Die, princess, the devil is mine!

At the summit of the towering, cloud-piercing Holy Mountain of Light, the Holy Emperor Akre, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, panted as he looked at the Holy Emperor of War opposite him.

Rodman Stern, that's the War Emperor's real name, but usually no one calls him that. It's not out of respect for one of the Ten Great Emperors, but rather out of contempt for this bastard emperor. It feels like uttering that name would dirty your tongue.

Under Rodman's leadership, the Temple of War constantly instigated and glorified wars in order to gain power through warfare. They employed a variety of conspiracies and schemes, and many nations were secretly harmed by them.

If we were to examine the succession struggles and rebellions that have occurred in various countries throughout history, at least 90% of these events would have the shadow of the Temple of War behind them.

Honestly, everyone on the Divine Blessed Continent wished for the War Temple to be wiped out as soon as possible, including the Endless Empire where the War Temple's headquarters were located.

But all they could do was hope for their early demise; they couldn't personally clean the gates of the Divine World.

Who can blame them when the God of War is the first chief god under the God of Light, and also the "diligent" god who has performed the most miracles in modern times, even surpassing the total number of all other gods combined?

So even though Akree couldn't stand Rodman and his Temple of War, he could only grit his teeth and reluctantly work with him.

However, Akre couldn't lay a hand on Rodman, but he couldn't control Rodman's actions against him.

Shortly after Lord Lynn took away the most elite army of the Divine Blessed Continent, Rodman couldn't wait to drop his disguise and launch a sneak attack on him when he was off guard.

Fortunately, his rank as a Guardian of Light was extremely high. Even when Rodman suddenly unleashed his peak Saint-level strength, which he had been hiding for who knows how long, he still managed to withstand it.

A sneak attack is easy to defend against, but a genuine crushing defeat is difficult to deal with. His true strength is inferior to Rodman's, while the other party may not have less of the divine gifts. After a battle, Akree had already suffered serious injuries, while Rodman was unharmed.

"Why? No matter how ruthless you are, you are still human! Why do you rebel when we are about to reclaim our homeland?"

Akre wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and loudly questioned Rodman. He was not surprised at all that the Temple of War would make underhanded moves, but he really did not expect them to openly rebel.

To launch a sneak attack on him, the Pope of the Church of Light, the former nominal but powerless messenger of the God of Light, is tantamount to betraying the God King of Light, betraying the entire human race, and even the entire world of miracles.

“Akreik, we’ve worked together for many years, and I don’t want this either, but someone wants to end this war that has lasted for thousands of years. How could the great god of war possibly agree to such a thing?”

Rodman held a blood-stained longsword, the blood from the cardinals he had killed in the chaos. He had been hiding his strength for the sake of God's grand plan, thinking he would never have the chance to show the world his true strength as the number one man of his time, but he never expected the opportunity to come so quickly.

Although this opportunity completely eliminated his chance to become the number one person in the world, it was a great gift for the God Lord.

Lynn, the legendary savior, or the legendary divine warrior.

The first legend is true, but the second one...

What a joke! How could the gods possibly send an invincible hero to save the world from destruction? They can't even save themselves!

If Lynn had simply rested on his laurels and lived a life of luxury, no one would have bothered him, no matter how extravagant or decadent he became.

But he insisted on annihilating the demon race!

If it were just a normal war, the Temple of War would be eager to restart the war that had been stalled for a year, but it's not a normal war...

This guy plans to use his tyrannical personal strength to plow through the already bald demons again, and then completely drive them out of the world of miracles.

How can that be? Without demons, there are no external wars to fight, and with near-gods ruling the world, there's no way to start internal wars. Wouldn't the Temple of War become a mere shell of its former self?

The God of War is currently at a critical juncture. If his supplies are completely cut off, all his efforts may be in vain. As His most loyal followers, the Temple of War is determined not to let the war end.

Now is the perfect time. That guy Lynn took all the elite troops of the Divine Blessed Continent with him, including eight of the Ten Holy Emperors, but left him and the Temple of War behind.

This was a golden opportunity. His opponents and he were working together as if they had planned it in advance. His arrangement was to prevent the wolf pack from growing too large, while he himself removed all the hunting rifles and left only a hunting dog to guard the sheepfold.

He knew perfectly well that the Temple of War was disloyal, otherwise he wouldn't have prevented them from enjoying the war benefits. But his approach was incredibly stupid. Did he really think that just one Akrei could stop them from causing trouble?
It's just that Lynn didn't know what Rodman was thinking at that moment, otherwise he could only sigh and say that he was indeed stupid, and that his stupidity was in treating them as "at least human beings".

"The God of War may not want to see the war end, but would He want to see the followers of the Pantheon, the people of the gods, break out into civil war? Even if you stop at nothing for power, shouldn't instigating a war between large and small countries, or between large and small countries, be the limit? My Light Empire is the successor nation of the God King of Light! You directly declare war on me, does the God of War intend to devour his master and usurp the throne?!"

Not only was Lynn caught off guard by the sudden attack from the Temple of War, but even Akre, who was extremely familiar with the Temple of War, had never imagined that they would act so ruthlessly.

Moreover, their immediate move was to attack the Holy City of Light and launch a sneak attack on the Holy Emperor of Light. This action was undoubtedly a crazy provocation against His Majesty the God King of Light. Logically speaking, apart from the Demon Clan, no one should dare to do such a thing.

"Although you are already a dying man, I can't say too much to you. In short, just obediently accept your death, and then let my War Temple army break through the Holy City of Light. As for the rest, you can ask the God King of Light after you die!"

I wonder if Rodman understood the adage that villains die from talking too much, so while he wasn't exactly sparing with words, he also didn't arrogantly give his enemies ample time to recover.

So, as soon as he finished speaking, he swung his blood-red longsword and attacked Aklie. With his true strength of level 810, even if Aklie was a god-king pope with a rich family background, he could not withstand his output indefinitely.

After all, even if he revealed his trump card when facing my surprise attack, he was only level 770. He also hid his trump card, but not as much as I did, so he was destined to lose.

"My Holy City of Light is covered by a barrier of light, which cannot be broken by any external force. And at the summit of the Holy Mountain, I am also blessed with holy power. Rodman, if you repent in time, I can spare your life and await divine judgment!" Seeing the War Saint Emperor, who was stronger than himself, coming to kill him, Aklie was not afraid at all. He was currently hovering at the summit of the Holy Mountain of Light. This was his home ground. Not to mention enemies with a level of 800 or so, even if a demon demigod came in person, he might not be able to defeat him.

This is the home advantage, and perhaps that is why the Divine Envoy Lynn was at ease letting him guard against the Temple of War. If he couldn't defeat the other Holy Emperors even standing on the Holy Mountain of Light, wouldn't he, the former number one in the world, become a joke?
"Really? You have the power of light bestowed upon you, right? And now?"

Rodman charged forward with a cold laugh, slashing at the magic shield in front of Aklie with his sword. Seeing that the shield was shimmering but had been firmly blocked, he laughed even more wildly.

He missed his attack and took two steps back, dodging Akre's holy light blast and also taking the opportunity to drop an item.

As soon as the item landed, it unleashed a terrifying demonic aura, which clashed violently with the holy power of light on the Holy Mountain of Light. Aklie keenly sensed that the blessing he had received had been weakened by as much as ten percent.

"Damn it! You've been eyeing the Bright Empire for a long time, haven't you!"

As a well-informed Holy Emperor of Light, Akre immediately recognized that the item Rodman had casually tossed aside was a Demon Emperor's artifact that had been taken from the body of the dead Demon Dragon Emperor.

Those magical artifacts contained extremely astonishing demonic energy and were of very high grade, almost reaching the power of a demon god. Under normal circumstances, even if he wanted to reach out and take them, he would have to use non-light-based power to envelop them, otherwise he couldn't even touch them.

"Otherwise, what do you think my Temple of War is doing buying up these useless magical artifacts at such high prices? To pass them down to future generations for collection? Hahahaha..."

While laughing wildly, Rodman kept throwing Demon Emperor artifacts at the key nodes of the Holy Mountain of Light. The magic array that maintains the Holy Mountain of Light's vast holy power has a total of ten important nodes. In fact, he only needed to seal six of the nodes with Demon Emperor artifacts to disable Aklie's holy power enhancement, but to be on the safe side, he still threw out the complete set of eight Demon Emperor artifacts to ensure that Aklie wouldn't even get a scrap of food.

Akre was a divine mage of light, not known for his strength or speed, so he couldn't stop Rodman, who moved like the wind, from breaking through the formation in front of him.

The Holy See originally had powerful Templar Knights, and there were also warriors among the cardinals, but Rodman seemed to have been prepared. After his failed ambush, he killed all the able-bodied people around him, so that now no one can stop him from using the Demon Emperor's artifact to suppress the Holy Power of Light.

"Rodman, you've gone mad! The God of War has gone mad too! His Majesty the God King of Light will not let you get away with this!"

As Akre felt his holy power plummet, his heart sank. Although he still had many divine treasures at his disposal, enough to forcefully escape the battlefield and save his life, how could he possibly run away?

What will happen to the Holy See of Light if he escapes? The Light Barrier, which is absolutely unbreakable from the outside, can be destroyed from the inside. What will happen to the entire Holy City of Light then?
With the fall of the Holy Church of Light, the Holy Mountain of Light, and the Holy City of Light, how long can the vast Empire of Light sustain itself?

If they dare to fight the Empire of Light, why wouldn't they dare to deal with the other seven empires and numerous kingdoms and duchies?

Lord Lynn has taken away the elite forces of all nations; who can withstand the onslaught of the Temple of War? He miscalculated!
Is the only hope that the war on the God-Blessed Continent goes terribly smoothly, and that he returns in ten or eight days? If so, the God-Blessed Continent might still be saved, and even the Bright Empire might be salvaged.

"What do you know! Humans are born to be self-interested! Otherwise, what's the point of living this life? To protect world peace? To let people live in peace and prosperity? Is that better than living a thousand years and enjoying endless wealth and happiness?"

"Don't think that the god you worship is some kind of good thing. Doesn't the God King of Light turn a blind eye to what's happening in the divine realm?"

"Damn it! You've provoked me into saying a few more things. You can ask me about the rest after you're dead!"

As he spoke, Rodman raised his blood-red longsword and charged forward, engaging Aklie in a fierce battle.

His strength was still above Aklie's, and he possessed quite a few divine treasures. However, this was ultimately the territory of the Holy Light Church. Even if the Holy Light power he was empowered with was suppressed, Aklie's recovery speed was still faster than his.

Therefore, he must act quickly and decisively, and not engage in a war of attrition with Akre. Otherwise, not only will he be unable to outlast Akre, but he will also have to endure the siege of other powerful figures from the Holy See once they arrive.

Although almost all the top-ranking experts in the Holy Light Church have followed Lynn, the Holy Light Church is, after all, a subordinate organization of the God-King, and it is hard to guarantee that it does not have hidden methods, so we must be wary.

"Die!"

While pondering, Rodman also left no room for retreat, unleashing his full power, even igniting the flames of war, exchanging his life for even greater strength.

Anyway, once his god ascends the throne of the god king, he will be guided into the divine kingdom. At that time, he will have an almost infinite lifespan and will not need to care about the little bit of life he has overdrawn now.

Rodman's strength was already superior to Aklie's, and this time he launched a fierce attack without regard for the cost. In no time, Aklie was already stretched thin.

The magic shield, which could have held up for a while, became a bubble that burst easily under Rodman's full power, causing Akree behind the shield to lose two lives in an instant.

No matter how many life-saving artifacts he had, he couldn't withstand such a drain. At this moment, Aklie deeply felt the powerlessness of a powerful demon when facing Lord Lynn.

That's how utterly overwhelming strength works – it's unreasonable.

But it's not that simple to kill me, Akre Windsor, the Pope of the Lower Realm of His Majesty the God of Light!
Defeating the War Emperor might be difficult, but it's quite possible to drag him down with you and thwart the plans of the Temple of War and the God of War!

"Light spreads..."

Akre had no choice but to unleash his full power, using the divine power of light, which mortals could not control, to destroy everything. It was a power that could ignore life-saving artifacts and could kill anyone instantly. Unfortunately, he himself would also be among those killed.

However, before the word "shining" could be uttered, a gleaming holy sword fell from the distant sky, piercing War Saint Emperor Rodman, who was trying to dodge the range of his ultimate move, and pinning him to the ground, where he was firmly nailed to a rock on the summit of the holy mountain.

(End of this chapter)