The Substitute Gods' Crushing Defeat
The God Destruction Cannon of the Substitute God Creator flickered in and out of existence. Two beings were thoroughly enjoying themselves, reveling in a rare victory and teasing the Substitute God Creator without restraint. The joy was especially great for the Creator who had led this war from the front.
Just how many Main Gods had challenged those damnable Substitute Gods with ten or fewer and been annihilated? To win with only three—this was a solid achievement. I must report this perfectly and boast about my assigned universe’s performance to the Creation Realm and the Creator. If I play my cards right, I might even raise my rank by one level.
The number of Substitute Gods that had encroached upon the solar system totaled only four. In exchange for annihilating a single Lower Main God, the Divine Race had gained one Main God Star and three Upper God Stars.
Every time we fought the Substitute Gods, we always ended up in the red from having to resurrect the Main Gods afterward. But this time, we hit the jackpot.
The accumulated frustration from repeated defeats melted away completely. Moreover, a Lower Main God of that caliber could be resurrected in roughly five thousand years if they pushed themselves a little.
Death, annihilation, or erasure don’t mean much to the Divine Race anyway. As long as he is recognized as a diligent powerhouse, he will be given form again. All the Divine Race needs to do is diligently manage and develop the universe, and everything will go smoothly. The barbaric era of stabbing each other in the back and fighting like savages is long gone. The modern age is one of pure divine power hierarchy and tangible results.
To him, only results mattered. The Lower Main God who had nearly been annihilated and thus delivered this windfall now looked rather admirable.
I need to pile up more achievements quickly, climb to a higher position, and stop having to look at that rampaging Demon God King in front of me. The succession of the Creator’s duties will be handled well by that sly raccoon Main God once he obtains the qualifications of a Creator.
Even Creators had to undergo certification trials. They had to defeat other Creator Candidates who were waiting for their own trials against the Great Demon Gods.
He was once the most brilliant Sword God of the Divine Realm, so he should be able to handle the Demon God King’s rampages just fine.
If he couldn’t handle it, he would be annihilated—but that would be the problem of the Creator who inherited the position.
Heh heh! Hurry up and hand over the Divine Realm so I can ascend. I’ll teach you well before I pass it on.
The Creator wore a satisfied smile as he savored this victory. The only other time he had felt this good since becoming a Creator was when his talent for developing the Divine Race had been recognized and he was appointed as a Creator.
Because of those beastly Substitute Gods and that unlucky Demon God Race, I’ve always had to work myself to death. I’d evolve a star into a Main God Star, only for them to come steal it or corrupt it. It was utterly infuriating.
At least it only happened once per planet, so he had endured it. But fighting those things to the death had grown truly tiresome.
If he failed the certification trial, he would be scolded by the Creator and mocked by the other Creators. On top of that, he would have to submit a detailed defeat analysis and countermeasures in a face-to-face report.
You have no idea how annoying those face-to-face reports are. The defeat reports I’ve written because of those Substitute Gods and the Demon God Race could probably be stacked into a tower by now.
With consecutive losses, his position as Creator had slowly been approaching a dangerous precipice. But this achievement was a decisive merit that finally allowed him to aim for a one-step promotion.
Yet the battle was not over.
“Hmm? It seems he really doesn’t want to be annihilated. Even after I promised to resurrect him, he’s still acting like this.”
“Indeed. He’s incredibly tenacious. And a God Destruction Cannon empowered by Lord Slayer? He really has quite the bag of tricks.”
“So he had some confidence after all when he challenged a Substitute God Main God.”
Kwaaaaaaaaaaa—!
The sun and moon summoned by the Lower Main God began supplying divine power and vitality once more. Then, clearly overexerting himself, he fired another divine power cannon. In that instant, the Substitute God Main God—who specialized in divine power cannons—met annihilation.
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“Uhh?”
The three beings were left stunned by the unexpected turn of events. Even though he would be resurrected, a Substitute God whose main weapon was the divine power cannon had just been overpowered by one.
The Substitute God Creator was the first to regain his senses. He let out an extremely unpleasant roar toward the Substitute God Main Gods.
“Kauuuung—! Aung! Aung-aung!”
If translated, it probably meant something like this:
A wave of murderous intent spread toward the highest-ranking Substitute God Main Gods. Every one of them, their planet-sized bodies trembling violently, hurriedly conveyed their collective opinion.
“Kaung-woo! Kayuung! Kaayu! Kaong-oh!”
It’s not an excuse, but from our perspective, that Divine Race Lower Main God cannot be measured by ordinary standards. Even against a Main God of equal rank, if he comes at us that insanely, we would be in danger too. Seeing him sacrifice both arms, burning his own body to attack—it feels like we’ve returned to the old racial wars. Back then, there were so many of those types that it was truly dangerous. An opponent like that needs to be reclassified as at least one rank above an equal Main God.
There was no way such an explanation would work on the Substitute God Creator, who had only recently taken over the sector.
“Kaung—! Ung—!”
Shut up, you useless fools!
Paht—!
Kukukukukukung!
“Kraaaang!”
“Kaaaaang—!”
Fearing damage to the solar system, the Creator had fired the weakest possible wide-area God Destruction Cannon. Yet it still engulfed all the Substitute Gods at once. The immense divine power strike that pierced their bio-armor and struck their main bodies drew involuntary screams.
A Creator’s divine power cannon ignored all authorities and defenses, dealing direct damage to the core. It nullified any protection or authority and inflicted damage equal to the divine power contained within the cannon.
Both the Creator and the Demon God King inwardly tensed at its horrifying power.
The divine power in that wide-area cannon is vicious. If we weren’t standing right here, he really would have killed them.
As expected of the successor to the previous idiot who caused an incident—he’s even stronger.
And his temper is even worse.
The previous Substitute God Creator had fought against this Demon God King and Creator, only to fire his divine power cannon and obliterate five solar systems. He had been personally dragged away by the current Creator. Of course, only his core remained—his body had been used as restoration material for the destroyed solar systems. After that, he had been suddenly promoted to Creator and had been throwing tantrums like this ever since.
I understand the fear and tension, but it would be nice if he had a little composure.
As long as he doesn’t obliterate too many stars in bulk, the Substitute Gods can tolerate a certain level of accident.
Although they were always in pain, the Substitute Gods still preferred it to annihilation, so they diligently begged for forgiveness.
And so the self-resurrection of the annihilated Highest Main God began, and the curtain fell on the battle.
Since he couldn’t complete his resurrection within the time limit, it ultimately ends in a draw.
To avoid ending up like that, he should have charged out the moment they first invaded, using spatial movement and attacking with full force.
With the Substitute Gods’ unique spatial movement and barrage of divine power cannons, those Main Gods could have been finished within three minutes. Instead, he had clung to the already-corrupted planet and only defended, ultimately collapsing pathetically to a super long-range concentrated attack using Dimensional Authority.
It seems re-education is necessary. Has peace lasted too long? Their divine power and abilities are high, but they lack combat sense.
Of course, this is absolutely not because I want revenge or to vent my anger on the Creator for hitting me.
I am merely following the Creator’s will with absolute loyalty.
The battle had reached its final stage. With less than a minute left on the time limit, resurrection was impossible, so it should have been a draw. Yet that vicious Main God had grabbed the resurrection core with his mouth and tried to destroy it. Even from a spectator’s perspective, it was enough to make one scream.
“Aung—! Ung!”
What kind of crazy bastard exists among the Divine Race?
While the highest rulers of each race were left flustered by the desperate sight of the Substitute God’s core being bitten and attacked directly with teeth because he had no arms, the match came to an end.
Crackle—!
The Substitute God core could not withstand the solar divine power that had been poured directly into it through the teeth. The blade of light halted, and the Dimensional and War God declared victory.
Resurrection of the Substitute God Main God suspended. Victory to the Divine Race.
At that, screams like howls burst from the Substitute Gods.
“Kauuuung—! Eoyung!”
This is insane—! We really lost to a single Divine Race Main God of the same rank. We’re dead.
The noise from the Substitute Gods grew louder. The mountain-range face of the Substitute God Creator twisted horribly, and his divine power began to run wildly out of control.
“Arrrrng! Karrng! Arrng—!”
Because of this absurd defeat, I will have to write an apology and explanation to the Creator. Before that, I’m going to beat you all to death. Losing one-on-one to a single Divine Race Main God—?!
The wide-area divine power cannon that the Substitute God Creator had weakened to the absolute minimum—yet still ignored all defenses—began pouring down in rapid succession upon thousands of the highest-ranking Substitute God Main Gods.
Slash—! Slash—!
“Kaung—! Kaung!”
The highest-ranking Substitute God Main Gods, aware of their guilt, could not even flee. They could only scream. All they could do was grind their teeth at the incompetence of their subordinate Main Gods.
Just you wait, you rotten bastards—! No matter how long peace has lasted, how can you lose one-on-one to the Divine Race?
Kraaaak—! The bio-armor is being pierced! Is he really trying to beat us to death?!
As the surroundings turned into complete chaos, the Dimensional and War God—who had won with great difficulty—literally spat out the solar divine power that had been burning the core inside his mouth and somehow brought the situation under control.
“Kehek—! Cough—! Cough—! I almost burned to death this time.”