Chapter 630: Destruction

"Where did this fool come from? Or which foolish god?"

At this moment, in another corner of the Sanctuary Fortress, Adam Wiltonstein, clad in a suit of magical power armor, looked up at the scene above with a stunned expression.

"Those are followers of the Golden Dawn. It's not just here; it's happening simultaneously in over sixty Sanctuary Fortresses."

A female voice answered him from behind. She was a twenty-year-old woman in a sacrificial robe, also gazing at the illusion projection above with a hint of surprise and helplessness.

"The Golden Dawn? Aleister Crowley?"

Adam Wiltonstein's eyes narrowed, a cold and sharp glint appearing.

Aleister Crowley was the most famous mage of modern times and also one of the most notorious cult leaders, dubbed by the media as 'the Beast King,' 'the Beast of Revelation,' and 'the Wickedest Man in the World.'

He single-handedly founded the largest cult organization before and after World War II, the 'Golden Dawn' (partially historical), declared himself a god, and fabricated the heretical book *The Book of the Law*. He is now an extremely powerful evil god active in the Old Continent, suspected to be an incarnation of some Abyssal Lord.

"But one of the Lord's subordinate gods corrected our intelligence, believing that behind this lies the shadow of William Pitt the Younger, the god of British politics, finance, conspiracy, and trickery."

"So the British gods can no longer tolerate my Lord's expansion in Australia? They also want a share of my Lord's faith?"

Adam knew of this deity—the most outstanding prime minister in British history. Succeeding his father, the Elder Pitt, as prime minister, he reformed Britain's fiscal system, providing ample funds to fight Napoleon. It could be said that Napoleon's empire was destroyed by this Mr. Pitt the Younger.

As for the 'subordinate god' the girl mentioned, it could only be Heydrich. They had established a cooperative relationship three months ago, and this god of intelligence and espionage provided them with more comprehensive and detailed information than they could gather themselves.

"It seems so. After all, legally speaking, Australia is still the territory of the British Queen. It's actually surprising they've held out this long. By the way, I've found their location."

The girl glanced sideways at the magical power armor before her: "Should we stop them, brother?"

Strictly speaking, however, they were not siblings but distant cousins sharing the surname Wiltonstein.

It was only because they were both members of the 'Secret Blood' organization within the Wiltonstein family that their relationship was relatively close.

Adam sneered at this: "No need. Let them continue. Since someone else is doing the work, we don't have to bother. But we need to watch for any other arrangements they might have. We must prevent them from causing more casualties, or the Sovereign will be angry. Isabel, this is actually the ideal situation, isn't it? If we did it ourselves, not only would the effect be much worse, but we might also leave evidence for others to exploit."

The girl was not surprised by Adam's answer. This brother of hers was a man who, to create panic within the Sanctuary Fortress, turned a blind eye to the heretics infiltrating the fortress and even secretly fueled the situation.

His purpose was merely to scare away the less devout believers, so that afterward, the Sovereign's followers would feel a shocking contrast and difference.

Most members of the 'Secret Blood' organization were such madmen, driven mad for the glory of the Wiltonstein family and to make the 'radiance' that illuminated them within the clan even more dazzling.

—This included her, Isabel Wiltonstein.

"I must say, brother, your faith in the Lord is truly unparalleled. That's a shockwave equivalent to 1.8 billion megatons of TNT, and only you have never doubted the Lord's might. I think you should join the Church of Fate; there would surely be a place for you in the Lord's College of Cardinals."

Isabel knew that all their current plans were based on the premise that the Sovereign of Fate truly had the ability to resolve the 'Great Catastrophe.' But if the opposite were true, it would only bring deeper disaster to their cousin, the Church of Fate, and their family.

"There are already enough family members in the Church of Fate. Some of us must walk in the darkness."

Adam shook his head, his voice cold but his eyes burning with fervor: "As for faith, my dear sister, haven't you felt the Lord's power in your blood? Even so, do you still doubt?"

"Of course I have!"

The woman's eyes also flashed with a crimson glow: "I can feel the power of fate seeping into my blood! The Lord's power seems to have grown stronger."

Isabel realized her faith might be somewhat blind, but she couldn't help it—she believed so fervently, uncontrollably.

The god she followed was supposed to be omnipotent!

※※※※

At the southern end of the Pacific Ocean, Li Mochen learned almost immediately of the incidents in those Sanctuary Fortresses and also of the 'Secret Blood's' movements.

Li Mochen was not at all surprised by the British gods' scheming and had long been prepared. However, the 'Secret Blood' of the Wiltonstein family gave him quite a headache.

This was an organization that had grown up under Li Mochen's very nose within the Wiltonstein family.

Initially, it was just a secret society formed by young members of the Wiltonstein family, almost all of whom were collateral descendants, along with some descendants of the Hohenstaufen family who had changed their surname to Wiltonstein after being brought back from the Old Continent during the time of Philip I.

These people were originally trained as the family's reserve force and hidden 'daggers,' subjected to brutal training methods to develop their talents and abilities to the fullest, while being indoctrinated with concepts like 'the glory of the Wiltonstein family' through continuous brainwashing. This instilled in these young Wiltonstein family members a innate sense of honor and mission, making them willing to sacrifice everything for the family.

After Conshuri took over the family, he invested even more resources in them.

Although Li Mochen's intervention stopped some of the inhumane training methods, Conshuri did not cease the ideological shaping; instead, he intensified it.

And the 'Secret Blood' society was born from this.

Li Mochen's legendary feats during his mortal days, like a myth, turned these Wiltonstein family members, who regarded family glory as their mission, into his fanatical followers, even attracting some direct-line descendants of the Wiltonstein family to join.

They believed Li Mochen was the rudder and sail leading the Wiltonstein family to supreme glory, an indispensable key, and worshipped him fanatically.

Initially, Li Mochen paid them little attention. On one hand, the society was weak and insignificant; on the other, he thought any action would be inappropriate, so he simply let them be.

But five years later, when Li Mochen again turned his gaze to these followers, the 'Secret Blood' society had become an organization where every member possessed at least top-tier Outlaw-level strength. Although they numbered only 212, they were all powerful dragon-blooded sorcerers. Among them, sixty were legends—meaning legends without any external aid! The leaders of Secret Blood were especially powerful, most having reached the demigod rank or possessing demigod-level strength.

This was also related to Li Mochen. As core members of the family's main line—Andre, Conshuri, Hazel, Jennifer, and others—successively achieved godhood, even the bloodline of a collateral branch of the Wiltonstein family had been strengthened to an incredible degree.

Just like the ancient Olympian gods, the 'Titans' were powerful because of the influence exerted on the bloodline by strong figures like Gaia, Uranus, Cronus, and Zeus.

Now, the Wiltonstein family had also embarked on this path.

This allowed their family members to gain power that ordinary people could only look up to with just a little effort. And the members of 'Secret Blood' were all骨干 of the family, with wills tempered to be extremely resilient.

They often put in several times the effort of ordinary people in their training, coupled with their extraordinary talents and the family's generous supply of resources, gradually creating these monsters within 'Secret Blood.'

The key point was that not only were they powerful in combat, but they also controlled financial resources exceeding a hundred billion gold shields and held various important positions within and outside the family and in the church. They had almost become a cancerous tumor within Li Mochen's forces, too big to be easily removed.

Even Li Mochen now could not forcibly eliminate them; he could only choose to dissolve them through subtle, gradual means.

The consequence of his forbearance was that the actions of 'Secret Blood' over the years constantly grated on his nerves, making him regret not having dealt with the organization when it was still weak.

This incident was particularly troubling for Li Mochen. Although their approach could benefit him to some extent, it was too deliberate, sinister, and cruel, treating human lives like grass and trampling them at will, which conflicted with his principles.

If not for the sudden appearance of the 'Golden Dawn,' the actions of the 'Secret Blood' society would only leave endless troubles for them.

At this point, Li Mochen realized he could no longer let this organization continue on its path. At the very least, he needed to take control of 'Secret Blood' and prevent the family's radicals from running around like headless flies causing trouble.

But these were problems he would have to face later. For now, Li Mochen's only concern was the imminent collision between the two worlds of Light and Beasts.

If he couldn't overcome this crisis, Li Mochen doubted there would be much of a future. He wouldn't necessarily fall, but he would have to be ready to withdraw from this world at any time.

The fourth Merit Purple Qi was his ticket to compete for the position of 'God of Gods.' If he failed to obtain this ticket, not only would he suffer a severe blow, but he would also inevitably face a counterattack from the gods. Especially Nyx and her daughter; the death of Typhon could no longer be concealed. To obtain the 'Darkness' source quality in his hands and to compete for the 'origin' of this world, the Night Goddess would surely go mad.

And then there was the 'Divine Fortune Purple Gold Pagoda'; Odin and Zeus would eventually cause trouble over it.

But even withdrawing from this world would not be easy.

Angela and Anthony were Law Gods; they couldn't simply leave this world. There were also many relatives, friends, and subordinates bound to him; Li Mochen's conscience would not allow him to abandon them and leave.

"These guys are watching us like we're a monkey show."

Beside Li Mochen, the Moon Rabbit, known as 'Earth Angel' Christine, complained unhappily: "I really want to gouge out their eyeballs!"

As the collision time approached, she felt more and more gazes from the gods falling on her and her master. They carried various emotions—mockery, anticipation, indifference, confusion—all sorts.

This touched a nerve in the Moon Rabbit. Before becoming the bonded pet of Wenjian Taoran, she had been kept as a show rabbit in a mortal circus, so she especially couldn't stand being stared at like that.

"They mostly want to see us make a fool of ourselves and hope to take a bite out of us. Bear with it a little longer. Five more minutes, and you can choose to make their eyeballs fall out, Little Rabbit."

Li Mochen said calmly: "After today, you will eventually stand at the pinnacle of this world and look down on them."

The Moon Rabbit chuckled: "That's a good idea. I just wonder if we can do it. Though I have a hundred percent confidence in you, Boss."

With that, she couldn't help but take a deep breath to calm the fear and unease in her heart.

Since coming to this world, she had systematically studied physics, so she knew the level of impact force the coming collision would bring. And precisely because she understood it in detail, she felt uneasy.

A shockwave equivalent to 1.8 billion megatons of TNT—even the Lord of Radiance couldn't withstand that kind of power, right?

Theoretically, the 'Supreme Law' that Li Mochen had completed could indeed dissipate most of the energy from the collision.

But the key this time was not Li Mochen's spell, but whether he could maintain the 'Supreme Law' called the 'Oil-Water Divine Shield' throughout the impact, which was enough to destroy a small to medium-sized world.

And that depended on whether the Moon Rabbit could withstand the shockwave, still as high as level thirteen, after the 'Oil-Water Divine Shield'.

The Moon Rabbit had no confidence at all. She thought she wouldn't last five seconds before being torn to pieces by the impact force.

Yet the Moon Rabbit still stood by Li Mochen's side without any hesitation, just as she said. She had a hundred percent confidence in her master, even if it contradicted the common sense she had learned.

"I'll assess the situation. If it really can't hold, I'll send you away first, Little Rabbit."

Li Mochen then contacted his wife: "Angie, how are things on your end?"

"I'm ready."

Angela's voice came directly to Li Mochen's ear: "But A-Mo, I still want to persuade you one more time. Please reconsider, okay? In this world, nothing is more important than your life."

Like Diana, she was not optimistic about Li Mochen's decision and was also very puzzled.

This disaster would indeed cause Li Mochen to lose a large number of believers, even deaths. But even so, Li Mochen didn't need to take such a risk. At this stage, the Great Catastrophe was not enough to shake Li Mochen's foundation.

This was practically gambling, like a patient with early-stage cancer resorting to extreme treatments like 'gene therapy,' which could kill the patient before killing the cancer cells.

Angela's conscience and morality made her unwilling to see this world-level tragedy happen. But between Li Mochen and the masses who might die in the world collision, she ultimately cared more about her husband.

When faced with such a choice, she was no different from an ordinary woman.

"Even you, Angie..."

Li Mochen rubbed his forehead helplessly: "Trust me, okay? Even if I ultimately fail, I will ensure I get out safely."

His guarantee of safety relied on the 'Divine Fortune Purple Gold Pagoda.' At worst, he could use a 'Merit Purple Qi,' but he couldn't reveal this trump card to his relatives and allies.

Besides, Angela, Diana, and others probably had a significant misjudgment of his strength.

In these past few months, Li Mochen himself was surprised by his own growth. The third Merit Purple Qi had helped him far more than he had expected.

Meanwhile, in the American underworld, Lena, serving as a handmaiden to the Queen of the Underworld, let out a helpless murmur: "Miss should have tried harder to persuade His Majesty. That's a shockwave of 1.8 billion megatons of TNT. This is too crazy."

Angela shook her head slightly. She had known long ago that she couldn't dissuade Li Mochen. He had been preparing for this day for a year, investing so much manpower and resources—how could he be willing to give up now?

At this moment, Angela's entire body was shining with divine radiance. The 'Crown of Sorrow' on her head became darker and deeper, and the 'Blade of Judgment' trembled incessantly.

Fortunately, she was no longer like before, only able to sit by and watch Li Mochen bear everything alone, struggle, and fight desperately.

Angela thought that this time, she might even give A-Mo a surprise.

"Anthony?"

Li Mochen, hovering over the southern Pacific, looked southward, gazing at the massive magic tower array composed of sixty-four magic towers five thousand kilometers away.

Compared to six months ago, this magic tower array, entirely made up of towers of level eight or above, had gained fifteen more towers!

"We're fine on our end too!"

Anthony replied with a smile: “Amo, the last thing you need to worry about is this side. I doubt any mage here would miss such an opportunity. We’ll stand by you here till the end.”

“That’s true.”

Li Mochen couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking that indeed, for those demigod mages and archmages, this was an opportunity not to be missed.

The various natural phenomena caused by the collision of two worlds, along with the changes resulting from the impact and fusion of the world’s roots, were an irresistible temptation for any mage seeking to explore the mysteries of the universe—even if behind that temptation lay a poison that could take their lives.

And this magic tower array, located five thousand kilometers away, was the only way to ensure they could fully observe the entire process.

“Also, I’ll surprise you later. As your ally, I can’t—whoa, I think we’ve both underestimated the Lord of Radiance a bit.”

Just as Anthony paused mid-sentence and let out an exclamation, Li Mochen’s eyes narrowed slightly. At that very moment, a colossal flying ship was breaking through the void and arriving.

It was three hundred cubits (133 meters) long, fifty cubits (22 meters) wide, and thirty cubits (13 meters) high. Its entire body radiated an utterly pure divine light, gliding lightly and effortlessly from beyond the void to this spot.

Li Mochen didn’t need to identify it to know it was Noah’s Ark, one of the most powerful mythical artifacts of the Lord of Radiance.

Beyond that, he sensed the numerous seraphim aboard the ark, as well as three archangels, including Michael. The power of the Lord of Radiance began to fill this space, turning the sea surface within a thousand kilometers into an ocean of divine force.

“We did underestimate Him—”

Li Mochen murmured as well: “But it’s to be expected. Without such breadth of mind and spirit, He could never have unified the faith of this world once, could He?”

Under the covetous eyes of at least five divine kings, with internal troubles still unresolved, that Lord of Radiance still dispatched His most powerful artifact and His most capable lieutenants here—this required great courage.

Yet that one’s foundation was clearly far more stable than His. The backlash afterward would also be far less severe than His.

“It seems this one truly regards His followers as His flock. He’s earned a bit of my goodwill.”

Anthony sighed lightly, but his tone carried delight: “This is good news for us, I suppose? I’d say the success rate can be raised by at least another ten percent.”

Li Mochen’s mind also relaxed slightly, then he clenched his fist tightly, flames almost gathering in his eyes.

He thought, ten percent? It was far more than that. That vessel embodied the faith of hundreds of billions of people, who believed it had saved humanity. It held immeasurable power of belief.

In Li Mochen’s view, this was a top-tier artifact of the human way, its rank comparable to a post-heaven ultimate treasure in the Eastern artifact system.

If this object could offset even five percent of the impact force, he was absolutely certain he could reduce the earthquake wave’s magnitude to below twelve.

This time, the merit of saving the world was his to claim, and he would not let it fall into other hands.

At that moment, a deafening, earth-shattering roar reached Li Mochen’s ears. The sea before him shattered like glass smashed against the ground. Countless cracks appeared, then the entire expanse was crushed into fragments by an unparalleled force.

Before Li Mochen’s eyes, a colossal world, no less than fifty thousand kilometers in both length and width, slammed into view. Then the matter of both worlds began to disintegrate, even directly annihilate.

Next, a tidal wave of air, overwhelming and irresistible, rolled outward in all directions. Noah’s Ark, at the epicenter of the collision, bore the brunt.

The radiance it emitted now surpassed even the sun, radiating infinite light and heat. The avatar of the Lord of Radiance had manifested atop the ark.

It was a divine body whose power approached that of the divine king’s true form. Behind Him hung a blood-stained cross. His hands spread slightly forward in an embracing gesture. Boundless divine power surged from His chest, resisting the encroaching world.

At the same time, a blinding bolt of lightning and a spear falling like a meteor pierced through the void, striking the Lord of Radiance’s body almost simultaneously.

Li Mochen’s eyes narrowed. He recognized them as Zeus’s Thunderfire Spear and Odin’s Gungnir.

The former embodied the truths of ‘Thunder’ and ‘Fire’; the latter, known as the ‘Eternal Spear,’ was a mythical armament even surpassing the ‘Holy Lance Longinus.’ Gungnir meant ‘Piercing’ and ‘Sacred.’ Any oath sworn on its tip could never be broken and would surely be fulfilled. It condensed the truth-level ‘Piercing,’ the pseudo-truth-level ‘Homing’ and ‘Slaughter,’ and the ultimate ‘Wish.’

One could even say that the original ‘Holy Lance Longinus’ was a replica of this spear.

Struck by these two mythical weapons, the avatar of the Lord of Radiance disintegrated by nearly half. Then He could no longer hold back the world. His divine body began to dissolve, and the mythical artifact Noah’s Ark shattered into pieces under the immense pressure.

But just before His body finally perished, the most powerful deity of the Radiant World turned and gazed deeply at Li Mochen.

Li Mochen’s expression tightened. He understood the meaning in the Lord of Radiance’s gaze, but had no time to dwell on it. The vast, world-annihilating force was already surging toward him like a tide.

That sacred vessel, embodying the faith of hundreds of billions over four thousand years, had held back the destructive power for barely two breaths. The remaining force had to be withstood by him alone.

By now, Li Mochen had completed the preparatory steps for his spell. The Lord of Radiance’s self-sacrifice gave him more leeway to mobilize power and perfect his magic. The next second, as Li Mochen finished the final hand seal, giant water shields rose from beneath the sea surface.

As Li Mochen had said, each was fifty kilometers wide, five kilometers high, arched outward, and a thousand meters thick. There were ninety-nine layers in total, spaced exactly one kilometer apart.

These water walls instantly drained the sea beneath them, exposing the seabed two thousand meters deep to everyone’s view.

At that moment, the Moon Rabbit descended, her feet touching the ground. With a shout, ninety-nine layers of stone walls burst forth from the earth, filling the gaps between the giant water barriers.

Then the water walls and stone walls began to collapse. The outermost thirty layers vaporized and annihilated in the blink of an eye.