Chapter 388: Oath
Ace could still recall the feeling when he first read Nicholas’s diary: his whole body trembling, uncontrollable excitement, and unspeakable joy. In a world where the supernatural seemed hopeless, he had finally seen a glimmer of hope and grasped a thread of possibility.
In a sense, Nicholas was Ace’s enlightenment teacher in the supernatural. Although they had never met and did not know each other, the mortal pursuit of supernatural power and the thirst for knowledge were spirits that burned eternally, passing the torch from one generation to the next.
Ace’s silence intensified the oppressive atmosphere. Even Nicholas felt somewhat uneasy. The five Kings felt nothing but despair. A single “Dark Raven Devil” had already left them powerless to resist, and with the addition of a “Mechanical Sin Fox,” they feared they were done for.
Ludendorff’s brain spun rapidly. He didn’t want to die; he had to save himself.
“Respected Wizard Lord, you really cannot kill us. We are the ‘Gathering Eyes of Status’ for the City-States. If we die, it will inevitably lead to disorder in the City-States’ Status Power. The Deities will be enraged, and the consequences will be unimaginable.”
Ludendorff spoke a half-truth. In reality, it wouldn’t matter if they died; as long as a new King ascended to the throne, the City-State’s Status Power would not be affected.
The Northern City-States had been established for over seven or eight hundred years. The emotional bond between the Deities and the bloodlines of their descendants had grown increasingly thin. Especially after the Deities consolidated their domains and relied less on Status, the utility of the City-States diminished.
If it exceeded a thousand years, the Deities would no longer protect the City-States. That would be a story for another time.
Ace had learned these secrets from Aleias, so Ludendorff couldn’t deceive him. Ace stared at Ludendorff with oppressive eyes, causing drops of cold sweat to roll down Ludendorff’s face uncontrollably.
Staring at them with a cold gaze, Ace spoke slowly, “In fact, it doesn’t matter if you die. What the Deities care about are the City-States, not you.
“If you want to survive, you must conclude a Divine Oath with me. Invoke the domains of the City-States’ Guardian Deities to witness it and swear a truce. Otherwise, I will kill you and find the next Kings to conclude the truce oath. You have no choice!”
Ace’s voice was like a sharp blade, piercing straight into their hearts. Ludendorff realized that Ace had already seen through the secrets of the Divine Descendants. They truly had no choice.
Like a deflated ball, Ludendorff slowly prostrated on the ground and whispered, “Respected Wizard Lord, on behalf of Bakar City-State, I am willing to conclude a Divine Truce Oath with you and your faction.”
After speaking, the Status Power on Ludendorff’s body gradually condensed, communicating with the unseen Domain of Craftsmanship. A pale cyan “Hammer of the Craftsman” slowly emerged between the two of them.
This was the highest form of oath unique to the Kings of City-States: the Divine Oath. Concluding this oath required sacrificing a large amount of Status Power. If he hadn’t been truly powerless to resist and genuinely wanted to save his life, Ludendorff would not have chosen this form.
Ace sensed the holy “Hammer of the Craftsman.” It was as vast as an ocean and as high as a mountain—unanalysable and impossible to observe effectively.
However, he felt the power of the contract and the witness. It seemed to come from the unknowable depths, lingering between the two.
The other four Kings, looking like defeated roosters, also condensed their Status Power, communicated with the domains of their Ancestor Gods, and called for the witnessing of the oath.
The phantoms of five domains—Craftsman, Strength, Combat, Flame, and Protection—interwove. The power of witness and contract encircled them. Ace seemed to feel a gaze from the unseen; he and the High Tower had been noticed by those lofty existences.
This was inevitable. The Deities could not fail to notice their existence. As long as Ace did not touch upon Their interests, the Deities would mostly observe them like humans observing ants—neutral and amused, or simply uninterested.
In fact, Ace, this little ant, had no intention of offending the Deities, at least not now. He bowed respectfully to the five domains and said:
“Great Deities, please witness for us. The conflict between the High Tower Wizards and the Five States ends at this moment. We shall conclude a holy truce agreement.
“Hostilities and combat actions from both sides shall cease immediately. May peace last forever…”
Nicholas suddenly rushed in front of them and said loudly, “I, Nicholas, representing the Fire Stealer Alliance, also conclude a truce agreement with the factions present!”
Ace looked at Nicholas with some surprise, then nodded and reached out to grasp Nicholas’s mechanical hand.
The power of the five domains and the unseen power of the witness contract interwove and surged. The five Kings dejectedly spoke the oath, concluding the truce agreement with Ace and Nicholas.
…
Kaya Mountain. Sub-planes and demi-planes surrounded this place. In one of the sub-planes, a robust male, one hundred feet tall, was looking down at everything happening in Salia.
His muscles were vigorous and full of power. He seemed to be the very incarnation of strength; every move carried immense momentum.
“Interesting human. The last time I saw this kind of human was in the previous cycle of civilization, wasn’t it? He even has the aura of the ‘Great Source’ on him? A surfer of the times? In every cycle of civilization, such people emerge, but unfortunately, they are all harvested by His Majesty the God King. I wonder how far this one can go.”
While sighing with emotion, He communicated with His domain. A majestic voice rang in the ears of Ace and the others.
“I, God of Strength Norton, witness for thee. Thou shalt have a truce for thirty years. During this period, no attacks are allowed.”
The voice was like a great bell, shaking Ace until he was dizzy. The others hadn’t expected a Deity to pay attention either. The King of Norton suddenly recovered his spirit and shouted loudly:
“Ancestor God! This person is a Desecrator. Please, Ancestor God, kill this person!”
However, no sound returned. The phenomena of the domain and contract witness gradually dissipated, transforming into streams of mysterious oath power that entered everyone’s soul.
That oath power surged into Ace’s Mental Imagery World, leaving mysterious textures on his True Spirit—irresistible and undeniable.
The texture flashed and disappeared, but Ace felt the constraint from it. It was not just for him personally, but also a constraint on the five Northern City-States and the High Tower Wizards.
From now on, until the truce period ended, neither side could engage in any substantive combat. This was an oath that penetrated deep into the soul; it would correct your thinking and render you unable to act.
As long as the other party did not engage in combat behavior, Ace could not initiate combat first.
The five Kings stood up unsteadily. The King of Norton’s face was full of embarrassment. He also saw Ace’s deep, dark gaze. Even with the constraint of the oath, he felt uncomfortable all over.
He turned his head awkwardly, pretending not to see Ace’s look. As long as he didn’t actively attack Ace, Ace could do nothing to him.
Ace was silent for a while before saying, “I can be merciful and not hold your recent behavior against you. The witness of the Deity cannot be violated. For the next thirty years, let us share this rare peace.
“But I will be watching you constantly. Do not dream of concocting conspiracies. Those who dare to violate the Divine Oath will have their souls drown in the River Styx, and their True Spirits will never be reborn.”
Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com