Chapter 372
Chapter 372
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 372
Chapter Title: Apostle of the Heavenly God (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While Rokan was raising hell with the capital's guard and the Royal Guard, a minor commotion was brewing in the heart of the capital—the imperial palace.
Lafuge, a Class 2 Celestial, had led his private soldiers to seize the palace.
Officially, it was to protect the emperor in case of a surprise attack while the Royal Guard was away. But who would believe that someone of Class 1 Celestial rank couldn't protect himself?
Anyone could see it was just an excuse.
Yet refusal wasn't an option. The moment he refused, it was obvious how those surrounding the palace would react.
Escaping by force wouldn't be easy either, not with Lafuge there at a similar power level. And even if he succeeded, strange rumors would soon spread.
Stories embellished with all sorts of lies, claiming he had attacked Lafuge and fled.
In that case, he'd be lucky to escape with his life. His life alone.
Knowing this better than anyone, the sole Class 1 Celestial, Kallaman, stayed put and waited for the Royal Guard to deal with the enemies and return.
"Congratulations."
"Heh heh heh. You did well too."
In the end, the Royal Guard never returned.
In the meantime, Lafuge had seized key points throughout the palace and taken control of every ordinary Celestial servant inside. He dragged Kallaman down and claimed the Class 1 Celestial position for himself.
There had been some minor resistance from Kallaman, but it was futile.
Lafuge had prepared for this coup for a long time. He'd even crafted a Creation skill specifically to snipe the current Class 1 Celestial, Kallaman. Despite possessing the strongest divinity, Kallaman fell in a pathetically anticlimactic defeat.
The disturbance was so subtle that the capital's citizens barely noticed it, a testament to the incredible power of the barriers and traps Lafuge and his subordinates had deployed.
And so, Lafuge, now seated as Class 1 Celestial, received congratulations from Rokan.
He had gained the Class 1 Celestial title, strengthening his divinity, and Rokan had leveled up. A win-win.
"Oh, right. There's one more thing I need you to do."
"What...?"
As they exchanged greetings, Lafuge made an additional proposal.
"Most of the high-ranking Celestials are no issue, but some of the ordinary Celestials actually believe Kallaman was the true proxy of the Heavenly God..."
Dealing with Kallaman's loyal remnants. Rokan understood immediately.
It wasn't a bad deal for him, either.
A chance to legally devour Celestials under the orders of a Class 1 Celestial like Lafuge?
If Lafuge was bothering to handle it personally, his subordinates' levels had to be nothing to sneeze at. Rokan might even score another level-up.
"Let's move right away."
That's why Rokan accepted gladly.
If Lafuge just granted access to the rainbow teleporter, he could head out immediately.
He promised to move as soon as the reuse cooldown and aftereffects wore off, then left the palace for now. He had a promise to keep with the Heavenly God he'd met during the Royal Guard battle.
'I've got some time to kill anyway.'
Since he had to wait to recover, he figured he'd handle it during the downtime. Right on cue, the Polymorph reuse timer finished, so he activated it.
It didn't matter in the palace, where he had an illicit arrangement, but entering the city required it.
Resuming his pure Celestial form, he headed straight to the Heavenly God's grand temple.
As expected of the capital's temple, it dwarfed anything he'd seen before.
It was as massive as the palace—and even more opulent.
The levels of the high priests were incomparable to those in the outskirts.
No one under level 400, and level 450s were a dime a dozen.
Rokan wondered if the grand temple could take the palace in a fight.
Step by step.
Suppressing the itch in his body, he entered, only for one of the Heavenly God's high priests to block him.
"This area is restricted to priests only. Please use the confessional or prayer room over there."
He couldn't impersonate a priest in the grand temple itself, so pure Celestial Polymorph it was—and sure enough, this happened.
As he pretended to turn back while debating a Stealth entry, light poured down from the ceiling.
A soft spotlight-like glow infused with subtle divinity.
"Gasp!"
The light separated Rokan from the high priest.
It had no effect on Rokan but pushed the high priest away like a protective barrier.
It was like a divine revelation: Do not obstruct his path.
"Ahh! This is the Heavenly God's...!"
As expected of a high priest—he instantly recognized the source.
He acknowledged that Rokan had come on a mission from the Heavenly God and cleared the way without question.
Even to the innermost sanctum, accessible only to high priests, archbishops, and Class 1 Celestials.
Flash.
Upon reaching the deepest chamber, where the Heavenly God's statue stood, a surge of intense divine energy poured down.
Some settled into the statue, while the rest formed a barrier isolating them and the surroundings.
"Hm, Heavenly God?"
"You came quickly, Rokan."
As expected, the Heavenly God had intervened directly.
Normally, like with the Altar of Stormwind, a quest would be needed to gather energy for descent. But as the saying goes, the thirsty dig the well.
The Heavenly God was more desperate, so he manifested by expending divinity.
"I've watched you for a long time. So I'll get straight to the point."
"......?"
"Hand over my contingency that you possess."
Having observed Rokan closely, the Heavenly God knew his personality and didn't beat around the bush. He pinpointed exactly what he wanted.
"My blood is unavoidable, but at least the Starlight Gauntlets..."
"No thanks."
And as expected, Rokan gave a nonchalant instant reply.
Truth be told, the Heavenly God's Starlight Gauntlets were starting to feel awkward to use.
Pairing them with the Demon God's Fang belt awakened Wu Hon, granting an imperfect but massively potential power that was neither divinity nor demonic energy. But they couldn't be activated simultaneously with the Stormwind Relic set, so choices had to be made by situation.
'I'm not using it, so why bother handing it over?'
Plus, the Stormwind Gauntlets offered set bonuses, making them superior unless Wu Hon awakening was needed—no point pulling out the Starlights otherwise.
But that didn't mean he had reason to give them away.
It was still a god-tier item, after all.
He could sell it for a fortune, or feed it to evolve the Demon God's Fang belt later.
It wouldn't absorb teeth yet, but after feeding and growing it with other items, maybe? If so, the seal might fully unlock.
"Ahem, of course, I'm not asking for free. If you transfer it to someone else, I'll provide fair compensation."
Rokan's eyes narrowed at the Heavenly God's eager expression.
Why offer compensation? Was he just sad to see his contingency rot in storage?
Possible, but too naive.
There had to be another reason.
"That's a given, but first, tell me why I should transfer it and to whom."
"Hmm, well..."
He needed to know to gauge its true value. Understanding Rokan's intent, the Heavenly God hesitated but soon decided.
No point in word games; fooling Rokan was impossible.
"It was originally made to make visitors trust and follow me. I hoped someone wielding it with divine power would naturally increase my believers. But that's impossible with you, right? So pass it to someone who can properly utilize the divine power. I'll leave the recipient to your judgment. If your choice proves right, I'll add generous extra rewards later."
As expected, it involved divinity. But Rokan wasn't keen. Strengthening the Heavenly God's divinity meant strengthening the Celestials.
For someone constantly clashing with them, it wasn't beneficial.
Letting him pick the recipient was a big concession from the Heavenly God's side, but was it goodwill or deception? No way to tell.
As this quest revealed, the Heavenly God was no different from the Demon God. Who knew what face hid behind that wistful expression?
"Let me think it over. But if it's to boost your divinity, shouldn't you have stopped this coup? The more high Celestials die, the weaker yours gets."
Buying time to ponder the implications of transferring the Starlight Gauntlets and who to give them to, Rokan asked. The Heavenly God gave a bitter smile before replying.
"Those guys don't believe in me anymore. They worship their own greed. A few dying won't hurt my divinity much. And the top brass are all the same anyway—useless. They'll just accept the change to save their skins."
That explained why Lafuge asked him to suppress ordinary Celestials, not pure ones.
Pondering a bit longer as he listened, Rokan firmed his resolve and entered serious negotiations.
"If I transfer this to a suitable person, what compensation do I get? It's a 'god-tier' item, after all."
The highest grade in The Lord—what would the Heavenly God offer?
Not another item, surely? He'd just pass that directly.
His skeptical question was soon answered with a quest window.
[Apostle of the Heavenly God][Quest]
Find a suitable candidate for Heavenly God's Apostle and deliver his contingency.
-Success Condition: Transfer Starlight Gauntlets
-Success Reward: Massive EXP, Large amount of Divinity
-Additional Reward: Extra Divinity if the recipient is deemed suitable
"Divinity?"
Surprisingly, the Heavenly God offered "divinity." A large amount, at that.
Of course, "large" or "massive" scaled to the recipient's current state, so it could be downplayed as a trick. But even baseline, "large" wasn't trivial.
Rokan couldn't wield divinity yet, but he'd absorbed it from countless level 400 and 450 monsters.
Stormwind said that alone surpassed novice demigod levels. It had to be significant even for the Heavenly God.
'He must be confident he can recover more.'
An investment for greater returns, not charity.
"Accept."
After careful thought, Rokan accepted.
God-tier or not, it was surplus for him. Stockpiling large divinity would accelerate growth post-Majesty Mastery.
"Let's proceed with the transfer right away. I've got just the right candidate in mind."
Rokan's eyes gleamed as a certain person came to mind.
If you're handing it off, might as well make it good for both sides, right?