Worse still, their formidable industry had allowed them to rapidly assemble vast and terrifying legions, each comparable to a High Tier Strong Person.
Even more concerning, some of the Strong Persons in the New World possessed powerful external armor.
When worn by a High Tier being, this armor allowed them to instantly match the power of a Saint Tier, or even a Demigod.
This external power was temporary, and fighting in the armor for too long came with severe side effects. Despite this, they managed to continuously fend off the Giant Demon Empireâs invasion.
Worse still, to prevent the front line from being pushed back to the Star Gate, several Giant Demon Deities had to pay a great price to personally perform Divine Descents.
Only by doing so did they finally manage to halt the enemyâs relentless and powerful counterattacks.
Even more incredibly, those audacious mortals in the New World had once launched a surprise attack against the Giant Demon Gods within the Star Realm itself, a truly god-defying battle.
With a main force of over one hundred Warriors in Demigod armor, supported by a fleet of flying warships, those mortals had truly left the Giant Demons battered and disgraced.
Fortunately, however, those mortals underestimated the true power that Deities wield within the Star Realm, and the Giant Demon Deities managed to annihilate them.
But it had to be said that such an event in the New World completely shattered the Giant Demon Deitiesâ worldview.
It made the Giant Demons realize that mortals were capable of achieving such incredible feats.
So, when factoring in the current troubles in the Karte World...
...these Giant Demon Deities were in a truly foul mood.
They had even lost their initial, arrogant confidence, that high-and-mighty attitude with which they had planned to conquer the myriad worlds of the Star Realm.
Their morale had taken a severe blow.
It was a classic case of "thereâs always someone stronger."
And just as the Giant Demon Deities lapsed into silence, a flash of light suddenly shot across the distant Star Realm, appearing abruptly before them.
"Dean Matty?!"
"What brings you here?"
Once the deities got a clear look at the newcomer, they immediately reacted, one after another paying their respects.
The arriving Giant Demon was none other than the Chief Dean of the Giant Demon Empireâs Divine Academy.
He was, naturally, a deity as wellâand one who possessed Powerful Divine Power.
Giant Troll Matty frowned as he looked at the assembled Empire Gods.
He was not calmed by their respectful greetings; instead, a hint of anger colored his voice as he spoke.
"If I hadnât come, were you all just planning to abandon this world?"
"Iâm not trying to scold you, but so many of you Deities have been in this world for some time. Have you really not noticed anything?"
The Giant Demon Gods exchanged stunned and bewildered glances.
âNotice what?â
The Deities looked from one to another.
This only made the powerful deity from the Divine Academyâs expression turn colder.
"Itâs true, then. Many of the Empireâs subjects have been saying that the Empire Gods have grown decadent, lost in their own pleasures!"
"I didnât believe it before, but now I see itâs true."
"You are Deities, after all! If even one of you had bothered to investigate carefully with a âDivine Puppet,â how could you possibly have failed to discover the problem?"
The Giant Demon Deity, Matty, roared, furious at their incompetence.
At the same time, he got straight to the point.
"A portion of this worldâs rules has already slipped from our control!"
"At least a third of its authority has been eroded by the opposing civilization. No wonder they were able to open a portal within this world so easily."
"If I hadnât come, forget about you choosing to abandon this worldâyou wouldnât even know what hit you before you died!"
As he spoke, the Giant Demon Deity, Matty, threw a mindless Divine Puppet down in front of the assembled gods.
By now, the faces of the listening Deities had all drained of color.
"What? A third of this worldâs rules have been eroded?"
"No, thatâs impossible!"
"For the past hundred years, even though weâve spent most of our time consolidating the Laws, our Divine Attendants have been constantly monitoring the entire Star Realm for any changes."
"To erode the rules, they would have had to open a Star Gate in the Star Realm. But how could something like that possibly escape our notice?"
"Furthermore, to erode the rules so silently would require the power of a Main God at minimum! And even a being with the power of a Main God, if they werenât a native deity, could never get the Mana Will to accept them so easily, let alone allow them to merge with the rules."
"Otherwise, we Giant Demons would have taken control of this worldâs rules long ago! Why else would we need a Pseudo-God to monitor the rules and act as another lock for protection?"
"This... This is absolutely impossible!"
The one in charge of this world, Divine Gaius, a Deity of Medium Divine Power, immediately and loudly voiced his doubts.
He had no choice but to question and refute the claim.
If such a disaster had occurred on their watch, the four Giant Demon Deities under his leadership could not escape the blame.
If this was confirmed, they would likely face severe punishment from the Divine Council Hall.
Besides, logically speaking, what the Giant Demon Deity, Gaius, said was not wrong.
Controlling a worldâs Mana Will and its rules was absolutely impossible for anyone less than a Main God.
Furthermore, the only being who could make the Mana Will willingly cede authority over its Laws would have to be a native Main God.
âAs for an outsider?â
Did he really think the Mana Will of a Demon World wouldnât recognize the aura of its own âchildrenâ?
Therefore, the Giant Demon Deity, Gaius, would never have imagined that another deity could secretly merge with the worldâs rules under these circumstances.
After all, the native gods had been wiped out long ago.
Even if they could be resurrected, it wasnât something that could be accomplished in a mere hundred years, or even a thousand.
Moreover, if a Main God were to appear in a world, the fluctuations of its aura could never escape the notice of other deities.
It would be like a whale falling into a small lakeâno matter how hard it tried to conceal its presence, it would be utterly impossible.