flame erupted, and a massive figure had already placed itself between the blade and Akban.
"No!"
Akban watched as his beloved mount was cleaved in half at the waist, letting out a roar of anguish.
Moments ago, it had been this great flame steed that had teleported in front of Akban, blocking the fatal blow on his behalf.
"Flame teleportation? If you wanted to flee, I really couldn't have kept you here. What a pity…"
Though his words spoke of regret, Leilin showed no hesitation as he advanced toward the flame steed.
The demigod stallion seemed to have sensed the approach of death. Its eyes turned toward Akban, brimming with devotion and reverence.
Then the demigod steed unleashed its final divine power. A sphere of flame enveloped Akban, and in an instant, they vanished from the spot.
"No…"
Only Akban's final, anguished roar of defiance remained, still echoing through the empty air.
For Akban, this steed had accompanied him through a lifetime of campaigns, fighting across every frontier. Their bond was closer than that between many of his consorts and children — the steed had even followed him beyond death.
Without that emotional bond, how could a being of such a[demigod]rank have continued to serve as his mount?
But now, everything was about to be destroyed.
"You truly were a loyal and devoted steed. What a pity…"
Leilin praised the creature's loyalty with his lips, but the Mage's Sword in his hand descended without the slightest hesitation.
He understood perfectly well the meaning behind "one man's hero is another man's enemy." Given the depth of the steed's loyalty, the chance of ever bringing it to heel was infinitely close to zero — so what use was there in keeping it alive? A blood feud had already been forged with Akban this day, and every action from here on would be guided by a single principle: destroy everything that belonged to his enemy.
"He's already escaped the range of Hope Fortress? That was fast!"
After closing his eyes briefly to sense Akban's position, Leilin abandoned any thought of pursuit.
After all, the opponent was still an indigenous deity, and within the faith domain of the Sakatkaz Empire, he could wield power approaching that of a True God! With Leilin's current strength, chasing after him would be nothing more than asking for a beating.
By the same token, had Akban not been such a fool — marching right into Leilin's faith domain with his subordinates in plain sight — he wouldn't have suffered such a miserable defeat even in losing.
"The divine war is over. What comes next should be the start of open warfare in the mortal world…"
Though he had no intention of pressing the pursuit, Leilin had no intention whatsoever of letting his enemy go.
Since the man was still relying on the faith of the natives, then he would simply dig out his very foundations! Once the entire Sakatkaz Empire fell, Akban would be nothing more than a stray dog — and any random person could drag him back to be slaughtered.
"Tipha!"
Once back inside the grand cathedral, Leilin issued his will directly.
"My lord! You are the stars in the heavens, the sovereign who devours all, and slaughter is the blade held in your hand…"
It did not take long. Having received Leilin's summons, Tipha appeared in the center of the cathedral, his eyes brimming with fervor.
Traces of blood stained his body, evidence that while the hostile deities had been besieging Leilin, certain mortal factions had chosen to make their move as well.
Unfortunately for them, the moment Leilin had achieved his breakthrough on the spot and bestowed divine arts, all their scheming had been shattered to dust in an instant.
"How did things go this time?"
Although a single pulse of his divine sense had already given Leilin the broad strokes, the full details still required Tipha's personal report.
"It was an assault launched by the Sakatkaz Empire! Fortunately, under my lord's protection, we drove them back. Casualties were not heavy, and with the divine arts now available, the wounded can return to duty in no time!"
Tipha knelt prostrate on the ground, delivering his report with utmost reverence.
Whether an army had proper priests or not often made an immeasurable difference in morale, for the power of healing divine arts was simply too great.
In the Primary Material World, where medicine and remedies were scarce, a priest's divine magic was the sole hope for the wounded to survive — let alone fully recover — after battle.
Moreover, when it came to bolstering morale and similar matters, priests held an irreplaceable role.
The native armies had never been a match for the garrison of Hope Fortress to begin with; they had merely enjoyed the advantage of a surprise attack. Once the priests began to unleash their power, the enemy ranks crumbled in short order.
After all, those totem spirit priests and divine officials, even if they possessed divine arts, could only function within the boundaries of their own faith domain. And this battle was taking place on Leilin's territory — the enemy was fighting on foreign ground, while his own priests enjoyed every advantage of home-field superiority. The outcome hardly needed to be stated.
"Hmm! It doesn't look like there are too many enemies this time. After all, they've pinned all their hopes on the divine battle — this army is probably just here to create chaos and serve as a smokescreen..."
Leilin nodded. A flicker of understanding crossed his eyes, and then he issued a divine decree: "Those wretched natives will pay in blood for what happened today!"
After advancing to Demigod, Leilin's majesty had grown even more imposing — there was even a touch of divine authority to his words, as though his very voice carried the weight of law.
Tifa bowed respectfully. "By your will, my Lord! Hope Fortress will launch the offensive shortly. This time, we will deliver a devastating lesson to the enemy!"
"Not a lesson — annihilation! I don't want to see the Sigatcans' emblem on any map ever again..."
Leilin's icy voice rang out, sending a chill through Tifa's heart.
"Your will shall be done!" Tifa clenched his teeth but spoke with immediate resolve — after all, Leilin was everything here!
"Very good!"
Leilin nodded and waved his hand. The golden scepter that had been hovering nearby flew directly into Tifa's grasp. The golden handle was adorned with the engraving of a mighty lion, and at its crown, four pearls of different colors radiated distinctive hues as a surge of immense power continuously swirled around the scepter.
"Is this... a divine artifact?"
Tifa's voice wavered with uncertainty.
"Yes. It's a weapon I forged from a fallen false god of the enemy. The pearls at the top of the scepter contain the power of lightning and flame. It's only a demigod-tier artifact at the moment, but I believe it's more than sufficient as a mark of authority for the High Priest..."
"My Lord..."
Tifa's voice choked with emotion.
"Go now! I shall watch over you from the heavens!" Leilin waved his hand.
"My Lord! I swear I will conquer all of Sigatca and subjugate the entirety of Bankci Island in your name!" Tifa knelt before Leilin and swore a solemn oath.
……
Leilin had ascended to Demigod! This was not merely a personal matter — it represented an enormous boost to the strength of Hope Fortress as a whole!
With the divine magic of countless priests providing support, the armies of Hope Fortress could now unleash combat power several times greater than before!
It was only natural that the conquest of the Sakatikatz Empire would erupt from this opportunity.
Under the inspiration of Leilin's divine manifestation and the sacred artifacts, the great army of Hope Fortress advanced with unstoppable momentum into the heart of the Sakatikatz Empire.
Those corrupt indigenous armies were utterly incapable of withstanding them...
Well, that was essentially the Church's propaganda. While the final outcome wasn't far from the battle reports, the process was an entirely different story.
Fighting on foreign soil, with the enemy also supported by a Demigod, their numbers of priests and clerics were equally substantial, even exceeding Leilin's side in some aspects, given their accumulation over centuries.
Unfortunately, once winter passed and spring arrived, the plague that had been somewhat suppressed by the severe cold suddenly erupted with renewed ferocity.
In Leilin's previous world, spring was often a peak season for epidemics, let alone now.
The disease swept across the entire Bankenz Island with a ferocity greater than before, even creating one ghost town after another. The particularly nasty trait of re-infection even after recovery left the priests exhausted and running ragged.
And Leilin had already eliminated two of their Demigods, effectively halving the number of their healers. At a critical juncture, the scales could be tipped by even a single feather's weight—let alone removing half of their priests.
The entire Sakatikatz region was plunged into another wave of death. Due to the severe shortage of priests, even the nobility suffered massive casualties, to say nothing of the common indigenous people.
The Hope Fortress armies advancing into Sakatikatz sometimes numbly took over one ghost town after another, along with large-scale defections from enemy forces.
There was no other choice. Staying behind meant certain death, while defecting granted access to life-saving holy water. Moreover, the indigenous people who had already defected served as living examples. Seeing that surrender did not result in being killed as sacrifices or enslaved, this course of action became entirely devoid of pressure.
Furthermore, to survive, those indigenous civilians even staged uprisings and riots before the Hope Fortress army arrived, sending envoys to request their "liberation"!
Generally speaking, the current situation was exceptionally favorable. Conquering the entire Bankenz Island was now merely a matter of time.
Under these circumstances, Leilin did not intervene personally.
Having reached his current level, his perspective and status were different. He only needed to respond to the daily prayers and bestow divine magic, and everything else would naturally be handled by Tifa and Isabelle.
Leilin was currently still in a period of secluded cultivation.
There were vast differences between himself and mortals since ascending to Demigod. As for how to be a deity, Leilin did not have much experience, so he still needed to explore slowly.
At this moment, through a deity's unique perception, images of his believers continuously appeared before his eyes, much clearer than when he was merely a divinity-touched individual.
Especially with his connection to the priests, holding partial authority over the Inner
"As the Goddess of the Weave,
Leilin instantly grasped the true nature of this world's Weave Goddess. In reality, she was nothing more than a "jailer" responsible for overseeing the countless