The Cost of Hasty Decisions
The management Main Gods who had eyed the Otherworld War as a rare chance to climb the ranks now found themselves plunged into an utterly absurd situation. Their distress ran deep. They had tried to delay their report and manipulate the opposing divine realm into sending the offender back, only to be counterattacked so thoroughly that every god now knew the truth. There was no changing the story anymore. They had to report before the God King summoned them directly if they wanted to preserve even a shred of credibility.
No matter how much interference there was, declaring all-out war at the drop of a hat is insane. With that shared thought burning in their minds, they hurried toward the Main God Temple.
The situation in the Creation Realm was no different. The management Creator God responsible for reporting to the Creator General was equally troubled.
Rebellions leading to Main God Wars have happened countless times in the Main Divine Realm. Of course, those incidents usually stemmed from public insults between God Kings or the death and annihilation of their subordinate war gods. Never before had operational interference and failed cooperation been the cause.
Yet ignoring it was impossible. Rebellion was a grave crime. To wage war against the Substitute Gods, they needed absolute discipline above all else—strong leaders and elite armies. Since the matter had been formally reported, the 499th Master Universe’s policy of prioritizing the strong meant they could not simply let it slide.
Is this the new superior’s way of establishing military discipline? It’s not unheard of. But one must consider the opponent. The Dimensional Mage God isn’t the type to bend just because he’s outnumbered. Given how he reacted during the battle against the 500th Master Universe, this response is only natural. As expected, the management Main Gods are too rigidly bound to standard procedures. Still, targeting everyone from second place to tenth place is excessive. Either he’s overflowing with confidence, or he has no other choice.
After rereading the official document from the Dimensional Divine Realm, the management Creator God ultimately decided to report it exactly as written. The Dimensional Mage God’s personality was already somewhat known in the Creation Realm thanks to the Spirit Realm defense battle against the 500th Master Universe. His clear intention to discipline his subordinate God Kings required no further commentary. The only addition would be an attachment estimating the expected damage if a Main God War broke out.
Using battle data from the 500th Master Universe, he calculated the Dimensional Mage God’s authorities and capabilities, then derived the predicted outcome of a joint Main God War involving the second through tenth ranks. The result left him speechless.
“……”
Even though it was the first-ranked divine realm, the combined forces of second and third place would already be at a disadvantage. Yet the simulation showed nine divine realms fighting together being completely crushed by a single divine realm led by the Dimensional Mage God.
The process was brutally simple when factoring in the power of dimensions, making the prediction straightforward. The Dimensional Mage God would first promote his reserve Creator Gods using the Troop of Creation God, then strike every divine realm with lightning-fast dimensional assaults. Thirty-four reserve Creator Gods possessing Creator-level divinity represented an overwhelming force. The other divine realms would be helpless. Only the God Kings and a handful of reserve Creators might manage to retreat.
One by one, the nine divine realms would be reduced to ash, seemingly securing total victory. However, no matter how superior the dimensional authority was in mobility and area coverage, the fundamental lack of troops could not be overcome.
Occupation is possible, but suppression is not.
In the end, even the Dimensional Divine Realm would collapse under the final counterattack of the rallied remnants—a truly shocking outcome.
Although there were over twenty thousand Main Divine Realms, they had invested enormous vitality to prepare for the race-deciding war. They could not allow ten of them to be destroyed over the petty emotions and rank struggles of these God Kings. Even in the 499th Master Universe, the hierarchical order would not tolerate damage on this scale.
These God Kings, who had not yet become formal Creator Gods, apparently did not understand how to earn recognition from the upper ruling class. Clicking his tongue, the management Creator God revised the report.
“Tsk tsk! A pointless mutual destruction. We must prevent this. Even though I produced the numbers myself, I can hardly believe them. To think the Dimensional Mage God leading a large army possesses this level of power? Individually he may be a Main God King, but overall he’s equivalent to a Highest Creator God? At this rate, he won’t remain a mere God King. I should include this perspective in the report. Should I go see him personally? No, he’ll probably return before the God King War begins.”
The Creator General and high-ranking Creator Gods had been urgently summoned to the boundary between the Absolute Realm and the Master Universes and had not yet returned, leaving him to handle most administrative duties. Routine work was manageable, but decisions involving such a brutal war exceeded his authority.
Such incidents were extremely rare in the Creation Realm. While the Main God Realm was an endless arena of competition, ascending to Creator God changed everything. Creator Gods already possessed unshakable positions and authority. Most ruled their own clans as Origins. The primary duty of the Creation Realm was to maintain and strengthen their respective clans, so conflicts were resolved through simple territorial划分 and coordination rather than war.
Above all, the Creation Realm was already overwhelmed handling directives from the Integrated Creator Lord Jinri and the 499th Creator Lord. They had almost no energy left to fight.
Come to think of it, the dispatch directive from Jinri naturally came to mind.
Jinri issued an order to dispatch the Dimensional Mage God to the Otherworld, but the details are beyond my divinity to fully comprehend. That’s the problem. Since the Dimensional Mage God is being sent to the Otherworld, we must appoint a deputy for the Main God Realm. The Dimensional Divine Realm operates at Highest Creator level, so having an Upper Main God act as divine realm Main God deputy is inappropriate. The directive ordered us to appoint someone new, yet there has been no response. What is he thinking? The expected confirmation document for the deputy appointment never arrived, and now we suddenly have a Main God War. What a headache-inducing opponent.
Instructions from either the 499th Creator Lord or Jinri were difficult to fully access if one’s divinity was insufficient. With the Creator General absent, only the title and brief summary were available. Yet after he had properly passed the directive down the chain, the management Main Gods offered no interim reports—only a sudden declaration of war. It was utterly absurd.
The Dimensional Mage God who had created this nightmare for both the management Main Gods and the management Creator God was himself in no comfortable position. He had stopped by his personal temple to reach peak condition before the war, only to encounter an unexpected development.
The rumor that he planned to pick fights with other divine realms and establish discipline through Main God Wars before his dispatch to the Otherworld had apparently spread throughout the divine realm. As a result, numerous Main Gods had come offering to participate.
Naturally, the Otherworld Spirit Gods formed the core of the group. Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, who seemed to consider herself their representative, stepped forward. What she said was so ridiculous it left him speechless.
Apparently a public spanking was not enough to break her spirit. She strode in boldly and declared:
“You want to go to the Otherworld together to help me? Why now, of all times?”
These contracted Spirit Gods showed zero loyalty, refused to move without compensation, and would even interfere if displeased. For such parasites to suddenly volunteer to help—of course nothing pleasant would come out of his mouth.
They completely ignored his displeased tone and continued with their prepared response.
“……”
Since the forced contracts with the Otherworld Spirit Gods, the only time they had been useful was when the High Elves committed apostasy and roughly half had to be disposed of. Even then, they had rampaged on their own, claiming that as God Kings they could not forgive traitors.
Aside from that single incident, they had offered no help whatsoever—only constant interference.
So they do know how Spirit Gods should behave toward contractors who provide them with vitality. Then why haven’t they acted like it until now? Even if the contracts were forced, wasn’t that a bit too much?
Had it not been for their assistance with creation power, he would have seriously considered terminating the contracts.
When he remained dumbfounded and silent, they added something even more outrageous.
“……”
Their tone carried absolute certainty that he would never be dispatched anywhere except a battlefield. Strangely, he felt no urge to deny it.
Who do these guys think I am, some destruction god or warmonger? They’re useless except in battle and providing creation power assistance, yet they dare speak to me—a Main God King—like this? For the record, I’m not being dragged into a war this time! I’m going as the Truth Deputy, a proper member of the ruling class and administrator. What possible use could you be? Still… it is troublesome. The fact that my first instinct is always to solve everything through war is indeed a problem.
The reality that he was being dispatched to the Otherworld as Jinri’s deputy still hadn’t fully sunk in. His future self, the Grey Absolute, had called his role there that of an observer, so he still had no idea what he was supposed to do.
In a Main God War, he could leave defense to the High Gods while he and his reserve Creator Gods methodically dismantled the enemy one by one. That posed no major issue. But the moment he realized these Spirit Gods had forced him into the position of having to go to the Otherworld as Jinri’s deputy, a wave of worry washed over him.
If only Jinri had ordered me to destroy the Otherworld, I’d be rampaging with joy. But what exactly does he want me to do there? Develop it? How? The place is already on the brink of collapse. Above all, the territory Jinri granted to the Otherworld contains neither gods nor even a single sentient being. The boundary is sealed so tightly that inflow is virtually impossible.
As he fell deep into thought about his course of action in the Otherworld, the Spirit Gods apparently decided he was considering taking them along. Their voices grew even louder.
“……”
I keep telling you this isn’t a war dispatch! And listen to them speak. In the end, they’re basically declaring they’ll kill everyone. The problem is I can’t exactly guarantee that such a situation won’t arise.
When they treated war with the Otherworld as an established fact and uttered such radical words about killing all enemies, both Medeia of Betrayal Selection and Nuwa, the Second God Emperor, made troubled expressions but kept silent.
Though our circumstances differ, each of them has unfinished business in the Otherworld.
They originally planned to flee the Spirit Realm immediately after escaping, but that was impossible with their own power.
Even after he had brought them to his divine realm, he had seen them gather several times to attempt returning to the Otherworld. They seemed to have completely given up by now.
The past, when the exit had been a sloppy door anyone could use, was very different from the present.
The door to the Otherworld was located in the main house of the Wind Family. It was guarded by forces beyond imagination.
The door to the Otherworld was in the training grounds of the Wind Family’s main house. It wasn’t locked or guarded, so passage was technically free. However, since the Origins of the Wind Family constantly train right in front of it, “completely blocked” would be the more accurate description. Against the Wind Family’s Origin-level beings, these Spirit Gods have zero chance of forcing their way through. Even if they somehow managed to pass, the Otherworld’s war gods have the surrounding area sealed with barriers. The only way to bypass both that door and the defensive line created by the Otherworld war gods is to use dimensional authority. Any other method is impossible even to attempt.
The Wind Family’s training ground was a place where over five million Origins of 10-Center level gathered to train individually. Since forcing passage through them was impossible, the only remaining path was to receive official permission from Jinri and leave through proper channels.
Therefore, the runaway drama the Otherworld Spirit Gods had performed in the Spirit Realm had ultimately been futile.
Forcing through is impossible even if all the 10 Centers combined their power. No—given the nature of the Otherworld, even if the entire Absolute Realm and all Master Universes joined forces, they would still be repelled. They must have stared at the door from the inside and eventually given up.
The Otherworld Spirit Gods were strong, but they were nothing compared to the Wind Family’s Origins. No matter how tenacious they were, if they couldn’t even distinguish who they could challenge, they would never have survived this long.
Having completely given up, they were now clinging to him aggressively the moment they heard he was being dispatched to the Otherworld. After he had spanked Amaterasu’s butt as punishment for challenging her contractor last time, they had avoided him without exception. For them to now persuade even other Main Gods to join them, they must have made an extremely firm resolution.
The Otherworld Spirit Gods could not possibly abandon the matters they had left behind in the Otherworld.
The problem is that most of those matters are revenge or simple venting.
Normally he would have ignored them completely, but his own situation made going alone quite unfavorable.
If he were still in his initial state—full of pride after becoming a Main God King and the Origin of the Dimensional Clan—he would have simply snorted and dismissed them. However, since he had no idea what he was supposed to do in the Otherworld, he could not completely disregard these natives of that realm.
Yet the large-scale revenge and war against the existing divine realms that they desired was absolutely unacceptable. Such rampaging would be equivalent to rebelling against Jinri, one of the great axes of rule in the Otherworld.
The Otherworld is on the verge of complete ruin and holds no value for occupation. That is why Jinri completely ignores it. I am going there to fulfill the ruler’s duty on his behalf as his deputy. So where exactly am I supposed to use you people? Above all, aside from me—Jinri’s deputy—anyone who crosses beyond the Wind Family’s main territory will be swarmed by Otherworld gods like starving ghosts. You want to fight them immediately? Of course I wouldn’t lose, but to start fighting the very gods I’m supposed to rule and manage right in front of Jinri’s eyes? Wouldn’t that be the height of incompetence, practically begging to be disposed of by Jinri? But going alone isn’t exactly a great option either. These beings are Otherworld natives, former God Kings, and were once among the highest gods. They would be helpful. The question is whether I can trust them.
His reason screamed that taking these walking disasters was pure madness, yet his instinct insisted he absolutely must take them. Even the “acceptance of sacrifice for victory”—the most reliable instinct from his long life as a mercenary god—was sounding the alarm.
Since the very authority that had led him to victory after victory was reacting this strongly, he could not ignore it.
According to my senses, I need to gather not only these beings but as many gods from the Otherworld who can help me as possible, along with sufficient vitality. The territory is empty and I know nothing about how the ruling class there operates, so assistance in governing is desperately needed. Above all, if it isn’t war and combat, I can no longer fully trust my own judgment as a Creator God.
He had already discovered numerous problems with his impulsive decision to wage war against the lower Main Divine Realms. Even now he felt it—his lack of social experience was at a critical level. Having lived only as a mercenary god, he truly was useless outside of combat, just as they said, and knew no other methods of resolution.
There must have been countless other ways to resolve the friction with the lower Main Divine Realms, yet he had immediately chosen war. Furthermore, to obtain justification for war and secure victory, he had presented conditions the opponent could never accept. It was as if he knew no solutions besides war.
Since he was no longer a mercenary god for whom victory solved everything, but a Creator God and Origin, the side effects would be severe.
The root cause was the very privileges of Creator God and Origin that he had so desperately desired.
Creator Gods do not drop to Main God status even if they die. Even if defeated, their position is recognized, and they can return once they recover. Furthermore, as an Origin one is granted an independent territory.
Therefore, Creator Gods fighting each other was almost always a loss. If they were like mercenary gods and contract lords who would never see each other again, it would not matter. But whether one won or lost, the opponent would retain their Creator God position and they would inevitably meet again someday. Even if killed, they would take damage but eventually return as a Main God King. Since their Main Divine Realms were also connected, they would be forced to continue working together indefinitely.
He had already witnessed firsthand the terrible consequences of recklessly waging war against opponents one was inevitably forced to keep working with simply because they were displeasing.
My future self, the Grey Absolute, waged war in the Grey region to resolve his subordinates’ rebellion, just as I am doing now. I understand that much from looking at what he did. But since it was ultimately his own territory and responsibility, he is now buried under endless follow-up measures to normalize the situation before Jinri scolds him. Because the targets of his venting ultimately became his own responsibility, once one becomes part of the upper ruling class, war alone is no longer sufficient. Yet aside from war, the only thing I can currently think of is buying favor with excessive compensation. Even I find that pathetic. If I try to infer how the higher-ups are viewing this Main God War, the result is horrifying. What am I supposed to do about this?
The moment he had declared he would initiate a Main God War as the first-ranked Main God King and Origin of the Dimensional Clan, he had been overflowing with leisure and confidence. But now, considering the matter from the perspective of his role as Jinri’s deputy in the Otherworld, the Dimensional Mage God keenly realized just how hasty and insufficient he truly was.