Chapter 82: The Summit of the Cowards

A few days later, Red spent the necessary currency to construct the meeting space.

[50,000 DP DEDUCTED]

[VIRTUAL PANTHEON INITIATED]

The dark expanse of the Void fractured. A massive circular table materialized, hovering over a digitized map of the Eastern Sector. Thirty avatars of minor deities popped into the seats. They manifested as glowing orbs, twisted elemental spirits, and armored humanoids.

At the far end of the table sat Volkar. The Beast God took the form of a hulking, scarred wolf-man with a crown of jagged bones. Fresh blood dripped from his digital maw. He slammed his spectral fists onto the table.

“You summon us like slaves,” Volkar snarled, baring rows of yellowed teeth. “I just fed an entire village of my own human worshippers to my war-hounds simply because they failed to meet their meat quota. I rule the Northern Crags. I answer to absolutely no one.”

[ NAME: Volkar ] [ RANK: 5 ]

[ RACE: Wolf-Kin / Hounds ]

[ STATUS: Arrogant ]

[ DP- 1,367,069 ]

Red leaned back in his chair and tapped the primary console.

[LIVE FEED INITIATED: NORTHERN CRAGS BORDER]

A massive holographic projection expanded above the center of the table. The feed displayed the physical realm. Gorak and Iron-Scale stood before the towering wooden gates of Volkar’s fortress.

Behind the barricades, hundreds of Volkar’s elite Dire-Wolves frothed at the mouth, tearing into the remains of the very villagers their god had just bragged about slaughtering.

“You sent your pets to my domain,” Volkar sneered. He raised his hands, channeling his divine energy directly from the Void to the physical battlefield. “I will show you what a true god does for his army.”

[MIRACLE DETECTED: BLOOD-RAGE (TIER 3)]

Down on the screen, a crimson light enveloped the Dire-Wolves. Their muscles expanded, tearing through their fur. They smashed through their own wooden gates and charged the vanguard.

Red kept his hands resting on his lap, and simply watched the screen.

Gorak stepped forward. The Warlord swung his star-iron gauntlet into the leading wolf’s skull. Bone shattered on impact. The massive beast crumpled instantly. Iron-Scale slithered through the chaotic melee, his metallic scales deflecting the frenzied bites. The Inquisitor drove his scythe through three Dire-Wolves in a single, fluid motion.

Volkar gripped the edges of the digital table. He poured more DP into the connection.

[MIRACLE DETECTED: BONE-MEND (TIER 2)]

The broken wolves on the screen twitched, their flesh attempting to knit back together.

Gorak stomped his heavy boot down, crushing the alpha’s spine entirely to cancel the healing process. He grabbed a second leaping beast by the throat and ripped its head from its shoulders.

Iron-Scale ordered a volley. A barrage of heavy hydra-bone bolts rained down from the unseen monster garrison, pinning the remaining hounds to the dirt.

The skirmish ended in less than a minute. Gorak stood over a mountain of dead, divinely empowered beasts.

The other twenty-nine gods sat in absolute silence. Their avatars flickered across the Virtual Pantheon.

Volkar slumped back into his digital chair. The bone crown atop his wolf-like head dimmed. “Stop them,” the Beast God rasped. “I yield the Northern Crags.”

Red projected his will directly across the physical distance, issuing a telepathic command to his vanguard to hold their positions.

Down on the screen, Gorak lowered his star-iron gauntlet. Iron-Scale pulled his rusted scythe from the ribs of a fallen hound and stepped back from the splintered wooden gates.

Volkar stared at the holographic feed of his ruined pack. “How are you any different from the Golden King? Aurelius burned everyone who refused to kneel. You replace his sun-fire with iron and monsters.”

“A real war looks entirely different.” Red swiped his hand across the terminal, minimizing the battle feed. “If I wanted to conquer you, your fortress would already be ash. Your surviving followers would be hauling slag in my foundries right now. You are still breathing because I allow it.”

The Beast God gripped the edges of the circular table.

“That skirmish was a baseline demonstration,” Red told the digital room. “It proves that divine miracles and brute force mean absolutely nothing against my civilization. My vanguard is prepared for every variable. You cannot surprise me.”

Red locked his gaze on Volkar’s avatar. “You just bragged to this room about feeding your human worshippers to your war-hounds because they missed a meat quota. I simply did you a favor. I cleared out your pack. Now you have fewer mouths to feed.”

The surrounding minor deities adjusted their digital postures, keeping their eyes locked on the central interface.

“What do you want, then? What is the purpose of pulling us into this space?”

Red expanded the holographic map of the Eastern Sector across the center of the table. “I am forming an integrated alliance. This coalition will cover one-third of this country. I do not require your assistance to build my empire, but you will absolutely need me to survive what comes next.”

Several minor deities at the far end of the table flickered brightly, who were begging for that to Red for two months, eagerly pledged their immediate loyalty to the City of Spiral.

A towering entity encased in shattered bronze armor slammed a heavy gauntlet on the table to silence them.

“What are your exact terms?” the armored god demanded. “How does this arrangement benefit us?”

“You are stagnant.” Red looked around the circular table. “You waste centuries fighting each other over scraps of dirt. You steal a few dozen followers, burn a village, and call it a victory. That is the exact reason you fail to rank up. You bleed your own resources dry. I am putting an end to the infighting. We consolidate our forces, rank up as a unified front, and conquer the neighboring states.”

Red rested his hands on the console. “I possess the military capacity to start a continental war today. I am entirely confident I would emerge victorious. My forces would take casualties, but I would wipe every single one of you off this map. I prefer efficiency over waste. We grow together, and we multiply our strength.”

He tapped a command into his interface to unlock the exit protocols for the digital room.

“Those interested in this expansion can remain in the lobby. And those who aren’t can leave.”

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