At the imperial palace, the King’s bedroom.
King Landhar III paced around the palace, staring at the three corpses on the ground—from left to right, they were Harold, Ash, and Douglas.
He looked at the bodies that were alive a few days ago. At that point, they had black wriggling liquid in their mouths, and they were gradually transforming into an inhuman domain., King Landhar III’s eyes did not have a trace of pity in them. Instead, there was a burning flame one might call ambition.
“According to the method that the gods taught me, these three corpses will be completely transformed in a few minutes. When that time comes, three gods will descend! It’s great that the Winter Nation sent a genius to participate in the competition. We’ll just have to search for a few more geniuses in the kingdom. It’s a pity that other kingdoms did not send anyone to participate in the competition. Otherwise, I might be able to complete the process this time.”
It was not a simple matter to let the gods descend. First, one had to prepare a host that could contain the power of the gods. The higher the talent, the better. The more talented a person was, the better they would be able to adapt to the power of the gods that surpassed the level of their bodies—the gods’ power would not shatter their bodies.
Once such an outcome occurred, the true body of the gods would be exposed to the mortal world and would be punished. That was something that no one wanted to see.
At the same time, if they wanted to descend, they had to remove the energy and body structure that initially existed in the corpses. They had to transform into godly bodies that could adapt to different gods. At that moment, they were wriggling in the mouths of the three corpses. The black liquid that was constantly devouring the surface of the corpses was something that the gods used for their intended bodies. It was similar to the God’s Remains that King Landhar III had given to Samuel, only more advanced.
“When the God’s Remains fuse with the corpse, a unique power is used to avoid the surveillance of the rules. Then, the gods can draw their power completely. Even though that method is only temporary, it is faster and more efficient than a method similar to the reincarnation of the Child of God. If the body is damaged, the god can leave it early and wait for the body to be changed before descending again. The most important thing is—”
As King Landhar III muttered to himself, the corner of his mouth suddenly curved into a strange arc. “I can also use that method to change my body and achieve a different kind of eternal life.”
As a king who had been in power for decades, he was already ancient. Although he did not appear old due to his mighty strength, he would die over a long period. That was something that every king could not accept, and he saw a glimmer of hope in the method that the gods had given him. As long as he waited for the gods to descend, he would be able to complete his plan.
Everything was under his control.
Buzz!
While he was thinking, a few minutes passed. The black liquid squirming on the three corpses on the ground suddenly increased its speed. It expanded and turned into a huge shell similar to a cicada chrysalis. After wrapping the three corpses, the three shells cracked. The fingers on the corpses moved, and they sat up silently, even opening their eyes.
Their eyes were pure black, and there seemed to be some kind of black substance surging inside. However, a small pupil the size of a green bean was in the center, each of which differed in color.
Harold’s pupils were green. After he got up, the hair on his body swayed, turning from black to white, and finally to silver-green. It emitted a divine light and was surrounded by a whistling tornado.
Harold raised his hand and pushed the hair on his head back. He used the tornado to form a hairband to bound his hair. Harold revealed his handsome face and smiled, “After using God’s Remains to improve that giant’s body, I have awakened the bloodline of the ancient storm giant, a diamond-tier creature. Not only does it have innate divine power, but it can also control storms. It just happens to be suitable for me—Agares, God of Wind and Navigation.”
At that moment, Harold was no longer Harold, but one of the seven gods, Agares.
“Anyway, as long as we kill everyone, there will be no problem.”
Douglas stood up and raised his hand to touch the monocle on his right eye. Then, he looked down at his slender arm and frowned. “As a God of War, it is not appropriate to assign me such a thin and weak body. If possible, I would like to switch with Agares! Transforming into a giant and fighting with brute force is more in line with my characteristics.”
“Ares, stop complaining! This time, we have six gods descending to the mortal world. We are the first three who have won by drawing lots. The remaining gods still have to wait for King Landhar III to prepare bodies for them. Furthermore, Douglas is not a weak one. That mortal youth possesses many archery skills, which aligns with your identity as the God of War. Of course, I, Sidi, the Goddess of Shadows and Potions, occupies the best body.”
Ash, who was in the middle, had pure black eyes. As she surveyed her surroundings, a satisfied smile appeared on her delicate face. That scene caused the other two gods to curl their lips and not say anything.
Among the three corpses, Ash was the strongest. As Ash was a female, her body was suitable for Sidi, who was a female. Hence, Agares and Ares stepped aside.
“My Lords, I have been waiting for you for a long time. It seems like you are very satisfied with these three bodies. However, I would like to see how much power you can unleash and whether you are qualified for my next plan.”
King Landhar III had been silent ever since the three corpses sat up. He only spoke after the gods had gotten used to their bodies.
“Mortal King, how do you want to test our strength?”
Ares, the God of War, who had taken over Douglas’ body, looked calmly at King Landhar III. The King raised his eyebrows slightly. “It’s very simple. In order to prepare the bodies, the geniuses and envoys from the Winter Nation had to die in the capital. The Winter Nation will not let that matter rest. They might even start a war with us! For the sake of insurance, the Holy Dragon Kingdom should make the first move. Please make the Winter Nation lose its fighting strength, albeit temporarily. I will be satisfied as long as you can do that.”
“It’s that simple?”
As Ares’ voice fell, he stretched his fist and hammered the space to his right. Immediately, a huge gap appeared in the space. Then, Ares took out a divine bow from the void; it was as tall as a person. The entire bow seemed to be forged from fresh blood. Occasionally, the faces of the dead would appear on it. The moment they appeared, the whole palace would be covered with the aura of death.
Holding the bloody longbow, Ares bent the bow toward the spatial gap. Immediately, blood-red arrows appeared on the bowstring. He shot them toward the spatial gap.
Boom!
With a muffled sound, the blood-red arrows disappeared, and the spatial gap disappeared as well. At that moment, Sidi, who had taken over Ash’s body, waved her hand. The shadows on the ground squirmed and rose, turning into a huge shadow curtain. Behind it was a kingdom located on a cold plateau, with snow-white walls made of ice.
At that moment, a huge hole appeared above the kingdom. Countless blood-red arrows rained from the sky, falling into the city. Those who were hit by the arrows immediately turned into blood. Their eyes also turned red. All the blood vessels in their bodies bulged. They had lost their rationality and killed everyone they saw. For a moment, more than half of the kingdom fell into chaos.
“Mortal King, are you satisfied with the power that I have displayed?”
Ares did not even look at the content of the image that Sidi had displayed. Instead, he asked in a domineering voice that was utterly different from his appearance. The kingdom that Sidi had shown was the Winter Nation. At that moment, it was being invaded by Ares’ power.
“As expected of a god that rules over war and hunting. That ability caused the people in the Winter Nation to fall into madness and kill each other. There is no doubt that it is the power of a true god. I am very satisfied with it.” King Landhar III nodded.
“Since you are satisfied, tell us the location of that young man named Watson. I want to hack him into pieces.”
A brutal killing intent flashed across Ares’ pitch-black eyes; he rubbed his hands together.
As gods, the only purpose of their descent was to kill Watson.
“Lord Ares, six gods are participating in the mission to destroy Watson. There are still three who have yet to arrive. Isn’t it unfair for you to make the first move?”
“It’s their bad luck that they did not draw the best lot. If we come earlier, we can act earlier. What’s wrong with that? Can you blame their bad luck on me? My patience is limited. Let me ask you one more time, where is Watson?”
Ares’ eyes narrowed into slits. White clouds began to spew out of his mouth and nose. Only a god could produce that effect due to the excessive airflow when he was gasping for breath. Only a god could breathe clouds.
“If I’m not wrong, Watson is currently at the Royal Academy—”
Before King Landhar III could finish his sentence, Ares had already dashed forward, turning into a ray of light and disappearing from the spot.
“That Ares is too impatient. No matter how fast he is, can he be faster than me, the God of Wind and Navigation? Watson and the power in his body will belong to me.”
Agares, who had also taken over Harold’s body, also flew away. His body turned into a gust of wind mixed with lightning, and his speed was even faster than Ares.
In an instant, only Sidi remained.
“Lord Sidi, aren’t you going as well? It would be bad if those two get ahead of us.”
“There’s no rush. I’ve fought with Watson before, and I know how difficult he can be. If it were that easy, I would not have lost a clone! I’ll let Ares and Agares go. When they’ve used up their energy with Watson, I’ll be able to capture Watson easily.” The corners of Sidi’s lips curled upward as she controlled Ash’s corpse. A smug look appeared on her face.
King Landhar III, who was at the side, smiled and did not say anything. Sidi’s idea was not bad, but could the actual situation allow her to get what she wanted?
….
At the dining hall in the Royal Academy.
“The Royal Academy’s dining hall is quite luxurious, and the food tastes good. It doesn’t feel any worse than the Holy Dragon Tavern! Most importantly, it has the Sun and Moon fruit wine.”
Lily sat on a bench, stuffing meat into her mouth as she gulped down the wine.
Charlotte, who was sitting next to her, felt a little helpless. “Lily, everyone is watching you. Can you be a little more reserved when you’re eating? Otherwise, I would be embarrassed to sit with you.”
As Charlotte spoke, Lily looked up and realized that many people in the restaurant were looking at them, indeed. To be precise, they were looking at Watson, who was sitting opposite her. Kiana sat to his left, and Nia was on his right. One of the two girls was holding a bowl and stirring the thick soup with a spoon. She stirred and blew at it while the other used a fork to a piece of steak to Watson.
“I’ve already used my ability to lower the temperature. Please enjoy that Holy Dragon Kingdom sweet soup, Master.”
“Don’t bother about her, Watson. I am here to feed you. If you’re not satisfied with this method, I can feed you with my lips!”
Many students from the Royal Academy saw that scene. The male and female students looked envious, but the former group was jealous of Watson, while the latter group was envious of Kiana and Nia.
“Your Highness, Miss Nia, this is the Royal Academy, a public place. Please be wary of your actions! If you continue to act like this, I won’t eat with you in the future.” Watson complained helplessly. In the end, he simply ate the steak and drank a mouthful of soup. He knew that Kiana and Nia would stick to him and continue to bother him if he did not do that.
“I envy Young Master Watson to have both the Princess and Nia to fuss over him at the same time,” Amon, who was sitting not far from Watson, whispered.
Watson heard him, and he stared at Amon. “Envy? Come, Amon, let’s change seats.”
“No, Young Master Watson, I was just joking. I can sit here.”
After Watson finished his food, Kiana and Nia started preparing a new portion of food for him. One of them was grabbing Watson’s jaw while the other was stuffing food into his mouth. Amon could not help but shiver.
“Amon, if you have time to talk about useless things, why don’t you hurry up and eat. If you don’t want to eat, then go and look for geniuses. You’ve been in the Royal Academy for a long time. You should know that already, right?”
“Young Master Watson, regarding the geniuses in the Royal Academy, I already have a few candidates.” Amon nodded. He pointed to a girl with a long scarf around her in one of the dining hall corners. The girl looked ordinary, and she kept looking around her as she ate. When someone passed by her, she would eat quickly, as if she was a little hamster who was afraid of being noticed.
“That girl’s name is Rose Weiser. She’s a member of the Abedor family, a famous potion family in the kingdom. She’s very talented at making potions. She’s only in her teens this year, and she can already produce peak gold-tier potions by herself.”
“That person over there is the young master of a duke’s family in the kingdom, known as the Duke Piggy.”
Amon pointed in another direction. The person he pointed at was as big as a small hill, more than ten times the size of an ordinary person. The fat on his stomach piled on the bench, and that hill-like youth was pouring food into his mouth. It did not look like he was eating, but rather, it looked like he was vacuuming trash.
“Duke Piggy can convert what he eats into power. For example, if he eats a cow, then he can grow horns. If he eats a bird, then he can grow wings. He can even combine the abilities of different foods.
“And that woman over there. They say that she is the illegitimate daughter of a sea folk woman and a nobleman. Initially, she did not qualify to study at the Royal Academy! But she has the combined characteristics of humans and the sea race. She has a natural ability to charm and a distinctive singing voice. They say that even animals will stop when they hear her singing.”
Amon introduced a few geniuses to Watson. Those geniuses might not be powerful in combat power, but they all had some strange abilities. Therefore, they were not very well-known in the competition. However, Amon understood that Watson did not need strong talents but those with unique skills.
“Not bad, Amon. Later, you can ask those geniuses if they are interested in becoming my subordinates.”
Watson looked interested as he waved his hand at Amon. Strength was nothing to him. The most important thing was the characteristics. After all, he had many ways to increase one’s strength, but one’s unique abilities had to be different. For example, the girl named Rose Weiser could make high-tier potions, and the man named Duke Piggy could use his body to mix the food he ate and improve it to increase production.
“Forget it, Amon. I’ll ask them myself.”
After thinking for a while, Watson stood up before Amon did. On the one hand, he thought it might be disrespectful to ask Amon to do that, and on the other hand, he wanted to get away from Kiana and Nia, who had been trying to feed him.
Watson went to the corner of the hall first. The ordinary-looking girl in a thick scarf was in front of him. “Miss Rose Weiser, right? Is it convenient to talk?”
“You’re Warren… Watson? Wow!”
Rose did not expect Watson to appear in front of her suddenly. She dropped the knife and fork in her hand and suddenly jumped up from her seat with a scream.
Her scream attracted everyone’s attention. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Watson put his hand on his shoulder and bowed to her.
“I’m sorry, Miss Rose. I have startled you, and for that, I apologize! I’m here to make a deal with you. I’m interested in making potions. I want to make a batch and sell it on the market. As a member of the Abedor family, Miss Rose must be very familiar with those things. Can you help me?”
“I—” Rose tugged at the corner of her clothes. She did not respond, but Watson waited patiently without urging her.
Just as many people in the dining hall were waiting for Rose’s answer, there was a bang. A man with silver hair wrapped around his body walked into the hall. Then, another tall man trailed behind him. His aura was like a storm that swept through the sky, and it did not stop at all.
After the man came in, his eyes locked onto Watson, and a cruel smile appeared on his face. “Watson, I’ve finally found you. I’ll take your life now.”
The man extended his thick hand toward Watson. A sharp wind blade was wrapped around his palm as if he wanted to cut Watson and the entire restaurant in half. Rose Weiser, who was in between that man and Watson, was the first to bear the brunt of the wind blade. However, before the wind blade reached her, the long scarf around her neck had already been cut into two, leaving a shallow bloodied scar on her skin.
