Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 427 The Gods' Scheme, Daphne's Domineering Declaration!

Madora the Prophet's silvery eyes gazed at Cavendish, her calm voice carrying a hint of inquiry:
"The Martial Arts Festival on the Demon Tide Continent... has it determined the 'Strongest Gold Saint'?"

Cavendish seemed to finally recover from the incredible news, but a hint of confusion still lingered in his voice:
"Yes.

The final results of the Gold Division of the Human Nations' Martial Arts Tournament have been announced.

He paused, his cold, stern face turning towards the Demon Tide Continent, as if confirming the authenticity of the information:
"The 'strongest Gold Saint' of this generation... belongs to King Effie, Cohen Corleone."

"Effie?"

"Never heard of that. A king from a small country actually won the strongest gold medal. The five great empires seem a bit weak this time."

“Wait!

The sensational "strongest silver" champion announced a few days ago... seems to have also come from this "Eifine"?

"Yes, that's right. How can a small country with limited resources produce champions in both the silver and gold categories?"

This is probabilistically speaking...

Before the words were finished, the gods suddenly fell into a silent slumber.

A familiar name pierced the depths of the gods' memories.

All the gods, whether powerful or weak, whether in a state of neutrality or chaos, were struck as if by an invisible bolt of lightning at this moment.

The divine body stiffened, and the divine light froze!
Their consciousnesses simultaneously drifted back to that name that had briefly rippled through their memories at the end of the Silver Group competition—

Cohen Corleone!
The strongest Silver Saint, Cohen Corleone!
The strongest Gold Saint, Cohen Corleone!
Same name!
Same person!

In the same Noble Martial Arts Festival, they reached the pinnacle of both the Silver and Gold ranks.

How can this be?

Just as the Storm God Silovar demanded that the alliance be laid out ahead of schedule, and the gods were arguing over whether to spy on the mortal realm...

That name from the human continent, spreading like wildfire, with such incredible achievements, crashed into the very center of the vortex of divine power!

……

For the first time, a look of bewilderment appeared in the eternally unchanging silver eyes of the prophet Madora, the god of prophecy.

"Cavendish, you must be mistaken."

This Cohen just obtained the strongest silver rank, right? Even if he immediately broke through to the gold rank after obtaining the strongest silver rank, he would only be at the seventh rank.

Could it be that a mere seventh-tier transcendent being could crush all the gold-tier beings on the continent and become the strongest gold-tier being?

"It's unbelievable. Since the first Noble Martial Arts Festival on the Demon Tide Continent, let alone a seventh-rank, not even an eighth-rank has ever won the strongest gold medal."

"I haven't been to the human continent for several years, how come it has changed so much?"

The divine thoughts of the gods flickered wildly, and the seemingly calm hall was already as noisy as a boiling pot of oil.

Those who can sit in this chair are all peerless heroes who fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, crushed countless peers, and climbed to the throne of gods.
Those so-called "geniuses" are nothing more than fleeting sparks in their eyes, with very few even worthy of being remembered by name.

In their glorious era, while few could reach the Gold Rank at the age of twenty, they were not enough to attract the attention of the gods.

But for someone to reach the Gold level and win the championship at the age of twenty is just too exaggerated!
They had all paid attention to previous Noble Martial Arts Festivals, and the champions of the Gold Division usually had the strength of a near-legendary.

But now?
A seventh-tier kid who has just stepped into the threshold of the Gold tier, and whose Gold tier power may not even be fully stable yet.

They defeated a group of peak-level Gold beings who were at least at the ninth rank or even approaching the legendary level!
This goes beyond the realm of extraordinary talent!
This is a complete upheaval!
It is a subversion of the very foundation of our understanding of power!
Humans with this potential will undoubtedly be able to ascend to godhood in the future.

It's not even a god of ordinary level.

He may very well be embarking on a path that leads directly to the core power level of the divine realm... the path of the supreme god!
Wait, this person is also the king of a country!

The atmosphere in the hall changed rapidly.

The atmosphere that had been filled with shock, doubt, and a collapse of worldview was quickly replaced by an undercurrent of scheming.

They were just arguing here about whether to spy on the Noble Martial Arts Festival in order to choose a suitable country.

Now that we have such a promising human king, why bother choosing another one?
The atmosphere in the hall instantly became much more intriguing, with many people even secretly speculating about what was going on.

The shadow of Erebus, the God of Darkness, extends and spreads silently.

Like a giant, greedy octopus, it tried silently to touch and analyze the fragments of aura bearing the mark of Cohen that were transmitted by Cavendish, the god of contracts.

The lava in the core of Fjørn, the god of fire and magma, no longer surges erratically.

Instead, it transformed into fine, blazing streams of light, outlining the blurry map of the northwestern continent of the Demon Tide Continent in the void.

Flames licked the area symbolizing Effie, emitting an eerie buzzing sound.

The entire main council hall appeared deathly silent on the surface, but in reality, it had long since become a silent battlefield.

Ares's expression was the most complex; he was arguably the most familiar with Cohen among all the gods present.

Cohen was able to summon gods when he was at the second level, and I could already see his extraordinary abilities at that time.

Later, he even asked Langdon to select him for the Divine Guard training camp, just to win him over in advance.

I never imagined that he would have developed to this extent in just a few years.

Just as the gods, each with their own ulterior motives and minds racing, were about to pierce through the barriers of space and gaze intently at the astonishing king, countless eyes filled with scrutiny, greed, and calculation were about to fall upon him.

An indescribable chill silently pierced the dimensional barrier of the council hall.

The temperature in the hall suddenly dropped several degrees.

The existence of a god should, in theory, be unaffected by external temperature.

But this wasn't the kind of low temperature that gives you goosebumps; it was a deeper, more deadly cold.

It was as if every particle of divine power that made up the divine body was being gripped tightly by an invisible icy claw.

What followed was all the deductions, all the attempts to spy on Effin, all the secretly connected bridges of consciousness...

At this moment, it was abruptly cut off and frozen by this omnipresent and irresistible chill.

The entire hall seemed to have been put on pause!
The same name spontaneously arose in the minds of all the gods—[Goddess of Ice and Snow] Daphne Frost!

hum...

The stillness was broken by the soft sound of tiny ice crystals colliding.

Countless crystal-clear snowflakes, shimmering with a pure ice-blue luster, materialized out of thin air without warning.

Then it floated down gracefully and slowly.

The snowflakes swirled and danced incessantly, carrying an absolute danger beneath their ultimate beauty.

Finally, as if drawn by an invisible force, the snowflakes gathered precisely on a chair at the very front of the council hall.

Snowflakes gather and take shape—the speed gradually increases.

One second they were scattered ice shards, the next second, the swirling snowflakes had already taken shape.

Click!
A crisp yet heavy icing sound rang out.

A stunningly beautiful goddess figure took the place of the blizzard, sitting there steadily.

The goddess was tall and slender, wearing an ice-blue long dress, with long hair like an ice waterfall cascading down to her ankles, and her exquisitely flawless face was expressionless.

Only his pupils were a pure, unfathomable ice blue, churning with a storm powerful enough to freeze the soul.

The biting cold, accompanied by an undeniable pressure, struck the hearts of every deity like a heavy hammer.

The gods fell silent instantly, their divine light flickering erratically.

Judging from this... Ice Goddess Daphne Hanbing is definitely not here with good intentions today!
Just a second before that chilling aura, capable of freezing even divine power, was about to erupt completely with the ice storm in Daphne's eyes.

Madora's voice, always imbued with a detached calm, rang out just in time:
"Daphne!"

He sat high on the throne of the stars, his voice so steady it betrayed no emotion:

"What do you need to project here in person, and why do you have to greet me in this way?"

He omitted the honorifics commonly used by the gods, such as "Lady of Ice" or "Lord of Ice."

Choose to address them by their first name.

They didn't seem distant, but they weren't particularly warm either.

Those silvery eyes calmly gazed at the figure below, radiating a chilling aura.

Daphne Ice's beautiful, otherworldly face remained expressionless, her icy gaze sweeping across everyone present with the chill of the Arctic wind.

Her voice was flat and even, yet it resonated clearly deep within the hearts of every deity, carrying an undeniable, assertive force, like a declaration of ownership:

"Effie is mine."

I advise you to give up on this idea!

"Whoever extends their claws, I'll freeze them off!"

hiss--

Although no one actually gasped, all the gods were cursing in their hearts.

Why?
This crazy woman is too domineering!

A mortal king has just emerged, whose potential is nothing short of miraculous.

A ticket that will most likely save your life in the chaos of the future.

Everyone had just started to have some ulterior motives, preparing to secretly observe and evaluate the situation.

This madman just barged in and, without saying a word, declared ownership.

Why?
Normally, we would tolerate her because of her strong abilities, unreasonable methods, protective nature, and vengeful attitude.

If you can avoid it, then avoid it altogether.

But what time is it now?
This is a critical juncture concerning the life and death of all the gods.

It is related to whether or not we can gain the upper hand in the future struggle for supremacy among nations.

This is no longer a matter of giving her some leeway; this is jeopardizing her life!

This crazy woman can no longer be tolerated!
Vulcan was the first to lose his temper.

His massive lava core suddenly erupted with a blazing halo, attempting to resist the icy pressure, his tone filled with rage:
"Daphne, are you even being reasonable?"
Everyone knows that the Northern Empire has long been your backyard.

Your lineage has taken root and flourished for countless generations in their imperial court.

If you're going to be greedy and want more, at least come up with a better excuse. What is that Effie anyway?
A small country on the edge of the continent, lacking both manpower and territory.

Why should you just take it over as you please?

Vulcan tried his best to make his voice sound reasonable and persuasive:
"The covenant is written very clearly."

One god can only bind one country!
What are you trying to do by controlling two countries?
Are you trying to push everyone to the brink?

Daphne's lips curled into a cold smile:

"Effie is my choice, my only choice!"

"What, is there a problem?"

The wind god Silova frowned, looking at Daphne with a mixture of probing and intense confusion:
"Ms. Hanbing, you're not joking, are you?"

People are indeed quite curious about Effie, after all, such a monster has appeared.

But curiosity aside, are you truly determined to choose Effie and abandon the Northern Empire, which you've cultivated for thousands of years?

Abandon the Northern Empire?

These words seemed to possess a magical power, instantly causing the tense divine senses of all the gods to vibrate with a "hum".

The tense atmosphere deflated like a punctured balloon, releasing a sliver of resistance.

Instead, there was disbelief and... a secret, ecstatic feeling?

If that madman Ice God were willing to give up that resource-rich and powerful Northern Empire.

Instead, they chose that godforsaken Effin... which was like a windfall for everyone!

At least that big piece of fat meat in the Northern Region will be freed up, right?

The overwhelming sense of absurdity and the enticing lure of enormous profits instantly overwhelmed all the frustration caused by Daphne's domineering behavior.

Before the covenant of the gods, a matter of life and death, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

In fact, the gods had made predictions about the deities bound to the five great empires.

The Central Empire was undoubtedly reserved for the prophetic god Madora the Prophet.

Consider the vast, intricately structured bureaucratic system and the foundations of faith of the Central Empire.

It's a perfect match for Madora's power to control destiny and foresee the future.

And then there are his allies, the gods, known for their rationality, order, and planning—

Cavendish, the God of Contracts, and Risen, the God of Law, will naturally be firmly anchored to the giant ship of the Central Empire.

The Eastern Empire, the legendary land of the Nest of Ten Thousand Dragons, has the deepest entanglement with the ancient dragon race... not to mention that the land of the Eastern Empire itself is right next to Dragon Valley.

Without a doubt, the dragon gods intend to flourish in the Eastern Empire.

The Southern Empire, with its vast coastline, thriving maritime trade, and the legendary ruins of the first sea god... it is only natural that this is the backyard of the sea god and his host of sea monster deities.

The Western Empire, a place deeply influenced by the Temple of Light and the Holy Knights.

Even a fool would know that this is the private domain of Aetherial Dawn, the goddess of light, and her horde of seraphim.

Just think of that hot-tempered widow... Anyone who touches this place is doomed.

Finally, there's the Northern Empire, with its ice, frozen soil, and resilient northerners... This is clearly a base tailor-made for the Ice Goddess Daphne Frost.

Moreover, the Ice God himself left behind a great deal of legacy in the Northern Empire.

Although the Northern Empire is far inferior to the Central Empire, it is still a top-tier strategic resource region with enormous potential.

It is a forbidden possession that everyone covets but no one dares to touch!

But now, the Ice God has actually declared in front of all the gods that he has given up the Northern Empire. This is simply unbelievable!
After all, no matter how you look at it, the five great empires have enormous foundations and unfathomable depths.

This means that in the future, in that brutal era of "warring nations," they will be like five steel behemoths, armed to the teeth, occupying their respective territories.

Even if they are besieged by other forces, they are most likely to survive and occupy the largest and most lucrative territory in the "New World".

The size of the territory directly determines the scale and quality of the divine kingdom's arrival.

The larger the territory, the more deities it can support, the more stable the foundation of the divine kingdom, and the greater the power of faith it can draw upon.

The pie of the five great empires is big enough that, in theory, each can support a large number of allies who depend on their main god.

Seizing control of the five great empires means seizing the best option for future survival and growth.

Seizing territory is tantamount to robbing followers of their livelihood and their tickets to port.

Every single spot is incredibly precious!

But now?

Did the powerful Ice Goddess Daphne Hanbing completely abandon the Northern Empire?
Daphne seemed to feel an even deeper chill from the gods' wild imaginations and smugness.

She was unwilling to reveal her true intentions, and even less inclined to waste time explaining herself to these idiots.

"enough!"

Daphne's voice was so cold it was like ice crystals, shattering all my thoughts.

Her gaze sharpened, sweeping fiercely over everyone present:
"The King of Effie you're talking about, Cohen Corleone, his queen is my successor."

Effie is the country I chose a long time ago.

I'm warning you all in advance: everything in Effie belongs to me, and no deity is allowed to covet it!

After saying this, he gave no more chance to entangle any deity.

Daphne's exquisitely beautiful yet chillingly cold body instantly vanished like ice crystal petals scattered by the wind.

It transformed into billions of snowflakes, shimmering with a chilling light, fluttering down and disappearing without a trace.

The hall was deathly silent.

And that lingering, bone-chilling cold seemed to still remind us of the arrival of that domineering presence.

The gods looked at each other in bewilderment, their divine thoughts surging wildly once more, but this time, it was no longer suppressed cursing or fierce confrontation.

The wind god Silova squinted thoughtfully:
"Queen Effie...is she her successor?"

The disbelief in his voice was practically overflowing:

"Tsk, this is really unbelievable!"

These words were like a needle, piercing through the doubts suppressed in the hearts of all the gods.

Among the seven universally acknowledged elemental gods, who is the most formidable, the most troublesome, and the most unreasonable?

Ice Goddess Daphne Ice is definitely number one.

Such a woman who has inscribed "indifference," "coldness," and "self" on the foundation of her divinity.

In a situation where he hadn't even poured much personal emotion into his own territory, the Northern Region Empire, he would abandon the Northern Region Empire, which he had painstakingly built up, and choose Effie instead at a critical moment of life and death.
More importantly—Daphne said that it was chosen a long time ago!
This made them even more puzzled.

At that time, King Effie probably hadn't even been born yet, so Daphne's choice of Effie certainly wasn't because of Cohen.

Wait, what did Daphne just say?
Queen Effie was her successor?

This cold, aloof woman actually chose a successor?
This is truly a wonder of the divine realm!
There are many jokes and speculations circulating among the gods about the Ice Goddess Daphne.

The most common explanation is that she has long been frozen by the extreme ice element she controls, turning all her emotions and feelings into a moving, absolute zero iceberg.

She was cold, lonely, and refused to be touched; she even avoided showing herself at the Divine Banquet.

The very act of her choosing a successor contains a wealth of information that is not widely known.

What exactly makes Queen Alfein so special?

Although the gods were eager to see what was so special about this chosen successor of the Ice God, they could only dream about it because of Daphne's threat.

Madora, seated on the main seat, also became serious. Daphne's unusual behavior aroused his curiosity about this King Effiin.

A faint thread of fate appeared and magnified before his eyes.

Madora's divine power surged, and silver light flowed like a galaxy.

He cast his vast divine thoughts into the torrent of time and space, beginning to trace and deduce the life trajectory of this King Alfein.

However, only a few seconds later, Madora's silver eyes, which seemed to reflect an endless galaxy, were suddenly filled with an almost tangible horror.

His majestic, mountain-like divine body, representing the stable order of the multiverse, trembled uncontrollably.

A layer of visible silver ripples, seemingly composed of countless broken threads of fate, exploded violently from his body with destructive force.

Buzz - boom! ! !

This was not a roar from the temple in the present world, but a terrifying shock that came synchronously from the "prophetic plane"—the core of Madora's divine kingdom—which was extremely distant and in a different time and space dimension.

The sudden chaos of divine power made every god present feel as if a boulder was pressing on their chest, making it difficult to breathe.

The gods were gripped by fear.

They could certainly tell that Madora was divination about something, but what could possibly cause such a severe backlash against the god of prophecy?

Fear, like a cold hand, instantly seized their hearts—the only thing that could make the god of prophecy lose his composure like this is probably a prophecy concerning the end of the gods!

The violent shockwaves of divine power came quickly and went even faster. It was as if an even stronger will was forcefully suppressing the impending eruption of the volcano.

Madora took a deep breath, the terrifying emotion in her eyes instantly replaced by extreme coldness and depth, her voice returning to its steady state, even lower and slower than usual:

"Please don't bother me any further, I have no more information for you."

Everything... will proceed according to the plan we agreed upon earlier.

I will personally deal with those few conflicting deities who are wavering in their allegiance.

When Madora mentioned the words "doing work," her tone was extremely calm, yet it sent a chill down the spines of even the bold chief god Silova.

The gods all understood that since Madora had said so, the task must be accomplished!
The god of prophecy will give these deities a reason they cannot refuse!

Madora gently pressed her palm downwards, as if calming some unseen, turbulent undercurrent:
"In short, everyone remember, everything will begin in two years."

These two years are extremely limited, but also extremely crucial.

Everyone must make sure they are prepared.

Let's disperse!

(End of this chapter)