Cthulhu Gonfalon

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There was yet another person under the Void Mask's command sealed as a god!

In the twinkling of an eye, the news had spread all over the world. Although the process of being sealed as a god for Damwade was kept low-key, he still gained fame all at once.

Being a new god, it was hard not to become famous! Especially for a god like him who did not take over an existing priesthood full-scale. His priesthood of Agriculture cut off the most important parts of the priesthood of Harvest of the late Goddess of Bumper Harvest, but it also added on some other valuable content like "cultivated land" and "farmers." The newly finalized priesthood was not only rich in content, but it also had an extremely large space that allowed for further expansion. Also, just as he was being sealed as a god, a large amount of belief and divinity that originally belonged to the priesthood of Harvest was rapidly transferred to him, allowing this newly entitled god to skip the weakest phase of becoming a weak Divine Power all at once. Within a fleeting few minutes, he had become a low-level Divine Power.

Be it among the various gods or among the humans, neither had ever lacked members with discerning eyes. Within such a short time, he had attained the level of a low-level Divine Power, and obviously, he had great potential. In the future, he would, at the very least, be at the standard of a mid-level Divine Power. Back then, the Goddess of Bumper Harvest was at this standard, so no matter what, it would not be possible for the God of Agriculture to be any weaker than her.

"At least at the mid-level Divine Power, there is the God of Knowledge who can most likely step into the level of a great Divine Power; at the peak of mid-level Divine Power, there is the God of Agriculture who is likely to step into the level of great Divine Power, and at the level of weak Divine Power, there are the God of Medicine and the God of Healing… What a teeming pool of talents the Void Mask has under his command!"

There were already gods lamenting within the Pantheon temple.

"Rather than saying there are many talents under him, it is more apt to say he is good at nurturing talents. In just a short span of 50 years, or to be exact, slightly more than 30 years, he had nurtured four of such talents into followers of different gods. Such ability… tracing all the way back to the time when Earth was created, there was no other Master God who could match up to him!"

"And he himself is an able fighter who can hold the fort well."

"Yes! This is the most critical factor! A Master God who is highly skilled in fighting will truly be able to support and ensure an entire God System to sustention! Just like the God of Knights back then who had single-handedly supported the Human God System, allowing it to gradually develop from nothingness to something…"

"But the God of Knights is still far less efficient than the Void Mask when it comes to nurturing his juniors."

"But the God of Knights had nurtured… you know."

"If you say so, then in truth, the God of Knights is still more formidable!"

"You should not put words across in such an absolute and assertive manner! In another tens of thousands of years, who can guarantee that there won't be such a figure emerging from under the Void Mask's command? Besides, he is so powerful that, who knows—after a few tens of thousands of years, he might step into the realm of a greater Divine Power…"

"Ah, a greater Divine Power…"

As they were all in the midst of conversation, a god suddenly said, "Right, the Void Mask, he… has not been formally sealed as a god, right? Up till now?"

The moment this remark was made, the entire place that was originally boisterous with heated conversations suddenly quietened down.

This was a god who was so powerful that even among all the great Divine Powers, he would absolutely be among the top. However, he had yet to be officially sealed with the title of a god. How could this not be considered bizarre?

And… it was quite a cause for worry…

"This situation reminds me of the Dragon of Chaos," said the God of Conspiracy in a low voice.

Yorgaardman, the God of Justice, frowned. Just as he was about to speak, Wall roared furiously, "Watch your language! You despicable fellow!"

According to the God of Conspiracy's usual practice, at this point in time, he would most probably be adding fire to the fuel, and he would not let the matter rest without a good quarrel. But this time around, he chose to back off. With a few chuckles, he disappeared without a trace.

Although the God of Conspiracy was gone, the problem he brought up remained.

This was actually, one of the methods the God of Conspiracy was accustomed to using. He would casually pass comments with the intention of planting a hidden thorn deep within their hearts. Then he would wait for the matter to blow up eventually.

However, these gods here had all lived long enough to accumulate enough experience. Such a method did not affect them much. After a while, one of these numerous gods broke into a smile and said, "If the Void Mask is really going to become the next Dragon of Chaos, then it seems like we have no time to waste. We need to hang on to him. After all, he is someone who values reason and affection. So as long as we stay on his good side and hang onto him as tightly as we can, for the next few tens of thousands of years, we will have nothing to worry about.

Hearing such comments, the various gods broke out into peals of laughter, and the heavy emotions which were originally weighing down the atmosphere earlier on instantly dissipated to nothingness.

That god who just spoke was also someone with the gift of the gab, thus the way he put his words across was very apt. Just a brief moment was all he needed to find the crux of the problem—Sui Xiong was different from the Dragon of Chaos. The Dragon of Chaos liked to turn things topsy-turvy and made everything as disorderly as it could. It also relished in killing and destroying. Sui Xiong, on the other hand, was more inclined to do things as he pleased and did not appear to be bothered about whether he was in tune with the rest of the world or not. But Sui Xiong was very particular about being reasonable, and he was also particularly discriminating when it came to love and hate relationships. He always made it a point to end his tasks perfectly, so there was nothing that others could really nitpick about with regards to his performance.

If a lunatic or a villain were to become a greater Divine Power, that would worry everyone; on the other hand, if it was someone who could at least be considered kind, for this someone to become a greater Divine Power, the various gods would most certainly welcome him with open arms.

However, some of the gods might be all smiles and receptive to the idea of Sui Xiong becoming a greater Divine Master, but deep down in their hearts, they might be secretly muttering otherwise.

The Dragon of Chaos did not only show that it had problems with its character and the way it did things—most importantly, it was an evil god!

The contradiction between the honorable gods and the evil gods were not just a conflict between two organizations; there was also a conflict of principles and order. Among the honorable gods, there might be lunatics who were chaotic and evil, but no matter how crazy these gods were, they had to abide by their priesthood, camp, and doctrines. This was the iron rule that they could not violate. Also, this was the key to how they interacted and carried out dealings with one another.

The evil gods were different. They were completely unfettered and did things as they pleased. They went to places they wanted to go and did everything they wanted to do without a trace of restraint. Even those evil gods who were relatively kind in nature would often do things that rebelled against the "rules," thus subjecting the people who had to get along with them to a tremendous amount of stress.

If Sui Xiong was really not sealed as a god and chose to become an evil god, it would mean that there would be no effective guarantee when dealing with or collaborating with him. There would always be a possibility where he might suddenly turn hostile and attack.

Even if he was not such a person, so long as such a possibility existed, those gods who wanted to work with him would still have misgivings about a cooperation. Perhaps in the future when they had to make such a decision again, they would consider then reconsider for umpteen times, or they might even banish such an intention from their mind.

Such a matter was not apparent to Wall, but it was all very transparent to Yorgaardman, the God of Justice. But he was at his wits' end too—he could urge Sui Xiong for a thousand times or even 10,000 times, yet ultimately, the key lay with Sui Xiong's choice. If he was adamant about becoming a completely unrestrained evil god, then he could not blame anyone who harbored doubts about him.

That was just the way things turned out to be in this world. There would always be two sides of a coin, and everything was fair and square.

Fortunately, in any case, Sui Xiong had built a good resume over the years, and that greatly worked to his favor. Throughout the years, all the gods who ever had the opportunity to work with him had benefitted greatly. On the basis of these facts, it was not difficult to believe that, in the future, even if he did become an evil god, he would still be able to make many dependable friends.

"How unbelievable! Damwade, you have actually been sealed as a god!"

Within the God's Country Sanctuary, Damwade, the God of Agriculture, met Crick Keane who was presently the Holy Spirit of the Void Mask and formerly his employed, life mentor.

"Originally, His Majesty mentioned that you were likely to be sealed as a god, and I was still thinking maybe you would need another few decades or even a century. I wasn't expecting it to be so soon!"

"Yes. I did not expect this either… yet unknowingly, I have accumulated enough. Then without making an earth-shattering or grand spectacle, naturally, I was sealed as a god."

"Even the way you were sealed is so muddle-headed. You really have not changed at all!"

"Ha ha, you have not changed either…"

Crick looked exactly the same as he had back then. He was still as skinny, still wore a loose-fitting robe, and he still held onto a fan made of feathers that looked like a sage ready to take flight at any moment. On the other hand, the clumsy mage who had always been so rigid in his ways and style of work and who could only carry out tasks honestly according to Crick's instructions, had now become a newly emerged, great god.

Looking at Damwade, who looked no different from how he did in Crick's memory, Crick could not help laughing as he greeted, "Haven't seen you in a long time."

"Yes, long time no see… Time flies, it has been so many years in just the blink of an eye…" said Damwade, who had yet to completely adjust himself to his identity as a god. The way he walked and talked was not different from any ordinary human. He said, "Among all my old friends, there is already a handful who have passed on."

Among the group who had worked with Crick in building Keane Hill, there was Layton, the old butler, who had long passed away. Like Amyveile, Crick's late wife, his soul had been reincarnated with Sui Xiong's help, and then both had moved on with new lives. There was also Knight D'vor who had died on the battleground of the battle of Sun's Death Day, and Knight James who had passed away shortly after his youngest grandson fathered by his oldest son had gotten married. Knight James was 60 years of age when he passed on, though he had not led a long life, he had died peacefully. Ryder, captain of their patrol team, had long since retired. However, he was seen in the army barracks, moving about with the accompaniment of his crutches and little granddaughter, guiding the youths in archery. Pastor Mori had become an Archbishop and left Keane Hill. Last year, he even wrote a letter to Ryder to tell their captain that he was currently at the Kingdom of Light, where he was tasked to manage the ancient classics within the temple. He also mentioned that he was about to retire soon. Rafael, the intelligence officer, had suffered a sizable amount of injuries due to various open or hidden attacks. Later on, while at his daughter's wedding ceremony, he had a drop too much to drink, though he was rarely seen drinking so much, and that caused a relapse of some old injuries. Without living to the day, he could hear his grandson greet him as "Grandfather," before he died.

Bishop Miramon, from the Church of the Void Mask, had left to become a Legendary Master. Currently, he was a world-renowned gourmet chef. Thomas and Nikola, from the Church of the God of Art and Culture, had jointly established a temple. However, the two leaders of this temple were often quarreling. Two old men, both sporting heads of white hair, still quarrelling with one another day in and day out had proven to be quite a headache for the younger generations, who were at a loss on how they could persuade their two elders to get along. Warden Shadow had died due to excessive drinking, and his job was succeeded by Fess, who was, however, also nearing the age of retirement. Donaldson, who had been an "actor" for many years, had passed away. He had died a lonely death without any children.

Presently, the main pillars of Keane Hill were Romon, a Legendary Master, and a few other middle-aged knights—for instance, Knight Shawn James, who was nearing 40 years of age. On a side-note, his wife, two years his senior, was one of a special bloodline. She was Rena, who once served as a scout at Keane Hill. Then there was Charles Ouss, son of Knight D'vor, who was in his prime at around 35 to 36 years of age and was also rich as well as powerful.

Anna Keane and Stephen Carter had five children. Their oldest son, Louis, was 15 years old and was considered to be a talent. He was working hard to learn about governmental affairs so that he could become a worthy successor. His younger siblings were not as outstanding, but neither were they that bad. Overall, they could still be regarded as a generation of pretty good successors who would be able to maintain the achievements of their predecessors.

Time passed like flowing water, and 20 years passed by ever so quietly. Crick and Damwade talked about worldly matters as they sipped on wine. Sometimes, they smiled, and other times, they sighed. They raised their glasses to toast for the happy, sad, lamentable and interesting memories and also toasted to their long-lost reunion.

The past was gone, and from now on, it would be a whole new beginning.