Soul of Searing Steel

Panda Novel

“Israel is actually abdicating.”

Joshua was at once shocked by the news, but otherwise unexpectedly unsurprised.

What is there to be surprised about if they thought about it carefully? Probably only fools would not be able to tell that Israel had wanted to stop being Emperor for a long time!

As most would know, Israel had not been the original heir of the Empire, having been forced to raise his spear and stand up for his fallen, older brothers…. None expected, however, that the seemingly plain Imperial Prince was so outstandingly talented in battle—not only did he grew exponentially on the fields of war, he also finally slain the Orc’s leader and ascended the imperial throne with the might of Legends.

Though powerful, he never had the making of a good Emperor—compared to ruling an empire, Israel prefer slaying his enemy on the battlefield. It was not as if he was ignorant of things such as the schemes and conspiracies that crawled out of political conflict, but he was simply more wiling to apply simple and direct measures such as the Skynet surveillance system, which at once controls all criminals and noncompliant elements. He preferred those for their convenience.

So, was it even news that such a person wanted to be emperor no longer?

“There’s nothing unusual, Nostradamus.” At the thought, Joshua actually reached out and clapped his hand on the old mage’s shoulder, gently soothing him. “I dare say that he already wanted to simply look for an heir when he made Skynet years ago and focus on that… relax. With us here, the Empire won’t descend into havoc.”

“Nonsense, of course the Empire won’t fall into havoc.” Nostradamus slapped away Joshua’s hand. “Israel is not dead and the nation has three Legends—we would not fall to messy situations even if other regions do.”

At that, his expression became serious. “Joshua. You know what I am worried about!”

Joshua became silent in return, just as Zero Three opened her eyes over his shoulder, her forehead showing a divine rune of the God of the Sky.

The warrior certainly knew what Nostradamus was worried about presently.

Around Starfall Year 840 to 841 in the Continental War game back in his preexistence, Israel, Emperor of the Northern Empire had perished in the Imperial Capital because of a serious curse, but that information was collectively concealed by the Imperial Family—or, to be precise, the various Imperial Prince and the Imperial Harem… it was alleged that Israel had made a will at the time to determine who would succeed the throne, but the warrior never learned what the Emperor had written after he transcended.

In the following years, the royal successors had waged a great civil war to claim the throne. The Northern Empire was left in ashes, turning life hellish for the citizens, with the many advanced magical technology used on brothers instead of human enemies.

The power that Israel obtained after ascending as a Legend could rewrite reality and grant any of his wish to a certain extent, but he could not lie to himself—he had been dealt a grievous internal injury, an attack most devious by the Orc shaman at the time. combined with the totem curse and a corruption rune, its sheer poison was sufficient to kill a dragon king caught unawares, with one of the Metal Dragon Kings having succumbed to that curse.

Israel could not fool himself to ignore the internal injury of the curse even as a Legend, which was why his body withered increasingly by the day and he died silently.

Naturally, the Israel of the present had been aided by Joshua—the warrior had given him a divine crystal early on to help him understand the secrets of divinity. It certainly proved useful, and with Israel’s Legendary advanced tier and the world’s finest resources, he quickly understood something from the divine crystal left by the God of Fortune and Despair, hence stopping his wounds from aggravating.

Sometime ago, Israel had especially punished all criminal element across his nation through the Skynet system, suppressing the reckless and vile Nobles and create a peaceful, prospering realm despite the unrest originating from the Evil God of Death.

Having gained his divinity, Israel thought that he could do more than ever before, that the poison before could no longer kill him— with that, the internal injury that once troubled him over a decade hence diminished easily.

Likewise, because he had obtained and fathomed divinity while acquiring one that was entirely his own, Israel naturally believed that he was a new god.

For the same reason, his power would drive Israel to take the same path.

“So, is he about to ascend as god?”

Joshua sighed tactlessly, waving Black off to play in a corner while leading Nostradamus inside his residence. “A while ago, the God of Might and Justice had been talking to him a lot, and the gods also believed that Israel was a divine evoker and could become His successor.”

“I also know that the ideal of the God of Might and Justice is very fitting to his. If Zinsen had handed his legacy to Israel before his divine death, he certainly fits the bill to be the new God of Might and Justice.”

“That’s right. If the gods are to pick an heir, they would definitely pick someone with similar doctrine and ideals—an identical existence, basically.”

Seeing that Joshua understood the present situation too, Nostradamus could not help but exhale, a tiredness in his gaze—although the old mage was always tired—as he slowly spoke,” That is why I understand the reason Israel would accept Zinsen’s legacy and set his will on becoming a deity, but current circumstances does not revolve around those simple issues… there is also the question of the clergy’s ability.”

At that, Nostradamus grimaced.

The main god of the Northern Empire was Zinsen the God of Might. Naturally, True Gods were beings that did not require faith, although it would simply make it easier for them to resist divine erosion. Likewise, clergies did not need gods to obtain divine spells—there would be a set of logic for Order as long as their hearts held compassion, and the Holy Light would answer the clergy and grant them power.

Be that as it may, the exchange of information granted Zinsen’s devotees a set of special divine spells correlated to the God of Might’s divinity, setting them apart from the followers of the other gods… and before Zinsen recently met His divine end in the Darkest Abyss when he burst out in full power to cut apart the Nether River, in that single instant, all of Zinsen’s followers gradually lost that special set of divine spells.

“Most of the Empire’s clergies had lost the power of the ‘Divine Spells of Might’. While they were still clergies, they were much weaker than they were before.”

Nostradamus was speaking rather fretfully as he sat on the guest hall couch. “The Northern Empire is a settlement for followers of the God of Might, and their ability plummeted so quickly that they became unable to defeat monsters they could leisurely beat before—leaving many zones in chaos.”

“That is why Israel wished for divine ascension and become the new God of Might and Justice as soon as he could, so that the clergies who lost their patron deity could regain the Divine Spells of Might.”

At that, Joshua finally understood the old mage’s fretfulness.

Not being an Emperor was not a problem. After all, as long as the three Legendary champions did not perish, the Empire would descend into pandemonium.

Attempting divine ascension was not a problem either. To Israel, becoming a god may be the best direction in which he would develop.

Nostradamus was not protesting against those two matters; he would be pleased to see it come into fruition.

The problem was—despite Israel wanting to ascend immediately, the entire Empire had yet to prepare for it.

“The matter of divine ascension had always circulated as rumors and appeared to be a set of tested and proven rituals. But until today, none had really used magic circles or spells to truly ascend as a god… how could it be that simple!”

Now, Nostradamus appeared to be venting. “Setting aside the chance of him dying if he failed in such a hurried divine ascension, Zinsen’s legacy would be lost too, not to mention the other repercussions. Even if both our presence would keep the Empire from falling into havoc, why not postpone the ascension and increase the success rate so that the Empire would not really fall into Chaos? No matter how the shockwaves were small if he died, technological development and otherworld exploration could only begin anew after the new emperor is coronated.”

That way, the Northern Empire’s present edge from their leading reformations would probably fall behind the other factions.

Joshua understood well that there lies the difference between Israel and Nostradamus’s ideals. The former wants to obtain power and ascend as a deity as soon as possible while ensuring that the God of Might’s followers would regain special divine spells. On the other hand, the latter

It was not fine for the warrior to support either one of them too: Israel trusted in his own will and ability, and that being one step ahead now meant being one step ahead later too. As for Nostradamus, the old mage wanted to ensure stable development for the Empire and no surprises.

Both of them were not mistaken.

“Well… I will send a message and persuade Israel to delay the procedure. Furthermore, it is not entirely a bad thing that the clergies lost and exclusive set of divine power—the short-term decrease of ability would get them to gain a deeper understanding about the true nature of the Holy Light.”

Joshua decided to support Nostradamus after some thought. “If push comes to shove and he remains determined to attempt divine ascension, I would stay by his side and help, reducing the risk as much as I could.”

It was not as if Joshua was unwilling to risk himself in helping Nostradamus, but because he really believed that now was certainly not the right time for divine ascension.

To suppress the anomalies in the Abyss and defeat the Evil God of Death, both Joshua and the remaining six gods had been hurt considerably. All of them were recuperating, far from their top form and could not simply act to ensure the safety during Israel’s ascension at this stage.

Nonetheless, if Israel insisted on going about it immediately, Joshua could simply act as a guard close by, witnessing the birth of a True God. Perhaps he may well find a trick in suppressing his own divinity in the process, or simply gain some inspiration… it was not a bad thing.

Having seen that Joshua had agreed to the matter, Nostradamus stroke his beard and breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been Israel’s mentor over the years and both had always been helping each other, but what Israel was doing this time was not something he could do alone. Though the relationships between Legendary champions across the world was much better than before, Nostradamus was reluctant towards outside help when it came to divine ascension.

If possible, he would hope that Joshua, being in the same side as an Imperial Noble could help Israel, but he also knew that Joshua was now unwell, and so came specially to visit the warrior while asking his opinion.

Things were not exactly complicated. After deciding their next actions, Nostradamus was ready to bid Joshua goodbye since both of them did recently discussed Continental War.

Nostradamus was one of the members of the closed beta testers as well, and an elite who managed to clear up to the fourth phase, Civilization. However, the elderly mage and Legendary mage did not manage to clear up to the fifth phase.

“How do I actually beat the three otherworld Chaos Legions?” He asked before he left, befuddled. A single Legion can only be defeated with the full might of a single civilization, and two could barely be suppressed even with strategies… a single civilization could never hold against the three-pronged Legions.”

“Simple: there are many solutions.”

Joshua certainly did not try to hide it from an old friend such as Nostradamus. He shrugged, making Zero Three shake a bit. “The easiest is to groom a supremely talented Legendary character and use his power to support all of the civilization’s armies—it won’t be difficult to defeat the three Legions consecutively.”

“Secondly, you should also be able to tell that the three Legions are not from the same camp. They would fight amongst themselves, and if you retreat and empty some space where they could claw at each other’s necks, you could ambush their portals while they engage in mutual slaughter and end the war.”

“I have also designed a rather standard method to clear it. Blitzkrieg—abandoning all offensive and attack pre-emptively. Each Legion is supported by an empty world that is rich with resources, and when one is defeated, the player could recover that an entire world’s resources.”

Joshua, however, did not say a word about the fifth phase and how it should be played.

As for Nostradamus, the old mage left Joshua a bombshell before leaving rather regretfully.

“The Metal Dragon God—Million Steel Dragon had asked to see you.”

Nostradamus, having already opened a portal, slapped himself over his head and said slightly annoyedly. “Damn it. That Highness’s power affects cognition so much that even I, a Legendary champion almost forgot about the matter… Either way, the Metal Dragon God is in Fort Pioneer. It had been communicating with the Great Khan and the Starherders, and seemed to have obtained some unusual information.”

“It wants to meet you, Joshua. I suggest that you free yourself and do it once—unlike the Pentashade dragons, the Metal dragons had always been symbols of Order and kindness.”

As he spoke, Nostradamus, who was already inside the portal made a perplexed face and said puzzledly, “It is weird that It was only willing to meet you, the Sage’s Heir who slew Evil Gods, the King of Searing Soul.”

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