Chapter 579

【SLIPPING AWAY IN EMBARRASSMENT】

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Just after Athos had introduced himself, a melodious and clear voice rang out in response.

“Athos… one of the Eight Divine Envoys of the God of War?”

His expression showed a hint of surprise.

“I didn’t expect Her Grace, the Goddess of Life, to have heard of me.”

Evé smiled faintly.

“As the founding War Deity of the Holy Maniya Empire, your deeds are well-known throughout the Empire. I’ve long been aware of your name.”

This, of course, was a lie.

In truth, it was only after Evé destroyed Uller, the God of Winter and Hunt, that she hastily began studying the God of War’s faction and its members to prepare for any possible retaliation.

Based on her findings, the strength of the various deities within that faction had undoubtedly changed compared to a thousand years ago. Even their subordinate deities and demigod-level envoys have undergone significant changes.

The records stored within the World Tree’s inheritance could now serve only as limited references.

Fortunately, information on faith-based deities was rather easy to come by.

To spread their doctrine, such deities often established their prestige and proclaimed their greatness throughout various mortal world, which was a common practice among faith-based gods.

Aside from some well-guarded secrets, information regarding these deities and their envoys, with even details about their ascension and mortal history are all relatively accessible through various churches.

Naturally, most of these stories have been embellished.

Evé didn’t even need to collect this information personally and she simply issued tasks to the players, who would then used their blackmarket contacts to obtain the relevant intel.

It was through this method that Evé learned of Athos. She even discovered that his fallout with the Holy Maniya Empire wasn’t solely due to a religious dispute; it also stemmed from the fact that he had an affair with both the founding emperor’s wife and daughter.

Now that… would be hard for anyone to tolerate.

“Did the God of War send you to meet me?”

Evé asked directly, getting straight to the point.

Athos’s expression turned solemn. He respectfully answered,

“Yes, Your Grace Evé. I was sent by His Highness, Lóðurr. However… I also represent the Pantheon in this matter.”

Evé gave a slight nod, indicating for him to continue.

Athos paused briefly before stating his purpose:

“Your Grace Evé, it has been nearly four years since your ascension. I was sent here to remind you that all newly ascended deities must visit the Pantheon and establish their divine seat to be formally recognized by the other gods.”

“This time, I’ve come to invite you to the Pantheon, to leave your mark and claim your rightful place.”

Evé silently thought to herself.

Recognition?

Honestly, she couldn’t care less if they accepted her or not.

Outwardly, however, she simply gave a light nod.

“I understand.”

What must come, must come.

This was likely just another test from the gods.

Seeing the Goddess of Life nod in agreement, Athos sighed in relief.

Although the elves of the Elven Forest were undeniably eccentric, their goddess—who once slew a god over a mere disagreement—seemed surprisingly reasonable in person…

Of course, Athos knew better as it only seemed that way.

Anyone capable of slaying a god was never someone to be underestimated.

After a pause, he continued:

“In addition, we would like to formally invite you to this year’s Divine Assembly. This gathering will be of unprecedented scale. Nearly all true gods are expected to attend and the topics discussed will directly involve Your Grace.”

A Divine Assembly?

And it concerns her?

Eve’s heart skipped a beat.

The Pantheon, as the gods’ council chamber, usually served as a place for resolving conflicts between deities.

As such, mass gatherings, as Athos described, were exceedingly rare.

Although it was not completely unheard of, typically such assembly only occur when a major event shook the universe.

And if we’re talking about recent major events that might concern her, then it could only be the resurgence of mana in the realm of Seigües.

As for her true identity, she was fairly certain that had not yet been exposed—at least, not to the majority of the gods.

If there were any surface-level reasons why she might draw such attention from other divine beings, she could think of three possible explanations:

First, the origin of her divinity.

Second, the existence of the new breed of elves she nurtured.

Third, the fact that she was currently the only mythical deity whose true body could move freely within Seigües.

Which of these was the cause—or perhaps all of them—remained to be seen.

Eve’s mind raced, but outwardly, she remained composed and simply asked:

“The date?”

“Two months from now, on the day of the Mana Tide in the realm of Seigües.”

Athos replied respectfully.

The day of the Mana Tide, officially known as the Tide of Magic, was an annual event in Seigües when the ambient magical energy reached its highest concentration.

This date followed a fairly consistent pattern, which usually fall between September 10th and 15th each year.

However, True Gods were able to perceive the precise date by observing the flow of mana across the world. After sensing it herself, Evé determined that this year’s Mana Tide would exactly fall on September 13th.

“I understand. I will arrive at the Pantheon on September 13th to attend this year’s Divine Assembly and to claim my rightful divine seat.”

She responded calmly.

What must happen will eventually happen.

Moreover, with her now elevated to the rank of an intermediate divine, she possessed enough confidence to face whatever lies ahead.

After speaking, Evé glanced at Athos once more and found him somewhat more agreeable than before.

She wondered if it was due to the illusion she had cast—disguising her true form with an incarnation of divine caliber. Athos appeared far more subdued than she had anticipated… which was odd, considering he had previously clashed with the players and even suffered a significant defeat.

Still, at best, he now simply seemed less unpleasant.

As an envoy of the God of War, Evé didn’t truly believe he had come solely just to deliver the Pantheon’s message.

Pausing slightly, Evé looked at Athos—who stood stiff and upright, perhaps too upright—and asked with a half-smile:

“Is there anything else?”

Hearing her words, Athos instinctively looked up.

The moment his gaze met her violet eyes, his heart involuntarily skipped a beat.

In that instant, he had the distinct and chilling sensation that all his thoughts had been laid bare.

Swallowing nervously despite having no saliva to swallow, he steeled himself and replied:

“Of course… I’m also here to deliver… His Highness Lóðurr’s… divine decree.”

He had originally intended to say order but lacked the courage to do so.

After he spoke, he noticed that the Goddess of Life’s smile grew even gentler.

Yet, despite its warmth, Athos couldn’t help but feel that there was no real mirth behind that smile.

“What decree?”

Evé asked lightly.

“Ah…”

Athos hesitated slightly.

But after gritting his teeth, he finally continued:

“Your Grace Evé, you have already emerged victorious in the recent holy war. That conflict was initiated by Uller, the God of Winter and Hunt, without the approval of his own faction. Therefore… His Highness Lódurr does not intend to pursue the matter of your deicide. However…”

He paused, then said with great caution:

“However… the three divinities once held by Uller, which was Winter, the Hunt, and the Orc must be reclaimed by His Highness Lódurr…”

As he finished, Athos looked up nervously to gauge the Goddess of Life’s reaction.

To his dismay, she was still smiling at him serenely in her elven guise. But the more she smiled, the more unsettled he felt.

He couldn’t understand why this simple mission of delivering a divine message had become so nerve-wracking and emotionally exhausting.

Then again, perhaps it was because he had unexpectedly encountered the true form of this deity.

“Is that all?”

Evé continued to smile as she asked.

Realizing there was no longer any point in holding back, Athos decided to deliver the rest of his Lord’s message, albeit as tactfully as possible:

“There is… one more matter. After the Holy War, Your Grace had acquired the artifact Crown of Nature. That artifact has been under my Lord’s stewardship for over a millennium and it is considered one of His true divine artifacts.”

“Therefore… we ask that you return the Crown of Nature.”

As soon as he said those words, Athos felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped noticeably.

Though he was now a demigod and no longer affected by the cold, and although the temperature in the confessional chamber remained unchanged, a chill still crept through his entire being.

In that moment, he sensed divine wrath.

“…Are you finished?”

The voice of the Goddess of Life came once more—now devoid of all warmth and mirth.

“Er… yes. That is all,”

Athos replied quietly.

“Very well. Then you may leave.”

Her tone was calm, yet final.

Then Athos saw her raise her hand.

A tremendous and irresistible force surged toward him, pushing him out of the confessional chamber.

Throughout the entire process, Athos found himself unable to resist in the slightest. In a daze, he was expelled from the temple grounds and was left standing outside before he could even process what had happened.

Although it was partially due to his severe injuries, the overwhelming divine power the Goddess of Life displayed with just a wave of her hand left Athos utterly shaken.

Under the pressure of that force, he was unable to maintain his balance and fell to the ground with a thud.

Moments later, the mysterious demigod named Feynir stepped out. Casting a cold glance at him, she spoke indifferently:

“Her Grace the Goddess has stated: in divine warfare, life and death are of no consequence. As such, spoils belong to the victor and that naturally includes the three divinities once held by Uller.”

“Moreover, his divinities have already been destroyed by Her Grace.”

“As for the Crown of Nature, it was originally a divine artifact belonging to the former World Tree. It was an item that once belonged to the elves, and Her Grace recovering it was simply a return to its rightful owner.”

“You may leave now.”

With that, she let out a faint snort and turned to close the temple doors behind her.

Athos opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.

In truth, he had already foreseen this outcome the moment he laid eyes on the Goddess of Life.

This elven deity… was nothing like the old mild-mannered elves he was familiar with.

Now that he had been thrown out, Athos actually felt a faint sense of relief.

After all, meeting a god’s incarnation was manageable, even expected in some cases. But standing before their true body, especially one known to bear enmity toward your faction, was enough to rattle even the most seasoned demigod.

In the end, although he had successfully delivered the Pantheon’s message, the demands of his own faction leader had been flatly rejected.

With a sigh, he prepared to rise.

But before he could get to his feet, he found himself once again surrounded by a group of those increasingly eccentric elves…

“Who was that gorgeous priestess just now? Is she an NPC? I’ve never seen her before.”

“No clue… maybe a new hidden character?”

“Pfft, that demigod NPC just got thrown out like trash!”

“Looks like their negotiations had failed, huh?”

“Doesn’t that make him our enemy now?”

“By the way… he’s still badly wounded, right?”

“Should we also give it a try? Boss Tomato and the others collected a bunch of silver-blood from this guy earlier.”

“Wait… is that silver liquid actually a blood from a demigod?”

“Exactly! We had Carlos, the old master smith from Florence, examine it and he said it’s top-tier magical material! More valuable than dragon scales!”

“No way… this guy’s blood is that expensive?!”

Athos: “…”

In that moment, Athos realized that the way these elves looked at him had once again changed and they were now eyeing him like a pack of hungry wolves.

He could see them slowly closing in.

His expression shifted.

Without a second thought for dignity, he drew upon the last traces of divine power he could muster to shroud himself in concealment, turned around, and fled…

It was a most undignified retreat.

༺⟐༻

“Lóðurr, the Supreme God of War, hmm…”

Back inside the confessional chamber, after having expelled the envoy of the War God, Evé now lay half-reclined in a chair, swinging her legs lazily as she chuckled:

“If he wanted something from me, all he had to do was ask. Does he take me for one of his subordinates?”

“No… no true god is that naïve. This was clearly a test… a way to gauge my temperament and reaction.”

“What I didn’t expect was for his demigod envoy to be driven off so disgracefully by the players…”

A pleased smile tugged at Eve’s lips as she recalled the scene.

“Speaking of which, I believe they also picked up a crimson axe… it looked like a divine artifact.”

If that crimson axe had survived a divine punishment that had disintegrated its previous legendary-rank owner, then it was undoubtedly a strong divine artifact.

Of course, it couldn’t be a true divine artifact—nor even a high-grade one—otherwise it wouldn’t have been damaged by divine retribution.

Still, to endure even partial divine wrath, it must be at least a legendary-grade pseudo-artifact, possibly approaching demigod-grade.

Nonetheless, Evé herself had no interest in such items.

Even the divine power lingering within it was of little value to her now.

At most, it would contain a few dozen units of divine energy—once refined, that number would shrink even further.

“Well, I’ll just let the players have it after some repairs ans consider it a reward for their efforts this time.”

As the number of players continued to grow and the map expanded, Evé was increasingly inclined to loosen her restrictions on equipment that exceeded the current average player level.

After all, the ruins within the shattered divine kingdom held many of such lost artifacts… and it wouldn’t be fair to confiscate everything since that would only demoralize the players.

The enemies players now faced and would soon face came in many forms, not just Iron and Silver rank. Thus, relying solely on her to provide equipment would not be sustainable in the long run.

Since she had no immediate plans to boost the players’ overall strength further, relaxing the equipment restrictions seemed like a practical step at this point.

Those with the skill and courage could earn better gear through their own effort.

Of course, given the current power level of the players, few would be able to fully wield the strength of a true divine artifact.

This wasn’t like the high-grade magic scrolls sold on the black market…

Those scrolls could be activated so long as one had mana, allowing even low-level players to unleash powerful spells.

But with divine artifacts, unless it was a true artifact, insufficient strength meant the weapon would be little more than a strong piece of metal.

Evé had come to accept this.

When the map was smaller and player numbers were limited, strict control over equipment balance made sense as unfair power gaps would demoralize many.

But now that the world was larger and exploration was encouraged, she could afford to relax those rules a little.

Naturally, if a true divine artifact ever emerged… she would still reclaim it without hesitation.

With that thought, Evé snapped her fingers and returned to her divine kingdom through the faith network.

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