Visiting Julie

"The Angel Legion had trampled the territories of the Earth, Thunder, and Life Main Gods. Almost all the native god-level beings had been killed. The one left behind by Catarina was her Light-element Low-level God avatar, so she had luckily escaped the disaster. However, she had been forced to join the Church of Light and become a Saintess. She said that the Church of Light proclaimed all other faiths to be heretical and that they had to be executed!"

"The Light Main God had issued an order demanding an increase in the population of the Material Planes and the formation of an invading force to resist heretical faiths!"

Jess's words added a trace of solemnity and heaviness to the atmosphere in the private room, but they still did not stop everyone from eating, drinking, and having fun. Basically, they all felt that such matters had nothing to do with them.

Only Linley sank into thought... After a while, he said something shocking: "Guess this. Once we attack the Material Planes and lack enough soldiers to fight over faith, will the Blood Peak Army and the city armies arrest able-bodied men in the city?"

"No way!"

"As long as we behave ourselves in the city, can the Blood Peak Army and the city armies really arrest people at will?"

"I don't think that's likely. If they did that, wouldn't it make the Overgod look like a fool?"

Thomas and the others were startled, and their expressions looked grim. They all said that Linley was overthinking things.

Linley sneered several times without answering directly. Instead, he spread his Divine Domain throughout the private room and said, "What won't the Overgods do for faith? Directly arresting able-bodied men might be a little too extreme, but they could use other methods. For example, they could raise the rent—tenfold or even a hundredfold at once—and see how many god-level beings could afford it. That would force you to join the Blood Peak Army and go to the various Material Planes to develop faith!"

Linley tapped his finger on the table and said, "Didn't you notice? The food and wine on this table cost seventy percent more than they did the last time we came here!"

"I'll give you all some Ink Stones later. Go buy houses as quickly as possible. The cheapest ones will do. Otherwise, in the future, they might say that a house under your name can only be occupied by you alone, while everyone else has to pay the average accommodation fee for the surrounding area every year!"

As soon as Linley said this, Thomas and the others all realized how serious the matter was.

Although this was only one possibility, it was always better to prepare early than to be caught off guard. There was no harm in making preparations.

"My lord, what should we do?"

Linley, Corey, Thomas, and the others were fine. They were all god-level powerhouses with houses to fall back on. However, Diana and the other women who depended on them panicked.

If things really developed into the worst-case scenario, wouldn't they risk being abandoned and driven outside the city?

Dennis said to the female companion in his arms, "Don't worry. That's only the worst possibility. For example, with the house we're living in now, there are so many rooms. They can't possibly allow only one person to live there, right?"

After eating, Linley and the others arrived at Blood Peak Castle, where they coincidentally learned of the newly announced housing regulations.

Regardless of how large a house was, only the number of rooms would be counted. Each room could house only two people, and anyone beyond that number would have to pay the average accommodation fee for the surrounding area!

"Holy crap!"

Corey and the others stared at Linley in shock.

The bad news was that this was almost exactly what he had predicted.

The good news was that they did not need to buy additional houses.

On the way home, Diana and four maids surrounded Linley. Their faces were filled with relaxed smiles.

Liko blinked her limpid eyes and asked with a smile, "My lord, how did you guess so accurately?"

Linley shook his head and said, "I didn't guess."

The five women looked at him in confusion. "Huh?"

Linley revealed an evil smile like that of a demonic capitalist and explained, "If I were an Overgod, I'd do the same thing—and I might even go further. For example, I could demand property taxes every year amounting to one percent of the previous year's house price. Want to stay in the city forever without going out to carry out missions and die to free up space? Dream on!"

"..."

That left Diana and the others speechless.

The updates to the housing regulations in Red Stone City spread rapidly through the large number of god-level beings. In just two or three days, the matter had become the talk of the city, and everyone knew about it, each harboring different thoughts.

Linley did not participate in any of the discussions. He stayed behind closed doors and lived his own life.

After half a year of peaceful living, he heard Jess say that the Fallen Angel Legion from the Dark God Plane had descended upon the Halkejinia Plane again. They were now fighting the Angel Legion fiercely over the power of faith, and the entire Enpas Continent had been shattered by the battle.

The next day, news arrived that both the Angel Legion and the Fallen Angel Legion had lost many god-level powerhouses. Even four Twelve-winged Angels and Fallen Angels had fallen.

The news on the third day was that Catarina's Light God Avatar had killed a Dark Element Low-level God from the Fallen Angel side. Using the excuse that her divine power had been greatly depleted, she entered the rear headquarters of the Church of Light to rest.

For the next several days, the news was all about Catarina recovering her divine power and cultivating the Mysteries of the Law of Light.

A month later, the latest news finally arrived.

The Fallen Angel side had been completely wiped out. The Angel side had been the last to laugh in this Faith War.

According to Catarina's account, the reason seemed to be that the Angel side had an Upper-level God skilled at arranging Magic Arrays. Relying on the advantage of having made preparations in advance, they had gradually expanded their gains and ultimately won the battle—but they had also paid a tremendous price.

Seven years later, one day at dusk.

"Whoosh!"

A rhombus-shaped Metal Life arrived in the sky outside Red Stone City.

"I'm back."

Through the translucent area in front of him, Linley could clearly see Red Stone City, towering like a mountain. He could sense its vast and majestic aura.

With a thought, he put away the Metal Life and slowly descended to the ground. Under the envious and jealous gazes of the god-level beings waiting in line, he went straight through the demon passage and entered the city.

There was a strict curfew in the city at night. The sky was already darkening, and after estimating the distance to the address Julie had given him last time, Linley decided to return to his own residence and wait until dawn before paying her a visit.

The night passed. The next morning.

Linley rose early and first went to call Jess. The two of them traveled together toward the western part of the city. After wandering around and asking someone for directions, they finally found Julie's residence. It was a quiet courtyard, and without hesitation, he gently knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock~"

After waiting for a moment, someone came to open the door.

A head wearing a green straw hat with a white feather stuck into it cautiously poked out. A pair of bright, pitch-black eyes carefully examined Linley and Jess, the two strangers.

"May I ask whom you're looking for?"

Linley lowered his head and smiled. "We're looking for Lady Julie. We arranged to meet her before."

"Please wait a moment, honored guests..."

The dwarf hurried off to notify her. Soon, he returned and invited Linley and Jess into the courtyard, leading them all the way to the living room, where they met Julie.

Julie smiled and said to the dwarf wearing a red hat, "Shefnian, go pour the tea. Use the tea from Jar Twenty-Six, and remember to add the milk candy from Jar Eleven with the small spoon."

"Yes, my beautiful mistress."

The dwarf answered with great seriousness and ran off on his short legs.

Julie then turned to the dwarf who had led them in and said calmly, "Dimit, there's nothing for you to do here. Go look after the herb garden."

"Yes, my perfect mistress."

The dwarf bowed respectfully, then turned around and left through the small door on the right.