【 DADDY 】

The royal court was thick with tension, as all eyes turned toward the guest seats, where Sauron Group’s emissary, an elderly human mage, sat beneath the weight of countless stares.

Confusion flickered in some gazes, anger smoldered in others, while suspicion and disbelief tightened the expressions of the rest.

A murmur of voices spread through the vicinity, but since orcs were naturally loud, even their whispered discussions were clearly audible.

“Divine punishment from the Lord of Darkness and Shadows? But wasn’t His Eminence our ally, according to our Divine Father’s oracle?”

“Could this be some kind of misunderstanding?”

“Hah! What misunderstanding? I’ve always said that any deity entangled with those evil gods can’t be trusted!”

“Hmph, and I bet Sauron Group has a hand in this as well. I still remember how my tribe got swindled by them in our last dealings!”

“They built their fortune on smuggling! I even heard rumors that they secretly trafficked members of our race!”

“Tsk, as expected of humans… not a single one of them is trustworthy!”

The surrounding orcs grew bolder in their discussions, their voices dripping with disdain. Seated above them, the old mage from Sauron visibly tensed, his agitation mounting with every word he overheard. His eyes widened, his long white beard quivered with each sharp breath.

He was seething.

Though he was a mage, he had been chosen as their Sauron’s emissary precisely because he was a devoted believer of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows. So upon hearing these orcs openly slander both their trade company and his patron deity filled him with fury.

“Impossible! His Eminence would never betray anyone, let alone deliver divine punishment upon His own allies.” the old mage declared, his expression darkening.

Their alliance with the orcs was crucial to their Lord’s future plans, as well as to the expansion of the Dark Church and Sauron Group’s influence in the underground.

Thus, failure here was simply not an option.

Hence, despite his mounting anger at the Orc’s veiled insults, he forced himself to remain calm and patiently refuted them.

But then, after being emboldened by the growing hostility towards Sauron’s emissary, the kneeling orc at the center rose to his feet.

His voice trembled under the weight of his own horror as he refuted:

“But I saw it with my own eyes! The sky darkened, just as the air twisted, and the very fabric of space tore apart! Streaks of violet-black lightning rained down, and the corruptive aura that followed turned many of my fellow tribesmen into monstrous shadow creatures! That was unmistakably the divine punishment of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows!”

The divine punishment of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows is uniquely distinct among the deities.

Even ordinary orcs have heard of it.

This is because His divine punishment differs from that of other true gods. It does not manifest solely as thunder and lightning but is also accompanied by the power of shadows, drawn from the land of darkness, which corrupts the very ground upon which His wrath descends.

It could be said that, aside from Him, only evil gods could wield such corrosive power.

For this reason, some staunchly righteous deities stubbornly believe that the Lord of Darkness and Shadows has already fallen and no longer a true god, but an evil one instead.

This belief has sparked numerous disputes within the Pantheon, nearly igniting a war among the gods.

Thus, although the Dark Lord is merely an intermediate deity with relatively weak influence in the realm of Seigües, the name of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows remains widely remembered.

Hearing the orc’s description, the old mage of Sauron opened his mouth, yet no words came out of it as he had no way to refute it.

Seeing his lack of response, the orcs once again erupted into heated discussion.

“Hmph! Corruption and shadow monsters… how can you still deny that it was the work of His Eminence, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows?”

“Why would He do this? Aren’t we allies?”

“Allies? Tch, don’t lie, human. We knew you were just treating us orcs as tools to use against that so-called Goddess of Life hiding in the Elven Forest. I also heard that the Elven goddess is rumored to be an ally of the Goddess of Death, who is the archenemy of your God!” ȐáꞐо₿Ɛ§

“What Goddess of Life? She’s nothing but a false god! A mere subordinate of the Goddess of Death and not even a true ally!”

“Hmph, it makes no difference. They’re all our enemies! They stole the power that rightfully belonged to our Divine Father!”

The orcs’ fury mounted, their emotions spiraling into rage.

The old mage from Sauron Group, on the other hand, could feel his face turning red with frustration.

Each mocking remark, each veiled insult, both towards Sauron and his own patron deity had really infuriated him.

These damned, foolish, short-sighted orcs!

No wonder, even after centuries, they’re still struggling to unify this useless, arid wasteland! If not for His Eminence’s intervention, these stupid brutes would still be squabbling here in the desert!

How could they not see the obvious truth?

There had to be a mistake! His Lord would never punish an ally!

Whilst grinding his teeth, the old mage took a deep breath, forcing down his fury.

“This is a misunderstanding! My Lord would never act without reason! This must be a trick by those deceitful elves!” he argued.

But his words did little to sway the orcs.

“Hmph! Divine punishment is the will of the gods. How do you explain that?”

“Are you suggesting that your god have been deceived by those elves?!”

Alas, the old mage’s excuses only stoked the flames of their anger even more. And yet, despite their fury, not a single one refuted the claim that the elves were “deceitful.”

There had been a time when such a word would never have been uttered in the same breath as “elves.” After all, they once were known across the lands for their innocence, grace, their unwavering sense of honor.

But those days were long gone.

Ever since those so-called “Chosen Ones”—the strange elves with their peculiar mannerisms and bizarre way of speaking—began operating in the region, subtle yet inevitable changes had begun to take shape.

Take the black market, for instance. The once-thriving elven slave trade had dwindled significantly. Buyers, once eager to claim an elf for themselves, now approached transactions with caution. No longer was a purchase made on sight—now, every deal came with a string of wary inquiries, repeated over and over:

“This elf… they’re not one of those weird ones, right?”

It was no longer just about acquiring an exotic slave.

It was about avoiding disaster.

Because they’d been cheated before.

And those who had learned the hard way were in no rush to repeat their mistakes.

Anyway, back in the royal court. The orcs remained unimpressed by the old mage’s explanation. Instead of appeasing them, his words only deepened their scorn.

But up on the dais, the Oracle King and the newly appointed High Shaman exchanged glances. A peculiar expression flickered across their faces.

The Oracle King then gave the High Shaman a slight nod.

The latter cleared his throat twice, which immediately silenced the entire crowd.

Satisfied with the response, he turned his gaze toward the old mage and said,

“Honored envoy, there is something I would like to confirm with the Dark Church.”

There was a brief pause before he continued, his expression turning oddly amused:

“Have your temples… lost any holy statues recently?”

The old mage blinked in surprise.

Then, as realization dawned, his face darkened.

A moment later, he ground his teeth and spat out,

“T-Those damned… deceitful elves! Blasphemous heretics!”

༺⟐༻

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Desert of Death, a long procession of long-eared individuals, laden with spoils of war, marched triumphantly toward the Dark Mountains, their boisterous laughter echoing across the barren landscape.

“Ha ha ha ha!”

More than two thousand elves, clad in mismatched armor and mounted on an assortment of magical beasts, carried banners from various guilds. Like a victorious army returning home, they moved as one, reveling in their triumph. Some waved their banners high, letting the tattered cloth dance in the desert wind, while others playfully jostled one another.

These were the elite players who had participated in the Desert of Death war campaign.

This time, under the leadership of four major guilds, they had formed a joint advance force, with more than a dozen smaller guilds joining their ranks.

Together, they launched a series of coordinated attacks—first targeting three mid-sized orc tribes, wiping one out entirely, and looting the other two before enemy reinforcements could arrive.

Now, after being satisfied with their haul and unable to carry any more loot, these players were making their way back to their faction’s territory in high spirits.

Their faces were alight with triumph, grins stretched wide, their eyes gleaming with exhilaration.

And at the center of the celebration, riding atop a massive mountain bear and waving the Heart of Nature’s banner adorned with an iris, was none other than Demacia.

If anyone was enjoying himself the most at the moment, it was undoubtedly him.

A smug grin stretched across his face, his every gesture exaggerated as he basked in the admiration of those around him. The players encircled him, their cheers ringing loud and unrestrained, showering him with praise.

“No one else could’ve pulled this off better than you Demacia! you’ve even found a new way to use divine punishment!”

“Hahaha! Man, I can still see those orcs’ faces when they thought the Lord of Darkness and Shadows had smite them down! They looked like they’d just seen a ghost!”

“Pfft! I bet those Orcs really thought their ally had betrayed them!”

“I swear, they looked so dumbfounded, I think they got shocked stupid!”

“But the best part was when you, Brother Demacia, let that one orc escape…you know, the one who had witnessed the ‘divine punishment’ descend firsthand! You practically framed the Dark Lord for the whole thing!”

“Haha! I still can’t believe you actually yelled, ‘Is this not the judgment of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows?!’ with that over-the-top look on your face—dude, I almost spit out my drink!”

“That was absolute genius!”

The surrounding players roared with laughter, slapping their knees and jostling each other as they relived the moment.

Hearing their praise, Demacia let out another boisterous laugh.

Well, it was well deserved.

After all, he had been the one to orchestrate the entire scheme. From obtaining those holy statues of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows through his connections with underground dwarven traders to smuggling them inside the orc settlement and strategically placing them where they would incite the most panic. Then, with precise timing and a bit of misdirection, he had used those statues to manipulate the situation, making the orcs believe their own ally had turned against them.

It had been a gamble, but the results spoke for themselves.

With a smirk, he waved a hand dismissively.

“Ah, it was just basic strategy. Nothing too fancy. Don’t overpraise me…”

“No, no, that was brilliant!”

“It’s proof that your strat still works! ‘The divine punishment meta is obsolete,’ they said? Hah! Look who’s laughing now! Ha ha ha ha!”

“Heh… I can’t wait to see those guys from Sauron and Orcs tear each other apart!”

More cheers erupted.

But Demacia simply shook his head.

“Tearing each other apart? Not likely. The orcs may be dumb, but they’re not complete fools. With enough people analyzing the situation, someone will eventually figure out our scheme….we do have a history, after all.”

Then he chuckled, eyes glinting mischievously.

“But… heh, that’s fine. At the very least, we’ve sown some discord in their alliance. Even if they suspect something, it’ll still be a thorn in their side.”

His laughter had a certain roguish quality to it, which was subtly devious and sleazy. But instead of finding it off-putting, the other players only cheered harder.

“Demacia, you’re a legend!”

“Demacia, you’re strat is OP as always!”

After basking in the praise for a while, the players suddenly crowded around Demacia, eyes gleaming with excitement.

“Um…Boss Demacia, could you share some of those holy statues with our guild?”

“Yeah, yeah! Or sell them to us! We’re willing to pay a high price for it!”

But Demacia simply shook his head.

“Nope, sorry guys. I went through a lot of trouble just to get these. If you want some, then go get them yourselves since I already posted the method I used on the forums.”

Unlike Uller, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows was a true deity of intermediate divine power, making his divine punishment far more devastating in comparison.

Just one strike from His divine judgment had completely obliterated a mid-sized orc tribe, reducing them to rubble and, as a bonus, also transformed every orc and unlucky player caught in the blast into shadow monsters.

The sheer destructive power of His wrath had left not just the orcs, but even the players themselves, utterly stunned.

Even Demacia had been taken aback after seeing it.

Therefore, with a secret weapon this powerful, he wasn’t about to just hand it over to anyone.

Heck, even his own guild, Heart of Nature, barely had enough for themselves!

“C’mon boss, don’t be like that!”

“Yeah! We tried asking the dwarves, but they looked at us like we were insane. Your trading company is the only one they trust!”

“Please, help us out!”

The surrounding players weren’t giving up that easily.

Demacia smirked, eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Heh… beg me for it! C’mon, call me ‘daddy,’ and I might just give you guys a statue!”

His expression grew more and more shameless.

There was no doubt about it….he was getting carried away again.

The players: “…”

For a few seconds, silence hung over the group.

Then, all at once—

“We’re begging you, D-Daddy…”

“Yeah Daddy! You’re our real dad!”

Demacia: “…”

Faced with such bootlicking, he realized that one’s dignity in a game was worth about as much as used paper.

༺⟐༻

The players large-scale operation hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Not only had the guilds coordinated their attack through Elven Kingdom’s raid channels, but they had also live streamed the entire event online.

Naturally, Evé, who had been keeping an eye on the player’s activity was well aware of their latest antics.

Whilst seated upon her divine throne, she mused aloud,

“The divine punishment of Lord of Darkness and Shadows, huh?”

A chuckle escaped her lips, followed by a small shake of her head.

“That punk, Demacia… he really does come up with something new every time.”

Though she doubted this little scheme would truly disrupt the cooperation between the two deities, disagreements often started with such smallest of matters.

To true gods like them, the desecration of one’s sanctified statues was no small matter, nor was mistakenly punishing an ally’s believers.

Of course, Hodür was far stronger than Uller.

As a deity of intermediate divine power, he stood far above those weak or minor gods, hence the gap between them was immeasurable.

Evé had no illusions that Hodür would react the same way Uller did. Even if he realized something was off, he was unlikely to compromise and adjust the mechanics of his divine punishment.

After all… it wasn’t his own believers getting smited.

But having his holy statues desecrated?

That was sure to enrage any deity, especially someone like an Ancient One like the Dark Lord.

Therefore, the players incurring his divine punishment was inevitable.

And yet, the players had clearly stumbled upon something very lucrative. Hodür’s statues would undoubtedly become a prized commodity pretty soon.

Which meant the Dark Lord himself was going to remain furious for quite some time…

Evé, of course, had no objections to that.

They were already enemies, so what was a little more hostility to add to the fray?

She had no doubt that Hodür’s divine punishment would soon become a frequent occurrence in the Desert of Death.

At this point, the real issue wasn’t whether his judgment would continue striking the wrong targets but rather, it was how he would deal with it going forward.

And that?

That had the potential to shake his alliances with Uller.

The ball was in Hodür’s court now.

It was, in a sense, an open conspiracy.

༺⟐༻

Just as Evé had predicted, tensions between the two gods have indeed been rising.

In the distant cosmic void, within a particular mysterious realm…

Several incorporeal figures had gathered. Some exuding divine majesty, while others emanating sinister corruption.

The most imposing among them was a vast presence cloaked entirely in darkness.

His power was overwhelming.

He was Hodür, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows—or well, at least a projection of him.

Opposite of him stood another figure, wreathed in silver radiance and the chill of ice.

He was Uller, the God of Winter and Hunt.

Currently, the two true gods locked eyes while the air between them growing heavy with each passing second.

Then, in a deep, slow voice, Uller spoke.

“Lord Hodür, about your divine punishment that harmed my believers…don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”

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