A Sudden Turn

"All of you have been deceived by her, heh heh heh..." Karen stood quietly by the side, looking at Schumiller, who sat in the coffin laughing incessantly. Perhaps Karen's indifferent attitude took the fun out of it, for the laughter gradually died down. "A new order is about to be established. For all of you, this is also a new opportunity. I hope you can sober up and make the right choice." Karen replied, "Only when a person is at their most sober will they willingly choose the hardest path." "Then you shall witness your own insignificance." "It does not matter, for I have long since seen true vastness." "I truly wonder what gives you such immense confidence." "The great God of Order." "What is your name?" "Karen Inmerles." "When I return, I will go to the temple, seize you, place you in the palm of my hand, and thoroughly appreciate your arrogance and ignorance." "I am not in the temple. I am the next High Priest." It was merely an unwritten understanding, an omen, a trajectory. How reality would actually unfold remained uncertain, but that did not stop Karen from using this identity to demonstrate the Church of Order's resolve to Augurev. "Then your current High Priest should be summoning you back very soon. I am about to return, and she will return only earlier than I, for she is the first of the returning gods, heh heh." "Heh heh." Karen laughed too. Schumiller's aura began to dissipate, signifying that Augurev's will possessing him was receding. Immediately following that, the real Schumiller seemed to be returning, but this return was only fleeting, as Augurev had consumed what little spiritual power remained in the corpse. He reached out a hand, as though trying to grasp something. His eyes remained tightly shut, yet an intense urgency could be seen on his face. Karen grasped his hand. Schumiller immediately responded with great force, speaking hurriedly: "Must believe... believe in Order... must..." And then, he died. For the man who had once vied with Norton for the seat of High Priest, both his first death and his second felt rather abrupt and unceremonious. Morindi said regretfully, "Sigh, why couldn't he get straight to the point? He died before finishing his sentence." Karen asked, "What do you think he had left to say?" Morindi said, "Must... must..." Karen said, "Must believe in Order." "This..." "I think he may have already finished what he wanted to say. That was his entire message." "He paid such a heavy price just to shout a slogan?" "Whether it's just a slogan isn't certain. That sentence wasn't meant for me. In the ears of the person who was truly supposed to receive his message, it may hold a special meaning." "Yet he didn't want to hear it." Morindi clearly still held misgivings toward Norton; she had always been a staunch theist. "Could he... already have..." "I don't like suspecting my comrades, my brothers-in-arms, or those who share my ambitions without cause—especially when the slander comes from the mouth of an enemy. Do you think gods don't lie?" "Understood. I shall follow your teachings." Karen raised his hand. The coffin lid closed once more and slid into the Black Sea. For a believer of Order who had already undergone awakening, an elaborate funeral had lost all meaning. Besides, it was more fitting for this man to depart in silence. "Young Master, are we going to continue inside?" "Since we have the conditions to go in, we naturally should observe our enemies in advance. Kanna, forward!" "Roar!" Little Kanna let out a dragon roar. Her draconic body surged into the air, advancing toward the core region at tremendous speed. Before long, the membrane of light appeared before their eyes. "You two stay here and be ready to support me at any time." With that, Karen leapt off the dragon's back and charged straight into the membrane. Terrifying thoughts of negative affinities swiftly flooded Karen's mind. Beside his ears, he could seemingly hear the roars and bellowing of countless gods and demons. One had to understand that these deities had been marooned outside the era for so long; when even one as mighty as the God of Order had decayed, how could they have fared any better? Moreover, their journey back had not only been plagued by endless loneliness, but had also seen brutal fratricide and mutual devouring along the way. Thus, the resentment here was not only dense, but intensely fresh. "Luoya." "Brother Karen!" The hunger addiction kept roaring, maintaining Karen's clarity of consciousness. Whenever he was on the verge of being overwhelmed, Luoya stepped in to help him absorb and shoulder a portion of the burden. In truth, if Karen had a team of priests following to bolster him, he could also breach the membrane—the knight orders did not lack outstanding priests—but the cost of doing so would be far too high. He could purge the corruption from Little Kanna if she was tainted, first because she was a bone dragon capable of enduring bone-scraping to remove impurities, and second because her Dragon God inheritance allowed her to resist the environmental encroachment here. Yet if those priests ventured deep inside and caught the corruption, they could only end up meeting the same fate as his "parents." Scouting was always conducted with small units; no one went to war by throwing away their entire family fortune just to scout for vision. After an agonizing stretch, Karen finally penetrated the membrane and reached the innermost central region. Three colossal peaks appeared before him, enshrouded in black mist yet looming faintly visible. When facing the true forms of Rielsa and Raniedal, Karen had marvelled at how terrifying a deity's plane of existence truly was. Now, he truly understood what it meant to be... a chief god. Raniedal probably wouldn't even reach the height of their faces; stepping on their chins, his hands wouldn't even touch their eyebrows. The common description across church circles was that mortals before gods were like humble ants. That comparison... was honestly an over-glorification. Why gods could look down upon all living beings, why gods could create wondrous monuments, why their stories were almost always accompanied by world-shattering upheavals, why even after they fell, their decaying corpses could still inflict terrifying catastrophes upon the mortal world... One needed only to truly stand before gods and look upon them once, and every doubt and question would dissolve away. Karen summoned his dharma body, and supported by it, began conducting a large-scale mental probe. The last time he peered inside from outside the membrane, the three chief gods had only revealed the portions above their necks. Only now did he discover that their bodies were already fully present here; it was just that the rest lay submerged beneath the Black Sea. However, while their physique still preserved the majesty of chief gods, in reality, the state they displayed was terrible—a haggard emaciation and stooping visible to the naked eye. Perhaps the comparison was not entirely apt, yet they truly resembled gaunt, homeless vagrants huddled on the street corners of Yorktown. Furthermore, multiple areas of their divine bodies were undergoing repairs, but the repair progress was uneven, which meant certain parts were not being mended, but concealed. Not only were they extremely weak, they were also wounded. As long as he could commit the locations of these wounds to memory, once they completely awakened and reached the shore, the knight order's offensive against them would be far more targeted and effective. However, having probed for only a short while, Karen sensed something was amiss. He reached out his hand and touched forward gently. The first time, he touched nothing. The second was the same. But upon touching a third time, his fingertips seemed to brush against a thick, invisible cuticle. They are deceiving me! Heh... Rather than panicking, the corners of Karen's mouth curled into a smile. If you were truly omnipotent, mighty deities, why would you bother deceiving my inspection at a time like this? Doesn't this prove that you too fear the knight order positions prepared along the shore? This was a war between mortals and gods. Mortals had to brave it with fearless self-sacrifice to battle gods, whereas the greatest reliance of gods was often not their raw power, but the perception and image of their invincibility. Karen refocused his gaze, piercing through the deception's illusion, and once more observed the three chief god-level beings, recording information on their injuries anew. *Buzz!* Dense shattering sounds burst from within the black mist, and a vine plunged straight down, transforming into a colossal centipede as it fell. It was Lapas, but unlike the Lapas torn apart outside by Little Kanna earlier, this Lapas's true form was a vine, its body covered everywhere in branches and leaves. The gleam of the Laks copper coin appeared before Karen as Luoya prepared to help defend him. "Brother Karen, keep observing, I'll stall it for you—" "No need." Karen extended his left hand to recall the coin, then opened his right hand, the Blade of Sighs appearing in his grip. While the dharma body behind him continued observing, Karen's true body darted forward with the long blade in hand. After a swift flash of movement, he landed back where he started. Lapas, so fierce a moment ago, let out a wretched scream before its body rapidly fractured apart, turning into countless stench-ridden, rotting masses of green fluid. An opponent Little Kanna could handle had no business acting insolent before Karen. However, for this formidable monster that had once attempted to gnaw upon the Tree of Life to fall to such a state, the main reason was that it was simply too weak now. Without food to replenish and repair it, whatever form it assumed was meaningless. Yet after Lapas disintegrated, the black mist ahead suddenly contracted, coalescing into an enormous black giant. The giant's appearance made the forms of the three chief gods, previously veiled by the black mist, much clearer. Their eyes were shut tight, yet like the grandest presences in this space, they loomed before him. An ordinary person could never withstand such horrifying pressure; it felt as though one stood in direct opposition to the entire world. The black giant charged toward Karen. Every stride sent violent tremors through the sea below, churning up terrifying whirlpools. Karen positioned the Blade of Sighs before him, gripped the hilt with both hands, and chanted rapidly. Black trenches opened up along the black giant's path. Though massive, each time the giant crossed one trench, two more condensed simultaneously to hinder it. Destroying it was not his primary objective; Karen needed time so his dharma body could complete more of the probe. If possible, he would not even be satisfied with merely detecting the wounds on the chief gods' divine bodies—he wanted to perceive the flaws in their divine souls and even their godhoods. These were the imprints left upon them by the God of Order at the cost of his own decay. Theoretically, the complete organizational structure of an Order Knight Order was effectively an agile, harmonious integration of battalions, designed to achieve the effect of a "complete god." Conversely, a deity could also be likened to a knight order: the wounds and defects upon them could be understood as a missing battalion or sluggish coordination. Karen was genuinely playing the role of a scout right now, gathering enemy intelligence. The black giant raged continuously in futile fury, seemingly unable to accept being trifled with like this. Yet like Lapas, the chief gods themselves were in poor condition and had not even fully broken free from the era's shackles, so how could they spare extra power to bestow upon these subordinate minnows? At least for now, Karen's current strength managed to establish local dominance in this corner, even under the "closed-eye gaze" of the three chief gods. Yet this dominance would not last long. Aside from Augurev in the center remaining motionless, the First-generation God of Life on the left was lifting her eyelids, while the Second-generation God of Life on the right, though showing no overt movement, caused violent surges in the water below. Gods would not permit an outsider to probe them right in their faces. This was not only an infringement on practical interests, but an insult to their dignity—much like when high officials seated up front during a church meeting set up an isolation barrier for private discussion, only for some tactless priest in the back row to itch for a chance to crack that simple formation. The First-generation God of Life cracked her eyes open by just a sliver, and suddenly, the area that had cleared up with the giant's arrival was instantly replaced by boundless distortion. Distorted was not merely line of sight, but thought and perception as well. Originally, such measures wouldn't have been needed, since the taboo against gazing directly upon a god was the greatest barrier; yet that taboo had no effect on Karen. Even with this arrangement in place, it still failed to block Karen's inspection. Karen pressed his index finger between his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "Eye of Order." The massive dharma body behind him began to gaze forward. Above it, a colossal eye manifested, smoothing out all distortions and delving deeper to probe these three mighty beings. The sea beneath Karen's feet sank over a vast expanse. A hand rose up like a cracked, scarred continent, desolate and utterly devoid of vegetation. This was not a physical manifestation, but a projection driven by divine intent. If these three beings could truly act right now, they wouldn't linger here at all; they would have rushed toward the shore. After all, every additional day of preparation afforded to the outside world was an added layer of difficulty for them. The giant hand enclosed Karen. Dreadful earthquakes and collapses occurred continuously—a divine creation of ruin. Karen was wrapped in Chains of Order; nothing stirring outside could affect him. The low roars of the hunger addiction could shut out any spiritual or mental pressure. At that moment, a thought suddenly arose in Karen's mind: should he attempt a proactive strike right now? Though he felt it was a foolish choice, he found the impulse somewhat hard to suppress. Even if he couldn't truly harm them, he could at least gain first-hand experience and verify their current state in practice. The Blade of Sighs began to hum faintly. Karen drew the blade, his figure sweeping forward like a rainbow. At the center of Augurev's forehead, who had remained silent in the middle all along, a third eye appeared. This eye was open. Karen's mind jolted. He wasn't startled by Augurev reacting; earlier, the two chief gods of life flanking her had already made subtle moves to intercept and suppress him, so it was not at all surprising for Augurev to make a move as well. Rather, the feeling Augurev gave him at this moment was... that she possessed far greater freedom of movement than the two chief gods of life. Those two chief gods had not completely broken free from the constraints of the era and still needed time, but Augurev might have already gained her "freedom"! Yet why hadn't she, having gained freedom, directly left this place? Was she restrained and bound by the two chief gods at her sides, or was she aware that defenses and ambushes were prepared outside, making it safer to wait until those two had returned completely before leaving together? Before Karen had time to ponder further, Augurev's third eye unleashed a bolt of world-ending lightning. The surrounding Black Sea was swiftly vaporized, and all illusions were shattered. The bodies, divine souls, and godhoods of the three withered gods were laid completely bare before Karen, and bare before the sight of the Eye of Order. The lightning struck Karen. His divine robes melted away instantly. The Laks copper coin swiftly formed a second layer of defense, yet it too shattered in an instant. The dharma body behind him enveloped him, helping him withstand the lightning. Immediately after, however, the dharma body began to disperse as well, and the Eye of Order, caught in the backlash, fractured wide open. Karen felt his consciousness turning fuzzy; he could no longer control anything around him. The feeling was like standing still and taking a concentrated salvo from magic crystal cannons. This was the power of a god. As one of the God of Order's Four Retainers of old, even though Augurev didn't even hold the status of a branch god, the outside world acknowledged that each of the Four Retainers possessed power not inferior to that of a chief god. Right at this moment, however, the back of a towering figure appeared here, blocking the lightning—it was the God of Order. Next, a holy figure radiating light appeared before the God of Order. When they appeared, it was as if the laws solidified once more, and Augurev's open third eye was forced shut. "Lord, I shall welcome your return, and together we shall forge... a new order." Augurev let out a laugh like thunder, one that held little discernible reverence for her Lord. The two chief gods of life spoke one after another: "Order, you can no longer stop us. We are about to shatter our shackles and formally return." "Light, you betrayed your camp. Had you not joined him, Order would have collapsed, and the gods would have returned long ago." Though the ruined seal was extremely weak and riddled with gaps, the barrier jointly erected by Order and Light was still attempting to mend itself. If this dam could no longer hold, having leaks appear one breach at a time would at least give posterity a chance to try repairing it, rather than it collapsing all at once, unleashing a divine flood to sweep away everything. Yet because of this, Karen's life was saved, and it brought home the profound realization that even if his strength now rivaled that of a Temple Elder, as long as he did not become a god, as an individual he still could not confront a god alone. The weakened dharma body shielded Karen as the Blade of Sighs carried him swiftly outward. Passing through the grueling membrane once more, Karen returned outside. "Oh, he's out!" Little Kanna moved with tremendous speed, catching Karen on her back. "Young Master!" Seeing Karen injured, Morindi was deeply worried. Karen spoke, "Head back, Kanna." "Alright!" Little Kanna immediately wheeled around and flew toward the outer rim of the Black Sea. Morindi attempted to heal Karen, only to find residual lightning power coursing all over his body. Fortunately, Karen's soul was resilient enough, and after a period of resistance, the lightning power receded. "*Cough, cough...*" Coughing, Karen sat up. Qianmei emerged and began stitching along Karen's ruined divine robes. Soon, a new set of divine robes appeared, fitting snugly against Karen's body. If Progenitor Allen had been reduced to a boiler-tender for Karen, Qianmei had gradually become a dedicated little silkworm—and one that spun and wove its own silk at that. "Young Master, your injuries..." "I'm fine." Though the injuries were not light, compared to the fruits of his reconnaissance, it was entirely worth it. This would provide vital assistance for the upcoming battle. As they neared the shore, Karen rested his hand against the white bone beneath him. "You're injured, there's no need—" "You cannot be tainted." Chains of Order extended outward, wrapping around Little Kanna and absorbing all the corruption. "*Cough...*" Karen coughed repeatedly again, coughing up blood tinged with gold. Looking at the bloodstains on his palm, Karen couldn't help but mock himself: *In the end, I still can't match Grandfather's coughs.* The bone dragon flew out of the Black Sea. When Karen looked down, he immediately noticed something was wrong. Originally, this area was supposed to be a vast field of defensive fortifications undergoing rapid construction—after all, when facing adversaries as mighty as gods, no amount of preparation was too much. Yet right now, not only had construction halted, but Karen also saw the knight orders and even larger bodies of regular legions organizing an evacuation. Back at the rear supply base, massive pillars of teleportation light rose high, beaming troops and equipment back. A thunderhorn rhinoceros vaulted into the air and flew toward the bone dragon. The person mounted upon it was none other than Commander Daan. Yet behind Commander Daan followed two Temple Elders. Logically, this was not standard configuration for a knight order. Even with the impending war of gods prompting an increase in the elder quota assigned to the knight orders, the elders would not stick so close to the commander's side. It didn't look like protection; it looked more like surveillance. Yet that seemed improbable... How could the present Temple still dare to reach out its claws on its own initiative, let alone extend them into such a sensitive realm as the military? Standing on the dragon's back, Karen looked at Daan and asked, "Lord Commander, what is happening here?" Daan deliberately glanced out of the corner of his eye at the two Temple Elders beside him, then took out a scroll woven of black and gold and replied: "By the decree of the High Priest: withdraw the army."