Chapter 636: Seizing by Force

Li Mochen did not join the battle. He first put away the divine sword 'Stark' and the broken 'Gleipnir', then, sparing no mana, sent the two boulders named 'Gjöll' and 'Þviti' into his divine kingdom, and of course did not miss the fine chains from 'Lædingr' and 'Drómi' that Fenrir had forcibly broken.

There was no help for it; as a new god who had risen less than two years ago, lack of foundation was his weak point. Unlike those ancient pantheons, which had plenty of top-tier materials and mythical equipment.

It was said that in the ancient times of the Bright World, mythical materials could be picked up everywhere.

But in the modern era, Li Mochen, constrained by materials, had only been able to create fourteen divine-grade bio-armors. Adding those obtained from the Moshlar ruins, that meant his chosen knights totaled only twenty-six.

Anthony was in the same boat, equally limited by materials, unable to complete the design of the 'Mechanical War God' Type III.

So for him, every piece of mythical material was precious and not to be discarded.

Lucifer did not despise his penny-pinching behavior. The cold-eyed one waited until Li Mochen had gathered all the spoils before speaking again: "Once Odin returns, he will surely kill you."

"That's why I got the Kunlun Mirror first. But even if I hadn't come here, he would still kill me. The Beast World has merged; he no longer lacks troops in the material plane and has no need to abide by the treaty with me."

Li Mochen replied with a cold laugh; he had long been aware of the imminent crisis.

The two-year truce he had reached with Lord Odin was limited to Australia alone.

"Speak, Your Highness Lucifer, what is your next target?"

Lucifer raised an eyebrow slightly, looking toward the gods still in melee: "No need for my help? That is within the agreed scope."

Li Mochen shook his head without hesitation: "Unnecessary; their strength is more than enough."

With Fenrir in command, they could not lose this divine war. Fenrir alone could suppress the most powerful among these seven Aesir gods—Tyr the war god, Heimdall the guardian, and Baldr the sun god.

But Li Mochen estimated that even if he and Lucifer joined forces, they could not kill any of the seven.

Odin and Thor could withdraw their wills from the depths of the roots at any moment to rescue them. What benefit would it be to Li Mochen if they were forced to retreat and withdraw from this root conflict?

On the contrary, maintaining the situation in the roots would only give him and Lucifer more opportunities.

So the best outcome for this great battle was to let it fizzle out. First, let Fenrir vent properly, releasing the anger it had accumulated over these millennia.

"A wise choice!"

Lucifer nodded slightly, then said coldly: "Then my next target is Jerusalem."

Li Mochen's lips twitched involuntarily: "Then I guess the Lord of Radiance will do the same—he will spare no effort to kill you! If he can't deal with you, he will kill me first."

He could see the guy's mindset: though this Hell Lord was also a god-king rank, far more powerful than the Goddess of Liberty, he had no ambition to ascend to the Supreme God.

For Lucifer, nothing was more important than taking revenge on the Lord of Radiance, causing him trouble, and preventing him from successfully reaching the pinnacle of godhood. So his actions were not based on profit at all. With such a good opportunity, he only used it to strike at the Church of Light.

How to put it? To some extent, this was a full-blown spurned-wife mentality. Li Mochen really didn't know what had happened between the two.

Lucifer clearly read his gaze, and his eyes turned sharp as knives again, scraping Li Mochen's whole body with faint pain.

"Young god-king, your gaze is very rude!"

But he said nothing more, as if not intending to hold Li Mochen's offense against him: "If the Lord of Radiance retaliates against you for this, I and my legions will do our utmost to help you."

"That promise is exactly what I wanted!"

Li Mochen met Lucifer's sharp gaze without flinching: "But besides that, Your Highness Lucifer, you must give me another promise. Whether or not this holy city falls, you and your Hell legions must withdraw from the Middle East, from the material plane."

Lucifer's aura became even more ferocious and cold.

After a long stare, Lucifer let out a cold snort: "I agree."

Li Mochen's lips curled slightly: "Then we can go now, if you insist."

※※※※

Just three minutes later, he and Lucifer appeared together in the Levant region of the Middle East.

He had left Fenrir and Moon Rabbit and the others near that shattered plane to continue fighting the Aesir gods. Hela and Thetis had also received clear instructions to withdraw only after Fenrir had fully vented.

This was a rare opportunity for the main gods under Li Mochen to experience divine war, so he did not want it to end too soon.

Outside the holy city of Jerusalem, Lucifer had long been prepared.

Besides the seven devil kings all in position, a total of 13,000 devil legions, 6,000 fallen angel legions, and the countless dark creatures they had gathered were arrayed around the city.

Li Mochen noticed that the devils and fallen angels were all thick with blood energy. This was their method of defying the 'Treaty of Separate Governance of Humans and Gods' and persisting in the material world.

Through killing and blood sacrifices, they used the spiritual blood of humans to resist the binding force of the treaty.

In the hundred-plus days these 13,000 devil legions and 6,000 fallen angel legions had been in the material plane, they had consumed countless human lives.

Though there were no clear figures, several international observer organizations and news agencies estimated that the population loss in the Middle East over the past six months was at least 300 million. Every city in the region was now filled with coffins and body bags.

Li Mochen hoped they would take Jerusalem quickly and then return to Hell. But that was no easy task; the holy city before him had been completely turned into a fortress. There were no civilians left, only warriors willing to sacrifice for their lord.

The Old Church of Radiance and the Truth Church, two sects that had been hostile for millennia due to their respective ethnic groups, had now, under the pressure of the devil army, joined forces for the first time, holding nothing back. The entire city was united in purpose.

Moreover, the 'Gate of Heaven' was suspended high over Jerusalem, with at least two angel legions arriving early. Among the seven archangels, all except Gabriel and Michael had descended here without exception.

They had fought Lucifer not long ago, and now faced another defensive battle they could not afford to lose.

The battle between the two sides was indeed epic, not only magnificent and grand in scale but also extremely brutal and cruel from the very start.

The defenses of Jerusalem had been fortified to be as solid as iron by the two sects, but the devil legions had a vast number of dark creatures as vanguard.

Thus, within ten hours of the battle's start, no humans below the level of Outlaw existed within Jerusalem. The endless waves of dark beasts and the ceaseless magical bombardment not only created huge, irreparable breaches in the city's outer walls but also destroyed 27 of the 48 magic towers. The entire magic tower array could no longer function.

Then came the war between devils and angels. They fought in the sky and in every alley within the city, repeatedly contesting and seesawing. Both sides displayed excellent discipline; even when a legion's casualties approached 60%, neither angels nor demons showed any intention of fleeing or retreating.

Relatively speaking, the angels were more fearless of death, completely disregarding casualties. The Hell forces barely maintained their advantage by outnumbering the enemy by nearly a third and relying on vast numbers of dark creatures.

Li Mochen did not directly participate, just as he had at Canterbury Cathedral. His involvement was limited to doing his best to grant Lucifer's subordinates the favor of 'fate' and using his authorities of 'war', 'vitality', and 'life and death' to aid Lucifer's side—all without needing to appear personally.

At this moment, the surging war and death primordial forces on the battlefield caused Li Mochen's divine power to swell and surge, growing at an incredible speed.

There were no other war gods here, and this war was directly related to him.

Li Mochen felt he had gained deeper insights into war, death, and slaughter.

But this was not enough to propel him directly to the threshold of truth; he needed more accumulation, more foundation.

So during his 'observation' over Jerusalem, Li Mochen devoted more energy to studying the 'Kunlun Mirror' in his hand.

The authorities of war and death could not rapidly boost his strength in a short time, but the 'Kunlun Mirror' could.

This Eastern treasure, capable of large-scale interference with time and space, could at least triple Li Mochen's combat power and make him the most troublesome and hardest-to-kill existence among the gods.

Slightly different from the 'Kongtong Seal' of the same rank, this mirror was not unique. The moment Li Mochen obtained it, he knew it was merely a treasure refined by some Eastern great power after projecting into this world.

Li Mochen could sense that in all the heavens and myriad worlds, there were at least thirty different 'Kunlun Mirrors'.

The original among them should be a congenital supreme treasure. All 'Kunlun Mirrors' were connected to this original and were directly or indirectly influenced by that great power.

This was probably why this treasure, having fallen into the hands of the British pantheon, could not be used.

Initially, Li Mochen also sensed the artifact's resistance to the half of his bloodline that was not Eastern. But this resistance disappeared once his refinement of the artifact reached the core level.

When an immensely powerful divine thought extended through the 'Kunlun Mirror' and scanned him, this Eastern supreme treasure no longer guarded against him. At the same time, a stream of information was sent into Li Mochen's mind—all the methods and essentials for using the 'Kunlun Mirror'.

Li Mochen realized he had incurred a favor from some Eastern great power, forming a karmic bond. Yet he was delighted and overjoyed. To him, this was like receiving charcoal in a snowstorm, increasing his chances in future battles with several god-kings.

The war in Jerusalem lasted a full three days. As with Canterbury Cathedral, Lucifer ultimately failed to breach the holy city. However, in the process, he destroyed most of Jerusalem's buildings, along with several iconic churches and Truth Temples.

Lucifer had no obsession with capturing Jerusalem. Once all the dark creatures were consumed, he decisively halted the attack.

By then, his Hell legions had suffered heavy casualties. Of the 13,000 devil legions, nearly 3,000 had been completely annihilated, and half of the remaining had only 30% to 50% of their original strength. Only Lucifer's fallen angel legions, though also suffering losses, had most of their 6,000 legions maintaining organizational integrity, their combat power as strong as ever.

Their strength had even grown somewhat. The darkness, slaughter, and death energy pervading Jerusalem had corrupted many members of the angel legions.

It was just that these newborn fallen angels had not yet been incorporated into the fallen angel legion ranks.

Thus, Li Mochen roughly understood the thoughts of the Hell Lord and his kings.

He had seen similar things countless times in the history of the Bright World, like the Eastern Jin using Green Camp troops, or the Spartans consuming their Helot slaves.

Correspondingly, the two opposing angel legions were completely crippled by their relentless, costly assault. Two-thirds of the 13,000 angel legions had vanished, and the entire holy city was as ruined as a wasteland.

"I will keep my promise. By seven o'clock tonight, all Hell legions will withdraw from the material plane."

Lucifer returned to Li Mochen's side after all his troops had evacuated the city: "What is your next target? Jörmungandr, the World Serpent?"

Li Mochen was stunned by the merit gathered on the 'Divine Fortune Purple-Gold Tower'—a full 120 million strands, second only to his gains from directly countering the seismic waves.

Yet he had done nothing, even abetting evil, and still reaped so much merit.

Was it because he had hastened the battle of Jerusalem? Or because he had secured Lucifer's promise to withdraw from the material plane?

Li Mochen thought it was probably the former. He knew that Lucifer's Hell legions' retreat from the material plane was just going with the flow. The main reason was that this divine-demonic war in Jerusalem had consumed nearly 70% of the Hell legions' strength.

And this was due to his 'push'—the siege had erupted at least a year, even two years, earlier.

This was an unexpected boon, greatly settling Li Mochen's mind. The Kunlun Mirror and these merits could already ensure his invincibility for some time to come.

Seeing Li Mochen silent for a long time, Lucifer frowned slightly, his eyes showing dissatisfaction.

But before he could remind him, Li Mochen snapped back and laughed: "Jörmungandr does not need my rescue, Your Highness Lucifer."

That serpent was in a completely different situation from Fenrir. Initially, it had indeed been suppressed by Odin at the bottom of the sea. But now, the serpent had been ruined by its own appetite. The Aesir pantheon had likely placed a curse on it that prevented it from controlling its size, making it impossible for Jörmungandr to control its body while gorging.

And its body, millions of kilometers long, had already coiled around the world twice. So for over three thousand years, Jörmungandr had been barely able to move.

Of course, barely able to move didn't mean it couldn't move. If Jörmungandr willed it, it was still a powerful 'pseudo-god-king'. But its participation in war would be very brief, and it would by no means be a good thing for the entire Bright World.

Thus, Li Mochen's chosen target was elsewhere.

"My next target is Mount Olympus in the Outer Realm."

"Olympus?"

Lucifer showed little reaction: "Do you intend for us to enter Mount Olympus directly and fight the Titan gods? But I must remind you that Zeus has reconciled with the primordial Titans, including Cronus. Many of them have begun to serve him."

This was clearly not a wise choice. The Aesir had many powerful gods, and Olympus at its peak was even stronger.

Mount Olympus was a divine kingdom even more powerful than Avalon, and their power would be greatly restricted there.

Li Mochen smiled slightly: "Of course I wouldn't do something so stupid. I'm just going to rescue two people."

Then he shook the Kunlun Mirror in his hand: "I think even if we can't succeed, we can retreat unscathed."

Lucifer pondered for a moment, then guessed Li Mochen's plan: "Two people? Achilles and Atlas? Are you confident?"

Li Mochen knew he couldn't hide it from him: "There is an inside contact, and someone has told me their exact locations and paths."

The inside contact and intelligence naturally came from the sea goddess Thetis. The relationships between the Titans and the Olympian gods were complex; though Zeus came from the Outer Realm, his pantheon, like Odin's and Ahura's, was built upon the native beings of the Bright World—the Titans.

This is because the primal core of this world is powerful, and the innate beings born here possess potential that beings from other worlds cannot hope to match.

Moreover, Tethys's parents not only had extensive connections but also gave birth to fifty 'Nymphs' (fairies, female Titans), including Tethys herself. It is not at all surprising that she could plant one or two hidden agents on Mount Olympus or incite a few Titans to defect.

"In any case, whether we succeed or not, we must withdraw within five minutes. And before that, we still have some preparations to make."

※※※※

Half an hour later, a huge cloud of dust suddenly erupted on Mount Olympus, floating in the outer realm. At the same time, Ares's roar of disbelief mixed with a hint of joy rang out.

However, Li Mochen and Lucifer did not linger on Mount Olympus to fight as Ares had hoped.

Although the gods of Olympus had been on high alert due to the precedents of Asa and the Church of Light, Li Mochen still succeeded. The intelligence provided by Tethys was very accurate, and Li Mochen's Wish Spell and thirty million strands of merit ensured that their operation encountered no accidents.

Following the route devised by Tethys, Li Mochen and Lucifer advanced with irresistible force to the target location. After successfully rescuing the people, they used the power of the Kunlun Mirror to withdraw from Mount Olympus.

"According to our agreement, from today onward, Atlas will only obey Your Majesty's will!"

Among the two people Li Mochen rescued, Atlas bowed to Li Mochen with a subject's salute, full of gratitude.

This one was Prometheus's elder brother, known in Olympus as the 'Titan of the Heavens.'

The three brothers all possessed extremely powerful talents and strength. In the past, Zeus, to punish his believers, forcibly extracted the concept of 'fire' from the Greek land. But Prometheus was able to return 'fire' to the mortal world. He also mastered the powerful 'prophecy' ability, far beyond Merlin's.

The youngest of the three brothers, Epimetheus, was Pandora's husband. He had the talent to create all things and tame all beasts, and was said to be second only to Hephaestus, the god of forging, in craftsmanship.

As for Atlas, during the Titanomachy of yore, he was the most powerful general under Cronus and repeatedly thwarted Zeus.

Thus, after the war ended, most Titan gods were pardoned, but Atlas alone was punished to hold up the sky with his shoulders—hence his title 'Titan of the Heavens'—and this continues to this day.

This is just myth and legend; what Atlas actually bore was the energy source for most of Mount Olympus.

This Titan god, besides his astonishing strength and ability to command thunder, was naturally endowed with four powerful divine authorities: 'Earth,' 'Eternity,' 'Endurance,' and 'Stamina,' granting him inexhaustible and endless power. If Atlas stood on the ground, he became even more formidable, almost impossible to defeat.

The divine authority of Eternity refers not only to the body's eternal immutability but also to the eternal constancy of magical power.

The divine authority of Endurance gave Atlas astonishing stamina.

However, Zeus's exploitation of Atlas's strength ultimately took its toll. Atlas, who was already a 'Mighty God' during the Titanomachy, had only just reached the rank of Divine Rank 17 by now.

Of course, this one's power was already sufficient to become one of Li Mochen's 'Archangels.' Over these millennia, he had been forced to elevate the divine authorities of 'Endurance' and 'Eternity' to an astonishing degree, with the former approaching a Pseudo-Truth.

In terms of endurance, few gods in this world could match him.

Thus, in Zeus's eyes, he was far more threatening than his brother Prometheus.

"Then from now on, Atlas, you shall be my 'Eternal Angel.'"

Li Mochen was in a joyful mood, very satisfied.

With this one and Fenrir, even if he were to face those major pantheons in open battle in the outer realm, he would not fear. In the future, the number of Archangels under his command would increase to five.

Next, he turned his gaze to 'Achilles' beside him, and found that this invincible hero of the Greek era was also looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Your mother is helping me fight the Aesir. She has already prepared a physical body for you, allowing you to regain a true body and your former strength. But that will take a few days."

After 'Achilles' died, like the great hero Heracles, he became a god through his soul. However, on Mount Olympus, the divine office he held was merely that of 'Banquet.'

It was more imprisonment than deification. Without a powerful divine office and having lost his original body, 'Achilles''s future on Olympus was predictable.

Fortunately, there was the sea goddess Tethys. This great mother, by some unknown means, had reshaped a physical body for 'Achilles.'

Li Mochen's regard for this Greek hero was far less than for his 'Eternal Angel' Atlas. Although the 'Achilles' at his peak had once defeated Ares's avatar in battle and was prophesied to surpass and kill Zeus in the future, that was thousands of years ago.

During that time, Achilles, who had been stuck on Mount Olympus, could only waste his talent.

Yet when Li Mochen met the hero's gaze, he sensed an astonishing sharpness in his eyes.

"If possible, I too wish to have a place before Your Majesty's throne!"

At this moment, Achilles was completely different from the gloomy, lifeless demeanor and appearance Li Mochen had seen when they first met on Olympus. He spread his soul power without restraint and displayed his own strength fully before Li Mochen's eyes.

"Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Defense, Ultimate Strength, Ultimate Invincibility, High-level Immortality, High-level Eternity—interesting."

Li Mochen looked at him with surprise: "With such power, you have endured until now?"

What was even more astonishing was his talent. With only a soul and a weak divine office, he could still master such powerful divine authority.

"People always grow after experiencing certain things."

Achilles's expression was very calm: "If I can reclaim my physical body, I believe my strength will not be inferior to Atlas's."

"Indeed, you have that ability. Your future may even surpass Atlas's."

Li Mochen nodded slightly, acknowledging the other's self-confident words, but he did not immediately agree: "Let's first go see your mother before we talk. My 'Angel of Strength' has a bit of a temper and won't calm down for a while. But I estimate that within a day or two, that war can end. If you still have the intention after seeing Tethys, then I have no reason to refuse a powerful existence like you. I am also willing to reserve the title of 'Guardian Angel' and a seat as an Archangel for you."

Achilles hesitated slightly but finally nodded. He understood that Li Mochen's reluctance to agree immediately was out of respect for his agreement with Tethys, and he did indeed want to see his mother first.

After they finished speaking, Lucifer spoke in a sinister tone: "Now, it's my turn again. This time, my chosen target is the Vatican!"

Li Mochen immediately felt a headache coming on, as if it might explode. This one was really going to fight the Church of Light to the death.

"Alright, but Lucifer, can you currently muster a legion to capture the Vatican?"

He knew that Lucifer's Nine Hells controlled only five angelic legions in total, and a large part of them had to stay behind to guard the home front.

"I don't plan to conquer the Old Church's Holy See. My goal is the same as yours—to rescue someone from the Church."

Lucifer explained proactively: "The time has come. I must save her now."

"Is it the Angel of Despair? Everything you did before was to save her?"

Just as Li Mochen's intentions could not be hidden from Lucifer, he too had guessed Lucifer's ultimate scheme.

The one Lucifer intended to rescue was likely the Angel of Slaughter and Despair, 'Sariel.'

This one was once the subordinate goddess of the Sky Goddess Ishtar, 'Latarak,' who presided over war, protection, and slaughter. After Lucifer converted to the Lord of Light, 'Latarak' was renamed 'Sariel,' but she remained Lucifer's most capable assistant as 'Deputy Lord of Heaven.'

However, during Lucifer's rebellion against the Lord of Light, 'Sariel' was captured while covering the retreat, had her memories sealed by the Lord of Light, and was used as a tool.

Before the Middle Ages, she was the 'executioner' used by the Lord of Light to punish 'evildoers' and other 'angels.' Her power was so great that even the Lord of Light had to pity the victims.

Legend has it that during the war with the Norse Aesir, the Angel of Slaughter 'Sariel' killed countless people, slaughtering at least one-third of the tribes of the Northern peoples.

It was only when the Lord of Light intended to temporarily leave this world to explore the outer realms, fearing that 'Sariel' would break free from control after his departure, that he sealed this powerful fallen angel.

And because he feared contamination from 'Sariel's' powers of war, despair, frenzy, apocalypse, slaughter, death, shadow, and evil, the Lord of Light did not seal her in Heaven but chose the Vatican to suppress her.

This moment was indeed the best time to attack the Vatican. The two legions that the Church of Light could use in the mortal world had suffered heavy casualties, and the mortal avatars of the five Archangels had been continuously destroyed, greatly weakening their strength.

As for the Old Church of Light, to defend the Holy City, they had deployed most of their forces to Jerusalem, and now less than a tenth remained.

"I can help you."

After a moment's hesitation, Li Mochen agreed: "But your subordinate deity's power is too dangerous. Her current mental state should also be extremely dangerous. I hope that immediately after unsealing, you will take her back to Hell and not allow her to appear in the material plane for the next hundred years."

As for a hundred years later, if this angel of despair and slaughter dared to enter this realm and use her power on human society, he would not hesitate to deliver the most severe blow, giving her true 'despair.'

The operation went smoothly again. The Lord of Light was very wary of 'Sariel's' power. For a moment, he clearly intended to intervene, but the fierce battle among the divine kings drew his attention back to the depths of the Source.

It is worth mentioning that 'Sariel' went out of control immediately after being unsealed. Her狂暴 and disordered soul power and the divine authority named 'Despair' swept across the entire Vatican in an instant. Then nearly one-tenth of the clergy of the Church of Light self-immolated within twenty seconds.

And at an astonishing speed, it broke through the Vatican's outer seal and expanded into the surrounding Roman district.

Fortunately, Lucifer kept his promise, and Li Mochen's Kunlun Mirror tore through space in time, preventing greater casualties.

The key was that the Church of Light gave up resistance after 'Sariel' was unsealed; they did not want this extremely dangerous existence to continue wreaking havoc in the Vatican.

Afterward, Lucifer focused on calming 'Sariel's' spirit. It was not until a day and night later that he appeared before Li Mochen again.

"Fourth round!"

Li Mochen hesitated slightly: "I want to unseal Marduk, but I'm not sure if I can succeed. If it doesn't work, I'll have to choose another target."

As he said this, he kept watching Lucifer's expression.

Marduk was the patron god of Babylon, the chief god of all Babylonian city-states. He controlled thunder and war, was the second-generation divine king of the Babylonian and Sumerian pantheon, ruled for nearly two thousand years, and then faced the challenge of the Sky Goddess Ishtar.

Ishtar defeated Marduk and became the new divine king, but she did not succeed in killing Marduk.

These two powerful gods fought for over a thousand years in the region of the Two Rivers, until Ahura Mazda and Zoroastrianism rose, taking advantage of their exhaustion to spread their faith across Asia Minor and the Persian Plateau.

As far as Li Mochen knew, Marduk was still alive. He had been sealed by Ahura Mazda for six thousand years.

Theoretically, if this one broke free, he could become a powerful ally for Li Mochen, but Li Mochen had to consider Lucifer's opinion.

After all, these two had been entangled as mortal enemies for over a thousand years.