Chapter 619: Overbearing

"Your Majesty, he is showing his resolve to Ares!"

The divine incarnation of the God of Desire, Lord, also manifested beside Odin: "I think the God of War of Olympus must be hesitating now. The Lord of Fate is very clever and has enough strength to back him up. I think now, Your Majesty, if you still insist on a decisive battle with him, you can only find a way to make Ares believe that you will not attack him, nor will you stand by and watch him be severely wounded or fall."

At this moment, a shadow of gloom also rose in Odin's eyes: "That's impossible!"

"Yes, it's impossible. Ares won't believe it no matter what. Of course, you can go to the Pantheon to establish a contract guaranteed by the Source, but I guess even Your Majesty cannot guarantee absolute safety now, right?"

The God of Desire, Lord, sighed: "This is where his wisdom lies. This strategy is ineffective against you, Your Majesty, who values honor as much as your own life. But Ares cannot help but panic. If this war is to be paid for with his severe injury or even fall, then he will no longer be interested in continuing, even if he has already suffered heavy losses."

"I can make a contract with him—"

As Odin spoke, he saw another goddess descending before him in the form of a divine incarnation.

"Skuld? Have you foreseen something again?"

Before him was Skuld, one of the Norns, the three goddesses of fate. She was also a powerful Valkyrie, mastering 'the inevitability in war and battle.'

At this moment, her brow was tightly furrowed into a '川' shape: "Your Majesty, we want to tell you that the power of fate he wields has strengthened again! Much stronger than half a year ago."

"The power of fate has strengthened?"

Odin was stunned for a moment, then asked coldly and solemnly: "To what extent? Pseudo-Truth?"

"Not to that extent, but his power to manipulate fate is indeed increasing. Our attempt to suppress him using the Well of Urd has failed, and I believe the same is true for Olympus."

Skuld said thoughtfully: "We judge that within these six months, he has greatly consolidated his divine authority over fate, not merely relying on Divine Wish Stones and divine格的增幅. Moreover, we judge that his own strength has likely increased several times over. As you know, control over fate is closely related to the user's power."

"Several times?"

Odin looked again at the massive magic tower array in the distance, but before he could ask, Skuld shook her head slightly: "It's not because of this magic tower array. We have already excluded the possible amplification from the magic array, Your Majesty!"

The God of Desire, Lord, and the God of War, Tyr, present, immediately narrowed their eyes.

"Skuld, do you mean his power may be infinitely close to that of a Vice-Pantheon King?"

"It's possible!" Skuld did not use a definitive tone, but deep in her eyes, there was worry.

Odin waved his hand and manifested an image before his eyes. It was the underworld of America, inside the temple of the Twilight Dragon City. He saw the fourth divine incarnation of the Night Goddess Nyx, cast into the underworld, being pierced again by the 'Longinus Holy Spear'! And Andrei Lee Wiltonstein, sitting on the throne, seemed to sense his arrival, glanced sideways in the direction Odin was peeping, then turned his gaze back to Nyx, whose divine body was dissipating, and the two people standing before his throne.

"—So there's no need to test me anymore, Nyx. As long as I am here, there is no room for you and your daughter in this underworld."

Nyx looked at the 'Longinus Holy Spear' stuck in her chest, which was now accumulating power, and sighed: "How heartless, Prince Wiltonstein. I have helped you before, haven't I?"

"I don't think so. The so-called help you gave me was only during the war when the Magic Goddess Diana built the Magic Net, but I guess Diana has already paid the price."

Li Mochen replied very calmly: "Friends come with fine wine, wolves come with shotguns. Since you came with ill intent, Your Highness, I have no choice but to respond in the coldest way. No matter how many incarnations you descend, I will kill you!"

At this moment, Nyx's body began to disappear, and the 'divinity' she relied on was also dissipating. Li Mochen's gaze then turned to the other two people there.

"I think you should make your choice now, Your Highnesses Nergal and Ereshkigal?"

Ereshkigal, the mistress of the Babylonian underworld, was the first god to covet 'Twilight Dragon City' but was defeated by Li Mochen; Nergal, the first necromancer, was Ereshkigal's husband and co-ruler.

"I can let Angela cede the future states of Montana, Abraham, and York to you as your territories in the underworld. In return, you will serve as vassals and courtiers for Angela, the mistress of the American underworld."

Ereshkigal's eyes showed struggle, but her husband Nergal had already made up his mind: "Agreed, but I want to add North Dakota. The people of this world lack faith; we need a population base of at least sixty million to reach the main god level through the death deity. Our strength is also beneficial to Your Majesties, right? As vassals and courtiers, we have the duty to help you fight. So Her Majesty Angela must also replenish our consumption in battle."

Li Mochen did not refuse. He waved his hand and sent a scroll to the two of them. Nergal's eyebrows lifted slightly: "Source?"

"Source!"

Li Mochen nodded slightly: "You didn't think I would sign a non-binding contract while fighting the Goddess of Freedom, did you?"

Thus, even if these two gods violated the contract relying on the Goddess of Freedom, they would still pay a price.

Generally speaking, the Freedom Divine Authority is more effective against harsher and more restrictive servitude contracts; its effect is relatively weaker on relationships like 'vassal' and 'liege lord.'

The couple Nergal could choose to betray, but they would be rejected by the 'Source' of this world—even if only a little, but for gods aspiring to higher divine positions, this is unacceptable.

"Understandable!"

Nergal unhesitatingly signed his divine name on the scroll, but Ereshkigal was still hesitating.

"But—"

"I think we have no room to refuse. This may be our last chance, Eresh."

Nergal shook his head slightly: "I can be sure that Odin and Ares have no chance of defeating the Lord of Fate. Nor will Mot, allied with the Goddess of Freedom, have a chance to take over this Twilight Dragon City. Please trust my judgment, okay, Eresh?"

Ereshkigal finally hesitated no more. She sighed and wrote her divine name on the scroll.

At the same time, Nyx's divine incarnation manifested for the fifth time in Twilight Dragon City, and then the 'Longinus Holy Spear,' combining five forbidden curse powers, pierced her chest for the fifth time under the guidance of fate, in a completely unreasonable manner.

Li Mochen kept his promise: no matter how many times Nyx descended here, he would unhesitatingly kill her with the 'Longinus Holy Spear.'

"You—"

Nyx's attention, however, was on the couple Nergal and Ereshkigal. As soon as she descended, she knew what had happened here.

Knowing it was irreversible, she sighed softly: "I hope Lilith and Cain can safely withdraw from the underworld."

At this moment, Nergal and Ereshkigal no longer paid attention to her or the negotiations with Li Mochen. After signing the Source oath, they directly joined the battle against Mot.

This couple had been mortal enemies with the Canaanite 'Death God' Mot for a thousand years, knowing each other very well. So although their divine ranks were inferior to Mot's, and they were holding back, within less than ten seconds of their joining, they helped Angela stabilize the situation.

"What do you think, Nyx?"

Li Mochen sneered, his eyes full of sarcasm as he looked at the group of vampires charging toward Twilight Dragon City in the distance. They had not yet noticed the anomaly, including their two ancestors, all filled with passion and boiling battle spirit.

Angela used her authority in the underworld to lengthen the distance between Twilight Dragon City and these bats. She also summoned a hundred bone dragons and over twelve hundred 'death servants' condensed from death energy and soul power, commanded by Lina to intercept. The Twin Gods of Sleep were also trying to put these bats to sleep. But this could not stop the vampires' advance; their vanguard was less than twenty seconds away from this city that once belonged to the Dragon Lich.

Li Mochen's eyes showed anticipation. He thought they would meet soon. But before dealing with these traitors, he should first expel the unwelcome guests here.

Li Mochen reached out and retrieved the 'Longinus Holy Spear' into his hand, its tip pointing directly at the Night Goddess's true body outside the material world.

"How likely do you think I am to grant your request? Or do you and your daughter have some scheme to buy time? I don't care, really—"

Nyx gave a bitter smile. She knew the Lord of Fate would not agree to her request.

This concerned Li Mochen's authority and dignity. Wasn't today's plan precisely to use the lives and blood of these betrayers to intimidate those in similar situations under his command?

"Then let's take a step back. Eris hopes to reach a period of peace with you. I believe you also do not wish to wage a divine war with her."

"No!"

Li Mochen refused again, decisively and cleanly. He looked at Nyx with extreme contempt: "You can tell her that I am now very much looking forward to war with her. So whatever means she has, just bring them on, OK? She can descend into the material world herself, continue pushing the antitrust bill, obstruct the defense procurement case, or find ways to cut off the material sources of the Rising Sun-Light Demon Alliance. I look forward to her doing that. Come fight, Eris! With your authority of 'Freedom' and 'Strife.'"

At this moment, Li Mochen was speaking directly to the Goddess of Freedom Eris, who was spying on him from her divine kingdom. Because the last trace of divine power remaining in Nyx's divine incarnation had dissipated.

Meanwhile, beside Eris in the Free Divine Kingdom, the Night Goddess Nyx sighed: "This is the last divine incarnation, Eris. Continuing will damage my true body. Unless I descend in person now—"

The reward her daughter paid had not reached the point where she would disregard everything and let her own 'divinity' suffer irreparable damage.

"No need to continue."

Eris's expression remained calm: "Compared to half a year ago, he has become stronger."

"Indeed, he has mastered a stronger power of fate, making my divine incarnations unable to contend with him."

Nyx nodded slightly: "But even stronger is the armed force he commands in the mortal world. You have provoked a powerful enemy, Eris. He will magnify your weaknesses infinitely—"

The two divine offices of Freedom and Strife were undoubtedly very powerful, powerful enough to allow Eris to reach the rank of Pantheon King in just a few hundred years, almost pushing open the door to Truth. But at the same time, these two divine offices were not good at direct combat.

Eris could become a 'Pantheon King' in terms of divine rank, but if she intended to establish a pantheon and wield the true authority of a 'Pantheon King,' it would be very difficult.

"No doubt! Once he repels Odin and Ares, he will certainly start a war with you. He will make all the native gods of this world choose sides again. And Eris, you cannot stop him."

Eris said nothing more. She only stared at Li Mochen in the projection on the lake, her eyes thoughtful.

...

When Cain and Lilith broke through all the interceptions and arrived at Twilight Dragon City, they found that their offspring, who served as vanguards, were all kneeling on the ground, deeply prostrating.

Neither blamed them, because the pressure emanating from inside Twilight Dragon City made them feel terrified and trembling, let alone their offspring.

At this moment, confusion appeared in the eyes of Cain and Lilith. They knew Li Mochen had two bodies, but according to their prior information, neither his main body nor his secondary body could be stationed in this city at this time.

However, after a moment's hesitation, the two stepped into Twilight Dragon City and quickly arrived at the Hall of the Underworld King in the city center.

The goddess who wielded 'Freedom' had given them ample confidence, and they knew that the mistress of this place was also the goddess of dreams and powerful illusions.

In fact, a powerful illusion did envelop this place, even strong enough to blind their five senses, preventing them from seeing the truth before them. The other party was covering up something, hiding some situation, not wanting them to know.

But Cain and Lilith had enough confidence that this would not affect their combat. The guidance of intuition and direct perception could still allow them to exert over ninety percent of their strength in battle.

Then they saw Li Mochen in the Hall of the Underworld King. In this empty hall, the one who had once enslaved them was now sitting high on the deepest platform, on the left of the two thrones.

To their surprise, several of their closer blood descendants—Odyssey Ventrue, Lambent Toreador, Renault Giovanni, these ancient ones of the New World—were standing respectfully with hands down before 'Andrei Lee Wiltonstein.'

"You—"

Lilith instinctively frowned, and Cain's eyes showed anger: "You have betrayed your clan, betrayed your ancestors, haven't you?"

"Speaking of betrayal, you have no right to say that about them."

Li Mochen laughed, the killing intent in his eyes even stronger: "I don't really want to talk to you, but considering these subordinates pleaded earnestly, I can give you one last chance!"

He then threw some long nails in front of the two.

"Drive them into your own divinity yourselves. This will ensure you never betray. Not doing this to you before was my biggest mistake. Although I didn't lose anything, it is my responsibility if you end up dying."

"Bullshit!"

Lilith swung her long whip, sweeping those nails to a corner of the hall, then looked at Li Mochen on the high platform with bloodshot eyes: "You are bluffing! The so-called Lord of Fate, today you can neither control your own fate nor save your own life."

"Is that so?"

Li Mochen laughed: "You have given up the last chance I granted you. Now prepare to pay the price for betrayal—"

Cain instinctively felt uneasy, but he also knew he had no retreat now. And as Li Mochen spoke, he suddenly let out a fierce roar.

"Kill him!"

Instantly, countless blood bats flew up into the air. They used their own blood to temporarily break free from Li Mochen's suppression. Then, in a vast, sky-covering tide, they surged into this Hall of the Underworld King.

But the next moment, with a snap of Li Mochen's fingers, those tens of thousands of blood bats all turned to ashes. Only some ancient ones and vampire princes survived, but they knelt on the ground trembling, not daring to look up at the throne.

"It seems you still haven't learned your lesson—"

As he said this, Li Mochen snapped his fingers a second time, and the vampires outside the hall, howling, shrieking, and swarming to rush into this Hall of the Underworld King, also shattered into dust in an instant.

"Beings between life and death, you should have submitted to me, not taken up arms against me."

At this moment, both Cain and Lilith felt a bone-chilling terror all over. They were originally without body temperature, yet now ice had visibly condensed on their bodies.

It was real!

The Andre Lee Wieldenstein before their eyes was indeed real—not an illusion, not a disguise, but the true and genuine Lord of Fate!

And at this moment, Li Mochen waved his hand again, manifesting before him the projection of his 'Secret Core Divine Furnace of All Stars' located in the magic tower of Fate's Domain.

This was merely a projection of the 'Secret Core Divine Furnace of All Stars,' but as Li Mochen reached out and beckoned, he took out a 'blade blank' heated to a glowing red from within the projection.

You are undoubtedly guilty of heinous crimes, but it would seem a pity to let you die like this. After all, you are beings comparable to powerful gods; I cannot allow you to leave no trace in this world. So—

Li Mochen looked at the two before him: 'My wife happens to be in need of a suitable weapon—a mythical armament capable of intimidating the underworld. You two are perfect!'

That 'blade blank' was made by taking only a part of Skadi's Viking axes and, following Anthony's formula, smelting them into a more powerful mythical alloy.

No further processing was done, nor was a single rune inscribed—in these short ten-plus days, merely upgrading 'Fate's Sword' had exhausted all his energy, leaving no time for more.

So Li Mochen planned to adopt an ancient forging technique.

In ancient times, when powerful smiths had not yet mastered magic rune technology, they directly combined metals and various heavenly treasures with the bones of powerful creatures. These weapons and mythical armaments would naturally form 'Dao patterns' or even 'Dao traces' during the forging process, and upon completion, they would possess immense power, sometimes rivaling innate spiritual treasures.

Li Mochen intended to use this forging method now, but his means would be more cruel and bloody.

'No! You cannot do this—'

Lilith was already terrified, for at this moment she could not move.

The 'Life' and 'Death' that Li Mochen wielded were even stronger than when he had subdued them, likely having reached the 'Ultimate' rank. And the environment of the 'Underworld' further amplified Li Mochen's power.

This rendered Lilith immobile; the concepts and forces of 'Life' and 'Death' were constantly conflicting within her body. The power of death was growing, and her life form was becoming unbalanced.

This made Lilith bitterly hate the original magic ritual. By borrowing Cain's power, she had elevated her life form to the rank of a powerful god, but it had also left a fatal隐患.

Lilith could only look at Li Mochen with pleading eyes.

'I am willing to serve you, Lord of Fate! I am also willing to use those spikes; I will become your most loyal servant—'

'It's too late. You missed that opportunity. As your former master, I certainly have the right to do this. This is the punishment and warning for traitors.'

Li Mochen was indifferent. He was extracting the heartblood of the two, guiding their power, and pouring it bit by bit into the interior of the blade blank. He strove to ensure that the gradually forming 'patterns' were orderly and systematic.

This would directly determine the divine might and abilities of this future 'Sin-Cutting Blade'—though Anqila might not like that name.

'So-called betrayal is merely breaking free from the slavery you imposed on us!'

Cain roared angrily, but that was all he could do. His condition was no better than his wife's.

And despair filled his eyes, for the illusion that had existed here was now dispelled.

Then he saw that in this hall, the Dream and Death Goddess 'Anqila,' the Magic Goddess 'Diana,' the Norse Underworld Ruler 'Hela,' the Babylonian Underworld Co-rulers 'Nergal' and 'Ereshkigal'—they were all seated here, watching with varied expressions, some mocking, some pitying, some intrigued.

As for the Canaanite 'Death God' Mot, who was supposed to appear here and tear Anqila apart, he was nowhere to be seen.

'No, this is impossible.'

Lilith felt her soul collapsing and disintegrating; a large part of her life essence had already been transferred to that 'blade blank.'

As time passed and her power waned, she found it increasingly difficult to resist the process of her own essence and soul being drained away.

The cold future of being eternally bound within the blade filled Lilith with utmost terror and fear.

'Save us, Eris!'

She threw back her head and screamed, calling on the name of the Goddess of Freedom: 'Save us! It was you who made us break the contract! It was you who incited us to attack the Underworld! You promised us kingship in the American underworld! You cannot abandon us!'

The Magic Goddess Diana closed her eyes and let out a helpless sigh. Meanwhile, Eris in the Freedom Divine Kingdom remained expressionless, but her eyes grew colder.

Li Mochen, however, curled his lips. He continued the 'blood forging' process at an unhurried pace. Under the protection of the 'Holy Lance of Longinus' and the gaze of the many gods present, no one could interfere with his forging of this mythical armament of divine rank fifteen, 'Powerful' level. It was undoubtedly more powerful than the 'Fate's Sword' from half a month ago—it would possess not only medium 'Life' and 'Death' authorities but also medium 'Undying,' medium 'Soul,' high 'Ice,' high 'Darkness,' medium 'Strength,' high 'Speed,' high 'Desire,' high 'Deceit,' high 'Seduction,' high 'Hatred,' high 'Wrath,' and ultimate 'Jealousy'!

The last three belonged to the Seven Deadly Sins. Unfortunately, Anqila could not wield their power. Those who mastered these divine authorities grew stronger the more they 'Hated,' 'Wrathed,' and 'Jealoused.' But Anqila rarely experienced these three emotions.

So Li Mochen incorporated a reverse operation during the process. Anyone possessing these three emotions, also called 'sins,' would suffer double the attack from this 'Sin-Cutting Blade.'

Of course, beyond that, the blade would also possess all the necessary attributes of a mythical weapon: 'Sharpness,' 'Piercing,' 'Inevitable Severance,' 'Inevitable Hit,' 'Inevitable Kill,' 'Keenness,' and so on.

Thus, it was very powerful—second only to his current 'Fate's Sword' of divine rank seventeen and the 'Holy Lance of Longinus.'

'Eris? I doubt she dares to appear before me.'

Li Mochen smiled: 'Of course, you can keep hoping!'

His gaze pierced through layers of void once more, looking toward the Goddess of Freedom's divine kingdom: 'How I wish she would descend here and save you!'

...

At this moment, Odysseus Ventrue, Lamborn Toreador, and Reno Giovanni, standing to one side, felt their scalps go numb. Though they were vampires, they felt as if their backs were drenched with sweat.

'Nergal' and 'Ereshkigal,' seated below the high platform, showed a trace of relief in their eyes. Especially the latter, who unconsciously gripped her husband's hand tightly.

The Canaanite 'Death God' Mot had long intended to retreat. Shortly after they joined the battle, realizing there was no hope of victory, he had decisively withdrawn from this underworld.

Then 'Ereshkigal' felt both relief and astonishment at what she saw.

The powerful God King 'Eris' simply sat by and watched her pawns being forged into a weapon by the Lord of Fate. Even after such provocation from the Lord of Fate, she lacked the courage to enter the material realm.

—Realizing this, 'Ereshkigal's' previous fixed notions shattered completely. She understood that the world's situation was utterly different from what she had thought.

...

Aboard the dragon-headed warship 'Might,' Odin coldly watched the life being drained from Lilith and Cain.

'This is like a public execution! Under the gaze of the gods, he tramples the face of the Goddess of Freedom into the mud.'

The God of Temptation and Desire, Lode, smiled bitterly: 'Loki and I should perhaps feel fortunate.'

The vampire progenitor, the succubus Lilith, also wielded 'Desire,' 'Deceit,' and 'Seduction.' Though she had not become a god due to her special life form, in this world, 'Lilith's' fame far surpassed Lode's.

As a female, Lilith indeed had advantages that ordinary people could not match. What Lode could rely on were his pseudo-truth-level 'Seduction' and 'Desire,' which made his law-based divine office extremely stable, independent of faith.

But undoubtedly, if this woman succeeded in becoming a god by relying on the underworld, she would be the fiercest competitor for him, Loki, and the Goddess of Desire, Venus.

'Your Majesty has also lost face!'

The War God Tyr's face was grim, anger burning in his eyes: 'He is using us to establish his authority, trying to seize dominance in the local pantheon. And he may have already succeeded.'

Lode clearly agreed: 'Barring accidents, when the Beast World merges with the Light World in half a year, our main enemy, besides the Lord of Light, will be this Lord of Fate. The Goddess of Freedom will not descend to the material realm, and her power in the mortal world is only half that of the Old Light Faith and one-seventh that of the Lord of Fate. So I foresee that the Lord of Light will not fight the Lord of Fate while he remains in the material realm. He may also be too preoccupied now.'

'Indeed.'

The Valkyrie Alvitr, who held 'Intelligence' and 'Omniscience on the Battlefield,' also frowned: 'The pressure we exert on the Lord of Light is immense. He must resist our attacks while eliminating his own internal problems. Who dominates the American situation is not important to him. On the contrary, if a more powerful god steps forward in America to face the invasion from the Beast World, it would be more advantageous for him. I think that's why he helped the Lord of Fate today.'

Odin remained deep in thought until an hour and a half later, when he personally witnessed all of Lilith and Cain being forcibly absorbed into that 'blade blank.' The item still needed some finishing work, but it had already displayed the divine radiance of a 'Powerful'-level mythical armament.

Odin finally withdrew his gaze: 'Let us retreat as well! I think Forseti was right—at this moment, I cannot be injured, at least not seriously.'

No one questioned this, for just ten minutes ago, the last cloud warship of Olympus had been destroyed by Wieldenstein Group's morphing fighters.

The War God Ares had long since withdrawn from the battlefield—

Then the ruler of the Aesir spoke thoughtfully: 'Lode, and Skuld, take some time to investigate whether the 'Wishing Tower' might have fallen into the hands of the Lord of Fate. Especially you, Skuld, and the other Norns—put more effort into this.'

Lode was taken aback: 'But that Andre is a god born from the local realm, acknowledged by the roots of the Light World.'

'There's no harm in checking, is there? He grows too fast, and his mastery of fate and time is too powerful—powerful enough to arouse suspicion.'

Odin tapped the armrest with his fingers: 'Besides that, speed up the advancement of the Beast World. I feel that the Lord of Fate's power is growing every moment. We may not have much time.'