Chapter 592: God of War

When thousands of 'Spears of Radiance' came blasting from the star realm, Li Mochen's expression in the magic tower changed drastically. It was not because of the Spears of Radiance themselves, but because of the gaze fixed upon him from the void, and the accompanying, sun-like vast consciousness—extremely hot, extremely heavy, enough to crush and evaporate the spirit of any mortal, or even a god!

Li Mochen could not help but sigh, thinking that the 'Emperor Barbarossa' of yesteryear must never have faced the targeted 'Gaze' of the Lord of Radiance. This was a power truly enough to make one despair, to make one unable to muster any will to resist.

The feeling this deity gave Li Mochen was even ten times more terrifying than Nyx's that time!

As Mephisto guessed, Li Mochen indeed had no time to attend to other matters. After stabilizing his own 'Fate' divine office, he pressed on, devoting himself to the condensation of the next divine office.

Next was Time—

Compared to 'Fate', this was simpler. Among his innate spells were 'Time Delay', 'Light Speed Movement', and 'Time Acceleration'.

Li Mochen completed this divine office with ease, and at the same time sensed the primordial force called Time in this world surging toward him.

The benefit of a 'divine office' lies here: when exercising related divine authority, one can draw upon the power of nature, heaven, earth, and faith. This can increase the power of divine authority to a certain extent, and can also greatly reduce one's own consumption, expanding the range covered by divine authority.

Li Mochen understood where his chance of survival lay: to acquire as many divine offices as possible, to gain more power, and more sources of divine power!

The good news now was that the Lord of Radiance had not fully awakened and was still in a very peculiar state. The bad news was that even in such a state, the Lord of Radiance still possessed a might that Li Mochen could not match!

At that moment, the 'Fate's Domain' magic tower began to tremble violently. Those Spears of Radiance each had power equivalent to a level-40 magical annihilation cannon. Under their bombardment, even this magic tower, armed to the extreme and strengthened to the utmost, shook and seemed on the verge of collapse. The glow of the outer magical barrier was gradually dimming, and the expressions of the twenty-four demigods inside the tower were all extremely grave. Outside the tower, the fully awakened twenty-four giant dragons all showed traces of fear.

Until three seconds later, the speed of those Spears of Radiance suddenly slowed. The force called 'Time' caused the countless spears, which had been raining down like a meteor shower without end, to fall out of sync, giving 'Fate's Domain' a brief respite. The magic tower's magical energy protection array recovered to full strength in less than a second.

But this was not because Li Mochen's 'Time' divine authority had interfered with those Spears of Radiance; rather, he used nearly equal power to cancel out the 'Time' force originally applied to them by the Lord of Radiance.

Li Mochen's Time divine office ultimately only reached the tenth level, with a divine rank of ten. Compared to Fate, his study of Time was relatively shallow, and he lacked the 'Divine Purple Gold Pagoda of Spiritual Fortune' and the 'Longinus Holy Spear' as references.

However, the force of Time was relatively simple. Relying on the legacy of the 'Lady of Time', Mithra, Li Mochen still elevated his Time divine authority to a high level. And Time and Fate could echo and benefit each other.

But that was as far as it went; a high-level Time divine position was his limit.

Yet this was enough for Li Mochen to use his Time force to contend with the master of Light and Sun in the material plane.

The next divine office was 'Yin and Yang'—a concept that only existed in the East. In the Western world, it could only be interpreted as 'the dark side and the bright side of the world'.

But under Yin and Yang, there were further subdivisions: astrology, positive and negative, Yin and Yang, life and death, ice and fire, light and darkness, creation and destruction, innate five elements and acquired five elements. So under the great spiritual imprint of 'Yin and Yang', there were independent components belonging to them.

This 'composite divine authority' was extremely complex, involving the opposition of various forces and their Yin and Yang aspects, which were interconnected and entangled. But Li Mochen had the 'Dual Element Mystic Transformation Method' as his foundation—this was what he was best at.

So even though the magic tower began to tremble violently again, and the 'Spears of Radiance' endlessly bombarded the outer spatial wall of the demiplane, Li Mochen still advanced unstoppably into the depths of the source, finally stopping at the fourteenth level—the Yin-Yang divine office he condensed was divine rank fourteen!

This was not because his skill was limited and he could not go further. The reason he stalled here was the restriction of the 'primary divine office'.

In the past, Nyx was constrained by this and ultimately had to split her own authority, becoming the mistress of the night.

Of course, taking Fate as the primary divine office was not without benefits.

Li Mochen could use the power of the divine office to elevate his own Fate authority by at least half a rank, evolving it into an 'ultimate' Fate divine authority. But at this cost, he also lost the opportunity to enter the main god level through faith in one go.

In Li Mochen's view, this was a gain outweighing a loss. He lost the present but gained the future. And the force called Fate allowed him to face even higher levels of power without any fear.

From the world's origin to its destruction, Fate is everywhere—this is a 'Law' divine office equal to the ancient gods!

When the 'Yin and Yang' divine office at the powerful god level was completed, the first to benefit was the magic tower where Li Mochen stood.

Under the illumination of the stars, the divine authority called 'Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth' formed a complete five-element cycle within the tower. Although most of them were only at the intermediate level, they fundamentally strengthened the tower's materials, structure, and magical array.

Next were those Spears of Radiance. The blazing fire of the sun, carrying hundreds of thousands of degrees of heat, had already cooled significantly before approaching the magic tower. Their power had dropped by at least twenty percent compared to their peak!

That was Li Mochen's high-level Ice divine authority, which had covered them on a large scale.

But at this moment, Li Mochen felt no relief. He had already sensed a stronger force gathering in the nearby starry void.

A massive 'Gate of Heaven' was gradually taking shape there.

"So, do you dare to appear before me, Lord of Radiance?"

Li Mochen looked silently at this huge gate of light, majestic and divine, yet still tightly closed.

At that moment, at the top of the 'Fate's Domain' magic tower, the 'Longinus Holy Spear' trembled gently, emitting a series of shrill sounds. The forbidden spells named 'Thunder of God-Slaying', 'Material Annihilation', 'Ice-Flame Divine Spear', and 'Fate's Trajectory' were already entwined around it, ready to strike!

Li Mochen glanced at it and then withdrew his gaze.

"Do you see, Sampson? When this gate opens, begin the operation."

His voice pierced through several spatial barriers and a distance of hundreds of kilometers, reaching the ears of Lieutenant Colonel Sampson Brute in Saint Stone Fortress.

Now the armed forces of the Rising Sun Group had two clear divisions. In large-scale warfare in the dark world, Major General Michael Wood took the lead; all special operations were led by Lieutenant Colonel Sampson Brute.

"Understood, my lord!"

Sampson Brute replied calmly: "Sampson will not fail your command. I will do my utmost to ensure that all churches of the Holy Light Church in America cease to exist."

—Although ten years ago, he was still one of the faithful of the Lord of Radiance.

"That's not necessary. Preserve strength and inflict as much damage as possible. This is a protracted war, measured in centuries. As I said before, don't try to finish it all at once, Sampson—"

Then Li Mochen turned his attention to the next divine office, somewhere between 'concept' and 'faith'—Vitality!

Originally, in Li Mochen's plan, this was to be done a little later. But today's divine war made the need for 'Vitality' urgent.

Li Mochen had not studied the divine authority of 'Vitality' very diligently, and it was only at the intermediate level. However, the preparations made in advance by the Rising Sun Group and the Wieldenstan family paid off. The moment Li Mochen condensed the 'Vitality' divine office, he heard the whispers of up to twenty million believers across America. They were praying, praising, and singing hymns to the 'Lord of Youth, Vitality, and Beauty'.

Li Mochen had to be pleasantly surprised by Elisa's organizational skills. This partner and assistant of his had, through years of experience, gained the ability to sort out thousands of affairs of the Rising Sun Group in an orderly manner.

She had actually organized so many believers to pray to him simultaneously at the moment of his apotheosis.

And with this vast faith, Li Mochen advanced unimpeded in the subsequent journey to the source, all the way to the fourteenth layer, where he engraved his own mark!

In the ancient Roman era, where magical energy was richer and purer, a mere two million believers were enough to support a powerful 'main god'.

In modern times, people's piety toward gods has greatly diminished. Generally, fifty times, or even a hundred times the number is needed to sustain a faith god of equal divine rank.

But Li Mochen's believers were exceptionally devout, providing him with faith far exceeding that of ordinary believers.

Li Mochen felt that if not for the restriction of the primary divine office, his 'Vitality' divine rank could have even reached divine rank sixteen—and this was without any prior accumulation as a newly ascended god; otherwise, divine rank seventeen might not have been unattainable. That was already the rank of a main god.

When Li Mochen's Vitality divine office reached divine rank nine, all twenty-four demigod spellcasters and twenty-four adult dragons in the magic tower felt their spirits greatly lifted. They sensed their bodies filled with powerful life force. Their mana, which had been nearly half depleted, began to recover at ten times the previous speed.

At the same time, a huge force of solar fire containing lightning struck down from above the 'Fate's Domain' magic tower.

A 'Divine Punishment' personally executed by a divine king of rank twenty destroyed the outer defense of 'Fate's Domain' in one blow, then spread layer by layer along the 'Longinus Holy Spear', turning the tower's outer walls and this demiplane into a world of holy flames.

The twenty-four demigod dragons all flapped their wings in panic, roaring as they fled 'Fate's Domain' one after another. They were not escaping but hiding temporarily in the magic towers of Conshuri and others.

—As the outer defense force of the 'Fate's Domain' magic tower, these twenty-four demigod dragons were useless before the Lord of Radiance, a divine king of rank twenty.

Li Mochen again gazed into the void ahead and saw a massive ark had somehow arrived before this planar gap. At the same time, four archangels with three pairs of wings appeared on either side of the light gate.

Among them were the Saint War King, the strongest angel 'Michael'; the guardian angel of Venus, the avenger of the Lord of Radiance 'Anael'; the representative of God's Light and God's Fire 'Uriel'; and the avenger of souls, the guardian of souls in the underworld 'Sariel'.

They all had divine bodies comparable to giants, with holy red-gold wings extending over a hundred thousand meters on each side, emitting boundless light that illuminated this planar gap, which they had jointly opened, as bright as day.

What truly added to the pressure was the oppressive will of their authority. The 'Gaze of the Lord of Radiance' was directed only at Li Mochen personally. The divine might of the four main gods covered everyone present!

Although they had not yet made a move, the presence of these four archangels had already made all the strong ones on the Wieldenstan side hold their breath.

Li Mochen also let out a light breath, and then, after Fate, Time, Yin-Yang, and Youth, he began to condense his fifth divine office, named 'War'!

Almost the moment he willed it, a figure shining with golden light appeared on the other side of the 'Fate's Domain' magic tower. Divine flames blazed around him.

Everyone recognized this figure: it was the Greek god of war 'Ares', also the Roman god of war 'Mars'! His voice was majestic and cold: "Are you attempting to steal my authority and glory in this world, newly ascended god?"

Following closely was a man in ice-blue armor with only one arm, also gazing at Li Mochen's magic tower with a scrutinizing look.

"Look, another competitor."

That was the god of war and justice from the Norse Aesir, the guarantor of contracts, the guardian of oaths, the representative of heroic glory and courage, the god of law and justice, Odin's son 'Tyr'!

Then appeared a lady wearing a Roman toga, blindfolded, holding a scale in one hand and a sword in the other. She was the goddess of fairness, justice, and order 'Themis', also the Roman goddess of fairness, justice, and order 'Justitia'!

"I sense the primordial force I possess has been stirred!"

—These were all manifestations of gods appearing in the mortal world. Though not their true bodies, they still shone with a brilliance almost comparable to intermediate gods. However, their divine will was not much inferior to that of the night goddess Nyx.

Besides these, more than ten other gazes from all over the world were fixed on this place. Some were hostile, some friendly, some full of interest.

Li Mochen recognized the war god 'Kartikeya' and 'Asura' from Hinduism; the war gods 'Xingtian', 'Zhenwu', and 'Gouchen' from the Eastern homeland; the war god 'Susanoo' from Japan; the war god 'Set' from ancient Egypt; the ancient Persian war god 'Bahram'; the Babylonian war god 'Irula'; and even Ares' sister in this world, 'Athena', who also held the authority of war; and from the Aesir, 'Odin', who surpassed the war god Tyr!

—All were beings with powerful divine ranks from the Middle Ages.

Sensing the thoughts of these gods, Li Mochen deeply felt that the era of the gods' advent was indeed approaching, and it was imminent!

But this was not the time for such reflections.

"Step back! Gods from foreign lands! This is the final warning from the Lord of Fate!"

Standing on the twenty-fourth floor of the magic tower, Li Mochen fixed a pressing gaze on the three outside.

That was because in this world, within the thirty thousand kilometers centered on Atlanta, all the primordial forces named 'War', 'Fairness', and 'Equality' were being drawn by these three, as well as by the Lord of Radiance's chief warrior, supreme commander of the angelic army, Saint War King, the strongest angel Michael. This caused their power to rapidly expand and grow.

The 'Scarlet Dragon Armor' he wore indeed still accumulated a vast amount of war divine power. But relying solely on that, he could not push his war divine rank above twelve!

Only the rank of a 'powerful' war god and a 'high-level' god of justice and fairness could maximize the various war-related powers he possessed and provide the ultimate boost to the many strong ones under his command.

"Insolent!"

The war god 'Ares' snorted lightly. Standing at the same level as Li Mochen, he stared coldly at him: "Are you going to use force, newly ascended little god? Do you rely on this 'Judgment Holy Spear' forged by Hephaestus?"

Then in the next instant, Ares saw a fierce sword light shoot up from within the magic tower. It broke through the sky, ignored time and space, and came directly before him.

Ares raised his thick eyebrows and without hesitation drew a bronze longsword from his waist.

Since it was not his true body, this sword was entirely a condensation of divine power, yet it still possessed sharpness nearly equal to a mythical weapon, elevating Ares' battle intent and momentum to the peak in that instant.

"Let me see if you are worthy of the name 'God of War'."

Yet the bronze longsword of this one had only just begun its swing when that flowing-light sword shadow erupted with an incomparable and mighty sword intent—'Pierce', 'Sever', 'Inevitable Strike', 'Certain Kill', 'Destruction', 'Destruction', 'Sharpness', 'Supreme Speed', 'Time Sequence', 'Extreme Cold', 'Extreme Heat', 'Life and Death', and 'Fate'!

Various concepts and natural divine rights merged into one, easily breaking through Ares's protective divine radiance. It pierced through his body, and a full second later, the body of the war god 'Ares' split in two from the very center, bursting forth with vast light and dissolving into wisps of divine power that scattered. More than half of it was forcibly devoured and absorbed by Li Mochen. During this time, the war god tried with all his might to repair his divine body, but he ultimately failed.

And this scene rendered everyone present, even all the gods, silent as death.