I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

Upon hearing this extremely grim voice, Caleb's heart sank.

He had suspected as much before, as the space he currently occupied felt utterly bizarre.

Although he hadn't experienced it himself, it was undoubtedly not a good place!

A faint blood-red glow appeared around his body.

The power of the divine arts gave Caleb some confidence.

He shouted loudly:

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

"Who are you? Why did you bring me here?"

No matter the circumstances, Caleb was a genuine legendary priest.

To have brought him to this space without any defense, this person not only had great strength but an equally peculiar power.

This shadow space gave him an extremely unpleasant feeling, forcing Caleb to guard against potential dangers around him.

"Haven't you been searching for us recently?"

"I have now come to meet you, just as you wished."

The voice paused slightly, then chuckled:

"Just that... you don't seem very happy."

Who would be happy dealing with such matters?

Caleb felt a bit frustrated but soon became vigilant.

This situation was extremely unfavorable for him.

Even if he wanted to take action, he couldn't locate the opponent within this space.

Without understanding the opponent's ability, a reckless move might result in a serious disadvantage.

Furthermore, any confrontation in this space might not easily be noticed by the dwarfs.

Recalling how the legendary Day Elf disappeared, Caleb was somewhat speculative.

Could this ability mean that Richie guessed correctly?

Is it really Evil God believers disguising as Day Elves, attacking Lonely Mountain City?

...

While Caleb was under attack,

somewhere in Lonely Mountain City,

in the deep core of the earth, the cavern twisted and turned.

It resembled the intricate intestines inside a giant beast, ultimately leading to a hidden place seemingly forgotten by time.

The rock walls around were no longer naturally rugged but bear marks of human excavation and meticulous polishing.

Each mark seemed to whisper untold secrets and hard work of the past.

However, in today's space, it was no longer the dwarfs' former mining cave but occupied by an indescribable shadow power, transformed into a sinister and eerie nest.

Here, shadows were no longer a mere lack of light but possessed genuine life.

They intertwined and twisted, forming distorted faces and various eerie creatures like nightmares crawling out of the Abyss.

Within the nest, the air was stagnant and filled with a suffocating coldness.

From the shadows, deep humming or sharp howling occasionally emerged.

Unknown life forms seemed to be gestating and restless.

They appeared to wait for a certain moment to emerge from cocoons, spreading fear and destruction.

Occasionally, strange runes and patterns flashed with weak yet evil light on the ground here.

They seemed to be remnants of some ancient ritual, continuously absorbing power from the outside world.

Suddenly, two figures appeared within the shadow nest.

"How are things outside now?"

A somewhat ethereal voice emerged.

The speaker's appearance was unclear, yet he exhibited a bizarre gentleness while stroking the shadow creature in the nest.

"Not bad... or rather quite good,"

Another voice rang out, seemingly speaking with pride:

"Our ally has been quite diligent!"

"Those in the Dwarf Temple and Royal Court have been completely fooled by him."

"Really?"

The previous voice, seemingly unphased, responded:

"If that is true, why didn't they know that the War God Church guy was legendary?"

"Letting that person escape—you seem rather satisfied."

As these words fell, the entire atmosphere of the space felt murderous.

"Master Lianen, I..."

The speaker trembled all over as if recalling something terrifying.

Even their voice shook a little.

"Relax, you still have some use now."

Lianen raised his hand, gently touching the other's forehead.

"Therefore, don't disappoint me, alright?"

"Do your own tasks, I don't wish you to become one of my children."

"That feeling, I believe you wouldn't want to experience."

"Yes, Master Lianen."

The other person instantly firmed up, swore, and said:

"Rest assured, I will undoubtedly not disappoint you."

...

In this shadow space, Caleb was in peril.

Countless shadows twisted and transformed like living creatures, suddenly forming extremely bizarre blades.

These blades appeared and vanished as if traversing between reality and illusion, bearing a cold and evil aura, slashing forcefully towards Caleb.

Caleb's expression was solemn, but a determination remained unwavering in his eyes.

He casually retrieved a black-red Holy Scripture, constantly casting War God Divine Skill.

A layer of blood-colored radiance burst from his body, enveloping him like an invisible armor.

This blood-red armor shimmered with mysterious and formidable power. Each shadow blade's slashing induced intense vibrations but could never penetrate this tenacious defense.

While repelling the shadow blades' attacks, Caleb also actively probed the surrounding space.

He cast various divine skills, streams of light emitted from his hands, like meteors gliding through darkness or flames blazing fiercely...

These divine lights illuminated a small area around him, enabling a brief glimpse of his surroundings.

Yet, it was only shadow beyond shadow.

For Caleb, it provided no substantive assistance.

He couldn't understand why the opponent suddenly attacked.

Just a moment ago, they were exchanging words, then suddenly engaged in battle.

Though Caleb felt confident in persevering.

Facing such an eerie scenario, however, he felt genuinely uncertain.

Not far in the shadow space, Lis stood there.

He furrowed his brow, gazing at Caleb before him.

Caleb being dragged into this shadow space was something Lis had planned earlier.

He had identified Caleb when he first saw him fighting a Day Elf that night.

As a legendary strongman frequently appearing on behalf of the War God Church, he remained quite renowned in subsequent versions.

Lis knew this person.

To Lis, Caleb was trustworthy.

After all, Lis had a quite amicable relationship with the War God Church.

After achieving legendary status, Lis was especially congratulated personally by the church's pope.

However, since someone could impersonate a Day Elf, naturally they could impersonate Caleb as well.

Lis needed to be cautious, hence the shadow space.

From earlier exchanges, he roughly deduced what Caleb was up to.

If that was the case, just confirming his identity would suffice.

Verifying others might be more challenging, but Caleb was different.

As a legendary priest of the War God Church, Lis, who had experienced the War God Baptism, could naturally identify Caleb's identity by sensing the War God's presence.

And now, Lis had confirmed that Caleb was not impersonated by anyone else, thus retracting his attack.

As the shadows dispersed, his figure appeared before Caleb.

"Who are you?"

Caleb warily eyed the suddenly appearing youth before him.

For reasons unknown, he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity yet couldn't recall where he'd seen him before.

The dangerous sensation previously emanating from this shadow space had completely vanished, along with the former eerie and evil aura.

However, Caleb did not let go of the Holy Scripture in his hand, the divine skill's glow faintly flickering, ready for action.

"I'm Lis Kain,"

Lis gazed at Caleb before him, smiling and said:

"I presume you know who I am?"

Lis Kain?

The name alone triggered Caleb's recollection, realizing this was the World Tree's favored.

Yet why would he appear here?

Why hasn't he attacked?

Why... has he become so strong?