Chapter 472: Being Deceived
“That person claimed to be the Executor of Honghu, coming from the Immortal Realm. He was acquainted with the Frost Giant who ascended to the Immortal Realm. The Frost Giant saw how intense the internal strife was in our Ayla World and felt annoyed. He wanted to intervene to help but felt ashamed, so he secretly entrusted this person to assist us.”
“At first, we didn’t believe it. But later, when we witnessed how effortlessly the other side could put us to death, we had no choice but to believe it.”
“The Executor of Honghu said our souls have partially merged with the faith power. To break free from the constraints of faith power, a special method is required.”
“He said that to untie the knot, one must use the knot’s own tie—that is, breaking the faith power requires utilizing the faith power itself.”
“We said we already had good control over faith power, but he said that level was far from sufficient.”
“He explained that faith power originates from believers, and whether one can control faith power is closely linked to the believers’ conviction. Strengthening the believers’ conviction comes from creating an enemy. The sense of crisis the enemy brings forces believers to unconsciously concentrate their faith on you.”
“We thought he meant the Demon King, but he said the Demon King is too terrifying for ordinary people. Our stance in fighting the Demon King was too miserable to give ordinary people a sense of security.”
Jiang Li understood. These seven deities said they had fought the Demon King to a stalemate, but who knows how badly the Light God was beaten, to the point that no one would want to trust him.
Unlike the martial arts-focused Huanyu World, where the Twelve Heavenly Kings hold absolute faith dominance—where even if a world-ending disaster occurs, the masses would still choose to believe in the Twelve Heavenly Kings—
In Ayla World, if the Demon King struck again, ordinary people might fall into despair and stop believing in the Light God, instead creating something akin to the Earth Vein.
That would be counterproductive.
“The Executor of Honghu proposed creating an opponent weaker than the Demon King but still threatening to ordinary people.”
“He took out four treasures: a sword, a shield, a ring, and a crown, saying that whoever wears all four would become the strongest existence in the Unity Stage. We ourselves don’t fully understand what Unity Stage is.”
“Those who wear these four items can be called the Hero. The Hero will defeat the Demon King and become the champion.”
“At that time, the Hero, controlled by the crown, will become the enemy of the world and bring disaster upon it. This will lead ordinary people to choose to believe in us, generating a massive amount of faith power. Quantity change will cause quality change; faith power will rise to a new level, allowing us to break free from faith power’s shackles, transform ourselves, and become free gods.”
“Then we will defeat the Hero, remove the Hero’s crown, and the matter will be completely resolved.”
“This is the plan arranged for us by the Executor of Honghu.” The Light God honestly explained without any hint of deceit.
Jiang Li knew the Executor of Honghu was lying. The idea that increased faith power would turn into something new was utter nonsense. He had concentrated all the faith power of the Nine Provinces into the Bronze Cauldron and had never seen any change in faith power.
They were just bullying the seven deities for their lack of insight, believing everything they were told.
“We asked, can the Hero really defeat the Demon King? The Executor of Honghu said he had already made arrangements with the Demon King. The Demon King would no longer attack the three races. When the Hero arrives at the Demon King’s castle, the Demon King will pretend to retreat. At that moment, he will reappear and ascend to the Immortal Realm with the Demon King.”
“Did the Executor of Honghu mention anything about the dungeon?”
“He did. The Executor of Honghu said the Demon King would not strike again, but under one condition: the establishment of the dungeon, where the demon tribe and the three races would slaughter each other underground, alleviating the Demon King’s urge to kill.”
“What about the dungeon’s formation array?”
“What formation array?”
Seeing this, Jiang Li asked another question: “Nowadays, the youths are reckless and foolish, thinking themselves heroes. Many have died in the dungeon. Are you aware of this?”
The Light God nodded: “Yes, for a time, the death rate exceeded the birth rate, and the population shrank. We then sent down divine enlightenment, instructing the Red-Robed Archbishop to find a solution. The Red-Robed Archbishop established the adventurer system.”
Jiang Li sighed, looking at the seven divine statues as if they were seven fools.
“You have been deceived. Faith power will not transform into something new, and the Hero is not someone you can defeat.”
“How is that possible?” The Light God did not believe Jiang Li’s words.
The Executor of Honghu was so powerful; there was no reason for him to lie. Even if he did, what benefit would the Executor of Honghu gain?
“If you don’t believe it, why not let Lance try?” Jiang Li tossed the last piece of equipment—the Hero’s Crown—to Lance.
“Lance, put this on and then defeat the Light God.”
Jiang Li chose the battlefield on the vast wilderness plains where magic was first experimented with.
“How can the Hero defeat us? The Hero’s skills were all bestowed by us, and we can revoke them at any time. A Hero without skills is like a toothless tiger, posing no threat to us.” The Light God looked down on the Hero.
“You’ll see.” Jiang Li smiled and stepped aside to watch the battle with Li Er and the Wishful Gourd.
After putting on the Hero’s Crown, Lance was horrified to find the crown locked firmly onto his head. His thoughts lost control, becoming chaotic and tangled, filled with murderous intent.
The noisy voices gradually merged into one:
Kill—
Kill—
Kill—
Like millions of souls roaring, or like hell demons whispering in his ear.
Lance’s eyes turned blood red. He held the shield in his left hand and the sword in his right. The ring continuously supplied spiritual energy, while the crown granted him immortal-level combat awareness and a murderous mindset.
“Brothers and sisters, lend me your strength!” The Light God spread his arms wide, pushing himself to Tribulation Transcendence Stage with the faith power of the other six deities combined!
“Yong Dynasty, supported by national fortune, probably only reaches this level.” Jiang Li commented. Among the nine great dynasties, the Great Yong Dynasty was currently the weakest, with the weakest national fortune, barely able to push the monarch to the edge of Tribulation Transcendence Stage.
The other eight dynasties had better national fortune support.
“Come and fight!” The Light God charged forward. He could see that Lance, equipped with the Hero set, was only legend rank and no match for him.
Unexpectedly, Lance swung his sword and severed one of the Light God’s arms with a single strike. The Light God’s shield had no effect at all.
“What?” The Light God reattached his arm, suspicious and uncertain.
He discovered that whenever he approached Lance, his faith power weakened drastically, down to legend rank!
The Light God refused to believe it and tried to approach Lance to continue the fight.
It was no illusion. Around Lance was a strange power forming something like a domain that suppressed faith power.
The Light God was steadily pushed back, wanting to defend but was slashed all over by the Hero’s Sword. He tried to attack but was blocked by the Hero’s Shield. He wanted to drain Lance’s power, but the Hero’s Ring continuously provided strength.
The Light God was desperate, seeing no hope of victory.
Lance and the Light God fought without needing skills at all!