Noens's Sichuan Opera Performance

Elsewhere, after leaving Dungeon City, Isaac knew a little about the arms race the demon gods were engaged in, but he did not pay it much attention. After all, it was still news to him.

This meant the demon gods had not turned their attention toward him, which made the complete conquest of the dungeon that much more likely. That was a good thing.

More importantly, Isaac was currently doing something crucial—observing the out-of-control virtual gods!

Three years ago, before Cat went into seclusion, Isaac had scattered eight Virtual Divine Sparks across this wilderness. Now that more than three years had passed, it was time to test how well his [Miracle] could control these virtual gods he had lost contact with long ago.

Three years had passed. In Isaac's perception, only three of the original eight Virtual Divine Sparks remained. Of the five that had disappeared, three had been defective products whose Virtual Divine Sparks lasted only two years and had naturally expired. The other two had been killed.

He did not know who had killed them. It could have been members of cults, dungeon monsters, or even powerful figures from the real world. There were too many variables.

But that did not matter. They were merely virtual gods. If they died, they died. What Isaac truly cared about were the three that had survived.

They were the Lord of Blood, the Master of Wicked Thoughts, and the Staff of Aberration.

The Lord of Blood and the Master of Wicked Thoughts had been picked up by a goblin and a Stone Dwarf respectively, and each had founded a cult of their own. The Staff of Aberration, meanwhile, had fallen into the hands of a human and disguised itself as a wizard from outside.

Following the psychic connection, Isaac found the Stone Dwarf Master of Wicked Thoughts first, since it specialized in mental powers and was the most likely to betray him.

Before long, Isaac arrived outside a valley, a terrain exceedingly rare in the wilderness.

Silently reaching the edge of the valley, Isaac used the special perception granted by [Miracle] to clearly sense the Stone Dwarf's condition within, as well as the degree of control he still retained over its Virtual Divine Spark.

The Stone Dwarf was in a terrible state. It had been beaten half to death and could fall at any moment. It was now frantically devouring its few remaining believers in hopes of recovering from its injuries.

Compared to the Stone Dwarf's condition, however, Isaac's control over the Virtual Divine Spark remained extremely high!

Just as he had previously speculated, his absolute control over Virtual Divine Sparks was defined by range. Within a thousand miles centered on himself, the power of the nearest three Virtual Divine Sparks would be directly reclaimed!

That included unused Virtual Divine Sparks!

So, until that number increased in the future, the safest approach would be two plus one: two virtual gods and one Virtual Divine Spark. The former needed no explanation—they maximized combat power. The latter could strengthen Isaac's own magic and serve as an emergency trump card.

Carrying a Virtual Divine Spark was equivalent to carrying a fourth-rank powerhouse at all times!

Even if it could not exert its full strength in a hurry, it still had the power to change the tide of battle in most situations!

However, although the Master of Wicked Thoughts had entered the reclamation range, Isaac did not reclaim it. The reason was simple: all eight Virtual Divine Sparks had been charged with magic power, and their strength had a time limit.

Even these relatively complete ones had only about half a year left. Rather than reclaiming one, it would be better to make a new one.

As for this fellow...

Hidden in the void, Isaac glanced toward both sides of the valley, his expression somewhat strange. Perfect. He could gather some combat data while he was at it...

And the people surrounding the Stone Dwarf were old acquaintances. Wouldn't it be rude not to give them proper treatment?

Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly, the corners of his lips curling up. With a gentle hook of his finger, a pebble on the ground suddenly shot up from the earth and struck a pitch-black helmet with a crisp ring.

"Clang~"

The instant that crisp sound rang out, everyone's expressions changed sharply. The sudden development made them realize there was another predator lurking nearby!

But they could no longer spare attention for that predator, because the Master of Wicked Thoughts had discovered them and launched an attack!

The Master of Wicked Thoughts did not care whether there was another predator or not. Either way, this cicada was almost certainly dead!

More importantly, the Master of Wicked Thoughts had roughly guessed that predator's identity...

Though faint, it had caught that fleeting aura. There was no mistake—it was the gray-robed wizard who had given it the Divine Spark three years ago!

Had it been two and a half years ago, the Stone Dwarf would have been delighted and offered up its loyalty!

But now...

The savagery within the Stone Dwarf's soul had grown wildly over the past two and a half years. Now, it wanted only to rule its own will!

After all, it was the Master of Wicked Thoughts!

"YA!!!!"

The Master of Wicked Thoughts opened its mouth toward its enemies and released a soundless shriek. An invisible psychic wave instantly burst outward, and in an instant, every person charging toward it froze, their expressions twisting grotesquely.

Divine Power: Wicked Thought Explosion!

A mental attack that detonated every wicked thought in the hearts of creatures within range!

This divine power had two effects. If one failed to resist the invading mental force, all the dark thoughts buried deep in one's heart would explode in an instant. For that brief moment, the afflicted would lose every moral boundary and become capable of doing any vile thing.

And if one could resist the invasion of that mental force, then congratulations—they would experience the divine power's second effect: a psychic shockwave comparable to fourth-rank magic!

Behind an extreme mechanic lay extreme numbers!

That was the terror of gods!

This group had made some targeted preparations, but the ones they had faced before were merely believers developed by the Master of Wicked Thoughts. The divine spells they used had only been weakened versions of Wicked Thought Explosion. A divine spell personally unleashed by a god was not so easy to withstand!

Thus, chaos instantly erupted among the ambushers. Some fled before the battle, some loudly and violently expressed their lust toward their female companions, some stabbed their teammates in the back, and some even stabbed their teammates in the back!

It was simply unbearable to watch!

Of everyone present, only Prince Noens, who had charged at the forefront, remained unaffected by the wicked thoughts. Yet judging from his slightly pale face, he had not escaped unscathed.

Yes, the group preparing to ambush the Master of Wicked Thoughts was Prince Noens and his party. And the one whose head had been struck by the pebble was naturally his second brother—Remington Noens, who had once died at Isaac's hands and had now been resurrected as a construct!

Their appearance was precisely what made Isaac slightly change his mind. Even if he did not reclaim the Divine Spark on this trip, he had planned to test a new spell developed to work with [Miracle]. Yet then he saw them...

Now this could be fun.

In the field, Prince Noens's face was dark as water. Transforming into lightning, he charged into the cultists with a knight's greatsword in hand like a storm. Purple sword light flashed as limbs flew in all directions!

In a single exchange, Prince Noens had reached the Master of Wicked Thoughts!

But the price he paid was enormous. The azure gemstone hanging from his chest had not only dimmed completely, but was now covered in cracks both inside and out, ready to shatter at any moment.

Guardian of the Serene Goddess, a Miracle-grade magical item capable of withstanding fifth-rank mental magic and offering excellent defense against other fourth-rank magic. It was one of the highest-grade magical items Prince Noens had prepared for this journey.

That was also why Prince Noens had selected the exceptionally troublesome mental-type evil god cult as his second cult target.

With this item, the mental divine spells that should have been the most troublesome were practically nonexistent to him!

That was how it should have been.

But who the hell knew that the Wicked Thought Cult actually had the god itself here!

Fourth-rank divine power and fourth-rank divine spells were entirely different concepts. Even a fifth-rank mental-defense magical item could not handle the attacks of a fourth-rank mental-type god with complete ease. It could fight, but the expenditure was considerable.

Like right now—before the Master of Wicked Thoughts had even been killed, the gemstone was already about to shatter...

Still, as long as he killed this fourth-rank god, it would all be worth it!

God Slayer...

At the thought of those words, Prince Noens's heart could not help but burn. A god—even merely a fourth-rank god. He did not know why it was only fourth-rank, but its value was still extraordinary. Killing this one would count for at least dozens of fourth-ranks in the Blood War Ritual!

Moreover, though he was a knight, just like the Blood War Ritual currently underway and the gemstone about to shatter, he simply could not cast magic. That did not mean he could not enjoy the benefits of magic. And in the real world, titles could possess tangible power!

As long as he operated things a little after returning, then held several more rituals, the title of God Slayer would absolutely be his. It would bring him greater power—and glory!

However, tempting as the reward was, Noens did not let his guard down. He stared solemnly at the Stone Dwarf as purple lightning coiled around his longsword, blazing with dazzling violet light!

"This time, you cannot escape!"

"Bang~"

With a crisp explosive crack, the Stone Dwarf's head was instantly severed by Prince Noens. The Stone Dwarf's head, wearing a faintly mocking smile, soared high into the air as purple lightning rapidly spread, completely annihilating the remnants of life within it!

At the same time, the sapphire on his chest shattered completely. A god's final death throes became the last straw that broke the magical item sapphire.

As the Master of Wicked Thoughts fell, the remaining cultists let out waves of wails and turned into streams of black smoke, vanishing entirely. Behind him, the subordinates who had been affected by the divine power and thrown into chaos gradually came to their senses, their faces dreadfully ugly as they slowly stopped what they were doing.

Especially those outsiders from Chengdu who had stabbed their teammates in the back—their faces looked the worst!

The silver lining was that Prince Noens had ended the battle quickly enough, so the consequences were not too severe. No one had died; they had only suffered superficial wounds. After all, they had long known the effects of Wicked Thought Explosion, even though the magical items they carried had failed to block it.

But because they had mentally prepared themselves beforehand, they had taken precautions against their own teammates before setting out. The only ones they had failed to guard against were those few rather special cases...

Yet despite the dazzling victory, Prince Noens's expression was exceptionally ugly, with a trace of gravity in his face.

Because...

They had clearly eradicated this cult. He had even killed the god behind it. This cult could not possibly be any deader, yet...

The dungeon trial progress had not changed in the slightest!

They were still short by two!

What kind of joke was this?!

Prince Noens was on the verge of losing it. To eliminate this cult, he had paid so much. A third-rank Grand Arcane Master had died, and a fifth-rank magical item had been completely destroyed!

And now they were telling him it did not count toward the progress?!

What kind of joke was this!!!

And for some reason, Prince Noens had a feeling that the mocking look the Master of Wicked Thoughts wore before dying had not been about the trial mission, but something else, such as...

The predator!

It was not just Prince Noens. After briefly calming down from their narrow escape, everyone's expressions immediately tensed. After all, the main reason this battle had been so difficult was that they had been exposed in advance and caught completely off guard.

Otherwise, according to the original plan, they would not only have had a chance to preserve that sapphire, but they themselves would not have suffered so many injuries... and humiliations!

"Clap clap clap~~"

Just as everyone stood on guard, ripples spread through the void. Isaac, clad in gray robes and smiling faintly, applauded softly as he slowly stepped out of the void. "What a splendid performance, Your Highness. What a pity—I should have recorded that just now. Sigh~"

Isaac glanced at those Chengdu boys and let out a theatrical sigh, making the veins on their foreheads throb.

Though furious, they did not act rashly, because Isaac was a fourth-rank wizard—a fourth-rank legendary wizard! And a mad wizard at that!

He was terrifying!

Prince Noens stared at Isaac with dark eyes. He glanced at the Stone Dwarf's corpse on the ground, then back at Isaac, and suppressed his rage as he said, "Was this your doing?!"

Though he had no evidence, Prince Noens's instincts told him that this was the truth! Isaac glanced at those Chengdu boys and let out a theatrical sigh, making the veins on their foreheads throb.

"Tsk~ Don't falsely accuse people, all right?" Isaac said helplessly. "Although this fellow really was my experiment, wasn't this war something you started yourselves?"

Isaac shook his head helplessly and lightly hooked a pale finger. Invisible magic power emerged, and the radiance of divine power appeared over the Stone Dwarf's corpse. The corpse gradually turned into nothingness, replaced by a slightly illusory gray brain that flew toward Isaac.

Noens's pupils contracted slightly. In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, linking everything together. Had Isaac grown this powerful already?

This guy...

Even among the oldest generation of mad wizards, he would absolutely be among the most insane!

At that thought, bitterness rose in Prince Noens's heart. Emperor, was it truly right to let this man continue growing?