Badge in Azure

Chapter 1475: Attack (Part 1)

Saleen had always been generous to that special friend of his. Among the four dukes, Aini was the only one who got special treatment. If there were any materials suitable for death mages, Aini would have surely had access to them.

The only reason Saleen didn't take him to the Imperial City of the Abyss was his concern about getting him into trouble unnecessarily.

While Saleen monitored the plane map, Aini ably led the warriors and spirit army of Lonestar City onto the Floating City and headed for Kroraina. Upon arriving at his destination, another portal opened on the fringe of the Purgatory Dessert.

Saleen sensed that the situation was more precarious than he anticipated. In addition to its great powers, Myers Mainland had been a main plane because of its strategic location. Years ago it was a conduit linking over a hundred planes, all fixed portals to the mainland and each portal guarded by a high-level professional.

If all those planes were restored, some would have considered attacking the plane.

Saleen also wanted to lead attacks but knew he was too ill-prepared.

Moreover, he had no maps of those planes. If the gods used them as springboards to attack, Saleen would have received no notification and would have had to assign powerful professionals to guard the portals.

That was a dangerous thing to do. He knew he had been careless in thinking he would know the Lord of Glory's whereabouts after getting the plane map.

If the Lord of Glory had attacked a subcontinent plane before using that plane as a springboard to attack the mainland, Saleen might have found himself gathering his forces while over a million angels flooded the mainland.

He could not allow something like that to happen. But those portals would definitely increase in number and he would not be able to seal them off one by one.

Those were not portals created by the Heretic God; they were natural-occurring ones. Destroying any one of them would be possible with the use of level-18 scrolls. Even if he succeeded in doing that, it was still possible for those portals to be restored in the future.

Out of options, he resorted to sending personnel to every portal to stand guard. He decided to clean up any dangerous planes preemptively while ordering his forces to keep watch of common ones, attacking only when a god appeared.

By doing so, Saleen had effectively spread his forces rather thin.

He was so frustrated. The Goddess of Myers might have foreseen that a long time ago. The best way for him to watch those portals was by mobilizing the Nature Faith, or better still by having the Nature Faith forces invade the planes and create a buffer zone.

If he did that, the goddess's powers would expand exponentially.

Okay, you win. Saleen was preoccupied not with the Lord of Glory but the Heretic God, who was possibly been at the highest. If he entered Myers Mainland, it would create chaos everywhere and gain tremendous power.

In addition, he would seize control of the entire subcontinent plane linked to Myers Mainland. There would be no exceptions.

Saleen went on to contact Baudelaire at Nature City at that thought.

"Baudelaire, a mission for you."

Baudelaire, who was on the other side of the magic array, seemed to be steeped in thought and did not answer Saleen.

"Are you thinking that I lost control of Nature Faith just because Myers is resurrected? I'm warning you!" Saleen warned the pope.

"Right, your highness, I understand." Baudelaire was terrified. Saleen's tone suggested he wasn't joking around. Despite that king's generosity with his subordinates, if someone betrayed him, Saleen would have gone straight for the traitor's soul.

Baudelaire's silence was just as a test, but Saleen already understood the reason for it: Baudelaire believed that even if the goddess was on their side, Saleen would still move against him.

A pope who refused to follow his orders was someone who would be eliminated without hesitation.

Baudelaire was right. Saleen increased his authority and reputation to the pinnacle right from the establishment of the Nature Faith. If Baudelaire had any second thoughts, Saleen would have destroyed his soul right away even in front of the goddess if necessary.

That was because Saleen knew that the goddess still needed him, whereas someone like Baudelaire, who was expendable, could be replaced at a moment's notice.

"How could I be of service, your highness?"

"Pull back the army assigned for attacking Cloudflow. Switch to the legion mode and bring as few knights but as many holy masters as possible. I'd send you the coordinates. Many subcontinent planes are waiting for you to conquer," Saleen said with a cold tone.

"Your highness…" Despite having a figure's body, Baudelaire felt his soul shake as if his beating heart was about to give out.

"What is it?" Saleen asked in return.

"I…I'd like to commence the attacks in your name," Baudelaire stammered.

With a wry smile, Saleen answered, "Very well. I'd need to build an empire on a subcontinent plane. You can put propagation of the faith behind you for the time being, but keep a close eye out for me. I don't want to see other religions popping up."

"Understood, your highness," Baudelaire waited until Saleen severed the connection on the magic array before daring to shut it down.

Myers the Water Fox, who was next to him, smirked and said, "So, you still want to test things out?"

"Hmph, you set me up." Baudelaire sounded annoyed. He didn't anticipate that Saleen would react this or way or to adopt such a brutal tone.

This was the last straw: If he failed in his tasks, Saleen would make sure he didn't get another chance.

"I didn't make you do this, Baudelaire. If you're looking someone to blame, blame yourself." The Water Fox laughed arrogantly. She was in charge of the Oracle Corps, an organization that controlled true adherents of the faith.

No false believers would ever make it to the Oracle Corps. The Water Fox knew what Saleen was thinking. If he became hostile to the goddess, he would have to send those true believers away. Any remaining would be executed.

The Water Fox had her grievances. If she hadn't helped Saleen treat Nailisi, she might still be able to use all of her powers instead of suffering drops in levels. At the moment, she was stuck at level-12, preventing her from returning to her pinnacle state.

She egged Baudelaire on. The man ran into trouble and she laughed at him instead.

"How about you go and ask the man himself if you dare?" Baudelaire had no idea what level Saleen was currently at but knew that Saleen was working with level-13 professionals. His teacher was at least at level 13, too. .

Since the rise of power all across Myers Mainland, Saleen's teacher was able to return and take charge of things anytime. If Baudelaire messed up, he could get himself killed.

The Water Fox laughed and said, "I don't dare do so. How about…"

The magic array lit up again. It was Saleen contacting Nature City.

"Water Fox, I know you're there. Bring your Oracle Corps over and head out somewhere with me," Saleen said coldly as if he had just cast water magic.

The Water Fox's expression turned ugly. Didn't Saleen have anything better to do than spy Nature City? Were there some moles among her holy masters.

Little did she know that ever since Saleen came into possession of the plane map, he could see what was going on in an eerily high number of places. He heard every single word in that conversation between her and Baudelaire.

After getting to level-14, Saleen used the plane map with east. His power of the soul had expanded as well. .

The Water Fox would probably not have been very loyal. Saleen heard the two of them cooking up a scheme for getting rid of her. It all depended on how clever she was in seeing what they were up to. If she just did as told and no longer incite Baudelaire, Saleen was willing to give her another chance.

The Water Fox then replied, "Your highness, the holy masters are not at Nature City."

"Bring as many as you can." Saleen shut the magic array off. The Water Fox took one look at Baudelaire and felt frightened to his core. Saleen seemed to know everything. How come? Didn't he only command level-10 astrological powers?

Just a handful of his supporters knew that Saleen possessed a plane map. There was no way the Water Fox would have known how Saleen realized what she was thinking.

Saleen was only doing that on a whim. Since the Goddess of Nature had so many loyal believers, he felt it was better to send them away. While the goddess might not have paid much attention to those people, he had his future to consider.

Saleen did not believe the goddess would kill herself, even if she were unable to make her way to Myers Mainland safely. A more likely course of action would be to turn the mainland into her divine kingdom.

That would render the lifespan of the mainland to be as long as hers. Myers Mainland exist as long as she was alive. The only difference was that the mainland would be populated solely with her believers.

The Water Fox was exasperated. She knew that Saleen was still controlling her soul. Even without such bondage, his powers still eclipsed hers. Betraying Saleen was something she could only do in the distant future. From the look of things at the moment, Saleen could still control everything going on with the Nature Faith.

It did not matter if the Goddess of Myers had resurrected. Advancement would be difficult for a resurrected god.

The Water Fox was an elemental creature who knew how to join the winning team. She rectified her attitude as soon as Saleen bashed her, thinking if she had been in too much of a hurry. There was no need for her to choose between a god and a powerful professional. She only needed to shake off her current predicament. Saleen was still in control of her nonetheless, and that human mage was not a pushover.

She deemed it wise to lie low until she had enough power to revolt. Saleen lacked hands for management duties at the moment. If he had someone to spare, he would have replaced her long ago.

Saleen did not specify the time, yet she summoned the Oracle Corps anyway. When all the holy masters in the Oracle Corps were summoned, the teleportation portal in Nature City lit up and Saleen appeared with Rafel in tow.

The Water Fox cemented her judgment by then—Saleen indeed knew everything going on in Nature City. What she didn't know was that Saleen had his giant weapon spirit monitor the plane map. It saw everything with the gathering process, so much so that it was even able to calculate when the gathering process would finish.

Saleen's maneuver proved effective. The Water Fox prostrated herself in humility when she saw Saleen, a respectful gesture—something reserved for occasions like when an oracle meet their god.

The people of the Oracle Corps found nothing out of place. Saleen was like a god to them, one who shared a close relationship with the Goddess of Myers. The goddess would not have issued such a decree back then were this not so.