The Goddess Blood Alliance's Hidden Power

The Magic God of Dimensions had harbored doubts about the eight Goddess Lords of the Goddess Blood Alliance ever since he first learned of their existence in the Divine Realm. No matter how he looked at it, the situation was strange. How could eight mere Main God-level Goddess Lords, accompanied only by High Goddesses who weren't even War Gods, dare to challenge a hundred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Upper Main Gods and the hundred primordial War Gods of the beginning and still remain unscathed? He had been extremely cautious because of it.

Originally, an Upper Main God possessed combat strength equivalent to four Intermediate Lords. To face an Upper Main God, one would need at least sixteen regular Main Gods. At the time, the Goddess Lords were only regular Main Gods, and there were just eight of them. Even a single Upper Main God should have been able to subdue them with some effort. Moreover, if the primordial War Gods—who were qualified to become Highest Lords at any moment—mobilized just thirty-two of their number, the Goddess Lords should have been crushed. So why hadn't that happened? Why had they endured even the disgrace of their realm being called a complete mess?

Had they held back out of consideration for the subordinate goddesses who had become consorts of the existing High Gods? Handing over a Divine Realm built with their own blood and sweat to family members standing on the opposing side? From the perspective of a mercenary god, that was something even a dog would laugh at. It wasn't that the former Main God of the Divine Realm had been too weak to act, either. There was no way an incompetent mercenary god would have received the reward of an independent Divine Realm.

When he later investigated and discovered that the Chief God of the God Realm possessed over 20 billion innate divine power—something incomprehensible for an Upper Main God—he found that the man had actually been the greatest swordsman and War God among all Upper Main Gods. The only conclusion he could reach was that the man's overwhelming strength and talent had led him to instinctively sense that fighting the Goddess Lords would end in defeat, forcing him to endure in silence. There had to be some hidden force at play, unknown even to him, for the Chief God of the God Realm to act with such extreme caution that it even altered his personality.

That was why, even after rising from the Divine Realm and eventually taking the position of Main God of the Divine Realm, he had never let his guard down for a single moment. He remained wary of powerful beings who might emerge from anywhere. And now, witnessing even the Almighty Hwi being held at bay, he saw the proof with his own eyes.

He still held no real authority as the Main God of the Divine Realm. It was because of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠democratic decision-making structure: unless it was a wartime situation, if a majority opposed the Main God of the Divine Realm's orders, they didn't have to follow them. Only by gaining the support of the majority could one exercise true dominance. It sounded nice, but in the end, it was just a power struggle between factions. For a newly risen powerhouse like him—born a lowly human with no faction to speak of—it was nothing short of poison.

He had tried to recruit members of the God Tribe, but that hadn't worked either. What he needed were many Transcendents who, like him, were looked down upon for being human-born and whose interests aligned with his. Only then could he break free from this hollow title of Main God of the Divine Realm.

His concerns were on a completely different level from the panic currently gripping the Almighty Hwi, who had just encountered far stronger beings than he ever anticipated at the worst possible moment.

In the clash moments ago, the Almighty Hwi had arrogantly dismissed the incoming attacks, trusting in his body's defensive power as a Creator God and the protection of his divine artifacts. But the moment those strikes grazed him, he felt genuine pain for the first time in ages and desperately threw his body backward. Thanks to the Goddess Lords' inability to react to a Creator God's terrifying speed, he managed to regain a brief moment of composure. But when he frantically looked down at his own body, he couldn't help but gasp in horror.

A surreal sight greeted him: his skin, which had barely been scratched even during his days as a Creator Candidate, was now split open by mere Main God attacks, with blood streaming freely from the wounds.

“What the—! What is this?! These are just Main Gods, yet they can wound my body as a Creator God? Where did all these Main Gods even come from?! Are these the Goddess Lords of the Goddess Blood Alliance? Were those legendary tales of their exploits not exaggerations after all?”

The current battle was being watched by every god in the Main Divine Realm. As the Lord God Commander, he could not show himself being pushed into a defensive position. So although he spoke in an exaggerated, unhurried tone on the surface, his insides were burning with anxiety.

The Goddess Lords' mastery over divine power manipulation and their proficiency with authorities was astonishing. Furthermore, they could materialize fighting spirit and killing intent to naturally strengthen both their bodies and their authorities—a feat not even found among Creator Candidates. Originally, authority reinforcement using killing intent and fighting spirit had been the exclusive domain of Demon Gods, who possessed traits diametrically opposed to the gods of light. It was a specialized racial trait that could instantly annihilate the God Tribe's powerful defenses and regenerative abilities. When taken to the extreme, it was called God-Slaying, and only candidates for the Demon God King—who had exterminated countless members of the God Tribe—possessed it.

It was yet another miracle that only the Chief Gods of the God Realm from independent Divine Realms, who lived and breathed deadly battles on the front lines, could display. For the Goddess Lords of the Goddess Blood Alliance to wield it so naturally... it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them Holy Demon Gods.

According to the records, these heretical Goddess Lords had been mercilessly disparaged as those who ambushed and killed their own consorts in bed, then repeatedly used honey traps to forcibly increase their divine power. There was no way such wicked beings could display God-Slaying, the materialization of fighting spirit and killing intent that only true War Gods could achieve.

He now deeply regretted having laughed off the stories of the Goddess Blood Alliance massacring male gods of equal or higher rank during the ancient Main God War, dismissing them as nonsense. He hadn't believed them because the God Tribe was inherently stronger than goddesses. Besides, it had been the primordial era of the God Tribe, so there were no accurate visual records—making the tales little more than legends. When he later confirmed that the defeated had been sent to the Spirit Realm—the graveyard of losers—he had lost interest. But having experienced it firsthand, he now understood the terrifying nature of the infamous authority he had just witnessed.

“A transcendent-level combat authority specialized in slaying the God Tribe? And all eight of them have it? What kind of Demon God King faction is this? Why do the gods managing the Divine Realm suddenly possess God Tribe-slaying authorities?!”

If this was the case, there was no way they would have come to the side of the Divine Realm. On top of that, they seemed to have already adapted to his speed. They were accurately pinpointing his location and charging at him once again. If he let his guard down even slightly, the attacks raining down on him would slice not just his skin but his muscles and bones as well. Cold sweat broke out across his body.

Eight of the highest-ranking War Gods, each possessing transcendent authority specialized in slaying the God Tribe, had received support from the Highest Creator Realm and been strengthened beyond the Creator Candidate level. The Magic God of Dimensions' dimensional authority was originally specialized in wide-area attacks and support, so the degree of improvement was astonishing. He didn't yet know the level of the Main Gods rushing in behind them, but if they were at least on the same level, even he would be at an extreme disadvantage. Still, he could not retreat.

Since the Magic God of Dimensions had already arrived at the Main Divine Realm's Lord God Battle Arena, there was no time to hesitate. In the end, steeling himself to suffer some injuries, the Almighty Hwi gritted his teeth and threw himself into battle.

At that moment, the follow-up forces—the Spirit Realm's Goddess Lords—had already arrived. A Spirit Goddess Lord who seemed to be a swordswoman, wielding seven floating swords in the air, and another who charged forward at a terrifying speed without any armament appeared almost simultaneously, closing in on him from both sides. In their eyes, even the Goddess Lords of the Goddess Blood Alliance seemed tame; pure killing intent and fighting spirit overflowed from them.

For some reason, there was no trace of the fear or reverence that the God Tribe normally felt toward higher beings like Creator Gods.

He had no time to be surprised. Their attacks carried no ordinary power, either. Defending with his body as usual was risky; the injury he had suffered from the first Goddess Lord's full-powered God-Slaying attack still weighed on his mind. Moreover, the divine swords flying toward only his vital points clearly carried magical power. Seeing that it was in the form used by the Magic God of Dimensions, he couldn't tell what additional effects had been granted to the divine artifacts.

The moment he tried to soar upward to dodge, countless arrows of light were already raining down from the empty air above. It was a meticulously researched and perfectly executed coordinated assault designed to face higher gods—one so exquisite that it could only be understood through actual combat. There was simply no way to avoid it. The only option left was defense.

“The Eight Primordial Mysteries of the Incomprehensible, Third Stanza—Inyeonmusang (Human Relations, No Compensation).”

Effect: Depending on the level of training, grants complete immunity to close-combat authorities. Additional Effect: Strengthens one's own close-combat authorities beyond their limits. Mastering it up to this point grants overwhelming superiority against beings of equal or higher rank.

Floating in the air, his hands and feet drew soft circles as he began to rotate. It was an absolute authority that nullified all close-range strikes and counterattacked. Although he had learned it hastily, it was more than enough to block even a Creator God's close-range attacks without issue. And the moment any divine artifact or physical body entered the area of his authority activation, he could end them in an instant.

However, as if they had anticipated it, the swordswoman Spirit Goddess Lord immediately retreated backward. When he checked the incomprehensible speed of her withdrawal, he saw that the martial artist Spirit Goddess Lord had grabbed her from behind and hurled her away. Because of that, he missed the timing for his counterattack. The divine swords thrown by the swordswoman Spirit Goddess Lord vanished, and even the countless arrows of light that had filled the sky disappeared.

All the attacks were moving through time and space at random, rushing toward him irregularly. This was the authority of the Magic God of Dimensions that had given even the Black Flame Absolute such a hard time trying to defend against it.

“It's Dimensional Leap—!”

Inyeonmusang was nearly the strongest in close combat, but it had no effect against long-range attacks. Unless he learned the Fourth Stanza, Chueokyusang (Memories, With Compensation), he instinctively realized he couldn't completely block it. He immediately canceled the technique and desperately mobilized all the authorities of the Almighty God Tribe to defend himself.

Clang-clang-clang-clang—! Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh—!

As the origin of the Almighty God Tribe, he naturally possessed authorities over time and space as well. However, because he had activated them in haste and they were relatively inferior to dimensional power, he couldn't block every single attack. On top of that, the arrows of light seemed to have been a distraction; he had missed the divine swords. No—the divine swords had been aiming precisely for the gaps in his defense.

In a panic, he used his arms and legs to block the seven divine swords flying toward his body. The instant the divine swords embedded themselves in his arms and legs, magical explosions erupted simultaneously. Blood sprayed across the Almighty Hwi's body once again. Although they couldn't pierce the muscles he had trained with the Eight Primordial Mysteries of the Incomprehensible, they were more than enough to tear his skin and inject their authority. An unfamiliar pain surged through him, and with it, a slow-burning rage began to rise.

“Ugh—! So this is Dimensional Leap? You've added long-range capabilities to close-combat divine artifacts using dimensional authority. And on top of that, you've even added God-Slaying? That damn Magic God of Dimensions—! So the Divine Realm really was a trap. Just what the hell did you do to your own realm? To think you've been surviving with subordinates like these.”

The Magic God of Dimensions, who had heard the Almighty Hwi's roar through his dimensional authority, gave a bitter smile and muttered to himself.

“It’s not like I did it because I wanted to. I simply believed the contents of a book written by someone who was full of himself without any sense of reality. As expected, you really shouldn't trust the words of those who succeeded through sheer luck without suffering themselves. But if it weren't for a Divine Realm and subordinates like these, would I have ever been given the chance to become the Main God of the Divine Realm? Would I have earned the qualification to challenge for the position of Lord God Commander? Me, a human-born who has always been looked down upon. Rather, I'm grateful. Just a little….”

And now he looked toward the seat of glory that seemed almost within his grasp. Thanks to the continuous activation of authorities to block his approach, the Creator Candidates had nearly exhausted their energy. At this point, they could no longer be his opponents. But of course, it couldn't be that easy.

Four divine artifacts rose into the air above the seat of glory. Although they only carried the divine power of Highest Main Gods, the ferocious aura and fighting spirit they emitted far surpassed that of the direct-line Creator Candidates who were currently sprawled on the ground. They were familiar presences he had fought alongside in the Spirit Realm.

Divine artifacts were essentially extensions of the gods themselves. In emergencies, they could be operated this way. Of course, they were inferior to the main bodies, but if they gave their all for a short period, they could display comparable power.

And now the final forces prepared by the Almighty Hwi began to appear one after another. From a blurry afterimage created by ultra-long-range spatial movement, a Sword God gripping twin blades in both hands materialized directly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in front of the seat of glory. A clear, resonant voice accompanied by an extremely well-honed fighting spirit washed over him like a threat.

“I am the Creative Sword of Radiance, ranked third in the Main Divine Realm. I greet the Magic God of Dimensions, ranked second. Forgive my rudeness upon our first meeting, but you cannot proceed any further. If you do not stop, I will attack with full force.”

“……”

The Magic God of Dimensions’ steps came to a halt, and his face hardened involuntarily. According to past records he had checked, the Creative Sword of Radiance was the greatest Sword God in the Main Divine Realm. Thanks to his achievements and strength, he was a being on the verge of becoming a Creator God. Recently, he had even severed the arm of the successor to the 500th Master Universe's Creator General and embedded a sword in the wound—a powerful Creator Candidate. Now, although they were only divine artifacts, four of the highest-ranking mercenary Chief Gods had joined him. All of them were close-combat specialists and War Gods approaching the pinnacle of strength. For a dark mage like him, they were troublesome opponents.

After a brief silence, a low question slipped from the Magic God of Dimensions’ lips.

“Is that all? Is this really everything? Don’t tell me this is the entirety of the final force the Almighty Hwi prepared against me?”