Chapter 246 - 198: Divine Kingdom Defense, Mana Will Law

"The Star Road has been sealed, but hasn’t this all been a bit too easy?"

Above the Star Realm, the projections of four Deities hovered over the planet’s celestial sphere.

Meanwhile, their true forms were seated high upon their thrones within their respective Divine Kingdoms, using the Rule Power of the Mana Will to survey the mortal world.

"It was indeed a bit too easy."

"But as it stands, the Mana Will has indeed marked that unknown entity."

"The Star Road within the mortal world has been sealed. With our forceful intervention through the Mana Will, the enemy shouldn’t be able to open a Star Gate in the mortal world again, no matter how much Power they possess."

"Of course, we should also keep a closer watch on the area outside the Star Realm."

the Elephant Insect Deity said cautiously.

"The Star Realm? We have been monitoring the entire world constantly. It’s impossible that any living creature could have slipped past us and crossed the Law Barrier."

"Since no living creature has reached the Star Realm, the enemy shouldn’t have been able to pinpoint our world’s location."

the Celestial Bull Deity said uncertainly.

"That would be true under normal circumstances."

"But I assume you all have a general understanding of the situation in their world."

"A mysterious game that grants ordinary beings Extraordinary Power, which they then use to conquer different worlds... An entity like that is simply unimaginable."

"What’s more, this game even foresaw the state of our world and issued war quests to these so-called ’Players’ based on that information."

"Furthermore, have any of you considered how those Players who appeared so abruptly in our world actually managed their Descent?"

"Such methods are simply beyond comprehension."

"Therefore, I believe it’s time we dealt with these ’Players’ who have appeared in our world."

"First, we need to torture them for more information. Second, we must do everything possible to discover how they are able to ignore the rules and manifest in our world."

The Dragonfly Insect Deity’s tone was grim.

The other three Insect Deities nodded in agreement.

"We must find out why. Otherwise, even if the ’Chief Player’ can no longer appear in the mortal world, the endless stream of Players from that world will inevitably cause unimaginable destruction."

"But the fact that these Players can constantly ’revive’ is a difficult problem to handle."

"Revive? That’s only possible if their souls and Soul Spirituality remain intact."

"Destroying their bodies isn’t enough. We should focus on imprisoning and capturing their souls. I’d like to see if a being can still revive perfectly without its Soul Spirituality."

It had to be said...

This Insect Deity had accurately identified the Players’ weakness.

While the True Game appeared to allow Players to revive infinitely, it was all predicated on their souls being able to return successfully each time.

Of course, the True Game did have protective measures for the souls of its Players.

But whether these measures could guarantee escape from the grasp of a Deity was another question entirely.

Nothing in this world is ever foolproof.

And the True Game’s greatest weakness was, in fact, its soul protection mechanism.

Once that soul protection mechanism was breached, the Player’s death—both in reality and in the game—would become a very real possibility.

However, this was something that the four mere Insect Deities were currently incapable of achieving.

After all, their own doom was already at hand.

The projections of the four Insect Deities were gathered, discussing how to deal with the Players.

They even considered how to enable the Insect People in the mortal world to intercept a Player’s soul the instant they were killed.

Ultimately, the four Insect Deities devised a plan.

They would use the souls of their believers—the Insect People who ascended to their Divine Kingdoms upon death—to craft Spiritual artifacts.

Using something Spiritual to contain another Spiritual entity was the perfect solution.

But just as they were in the midst of their discussion...

Suddenly, the Elephant Insect Deity whipped his head around to stare into the void.

In that same instant, the Elephant Insect Deity’s pupils dilated violently.

Flames!!!

An infinite torrent of fire was erupting from beyond the Star Sea!

And as the raging flames flooded in...

Suddenly, with a ripple in Space...

The next moment, a pair of colossal, flaming Dragon Claws stepped out of the void.

First, the claws.

Then came the head, the body, and the tail.

From within the inferno...

The instant the terrifying behemoth appeared...

looking up from the surface of Green Saturn, one could already see a second Sun in the sky.

He was so immense.

And so terrifyingly captivating.

Even though the four Insect Deities had anticipated that Lince might appear in the Star Realm...

...they never imagined they would have to face such a horrifying creature!

"This... This is impossible!!!"

"’Has his Power grown stronger again? Or was he just pretending to be weak this entire time?’"

The expressions on the faces of the four Insect Deities morphed from shock to utter terror.

And in the next instant...

A shout suddenly erupted from one of the four Deities.

"Quick! Seal the gates to your Divine Kingdoms!"

"And we must link the Laws of our Divine Kingdoms and submerge them within the Mana Will’s Law Network! Otherwise, we’ll be no match for him!"

As the Insect Deity roared, the four projections instantly dissipated.

In their place...

Just outside Green Saturn’s orbit, four ’Divine Kingdoms’—shaped like pyramids, but taller and more pointed—suddenly turned ethereal.

The ethereal Divine Kingdoms transformed into four streaks of light, plunging toward the mortal world. In an instant, they submerged themselves into the Law Network high in the atmosphere—a construct of the Mana Will, invisible to mortal eyes.

The four Divine Kingdoms now resembled four points of starlight embedded in the spherical network.

The starlight blazed, extending luminous pathways that shot along the Mana Will’s Law Network, connecting them all.

It had to be said, Lince’s entrance was terrifying enough to frighten a god.

Such a massive body of flesh and blood.

Even if the four Insect Deities used the power of their Divine Formats to manifest Elemental Divine Bodies, they could never hope to achieve a physical form as colossal as Lince’s.

Thus, the moment Lince appeared...

...the four Insect Deities knew they were outmatched and immediately resorted to their strongest defensive measures.

At this very moment...

Watching the spires transform into starlight, plummet, and finally vanish from the Material Interface...

Lince was quite curious.

’So this is a Divine Kingdom?’

’It doesn’t exist purely on the Material Interface?’

Lince recalled the ruins outside the Star Realm of the Oakland Continent.

A smile touched his lips.

For a Demigod to achieve Ascension to Divinity...

...the first step is to ignite the Divine Fire.

This means igniting one’s Divinity, merging it with the Mana Will, and simultaneously using the Mana Will’s Power to forge a Divine Format.

During this process, if one’s Divine Power is insufficient, or if the Mana Will rejects them, the Ascension to Divinity will be cut short, leading to complete annihilation of body and soul.

However, before all that, there is another essential stage in the process of Ascension to Divinity.

The Demigod must use their personal Mighty Power to forge a demiplane.

Forging a demiplane requires a Demigod to enter the Star Realm and roam it, seeking out meteorites and asteroids.

They then use these celestial materials to construct a ’Floating Island’ suspended in the cosmos.

Of course, simply assembling meteorites and asteroids isn’t enough.

During this process, the Demigod must also use the power of their Divinity to guide these Floating Islands into the planet’s orbit.

Then, they must submerge it within the Mana Will’s Law Network.

They must also use the combined power of their own Divinity and the Mana Will to ’localize’ these Floating Islands.

This brings them to a crucial step.

The so-called ’Ascension to Divinity by raising a Divine Kingdom’ refers to the part of the process where the Mana Will completely terraforms these Floating Islands.

A Divine Kingdom is a miniature world in itself.

It depends on the main world for its existence, and everything it requires must be provided by the rules of the Mana Will.

Light, atmosphere, everything—all must be provided by the Mana Will.

For the Mana Will to do this, the Demigod must be one who has truly achieved Ascension to Divinity.

As for why a Divine Kingdom is essential for a Deity...

There are several reasons. First, the Floating Island that constitutes the Divine Kingdom, being a product of rules itself, can form a powerful and effective ’outpost’ with the Mana Will’s Law Network beyond the Star Realm, serving to protect the planet.

When facing threats from the Star Sea, the Deities and their Divine Kingdoms must naturally be the first line of defense.

Second, the Divine Kingdom is a Deity’s ultimate sanctuary.

During the process of Ascension, the Mana Will’s transformation and assimilation of the Divine Kingdom is one part of it. The Deity also integrates a portion of their own Divinity and Divine Format into the Divine Kingdom.

Therefore, within their Divine Kingdom, a Deity’s words become Law, making them virtually omnipotent.

Furthermore, if a Deity’s true body is destroyed outside their Divine Kingdom, they can be resurrected instantly within it, provided they have enough faith and Divine Power Crystals.

Thus, just as in the Karte World, the only way to truly kill a Deity and prevent their swift revival is to destroy both the Deity and their Divine Kingdom.

If not for this, the Giant Demon Deities would not have suffered such catastrophic losses when they attacked the Karte World.

After all, breaching a Divine Kingdom is like invading an enemy’s home base, where you are suppressed by numerous Laws.

While this suppression isn’t as powerful as a planet’s Mana Will, the effect varies between Deities and their Divine Kingdoms, and it can still be quite substantial.

Therefore, within their own Divine Kingdom, a Deity of Weak Divine Power can rival one of Medium Divine Power.

Thus, in wars between Deities, the most effective method—if one is willing to pay the price—is to simply ram the enemy’s Divine Kingdom with one’s own.

The losses, however, would be astronomical.

Even in victory, it would be a case of killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Deities will coexist peacefully unless there is some deep-seated, irreconcilable hatred between them.

Of course, if a Deity of Powerful Divine Power wanted to kill one of Weak Divine Power, that would be another matter entirely.

But regardless, a Deity is inherently more powerful within their own Divine Kingdom.

These four Insect Deities appeared to only possess Weak Divine Power.

But one must not forget that they were the only four Deities in this world.

Therefore, despite their weakness, they were naturally favored by this world’s Mana Will.

So, when these four Deities submerged their Divine Kingdoms in the Mana Will’s Law Network, the support they could draw from the Mana Will’s Power was maximized.

However, none of this mattered to Lince.

Weak Divine Power was still just Weak Divine Power, even with the support of the Mana Will.

First of all, their own strength and the fortitude of their Divine Kingdoms had to be sufficient.

It was like charging a phone. A power bank only has so much capacity; try charging it with a high-voltage current and see what happens.

Therefore, even with their Divine Kingdoms submerged in the Law Network, the support they could receive would, at best, only reduce their combat expenditure and provide a steady, continuous supply of Energy. Nothing more.

To say nothing of the fact that the current Lince already possessed Power comparable to a Deity of Medium Divine Power...

...his Breaking Technique Body alone was enough for him to run rampant.

Furthermore, the Mana Will of this world was not entirely on their side.

Although the True Game’s corruption was only a little over ten percent, it was like a massive dam collapsing from a single anthole—more than enough of an opening for Lince to exploit.

And so, with a mere smile...

Lince’s eyes became veiled with Spiritual Power.

The Divine Kingdoms that had vanished from the Material Realm, along with the invisible Law Network of the Mana Will, now lay completely exposed to his sight.

The so-called Law Network of the Mana Will was easy to understand. It was like a mesh bag holding a basketball.

It covered the planet’s surface in a dense lattice, enveloping it completely.