“No, we’ve never seen him before.”
Chicas and the others shook their heads repeatedly. “We’re well aware of all the experts on the whole continent who are half-deities or stronger. However, that young man is the only one whom we’ve never heard of or seen before. Had he not been acquainted with Amos, I’d even have thought that he had popped out of thin air!”
“Not only have you not seen him before, but he’s also acquainted with Amos...”
Pope Hayes said leisurely, “If my guess is right, that expert that appeared out of the blue likely also comes from Heaven’s Vault Continent like Amos himself.”
“Heaven’s Vault Continent?”
The four Red-Cloaked Archbishops were taken aback for a moment.
“You may not know this, but there are a total of three continents in the material plane that we’re on. They are the Light Continent that we’re in, Heaven’s Vault Continent in the east, and the Gods-Demons Continent in the southeast.”
Pope Hayes said softly, “The three continents form a triangle in the Endless Oceans. Dozens of millions of kilometers separate one continent from another, and they rarely interact with one another.”
His words stunned the four Red-Cloaked Archbishops, and they stared at Pope Hayes in disbelief.
“There are actually three continents on this existential plane? That’s simply too shocking a piece of news!”
“Heaven’s Vault Continent! Gods-Demons Continent!”
“How unbelievable!”
“How incredible!”
“This information is top secret in the Light Church. Only the Popes, the Holy Sons, and the Holy Maidens of each generation qualify to be privy to it.”
“In that case, isn’t it quite inappropriate for you to also let us know of it, Your Holiness?”
The four Red-Cloaked Archbishops’ expressions changed slightly.
“No, there’s no longer a need to hide it.”
A shrewd glint flashed across Pope Hayes’ eyes as he said, “It is the duty and mission of the Light Church to let our Lord’s glory shine upon the whole existential plane. Now that we have unified the Light Continent, it’s time for us to expand our reach further and let the other two continents bask in our Lord’s glory, too!”
“How our Lord shows compassion to the people!”
“How merciful of our Lord!”
“How brilliant, Your Holiness!”
The four Red-Cloaked Archbishops’ eyes shone brightly as they requested, “Your Holiness, do tell us a little about those two continents. After all, it’s only when one knows their enemy and themselves inside out that they may emerge victorious in all their battles!”
Pope Hayes nodded lightly and said, “Heaven’s Vault Continent is located to the east of Light Continent and is ruled over by the Dragons, the Fairies, the Beast People, and the Titans. These four races have each founded an enormous empire, and they respectively worship four different true gods—the Dragon God, the Fairy Goddess, the Beast God, and the Titan Spiritual God.
“Among them, the Dragon God, the Beast God, and the Titan Spiritual God are intermediate deities, while the Fairy Goddess whom the Fairies worship is a higher deity.”
The four Red-Cloaked Archbishops’ expressions changed greatly upon hearing what he said. They hastily asked, “Your Holiness, surely the four true gods have departed this existential plane by now?”
“Yes, they have,” replied Pope Hayes with a small nod.
“Phew! Good to hear that they’ve departed!”
The Red-Cloaked Archbishops heaved sighs of relief. The four great true gods simply gave them too much pressure. Should any of them still be around, sh*t would no doubt hit the fan!
“Heaven’s Vault Continent is the weakest among the three continents, so conquering it shouldn’t pose much of a problem. We should be able to conquer it just by deploying a troop of angels there.”
Then, Pope Hayes sighed and said, “The one that’s difficult to conquer is the Gods-Demons Continent in the southeast.”
Alarmed, the Red-Cloaked Archbishops asked gravely, “Your Holiness, could it be that there are also intermediate deities in Gods-Demons Continent?”
The Light Church wielded extremely fearsome power and could slay even regular true gods. Thus, the Pope would only find intermediate deities and existences beyond that level troublesome to deal with.
“There are indeed intermediate deities in Gods-Demons Continent.”
Pope Hayes nodded slowly. Then, he went on and said, “Gods-Demons Continent is completely unlike Light Continent and Heaven’s Vault Continent. There are no humans, Dragons, Titans, and so on there. Rather, it’s completely occupied by Magical Beasts!”
“Magical Beasts?”
The Red-Cloaked Archbishops were a little dumbfounded.
“Yes, Magical Beasts. They are the only creatures on Gods-Demons Continent. That place is entirely the Magical Beasts’ paradise.”
A sighing Pope Hayes said, “All the Magical Beasts there worship only one true god—the Magical Beast God. On top of that, not only is the Magical Beast God an intermediate deity, but it’s currently present in Gods-Demons Continent itself!”
“That doesn’t make sense, Your Holiness. Since the Magical Beast God hasn’t departed the existential plane yet, then that means it hasn’t been 10,000 years since its deification.”
A puzzled Archbishop Chicas went on. “As everyone knows, one’s cultivation speed would become extremely slow after becoming a half-deity, and a true god’s cultivation speed is even more shockingly slow.”
“How can the Magical Beast God possibly be an intermediate deity when it hasn’t been 10,000 years since its deification?”
“That makes sense. A true god that hasn’t yet passed the 10,000th-year mark since its deification can’t possibly be an intermediate deity, and as long as it’s not an intermediate deity, we have no need to fear it!”
“Once we slay the Magical Beast God, won’t Gods-Demons Continent be as good as secured?”
The other three Red-Cloaked Archbishops also voiced their thoughts one after another. Their countenances were filled with puzzlement.
“No, you’re mistaken.”
Pope Hayes shook his head lightly as he said, “Although it hasn’t been 10,000 years since the Magical Beast God’s deification, it is indeed a powerful intermediate deity. It’s undoubtedly an invincible presence on this material plane!”
“So it really is an intermediate deity!”
“How can this be!?”
The four Red-Cloaked Archbishops couldn’t help but gasp in complete astoundment.
Intermediate deities might be nothing in the vast Void, but they were absolutely invincible existences in low-end material planes.
Why?
Because low-end existential planes were off-limits to higher deities, Great Perfection-level deities, as well as Chief Gods. Even if they were to cast their divinity projections into the planes, the divinity projections would only be able to display a pinnacle-level half-deity’s combat prowess at best.
Pinnacle-level half-deities?
An intermediate deity could blow them into smithereens with just a puff of air.
“Is that really true, Your Holiness?”
Archbishop Chicas was filled with disbelief.
“Of course!”
Pope Hayes nodded lightly. Then, he added, “The Magical Beast God was already a lesser deity 4,300 years ago, while it broke through to the intermediate deity stage 1,200 years ago.”
“It used only 3,000 years to go from a lesser deity to an intermediate deity? How exactly did it achieve that?”
The four Red-Cloaked Archbishops were shocked.
,000 years?
What could one even achieve in that amount of time? Nothing but just a nap!
Yet the Magical Beast God had gone from a lesser deity to become an intermediate deity within a short span of 3,000 years. Its cultivation speed had practically put everyone to shame!
“An intermediate deity... How are we supposed to contend against something like that?”
“There’s no way we can contend against an intermediate deity even if we assemble all of the Light Church’s forces! How are we supposed to fight back if the other party counterattacks us instead?”
Pope Hayes explained, “The Graveyard of Gods And Demons is in Gods-Demons Continent itself. The Magical Beast God’s astonishingly fast cultivation speed is likely because it had gotten hold of something from the graveyard—for example, a divine core!”
“The Graveyard of Gods And Demons?”
The Red-Cloaked Archbishops were taken aback. They asked, “Your Holiness, what’s the Graveyard of Gods And Demons?”
“The Graveyard of Gods And Demons is the final resting place of many gods and demons. It’s said that a meteor had crashed into Gods-Demons Continent over 30,000 years ago, and gods and demons of the Void descended upon the world shortly after the meteor crash.”
Pope Hayes said softly, “A war between the gods and demons then broke out after that. The war was extremely fierce and bitter, and innumerable gods and demons perished in that shocking battle.
“After the war ended, the surviving gods and demons left Gods-Demons Continent while the fallen ones remained in eternal rest in Gods-Demons Continent. Thus, Gods-Demons Continent is also referred to as the Graveyard of Gods And Demons, meaning the place where gods and demons are laid to rest.”
“A war between gods and demons?!”
“Fallen gods and demons!”
“The Graveyard of Gods And Demons!”
The four Red-Cloaked Archbishops’ eyes shone brightly as they listened to Pope Hayes’ explanation. That was a place where gods and demons were buried! Wouldn’t there be treasures in every corner of the place? As well as divine cores?
If they could find a divine core and assimilate it, they might be able to become true gods, too!
“Every generation of the Light Church’s Holy Sons and Holy Maidens is required to head to Gods-Demons Continent for training. Only those that return alive can qualify to inherit the position of Pope,” said Pope Hayes leisurely.
The Red-Cloaked Archbishops looked at Pope Hayes and asked, “In that case, does that mean that you’ve also been to Gods-Demons Continent, Your Holiness?”
“That’s right.”
Pope Hayes nodded slightly and said, “I have indeed been to Gods-Demons Continent in my youth. Additionally, I even stayed there for over 30 years.”
“Really!?”
The four Red-Cloaked Archbishops were greatly astonished. The Holy Sons and Holy Maidens’ cultivation process had always been the church’s biggest secret. Even Red-Cloaked Archbishops like them whose positions were second only to the Pope weren’t privy to it.
Never would they have ever thought that the Pope had actually stayed in Gods-Demons Continent for over 30 years.
A whole 30 years!
Did the Pope ever find a divine core there?
Archbishop Chicas asked carefully, “Your Holiness, it’s been a very long time since we’ve seen the Holy Maiden. Might she have gone to Gods-Demons Continent?”
“Yes, that’s right. She has indeed headed to Gods-Demons Continent.” Pope Hayes didn’t deny it.
Suddenly, an aloof voice rang out.
“Sir, I’m back!”
Chapter 287: The Church Attacks, Her Eminence The Holy Maiden
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Meng Lei wasn’t aware of the ongoings in the Light Church at all. He was chatting happily with Ol’ Amos. They were currently immersed in a joyous reunion after a long separation.
“Ol’ President, I noticed that you had used Power of Divine Nation when you were battling the four Red-Cloaked Archbishops earlier. Have you become a true god?” asked a curious Meng Lei.
Ol’ Amos couldn’t help but laugh wryly upon hearing his question. He replied, “No, I haven’t become a true god yet. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been in such a pathetic predicament.”
His reply puzzled Meng Lei even further. He asked, “How did you manage to use Power of Divine Nation if you haven’t established a divine nation yet?”
“It’s a long story!”
Ol’ Amos shook his head and said, “I strayed into a strange and fascinating place by chance when I was traveling around a month ago. Only one type of laws of nature existed there, and it was fairly small in surface area, yet it was also unlike a half-plane. Later on, I realized that it was actually a divine nation’s ruins!”
“A divine nation’s ruins?”
Meng Lei was taken aback.
“That’s right, a divine nation’s ruins!”
Ol’ Amos nodded slightly and said, “As the divine nation’s master has already met their demise, it has been crumbling and falling apart since a long time ago. If nothing beyond my expectations happens, it’ll dissolve and disappear completely in 100 years.
“I lucked out and found a masterless true god-level divine core in the divine nation. You must have already guessed what happened after that.”
Ol’ Amos shook his head and said, “I’ve assimilated the divine core, but unfortunately, it’s not fully assimilated yet because of time constraints. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been outclassed by those four Red-Cloaked Archbishops from the church.”
“Ol’ President, that luck of yours is really...”
Meng Lei didn’t know how he should describe it anymore.
“I was just too short on time!” A grumpy Ol’ Amos said, “Had I fully assimilated the divine core and completely become a true god, things would have turned out differently today.”
“You’re mistaken, Ol’ President. Even if you had fully assimilated the divine core, you still wouldn’t have been the Light Church’s archbishops’ match.”
An amused Meng Lei said, “I can detect the presence of nine true gods, as well as a lesser deity, in the Light Church, not to mention innumerable half-deities.”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
Gasp!
Ol’ Amos couldn’t help but gasp. “I knew the Light Church was very powerful, but I didn’t think that they would actually be that powerful. Their strength is practically beyond one’s imagination! How did you know that, by the way?”
“Amos, you wicked heretic! Get out here and meet your end!”
Suddenly, a cold and emotionless voice rang out like an explosion in the sky, resounding in the entire Kroc Academy like a deep thunderclap and causing great commotion.
Ol’ Amos’ expression changed, and he said, “The inevitable has ultimately still come. Meng Lei, you’d better go. There’s no need for you to involve yourself in this mess.”
“Don’t worry. The Light Church hasn’t become so powerful that they can send me running for my life yet.” A smiling Meng Lei said, “Let’s go and pay them a visit!”
“Sigh! I really don’t know what to do with you!”
Ol’ Amos sighed and left the office with Meng Lei. He was then stunned by the Light Church’s luxurious line-up right away—innumerable knights clad in light-elemental armor stood afloat in the sky. They wore light-elemental metal helmets, grasped light-elemental sacred swords, and were as holy and pure as angels.
A student exclaimed, “It’s the Knights of Light!”
“No, they aren’t the Knights of Light but the Light Church’s most elite Holy Maiden Knights!”
A teacher corrected them and said, “Take a good look—the badges pinned on the knights’ chests are in the shape of angels. That’s the symbol unique to the Holy Maiden Knights.”
“The Holy Maiden Knights? That’s the elite order of knights dedicated to protecting the Holy Maiden of Light, aren’t they? Even the weakest among them is at least a Saint Domain. Could the Holy Maiden of Light have actually come in person?”
“O
h my god! Even the Holy Maiden of Light herself has come...”
“Meng Lei, things have become rather troublesome!”
Ol’ Amos’ gaze was fixed on the Holy Maiden Knights. He had a grave look on his face, and even his voice had become rather deep and low.
“Perhaps, I guess.”
Meng Lei gave him a noncommittal smile and said, “The other party’s line-up is certainly impressive—there are 24 half-deities and even a true god among them. On top of that, it’s even a pinnacle-level true god.”
Ol’ Amos gasped. “A p-pinnacle-level true god? How are we supposed to even fight them?”
“Amos, you’ve colluded with a demon from another continent to bring calamity to the Light Continent and are deeply mired in sin!”
Archbishop Chicas stepped forward from among the crowd and said, “Get on your knees and repent! What are you waiting for?”
“What’s he talking about?”
“What does he mean by a demon from another continent?”
“Could he be talking about that expert standing beside Mr. President? Is that expert from another continent?”
All the students and teachers of Kroc Academy shifted their curious and puzzled gazes to Meng Lei.
“Stop spouting such nonsense to fool the world, Chicas! The Light Church is always playing the same old tricks. Can’t you think of something new?”
Ol’ Amos said coldly, “Let’s battle if that’s what you want! I’m ready for you anytime, so cut the crap!”
“To think you’re actually that insistent on being unrepentant!” Archbishop Chicas ordered coldly, “Men, capture him and bring him back to the Holy Mountain so that he can be put on trial!”
“Yes, sir!”
Ten half-deities immediately shot forth at his command and lunged toward Ol’ Amos.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Chicas’ eyes, which were filled with fearful reservations and a look of warning, bore deeply into Meng Lei.
“Good job on making it here!”
Ol’ Amos let out a deep war cry. He was just about to go forward and meet their attacks when Meng Lei stopped him. He said, “Let me do it instead, Ol’ President. I can also take this opportunity to show you the results of my cultivation during the last three years.”
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