“Yes, Lord Golden King. This moment makes my life complete,” the golden warrior replied in rapturous surprise, following the Golden King inside.
The Golden Pavilion’s interior was dimly lit. After passing through a golden corridor, they entered a grand hall. Mysterious magic creations lined the walls. At the centre fell the celestial pillar of light. The surrounding creations connected to the pillar via intricate magic runes. Forging tools also filled the space. An elderly dwarf danced excitedly, waving his hammer.
The dwarf appeared very old, half-bald, clad in tattered clothes stained black with sweat. His long, white beard, braided messily, nearly reached his belly. His wrinkled face beamed like a child’s.
Noticing the Golden King’s return, he immediately said, “I have finished forging the final component of the divine artifact. It can now operate fully again.”
“Are you certain?” the Golden King pressed.
“I have worked on repairing this divine artifact for thirty-four years. I know its structure intimately. I have failed at least a thousand times, but this time I am confident. It will succeed,” the dwarf declared, head held high. “Golden King, try it. See if it truly works.”
“Good!”
The Golden King nodded at once. He approached the mysterious magic creation. Before him stood a massive light screen, surrounded by arcane magic script ordinary people could not decipher, linked to the rest of the artifact.
The Golden King placed his palm on the screen, apparently for verification.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
The hall’s other components activated with deep hums. Lights began to glow from the devices. The screen illuminated.
Countless magic characters cascaded like rain from the top of the screen, flickering mysteriously.
At that moment, the Golden King, the dwarf, and the golden warrior all breathed rapidly, almost suffocating. The Golden King’s eyes widened hugely.
The divine artifact was the foundation of Golden City’s power.
Its full name was the Divine Order Manipulator.
Divine order was power transcending all things and rules.
It was the very root of the Gods clan’s strength.
The gods were gods because they controlled order, and even rules submitted to order.
Mortals could control order only through a divine artifact.
It was said the artifact itself had been crafted by the God of Gods personally. Activating it could instantly elevate an ordinary fragment world into a divine domain.
The celestial pillar’s true form was the divine artifact created by the God of Gods to govern divine domains.
Through the artifact, one could wield divine order, granting immense power to domain residents, even turning an ordinary person into a being surpassing sword saint or holy magus.
Even in the middle layer, few worlds possessed such an artifact. Golden City had obtained one centuries ago at great cost, but it drew disaster. They were besieged, severely damaged, and fell from the middle layer.
The artifact was damaged but not destroyed. Its protection shielded Golden City from the degradation curse, preventing memory loss of the middle layer. Golden City’s residents remained powerful.
For over a century, Golden City had worked to repair it. About fifty years ago, initial success propelled their ranking from beyond a thousand to first place.
Full repair would give Golden City the means to rejoin the War of the Gods. Their ancestors’ greatest wish was to return to the middle layer and dominate it.
The wait was agonising. Sweat beaded on the Golden King’s forehead. After about ten tense minutes, a pleasant chime finally reached his ears.
It sounded like the most beautiful melody.
“Ding dong.”
A wondrous control interface suddenly appeared on the screen, along with a message in divine script.
None present understood divine script. If they could, they would read: You have successfully activated Divine Order version 12. Activation time: ten minutes twenty-one seconds. Congratulations, your time beat the version 01 artifact! Note: Trash, time to retire it.
“It’s done! It’s done! This immensely powerful divine artifact has finally activated. From today, Golden City will rise again!” Staring at the glowing interface, the Golden King grew so emotional he seemed on the verge of tears.
The golden warrior, overcome by intense feeling, dropped to his knees with a thud and wailed loudly.
The elderly dwarf, however, showed keen interest in the interface. He tilted his head curiously. “Hmm? This seems to be divine script, but I wonder what it means. How fascinating. The knowledge of the God of Gods from that era is truly admirable. To think he personally created this magic creation for controlling order…”
As the dwarf studied the screen in fascination, he suddenly sensed something wrong and turned quickly to the Golden King.
The Golden King raised his right hand. A longsword condensed from gold appeared in his palm. His face bore ruthless malice.
“You…”
“The divine artifact’s secrets must never leak. Now that repairs are complete, the dwarf race is useless to me. You may die,” the Golden King declared.
As he spoke, the golden sword shot forth with a whoosh, instantly piercing the dwarf’s body and pinning him to the ground. The dwarf had no chance to resist.
“Golden King, you… you deceived me…” Blood poured from the dwarf’s mouth. Speech came with difficulty, yet he suddenly laughed loudly.
“What are you laughing at?” the Golden King demanded.
“For thirty-four years you kept me imprisoned here, never letting me leave, to prevent the artifact’s secrets escaping. Yet over the years, I earned your trust and met dwarf brothers from the Mine world a few times. I used those chances…”
Fury made the Golden King’s golden hair flare. “You gave them the artifact’s blueprints. I will destroy the Mine world!”
“Regardless, you would never spare the dwarves who know the artifact’s secrets. The Mine world was doomed eventually,” the dwarf said, nearing death yet with mockery in his eyes. “I knew what kind of people you are. In truth, the artifact could activate two years ago, but I pretended repairs were incomplete, waiting for an opportunity…”
“You had no opportunity!” the Golden King roared in rage.
“No, the opportunity has come. I overheard your conversation just now. That youth from the Castro Continent, the Stan world. They already threaten you. That youth seems skilled with magic creations. Perfect!” Though weakening, the dwarf’s voice remained loud, full of scorn. “I planned everything long ago. Upon my death, my dwarf brothers will immediately take the artifact’s blueprints and seek refuge with the Stan world. I believe that youth can save the Mine world!”
“Aaaah! Impossible!” The Golden King swung his arm in fury. The golden sword impaling the dwarf split into seven. With whooshing sounds, it instantly reduced the dwarf’s body to pulp.
The Golden King turned coldly to the golden warrior. “Go. Assemble all Golden City warriors. I will slaughter the Mine world.”
“And the youth from Stan world…”
“Humph!” The Golden King replied with arrogant mockery. “I want to see if he dares accept blueprints stolen from me by the dwarves.”
