Only God

The Dream God Laren restored his easy smile and began to speak slowly.

The Storm God Utus now lowered his head as if pondering something.

"Utus, what's wrong?"

asked the Wine God Sibos.

"I just thought of a deity."

Utus began,

"He seemed to be active around the Helong Mountain Range before."

Laren suddenly heightened his vigilance,

"Who?"

He certainly did not want a deity from another faction to disrupt the plan they had been preparing for so long.

"The God of Lies and Deceit, Slaier."

Utus enunciated,

"My believers told me that in that area, there's a story circulating about a 'Wishing Sage.'"

Upon hearing this, the deities present were slightly taken aback, unable to comprehend what Slaier could possibly want by getting involved in their scheming.

After a moment's thought with furrowed brows, the Dream God Laren said:

"We needn't pay him any mind, no matter what Slaier does, he won't be able to change the situation in Kaelonde."

Laren's words received the agreement of several deities, and they all nodded in assent.

For the civil war in Kaelonde, the layout of this faction of deities could not have been more meticulous.

Not only were Laren's believers taking action, but deities like the Storm God Utus, Victory God Laiendos, Wine God Sibos, and others all had their own arrangements.

For instance, Sibos sent out his own stunningly beautiful Fawn daughters to bewitch the dwarves of the Lauren Forest, while the Storm God Utus commissioned his priests to conjure thunder and create overnight storms above the sea, hindering Kaelonde's maritime trade...

The deities had made ample preparations; what remained was to await a destructive feast.

..............

..............

Belvan was trapped in the Palace.

Those who had launched the coup, including Aler and others, had fully taken control of the Palace, forbidding anyone to enter or exit, naturally trapping Belvan as well.

Belvan had not attended the banquet, despite being invited several times by Prince Mura; he had turned down the offers partly due to a persistent ominous premonition and partly because he was busy with his research.

The study of the divine Path was at a critical juncture.

After gathering several scholars together, their research on the divine Path had made rapid progress for a time, but bottlenecks had appeared concurrently.

The bottleneck manifested in the Ascension Ceremony from the Second Rank to the Third Rank, which was far less smooth than before. As the ascendants delved deeper into the Sea of Souls, all experimenters began to display a state akin to that of lost and wandering spirits, which Belvan and others termed "Soul Lost."

This condition appeared on a large scale in the Ascension Ceremony from the Second Rank to the Third Rank, and the experimenters without exception failed. In the most severe cases, there were individuals who suffered from a state of "Soul Lost" for as long as a month.

Belvan and his colleagues thus realized that the difficulty of each stage of the Ascension Ceremony increased exponentially.

The scholars began prolonged research, and despite trying every possible means, progress remained elusive. An increasingly frustrated Belvan even felt that he might never resolve the problem in his lifetime. However, the appearance of Xilan offered a turning point.

That Xilan of Ajia, a hermit knowledgeable in Ancient Languages, revealed to them that there seemed to be a combination that exists between Ancient Languages, where two could be connected to produce a remarkable reaction.

At that time, Xilan gave an example: combining an adjective Ancient Language with a noun Ancient Language, like "cold water," where combining "cold" with "water" to chant would condense a stream of exceptionally frigid water.

The hermit's knowledge of Ancient Languages inspired everyone, and their research gradually began to see some promise.

However, it was at this moment that a sudden calamity struck.

"The King is dead?!"

Belvan asked incredulously within his study.

His servant, who served Belvan, nodded and swallowed anxiously.

"I saw it with my own eyes… those people surrounded him with daggers, and then... His Majesty died..."

The servant recounted the scene of the event once more.

Belvan felt the world spinning around him; he could not believe that the Dwarf King, Kafu the Sixth, had died so abruptly during the triumphal banquet.

Moreover, the assassin of the King, Aler, claimed that Kafu the Sixth was a tyrant, and that he had deceived the entire Kingdom.

The dwarves had not conquered Golan; on the contrary, at a small town called Larsen Town, a few dozen miles in front of the Royal City of Nuo Lang, the once unstoppable dwarves suffered an unprecedented and disastrous defeat.

As for Kafu the Sixth's talk of timely support and the crushing defeat of Golan by Maxwell, it was a complete lie. In fact, Maxwell had launched a surprise attack, defeating several Dwarf legions one after another, forcing the Dwarves to retreat all the way until they finally stabilized at the Helong Mountain Range, where they were compelled to sign a treaty with the people of Golan.

Upon hearing this servant's words, Belvan was dumbfounded. He couldn't imagine that the always victorious Dwarves had suffered a crushing defeat and had never recovered from it, that Kaelonde had not conquered Golan.

And Kafu the Sixth was executed by the Dwarves of the Gold Silver Clan during a Palace banquet.

He suddenly felt a profound sense of unreality. The King's death didn't feel real to him, it felt extremely false, like a lie or rumor.

But the entire Royal City was under martial law, unfamiliar Guards were stationed in the corridors, and Mura's whereabouts were unknown... All these conditions were telling Belvan that Kafu the Sixth had indeed died.

"What should I do now?"

Leaning against the desk, Belvan panted and murmured to himself.

What should I do now...

As if he could really do something...

He was clearly powerless, unable to do anything.

Thinking this, Belvan felt short of breath, as if his neck was being choked.

Just then, a figure appeared very suddenly behind Belvan.

"Belvan, run, escape from here."

Belvan turned his head to look at the person who appeared like a ghost.

It was Xilan, the mysterious Hermit.

"Oh... it's you, Xilan. Were you left behind here as well?"

Belvan asked aloud.

Xilan didn't nod or shake his head. He simply advised,

"Those people killed Kafu because your King did not bring back victory, and because you were a close official of Kafu's, you will be reckoned with eventually.

It will be too late by then. Run, hurry up and leave."

Belvan was confused, and he quickly said "wait" several times,

"I can't leave yet, I don't want to leave, my research is still here.

And if I'm to be held accountable, what about the other scholars? Will they be held accountable as well?"

Xilan simply said,

"Perhaps they will, perhaps they won't, but I would also advise them to leave.

So what about you, Belvan, what do you want to do?"

Belvan took a deep breath and said,

"No, no, I have to find out whether Mura is alive or dead.

Don't worry about me, the Gold Silver Clan's main adversaries are those steam technology craftsmen, not me, I won't be in danger.

And if I were to flee, it wouldn't be as simple as just getting out of the Royal City, would it? It would mean fleeing Kaelonde, right?

But this is my homeland, I won't leave it just like that, I want to build it into the ancient language's academic capital."

Belvan had many reasons, and the only thing he wanted to make clear was that he didn't want to leave just like that.

Xilan gazed at the Dwarf.

That look seemed to have glanced at a corner of Belvan's destiny.

"You will regret it, Belvan.

When that time comes, I will come to find you again."

Belvan watched the man leave these ambiguous words and then walk straight out of the study.

"Wait, there are Guards..."

Belvan hurriedly followed.

He only saw Xilan walk out of the room, and after his figure passed the corner, it disappeared.

Only Belvan was left staring blankly at this scene.

"Xilan...

Could this be... an illusion?"