Chapter 643: Forged

"Absolutely no less than this number."

Reinhard Heydrich said calmly: "I haven't yet counted the tribes outside the Beast Empire that don't worship Odin. Besides that, we also have to consider their animal companions; each of them can actually be seen as two or three legends. So personally, I estimate their combat power will be very formidable. In fact, every one of them, from the day they are born, is prepared for war and plunder. It can be said that every one of them is a soldier, and outlaws make up one-twentieth of their number. I think as long as Odin is willing, He can easily conquer South America and Africa."

At this moment, the pupils of all the gods contracted slightly. One-twentieth of a population of two hundred million, ten million outlaws? What a joke?

"But He won't do that for now."

Garcia Ferren, the God of Strategy, said thoughtfully: "Earlier, they were certain they could kick Gaia out of the game, so the several sides spared no effort to strike at the Lord of Radiance, preparing to contend for the Root. But now, Gaia still holds an advantage in the Root. And the faith of the Lord of Radiance has suffered great damage. The current situation is not what Odin and the others had anticipated."

"So now it's likely we who are in trouble. If the Aesir choose to expand and are unwilling to continue striking at the Lord of Radiance and the British gods, then Australia is now like a piece of fat, waiting for Odin to take a bite."

Bismarck also frowned: "Although the remnant soul of Baldr is in Your Majesty's hands, I imagine you dare not do anything to him now, right? Also, the treaty Your Majesty signed with Odin has now become invalid."

Li Mochen sighed. He really didn't dare to kill Baldr now. A maddened Odin was something he couldn't handle yet.

"What about the ocean? Heydrich, I want to know if they have the ability to cross the sea and attack the Australian interior."

Heydrich bowed his head and replied: "They have a vast number of sea beasts, tens of thousands. They invaded the Anatolian continent and the Bolivian continent, and the Vanir led by Njord have completely merged into the Aesir. Their power may be greater than that of our Sea God."

"The problem is that I cannot go all out. The returning Poseidon is encroaching on my territory."

Thetis frowned: "If war breaks out, I can at most provide over two hundred legendary sea beasts, fifty Titans, and three hundred Naga with four arms or more."

This was already all the power she could squeeze out at present, and it was only because of Li Mochen's extensive expansion of his influence, obtaining assistance from at least seven national governments to provide warships to help her deal with Poseidon, that she could spare so much strength at this time.

"The offspring of my brother Jörmungandr can also join Your Highness Thetis's divine court."

The Winter Goddess Hela interjected with a somewhat strange expression: "There are a total of over seventeen hundred legendary sea serpents. I wonder if that's acceptable?"

"Of course, I would be more than happy! I will provide enough sea areas as their territory."

Thetis's spirits lifted at this: "If that's the case, I can provide half a monster legion, about three thousand legendary beings, for combat."

She knew that most of Jörmungandr's descendants were basically the product of this World Serpent's 'self-pollution', with sperm discharged into the sea. They were almost all thick-skinned and tough, possessing the talent to absorb and convert energy.

Though there were only seventeen hundred, they could make her monster legion far more powerful in battle.

"However, the number of legendary sea beasts in the Beast World may exceed fifteen thousand."

Heydrich continued with a straight face: "Of course, we also have advantages. We have numerous modern warships. Currently, the Australian navy has a total of six battleships, eight aircraft carriers, twenty-two cruisers, forty-two submarines, and forty-eight destroyers, all within twenty years of service. And Your Majesty's private forces currently have four battleships, three aircraft carriers, ten cruisers, thirty submarines, and thirty destroyers."

"I will push the American Congress to pass an aid bill and participate in the war. Australia, NATO, and America have a mutual defense treaty."

Li Mochen said thoughtfully: "And the East; they will also provide some aid during wartime. Besides that, I will order the major families of Australia and America to contribute their private fleets."

America's naval power was currently ten times that of Australia. As for the ancient Eastern nation, it was still in the stage of recovery, with even fewer warships than Australia, and most were old. Still, it was some strength.

"So, in terms of modern warships alone, we can match over eight thousand sea beasts. Then, in top-tier combat power, we have a huge advantage. Currently, among the six Archangels before Your Majesty, except for the 'Eternal Angel' Atlas, the other five are not bound by the Treaty of Separation of Gods and Men, and many gods have not yet reached the age to leave the main material plane. However, as far as I know, the Aesir also have some newly born gods in the Beast World, which we must guard against."

"Also, Australia's own military cannot be underestimated. Starting two years ago, they have been expanding their forces. Now they have over five million army troops, with over twelve hundred legendary beings. With modern weapons, the biochemical implants soon to be普及ed among the Australian military grassroots, and a branch of the Divine Wing Knights stationed in Australia, this force will be very formidable."

"That is to say, if they want to land in Australia, they have the ability to do so, but it would come at a huge cost?"

Li Mochen fell into deep thought. He thought that his Fate Pantheon must acquire one or two modern gods of naval warfare as soon as possible.

Thetis and her siblings had no talent in this area.

"Then transfer another thirty companies of 'Divine Wing Knights' over there. The defense and warfare there will be under the full command of Your Highness Garcia. Do you understand my intentions?"

"Of course!"

Garcia Ferren accepted the order with resolve: "I will make the Aesir know that choosing Australia as their direction of attack is a very foolish choice."

Li Mochen nodded slightly: "We must also try to prevent them from entering South Asia and the Southeast Asian islands."

——Although those were the territories of Buddhism and the Lord of Radiance, if the Beast Empire successfully gained a foothold near Australia, it would still pose a huge threat to him and his Eastern allies.

※※※※

After this military conference, the army of the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire indeed launched two probing attacks toward Australia, just as they had anticipated. Two medium-scale naval battles broke out in the Tasman Sea and the South Australian Basin respectively.

Thanks to the increase in troops and the meticulous intelligence provided by Heydrich, Garcia Ferron successfully repelled the two monster armies of the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire.

Both sides only 'tasted lightly,' so casualties were minimal. After testing their opponent's strength, the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire withdrew in time. Garcia Ferron did not pursue, knowing that his lord did not wish to provoke a full-scale war with Odin at this moment.

It was after these two medium-scale naval battles that Admiral Wallace Clayton officially ascended to godhood with the divine office of 'Modern Naval Warfare and Naval Artillery,' while another naval commander under Li Mochen, Alec Bas, was granted the divine office of 'Aircraft Carriers, Missiles, and Submarines.'

Then, a month later, the army of the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire split into two routes. One route invaded Africa, and the other invaded India. Almost like a sweeping force, they took numerous small countries in Africa with irresistible momentum; within less than two months, one-third of India's territory fell, and even Mumbai, India's second-largest city, fell into the hands of the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire.

Fortunately, although the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire's rule was ruthless and they plundered wealth wantonly, they did not massacre humans on a large scale.

However, the boiling war primordial force would inevitably lead to Odin's continuous growth in power in this world.

Moreover, the priests of the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire were forcibly demolishing all churches and temples in the occupied areas, compelling people to convert to the Aesir gods. Whether it was the Lord of Radiance, the Heavenly Mandate Pantheon, or the Hindu pantheon, all were targets of their suppression. This aroused great resentment and indignation among the believers of the gods in the occupied areas, with resistance rising one after another.

The resistance of the British pantheon was very weak; they withdrew all their forces back to their homeland and Canada, knowing that Odin had set his sights on Britain.

Reliable intelligence indicates that Odin is using various modern weapons produced in the occupied areas to arm his troops. This is terrifying, but India's modern industrial capacity is very weak. Only the Republic of South Africa has strong military-industrial capabilities, though its industrial system is incomplete.

Heydrich and Clark Banfield reported intelligence from around the world to Li Mochen almost daily.

The European Union and NATO have passed aid bills; they will not sit idly by while Odin takes Britain. Not only does it have a complete industrial system, but it will also be the Aesir's stepping stone to return to the Old Continent.

Japan and Korea may also be their targets, as their industrial systems are more complete.

Notably, in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, due to war and plague, the faith in Ahura has been revived there. The faith in the Truth God is indeed difficult to shake there, but Ahura is attempting to usurp the faith of the Lord of Radiance, trying to make people there believe that he is the God of Truth. Ahura has achieved success in some places. Many of the Lord of Radiance's doctrines are inherited from Ahura, which gives him an opportunity.

Also, the Night Goddess Nyx has rebuilt her divine kingdom in this world and brought back nine Night Legions from the outer realms, with strength equivalent to three Angel Legions. On the day of the World Collision, Nyx used her authority over the root to gain the recognition of the World Core for these nine Night Legions, making their combat power not to be underestimated.

Ten days ago, the Hindu war god Kartikeya fell. This matter is very strange. Although this Hindu deity was defeated head-on by Thor, he had successfully withdrawn from the battlefield before that. I glimpsed that the Goddess of Liberty might have been involved, but there is no further evidence or intelligence. I think this goddess was probably stimulated; she may be seeking to become a war god, which complements her domain of strife—

Only this piece of news caught Li Mochen's attention slightly.

Kartikeya? If I remember correctly, has this world's Kartikeya died seven times?

He was a powerful war god of the Hindu pantheon, the son of Shiva and the river goddess Ganga. Legend says he was born from a golden cave in the mountains riding a peacock, became the commander-in-chief of the divine army on the fourth day after birth, and on the sixth day led the gods to rout the demons.

In Buddhism, he has another name—Skanda!

But this war god spanning two major pantheons has been killed seven times in this world. Those were only Kartikeya's avatars; his true body once existed in the Bright World but left thousands of years ago, leaving only a highly autonomous avatar in this world.

Even if killed, he would soon send another avatar from the outer realms to continue holding his faith in this world.

The eighth time! Nineteen hundred years ago, Kartikeya was 'killed' once by the Lord of Radiance himself, but few know of this. The gods of the Hindu pantheon seem to have an extremely vast faith in the outer realms, allowing them to send avatars in a very short time. That is why the Church of Radiance and the Church of Truth failed to conquer India in two thousand years, even though secular powers from the Old Continent had conquered the country—

Heydrich said flatly: 'Before this war, this Hindu war god had already restored his divine rank to eighteen in this world. But this time, the situation is different; his divine authority in the world's root was seized by some method.'

Continue to follow up on this matter! I want to know every move of that Goddess of Liberty. Of course, do your best, but there's no need to be too tense.

Li Mochen thought that if Eris truly had such intentions, then the conflict and strife between him and this goddess would inevitably intensify.

But this also meant that there was no possibility of coexistence between her, the war god Ares, and Odin.

Moreover, becoming a successful war god is not an easy task; this world can hardly accommodate another powerful war god of divine rank eighteen.

At least in America and Australia, Li Mochen had already taken the lead.

Li Mochen's wariness of Eris was no longer what it used to be. In the five months since the World Collision and the Root War, Li Mochen's strength had experienced explosive growth.

Thanks to the battles with the three god-kings, Gaia's shared root, and the daily harvest of up to eight million strands of merit energy, Li Mochen's understanding of fate, time, war, life and death, and vitality had made a leap forward.

During the battle with Odin and the others, Li Mochen's four strands of merit purple energy could only help him elevate the divine authorities of 'Fate' and 'Time' to pseudo-truth.

But now, in addition to 'Fate' and 'Time,' he could also elevate one of 'War,' 'Vitality,' or 'Life' to the pseudo-truth level.

Besides divine authority, Li Mochen also held certain root permissions. So now, even if he fought head-on with the Goddess of Liberty in the outer realms, he was confident enough to defeat her.

In terms of combat power alone, he was already worthy of being the master of a pantheon.

Beyond that, the two mythical armaments Li Mochen had long awaited—his 'Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation' and the sniper rifle 'Heaven's Will'—had been successively forged.