Chapter 699: Light

"We must accelerate, Thor!"

Inside the treasure ship Skíðblaðnir in the dark world's sea of sin, the God of Desire, Lodd, also looked utterly disappointed: "The Gluttony King Beleth is notorious; in his prime, he destroyed at least seven worlds for the Lord of Terror. Yet he is still no match for the Master of Fate. That god who governs fate and time has grown even stronger—"

"Then accelerate!"

Thor's face was cold and stern, with little expression. But in his eyes, there was also a hint of wariness.

He had thought that five years later, he would now have the strength to face the Master of Fate head-on. But this war in the outer void told him that he was still far from matching this enemy who had destroyed the Aesir.

Though the Gluttony King was in dire straits, Thor knew that in the entire Light World, there might not be a single being who could confront him directly.

Thor even suspected that, fully detached from the realm, Beleth at his peak could rival those gods above gods who had not yet mastered the 'Creation' level laws.

But now, Andrew Lee Willtonstein had suppressed Beleth using only one of his dual bodies.

And in his judgment, at most half an hour later, Beleth would be killed by the Master of Fate.

"Within three minutes at the latest, I need our church to prepare for the full return of all Aesir gods to the Light World!"

Even as he spoke, Thor's will had turned into a divine oracle, issued to all high priests of the Aesir pantheon.

"Three minutes?" That was the God of Smithing, Vili: "Then the church's losses will be great."

The Aesir church had not prepared many sacrifices; to descend early would inevitably cost the lives of some low-level priests. But the Aesir church in the Light World already had few devout priests, and they were dwindling.

Though the church had recently expanded, many of the new believers and priests were followers of evil gods, their minds not even stable.

"Thor's decision is right, Vili."

The God of Desire, Lodd, said with a bitter smile: "Haven't you noticed that the pressure those bugs are putting on the Fate Pantheon is weakening? If we miss this chance, we might have to pay ten times the price to descend into the Light World."

Then his tone shifted: "Of course, we will make distinctions; those who truly believe in the Aesir, our devout lambs, will receive extra protection."

Vili was half-convinced; he thought that Lodd and Thor's current state might not care about the Aesir's interests.

"Necessary sacrifices are unavoidable, my dear uncle. Trust me, it won't always be like this."

Thor's face was dark, his eyes red as he looked at Vili: "They need flesh and blood, clean souls that can bear wisdom. Only thus can they reshape their souls and rebuild their bodies."

Vili turned back and glanced at the Aesir gods before Thor, their faces tinged with black qi, and at the dozen or so massive divine abominations outside the 'Skíðblaðnir'.

"The Aesir will be revived, and our masters' glory will shine upon thousands of star realms in this era. Under our masters' wings, whether as god-kings or supreme gods, we will have them within reach."

Vili wondered if the 'Aesir' after this would still be the Aesir. But in the end, he remained silent.

He knew that at this point, their will no longer mattered.

※※※※

At two in the afternoon, in the Manhattan suburbs of the American Federation, amid piercing alarm sirens, Georgia Anison, his face solemn, led his family into his basement.

Georgia was not at all surprised by today's magic tower array activation and evacuation alert.

The Manhattan city government had issued the highest-level warning to all citizens a week ago, and two days ago began a citywide lockdown, shutting down work and schools, with large numbers of suburban residents flooding into the city. All shelters in the city were also put on combat readiness. They had additionally hired many police officers to strengthen security in each district.

On one hand, this showed that the American government had anticipated this day and took it seriously; on the other, it meant the current situation might be very severe.

As a quasi-wealthy man with annual salary and dividends exceeding thirty million gold shields, and CEO of a chemical group, Georgia had long known that for three consecutive years, the Manhattan city government had passed a secret budget of up to 220 billion gold shields for the magic tower array, shelters, and reinforcement of all high-rise buildings; and had stockpiled large quantities of supplies in underground warehouses, enough to sustain the city's 42 million residents and the 19 million who had retreated from the suburbs for two years if Manhattan was cut off from the outside.

"George, can you tell me what's happening?"

Mrs. Anison looked worried: "The TV said it might be an invasion by alien races from outer realms, or evil gods, that the Aesir and the Church of Desire are joining forces to take revenge on America. Will we be okay this time? George? You're the CEO of Awanar Chemical Group; haven't you heard anything?"

"I don't know, my dear Jenny. Awanar Chemical Group is nothing in Manhattan; it's just a group with a market cap of 120 billion gold shields, and most of our factories have already left American soil. We have limited connections in the government. But I suggest you don't listen to those so-called informed sources; they know nothing, just chasing shadows."

Georgia Anison shrugged, watching his three bodyguards and magical consultant methodically seal the basement entrance and activate the magic array.

Supposedly, the high-rises in Manhattan and the large shelters had the highest-grade concrete and steel fortifications, top-tier magical defense arrays, and were guarded by numerous city guards and church forces, making them relatively safer.

But Georgia knew that crowded places were often prime targets for enemies, so like most wealthy people, he chose to take refuge in his own basement.

Though the magic tower array in this basement was smaller, Georgia had invested heavily in it; in terms of defense per unit area, it far surpassed those shelters.

Moreover, he and his four children were all outlaws in terms of strength; he himself had a magic level above fifteen, and with the three level-twelve bodyguards and the level-fourteen magical consultant, it was enough to ensure the safety of this small shelter.

Simple logic: dangers originating inside the city couldn't breach his basement, and if danger came from outside, once the city's magic tower array collapsed, no defense inside the city would matter.

Georgia also believed that the fewer than 120 people in this basement, including his servants, bodyguards, and family, were not enough to draw the attention of those evil god followers.

"Does the reason matter? Whatever the threat, it's dangerous. Even the Alaska War five years ago didn't see a citywide lockdown like this."

That was his eldest son, Dabus Anison, drinking coffee on the sofa: "Outer realm people, the dark world, evil gods—all possible."

Mrs. Anison grew more nervous. Georgia Anison shot his son a harsh glare, then gently comforted his wife: "Don't listen to him, Jenny. The government's preparations are thorough this time. Our Manhattan magic tower array is not what it used to be; the government spends hundreds of billions of gold shields every year to strengthen it, ensuring it's foolproof. And even if you don't trust the American government and the President, you should trust the Fate Church. Didn't the Fate Alliance spokesperson say in the TV address that the Fate Alliance will do its utmost to ensure the safety of all people worldwide? He told us not to panic. The Master of Fate is the protector of world civilization and all humanity; his power is beyond doubt. Those evil gods are no match for him; they can't make waves."

"But that spokesperson also said that all humanity must prepare for a long struggle, a disaster that everyone must face together." This time it was Anison's second son, adjusting his magical armor, eager to act.

"Then you should also have heard that spokesperson's repeated warnings: do not spread panic!"

Georgia Anison grew angrier: "What are you planning to do? Go out and fight? Stay put and don't cause trouble for the government and the church!"

"They said those who can should help those around them, provide力所能及 support to those in need—" The young man finally calmed down under his parents' stern gaze.

"Foolish Andrew, are you sure you're helping others, not needing help yourself?"

As he scolded, Georgia Anison used his authoritative gaze to make his two daughters, who were also gearing up, obediently put down their weapons.

The two, along with Georgia's second son, attended the newly built 'Manhattan Fate Church School' in Manhattan, a school with very strong faculty, especially in magical职业 training. Though established less than thirteen years ago, all its graduates so far were at the outlaw level, and it wasn't very demanding on talent. So soon after its founding, it became famous throughout the Great Lakes region.

Though not an贵族 school, it surpassed the 'Star Vein'贵族 school, becoming the top choice for many wealthy families. Because everyone knew that for a long time to come, it would be the era of magical职业ists.

Georgia was quite satisfied with this school; the only thing he disliked was its overly leftist ideology and its strong emphasis on武力, a too martial atmosphere.

After subduing his three children, Georgia, with his bodyguards, began arranging accommodations for his servants' families.

The basement he built was very spacious, with three floors, each 3,000 square meters, enough to accommodate the hundred-plus people. And the conditions here were far better than those crowded shelters.

Georgia was a devout follower of the Fate Church, faithfully adhering to the teachings of the Master of Fate. One of the more important tenets of the Fate Codex was unity, love, and mutual aid among believers. He also strongly agreed with the Master of Fate's view that humanity must join hands to face disasters, especially the magical calamities caused by gods. If humans turned a blind eye to their fellow beings in disaster, how could they ask the gods to help them? They must also learn to solve problems on their own, not blindly rely on deities.

But just as Georgia had settled everyone and checked the basement's magical defense array, he heard a cry from the direction of the hall.

Startled, Georgia hurried over and found that the crowd in the basement had gathered there at some point, and the large TV screen used for movies was on, displaying an extremely eerie image.

Georgia didn't look closely; he directly addressed his private security chief: "Rod, what's going on? I thought the cable TV fiber was cut."

That was a requirement from the government and the church, ordering all shelters and private bunkers not to watch any cable or wireless TV for the next two days.

"Yes, Mr. Anison, I personally removed the interface. In fact, they're not connected now."

The security chief named Rod said gravely: "This is the power of magic; someone projected the video image directly in—"

Boom!

Before Rod finished, the 90-inch TV was smashed to pieces by a teacup. The thrower was Georgia's eldest son, Dabus Anison.

But the next moment, an image was projected directly onto the side wall.

By then, Georgia's face was extremely grim; he instinctively suspected a problem with the magic tower defense array.

But his private security chief Rod's expression shifted slightly as he checked his police security phone—while handling the Anison family's security, he was also a volunteer police officer.

Then he relaxed slightly: "The government has issued a notice, saying this is the power of some evil god, a divine right called 'Projection'. His Holiness the Pope calls on us to stay calm, not panic, and best to pray to the Lord. The evil god cannot directly pollute our minds, and the magic tower array itself is fine. If uneasy, we can activate the Holy Pattern Array to draw on the Lord's power."

The 'Holy Pattern Array' was a system promoted in recent years by the Fate Church and the Magic Association, forcibly installed in all shelters. It could purify the mind and suppress evil thoughts by drawing on the Master of Fate's power.

Georgia also received the message; his mobile phone was a special model that could receive signals even in the basement. The 'Fate Church' had sent a mass text explaining the situation.

—As is well known, all electronic products connected via wired or wireless networks are currently safe.

Georgia had some servants organize people to pray to the Master of Fate and sing hymns, while he half-watched the projected image on the wall.

It showed an altar, with streams of fresh blood flowing down from the top, but no bodies were visible. Standing on the altar was a figure holding a microphone, dressed like a reporter but wearing a clown mask.

"—You people sheltered under the Master of Fate's wings are undoubtedly fortunate. You have a benevolent lord, whose divine nature is noble and who always keeps his promises. He made a covenant with humanity, providing protection for civilization and intelligent life."

Georgia looked puzzled, wondering if this was preaching for the Master of Fate.

But then he saw the clown reporter smirk: "But you are also miserable, unfortunate. His divinity, his power, his growth have attracted many enemies to him and his followers. And we are one of them. Do you know where this is, everyone?"

Then the image in the projection suddenly zoomed out. At least thirteen thousand corpses abruptly appeared before Georgia's eyes, lying scattered in a huge square, their deaths horrific.

This abrupt shift in imagery brought a huge visual冲击, shocking everyone. Some women in the hall who hadn't started praying screamed, while men, after the shock, murmured among themselves.

"My God, I recognize this place. That's Shelter No. 9 on Lexington Avenue. Are they all dead?"

"How could this happen? Lexington Avenue is a key defense area; there are over twenty temple warriors there alone."

"Hasn't the government responded?"

"It's hard to tell if this is real. The priests said these evil gods are good at deception."

At the same time, the clown's voice suddenly lowered.

"Surprised, right? Everyone before the screen? This is Shelter No. 9 on Lexington Avenue. Unfortunately, your lord couldn't protect them. And from now on, all of you will become sacrifices for the ancient gods. This is their revenge on the Master of Fate—"

These words entered Georgia's ears like whispers. He couldn't help wanting to hear clearly, but when he focused, he felt his mind becoming uncontrollable, all kinds of chaotic thoughts rising within.

"Pacifcae!"

That was Georgia's hired mage consultant, who not only activated the 'Holy Pattern Array' in time but also cast the Fate Church's divine spell 'Calm Mind'—this mage also served as a sixth-level Fate priest.

Given the Master of Fate's mastery of numerous forbidden spells and profound magical attainments, mages in this world generally worshipped both Diana and the Master of Fate, and many mages took on兼职 as Fate priests.

Georgia Anison's face turned pale: "I must thank you, my advisor, you saved me. This is too bizarre, too evil."

"This is not a serious trouble, my lord." The mage advisor chuckled: "This is the murmuring of an evil god, only high-level magic professionals can understand it; those below this level will be blocked by the defensive array. And with your will, as long as you are not particularly weak, you can easily shake it off; otherwise, the Church would have specifically reminded you. However, this evil god is indeed powerful."

Georgia glanced around and found that the vast majority of people were completely unaware of it. He felt slightly relieved. What he worried about most was his family and servants being contaminated by the evil god; they did not have his strong soul power.

"—Look, the government's law enforcement officers are belatedly arriving. Now let's change location for an interview."

The footage shook particularly, bringing several hastily arriving magic-powered armored vehicles into everyone's view. Then the scene switched again to another place.

And this time, the footage was directly a long-distance shot, revealing over twenty thousand corpses and the blood-red altar full of evil and eerie aura.

"Which shelter is this?"

"It's one on Ninth Avenue, I'm not sure which exactly. My god! These vile cultists are committing crimes against the entire society, against all humanity."

"Damn it! I actually felt pity for them because the city council reinstated the death penalty."

Georgia Anison, with a grim face, consulted the magic advisor: "Can these images be cut off? They should be collecting 'fear'."

Regarding the gods, the Church of Destiny had not been secretive with believers, and during the more than ten years since its rise, it had popularized all knowledge about 'deities' throughout society.

So Georgia Anison knew that whether it was 'reverence' and 'gratitude', or 'anger' and 'fear', these human emotions could empower the gods.

"No way. This should be a very powerful divine authority, likely reaching the legendary truth level. We can't stop it. But besides spreading information, tempting, or stirring people's emotions, it seems limited in effect."

The advisor mage shrugged: "The only way is not to look, and focus on praying to the Lord of Destiny."

While they were speaking, the images kept switching, passing through at least four shelters, all without exception scenes of mass death, plunging everyone's mood into a low ebb.

Although many among them had already closed their eyes in prayer, fear still spread among the people.

"Something's wrong!"

Georgia's eldest son, Dabus Anison, suddenly became excited: "Did you notice, Father? I just saw in the footage someone's phone showing 11:20, but it's already 2 PM now. And the clock in the Ninth Shelter earlier showed 10:20. This is deception; these massacres did not happen at the same time. Obviously, their power within the city is limited; they can't do as they please."

Georgia looked bewildered; he hadn't noticed the anomaly in the phone and clock times. But since Dabus said so, it was likely true. His eldest son was a believer in Estadin, the God of Truth and Justice, and possessed the divine art of 'True Sight'.

"The Church and the government have clarified that this did not happen at the same time. They are working hard to stop the cultists, calling on everyone to trust the government and the Church, and to be vigilant of suspicious individuals among us."

The private security captain, Rod, was scrolling through his phone: "They also pointed out many suspicious points in the footage; this is obvious fraud, these images have been tampered with."

Georgia Anison's expression remained grave. The images before him switched again.

This time it was outdoors, and the figure of the clown reporter was suspended in the air.

"I believe your priests, your lord, must be clarifying, saying it's fraud, lies, right? I won't argue, because what happens next, as long as you step out of the shelter, out of the basement, you will see."

The clown laughed heartily, his voice fluctuating high and low, extremely eerie.

"Let's make a prophecy. What disasters will this city face next?"

Georgia had already seen it: the sky was filled with black clouds converging from all directions, pressing down over the city with an aura of world-ending doom.

And within these black clouds, countless grotesque black flesh tentacles extended downward into the interior of Manhattan. They had enormous bodies, making the twenty-thousand-square-kilometer Manhattan city seem tiny and insignificant before them.

Georgia felt a buzzing roar in his mind, his entire consciousness seeming to explode into countless pieces. This was the mental impact from the images, because those tentacles contained excessively powerful laws, beyond Georgia's comprehension, assaulting his soul.

As before, the higher the magic profession level, the stronger the impact on the soul.

But this time Georgia was prepared and quickly recovered.

"This is—"

"It's an evil god! Likely what is called a divine abomination."

The mage advisor's face turned ashen: "They are powerful, very powerful. At least two with divine rank twenty!"

At that moment, everyone, including Georgia, felt their hearts stop, fear and panic rapidly growing in their hearts. Georgia's pupils suddenly contracted; his judgment was similar to the mage advisor's.

"No! Our lord will surely stop these evil gods!"

"My lord does not have so many powerful subordinate gods and archangels."

"No one has ever harmed the lord's people in Manhattan, never!"

Just then, the clown reporter lifted his mask. It revealed a face with no features, only a huge eye.

"Hoping in your lord? Unfortunately! He and His subordinate gods cannot appear here. Your master, following the covenant He made with you, is fighting foreign evil gods in the outer realms. He is very brave, very skilled in battle; His warriors and subordinate gods are also indestructible. But they cannot protect you. Come, embrace despair, and face your destiny. The end has come, poor lambs—"

The 'One-Eyed Reporter's' words abruptly stopped because another change occurred in the footage. The magic tower array in Manhattan had generated a huge magical protective barrier, the almost invisible magic shield appearing fragile under the claws of those tentacles.

But when the two came into contact, the magic shield did not shatter instantly as everyone expected. It stubbornly resisted the squeezing and impact of the tentacles, holding firm for a full three seconds without any sign of collapse. At the same time, the sixty-four magic towers above fired dozens of blazing white beams. These powerful particle beam cannons instantly burned away nearly half of the hundreds of tentacles.

These divine abominations were clearly not easily killed. They quickly regenerated and soon returned to their original state, but the city's outer magic shield stubbornly resisted their attacks, resolutely keeping all hostile entities outside the city.

Georgia Anison was stunned. The anxiety and despair that had just arisen instantly dissipated, and he felt puzzled: "Is our city's magic tower array really this powerful?"

For the first time, he felt that the heavy tax of up to sixty-two percent he paid to the government was worthwhile and cost-effective; the federal and city governments had not wasted his tax money.

"That's not all, Mr. Anison."

The magic advisor shook his head: "Our magic tower array is indeed powerful, but that's because we have sufficient energy. It's incredible; we have such abundant energy. To maintain a magic defense wall of this intensity, at least a thousand nuclear fusion power plants would be needed."

The private security captain, Rod, also put away his phone at that moment: "This is a gift from the gods! The Church's text message says that the gods of destiny have always fought for the welfare of all humans and believers, sparing no effort. They foresaw this disaster and made adequate preparations. It also says we can now connect the TV cable; Manhattan TV station will provide real-time broadcasts of the outside situation."

"So!"

Georgia's eldest son spread his hands: "They made such a big show, but still can't do anything to Manhattan and our gods, right?"

※※※※

"We can hold out for three minutes."

Inside the Divine Kingdom of Destiny, Athena was smiling: "They spread their power too thinly, too overconfident. But I think within three minutes at most, they will react and concentrate these divine abominations on one point."

No matter how powerful the magic tower arrays of cities like Manhattan and Los Angeles were, they could not withstand the combined attack of more than ten divine abominations of rank twenty.

"But they have no chance!"

Anthony had already left the artificial sun. He clapped his hands: "Inspection complete. I guarantee no major issues, only a one-in-a-million chance of causing fusion termination. A one-in-a-million chance, that's foolproof, right?"

Li Mochen's main body no longer hesitated: "I believe our luck won't be so bad as that. After all, I am a god of fate."

In fact, he could no longer wait.

"Senior Brother!" Li Mochen looked at Zhuanxu: "Please go to the North Pole. I think Anqi is still somewhat strained. That Lord Chaos is better handled by you, Senior Brother. That side is all power of Slaanesh; I think neither side can object."

Originally, he had kept Zhuanxu, this top-level combatant, here to prepare for the failure of the sun plan. But now, there was no need to retain power for contingencies.

And after Anqila's fantasy-manifested clone was replaced, it would be more than competent whether dealing with Gaia and her daughter or Zeus.

"Agreed."

Zhuanxu's gaze was stern: "I can guarantee that side will be foolproof."

As his words fell, he directly crossed the void and arrived above the Arctic ice cap.

Coincidentally, Anqila's manifested 'Li Mochen' was on the verge of being defeated. Zhuanxu looked coldly at 'Chaos' Khaos standing on the ice cap, then flicked his sleeve. A huge seal instantly flew into the air, transforming into a massive mountain pressing down on the ice cap.

If Li Mochen were present, he would recognize that the seal was extremely similar to the 'Kongtong Seal' he had once used, but it was more powerful, with more exquisite law patterns, communicating with heaven and earth.

At the same time, Khaos let out an angry roar. His body rapidly expanded, directly rising to seventeen thousand meters, firmly supporting the giant mountain.

The power of 'Suppression' and 'Chaos' clashed, the divine authority of 'Rift' and 'Ice' contended, 'Thunder' punished 'Nothingness', 'Death' suppressed 'Life'.

The two were almost evenly matched, but as a green sword appeared in Zhuanxu's hand, Khaos's body began to freeze. He diverted most of his power to counter the dangerous sword that Zhuanxu had not yet drawn, making him unable to resist the freezing force.

At the same time, the primordial gods and giants reviving beneath the Arctic ice cap gradually fell silent. The power of ice froze their will.

"Your Eastern Majesty!"

Apollo came to Zhuanxu's side, admiration in his eyes: "Your power is truly unparalleled."

"Your king lent me part of the power of the Source. Outside this world, I am at best equal to this Chaos."

Zhuanxu smiled and glanced at him: "Go to the outer realms, Lord Apollo. That battlefield needs your power."

From the moment he descended here, the numerous particle beam cannons of the three fortresses had ceased firing. Apollo, as the Lord of Dawn who governs light, had no use here; instead, the void outside and the battlefield against the Blood Feast Swarm were more suitable for Apollo to exert his power.

Apollo did not hesitate. After bowing, he straightforwardly crossed the void and departed.

Shortly after he left, a seductive figure appeared before Zhuanxu, her gaze extremely cold.

"Little turtle of the Eastern world, are you going to stop me again?"

"I have lost to you twice, but that does not mean I will lose the courage to oppose you, Lord Slaanesh."

Zhuanxu earnestly corrected: "Also, Xuanwu is not a turtle, and that is my past."

"Xuanwu is not a turtle? What's the difference?"

Slaanesh crossed her arms, then frowned slightly: "You wouldn't have said this before. Are you stalling for time?"

"Guessed right!"

Zhuanxu replied expressionlessly: "But I guess you can no longer turn things around. And judging solely from this outcome, Lord Slaanesh, you have undoubtedly failed, failed against my junior brother."

"Oh?"

The Lord of Slaanesh showed little surprise: "I know you are a cautious person; this should not be a lie. So, what means did my new toy prepare?"

He did not wait for Zhuanxu's answer, nor did he need to obtain it from him. Because at that moment, two suns suddenly appeared in this world. And one of them vanished again the moment it appeared.

At the same time, almost the entire dark world was bathed in 'light'. Instantly, almost all dark creatures let out wails. Their skin and fur were rapidly burned, even directly ignited, under the sunlight.

The vast dark sea of sin was also exposed to sunlight for the first time.