"You want to deal with Mara, the God of the Hunt?"
Umberlee regarded Raylin with an amused gleam in her eyes. "We are both gods of the evil alignment…"
"But we don't belong to the same alliance, and the inherent conflict in our divine portfolios leaves no room for reconciliation… When I ascended to true godhood, she sent her avatar directly to attack me…"
Raylin cut her off without hesitation.
"Heh heh…" The goddess of the ocean smiled, carrying an air of wild abandon — she had always been a fickle goddess.
"Very well! If you're willing to expend your last favor, I can help you."
"No! I think you've misunderstood. I'm not asking you to act under the terms of our contract. I merely hope that, as an ally, you might introduce me to the gods of the orcish pantheon…"
"The orcish pantheon?!" Umberlee found herself increasingly unable to read this new god.
"Indeed! The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Don't you think I'm a far more suitable ally than Mara?"
Raylin blinked innocently.
"Ha ha… How interesting! Truly interesting…"
Umberlee burst into laughter. Terrifying phantoms of waves surged behind her, carrying the dark and dreadful power of a deity.
The azure tide formed a passage, and the phantoms of Raylin and Umberlee slowly faded from view…
……
In the North, within a concealed underground chamber.
The corners of the walls were inscribed with a multitude of twisted runes — and if one looked closely, one could feel the power of the blasphemous true names etched upon them.
Under this protection,
"Father… I truly cannot understand this. Even if we are seeking their help, handing over everything our family has…"
Anya's face flushed red as she watched her father surrender the entirety of the merchant guild — and even the secret connections and channels she had painstakingly built over many years. It felt as though her heart were bleeding.
In her heart, all of these things would have been hers!
And yet, the Serpent Church had taken everything without the slightest effort — with a single thought, they could utterly destroy both the Nian Merchant Guild and the Bahn family!
"Daughter… you need to recognize one simple truth! Only after we have confirmed that we have given everything will the Church agree to help us…"
Fix's face, however, remained perfectly calm, a faint ripple of something flickering deep within his eyes.
"Furthermore… attempting to deceive a Church backed by a true god is, in and of itself, an act of supreme foolishness! We are not those enormous merchant conglomerates — we do not have the luxury of playing both sides…"
A lifetime of rich experience had taught Fix all too well the terrifying nature of a true god's Church.
A true god would never fall with the passage of time.
In particular, over the past several thousand years, virtually no true god had perished.
This meant that Churches backed by true gods could firmly take root in the primary material plane — even if they were destroyed, they could always rise again at any moment.
Compared to the current Serpent Church, the Nian Merchant Guild was nothing more than a tiny ant.
His daughter's little concerns struck Fix as laughably absurd.
The Serpent Church needed his guild's channels and network of connections in the Northern Territory, but as for the wealth the Bahn family had accumulated? That probably could not even compare to a single palace within the Divine Kingdom!
Moreover, the Nian Merchant Guild was already lacking in strength. When you were the one begging for help, did you really dare haggle with the Serpent Church?
"I'm sorry, Father… I was too rash…"
At that moment, Anya also recognized her mistake. Especially having displayed such visible distress in front of her father, she lowered her head with a flush of shame coloring her cheeks.
"Mm… it is best that you have come to see this clearly on your own…"
Fix looked at this, his most exceptional daughter, and felt that he still needed to offer her some guidance.
Noble daughters in the world of gods certainly did not inherit the same rights of succession as sons, but Anya's abilities were truly outstanding. If, in the future, a husband could be found for her within the clan and she were kept within the family, it would surely prove very beneficial to the guild's development.
And so Fix spoke slowly, his voice low and measured: "…A newly ascended true god represents a far vaster future and broader prospects. In the early stages of a Church's growth, those who follow first always stand to gain the most. Look around — among all those duchies and continental merchant guilds, which one does not have a true god backing them? All of that was accumulated through merit and exchanges of benefit from the very moment those Churches were first established…"
"It seems… Father thinks very highly of that god…"
A thought flashed through Anya's mind, and then she laughed at herself somewhat. Any true god was more than enough to make the current Nien Commerce Guild invest everything it had.
"The God of Slaughter —
Anya murmured, her voice carrying a hint of reverence. Toward the highest existences in the world of gods, she still maintained a sense of awe and worship.
"Watch your tongue! Even with the protection of demonic blasphemy wards, you must not speak the true name of any god — otherwise you very well may be sensed by the other party... unless you are within a divine realm or in close proximity to another true god..."
Fix's expression turned grave.
"I understand, I'm sorry..." Anya pressed her crimson lips shut, her eyes still darting around as though afraid that the God of Slaughter might simply leap out from somewhere.
"Heh... that kind of great existence handles a million matters every day. The chances of them directly noticing you are very slim... as long as your luck isn't too terrible..."
Fix looked at his daughter's appearance and, for once, cracked a small smile, some of his worry easing — though he failed to catch the glint of cunning at the bottom of Anya's eyes.
"Regarding this particular existence, I do know a little something..."
Fix said to Anya: "Do you remember... that youngest legendary mage on the continent?"
"You mean Rayne Farolan! Of course!"
Anya nodded. "It's not just his legendary deeds — the Farolan family's wealth and the enormous business opportunities in the South Seas were all topics of very heated discussion before. It's just that somehow, the buzz suddenly died down..."
The halo surrounding Rayne was far too bright. He was still the dream lover and idol of many noble girls who had no idea of the truth.
"He is the current master of the Serpent Church — the God of Slaughter!"
Fix said coldly.
"What?" This time, Anya was genuinely shocked.
"For certain reasons, this existence abandoned his former name and adopted a new divine title! Such cases are rare, but they do occur... And the other churches — particularly the God of Justice and the Goddess of the
Fix sneered as he revealed a secret that was not all that secret.
"This is truly... this is truly... what magnificent talent. Without any legacy left by a predecessor god, he ascended to divinity entirely on his own..."
In that moment, all schemes and machinations vanished from Anya's mind. Compared to such a being, she felt utterly laughable and insignificant.
"The former indigenous empire, Bankes Island, also became the divine kingdom of a great deity, so trade in the Southern Sea declined for a time, even affecting several coastal kingdoms..."
Felix spoke slowly and deliberately, and even the brief overview he gave was enough to send a chill through Anya's heart.
"I'm telling you all this because I want you to understand — a being of such greatness and talent must have goals that stretch immeasurably far into the future. There's no point scheming or plotting. Only sincere devotion can earn such a being's recognition!"
Felix concluded firmly.
"So that's why Father handed over everything directly?"
Anya looked as though she was beginning to understand.
"Mm! I'll also be sending several of your younger brothers into the church to study as priests and demon hunters..."
Having learned even just the broad strokes of Lei Lin's rise to power, Felix had thoroughly abandoned every last trace of petty calculation he'd harbored, because he understood just how terrifying a being must be to ascend to godhood independently in such a harsh world!
It wasn't merely overwhelming strength — their cunning and strategic brilliance were absolutely flawless as well!
And any petty cleverness directed at such a being was no different from courting death!
That was why he had made the decision to pledge allegiance outright and send hostages, staking everything on the Great Serpent Church.
In this way, if the other party's plan failed, the Great Serpent Church might emerge unscathed, losing only some peripheral forces — but the Bain family would be utterly annihilated! However, if it succeeded, the gains would absolutely exceed anything Felix could have imagined!
"Then Father, what should I do?"
Any a looked at her father like this and realized there was so much she still needed to learn — especially this kind of big-picture perspective and decisiveness, which was far beyond anything she could hope to match while still haggling over petty details.
"Worship the God of Slaughter and serve Him with genuine sincerity!"
Felix said gravely.
"Of course... a modest show of support is also necessary. I've managed to secure you a position that keeps you near the Saintess regularly. You need to perform well..."
"The Saintess...
"Yes! She is the Saintess personally chosen by the God of Slaughter, and she holds a very high position within the Great Serpent Church — said to rank above the other Saintesses, second only to the Pontiff..."
Felix gave Anya a meaningful glance.
"Does that mean... we need to secure their goodwill at any cost?"
Anya nodded, showing that she had understood everything and possessed the resolve to see it through.