The Disgraceful God of Black Orcs! Bah!

"Boom~"

As a terrifying face formed from gray flames took shape, the will of the God of Black Orcs descended. Looking at Isaac standing before the ritual, the God of Black Orcs' mouth split into an excited grin. After so many years, another fool had finally taken the bait!

Though quite a few new and old Legendary Wizards traded with beings like them every year, there were simply too many Outer Gods. Split evenly, an Outer God could not even get one Mad Wizard.

And beings like Him, who had left enormous backdoors in their rituals, naturally hooked even fewer fools.

But now, it was finally His turn. Wonderful~

"Hiss~"

The God of Black Orcs took a deep breath of the gray flames. Though this tiny bit of energy could not bring Him any improvement, taking a whiff now and then was still good for one's body and mind!

One word!

Comfortable!

Very well, decided! When He ate this fellow's soul later, He would be quick about it and spare him some pain!

Before long, the delighted God of Black Orcs had decided how to deal with Isaac.

Thus, while secretly cracking the ritual's shielding power, He asked Isaac, "Wizard, speak your wish. I can grant all your wishes!"

That was a lie.

Isaac subconsciously tugged at his hood, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

He had not been fooled by the God of Black Orcs. That sentence was a classic Outer God lie.

It was not that the God of Black Orcs could not do it. Given the difference in strength between them, perhaps the God of Black Orcs truly could grant many of Isaac's wildest wishes. But those words were a trap.

If Isaac agreed, the God of Black Orcs would be able to directly seize Isaac's soul!

No amount of protection would help!

But this was already a universally recognized lie, and the bewitching power contained in His words had been firmly blocked by the ritual's firewall. Naturally, Isaac would not agree.

He performed an ancient wizard's salute, then said softly, "Great God of Black Orcs, who governs the night and Magic Beasts, I have only one question for you. Why have so many High Priests appeared among the black orcs of the wilderness?"

"...That question... is not easy to answer..."

That was a lie.

The corners of Isaac's mouth curled up again. Sure enough, though the God of Black Orcs and the Lord of Myriad Flesh were one an Evil God and the other a Demon God, they were cut from the same cloth—accustomed to giving perfunctory answers on the surface while secretly pulling little tricks behind the scenes!

Peh!

After inwardly spitting on the God of Black Orcs in disdain, Isaac did not remain idle. He immediately controlled the ritual's power and quietly invaded the God of Black Orcs' domain.

"However... as a reward for you, I can make an exception~ The being implicated by this answer is somewhat special, so it will take a little longer. Bear with it~ You may also think about whether there is anything else you need. I will do my utmost to fulfill your wishes!"

"Thank you, Your Excellency!"

Isaac glanced at the percentage figure that only he could see, continuously ticking downward over the ritual. His expression did not change, but inwardly, he sneered.

What a shameless fellow—boasting grandly with his mouth while secretly making his move behind the scenes!

Good thing I'm doing the same!

Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly. Before his gaze seemed to unfold a black night sky, where specks of starlight surrounded three enormous moons!

Perhaps because this was his second time conducting the ritual and he had become more familiar with it, or perhaps it was due to the difference between an Evil God and a Demon God.

In any case, compared with the last time, when he had vaguely and randomly grabbed a few things, Isaac could "see" far more this time.

The three enormous moons in the night sky were the God of Black Orcs' Aspects, representing night, Demonic Beasts, and stars respectively.

Yes, though He was called the God of Black Orcs and received the faith of nearly all black orcs, [Black Orcs] did not exist among His Aspects. Isaac did not know the reason for this. Perhaps He was an impostor, or perhaps this world simply had no Aspect or divine office for races. His knowledge in this area was still sorely lacking.

But it did not matter. It would not affect Isaac's actions.

The three moons were undoubtedly the God of Black Orcs' most important possessions, and the most valuable things on Him. But they were not Isaac's target, because he was still only a Formal Wizard. Even with the ritual's support, he had no way to seize an Outer God's core power, something like an Aspect.

This differed from Dimensional Demon Gods. Dimensions were likewise a Demon God's most important power, but they were simply too vast. Virtually no Demon God would devote all their attention to all of their Dimensional Worlds at every moment.

That was why he had been able to use the ritual's concealment to seize a Dimensional Seed back then. And even that had only succeeded because taking a Dimensional Seed was not considered a major loss.

But if his target were changed to the God of Black Orcs' Aspects, this attempt would definitely fail. And even if it succeeded, he was only a Formal Wizard right now—he simply could not use Aspects. It was not as if he were a Divine Species.

So Isaac's target was the stars surrounding the moons—Forbidden Knowledge!

Not only was this easier to take, he could use it himself.

In fact, this was also the target of most Mad Wizards. Very few Mad Wizards set their sights on Aspects or dimensions. In the eyes of Mad Wizards, that was simply too insane.

And so, the God of Black Orcs delayed the transmission of the intelligence while secretly breaking through Isaac's ritual firewall. Isaac, meanwhile, pretended to consider subsequent wishes while quietly "taking" things from the God of Black Orcs' domain.

Of course, he also kept a constant eye on the percentage displayed over the ritual. Once it passed halfway, whether the God of Black Orcs had delivered the intelligence or not, he would directly terminate the ritual!

At worst, he could just switch to another Outer God. Either way, he would not lose out.

Fortunately, the God of Black Orcs did not overact. With 600% still remaining on the percentage, the relevant intelligence finished transmitting. A beastskin book radiating an evil aura floated silently above the ritual.

"This is all the intelligence. I have also given you some targeted spells. Now then, tell me your next wish."

Hearing the God of Black Orcs' words, Isaac blinked beneath his hood. Why was it over already?

He had only taken three "stars"...

But his objectives had all been achieved, and he had burned through quite a few cushions. The little that remained could not accomplish much, so Isaac decisively stopped, directly cutting off the ritual!

"Hmm?"

Though Isaac moved quickly, the God of Black Orcs noticed in advance. As the one who had invited him into the ritual, He had no way to stop Isaac, the ritual's host, from shutting it down—but He still had a trump card!

He could stake everything on one desperate gamble!

Without the slightest hesitation, the God of Black Orcs widened His eyes. A tremendous force struck across the void, skirting the very edge of the world's laws!

The terrifying might of the Evil God whipped up gust after gust of violent wind, and the gray flames above the ritual boiled madly!

The progress bar in Isaac's eyes instantly plummeted... eighty percent...

Then, the ritual ended.

The gray flames completely dispersed beneath the unwilling gaze of the God of Black Orcs.

"Whew~ That was close, that was close~ Good thing this old man was a cut above~" Isaac wiped away the nonexistent cold sweat from his brow and gazed in satisfaction at the remaining 523% success rate slowly fading before him.

See? Playing it safe was never wrong, was it?