Chapter 545

【 ONE OF US WILL FALL TODAY! 】

“…Th-this is… the true divine kingdom of Yggdrasil!”

Uller stared toward the north, his expression a mix of shock and uncertainty. But in the next moment, realization struck him as his heart sank.

He turned his gaze to Eve—only to see the Goddess of Life watching him with a half-smile, her eyes gleaming with veiled mockery.

Or rather… she was looking past him, at the direction of the Crown of Nature behind him.

“The World Tree’s divine realm?”

“You… you’ve deceived me?”

Eve’s voice was soft, but it carried an undertone of scorn and simmering anger.

Uller’s heart grew heavier.

At that moment, a deep, ancient voice echoed within his consciousness:

“To think the true divine kingdom has appeared… It seems the rumors were indeed true. The Crown of Nature really was forged from a fragment of the All-Mother of the Gods’ divine kingdom.”

“In that case, she truly isn’t the World Tree. I didn’t expect this outcome…to think a new deity has grown this strong so quickly. Is this the potential of the elves? Or is the faith of the Elvenkind truly this formidable?”

After a long sigh, the aged voice continued:

“Uller, fall back. Our plan has been exposed.”

“The Crown of Nature is responding to the World Tree’s divine kingdom and slipping from my control… I can no longer use it to suppress the Goddess of Life. I must seal it away as soon as possible.”

“Hela has also noticed my interference. She’s disrupting my power now…”

“With just your incarnation, you currently cannot defeat the Goddess of Life.”

“And now… she won’t step into our fake divine kingdom. Our backup plan is useless.”

“Retreat—take your envoys and believers along with you.”

The voice belonged to Hodur, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows.

As his words echoed through Uller’s mind, the latter’s expression grew increasingly grim.

Failed?

They actually failed?

After all their meticulous preparations, was everything undone just because the World Tree’s true divine realm had appeared?

They were so close.

Just a little more…

If they had managed to trap the Goddess of Life—if they had used the Crown of Nature to suppress her power—she wouldn’t have lasted long as a newly ascended god!

And they hadn’t even used their final trump card yet!

If Evé had simply stepped into their trap, even a lesser-ranked god wouldn’t have escaped.

But… that was only if she’d taken the bait.

Seeing the complex blend of fury, mockery, and guardedness on Eve’s face, Uller knew they had truly lost.

His expression turned uglier by the second.

Unwilling.

Unbearably unwilling.

The elves were growing too fast.

And the Goddess of Life was growing even faster.

This had been his final chance.

If he failed here, he might never get another opportunity to defeat her.

And when that happened, not only would his millennium-long plan to ascend in divinity go up in smoke, he would also face Eve’s unrelenting wrath.

He had already seen it…

This new Goddess of Life was no kind or gentle deity like the All-Mother of the Gods.

No… she was ruthless.

She would erase her enemies’ faith and presence from the source, just as she had done in the Orcs she defeated not too long ago!

And worse still… his collusion with those evil gods had been witnessed by the Platinum Dragon King. Now, not even his Lord God might be willing to stand by him.

The God of War had long disapproved of him—and now that the orc tribes were thriving, he seemed increasingly interested in Uller’s orc-related divinity!

Though Uller wouldn’t fall completely, he could already foresee the outcome should he fail to vanquished the Goddess of Life here:

His followers would dwindle drastically, and under the pretext of “protecting the orc subraces,” the God of War might strip away his Orc divinity, leaving him only with Winter and Hunt.

At that point, he might not even be able to protect his remaining worshippers—reduced to a vassal living on whatever divine power the God of War deigned to give him.

Would that still be a noble god?

No—he’d be little more than a glorified puppet, barely above a demigod servant!

Even if the God of War didn’t go that far… in the future where Seigües’ mana strengthens, and the dimensional passageway reopened, and ancient powers reawakened one after another, Uller—his power waning under Eve’s retaliation—would struggle to preserve his faith here in the realm of Seigües.

And a god of faith with no believers… is as good as dead.

The Goddess of Life wouldn’t even need to strike him personally.

She could just push him into ruin with just lowering his believers alone.

Thus, this was truly his last chance.

Perhaps he still harbored delusions before the war began, but after witnessing the terrifying potential of the elven race and after seeing the explosive growth of the Goddess of Life, Uller understood:

He could only win at this moment.

There was no option to lose, otherwise.

Hodür, the ancient god, could cower in the Netherworld. While those two evil gods Luria and Alyssa could survive off the Abyss even without any believers for themselves.

But he couldn’t.

His situation seemed optimistic on the surface… but he had no escape left.

With that thought, Uller’s face contorted in fury.

A resolute gleam flickered in his silver-gray godfire eyes.

Then—he raised his divine axe high and roared:

“Eve! Today, between the two of us—One. Will. Fall!”

A blinding light suddenly erupted from Uller’s body, transforming into a silver pillar of divine power that surged skyward through layer upon layer of intricate and arcane magical formations.

The pillar pierced the clouds, broke through the elemental layer protecting Seigües, and reached the very boundary of the realm itself. Then, to the astonishment of all, it tore a rift straight through the planar barrier—ripping open a fissure that led directly into the cosmic void beyond.

In the next instant… the entire realm of Seigües trembled.

As a vast, oppressive pressure descended from beyond the heavens, bearing down on the realm’s barrier until it groaned under the strain. Cracks spread across the sky like a web of fractures, within which faint glimpses of a raging voidstorm could be seen…

At that moment, Evé suddenly sensed dozens of divine gazes turning toward them from distant reaches across the universe—piercing through the cosmic void to observe this unfolding battle.

Some came from the Netherworld, while some from the Heavenly Realm, others from hidden corners of Seigües itself… and a few even from the boundless Outer Void.

These were the eyes of several mythical beings, drawn to this divine battle between her and Uller, with each one capable of witnessing such a confrontation.

“Uller! Are you insane?! Stop this at once! Do you actually believe a god of your weak stature can shake the planar boundary of Seigües? If you keep this up, you’ll bring about your own destruction!”

The furious, panicked voice of Hodür echoed within Uller’s consciousness.

But Uller only sneered in response and severed their connection without hesitation.

“Destruction? You’re only worried that if I violate the divine covenant, you’ll be implicated along with me…”

He scoffed.

“Relax. I’m not foolish enough to try and forcibly open Seigües dimensional passageway nor do I even have the power to destroy it.”

With a self-deprecating smirk, Uller let out a furious roar as even more divine power surged through him.

Then, in the next instant, a second pillar of silver light descended from the heavens and struck him directly!

Uller’s divine aura soared again.

“Not good!” Eve’s expression turned grave.

She raised the Withering Heart, which she already prepared in advance, and aimed it at Uller, unleashing the sealing divine light she had stored.

Immediately, crimson brilliance burst forth from the artifact, but the sealing light that should have followed afterwards… never came.

Staring at the inert artifact in Eve’s hand, Uller gave a cold, mocking smile.

“Eve, did you truly think I wouldn’t guard against that artifact like that? This sealed space wasn’t prepared just for you.”

He laughed heartily, his divine aura flaring even higher, as an immense and intricate golden magic circle formed beneath his feet.

The moment Evé saw the runes etched upon it, her voice trembled with surprise:

“Substitution of Form and Essence?!”

Uller raised an eyebrow and sneered.

“You’ve only recently ascended, yet you already know quite a bit.”

Now that Uller had confirmed it, Eve’s expression turned serious.

Substitution of Form and Essence…

As the name implied, it was a divine spell that allowed the user to swap places between their true body and an incarnation.

In battles between true gods, illusion and reality often blurred, and appearances could be deceiving.

Therefore this spell which was extremely practical was a favorite among many mythical beings capable of creating incarnations.

Uller had no intention of fully opening the dimensional passageway of Seigües. Instead, he had torn a small rift in the boundary using his divine might, and before the tear could close, he would use this spell to swap his incarnation’s position with his true body.

In the past, a lesser deity like him might have found it nearly impossible to shake the god-sealed planar boundary of Seigües.

But times had changed.

With Seigües ambient mana gradually being restored, even though the seals remained, it was now possible to open a small rift in its boundary, just enough to activate the spell, Substitution of Form and Essence.

In a flash, Evé understood Uller’s plan.

He was going to bring down his true body to fight her directly here in Seigües!

But… something didn’t add up.

Sure, that spell was powerful but it came with a crucial limitation:

The environment where the exchange took place needed to be able to withstand the descent of a true god.

And Seigües, in its current state, did not yet possess the magical density required to sustain the arrival of a full divine true body. So if a deity attempted to use the spell regardless, they would inevitably fail and would suffer devastating backlash from both their own divine power and the natural resisting force of the realm.

Evé remained calm, but the question lingered in her heart.

Soon, she had her answer.

Chains of gold materialized around Uller, twisting and coiling as they spun in a vortex around him.

Upon those chains, countless obscure runes appeared, dancing and circling before plunging one by one into Uller’s body.

As the runes entered him, the surge of his divine aura began to slow… then halt completely.

When the aura fully stabilized, it had stopped just short of breaking through to true godhood—resting at the peak of the demigod level.

A self-imposed seal…

Uller had sealed away the majority of his divine power, deliberately restraining himself to the level of a peak demigod.

This allowed him to bypass the realm’s safeguards, fool the origin of Seigües, and complete the substitution spell.

Immediately afterward, Uller’s Incarnate form solidified fully as divine light blazed around him.

The magic circle that had enabled the spell—Substitution of Form and Essence—faded into nothing.

Uller’s divine aura grew even deeper, more sacred.

A holy hymn, like a battle chant, resounded behind him as he slowly opened his eyes.

His silver-black pupils blazed with golden divine fire, and a radiant, commanding aura pulsed around him—majestic and inviolable. His leather armor had vanished, replaced by an ornate suit of battle armor, and a silver-gray cape billowed behind him.

Radiating with divine energy, Uller spread his arms and called out in a low voice:

“Come forth… my divine kingdom!”

With his whisper, silver brilliance once again erupted from his body.

A terrifying pressure spread outward from him, carrying an overwhelming sense of divine authority. The surrounding space began to tremble violently…

Then, torrents of silver divine power surged forth, rolling outward in waves.

Before the fanatic gazes of the orcs and the astonished eyes of the players, along with the solemn stares of dozens of mythical beings watching, a vast and ethereal landscape of icy mountains and snowfields emerged in the skies above!

Countless frost-formed beasts and birds soared through the sky or raced across the snowy slopes. They chased and hunted one another, before dissipating and reforming in a continuous cycle…

Then the frozen peaks quickly solidified, enclosing both Uller and Evé in their midst, severing all outside observation.

Disappointed, the spying mythical beings slowly withdrew their gazes. All they could do now was quietly watch the vast realm of ice and snow and wait.

A divine domain.

This was Uller’s divine kingdom manifesting itself.

Having descended in his true body, he had finally unleashed his ultimate trump card—the Domain of Frost Hunt.

Within this domain, Uller was the embodiment of law, the absolute sovereign of heaven and earth.

Clutching a radiant divine axe and a bow, Uller looked coldly at Eve, who was curiously observing the surroundings, and sneered:

“Eve, I’ll admit—you’re powerful. Your divine power has even surpassed mine now…”

“If given more time, I would surely lose any chance of stopping you, and with it, any hope of rising further…”

“But I’ll say it again: one’s divine power does not equal strength!”

“You’ve already lost, Eve. From the moment you stepped into this sealed space… you already lost!”

“One’s divine domain is a true god’s greatest strength! Here, you cannot summon your own domain. Here, you’ll never defeat me!”

“Fall, Eve! I will slay you here and now! Your divine power and domain shall become mine—and I… shall become the new God of Life and Nature!”

As he spoke, Uller raised his divine axe and pointed it at Eve.

But to his surprise, Evé remained unusually calm.

“Oh? Is that so?”

She raised an eyebrow slightly and responded softly.

Uller frowned.

Something about her composure sparked an inexplicable sense of unease in his heart.

“If this is your trump card,” Evé said, shaking her head, “then… yes, this war of faith is indeed over.”

She reached out and caught a gently falling snowflake. As it touched her hand, it dissolved into the purest divine energy and dispersed into the air.

Then, with a snap of her fingers—

In the next moment, a mighty, sacred aura surged from deep underground. Golden light representing the power of life, and green light representing the force of nature, intertwined and burst forth from underneath the ground!

To Uller’s stunned gaze, a towering pillar of gold-and-green divine light shot into the sky and tore his divine domain apart!

His icy domain shattered—replaced by a grand, majestic forest.

Evé plucked a phantom leaf and smiled lightly:

“A divine domain, huh…”

“Well, I have one too…and it’s much stronger than yours.”

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