"Blood sacrifice?"
Because a large number of guards had been redeployed to attend the ceremony, the defenses had grown lax, allowing the demon hunter to slip inside with ease.
When he saw the altar atop the raised platform, a flicker of pity crossed his eyes.
"Poor believers... Only our Lord truly cares for us. Even when believers err, He merely offers benevolent guidance..."
Superiority was always relative.
The demon hunter observed this false god's ritual, compared it to the practices of the Great Serpent Church, and quickly reached a conclusion — his devotion had risen several more percentage points, if such a metric existed.
Woo woo...
Just then, the ceremony reached its peak. The blood pool at the center of the altar was filled to the brim with dark crimson fluid, and massive bubbles surged to the surface.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Amidst the boiling blood, a hazy figure emerged from the pool — it had a human head, but below the neck, the body was that of a massive lion.
"Ukukru... The great Ukukru has descended!!!"
The elderly priest dropped to his knees in excitement, chanting the prayer of invocation, and the other believers followed suit.
"Guu..."
Ukukru lowered its head, regarded the priest, and let out a string of unintelligible sounds. But the priest's expression changed instantly.
"Our Lord has delivered His divine oracle! Someone is watching!!! Guards!!!"
"Rooaaar!" The barbarians, still bearing the features of gnolls, let out a tremendous roar.
"Not good! I've been spotted!" The demon hunter, crouching in a thicket, felt his blood run cold. He prepared to fight his way out.
"Ugh!"
But at that very moment, the Great Serpent insignia on his body erupted with a blinding burst of light.
Beneath that radiance, he quickly lost consciousness — yet his body began to move of its own accord.
From the void, the will of a great being descended.
"The sovereign of Bankzi Island on the South Coast... the great serpent enthroned upon its seat... Lord Leilin! Welcome!"
The demigod with the human head and lion body also rose into the air, letting out a few roars. The elderly priest quickly led the guards aside, clearing the space for the two deities.
"Well! Lord Ukukru, it has been quite some time!"
Leilin shifted his body and found it still somewhat stiff, as though an elephant had been stuffed into human armor.
However, since only his consciousness had descended, even if this incarnation were destroyed, it would merely mean a loss of some divine power and a vessel. By comparison, not being able to exert great strength was hardly an issue.
As for the demigod before him, this was an ally in offense and defense that Leilin had cultivated.
In the material world, legendary powerhouses had their own circles, and demigods naturally had theirs as well.
Unfortunately, many demigods found themselves in a rather awkward position — not only were no gods willing to elevate or protect them, but their divinity and divine portfolios often conflicted with those of an established deity, preventing them from ascending for ages.
To help one another, it was extremely common for demigods to form circles.
The former Toxic Scorpion Lord and the current Ukukru were both representative examples of this.
"Since you've ventured deep into the swamp, you must have something of great importance..."
Ukukru scratched at the ground with its claws. It was deeply envious of Leilin — not only did he command a terrifyingly vast number of believers, but he was also far from the mainland, safe from the prying eyes of many.
More critically, if Leilin had begun scheming and laying his groundwork even before reaching the legendary stage, that level of cunning was truly frightening.
"Have you heard about what happened to the Toxic Scorpion Church, Lord Ukukru?"
Leilin got straight to the purpose of his visit.
"The Church of Heim... those lunatics!" At the mention of this, Ukukru's human face darkened.
Clearly, the church of that Guardian God was the sworn enemy of all false gods — even its name carried a unique deterrent power.
"The Toxic Scorpion Lord has already fallen. The next target could be you, or it could be me..."
Leilin said softly. Ukukru's face turned grim.
Obviously, judging purely by distance and ease of access, Ukukru would surely be attacked before Leilin.
"Therefore, we must come up with a countermeasure!"
Seeing that the other party had grown anxious, a confident smile spread across Leilin's face.
"Getting Heim to abandon his duty? That would be even more impossible than making him fall!"
Ukukru was well aware of its own position in this.
"But... what the Church of Heim investigates is only false gods. What if... what if we were no longer false gods, but true gods who had entered the Pantheon?"
Leilin spoke, revealing the true purpose of his visit.
"True gods? You want to ascend to true godhood?" The moment these words left his lips, they carried the force of a thunderclap — even Ukukru's blood-formed body rippled with shock.
"Of course, there is not a single demigod who does not wish to ascend to true godhood!"
Leilin made no attempt to conceal his ambition.
Moreover, ascending to true godhood was indeed the best defense against the Church of Heim.
"Unfortunately... on the path to true godhood, our accumulation is still insufficient... Attempting to ascend prematurely would only result in the backlash of the primal forces of the universe — and certain annihilation..."
Ukukru was visibly tempted, but in the end it shook its head.
"Of course, if Lord Leilin has this intention, I will give my full support!"
Leilin didn't believe a single word of such a deity's verbal promise.
"You are already the eldest among us demigods, and in terms of accumulation, you're only a tiny bit short... But what if I added this?"
Watching Ukukru like this, Leilin felt as though he were looking at a great fish that refused to bite without bait, and a mysterious smile played at the corner of his lips.
He raised his hand in a summoning gesture, and a diamond-shaped crystal radiating golden light floated before Ukukru.
"This is... divine power matching my portfolio, along with the experience of ascending to true godhood!!! How did you obtain these? Why would you give them to me???"
Clearly, Ukukru was stunned by what Leilin had offered.
"You needn't worry about where they came from. But with these, your chances of ascending should be considerably greater, wouldn't you say?"
Leilin smiled mysteriously, leading Ukukru to believe he had the backing of a true god — after all, these were not things a mere demigod could produce.
In truth, Leilin had already accumulated divine power and faith to their absolute limits; parting with a small amount made no difference.
As for the experience of ascending to true godhood, that naturally came from
But for a demigod, that was already more than enough.
After receiving these gifts, Leilin was not at all surprised to see greed and ambition rising in Ukukru's eyes.
No demigod could refuse the temptation of ascending to true godhood!
Even knowing full well that Leilin's gifts might contain traps, it could not resist.
After all, Ukukru had lingered in the demigod realm for far too long, and if it did not ascend soon, the fate of the Toxic Scorpion Church would serve as a dire precedent.
As long as they remained in the ranks of false gods, the Church of Heim would never let them go.
"I accept your gifts, Lord Leilin. What price do you require in return?"
A multitude of expressions flickered across Ukukru's human face before a look of resolve finally settled in. It swallowed the diamond-shaped crystal whole.
"A simple agreement — whichever of us comes out on top in the end has the obligation to help the other demigods..."
Leilin smiled faintly.
"Not just here. Afterward, I will also visit the two on the Sea of
"Ascend together, and draw each other's attention — is that the idea?"
Ukukru was no fool and quickly grasped Leilin's plan. Since it stood to benefit, it naturally had no objections.
"Exactly... And before that, we could perhaps offer some support to the Toxic Scorpion Lord as well... After all... He is one of us!"
Seeing Leilin's smile, Ukukru felt a sudden, inexplicable chill grip its heart.
......
In some city on the mainland, inside the grand Temple of
"Paladin Rafinia!"
A priest with a resolute face, resembling an aged warrior, entered a spartan room.
The room held very few furnishings — nothing beyond the bare essentials for daily life. There was not a single item meant for pleasure, fully reflecting the frugality and thrift of its occupant.
"Your Eminence!"
Though Rafinia still looked much the same as before, her figure had grown fuller, and her face now bore the grace of a mature woman.
Though she still appeared young, she knew deep down that everything had changed.
The somewhat naive young knight of old, after years of trials and tribulations, had become a stalwart warrior of justice — Legendary Paladin, Star of Hope!!! These were Rafinia's current titles.
Within the Church of the God of Justice, her standing had risen steadily, and she had quietly amassed a considerable following.
"Our Lord has a mission for you!"
The cardinal, who bore the appearance of an aged warrior, handed a scroll to Rafinia.
"This time, the target is the Toxic Scorpion Church! They intend to use the blood of divine offspring to awaken a fallen demigod and resurrect the Toxic Scorpion Lord, bringing even more suffering upon the common people... Such acts that defy justice must be firmly resisted!"
"For justice!"
Upon reading about the blood sacrifices to the demigod and the practice of regularly consuming blood offerings described in the documents, Rafinia felt the fury in her chest become unbearable.
She drew her longsword in a swift motion and solemnly accepted the mission.
"Good! Additionally..." The cardinal's expression seemed somewhat reluctant. "During this operation, there may be interference from other dark forces — the Great Serpent Church, for example. You must be prepared..."