The gods had fallen. Every member of the gods’ clan had been reduced to ashes. This was the consensus known to everyone on the Castro Continent. Yet at this moment, before the three Phase King magic mentors, Tolling Bell Phase, Giant Spirit Phase, and Water Bottle Phase, stood a god. A living god.
With a single slap, he had sent the Tolling Bell Phase, the strongest of the Twelve Phases, flying. Such terrifying power was utterly overwhelming.
The God of Gourmet, Greyton.
Though he was the God of Gourmet and his body appeared immensely plump, seemingly harmless, in the era of the gods he had actually been a god of slaughter. Before ascending to godhood, he had been the companion of the God of Gods, the personal knight of the empress of the continent’s first empire, the Matan Empire. He bore the title Knight of Light. He was the deity of cuisine, yet also the god of knights.
“Yes, I am still alive. For five thousand years I have hidden here, but I have hidden long enough. If you had not come, all would be well. Since you have come, do not think of leaving,” the fat Greyton said. His voice carried traces of resentment. He wore tattered clothes and an apron. From appearance alone, no one could link him to a god.
Yet the strength he had just displayed left no room for doubt.
As Greyton spoke, everyone who had fallen into a trance awoke. The residents of Grey Town finally showed panic, instinctively retreating. The old emperor Charlie, the old guard, Russ, Stari, Elizabeth, and Mishal all roused from the long dream, standing up in surprise from the tables, looking at each other.
“Tolling Bell Phase. Water Bottle Phase. Giant Spirit Phase.” The old guard seemed to recognise the three Phase King mentors. He exclaimed in shock, assuming a highly vigilant stance.
The old emperor and Russ were equally stunned.
“Even if you are a god, what of it? The Pope sent us to find the key to the Divine Sin Continent. We never expected to encounter a god who did not fall. Excellent. Today, we shall slay a god,” the Giant Spirit Phase declared in a booming voice. Though aged, at this moment he exuded an extraordinary, valiant aura. His presence rose to its peak.
The Water Bottle Phase also prepared for battle.
The Tolling Bell Phase climbed up from the ground, returning to his companions’ side. His gaze was equally cold as he stared at Greyton. “The power of the gods is indeed great, but five thousand years ago you were merely a mid-tier god, and the God of Gourmet at that. You cannot possibly withstand the three of us Phase King mentors combined.”
“Phase King mentors?” Greyton’s face showed extreme mockery. “Puppets created by those devils. What is there to be proud of?”
Magic mentors were puppets of devils.
The power of magic mentors came from their magic books, yet was also limited by them. The magic books had been created by devils, who used them to control the mentors. If the devils wished, with a single thought all magic mentors would lose their power.
Thus, magic mentors were merely devil puppets.
Greyton wiped his thick hands on his apron, slowly untying it and tossing it aside. He walked to a nearby grove planted with winter bamboo. Grasping one stalk as thick as a wrist, he snapped it with a crack, deftly removing the branches to fashion a two-metre-long spear from the green bamboo.
Facing three Phase King mentors, he intended to fight with ordinary bamboo?
“I, I will help you…” the old guard stepped forward.
Greyton glanced coldly at him. “Against this trash, do I need help? Little one, stand aside.”
The old guard fell silent.
The old emperor pulled the old guard back.
The three Phase King mentors exchanged glances, then acted simultaneously.
The Giant Spirit Phase possessed terrifying necromantic magic. His magic book flipped rapidly. Dreadful undead were summoned, not hero spirits or fantasy creatures, but elemental spirits condensed through his magic.
Thunder Spirit God, Flame Spirit God, Gale Spirit God, Torrent Spirit God, Sandstorm Spirit God, Space Spirit God, Darkness Spirit God, Light Spirit God, Frost Spirit God.
Nine spirit gods in total. Some were massive and burly, others petite and agile. As the Giant Spirit Phase’s magic activated, they unleashed terrifying magical attacks on Greyton. The heavens and earth changed colour. Winds howled and clouds surged.
At that moment, the Water Bottle Phase vanished. Before Ye Chui, this title had belonged exclusively to him. The most fearsome aspect of the Water Bottle Phase mentor was his oceanic, inexhaustible magic reserves, allowing him to cast magic of any element. His magic book was the thickest among all Phase King books.
Now he used shadow magic, rendering himself invisible and erasing his presence, attempting a stealth assault on Greyton.
The Tolling Bell Phase, his face swollen, manifested a massive tolling bell over his body, resembling the bronze bell atop the Church’s great cathedral tower. In fact, the first owner of the Tolling Bell Phase book had comprehended powerful bell magic from the Church’s bronze bell. This illusory bronze bell possessed the ability to shatter anything.
A hum resounded. Terrifying sound emanated from the bronze bell.
Whoosh.
Visible sound waves rippled outward from the Tolling Bell Phase. Banquet tables and chairs shattered into splinters. A nearby large tree cracked and collapsed, branches scattering. The ground split.
The horrific sound waves seemed to condense into a fearsome beast, charging at Greyton alongside the Giant Spirit Phase’s nine spirit gods.
Yet Greyton gripped his bamboo spear, his expression extraordinarily calm and indifferent.
Bang.
He struck the spear forcefully on the ground.
Boom.
Invisible white light burst from his body, forming a wall of light. The attacks from the nine spirit gods and the tolling sound waves were all blocked.
Bang.
Greyton struck the spear on the ground a second time.
Whoosh. The nine spirit gods began to disintegrate. The terrifying sound waves dispersed into nothingness.
The massive bronze bell over the Tolling Bell Phase trembled violently, then suddenly exploded into light. With a hiss, several pages of his magic book shattered instantly, fluttering like butterflies.
“My tolling bell magic was so easily defeated?” the Tolling Bell Phase gaped in disbelief.
The destruction of his nine spirit gods heavily wounded the Giant Spirit Phase himself. He involuntarily spat blood, his eyes filled with horror.
At that precise moment, the Water Bottle Phase, stealthily attacking, finally struck. His figure appeared behind Greyton, materialising in an instant. His form was unusual now. Originally an immensely fat man, he had somehow slimmed by at least half through magic, his movements countless times more agile. Upon appearing, he unleashed terrifying thunder magic. Countless bolts coiled into thunder serpents, devouring toward Greyton’s back.
Bang.
Greyton struck the spear on the ground a third time.
The thunder serpents were all torn apart.
Greyton turned. One hand reached out, grasping toward the Water Bottle Phase.
The Water Bottle Phase immediately tried to flee.
In an instant, he cast three super spatial spells, two super shadow spells, and four super wind spells.
Yet as his body escaped into spatial void, Greyton’s large hand followed relentlessly. It seemed to carry no power, merely physical strength, yet it directly breached the void, seizing the Water Bottle Phase by the chest.
Boom. He forcibly dragged the Water Bottle Phase’s body from the void, shattering a section of space.
With a whoosh, he flung him far away.
“Are Phase King mentors only this capable?” Greyton’s voice rang out, thick with disappointment.
In a single exchange, the Phase King mentors, hailed as the pinnacle of continental magic, had all suffered crushing defeat.
Greyton had ascended through knighthood. His weapon was the spear. He had turned bamboo into a spear, yet the three Phase King mentors had not even forced him to thrust it.
At that moment, a shrill scream from a little girl suddenly rang out.
It was a young girl from Grey Town who had not escaped in time. She had hidden behind a large tree. When Greyton flung the Water Bottle Phase away, his body landed right beside her. Though injured, the Water Bottle Phase stubbornly rose. The sight terrified the girl, causing her to cry out.
Then, in a flash, another girl rushed over, shouting, “Molly, do not be afraid. I will save you…”
Saying this, she reached the tree. She had long golden hair. It was Dawkins, sharing the name of the Destruction Goddess.
She grabbed the Water Bottle Phase’s arm and turned to run. “Run quickly. Leave this to the mayor…”
The trembling girl by the tree stared speechless.
Everyone else stared speechless.
Dawkins had poor eyesight. She had clearly mistaken the Water Bottle Phase for the little girl.
Greyton’s plump face twitched visibly.
The Water Bottle Phase looked bewildered, but he quickly reacted. A cold smile spread across his face. He steadied himself, seizing Dawkins by the neck in return. He looked coldly at Greyton. “God of Gourmet, the people of this town are all your descendants, yes? Do not act rashly, or I kill her.”
“Water Bottle Phase mentor, you threaten a young girl,” the old emperor Charlie shouted angrily.
“Release Dawkins at once,” Russ called urgently. During his days entranced in Grey Town, Dawkins had cared for him, so he was especially concerned.
“Hmph. The gods’ clan committed grave sins. Any means are justified,” the Water Bottle Phase said ferociously. “This town should never have existed.”
As his words ended, the Giant Spirit Phase’s magic book flipped open rapidly. Countless ghastly, corpse-like evil spirits crawled from its pages, seemingly endless. The Giant Spirit Phase said coldly, “God of Gourmet, we may not be your match, but you cannot protect everyone in Grey Town. We can easily slaughter every person here.”
Faced with these threats, Greyton’s face quickly regained calm. His gaze even turned strange as he looked at the Water Bottle Phase, as if viewing a dead man.
“Release Dawkins quickly,” Russ shouted, attempting rescue, but the old guard suddenly held him back. “Russ, wait… Dawkins?”
“What is it?” Russ looked at the old guard.
“If I remember correctly…” the old guard narrowed his eyes. “Dawkins… is the name of the Destruction Goddess among the gods’ clan. Moreover, the Destruction Goddess’s appearance was said to be a golden-haired girl with poor eyesight…”
Hearing the old guard, the three Phase King mentors all froze, turning to Dawkins.
When first seized by the throat, Dawkins had looked panicked. Now, however, she had calmed. A faint, eerie smile even appeared on her beautiful face.
The Destruction Goddess, empress ruling the underworld.
“No,” the Water Bottle Phase shuddered violently. He hurriedly released the girl, his body preparing to vanish into shadow again.
But it was too late.
Boom, boom, boom.
Black thunderbolts erupted from the sky over Grey Town, crashing down as if to destroy heaven and earth.
At that moment, countless people in Grey Town believed the end of the world had come.
The old guard quickly stood before the old emperor, Russ, Stari, and others. With his half-step Sword Saint power, he withstood the attack’s fallout. Yet his face was agape. His vision filled entirely with dazzling black lightning. He could only vaguely see a figure with flying hair, bathed in thunder, waving her hands. Heaven and earth seemed utterly insignificant before her, fragile at a touch.
“Is this the power the gods’ clan once commanded…” the old guard said, his heart trembling.
The black lightning soon vanished. The square used for the banquet had become scorched earth. The three Phase King mentors were nowhere to be seen. The evil spirits summoned by the Giant Spirit Phase had also disappeared.
They… had been utterly annihilated?
The golden-haired girl stood amid the charred ground.
Her face seemed infinitely weary. Her body swayed, suddenly collapsing sideways.
Greyton’s body instantly appeared beside Dawkins, catching her in his arms.
“The Phase King mentors… are all dead?” the old guard asked in a trembling voice.
“No. Two died. The one using tolling bell magic escaped,” Greyton replied, checking Dawkins’s condition.
“Killing two Phase King mentors in one breath…” the old emperor murmured. He walked to Greyton, looking at Dawkins. “The Destruction Goddess is too powerful.”
“Destruction Goddess?” Greyton shook his head. “If she truly were the Destruction Goddess, how could she let someone escape her?”
“What? She is not the Destruction Goddess?” Everyone was stunned.
“Dawkins perished with the fall of the gods. She… is merely a fragment of Dawkins’s soul,” Greyton explained.
He raised his head, looking at the old emperor and others. He continued, “I knew your purpose from the start. You came seeking the one who escaped the Divine Sin Continent, seeking a way to escape it… The current Dawkins is the key to escaping the Divine Sin Continent.”
