The Mercenary Gods' Reward
The war in the Otherworld now resembled a master instructing his disciple. Yet it felt entirely natural.
“A lower god has only one advantage: even if you lose and die, you don’t lose much. High gods have only one weakness: if they die, they lose everything. In the end, you lower gods have only one path to victory—to land even a single wound before you fall. But as long as fear exists in your hearts, that is never easy. No matter how fiercely you attack, if the enemy appears unscathed while your allies are slaughtered wholesale, morale will inevitably crumble. It is why peasant armies rebelling against a handful of fully armed knights are crushed without resistance. They rise up because they don’t want to starve, but once their bellies are full and pointless death stares them in the face, they collapse instantly. If you cannot inflict any meaningful damage on the high gods and are butchered like cattle, you will fare no differently. Simply being chosen representatives who carry the fate of your entire race is far too weak a motivation.”
That was the true crux of this battle. They needed a fighting spirit powerful enough to eclipse any terror or agony. A mere threat justified by the selection process would not suffice. They would win regardless, but an overwhelming victory was required—one so complete that the high gods of the Main Divine Realm would tremble in fear. Without igniting a fervor bordering on madness that could cancel out the dread of death and the strong, the perfect resolution he desired would never materialize.
“That is why I have decided to hire you personally and in a very special capacity as mercenary gods, and to provide additional compensation. What reward should I offer? What prize would make you treat the fear and pain of facing an unbeatable superior as nothing more than a joke? What do you—who have become the lowest existences among the divine race—need most right now? An increase in divine power and status, of course. Fortunately, my authority is dimensional, specialized in creation and cultivation. Moreover, within the 499th Master Universe I stand as the Main God of roughly ten Highest Creator Divine Realms. Once I become a Lord God equivalent to a Creator God, elevating the divine power of a lowest-ranked god and promoting their position becomes trivial.”
He paused briefly and swept his gaze across the lower gods who struggled to comprehend his words. A few still wore confused expressions, but the faces of most transcendents began to change. Heat kindled in their eyes as they slowly grasped the meaning. Anyone who had risen from mortal to transcendent lacked neither talent nor effort. Such a realm demanded enduring and overcoming countless tribulations. That was why almost none of them had possessed noble status from birth. Would true nobles risk their lives in brutal warfare or duels? Of course not. They delegated such matters to their inferiors and lived in comfort; thus, even the talented rarely became transcendents. Only an infinitesimally small number of nobles managed it through incomparable genius and sheer luck. Because such cases were so rare, the vast majority of transcendents originated from commoner or minor noble backgrounds.
“How much reward shall I give? Kill ten enemies and I will raise you by one circle. Kill a hundred and I will raise you by two. A 7th-circle existence will instantly become a 9th-circle Main God level being. Is that sufficient?”
Watching their eyes grow increasingly feverish, he nodded. He knew exactly how desperately the transcendents of finite sentient races thirsted for power and position. They lived far longer than ordinary beings—yet ultimately only two hundred years. The afterlife belonged to the divine race, and that was the end. Because their lives were finite, their desires burned all the brighter and their hunger for advancement grew fiercer. All he needed to do was pour fuel on that fire. He possessed more than enough rewards to motivate them. He had not realized it in the past, but now he understood how much he truly held. It was all thanks to everyone calmly reflecting on themselves.
“Furthermore, what shall I grant the god who achieves the greatest merit?”
The Magic God of Dimensions’ monologue ended. He sent a divine declaration filled with unshakeable resolve directly into the souls of the lower gods’ army. It was a vow made by a god.
“He shall become the glorious king of the gods—a Main God. It is difficult even for me at present, but by investing infinite divine power, vitality, and time, it can be done. Once I become the Lord God, I can manage it for at least one person. I swear upon my position as Main God of my Divine Realm and upon my very divinity that all these rewards will be fulfilled without fail if we secure victory.”
That declaration and the silence that followed seized both the Main Divine Realm and the Dimensional Divine Realm for a single instant. Even the Hero God—who had already known that enormous rewards would be offered—lost his mind for a moment. He shook his head to regain his senses. There was no time to remain stunned.
‘To think he would stake his very position as Main God of the Divine Realm and his divinity. He’s truly going all out. We cannot possibly miss this opportunity that will never come again.’
‘Is it possible?’
‘Is it real?’
“What exactly is a Main God?”
Hearing the noisy exchange of wills from his comrades, the Hero God answered. Simply maintaining his Indomitable authority was not enough to feel at ease. Although they operated under his wide-area command, the high elf formation—which held the largest force—was stirring violently. Moreover, the divine power of the high elf queens, who possessed monstrous strength and divine energy, was rising sharply. It appeared some high god had intervened directly. The divine powers of transcendents from other races were also fluctuating ominously. This was proof that the high gods who had been observing from the Dimensional Divine Realm had begun providing assistance all at once.
The number of high gods who had become enemies was only around ten thousand. It was unclear how many they would need to kill to claim first place, so individual effort would not suffice. Their strength was needed now more than ever, so he explained in detail.
‘A Main God is royalty among the divine race. If one becomes a Lord God equivalent to a Creator God, becoming the Main God of the Divine Realm may be difficult, but bestowing the position of Main God is possible. If one’s own ability allows, even becoming the Main God of the Divine Realm is naturally feasible. However, it fundamentally requires one billion divine power and superior-or-higher authority. Yet he just promised to raise our divinity as well. In that case, becoming a Main God of the Divine Realm with our own star and realm is no longer a dream.’
‘Does that mean the earlier statement was about granting one billion divine power and even developing our authorities? That’s absurd, isn’t it? Normally, even after officially entering the divine realm, it takes more than a billion years, right? Developing superior-or-higher authority is something even the current primordial war gods struggle with, didn’t they say? Those beings have already been high gods in the divine realm for over a hundred million years.’
‘Exactly. That’s why we must act now. With the divine realm expanded, the pure divine race will freely create successors. We are already at a disadvantage in origin and authority—if we fall behind in numbers as well, it’s over. In the worst case, we may truly have to live as lower gods for over a billion years. It is no longer simply a matter of winning. We must achieve the greatest possible military merit by any means necessary.’
‘In the end, it means it is possible. The ruling class that we could never reach in our transcendent days due to constant interference from those around us—becoming that is possible after becoming a god? Only after becoming gods are we finally given the chance? Do we no longer need to hide our power or conceal our presence to avoid the attention of the ruling class?’
The Sword God spoke in a trembling voice, gripping the hilt of his divine weapon so tightly it seemed it might shatter. The swarm of observers who had persistently hounded him during his transcendent days had been utterly loathsome. The highest-ranking powerhouses among transcendents were naturally under the ruling class’s surveillance. No matter what they did, they faced interference, and to protect the family they had finally obtained in their later years, they had been forced to remain silent.
The exchange of wills between the Hero God and his comrades was transmitted to every lower god through the commanding power of the Indomitable authority. The Hero God and his companions realized their mistake too late. Only one being could achieve the greatest merit and become a Main God. If killing a hundred granted 9th-circle ruling-class status, then the maximum any individual could claim was a hundred. They were now potential competitors, even if on the same side.
From every transcendent who had judged the reward to be genuine, a vicious fighting spirit and killing intent slowly began to rise. There was not a single transcendent who had not suffered contempt and sorrow from the ruling class due to their lowly origins and rank. Even if they somehow obtained a noble title, it was no different from an honorary position without territory or real authority. Overwhelmed by greater forces, they had no choice but to bow their heads and obey kings and nobles they could not possibly oppose individually. Even after becoming gods they had resigned themselves to remaining lower gods, yet now a dramatic opportunity for success—something that had never existed even in their human days—had arrived.
Meanwhile, a fierce debate had erupted among the high gods of the Main Divine Realm as well.
‘No matter if he is a Creator God, producing a Main God is impossible. However, the Magic God of Dimensions has staked both his divinity and his position as Main God of the Divine Realm. With his dimensional authority and the magic of a Magic God who can deny reality, he may indeed find a way.’
A Main God—royalty of the divine race and called the god among gods—appeared with only a one-in-ten-thousand probability even from the direct bloodlines of high gods in the Creation Realm. In the general divine realms the probability was a mere one in a hundred thousand. It was not without reason that they received special treatment as kings of the gods. To stake such a realm as nothing more than a battle reward against high gods was unthinkable. Moreover, a rise in circles was an enormous reward that only someone possessing both the title of Origin and dimensional authority could dare to offer.
Even in the Main Divine Realm where elites from six Creation Realms had gathered, there were only about two hundred true Main Gods seated in the Main God Temple. The remaining Main God level or highest gods numbered in the tens of thousands, yet when they might ascend to true Main God status remained distant.
‘If the Magic God of Dimensions becomes the Lord God, I too can become a Main God.’
Such exceedingly idealistic thoughts gradually spread among the high gods. The lower gods understood just how enormous this reward was. They had learned it bitterly while watching the female main gods and elemental main gods destroy the Dimensional Divine Realm multiple times. Setting aside the unreachable power of the Main Gods, those goddesses had suffered almost no punishment despite committing what amounted to rebellion. Even rebellion was forgiven for the sake of the divine realm. In human terms, it was treatment reserved for those above noble royalty. They had become gods, yet they remained the lowest class—essentially divine commoners. They were well aware that even a minor mistake could result in the loss of their lower god status. No matter what abilities one possessed, a commoner becoming king in a single generation existed only in stories. Status had to be raised gradually over many generations. Even the former hero who had repelled the Demon King several times and saved the Middle World had to content himself with the rank of intermediate honorary noble. Becoming the pope of the War God had been an exceedingly rare exception. Becoming part of the ruling class was that difficult.
Yet now, having become lower gods, the position and realm of the king of the divine race had been staked as a mere battle reward. Even Almighty Hwi, who heard it beside them, was so dumbfounded that his mouth fell open. Even the most prestigious Almighty Clan currently possessed only Gaiana as a proper Main God. The divinity and position of a Main God was not something to be wagered as a mercenary god’s reward—something even he himself could not achieve. He ought to intervene, yet since the Magic God of Dimensions had declared he would grant it as a reward, he had nothing to say.
Thud!
Seeing the fighting spirit, killing intent, and divine power of the lower gods surge explosively, the Magic God of Dimensions stamped his foot and rose from his seat. The preparations for his speech were finally complete. Unlike Almighty Hwi, he had no prior connection with them, no popularity, and no overwhelming force to command their respect. If he suddenly stepped forward with a touching story it would only backfire. The best approach was to thoroughly reveal the brutal reality. The casual tone he had used earlier vanished completely. A divine language overflowing with dignity—different from both his earlier monologue and the tone of a master teaching a disciple—rang out.
“If you miss this opportunity, a life as the lowest gods for more than a billion years awaits you all. Can you imagine the daily existence of a lowest god across a billion years? It is an endlessly repeating, controlled routine with no development or change, all for the maintenance and advancement of the divine realm. It is a life so long and tedious that momentary death, pain, or fear would be utterly meaningless. By the standards of mortals rich in emotion, it would be better to lose the capacity for thought entirely. Unless you become at least a high god or above, you cannot feel any meaning in life. Only by becoming the king of the gods—a Main God—will you be granted even a measure of freedom. This truth is the same in both the world of gods and the Middle World. For you lower gods, this is an opportunity that will never come again in your new lives. Originally, this is a reward only war gods of Main God level or higher could receive. However, for the sake of my perfect victory, I grant it to you now.”
His right hand extended forward. The thumb that had been raised upward slowly turned downward. The Magic God of Dimensions’ immensely amplified killing intent and fighting spirit enveloped the army of lower gods, stirring their emotions.
“Kill those who oppose my becoming Lord God. Seize your destiny. Then the billion years of commoner life will transform in a single instant through the struggle and victory of this moment. If I become the Lord God, the path for you to become Main Gods will open as well. It is a reward that only I—a transcendent of the Middle World like yourselves and of human origin—can bestow. If I am defeated, such an opportunity will never appear again.”
At that moment, the controlling power of the Hero God’s Indomitable authority momentarily reversed. The individual killing intent and fighting spirit of every lower god exploded to its limit. It became a passion that surpassed madness and seized complete control of the lower gods’ army. Without distinction, they drew their divine weapons and charged toward the army of high gods.
Uwooooooooo—!
Uaaaaaaaaah—!
Battle cries that sounded like screams and monstrous roars erupted from every direction. And so the army of lower gods collided with the army of high gods.