Although a minor hiccup had occurred, Anbaixiu's plan proceeded smoothly.
The combat strength of the undead legion had been thoroughly tested; for now, no rivals could be found in these waters. With the alchemical industry of the Dwarf Kingdom assisting in production, Anbaixiu could amass vast forces in a short time at minimal cost.
Theoretically, so long as no figure like Arthur Ryan emerged among the sea races, conquering the Volcanic Sea posed little difficulty for Anbaixiu. Pushing forward steadily, achieving his goal was only a matter of time.
What followed, then, was the matter of governance.
The populace Anbaixiu had prepared for Aige consisted of exiled merfolk criminals. The worst offense among them was likely nothing more than sneaking a bite of offerings meant for Eadro.
As for secretly making baby merfolk outside the breeding season, in Anbaixiu's eyes, it was a bewildered "How the hell is that even illegal?"
Anyone who was not a devotee of Eadro would find the customs of these merfolk difficult to comprehend.
Still, that the merfolk had become the mightiest power in the ocean might well be tied to this orderly, disciplined, and ascetic way of life, so Anbaixiu refrained from passing further judgment.
In any case, Anbaixiu needed to arrange a suitable habitat for these merfolk "criminals," and their unanchored faith would serve as ideal fuel to aid Aige's ascension to godhood.
Speaking of which, Eadro had been generous enough not to stop the merfolk from handling their convicts this way.
Such was likely the breadth of mind belonging to a True Neutral deity. Even if he did not wish for the balance of power to be disrupted, he would not deprive the merfolk of a chance at survival for that reason alone. Had Eadro been slightly more ruthless and commanded the merfolk to execute all the convicts outright, Anbaixiu would have had to find another way.
Anbaixiu even wondered whether True Neutral was the alignment of the Overgod Ao himself. The way both conducted themselves seemed remarkably alike: everything operated strictly by the rules. As long as you followed the rules, you could do whatever you wished; break them, and it was strictly forbidden.
To design a living area suitable for merfolk, he had to cater to their living habits.
Merfolk loved dwelling within coral reefs as intricate as labyrinths, and favored all manner of caverns that appeared chaotic yet were systematically arranged.
Anbaixiu lacked the means to cultivate vast coral reefs on short notice, but he could craft a cavernous environment well-suited for their habitation.
This required no original design from Anbaixiu; the merfolk would deliver blueprints detailing their optimal living conditions, and Anbaixiu needed only to copy them faithfully.
No architectural talent was required on his part—only sufficient funds. The World Weaving spell would reshape the region according to Anbaixiu's vision.
Vast quantities of coin were fed into the Golden Throne, and the seabed swiftly transformed.
Rock formations resembling coral reefs rose from the sea floor, followed by countless stone tendrils sprouting upward, ascending toward the surface like colossal stone nets.
Like dozens of unfurled giant webs, they enveloped the two territories Anbaixiu had seized, forming an unimaginably intricate labyrinth.
These stone webs allowed ocean currents to pass through freely without hindering the water's flow within, yet they would severely impede external invaders. If creatures lacking intellect like the kuo-toa were to charge in, they would easily lose themselves within this labyrinth of stone.
Unless they tore down every wall along their path, this maze was more than enough to hold off vast numbers of foes.
The inspiration drew from the tunnel warfare films Anbaixiu had watched in his past life, though making full use of such terrain would require the local inhabitants to adapt gradually on their own.
Next, these net-like lattices continued growing upward, swiftly breaching the surface and forming over a dozen patches of "land" of varying sizes above these waters.
Not islands, but "dry land" propped up above sea level.
The area of these suspended landmasses was not vast—combined, they might equal a small town of under ten thousand people. Yet these suspended lands served as a retreat of last resort; should some catastrophic crisis strike, the races living beneath the waves could temporarily flee onto this "dry land" to escape danger.
That dry land would serve as the ultimate refuge for sea races was rather ironic when said aloud.
Yet there was no alternative. Anbaixiu would not devote his full attention to this stretch of ocean, and Aige merely regarded them as single-use stepping stones; once she ascended to godhood, she would no longer be able to meddle easily in the mortal realm.
In the end, therefore, they would have to rely on themselves.
This was the safety net Anbaixiu granted them: so long as it bought them a buffer of time, reinforcements should be able to arrive.
Having finished all this, Anbaixiu thoughtfully absorbed every scrap of residual dark magic. Thanks to the artifact ring on his hand, the task was made vastly simpler.
Having cleansed these "toxic" contaminants, Anbaixiu dispatched the fishman zombies away for the time being, storing them as reserve troops and raw materials.
With that accomplished, the region was ready for resettlement.
Yet this was not Anbaixiu's concern. The groundwork had been laid for Aige; the remaining tasks ought to be handed over to the Silent Night Pirates.
After all, it was Aige who was ascending to godhood, so it was best that she handle the resettlement matters personally, which would also facilitate her gathering of faith.
The same held true for the remaining battles. Anbaixiu was no military expert, so he left Aige and Catherine to coordinate, letting those generals continue doing their work. So long as the supply of undead troops kept pace, conquering this sea was merely a matter of time. Anbaixiu, meanwhile, prepared to resolve the issue of Aeolus once and for all. If that unkillable lunatic were left running amok, he was very likely to derail Anbaixiu's plans.
It was time to invoke the legendary boon of Destiny Weaving.
Truth be told, Anbaixiu had always been cautious; powerful as Destiny Weaving was, he never initiated it lightly.
He was well aware of the Goddess of Fate's twisted sense of humor. Every use of fate's power was a gamble on whether the goddess would give you a coquettish wink or a sweep to knock you off your feet—though the best outcome, of course, was for the Goddess of Fate not to look your way at all and let Anbaixiu play around as he pleased.
And because Destiny Weaving was far more powerful than the Dice of Fate, it was even more prone to drawing the Goddess of Fate's attention. That depended entirely on her mood. If the goddess happened to be having one of those foul-tempered days and Anbaixiu hit that tiny probability, he would be in deep misfortune.
Caution was essential, but one could not refuse to use an ability simply out of fear. Anbaixiu felt that now was the time to employ Destiny Weaving. After all, when dealing with an unkillable monster blessed by a deity, Anbaixiu's use of Destiny Weaving could hardly be called bullying.
Countless Dice of Fate condensed around Anbaixiu and were cast into the void. Each pip was a building block structuring destiny. Anbaixiu attempted a direct approach: weaving a future of death for Aeolus.
Regrettably, as he made the attempt, most of the Dice of Fate dissipated, leaving behind only the lowest pips.
Anbaixiu did not interrupt the ritual, merely thinking in perplexity, *Failed? It seems this man's destiny contains no death; it cannot be forcibly rewritten.*
Just as when Mister Misfortune had decided to sacrifice himself, Anbaixiu had been unable to use Destiny Weaving to alter his fatal future, because that was a future decreed by the Goddess of Fate that none could change. Forcing the spell would yield only failure.
Perhaps Aeolus truly had a deity keeping watch over him, or perhaps his future had already been locked into another outcome. Slaying him outright was impossible.
"If direct death is off the table... then let's play with something more interesting."
Settling for the next best thing, Anbaixiu began weaving an alternative destiny. He remembered that a spell effect akin to Crown of Madness had been planted in Aeolus's mind, constantly agitating his consciousness and preventing him from thinking calmly.
Presumably, this was a mental shackle laid upon him by the Kuo-toa Goddess. Anbaixiu wanted to see if he could dispel this effect. If he could drive Aeolus to betray the Kuo-toa Goddess outright, that would surely be entertaining.
Yet could a mental shackle imposed by a deity truly be removed?
Anbaixiu decided to give it a try. He had not harbored much hope, but to his astonishment, the Dice of Fate rolled this time began continuously showing high numbers.
"The success rate is this high?! Could the Crown of Madness effect not have been applied by the Kuo-toa Goddess herself?!" Anbaixiu was surprised, but quickly arrived at a plausible deduction.
Deities could not directly inflict punishment upon mortals—at least, they had to abide by certain rules and pay a price. The Kuo-toa Goddess was likely unable to personally bestow the Crown of Madness effect upon Aeolus.
*Bestow the power upon a mortal follower first, and then have that devotee place the mental shackle on Aeolus—that way, she could circumvent Ao's punishment to a certain extent. But doing it that way leaves a loophole for me to exploit.*
Anbaixiu felt as though the Goddess of Fate had just cast a flirtatious wink at him. Then, the destiny of Aeolus having his mental shackle broken was woven to completion.
Shackle broken, betrayal, turning against his master, and plunging headlong into the seal Anbaixiu had prepared for him.
Such was the future Anbaixiu had arranged for him.
As the final die landed, destiny was sealed, unalterable.
Anbaixiu exhaled a long breath. The casting had gone much smoother than imagined. All that remained was to wait quietly; everything would unfold as destiny decreed.
However, it took time for the dominoes of fate to fall. Anbaixiu only hoped the process would not take too long.
Yet three days later, when the merfolk had already begun delivering the "criminals," Anbaixiu still had heard no news concerning Aeolus. This was taking rather too long.
Just as Anbaixiu was preparing to dispatch scouts to the kuo-toa to gather intel on his own initiative, a momentous piece of news reached him.
The orcs had launched a full-scale counteroffensive against Ryan.
Ryan had originally held a gateway city in the Orc Mountains, but this time, the orcs had successfully recaptured it.
Not only that, they seemed intent on pushing further into the Ryan heartland.
Just as the God of Alchemy had said, the divine war had begun, and all deities tied to warfare were making their moves.
And Gruumsh, the chief god whom the orcs worshipped, happened to hold the divine portfolio of "Conquest."
Taking advantage of the internal turmoil within Ryan, it was only natural for the orcs to mobilize. Still, no one had expected them to mount such a sweeping counteroffensive in one stroke—just how steep a price had the orc pantheon paid?
Stroking his chin, Anbaixiu murmured, "Looks like it's time to make a bit of war profit. The world only knows that Holy Light counters the undead, but I'd like to see whether my undead army can bully the Ryan of today."
Chapter 441