Volume 5 Chapter 0116 "The Throne of the Gods" - I, The Dragon Overlord

Within the Pantheon, silence reigned so profound that the drop of a pin could be heard. Gods and goddesses stared in astonishment at the unfolding events, the rapid developments surpassing even divine imaginations. Mere moments ago, it was a contest between the Dragon God and the Earth Goddess, but in the blink of an eye, all deities were drawn into the fray. What was more terrifying was that they suddenly realized they had lost contact with their followers, effectively stripped of their divine status! Once more, the deities' eyes converged on Louie, their expressions a mix of suspicion, rage, terror, and hatred—each face a unique display of emotion. Louie watched them with keen interest. His left hand tightly gripped the "Slate of Destiny," while his right hand gestured upwards. From the celestial vault above, every star, each representing a true god, cast down a ray of starlight. These converged into a colossal throne, hovering at the apex of the Pantheon. The gods' faces turned grim. The starlight was a strand of divinity forcibly torn from them by Louie, and the throne formed by their divinity was the "Throne of the Gods," symbolizing the position of the divine monarch. Step by step, Louie advanced toward the throne. As he did, the stone pillars of the Pantheon morphed into a staircase beneath his feet. Upon reaching the "Throne of the Gods," Louie elegantly turned and sat down, one leg casually crossed, his chin resting on his hand as he gazed down with cold, sovereign eyes. "Your Eminences, the time has come to make a choice: submission... or annihilation? Should you choose submission, address me as 'Your Majesty.'" For the third time, Louie posed the question, his expression showing impatience. The gods remained silent, uncertain of their next move. As they exchanged uneasy glances, none dared make a decision. Finally, their eyes turned to those among them with the strongest divine power. The sheer divine might Louie exuded was something even deities of intermediate power could not withstand. Only true beings of greater divine power could hope to stand against this self-proclaimed 'majesty'. The Earth Goddess, Shantia, wore a face of fear and indecision. Had there been someone fit to challenge this sudden tyrant, it would be her, as she still held the highest divine rank, a god with a divinity of 19. But Shantia hesitated. Unlike the others who had suffered merely from Louie's third-level divine prophecy, she had felt the full weight of it. The agony of her shattered divinity and splintered divine duties made her recoil from the thought of resistance. She despaired in the face of Louie's overwhelming power and had lost her connection to the elemental force of the earth, leaving her in profound distress. The Dawn Goddess, Lorenia, sighed and steeled herself, righteousness glowing from her immaculate form. As this lawful good deity prepared to confront Louie on behalf of the pantheon, three impetuous gods stole her moment. "Hahaha! Although I don't know exactly what Lord Louie has done to sever our connection to our believers, forcing the gods to kneel compels you to prove your might!" The one who stepped forward was Gorrush, the orc patron deity. Though his visage twisted with a fierce smile, beneath the scars and gnarled features lay the valor of a warrior. Though brutish in appearance, wisdom flashed in his eyes as he eyed the "Slate of Destiny" in Louie's grasp. "...That strange artifact severed our ties with believers, but our divinity and domain shouldn't be something you can just take at will, not simply from that artifact alone. Hence, I don't believe you’d only seize such a small fragment from Lady Shantia if it were possible!" Gorrush scrutinized Louie's face, seeking any tell. Similarly, the Gods of Knowledge, Magic, and others wise in the art of arcane study came to similar conclusions regarding Louie's Slate. They quickly shared this insight amongst the pantheon, lifting spirits with the belief that Louie could not freely manipulate them all. Having lost their divine power replenishment, the gods considered rallying their remaining reserves to take down the Dragon God before them. Internally, Louie sighed. As expected, such a deception couldn't fool these beings for long. They discerned the truth. Indeed, the greatest function of the "Slate of Destiny" was severing the link between gods and their worshippers. The Slate originated from the Terran civilization's "civilization memes." Having comprehended the concept of faith-based deities, the Terrans devised a method to defeat them: sever the divine link and exhaust the deities using technological weaponry across San Soliel's myriad planes. Without their divine power replenishment, even the mightiest would falter. For a technological civilization, resource expenditure posed no threat. The universe's resources are vast, and the Terrans could manufacture consumables to sap a deity's power reserves. Directly rending a god's divinity and domain lay beyond even the Terran abilities. If they could manage that, the civilization wouldn't have met its end. Gods’ core principles of divinity and domain defied easy comprehension or appropriation. Louie managed to forcibly tear Shantia’s divine grade, mainly because he possessed a divinity as high as 20—aided by the Slate. Yet, achieving true dominion over the gods demanded becoming the God above Gods. The Slate was a potent tool but far from all-powerful. Louie betrayed nothing outwardly. At this juncture, he couldn't afford to appear weak. He had to exert his formidable influence to intimidate the gods. Facing Gorrush, he tauntingly said, "Lord Gorrush, dissatisfied with me? Perhaps you’d care to test me?" "Hahaha! That’s just what I've been waiting for since our previous bout," Gorrush replied, stepping forward. His divine spark transformed into a corporeal form, a massive axe materializing in his hand. "Allow me to assist, Lord Gorrush." Another deity advanced, identified as Marzlis, Gorrush's fiercest adversary, the God of War. "Count me in!" A thunderous male voice infused with the wrath of storms echoed, belonging to none other than the Storm God, a paramount deity within the Pantheon. Three formidable deities joined forces within the Pantheon, poised to challenge the so-called divine monarch—Louie—who sat above them.