Although Ao had laid down the rule that deities could not interfere with mortals, it was impossible to completely sever their influence over mortals, or else all those gods who relied on faith would perish.
Granting blessings, bestowing artifacts, or directly sending avatars into the mortal realm within acceptable limits—all of these fell within Ao's permitted boundaries.
This Aeolus was ninety-nine percent certain to have been sent by a deity.
"But why marry Ariel?" Anbaixiu pondered the question.
The power Aeolus displayed was controlling seawater; this didn't seem like some self-created magic, but rather an innate instinct.
In that case, Aeolus's power likely originated from some deity of the oceanic pantheon.
If Aeolus truly was an envoy of some sea god, then his desire to marry Ariel was very likely because the oceanic pantheon wanted to vie for faith.
Although the Raging Tide Kingdom's population wasn't as large as the fishmen beneath the sea, the various fishman tribes belonged to different deities, splintering the faith finely enough that there wasn't necessarily enough to go around for the oceanic gods. Moreover, if they could cultivate faith on land, that would be a whole new blue ocean market for the oceanic deities, opening up far broader prospects.
This idiot claimed to worship Talos, which was undoubtedly a lie too. Who would blatantly announce to everyone that they were sent by Talos? It had to be a fake persona the oceanic gods had given Aeolus just so he could get close to Ariel.
"So Aeolus was ordered by a deity to pursue Ariel, intending to seize the Raging Tide Kingdom's faith this way. How audacious."
Talos was by no means an easy deity to deal with. Stealing faith like this would inevitably invite Talos's wrath, sparking another divine war.
And Anbaixiu wouldn't allow anyone to meddle in the internal affairs of the Raging Tide Kingdom either. That was his alchemy factory; no one was permitted to lay a finger on it.
However, stopping Aeolus from pursuing Ariel was a bit tricky. What standing did he have to prevent someone's free love?
After some thought, Anbaixiu could only think of one solution—how about giving Talos a heads-up?
If Talos knew the oceanic pantheon was making trouble, he might just hurl a bolt of lightning straight into the ocean, saving Anbaixiu any worry.
Let's do that then. Write a letter to the Raging Tide Kingdom detailing this idiot's plan to kidnap the bride; surely the Raging Tide Kingdom had ways to contact Talos.
Having settled on a plan, Anbaixiu quickly picked up his pen and wrote a letter, recounting his chance encounter with Aeolus in detail, emphasizing that this idiot planned to take her by force and possessed a nearly immortal body, hoping the Raging Tide Kingdom would be well prepared.
With that matter handled, Anbaixiu began discussing the details of dividing up the dragons with Gareth and the others, a conversation that lasted two whole days.
Doing business was truly overwhelming. Anbaixiu lacked a deputy who could help him plug leaks and catch what he missed. Harvey was originally promising material, but he lacked experience and wasn't yet qualified to serve as his right-hand man.
Aside from Harvey, the only intellectual talent under Anbaixiu's command seemed to be Isabel.
"Sigh, is it really so hard to find a clever person to work for me these days? Whatever, after this incident, clever people should come flocking to me."
As long as he dealt with the Ryans and broadcast the whole spectacle live, he believed the entire world would realize this lich was the finest backer to have. Whether cultists, devil servants, or merely cynical madmen, all the freaks and monsters dwelling in the shadows would come to seek refuge with Anbaixiu.
And as everyone knew, those who fell to the dark side were often ten times stronger than normal people—not only in individual combat power, but in intellect as well.
Because if you weren't smart enough in an evil faction, you'd die very quickly.
Now everything was prepared; all that remained was waiting for the Ryans to arrive.
Yet, why hadn't they arrived yet?
Two days after Anbaixiu began eagerly waiting, word finally came from the Black Tide: the Ryan warship was no longer far from his Gold Coin Island.
Only, this time, it wasn't just the Ryans who came.
According to the report from the Black Tide, trailing behind the Ryan warship was a terrifying monster hundreds of meters long.
Those were the tentacles of a giant deep-sea octopus, any single one of which was larger than the Black Tide. This giant octopus churned up endless waves, pushing the Ryan warship forward.
Anbaixiu was astonished when he heard the news.
How was this like the heroes in stories? Tricked into a monster's lair by a villain, only to tame the beast and turn it into an asset to defeat the demon king!
"Good, good, good, playing it like that, are we? Let's see whether you bunch of heroes are here to slay the demon king or deliver equipment!"
With a wave of Anbaixiu's hand, the entire Gold Coin Island bustled into motion. Tens of thousands of undead continued acting as mana batteries within the magic circle, and under Anbaixiu's orchestration, the immense magical power accumulated over days began to coalesce into form.
Above Gold Coin Island, thick, dark clouds swiftly surged forth, spreading like an ink-black canopy, before long blanketing an area over a dozen kilometers around.
Beneath this dark canopy, the sea turned murky and dim, the air grew foul with decay, and even the seawater began to be corrupted.
Such formidable presence was sensed by the Ryans before they had even entered the canopy's reach.
Standing at the prow, Cyril Roland looked out toward the colossal darkness in the distance, unable to help saying in shock, "Lord of the Dawn above, what immense evil!" His hand tightened around the hilt of the Blood of Lathander, and powerful Holy Light surged from this artifact, turning into countless specks of golden light that enveloped the warship entirely.
Cyril Roland was known as General Radiance precisely because of this ability to transform Holy Light into shattered gold. Beautiful as these specks of light appeared, they contained tremendous holy power.
Falling upon allies, this golden radiance dispelled negative effects and bestowed various buffs; but if evil beings brushed against the light, the Holy Light would invade their bodies, slicing through flesh like countless tiny daggers.
As the radiance shone, it instantly dispersed the oppressive dread weighing on their hearts, and even the stench of decay in the air faded noticeably.
The black clouds in the sky churned and roiled, condensing into a colossal skull.
Just like the Death God that had appeared on Dragon Island back then.
A body hundreds of meters tall, draped in a cloak of smoke, every single bone seemingly a concentration of dark magic, as if the true God of Death had descended upon the mortal realm.
Cyril Roland stared at the massive skull in the sky. Just as he assumed this was Anbaixiu's magical strike, a grand voice rolled down from above like muffled thunder.
"Paladins of Ryan, state your purpose. You have trespassed into my territorial waters."
Cyril Roland furrowed his brows, faintly sensing something was off.
What else was there to say between Ryan paladins and a lich? To purge the undead, of course!
Did he even need to ask?
Cyril Roland narrowed his eyes, scanning the sky, and soon spotted that black airship. Even though it appeared no larger than a fingernail and was obscured by the vast expanse of dark clouds, it could not escape his sight.
Over these past days, Cyril Roland had seen this airship more than once. He knew it had to be connected to that lich, but the airship flew far too high; even wielding an artifact, Cyril Roland could not affect anything hundreds of meters in the sky, leaving him no choice but to let it trail them.
And now, after the lich issued his inquiry, the airship seemed to be making unusual maneuvers, actually circling the Ryan warship. What was it doing? A precursor to launching an attack?
While Cyril Roland was still pondering, Hastings on the Black Tide was already swamped. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Zoom in closer! We need to see the expressions on those Ryans' faces. Yes, just like that—get right in their faces!"
The Black Tide wasn't circling to attack, but to use the telephoto lens mounted on the airship to capture every detail of Cyril Roland—this was a live broadcast!
The Black Tide had only one mission: to record every bit of this legendary battle without missing a single detail.
The undead operating every part of the airship worked in seamless coordination, determined to flawlessly carry out the task Anbaixiu had assigned: they had to capture these Ryans looking dashing, majestic, and imposing!
At first, Hastings hadn't understood the point of this order. If the goal was to intimidate others, why portray the Ryans as heroes?
Anbaixiu had replied with just one sentence: "If I crush an ant, does that threaten the entire world? What if I crush a hero?"
Only then did Hastings understand Anbaixiu's logic, instantly praising his master's brilliance.
If you didn't trample a great hero underfoot, how could you showcase the demon king's might? Truly worthy of a lich who had deceived even deities—just this alone would take Hastings centuries to learn.
Thus, Hastings was currently trying every means possible to showcase Cyril Roland's fearless valor from every angle.
The magic mirror displayed Cyril Roland's face, looking incomparably holy under the reflection of those fine golden sparks, as if the Lord of the Dawn had descended. Still feeling it wasn't enough, Hastings turned to his brother and said, "Hares, cue some background music!"
The mercury-like Hares extended several metallic threads and began to play.
Although Hares had been a ranger in life, spending so much time hanging around taverns meant he had picked up a few tricks from bards. Wasn't it just entrance music for a hero? He knew a few simple chords too.
The camera was set, the music was ready; now it all came down to Cyril Roland's performance.
Hastings prayed, "O hero, you better not mess up your performance, or my master will not be pleased."
Cyril Roland had no idea he had become the leading man in a movie, but he truly lived up to being a legendary paladin entrusted with a monumental mission; facing Anbaixiu's godlike aura of dread, he showed not the slightest fear.
He roared, "Guided by the Holy Light, we shall banish all evil in this world. Ultraman Tiga, the time has come to pay for the sins you have committed!"
These words were spoken with righteous indignation, his booming voice soaring straight toward the monstrous silhouette in the sky, as if Anbaixiu truly were some vile arch-fiend.
All the Ryans felt their morale surge upon hearing this, countless rays of golden light flaring from the ship until it seemed transformed into a sphere of pure gold.
The combined strength of seven legends and an entire legion gathered together—a power sufficient to tear apart the evil apparition in the sky.
Yet just as they were about to strike, the colossal skull in the sky spoke up: "Then, can you tell me what sins I have committed?"
Cyril Roland opened his mouth, about to speak, when he suddenly froze.
Wait... what evil had this lich actually done?
Chapter 401