Chapter 635: Forcible Seizure

"Lucifer! It's you helping Him, isn't it?"

She had already sensed the presence of another god-king-level power in this airspace—that of the former Morning Star, the Son of Dawn, Lucifer!

When this deity was the Babylonian god-king 'Ishtar,' she once held dominion over nature and harvest, and was also the goddess of love, fertility, and war, as well as the symbol of Venus and the sky.

Venus, like Li Mochen's 'Yin and Yang,' is a composite divine authority born from human cognition. Because this star appears both at night and during the day, people in the East and West believe it possesses the powers of yin and yang, life and death, and also symbolizes 'calamity' and 'blessing,' and is the condensation and manifestation of darkness and light, as well as metallic power.

And the shot with which Li Mochen killed Montgomery clearly contained a 'Truth'-level 'Venus.'

To Empress Victoria, this was even more inconceivable. Common sense dictated that this kind of composite divine authority, born from human cognition and gathering multiple concepts, could never reach the 'Truth' level. There had been no precedent throughout history.

Lucifer did not reply, but at that moment, beside the blazing sun in the sky, a dazzling star shone brilliantly.

Its power also began to coalesce upon Li Mochen's 'Longinus Holy Spear.'

"Whoa! My friend here insists on making your Merlin the Great Mage our next chosen target."

As Li Mochen spoke, the 'Longinus Holy Spear' had already returned to his side for the second time. At the same time, the power of the Destiny Township magic tower was also mobilized by Li Mochen, condensing a total of eleven forbidden spells on the spear's shaft.

Li Mochen was actually quite helpless; his chosen next target was the British pantheon's Nature God, not Merlin.

This God of Magic and Prophecy was the most powerful among all the British deities.

Killing this person would be far more difficult than the previous two. But since Lucifer insisted, he had to compromise.

After all, relying solely on his own power, Li Mochen could not blast through Avalon's absolute barrier. Unless he used all four 'Merit Purple Auras' and even some additional merit from the tower.

But just as Li Mochen's power had not yet reached its limit, Empress Victoria spoke in a harsh voice: "I agree to your terms. I can give you the Kunlun Mirror! We don't have that many Wish Stones—only two—and we also have only two drops of Blood of Origin."

"A wise choice!"

Li Mochen finally curled his lips slightly and temporarily withdrew the divine power he had infused into the 'Longinus Holy Spear.' He thought to himself that the best way to get rich was indeed through extortion and forcible seizure!

"Can you give them to me now? I don't trust your credibility much. Also, you still need to satisfy my friend's needs—this doesn't include his share."

"I know. I'll give him what he wants."

Empress Victoria, her face cold and blue, reached out her hand and grabbed several treasure boxes and pouches from the void.

At the same time, a voice filled with anxiety and reluctance sounded in Empress Victoria's ear.

"But Your Majesty, he has Eastern blood! The Kunlun Mirror is one of the rarest temporal-type mythical artifacts in the world; it might increase his power!"

That was her other minister, Churchill, the God of Government Affairs. The British pantheon, due to its perennial involvement in Old World and colonial wars, had almost one deity fall every century before World War II. Thus, each divine position had a successor.

And Churchill was the backup for Pitt the Younger, the God of Politics, Finance, Conspiracy, and Deceit.

Yet Victoria, without any hesitation, handed the items beside her to Li Mochen.

"I need to be sure that the future British pantheon will not be your enemy."

"Of course, for the next ten years, as long as your pantheon doesn't actively provoke me."

Li Mochen replied with a smile: "Need to make a contract? I can swear by the World Core."

Of course, a contract was necessary. Although Li Mochen's reputation was quite good, Victoria and her subordinate gods and ministers could not fully trust his character.

After obtaining all the items, Li Mochen waited on the spot. About a minute later, Victoria, who had reached an agreement with Lucifer, looked at Li Mochen with a cold and stern gaze.

"Your Majesty Wiltonshire, I and my subjects will remember what you have done to our pantheon and our country."

Then her figure dissipated into specks of divine light.

Li Mochen, however, was completely indifferent to her words. Only the roars of lions and tigers deserve awe. As for the threat issued by this empress, in Li Mochen's eyes, it was like the barking of an old dog on the street—not worth paying attention to.

About ten seconds later, a figure draped in a black cloak materialized before Li Mochen.

"I have chosen Canterbury Cathedral as the target."

Li Mochen had long known that this one would make such a choice and chuckled inwardly.

Canterbury Cathedral, fully named 'Canterbury Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of Christ,' is the seat of the Anglican Communion, the largest of the three major Protestant denominations. Its number of believers in the faith of the Radiant Lord is second only to the Old Catholic Church, the Truth Church, and the Slavs' 'Eastern Roman Orthodox Church,' i.e., the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Such a holy site would naturally be heavily guarded. But correspondingly, they would surely have a considerable harvest.

"Alright, as I said, as long as it doesn't violate my principles or force me to break the contracts I must abide by, I can accept any target. Of course, this time, I won't show up personally."

This was the agreement between him and Lucifer: each would take turns designating a location, then strike together.

He had first chosen the British pantheon and Avalon, and now it was this Lord of Hell's turn.

Li Mochen had no reason to refuse. He had never had a formal, binding truce with the Church of Light, because that would be an insult and blasphemy to their Lord.

Over the past year, the various churches under the Radiant Lord had used overt and covert means against the Church of Destiny, which was enough to give him a pretext for war.

With a powerful enemy temporarily retreating, it was time to stab them in the back.

Lucifer had no objection to his conditions, as he had done the same before.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you're willing to lend me your pseudo-Truth-level Fate power, that's enough."

※※※※

Fifteen hours later, Canterbury Cathedral had turned into a sea of fire.

Lucifer used the still-unclosed spatial rift in Canterbury to directly summon nine hundred Fallen Angel legions and two thousand seven hundred Demon legions, with four of the Seven Lords of Hell participating in the battle. Their true bodies could not enter the material plane, but each cast an avatar with thirty percent of their original power into the mortal world.

One of them was Beelzebub, the Slothful—the second only to Lucifer among the Seven Lords of Hell. Legend has it that he was the Radiant Lord's first angel, possessing supreme talent. It is said that with a little effort, his strength could surpass that of the 'Radiant Lord,' making him the Deputy Lord of Hell.

Li Mochen witnessed this one's power; it was undoubtedly a 'sub-god-king,' with combat prowess not much inferior to Lucifer's.

However, 'Sloth' was indeed his original sin. Even when fighting for Lucifer, he still appeared lax and careless, using less than forty percent of his vast power.

Even so, this holy site of the Anglican Communion held out for about fifteen hours before being reduced to ruins.

The patron angels of the Anglican Communion, 'Michael' and 'Gabriel,' never appeared. These two sub-god-kings and pseudo-god-king-level Archangels were helping the Radiant Lord fight at the World Core.

The other five Archangels all descended, along with dozens of Seraphim and an entire angelic legion that poured out from the Gate of Heaven to battle the demonic army. Even though the demon lords all had the aid of Li Mochen's 'Fate' power.

They never allowed a single demon to set foot on the land of 'Canterbury Cathedral,' but they could not prevent Lucifer from destroying the Radiant Lord's holy statue and razing the cathedral to the ground.

Lucifer did not insist on entering this holy land of light. After the cathedral collapsed into a sea of fire, the remnants of his demonic army withdrew from the material plane in an orderly manner.

Li Mochen was full of regret. He had his eye on another 'Longinus Holy Spear' stored in 'Canterbury Cathedral' and had been waiting for an opportunity.

Unfortunately, the Archangel of Life, Raphael, personally wielded this 'Longinus Holy Spear' to fight Lucifer. Even when his avatar was severely wounded, he maintained the ability to send the 'Longinus Holy Spear' back to 'Heaven' at any moment, leaving Li Mochen no chance.

Nevertheless, he still gained quite a bit from the great battle between the two sides. For example, the soul fragments of angels and demons—after acquiring the ultimate 'Soul Calming' divine authority, he had the ability to collect these residual souls. Later, by refining them in his divine kingdom, he could create 'Soul Armaments' specifically for ghosts and spirits.

Li Mochen did not dare to directly turn them into his own 'Divine Will Warriors,' because most of these soul fragments came from the fallen angels. In life, they were devout believers of the Radiant Lord.

Once they gained self-awareness, the Radiant Lord might only need a single call to make them all defect on the battlefield.

In addition, Li Mochen also plundered all the holy treasuries of 'Canterbury Cathedral.'

While the two sides were locked in fierce combat, Li Mochen used the newly acquired 'Kunlun Mirror' to enter the storerooms that An Li Guangzhu had buried beneath 'Canterbury Cathedral.'

Li Mochen had not yet fully figured out this mythical artifact, but basic use was no problem. Cutting off time to create flaws in the otherwise perfect magical array was a specialty of temporal divine authority.

Unfortunately, the Anglican Communion had also transported away all their collected mythical equipment and holy artifacts, including precious magical materials, leaving almost nothing valuable behind.

Only the firearms produced by Old World arms companies, various types of heavy artillery, and magical armor stored in the treasuries were not moved, enough to equip twenty full-strength divisions.

Although they were of little use to Li Mochen and could only be sold on the black market for cash, at least he didn't return empty-handed.

"It seems Your Highness's hatred for the Radiant Lord exceeds even that for Ahura."

He knew that Lucifer's son and husband, the 'Plant God' Tammuz, when she was the goddess 'Ishtar,' had fallen at the hands of Ahura.

However, the relationship between this one and Tammuz was difficult for outsiders to understand.

Ishtar had once killed Tammuz, but later resurrected him with the help of her sister.

Some later mages believed this might involve a struggle over divine offices.

Those ancient primordial deities had complex and chaotic divine authorities and offices, as well as relatively weak divinity. To sort out their own power and divinity, they often gave birth to offspring to expel unwanted divine authorities and offices from their bodies.

Gaia and Nyx were prominent examples; the former created the Titan race, while the latter gave birth to over a dozen deities, including the Goddess of Magic and the Goddess of Freedom.

There were also cases where, after separating divine offices, they regretted it and wanted to take them back.

"Tammuz is not dead, but you could also consider him dead."

Lucifer coldly stared at Li Mochen, the icy gaze sending a chill from the latter's heart.

"Next target, it's your turn."

Li Mochen had long had a plan: "My next target is the wolf Fenrir! But before that, I need to gather some people."

Of course, he did not intend to kill this wolf, but to cut the chain 'Gleipnir' that bound it.

This was something Li Mochen had wanted to do for a long time, but before, he lacked the ability to cut 'Gleipnir'; second, the Aesir pantheon would certainly do everything to stop him; third, he lacked the confidence to subdue the wolf Fenrir.

But these difficulties were no longer problems for him now.

"Can you find its location?"

Lucifer's eyes showed a strange color, but he did not refuse: "Then hurry! While their war hasn't ended."

Both had the ability to freely travel within this world of light, and soon their figures appeared on a giant island covered in swamps.

This was 'Lyngvi Island,' the legendary island where the Aesir gods sealed the wolf Fenrir.

Indeed, but the location of this island was constantly shifting, difficult even for gods to find.

After the ritual to seal Fenrir was completed, it was separated from the material plane by the Aesir gods and drifted as a demiplane in the astral realm. Additionally, the power of the gods prevented all people and gods from approaching. The most crucial among them were Odin, with his authority over prophecy, wisdom, and magic; 'Lodur,' the god of temptation, desire, and mystery; and the 'Norns (Fate) Three Goddesses.'

Theoretically, Li Mochen could not find this place. When the Olympian pantheon fought the Aesir clan thousands of years ago, they probably thought about freeing 'Fenrir' and 'Jormungandr,' since they had common enemies. Later, the Radiant Lord probably had the same idea. But none of them found the specific location of 'Lyngvi Island.'

However, it was now 4,000 years later. The sister of the three siblings, 'Hela,' had never stopped searching for 'Lyngvi Island.' Over these millennia, she had roughly traced the movement trajectory of 'Lyngvi Island,' but due to the power exerted by the Aesir pantheon, she had never been able to enter.

It was not until Li Mochen, with his 'pseudo-Truth'-level Fate guidance and the expenditure of nearly twenty million merits from the 'Divine Spirit Exalted Purple Gold Tower,' that he was able to bring Lucifer and the others to find the location of 'Lyngvi Island.'

It must be mentioned that this time, accompanying him were not only Lucifer but also 'Winter Goddess Hela,' 'Sea Goddess Thetis,' 'Earth Angel Moon Rabbit,' 'Storm and Flood God Twyck Wood,' 'Firearms, Shooting, and Rapid Shooting God Anson Wood,' and 'Travel, Adventure, Exploration, and Mercenary Protector God Field.'

'Lyngvi Island' was outside the material plane, and currently in the outer realms, the six most combat-capable members of Li Mochen's pantheon were these six.

Hazel and Robert were also pillars of the Church of Destiny, but they could only barely contend with those powerful beings by bullying the fact that the main gods and archangels could not descend in their true bodies.

Thus, the main pillars of the Destiny Pantheon were still these six 'native deities' of America.

Among them, Twyck Wood, as he had promised Li Mochen before, would offer eternal loyalty as long as the pantheon persisted in fighting against outer realm deities.

And the God of Firearms and Shooting, Anson Wood, had been drawing closer to Li Mochen. As a deity related to war, with a divine office connected to modern warfare, he clearly recognized that he would be the primary target for elimination by ancient war gods like Odin and Ares.

The God of Adventure and Mercenaries, Field, had always been lukewarm. Although he had joined Li Mochen's pantheon and never resisted Li Mochen's orders, his provision of divine soldiers and supplies had always been kept to a minimum.

However, this time, Li Mochen's summons did not include Field, yet he still came. He was a close friend of the God of Firearms and Shooting, Anson Wood. In Eastern terms, they were inseparable, like 'jiao' and 'li,' a kind of 'symbiotic' relationship. When Anson Wood set out, he learned of the situation and proactively volunteered to Li Mochen.

The moment they stepped onto 'Lyngvi Island,' Hela was already unable to contain her excitement. At the same time, an extremely ferocious will surged toward them.

The few present were either at the God King rank or were main gods, so they paid no heed to the fierce mental assault. Moreover, the impact lasted less than a second before it mostly receded; the demon wolf had clearly sensed Hela's presence.

However, the ubiquitous poisonous fog on the island made all the gods frown slightly, their expressions solemn. Even Lucifer could not ignore it; black flames burned outside his cloak, incinerating all the mist that drew near.

"Hela? My sister, has Ragnarök arrived?"

At that moment, a colossal figure began to manifest before them. It was a giant demon wolf, four hundred meters tall and twelve hundred meters long. It had gray-white fur, one ice-blue eye and the other fiery red. Its entire body was bound by thick platinum chains, which were connected below to two enormous rocks.

According to Norse mythology, one of these rocks was called Gjoll, and the other Thviti. Both were born at the dawn of the Light World; they were not only indestructible but also possessed unparalleled weight, so that even the demon wolf Fenrir, a pseudo-God King, could not shake them.

—Of course, this was also because the chain named 'Gleipnir' restrained Fenrir's power.

Besides this, the demon wolf's limbs were covered with many smaller chains, extending in hundreds of directions to every corner of the island. These were remnants of 'Leyding' and 'Dromi'—the Aesir had forged two chains before making 'Gleipnir' to bind Fenrir. But they failed, torn to shreds by the demon wolf Fenrir. Yet these fragments and remnants still served a purpose, used by the Aesir gods to reinforce Fenrir's seal.

Moreover, Fenrir's enormous wolf mouth, seemingly able to devour heaven and earth, was held open by a longsword named 'Stark' placed between its upper and lower jaws, preventing the demon wolf from closing its mouth. This caused countless poisonous saliva to drip from its lips, turning the island of Lyngvi into a toxic swamp.

"No!"

Hela looked at her brother, her pupils filled with unfamiliarity, pain, anguish, and pity.

"I did not come guided by the world's will. The 'Ragnarök' prophesied by the three Norns has yet to arrive, and our enemies have grown stronger."

"But we will still kill those bastards. I will bite through Odin's throat and tear apart Thor's head! Just take this damned chain off me!"

Fenrir roared in fury: "My sister, dear sister, you will help me, won't you?"

"Yes, Fenrir, that is why I am here."

But Hela turned sideways, looking at Li Mochen beside her: "My lord, he will help you."

Only then did Fenrir turn his attention to the few gods behind Hela.

Lucifer's obscure aura surprised Fenrir, while Li Mochen's figure made its pupils contract slightly: "The power of fate and time? Humans nowadays can be this powerful? Hela, you say he is your lord?"

"Yes! And the sovereign you will serve in the future, your king!"

Hela's expression was calm, but her tone was intense: "Trust me. In the thousands of years you have been sealed, my lord, the Fate Dominator, Andrei Li Wilthenstein, is the only one in the coming centuries who has the opportunity and ability to cut the chain binding you."

"Of course I trust you! My sister, you and Jörmungandr are the only ones in this world who won't deceive me."

Fenrir kept his gaze locked with Li Mochen.

"A God King born of humans, you indeed have the power to sever 'Gleipnir', provided you can wield a decent sword. But you won't release me for nothing, will you? So what price must I pay for you to cut this damned chain?"

"Hela has already said it. The price you pay is to serve me. Become a member of the Fate Pantheon and swear to obey my commands."

Li Mochen spoke frankly, his expression confident. Had he not spent twenty million strands of merit to find this place, precisely to find himself a truly powerful enforcer?

Before him was one prophesied to be able to kill Odin.

Though all were at Divine Grid 18, Twick Wood and Anson Wood could not compare with it. This demon wolf, born of Loki and the giantess Angrboða, possessed a main-god-level 'Primordial God' body.

Even the war god Ares currently had only a Divine Grid 17 'Primordial God' body.

Moreover, besides this, it should also wield 'pseudo-truth' level 'Ice', 'pseudo-truth' level 'Flame', and near-'truth' level 'Poison' and 'Strength', as well as ultimate 'Immortality'.

Li Mochen observed the truth-rhymes of these divine powers from the demon wolf Fenrir.

Especially 'Strength'; thousands of years ago, the demon wolf Fenrir was renowned for its terrifying strength. The entire Aesir pantheon, including Odin, had none who could match it.

—This was undoubtedly a 'pseudo-God King'! It was so powerful that Li Mochen would need to pay at least two strands of merit-purple qi to have any chance of killing it.

However, the destiny it bore would allow it to complete its resurrection within a few hundred years.

"But merely releasing me from the seal won't earn my loyalty!"

Fenrir tensed its body, stretching the platinum chains a full circle larger, and its fierce divine thought continuously assaulted the god before it.

"'Fate Dominator,' is it? Don't be too presumptuous. I want to shake off this 'Gleipnir' and leave this damned place, but I won't sell myself cheaply just to escape, yielding to someone weaker than me. I'd rather wait until the destined moment arrives—"

"Mr. Fenrir, you are wasting your time."

Li Mochen did not wait for Fenrir to finish what he considered 'nonsense': "I can promise you that in my pantheon, you will be the Angel King in charge of 'Poison' and 'Strength'! I will grant you enough divine power and resources to build up your strength. Furthermore, if one day you can defeat me in a fair battle, I will allow you to leave my pantheon and no longer obey my commands. Can you accept this, Fenrir? I must remind you that the gods of the Aesir are on their way, and we don't have much time to discuss here. If you are willing to accept, swear now by the Source and the Stars. If not, of course I won't force you; I can leave right now."

Fenrir's voice abruptly stopped, and his momentum faltered. This demon wolf did not ponder long; in less than a tenth of a second, he agreed: "Then it's settled, as long as I can defeat you alone!"

The process of his 'oath' was equally swift; with a single wolf howl, he established the covenant. That brief howl contained his will.

This was because he had sensed the powerful auras rapidly approaching from outside.

Among them were 'Tyr the War God' and 'Heimdall the Guardian God,' whom he once considered friends, as well as 'Vidar the God of Nature and Forest' and 'Vali the God of Vengeance,' along with the powerful 'Balder the Sun God' and his counterpart 'Hoder the Dark God.'

As Li Mochen had said, they had no more time to waste.

And just as the howl began to evoke echoes from the Source and the Stars, the War God Tyr was the first to charge into this 'Langvi Island.' He immediately locked onto Li Mochen's aura and let out a roar filled with shock and anger.

"Andre Li Widenstein! You are violating our ceasefire agreement!"

"Violating? Not really. Neither I nor my pantheon have actively attacked you, have we?"

Li Mochen had already summoned the 'Fate Sword' into his hand, while pouring the power of fate into it with all his might.

The chain 'Gleipnir' that bound Fenrir was made from six rare things: the footfall of a cat, the beard of a woman, the root of a mountain, the breath of a fish, the sinews of a bear, and the spittle of a bird.

This might sound ordinary, but in truth, each of these six rare things originated from powerful mythical beings and included several conceptual divine authorities.

For instance, the footfall of a cat came from the four paws of the Hellcat. This powerful mythical creature, in ancient times, almost monopolized various divine offices in the underworld, the most powerful being the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet. Their footfalls typically represented death and decay.

The beard of a woman came from a female giant named Klysa. Her strength was not great, but she was skilled in defense. Her hair possessed the ability to never break, holding the divine authorities of 'Toughness,' 'Regeneration,' and 'Stability.'

These six mythical materials and dozens of divine authorities were interwoven on 'Gleipnir,' making it impossible for the ever-strengthening Fenrir to break free.

And even Li Mochen, without using the 'Divine Cloud Purple Gold Tower of Fortune,' had to rely on Lucifer's power to cut it open.

Tyr did not expect to persuade Li Mochen with words. The moment he locked onto Li Mochen's aura, he hurled the warhammer 'Tyr's Hand' in his hand.

But Moon Rabbit had already stood in front of him. The power of 'Earth' connected Moon Rabbit to the entire 'Langvi Island'. Even 'Tyr's Hand', forged from Tyr's severed arm, could not shake the 'Typhon's Shield' in her hand.

Entering the island after Tyr was the sun god Baldr. The moment he stepped into this demiplane, he transformed into a scorching sun, pouring down countless deadly solar fire rains.

However, Hela was also ready. She swung the demon sword in her hand, and the powers named 'Freeze', 'Sluggishness', and 'Slowness' slowed the swift-as-light fire rains thousands of times in the air, and their temperature plummeted rapidly until it neared zero degrees Celsius.

Next was the guardian god Heimdall. He was the guardian god and also the god of strength, his immense power almost rivaling that of the trapped wolf.

Blocking him was the sea goddess Thetis. She used layer upon layer of endless water walls to dissolve Heimdall's ferocious, unmatched impact.

"Look, now it is you who break the covenant—"

Li Mochen paid no attention to the Aesir gods who arrived last. He had brought Moon Rabbit, Hela, and the others here precisely to prevent this situation.

Perhaps the overall strength of these six main gods could not contend with these Norse main gods. But their task was merely to delay for him a short three seconds.

These three seconds passed in an instant. Amid the surprised and expectant gazes of the wolf Fenrir and Hela, and the unwilling stares of Tyr and Baldr, Li Mochen's 'Fate Sword' swung down heavily. Then everyone heard a 'clang' sound, and the chain named 'Gleipnir' was split in two without suspense under the combined force of Li Mochen and Lucifer.

Then the entire 'Langvi Island' shook violently. The whole demiplane crumbled inch by inch, and the island within also collapsed piece by piece.

"Hahaha!"

At this moment, Fenrir let out a nearly mad laugh.

"Broken! Finally broken! Do you see, my former friend Tyr? You can no longer trap me! And now, it's my turn to collect old debts from you!"

Its eyes flashed with ferocity. The powers of ice and fire each covered half the island, splitting the demiplane in two—one side like an eternal frozen hell, the other a fiery furnace.

And Fenrir's immensely fierce aura had firmly locked onto Tyr.

It did not keep the Aesir gods waiting long. It spat out the divine sword 'Stark' from its mouth, then its figure turned into a shadow and crashed into Heimdall, who stood before Tyr.

The two massive figures immediately tangled together, smashing the already shattered planar membrane to pieces, then rolled together into the astral realm, causing the surrounding space-time to tremble violently.