The Guardians' Miserable Defeat
Unlike the shocking spectacle of the Spirit Realm War, the situation of the Divine Realm's guardian gods was utterly miserable. The greatest weakness of the parallel divine power connection—which focused every ounce of divine power on the god possessing the highest amount to launch an infinite barrage—was precisely this kind of reflection. To make matters worse, they had been struck without any chance to defend through spatial movement.
Having removed the divine authority that nullified and mitigated most attacks, they had reached a moment where total annihilation seemed inevitable.
“Guhhhhhk—!”
“Krrghhhhh—!”
Groans rose from every direction, accompanied by desperate attempts to restore their bodies, but their current forms were little more than those of lower gods. They bore no resemblance to the glorious divine bodies that Creator Gods were meant to possess. Without the conceptual shift that turned annihilation into mere death, and without the divine authority of absolute defense, they were this helpless.
I knew the risks, but I never imagined we’d be wiped out by our own reflected attack.
No, in truth it should have ended that way from the beginning—if only the ones who had blocked their path and twisted the spatial coordinates to dodge the direct hit hadn’t been their own sons.
Rumble! Hummmmmm!
Unlike the guardian gods clad in full battle armor, hundreds of men and women now appeared. They had stripped away nearly all defensive equipment, wearing nothing but pants or a scrap of cloth across their chests. With raw divine power they churned the endlessly regenerating spatial coordinates, blocking the reflection.
The reflected barrage from the parallel divine power connection still showed no sign of stopping. Seeing it persist made one thing clear: a direct hit would have annihilated them all. Annihilation itself no longer applied, yet these Divine Realm guardian gods existed in the narrow boundary between mortal creatures and lower gods solely so they could resurrect from death. Even after regaining Creator God divinity, their severely weakened bodies left them with pathetically low defense.
Discarding the divine authority that blocked and reduced nearly every attack was nothing short of suicide—exposing their paper-thin bodies directly to the enemy. On top of that, annihilation now applied, eliminating any possibility of revival.
The moment the Divine Realm guardian gods removed their divine authority in panic and rushed forward, we barely managed to block it.
Fortunately, even a rotten fish is still a fish. Not many were directly hit and annihilated.
Only those with fatal wounds or prior injuries, so our numbers haven’t actually decreased.
Yet when they considered the vitality leaking from their bodies in units of trillions, along with the vitality needed for recovery, their rage threatened to pierce the heavens themselves.
“You absolute idiots—! What the hell are you doing, removing your divine authority on the battlefield, Divine Realm guardian gods?”
“In the end we had to intervene too. What a disgraceful sight.”
“Hmph—! For a single reserve Creator God, you look truly competent.”
“You ran out there acting so superior only to get annihilated? It would be understandable for the Origins or the Creator Gods, but what exactly are you lot doing?”
“......”
The Divine Realm guardian gods remained silent as they restored their bodies and donned their divine authority once more. Only then did the reflected attack finally cease. The Magic God of Dimensions reclaimed every scattered particle of vitality without leaving a single drop behind.
Whooooooo—!
A sun of vitality rose again, dwarfing even the one that had appeared when they annihilated the Creator Gods.
This was enemy territory—the defensive divine realm. The opponent’s authority belonged to the higher spatial category known as dimension, making it impossible to block. They had induced the enemy’s weakness, struck for maximum effect, refused to tolerate even the slightest loss, and withdrawn immediately. In that process they had been prepared to sacrifice not only their allies but themselves as well.
A brutally cold combat doctrine.
He’s so calculating he should be called a War God rather than a Battle God.
It made one wonder how such an outstanding and vicious combat deity had become the main god of a defensive divine realm. Of all the countless defensive divine realms in the 499th Master Universe, why did it have to be this one? The urge to return to the Divine Realm and flip the entire place upside down was almost overwhelming.
On top of everything, their allies’ condition was the worst possible—utterly pathetic.
“The Lord Successor has gone missing and the Creator God King is tied up over there. In this state we can’t even exert a tenth of our strength. That’s why we suffered such humiliation.”
Originally, when the guardian gods and the Tyrant Gods fought together while serving both the Creator God King and the Successor, all restrictions were lifted and they gained power worthy of confronting him. The Divine Realm guardian gods would serve the Creator God King to manifest absolute-level defense, while the Tyrant Gods would serve the Successor to unleash absolute-level attacks. They had been confident that nothing short of the highest existences in the Absolute Realm could withstand the full might of the 500th Master Universe.
Yet the Successor had vanished the moment he learned of the situation here and the Creator God King’s sacrificial decision. There was nothing left for them to do. Beings who should have been able to erase not only the defensive divine realm but all space itself could now only disturb spatial coordinates.
“So the titled Creator Gods are having their ankles caught by the highest main gods because their bodies have weakened from vitality depletion, while the Creator God King is locked in confrontation with the Origins of the Almighty God Clan who learned his secrets?”
“It’s astounding how the war situation could deteriorate this badly.”
“Those worthless bastards—! I emphasized repeatedly that we don’t know what might happen, so strong individuals of that caliber must be treated with proper respect. After sealing them, did you plan to leave them in that state to wither and die? In which Master Universe do they reduce the Creator Gods capable of targeting a Creator God King to such a pathetic condition? If even one of them had been in proper shape, this would have ended already.”
“Since we’ve only handled battles against the demon race, the state of the Divine Realm is truly absurd. Do you resurrected guardian gods have nothing to say?”
“......”
The Divine Realm guardian gods, now fully recovered after donning their divine authority, rose to their feet. With resolute voices they cut the conversation short.
“The titled Creator Gods refused to become Divine Realm guardian gods or join you. We cannot spare even a single unit of vitality for such rebels. As things stand, we will rescue the Creator God King immediately and destroy the defensive divine realm. Join the battle.”
What returned was nothing but cold laughter. It was laughable that the guardian gods who had only avoided annihilation thanks to them were now trying to reclaim their dignity.
“Pfft—! You’ve all completely lost your minds. With only this much power? The reserve Creator God isn’t the problem—can’t you see the 499 Creator Gods behind him? Even if we rescue the Creator God King, we can only manifest absolute defense. Without the Successor, attack is impossible. We can only endure.”
“Moreover, the Divine Realm of the 499th Master Universe possesses not only a Creator God King exceeding one hundred trillion divine power, but also the transcendental Creator God known as Jinmyeol. He single-handedly held back nearly the entire Substitute Race and is evaluated as surpassing a Creator God King when facing multiple enemies. If their ally the Demon Emperor joins the fight, there is no guarantee your absolute defense will hold. They have three beings above Creator God rank while we have two. That gap can never be bridged. No wonder the Creator God King resolved himself for death and stepped forward alone to seize the enemy’s authority.”
“Above all else….”
A thick, coagulated killing intent exploded outward like clotted blood, crushing the Divine Realm guardian gods beneath its weight.
Craaaaack—!
The divine authority that had barely recovered could not endure the pressure of that divine power and fighting spirit. It cracked and screamed.
The divine power and authority—demanding only destruction and death—had momentarily paralyzed the defensive functions of their divine authority.
To the guardian gods who frantically repaired the damage, a cold verdict descended.
“Only the Creator God King and the Successor may command the Divine Realm guardian gods. The only one who can command us is the Successor.”
“We are the dominators of the battlefield and the authority that subjugates enemies. To us Tyrant Gods—who believe that power is justice and justice is one’s own power—the only one capable of issuing commands is the Successor who oversees the battlefield alongside us.”
“You who have done nothing but train in the safety of the Divine Realm should shut your mouths. Fighting and winning against the enemy is our domain.”
“Or will you attempt to subdue us—who have pursued nothing but power—through force?”
“Kekekeke—! No matter how strong you claim to be, you invited annihilation at the hands of a mere reserve Creator God, just like the Origins and Creator Gods. Yet here you are with your lively mouths, talking big.”
The Divine Realm guardian gods ground their teeth, but they had no rebuttal. The results had already spoken for themselves.
“So what is your decision?”
Now that the time had come to actually choose, even the Tyrant Gods frowned.
The Creator God King and the titled Creator Gods are isolated over there.
On top of that, the number of restrained spirits belonging to Origins and Creator Gods is so vast it defies accurate counting.
Yet the enemy consists of only a single reserve Creator God.
Although Machine Gods possessing authorities similar to the Substitute Race had stepped forward, they appeared to be nothing more than temporary bluffs, unworthy of being counted as true fighting power. If they were genuine, the enemy would have deployed them immediately to restrain the spirits and end the battle rather than concluding with a reflection of the parallel divine power connection.
The main gods inside the defensive divine realm were powerful, but the Tyrant Gods had already seen through the fact that even a single guardian god or Tyrant God could clean them up.
The real problem is the Creator Gods who will come flooding in if the defensive divine realm is breached or destroyed.
A terrifying killing intent and fighting spirit surged—something that surpassed even their own, despite the countless battles they had waged against every transcendental being that threatened the demon race or the Master Universe.
One begins to doubt whether those are truly gods of light.
The extreme assessment that the divine race and demon race of the 499th Master Universe should all be renamed as destruction gods filled their minds.
Even if we rescue the Creator God King, the decisive gap in power with the 499th Master Universe will never close.
After endless desperate fighting, the odds of mutual destruction or our defeat are overwhelmingly high.
Before that happens, the Substitute Race would finish us anyway.
The conclusion was obvious. Continuing to fight now would be madness.
“We are retreating. You will negotiate the return of the Creator God King and the other Origins.”
“The total power difference between the enemy’s Creator Gods and ours is not that large. The war will drag on endlessly, but their victory is inevitable. However, the 499th Master Universe—facing the Substitute Race threat directly before their eyes—will not have time to send forces to suppress the entire 500th Master Universe. Therefore, negotiate appropriately. If necessary, bow your heads and endure the humiliation. Isn’t that the duty of the Divine Realm guardian gods who have sacrificed everything for the Divine Realm?”
“When those who hold power fail in conflicts with other factions, this is the natural price they must pay. This time we will not let it slide the way you stayed silent about the countless incomprehensible measures and dispositions you carried out inside the Divine Realm.”
“......Understood.”
The Divine Realm guardian gods nodded heavily. The reserve Creator God who had even reflected their parallel divine power connection after they risked removing their divine authority was simply beyond their ability to handle alone.
The Tyrant Gods are specialized in war and struggle above all else. Their judgment is at least accurate in this regard.
They are true gods of war and struggle who have overthrown and triumphed whenever even the slightest chance of victory existed.
If even they have given up, it means there is no chance of victory in this war whatsoever.
At the guardian gods’ reaction, the Tyrant Gods clicked their tongues. They were accepting the situation far too easily.
Tsk tsk—! The shock of having their trump card, the parallel divine power connection, reflected back at them and nearly being annihilated must have been enormous.
Things they can’t handle keep appearing, but they’re folding far too quickly. How long can they possibly last against him like this? Still, they’re only machine Substitute Race. Their actual power probably isn’t even a tenth of the real thing, yet even so….
Hummmmmm—! Hummmmmm—!
The giant Substitute Race, their silver surfaces completely covered in golden magic circles, filled the entire front of the defensive divine realm. They announced their presence through unique divine power and the tremors running through their massive bodies.
The vibrations emanating from bodies the size of giant planets, along with the explosive surge in divine power and authority, made it clear this was no mere exterior display.
They claim five hundred billion, but that power could cleanly erase an average regional universe. The fact that it endured without suffering any damage proves their defensive capability is genuine.
The defensive and offensive power secured by the eighteen machine Substitute Race through serial and parallel divine power connections easily surpassed the quadrillion level no matter how conservatively one calculated.
If they truly possess attack and defense power in the quadrillions, it is terrifying. Even the 499 Creator Gods have gone stiff with fear.
Well, since they’ve fought countless times, they must understand fear better than anyone. Without the Creator God King and the Successor, fighting is pointless—they cannot break through. We absolutely must not expend our forces here.