The Era of Gods

Chapter 562: 562 Beginning of the Conquest

Chapter 562: Chapter 562 Beginning of the Conquest

The so-called subordinate universes don’t mean that this Crystal Wall universe is right next to the Toriel Multiverse, nor does it mean that there is a connection channel between the two universes that qualifies them as a subordinate universe. Rather, it refers to two Crystal Wall universes that share the same rules and power systems, but one is stronger and the other weaker, creating a primary-secondary relationship.

This situation is not uncommon in the Chaotic Void Sea. After all, there are countless large and small Crystal Wall universes within the Chaotic Void Sea, but there can’t be that many different fundamental rules and power systems. Thus, some Crystal Wall universes with extremely similar basement rules and power systems are grouped into the same system.

Of course, whether this Crystal Wall universe, numbered CY-00801, is a subordinate universe of the Toriel Multiverse is not where its value lies. The reason so many forces are eyeing this world is mainly because of the world’s own inherent value.

This universe belongs to a medium-sized Crystal Wall system, with both resources and energy strength at four stars, ranking second in the highest five-star level.

Although it lacks the ability to birth great divine power, after the initial assessment by the Greedy Wolf Combat Team, if the whole world were fully developed, it could support close to five Powerful Divine Powers.

The main material plane of this world is located at the center of the universe and is incredibly vast, constituting a super-giant plane.

In addition to the main material plane, there are eight super-large planes, over fifty large planes, and several thousand medium and small planes.

If one could fully conquer and develop them, they could support the supply of an entire legion; the resources would be more than sufficient for something like the Giant God Combat Team.

It was only through his relationship with the commander-in-chief that Lin Xiao had the opportunity to attempt the conquest of this world. Regardless of whether it had to do with his girlfriend or not, even without that relationship, he could have managed it – let’s not forget that Commander Xie still owed him a huge favor.

However, he only had twenty years in the main world. If he failed to conquer it within twenty years, other battle teams would get involved, and competition would ensue.

One year in the main world is equivalent to three hundred sixty-five years in other domains, ten years to three thousand six hundred fifty years, and twenty years to seven thousand three hundred years in other domains. The time—

“Is quite sufficient!”

Nonetheless, a problem was now laid out before him.

The Greedy Wolf Combat Team had suffered a major defeat. Not only was a military base built on a demi-plane attached to the main material plane destroyed, but they also lost their territory on the main material plane. Now, that territory had been seized by various major forces and the Native Deity Church, with no chance of reclaiming it.

Moreover, other forces would not allow human forces to re-enter the main material plane and would definitely do everything possible to obstruct them.

And Lin Xiao’s Giant God Combat Team didn’t possess the Greedy Wolf Combat Team’s strength to force their way in, while the Split Claw Dragon Battle Team was only responsible for defending the outpost base, ensuring the competitiveness of human forces in this area, and would not participate in the competition between the Giant God Combat Team and other forces or the conquest of this world.

Therefore, Lin Xiao had to think of another way to carve out a new stable foothold in the main material plane.

It had to be the main material plane, for the essence of this world lay there. Other super-large planes and the many large planes indeed had True Gods, but neither the number of believers nor the power could compare to the main material plane.

Perhaps unifying all planes beyond the main material plane could rival it, but that would be too troublesome, as he lacked the manpower for such a feat.

Hence, the best strategy to conquer this world was to conquer the main material plane. As long as the main material plane was conquered, the other subsidiary planes wouldn’t be much of a problem.

As easy as it was to think, Lin Xiao found the actual execution to be extraordinarily difficult.

The mess left by the Greedy Wolf Combat Team was too severe. There wasn’t a place to set foot in the main world, and every corner of the vast main material plane was occupied by some deity – not just human True Gods, but also deities of Beastmen, Dwarves, Elves, and other races, including Fishmen, Halflings, gods of the Slime Monsters, and other rare types of deities.

It could be said that this world was completely a theocracy, and the term Hall of All Gods was no exaggeration. The main material plane of this world truly hosted tens of thousands of True Gods – seemingly more than the Pharrell Primary Material Plane of the Toriel Multiverse – although the average Divinity Level was far lower than Pharrell’s.

Thinking back to the worlds he encountered before his Divine Enthronement, Lin Xiao remembered few True Gods and even fewer encounters with them. And now, just after his enthronement, he had to face such high-end circumstances, which put enormous pressure on him.

But no matter how great the pressure was, he had to take action. He spent every day buried in the command center, searching for information.

Fortunately, while the Greedy Wolf Combat Team was lackluster, their exploration of this world over a long period had been quite thorough. Not only the main material plane, but some of the major subsidiary planes as well had detailed documentation, and the most detailed was the main material plane.

After spending half a month reviewing documentation and studying the situation of deities in different areas of the main material plane, Lin Xiao initially conceived an idea to break the deadlock.

The Underworld!

Yes, the Dark Territory.

It’s not that other forces hadn’t set their eyes on the underground world, nor that there were no indigenous True Gods.

But due to its complex geography and inconvenient communication, and considering the vastness of the main material plane, the Underworld was likewise vast. Finding a place to hide, one could go unnoticed, and with a bit of luck, it might take hundreds of years for word to spread. It was currently the best location to create a new opening in the situation.

Once he decided to act, Lin Xiao made his decision and immediately started to implement it.

He gave the order for his subordinates to stand by, and he incarnated to descend in person.

There’s no need to fear being discovered. A large-scale descent would certainly not work, but a single incarnation sneaking into this world would go unnoticed by any force.

Moreover, he wasn’t descending stark naked but rather restrained his Divine Power and used the transcendent godhood ability “Change Form” to disguise himself as a middle-aged mage for his descent.

His chosen location for descent was within the human territory of the Primary Material Plane, in a duchy called Beryl. Long ago, members of the Greedy Wolf Combat Team had left coordinates during a mapping exploration; he teleported directly to these coordinates, arriving inside an unnamed cave deep within the mountains near Bumont City.

The sudden flash of silver light from the broken altar deep inside the cave startled a group of bandits on the other side who were drinking and roasting meat. Seeing the lines on the stone altar starting to light up and rapidly sketching out an array, the bandits didn’t know what to do.

Soon the bandit leader, hearing the news, rushed over. With more experience than his subordinates, the extremely nervous leader gritted his teeth, grabbed one of his men by the side, snatched an axe, and handed it to him while shouting toward the array:

“Go and chop off the lines on the stone altar!”

The subordinate, somewhat afraid but facing the leader’s terrifying gaze, gritted his teeth and moved forward. As he raised his axe at the edge of the platform, the silver light on the altar surged, blinding everyone and causing them to turn their heads. When the light receded, they saw a middle-aged mage – a handsome gentleman in a gorgeous robe, holding an exquisite magic wand – standing on the altar.

The bandits were stunned.

Lin Xiao was also stunned.

“Clang!”

The axe in the hands of the bandit standing before the altar fell, snapping everyone back to reality. The bandit leader immediately knelt down and cried out:

“Respected mage, please spare my life!”

Lin Xiao ignored these mortals’ pleas, ready to leave, but a glance at the side of the cave revealed several naked women locked in cages. His expression turned cold, and with a hum and a flick of his magic wand, a torrent of flames flowed down the wand like water, quickly spreading in all directions.

Seeing this, the bandits scattered in terror, but the bandit leader didn’t run. Instead, he pulled out a hand crossbow from his chest and aimed it at the mage, pressing the trigger. A shadow flashed.

“Ding!”

A faint protective screen appeared around Lin Xiao, deflecting the crossbow arrow. The bandit leader’s face showed desperation as he was engulfed by the encroaching flames, screaming in agony and reduced to ashes within seconds.

The fire burned up to the edge of the cave and then stopped. With a light tap of the wand, the locks on the cages shattered.

Without paying any further attention to the frightened women in the cages, he took a step and was already at the other side of the cave bend.

Five minutes later, he emerged from the smoke-filled cave, followed by a group of poorly dressed village women kneeling on the ground, ceaselessly thanking the man who had rescued them from the bandits.

Lin Xiao pointed them towards the nearest town and bestowed a simple spell on each to ensure they had enough strength to reach their destination.

Unfortunately, his destination was the Underground World; otherwise, he could have slowly built up a following based on these rescued women.

He left the coordinate cave amidst their profuse gratitude, adjusting his course and bestowing a five-ring spell of flight upon himself, lazily flying away.

He had established his identity as a mysterious and powerful mage, with godhood bestowing capabilities. Any True God could cast any spell from zero to nine circles below Legend, but different True Gods had varied understandings and abilities to use spells. True Gods with mage divine positions were certainly stronger in this regard compared to those with combat divine positions.

Lin Xiao, having Truth Divine Position and the Field of Magic, coupled with the understandings of spells from the Wise Goblins of the Tower of Truth and the current Star Spirits, had an even stronger grasp of spells than the average magic-based True God. He could now easily pass as an extremely powerful Great Arcane Mage.

Lin Xiao had plenty of time and was in no rush. He continued to fly leisurely, taking in the exotic landscapes along the way.

Thus he leisurely arrived at an entrance and exit to the Dark Territory marked on the map explored by the Greedy Wolf Combat Team, in a human trade city called Lede, established right at the edge of the Underground World.

Easily entering the city with his mage status, he didn’t even have to pay the entrance head tax, and the guards didn’t dare to inspect him.

After staying in the city for a few days, he contacted the largest guild in the city and joined a human merchant group that was about to enter the Dark Territory to trade with the Grey Dwarfs without spending a coin.

This human merchant group was known as the Flame Flower Merchant Group, one of Lede’s established guilds, which organized a major caravan into the Underground World for trade with the various races of the Dark Territory annually, enjoying a good commercial reputation.

Lin Xiao had arrived right on time as the Flame Flower Guild was organizing this year’s caravan.

The guild’s caravan this year was even larger than before, with hundreds of large beasts each over four to five meters long carrying bulging goods, dozens of wagons in the middle of the caravan, and over two hundred guards from various races on both sides, the majority of whom were humans. The merchant group’s boss was a man around forty, though he appeared aged fifty to sixty.