Chapter 501 (2): Summit of Pride x Saigner, the Judge

The nine Night Gods handled the deployment of troops and battle formations, while Wayne was in charge of shutting up and striking poses. After a round of discussion, the nine Night Gods formulated a strategy.

Rognes confirmed that there was no issue before handing it to Wayne, instructing him to follow it to the letter. Under no circumstances was he to engage the three subordinate gods.

Wayne knocked on his chest and made a promise. Scanning the document, he dubbed it Operation: Muddy the Waters.

He and the army were supposed to make random attacks across the battlefield to make it seem like local skirmishes were spreading like wildfire, drawing the attention of the three subordinate gods so that Rognes could approach the Temple of Eternity.

It was a simple but dangerous plan. A careless mistake could lead to Wayne confronting all three subordinate gods.

“Have you thought it through, Wayne?” Rognes reminded him once more. “It’s not too late to swap places with me.”

“I don’t need to mull over it further. You’ll be in a more dangerous position. I should be happy that you didn’t force me to go to the Temple of Eternity!” Wayne shrugged. Aztimor’s coffin was in the temple. Elian had to have a contingency in place. Compared to the unknown, the three known subordinate gods were less of a threat.

Since he had sworn to put Rognes in front of him, he would. A real man did not go back on his word!

Rognes nodded approvingly, then turned to the nine Night Gods and said in a low voice, “I know this sounds heartless, but Wayne has far greater potential than any of you. In the face of a danger that demands a sacrifice, I hope you’ll shield him. He must not come to harm.”

There were things Rognes had left unsaid. Not only was Wayne talented, but he would become Death’s new subordinate god in the future. Moreover, Death’s thoughts dwelt within his right eye. If Rognes wasn’t worried that the goddess’s thoughts might be lost before they could rescue Her, he would’ve made a grand show of taking on all three subordinate gods to buy Wayne a chance to enter the temple instead.

In short, Wayne was so important that everyone else could die, but not him.

The nine Night Gods answered in the affirmative at once. They’d long been prepared to sacrifice themselves. So long as their deaths benefited the Underworld, there was no sacrifice they wouldn’t make.

Their loyalty was unquestionable!

“Then we proceed as planned. We’re racing against time. I’ll go ahead...”

Rognes faded out of existence. He was clearly in a hurry, having wasted no time at all in meeting Wayne and making all the arrangements.

“Let us begin then!”

Wayne drew Shadow Nightmare, pointing the blade at the eighth level of the Underworld on the map—the Summit of Pride.

***

Every religion spoke of good and evil, virtues and sins in its doctrines, and Death was no exception. Only by giving up sin and evil and coming to understand good and beauty could a soul attain eternal peace. Among the sins, pride had to be overcome. Learning humility was necessary for a life to progress and for a soul to become pure.

On the eighth level of the Divine Realm of Death was a formidable, unbroken range of mountains that inspired awe, representing the arrogance and conceit that one failed to conquer in life. It was a visualization of one’s pride.

The eighth level carried profound meaning. Every detail was arranged with the utmost care.

At the foot of the mountains lay a wasteland covered in black thorns and jagged stones. The razor-sharp thorns symbolized the sense of alienation and harm that pride inflicted on others. A soul could scarcely take a step without becoming wracked with pain.

The mountains of pride were smooth like a mirror, reaching high into the clouds. Those and the perpetual mist that obscured a climber’s vision symbolized, respectively, the impossibility of reasoning with a prideful person and the way a proud heart lost its way.

There was also the howling wind and biting cold. The hostile environment symbolized a prideful soul being cut off from the outside world, lacking self-awareness and respect for others.

According to the Sacred Tome of Death, the eighth level offered no platitudes about turning to the bright side. Instead, the soul entered the perspective of others to feel and understand pain, thereby understanding the suffering their own pride had brought upon others. A soul would learn humility on the tallest mountain and come to see their own insignificance, thus learning to hear the voices from the outside world.

The Summit of Pride was as tall as the coming soul was prideful, and the environment would be just as hostile. A humble, virtuous soul would be able to vault over the summit with a single step, while a soul lacking in humility, such as those vermin who often put down others...

Well, they’d best try to become immortal, or after their souls entered the Underworld, they would spend all their time climbing the summit.

Based on the map, the eighth level was divided between Grau and Saigner. The two factions had been warring for a long time, and the frontline shifted constantly. Their clash had entered a deadlock.

Light and shadow flickered. Then a white skeleton in black armor stood on a platform at the mountain’s summit, looking down at the lesser peaks below. He had not learned humility. He had only become more prideful.

Behind Wayne, the Holy Maidens stepped out, along with dozens of demigods, each standing on their own peaks.

In Divine Realms, Demigods might as well grow on trees, and legendary mages were no better than dogs. Anyone below the Demigod rank would be too embarrassed to even greet a passerby.

It was true for the Underworld, and so too for Hell and Heaven.

Powerful demigods, like the Seven Deadly Sins and the subordinate gods, could create demigod-level vassals. Gods went without saying. Death’s masterpieces included Saigner and Rognes, while the Heavenly Father had created Mikhael, a perfect piece of work, and mass-produced a great number of angels. Gods could not only create demigods, but also raise them to the peak of demigodhood.

Wayne could do the same. The vengeful spirits he had contracted and the vassals he had created by corrupting their life essence all became stronger as he grew in power.

To gods, demigods were merely tools that could be mass-produced with a wave of the hand, hardly a threat. Their only true enemies were fellow deities. In that, Wayne had seen the perfect examples on the tenth level of Heaven. The Trees of Life and Knowledge allowed demigods to be made in bulk.

At the same time, this proved once again that gods didn’t care whether a follower’s faith was devout. Even a faithless man would become a filter for the god by learning said god’s faith magic. Then they would qualify as a follower.

Anyhow, the eighth level had been divided by the two subordinate gods. According to the nine Night Gods’ plan, today’s ambush was meant as harassment. They were to fire, shout, and bolt.

Grau and Saigner weren’t the focus, but Sizorn. It would be best if they could stir the pot and make the three traitors turn on one another. If not, then they would muddy the waters and lure Sizorn out of the One Universe, the eleventh level.

By now, Rognes had already approached the edge of the One Universe. Wayne’s mission was simple: create a ruckus on the eighth level as Rognes, showing his face to annoy the three traitors. Once he had drawn their hate, he would make a run for it.

With the Heart of Nature, Wayne could flee at any time. He would be safe.

That said, there was still risk.

The three subordinate gods had not only divided the Underworld, but also part of its authority. Not even Rognes was certain how strong they were. Just in case, he had told the Night Gods to be ready to sacrifice themselves to buy time for Wayne. They had to help Wayne get to safety even at the price of their lives.

Rumble—

The thoughts of dozens of demigods clashed fiercely at the peaks, summoning undead creatures to the battlefield. The rapid outpouring of troops packed the mountains fully, like a grey river of sparkling souls, threading through the gaps between the ridges farther than the eye could see.

Death energy surged into the sky. A great hand of shadows covered the sky with such a terrifying presence that it triggered violent natural phenomena. The display was as magnificent and grand as it could get.

Standing atop the summit, Wayne looked up for a moment and found the commotion lacking. He infused the shadows with his thoughts, dumping a barrel of gasoline onto the bonfire. Then he tossed in handfuls of phosphorus for good measure.

Rumble!!!

Death energy churned and distorted space. Tentacles of grey mist writhed, devouring everything in their path. As space congealed, time itself seemed to grind to a halt. The overpowering thoughts acted like a lever for everything in the world. The land rumbled and trembled, and the mountains toppled and collapsed. The order of the entire eighth level was shaken.

Fear was seizing the entire level!

A great turmoil broke out within their own camp. Among the demigods, the nine Night Gods were the strongest, but even they were stunned. They marveled at Rognes’s modesty. This wasn’t just a successor knight from the human world. Wayne could more than take on the three subordinate gods at their former levels on his own.

Ryza looked at Wayne’s back with astonishment. She sent a message to Sukra, “How strong is the current Death Knight, Sukra? I thought I was being generous in my evaluation, but I actually underestimated him.”

“You’re still underestimating him, Master. He’s incredibly powerful...” Sukra responded meekly. “Actually, I find Rognes overly cautious, if you could believe that. We could’ve charged right into the Temple of Eternity rather than waste our time here.”

“Don’t dismiss Rognes’s caution, Sukra. You know nothing about the subordinate gods.”

“Master, you know nothing about Wayne.”

“And you know him well?”

“Kind of...” Sukra grumbled inwardly about how Wayne had gotten more and more unbelievable. She didn’t really understand him either, but she wasn’t blind. She could hazard a guess based on the business partners he kept.

“Master, would you believe me if I said that Wayne had bedded the Goddess of Darkness?”

“No.”

“Then I have nothing to say.”

Wayne’s terrifying mental power pervaded the eighth level. Death energy gathered in the form of dark clouds, twisted into a spiraling vortex. A giant skull manifested in the eye of the vortex, looking down upon the endless mountains and projecting a terrifying pressure.

All living beings on the eighth level appeared insignificant and helpless in the face of such power. The demigods in Grau’s and Saigner’s camps either fled or trembled in terror. They all showed an instinctual fear under the unprecedented might.

They couldn’t win. There would be no trial and error because trial would be followed by a funeral.

“Hurry. Notify Lady Saigner. Rognes, the head of the rebels she was so fixated on, has appeared on the eighth level...”

Both camps were in chaos. Grau’s underlings fled one after another, while Saigner’s subordinates held their ground. After contacting their leader, the four demigods among them took on Rognes even though they knew they were marching to their deaths.

They soared into the sky. Each of them had a distinctive form and a formidable aura.