Plan
Becoming a god was the lifelong goal of every being in the World of Gods, something they all longed for.
And now, Leylin was standing at the threshold to becoming a god! Ascension held even greater meaning for him than most; only a divine soul would allow him to open the crystal sphere from the inside, allowing his main body to enter the World of Gods!
To be blunt, the moment he successfully became a god, there would be little time left until the Final War resumed.
This was why Leylin took godhood very seriously.
Besides, meeting the requirements did not mean one would successfully become a god. In the history of the World of Gods, there were plenty of examples of people falling during their ascension, or being ambushed by the enemy right after. He obviously did not want to be one of those poor gods.
‘Malar and Cyric will definitely sense my ascension, our roles clash… They wouldn’t let me off… This is something decided by natural circumstances, just like how there can only be one male in a pride of lions. This is an unchangeable fact…’ Leylin stroked his chin, looking grim.
‘Then there’s Mystra, Tyr, and Helm. They already plotted to kill me once. I’m afraid they won’t let me off; the moment my divine realm is prepped they’ll attack me immediately. My body will have grown divine, so I won’t be protected by the prime material plane anymore…’
Leylin was currently relying on the fact that he was only a demigod. He’d holed himself up on Debanks Island, and the other gods could only glare at him without being able to do anything. With true gods unable to descend, their avatars and clones were basically a free meal for him. On top of that, Leylin was protected by his church and empire, rendering battle tactics on land and sea useless.
For this reason, he was able to do as he wished up to this point, rather than being pursued and killed. However, after becoming a god, everything would change. The prime material plane would reject his body and expel him to the outer world. When that happened, things would get ‘fun’.
Outside the prime material plane, Mystra and his other enemies would definitely be furious and ready to take revenge at any time. What was more terrifying was that they, in the outer world, no longer had restrictions that they would have had in the prime material plane, and could wield their powerful might as greater gods!
Greater gods were equivalent to peak rank 8 Magi. With a possibility of attack from their true forms, Leylin could already feel the fear rising in him. Without the time to establish his divine realm, it would be impossible to block these malicious beings. When the time came, he would be in danger.
Falling right after becoming a god! Lelin felt like he would become the greatest joke in the World of Gods if such a thing happened.
‘Also… I should worry about Baator…’ Leylin sighed.
He had successfully robbed Beelzebub’s authority and become the master of Dis, hiding his true identity. But who was Asmodeus? This sly devil had also made use of a series of schemes to obtain most of the power in hell, and he’d now placed his attentions on Leylin.
Leylin had never been interested in working with the devils. After all, while they did trust each other to an extent, they wouldn’t hesitate to trick outsiders. He wouldn’t accept any offering of peace, instead gunning to become their master.
This was why Leylin had created the Devil Hunters, powerful Professionals that only the Giant Serpent Church could create. It was partly for empowering his subordinates, but also because he wished to crack down on devil worshippers in the prime material plane as he lay out a path for himself to walk.
Evidently, the devils that were loyal to Leylin could evade Devil Detection spells without paying any price. The rest, however, were not as lucky. The remaining Archdevils were growing increasingly dissatisfied with Leylin, and he could already guess that some of them were already talking to the gods for a chance to overthrow him.
At the same time, Asmodeus’ sly hand was reaching for Dis. He didn’t seem satisfied with using his daughter as a substitute for the Hag Countess to give him authority over Malbolge. Rather, he seemed greedy for more, wanting to unify the Nine Hells and become the true master of Baator! Who would be a better target than Leylin, who had appeared midway?
Leylin had no doubt about it. As long as there was an opportunity, Asmodeus would definitely put all of his resources into gobbling him up and taking control of Dis.
‘Hehe… Come at me with your schemes! I just hope you won’t break your teeth in the end…’ Leylin snickered inside.
It wasn’t as if he didn’t have any cards up his sleeve. Thultanthar was waiting silently in his semi-plane, the flying city seemingly impatient to drink the blood of the gods. A great arcanist with a flying city had been able to intimidate even the gods of ancient times.
At the same time, there was a Magus of laws waiting outside the crystal sphere, greedily eyeing the World of Gods. Those that were preparing to attack Leylin would soon be shocked to find that the rabbit in their hands was actually an evil primordial dragon!
Putting this aside, Leylin took a look at the A.I. Chip’s records.
‘A.I. Chip! Show me the revised version of the grade 12 arcane spell, Karsus’ Avatar!’
[Beep! Karsus’ Avatar is being revised. Estimated time: 677h 23min 13s] the A.I. Chip intoned loyally.
This was a terrifying card in Leylin’s hands. It could let him dispose of Mystra in an instant, at the same time releasing numerous ancient Magi from the core of the Weave. With his experiment in the Shadow World, Leylin now knew the power of this arcane spell model.
Of course, the backlash was immense. However, with the A.I. Chip and his test data, it would be a breeze to fix the issue. Leylin was sure that regardless of what other tricks Distorted Shadow had planned, it would have to do with this arcane spell.
However, he had taken measures to deal with this and was amending the arcane spell model. This meant Distorted Shadow could only watch on helplessly.
‘So if I think about it, I do have quite a few cards…’ Leylin stroked his chin, ‘But… I still need a few people to lead the way!’ A pair of master and servant shivered somewhere in the southern seas. They assumed it was because of the sea winds, heading into the hold of their ship. Who knew what the future held.
At the thought of the child of a god, Leylin immediately recalled the true master of the Poison Scorpion Church, who was a demigod.
‘With how much of a moron Poison Scorpion is, it’s natural that he was disposed of. It would be strange if he wasn’t…’ Poison Scorpion had dealt with his Giant Serpent Church before. Rankings were very strict on the continent. Everyone had their own rank, and since Leylin was neither a god nor a high-ranked legend but a demigod, he naturally wouldn’t mix with beings of other statuses.
The only ones able to speak on equal terms with him were other false gods and demigods. Hence, it was extremely normal for beings like them to form secret alliances. In the face of suppression from the true gods, the demigods and false gods who lacked people to back them up had to learn to band together.
Leylin had obviously made friends with a few of them, making oaths of alliance. Even if it was useless, it would afford him a breather when he ascended and faced the pressure from the other gods.
There were many demigods who held the same train of thought as Leylin did, which was why diplomatic activities went rather smoothly. The Poison Scorpion, master of the Poison Scorpion Sect, was one of the demigods that Leylin had met. Unfortunately, the power of divinity and godfire seemed to be warping his rationality, and he was in a crazed state half the time everyday.
It had to be said that a demigod like this being able to support a church and only being eliminated now had exceeded Leylin’s expectations.
‘The law he comprehended was massacre as well. That’s the only thing that I want…’ Leylin stroked his chin. Poison Scorpion’s divinity was similar to his own, so he began to formulate a vague plan. It was for this reason that he had ordered his subordinates to make contact with him, and then invite the last blood descendant of the Poison Scorpion to the Debanks Island.
‘Just a Poison Scorpion isn’t enough… I need more… I need more targets!’ In that moment, the figures of various demigods flashed by Leylin’s eyes.
Becoming a god was no trivial matter, and new gods were far too eye-catching. Leylin’s methods were simple. He’d have his allies ascend alongside him, leaving them to absorb some of the damage. Of course, it would be even better if they were willing to ascend ahead of him, as that would mean he had more experience.
‘Before I officially become a god, I still need to see a demigod ascending…’ Leylin had always liked being prepared, and if another god could provide him with this experience, that would be for the best.
While he had already subdued Shar of the Shadow World and obtained much information about the gods from her, she was an old being after all. She understood little about the current situation in the World of Gods, and Leylin did not feel too confident.
‘A true god…’ A low sigh rang in the palace…
……
“Young master, we’re here!” An old butler was helping a youth down a boat in Debanks Island’s pier. Ten days had passed in the blink of an eye.
“Wow… Is this the native empire? I almost thought I’d returned to the huge port in the continent!” The youth jumped off the deck and gasped after seeing the port even larger and more luxurious than Port Venus.
“This is His Highness’ land. Please be careful of what you say!” The old butler reminded him cautiously.