Greed
*Buzz!* The statue of the god began to rumble, divine force rippling like waves in water. It was as if it was about to come alive.
However, with the external activation not coming forth, the pendant restlessly shook a few times and then unwillingly stilled, losing its sheen.
”The divine summoning failed, huh. Apart from the divine force here, there is also the presence of the divine kingdom’s coordinates and even the conscient of a god...” Leylin muttered.
At this moment, he felt an extremely bitter conscient radiating great power from the pendant, as if its rage was about to overflow.
‘I’d need to worry if this was the true body, even if it’s an avatar... But what’s a trifling conscient like this?’ Leylin harrumphed, and a Targaryen phantom appeared in his eyes.
”Hss!” The conscient of a near rank 7 descended, annihilating all signs of the conscient lingering in the pendant. Just before that conscient dissipated, the raging divine force calmed down like a wave in a tranquil sea.
”Not bad at all! The divine force contained in here could perhaps give me an unexpected surprise...” An expression of glee spread across Leylin’s face.
The divine force of gods, to put it bluntly, was just a high-ranked power in a different form. It was considered venomous to others, and clerics could only receive the divine force of the gods they worshipped. However, it was all a supplement for Leylin.
‘What a pity... If not for those powerful gods, I would have long since broken into many churches and robbed them of their divine force...’ Leylin began his deductions.
Divine force, divinity, godfire, worshippers, divine spark; these were what the gods needed the most in increasing order.
With his current strength he could barely absorb some divinity, but it would destroy the foundations of his own cultivation. Needless to say, godfire or divine sparks were even more destructive for his body.
As for divine force? That was still well within Leylin’s absorption capabilities. Moreover, Leylin had deliberately digested the divine force of certain gods. Until now, he had only managed to have chance encounters with Malar and Cyric.
These two crazy and sinisterly evil gods had overlapping domains, which laid out a foundation for Leylin’s future plans.
‘Looking at the divine force stored in this pendant... It should be enough to increase my spirit a little, or even balance the other aspects of my stats...’ Leylin rubbed his chin. After eradicating the original conscient in the pendant, the divine force was now ownerless. Leylin could now absorb it slowly, with the greatest efficiency.
Through digesting this divine force Leylin would be able to analyse the process, helping him understand Cyric’s divinity. If he met other gods of different domains, he would be able to create a whole new divinity all for himself!
‘After tossing away this thing, even if this bishop managed to survive, he wouldn’t have a happy ending... No! He would be even worse off after his death!’ Leylin looked at the corpse on the floor and sighed.
Gods held control over the souls of their worshippers, and this was a high-ranking priest on top. Leylin hadn’t completely destroyed his soul just now. Once it was inspected by the God of Death, this priest’s soul would definitely be sent to Cyric’s divine kingdom.
As for what punishments the cleric would receive, no more words had to be said.
“What a pitiful fellow... “ Leylin was, of course, not sympathetic in the slightest bit. He quickly tossed this matter to the back of his mind.
“It seems like they were small crews roped in from Pirates’ Cove. Apart from the elites of the churches, there aren’t many forces would could execute something like this!” Isabel trod on the face of a pirate captain, using their robes to wipe clean the Red Dragon Sword as she grumbled.
With the activation of the bloodline, she’d also inherited a warrior-like thirst for war.
“Yes. Had they been given time to train we would’ve had a much bigger problem...” Leylin nodded his head in approval, very soon ordering Ronald to clean up the mess.
As dusk approached, the sky above the sea was dyed a crimson red. The entire region was littered with the remnants of broken ships and boats. Splintered masts and flags covered half the place, and not too far from that scene were many floating corpses, blood continuing to ooze and trickle from their bloated bodies.
The enormous pirate crew slowly left, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. From this day onwards, everyone would know that two epic battles were fought in this forsaken region, devastating and annihilating two giants of the seas in one stroke.
“This atmosphere and scenery... I really want to lift my voice in song...!”
*Crash! Rumble!* A figure wearing lavish noble robes descended from the sky. He exuded an aura of charisma and elegance, yet a pair of black wings spread from his back. Apart from the difference in colour, this figure looked just like an angel, with many beautiful features. However, his image was shattered the moment anyone looked into his eyes.
“That Baron Leylin... He rules the outer seas from today, eh? I really am looking forward to it...” This person was obviously Neville, but his pupils had now turned a silvery hue, with no traces of affection in them. With just one glance into his eyes, one would feel their soul turning frigid.
Neville’s black wings shook slightly as they supported his weight. At this moment, this demon looked at the Scarlet Tiger ship sailing away, as he pondered deep in his thoughts. ‘Strong, determined, decisive, brave...Once a soul with these qualities falls, the strength that would manifest would definitely be able to give birth to a greater devil...’
“As expected, it’s a devil huh?” An indifferent voice sounded behind him, which turned made Neville freeze in his motions.
He turned his head around slowly, looking at the young noble wizard that should have left. Yet he was now floating in the air alongside him with his arms crossed, a hint of mockery flickering in his eyes.
“Hello mighty wizard, ruler of the outer seas! I am Neville, of the third hell. I hereby extend my greetings to you, with utmost respect!” After giving Leylin a once-over, Neville greeted Leylin decorously, with his right hand on his chest.
“I believe that in the future there will be a day where you’ll require my services!”
“One cannot trust a deal with devils. Not to mention that you tried to lure me into a ploy... Anyone who tries to challenge me will never live past the day...” Leylin uttered his words icily, and a silver spell formation wrapped Neville up.
“Wait... I can still give you... Many things that you would not think of! Material possessions of the prime material world, authority that cannot be challenged, and also many beauties...” The silver spell formation seemed to be able to suppress devils. As his black feathers came into contact with the light barrier, they burnt up to release a charred smell.
“The promise of a devil? Hahaha...” Leylin smiled faintly, his golden pupils turning a deep hue that was darker than the abyss. The phantom of a Targaryen appeared behind him.
A terrifying devouring energy burst forth from the spell formation, completely engulfing Neville within.
“This devouring power... as well as laws... You are...!” Neville’s eyes flashed with understanding, but before he could utter the truth his body vanished into the spell formation.
“The ruler of the third level of hell, the Duke of Greed... Mammon, huh?” Leylin uttered his breath and closed his eyes, relishing in the energy that he was absorbing.
[Beep! Host absorbed a large amount of energy. Agility +1, Vitality +1.] The A.I. Chip voice intoned.
Very soon, another notification appeared, and it caused Leylin to become gleeful.
[Host has devoured a devil from the third hell. Laws of devouring have been activated, obtained information on laws of greed]
“Isn’t this the devouring technique of my main body?” Leylin muttered. His main body controlled the laws of gluttony, and through constantly devouring these laws he would gain a higher enlightenment of them. The devil from the third hell had enlightened him a little in that aspect.
“My main body’s injuries have begun to heal faster than normal then... Its support has increased...” Leylin was elated. His stats had now changed:
[Leylin Faulen, Age: 22. Race: Human, Rank 16 Arcanist. Strength: 13. Agility: 12. Vitality: 13. Spirit: 16. Arcane Energy: 160. Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Elementary Perfect Body. Specialties: Arcane Energy Detection, Arcane Amplification.]
“I have also absorbed some information on the laws of greed? It seems like Beelzebub was indeed one of the dukes of hell. Even after making changes to it, it is still highly adaptable to the laws from the abyss!”
Leylin gazed towards the horizon. “The outer seas are now my base, impenetrable to outside forces. Be it from hell or any divine kingdom, no threat...”
A high-level flight spell lit up, and very soon Leylin’s figure was just a black dot in the distance, slowly disappearing into the horizon.
More repercussions were brewing and intensifying in the aftermath of this event...
......
In another part of the continent, in the midst of a gloomy valley.
An aura of death permeated the air, and there was a black church at the valley’s center. Magical light filled the area, and even legendaries would perish within it.
Just as the bishop was about to perish, a white-browed priest raised his head in the church.
“Men!”
“Your holiness!” Several dark robed priests answered immediately with reverence in their eyes. Standing in front of them was a core member of the Church of Cyric, a legendary priest!