Goddess Kaleidoscope

After Lude and his group retreated, the four remaining gods also prepared for battle.

The God of War, Feigolai, is shirtless and wields two double-edged battle axes. His appearance is reminiscent of Li Kui after a whitening treatment. Even with his divine power suppressed, his wild aura is still undeniable.

The tall and handsome Lord of Light, Karius, was the epitome of an elegant paladin, clad in a magnificent white full plate armor. With a seemingly casual wave of his hand, he conjured a lightsaber from pure divine power.

As for Catherine, the goddess of winter, she is the most heavily armed of the four gods. She carries a pale green longbow, but on her back she also has a spear, a short-handled scepter that looks like a mace, and a leaf-shaped shield.

Clearly, each of the Four Goddesses had their own preferred weapon, and they all remained after "merging".

Being able to observe the battle of the higher gods up close filled Rudd with both nervousness and a touch of excitement. But then he noticed something was amiss; it seemed as if in the blink of an eye, Kumirad, who had been standing to Karius's right, had vanished.

"Oh! Hume, where's your mother?"

"What nonsense are you talking about! She's not..."

"Where is she? She was just there a moment ago."

"Tsk! She used the ability she borrowed from me to become invisible."

"Oh! You can lend this out?"

Hume rolled his eyes at Rudd, indicating that it wasn't only mortals who could use divine power after gaining the gods' approval; gods could also borrow from each other, but they wouldn't do so unless their relationship was extremely close.

The Pantheon can actually share divine power, but they don't have that need. Other sects have one god serving a group of priests, but here a group of gods serve one Rud. Although Romian and some "divine healers" can also share some power, the majority goes to him.

Before the battle, Kumirard specifically borrowed power from Hume. It wasn't that she, a seventh-tier high god, needed a fourth-tier mid-level god to help her, but rather that Hume's divine status as the god of thieves was quite special. Her ability to hide could even deceive high gods, making her very suitable to be the "sixth brother".

Clearly, the goddess of wisdom has decided to fight using "wisdom," intending to launch a sneak attack on an ancient being thousands of years old, disregarding martial ethics.

With everything ready, the God of War impatiently smashed the small bottle on the ground. Incredibly, a huge, churning wave burst forth from the palm-sized bottle.

As the massive seawater spread out and surged, new life was being born in the water at a visible speed. But these rapidly evolving new life forms were soon extinguished by an invisible force.

The Sea of ​​Death is called the Sea of ​​Death because it was once the place where the god of death and plague went berserk. The entire continent was covered by this out-of-control and powerful divine force, which has not completely disappeared to this day.

The water of life was so little that although it gave birth to life the instant the bottle broke, it was quickly extinguished by the power of death.

Seeing this, Lud felt a pang of regret, but quickly accepted it. Just as Kumirad had said, this thing was indeed rare and precious, but it wasn't a necessity.

Theoretically speaking, as long as twenty-one primordial elements can be gathered in sufficient quantities, even if the world is destroyed, a new one can be created. But instead of always thinking there will be a next time, it is better to cherish the present and not let this world that has given birth to them, mortals and gods, perish.

After the bottle shattered, the surging waves quickly receded, leaving behind only the remains of strangely shaped primitive creatures. The three (four) gods stood quietly in place for a short while before they heard a rumbling roar coming from the interior of the Death Sand Sea. Lud, who was hiding in mid-air, looked inland and vaguely saw a giant wave that looked like a tsunami coming. But when he shook his head, the terrifying giant wave disappeared.

Rudd knew that when a god appeared before you in his true form, you would see a corresponding vision. And this vision was not simply created by divine power, therefore it was not immune to the primordial fire.

Lude often saw similar situations with Shanis. Every time Shanis came to challenge him to a duel in the middle of the night wearing attack speed gear, Lude would see many strange phenomena that were difficult to describe in detail.

In the blink of an eye, a tall figure descended from the sky—the legendary primordial water goddess Melchiada had appeared before everyone. But the once beautiful goddess now wore an expression of fury, and it was clear to everyone… she was very angry!

"How...how dare you..."

"Hahaha! Enough talk, let's fight, Melchiorda!"

Without a word, the hot-tempered God of War was the first to rush forward. His seemingly ordinary jumping strike contained astonishing power. When an eighth-tier high-level god's divine power is compressed and condensed to its extreme point, even a simple uppercut can destroy the heavens and the earth.

However, this seemingly unstoppable attack was blocked by Melchiorda with his bare hands, his body remaining completely still.

Lude, who was watching the battle from a distance, noticed that the water goddess, who caught the god of war's axe with one hand, had a translucent, liquid-like body, as if the god of war's power had been directly absorbed or transferred by her. Melchiada's gaze towards the god of war revealed undisguised contempt.

"Hmph! A complete idiot with nothing but brute strength and no progress."

With just a gentle push, Melchiorda sent the God of War flying thousands of meters away, skipping seven times on the sea surface before finally plunging into the water with a splash.

Although Lude was quite certain that with Feigolai's resilience, he wouldn't have lost a single hair, the fact that the mighty God of War was knocked away on his very first move was a physically humiliating display that was truly jaw-dropping.

"Holy crap! What's up with this water god? He's been sealed away for three hundred years and he's still this powerful!"

"That's normal. After all, she was the number one in the God Realm back then, and Melchiorda's divine status is quite effective against the God of War. What you're seeing now is already considered good; the God of War flew even further back then!"

Hume, taking it upon himself to explain, analyzed the situation for everyone. Due to the suppressive effect of the Death Sands, the power of the gods had actually been greatly weakened here, but this did not affect the characteristics of each god's position.

To be honest, the characteristics of the God of War's divine position are actually quite ordinary, without any particularly rare or special abilities. The priest's specialty is powerful group support, but for the God of War himself, it mainly manifests in his ability to withstand attacks.

A warrior with incredibly strong fighting spirit, who is impossible to kill and will always get back up. It sounds inspiring and exciting, but the actual feeling is subtly a little pitiful.

On the other side of the main battlefield, watching the God of War, who had attacked first but was once again knocked away by his old rival, the God of Water, Karius sighed softly, turned around and raised his longsword at the God of Water, but did not immediately launch an attack. Instead, he politely nodded to the other party.

"I'm sorry, Senior Water God."

"Carius, after how I treated you back then, is this how you repay your senior?"

"If you had treated ordinary people the way you treated me, even if it was only half as many as you did, I wouldn't have stood against you. People believe in me because they yearn for light and justice, and I must respond to that expectation!"

After Karius finished speaking, his lightsaber pierced towards Melchiorda with lightning speed, the blade emitting light and heat comparable to the sun.

If the water god could subdue the war god, then Karius, the embodiment of the sun, was the water god's counter. At the same moment Karius launched his attack, Catherine also drew her bow to provide support.

Catherine's attitude is evident from her actions. When the God of War charged forward, the Goddess of Winter stood by indifferently, and even when Fei Golai flew over, she didn't offer any help. It's unclear whether she trusted the God of War's resilience or simply didn't care.

Soon, Feigolai emerged from the water and immediately ran out to continue participating in the team battle. The power of the gods was suppressed here, but the gods still fought with earth-shattering force. Their first few moves were just probing, but soon they all started to get serious.

It must be said that Melchiorda truly lived up to her reputation as the strongest being in the divine realm, a being that even the combined might of three gods could only manage with underhanded tactics. Facing the combined attack of the three gods, although she appeared passive, she still held her own, and for a time, the three gods fought a fierce and evenly matched battle.

Moreover, Rude discovered that this guy had a wealth of combat experience and knew very well how to deal with the three gods. Even with Karius, who had a certain restraining effect on her, she was not without a countermeasure.

Lud even felt that if Karius and Melchiorda had a fair one-on-one duel, Karius might not have the upper hand.

However, Lud was not worried at all about the seemingly intense and tense battle, because a certain treacherous and cunning fellow had not yet shown up.

Facing three opponents alone, Melchiorda held his own. The battle between the four high gods was earth-shattering, making Lud and the others, who were thousands of meters away, tremble with fear.

Lude couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if these people weren't fighting in the Death Sand Sea where their power was suppressed.

"Master, when can we be like them?"

"It's a long way off. He's a god who's been around for a thousand years. It's impossible for you up-and-coming juniors to catch up in a short time."

"Oh."

Lude patted Aina's head to comfort her. He knew that with the Pantheon's operating model, they could indeed mass-produce a group of fourth-tier gods, but it was very difficult to raise a high-level god. This was not something that could be forced out simply by concentrating resources and increasing efforts.

Moreover, "winning by sheer numbers" was a core principle that Ludwig had established long ago, in order to avoid a situation where one god held absolute power.

However, Lud also believed that with the passage of time, the Pantheon would eventually be able to cultivate its own superior gods. As for whether he, a mere mortal, would live to see that day, that was another matter entirely.

On the other side, the fierce battle continued. The three gods, who had not fought side by side for a long time, gradually began to develop some tacit understanding. However, Melchiorda's strength far exceeded Lud's expectations. If the battle continued at this pace, it would be difficult to see the outcome without fighting for several days and nights.

However, at that moment, a strange change suddenly occurred!

As Feigolai charged forward once more, his battle axe was about to strike Melchiada when his body was suddenly bound by an invisible force, as if a pause button had been pressed, bringing him to an abrupt halt.

This unexpected turn of events startled both sides on the battlefield. Without saying a word, Melchiorda kicked the God of War away again. Then, something suddenly flew out of the void. Melchiorda instantly sensed a familiar aura, raised his hand and caught it steadily, his momentum suddenly increasing.

"The Trident of the Sea Emperor!?"

Upon seeing the weapon in Melchiorda's hand, Hume, who was watching the battle, was horrified and dropped the potato chips he was eating.

Hearing her exclamation, Lud also showed a hint of surprise.

He had heard of the Poseidon's Trident, a divine artifact. It was the magic weapon of the first generation of water gods in ancient times, and was later inherited by the second generation of water gods, Melchiorda. It can be said to be the symbol of the top divine position of water gods.

However, during the War of the Gods, this treasure disappeared along with Melgiarda's defeat. It was suspected that it was stolen by Hume, the god of thieves, which caused Hume to be hunted by some wicked gods for a long time. Finally, it was confirmed that it was not in her possession, and the matter was dropped.

As a result, this artifact, which had been missing for three hundred years, suddenly appeared in such a strange way, making Lud sense something ominous.

Melchiorda's strength increased instantly after obtaining the Poseidon's Halberd. With just a light swing, waves rippled around her. What appeared to be ordinary waves were enough to force Karius and Ekaterina to retreat.

Seeing the three gods' expressions change drastically, Melchiorda burst into laughter.

"Hahaha...you idiots, you don't actually think Kumirad is on your side, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean? Hmph! What a foolish question. Three hundred years, do you know how I survived these three hundred years?! Today, all three of you will pay the price, and I, Melchiorda, mean what I say!"

As Melchiada laughed maniacally, Kumirad, who had been hiding, appeared beside the water god and respectfully knelt on one knee. Kumirad's last-minute defection caught everyone completely off guard.

"Master! What should we do? Let's go help!"

"Don't make any rash moves. It's a battle between high-ranking gods. Even if you join in, it won't help. It's still three against two. We can make our escape when things get bad."

Ludwig gestured to his companion to calm down, his brow furrowed.

Since Kumirad had not informed him beforehand, Lud was completely confused and unsure whether the other party was a traitor or not.

The ambushed Figor struggled to his feet, his movements as labored as a rusty machine. He glared at Kumirad and roared in fury.

"What are you doing, you wretched woman?!"

"I didn't do anything special. I just mixed up some anesthetics that could affect the gods when I was bored. The effect seems to be pretty good."

"you you……"

Upon hearing that Kumirad had poisoned him, the God of War, who had initially intended to retort, found his body rapidly stiffening due to the anesthetic, to the point where even speaking became difficult. Karius and Ekaterina also felt the same discomfort; the increasingly intense numbness caused their hands to tremble uncontrollably as they gripped their weapons, and even maintaining their stance became extremely difficult.

Looking at the three gods who had lost their ability to fight, Melchiorda laughed wildly. After being imprisoned for three hundred years, she could now not only break free of her cage but also trample her enemies underfoot, so she was extremely proud.

"How about it? You must be very unwilling! I have been planning for this day for over a hundred years. Kumirad is on my side. You bunch of idiots never expected this, hahaha!"

"My lord, there's no need to waste words with them. While the effects of the medicine are still in effect, quickly absorb their divine power."

"Yes, you're absolutely right."

Upon hearing Kumirad's reminder, Melchiorda immediately activated his divine power, extending several liquid tentacles from his abdomen towards the three gods who were already unable to move.

Seeing these tentacles, the three gods' expressions grew increasingly grim. The God of War struggled to dodge, but his body was immobilized. They knew what these tentacles were; they were one of the characteristics of the Water God's divine position, allowing him to forcibly absorb the divine power of other gods. Although Melchiorda himself couldn't use the absorbed divine power, it was a very useful weakening skill.

Back when the Water Goddess held absolute power, she frequently used this tactic to "squeeze dry" those new gods who were growing rapidly and might threaten her in the future.

At this moment, several spears of light suddenly flew from afar. Melchiorda remained unmoved, but Kumirad loyally flew to protect his master, blocking the attacks for Melchiorda. Then, he looked at the group of people who had not yet left the sealing barrier not far away, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"He's quite loyal."

Meanwhile, Melchiada's tentacles had already entwined around the three gods, who could feel their divine power rapidly draining away. As Melchiada extracted divine power, she walked up to the Holy Lord of Light, Karius, and reached out to touch his handsome face.

"Why? Why did you reject me so cruelly back then? Was I not good enough to you? Among the new generation of gods, you are the greatest threat to me, but I have never absorbed your divine power. Doesn't that show my feelings for you?"

"Because...because you are too cruel! We gods were born from the faith of mortals, yet you treat them like ants..."

"Mortals are nothing but ants! We are gods! It is only right that they worship us. And I am the strongest god; I can do anything to these ants if I so choose!"

"Ha, ha! The most powerful... I'm fucking awesome!"

Upon hearing Melchiada's words, the God of War forced himself to raise his head and, with his last bit of strength, spat a mouthful of disdainful saliva at Melchiada. He was then slapped across the face by Melchiada's tentacles and stabbed hard into her mouth, leaving Feigolai only able to make indistinct whimpering sounds.

At that moment, Melchiorda saw a human man dressed in a white priest's robe walk through the air and land lightly no more than ten meters away from her.