Round Two Ends; Round Three, an Even Fiercer and More Spectacular Clash Among the Gods, Begins at Once! (Continued)

Hela nodded, ready to tear through space and take her lover with her...

But just then,

a rift in space opened first.

White Vulture appeared from within the rift and waved enthusiastically at Rhine.

"Your Highness Rhine~"

Smiling brightly, White Vulture approached Rhine.

"Your Highness, are you here to open the Golden Land? Even though demons have already occupied this place, rest assured—with me protecting you, everything will be fine!"

But unlike the warmly welcoming White Vulture,

Rhine seemed quite cold.

"I know. After all, Miss White Vulture, you're a descendant of the Blood Empress, a rarity in the mortal world. The Gospel Blood Cavalry would surely never dare offend you. But... I don't need your help."

"Huh?" White Vulture froze.

Rhine said gravely, "Miss White Vulture, the price you offered was far too steep, and accepting it would tarnish the reputation of the Hain royal family. After careful consideration, I've decided to turn you down. Besides..."

Rhine looked at the lovely woman beside him, warmth entering his eyes. "I already have a demigod I can trust, one who's willing to protect me on the way to the Golden Land. Isn't that right, Hela?"

Hela's eyes were just as tender. "I'll protect you with my life, Your Highness."

And so,

leaving a bewildered White Vulture behind,

Rhine and Hela, the sweet couple, walked hand in hand into the rift in space, chatting and laughing.

W-what was going on?

White Vulture stood frozen in place, utterly incredulous.

Yesterday, White Vulture and Rhine had been getting along just fine. Why had he suddenly turned against her today?

But soon...

she seemed to understand.

Indeed,

as Rhine had said, considering the dignity of the royal family, as well as the consequences of a future emperor leaving behind bloodline in a foreign country,

the price of hiring White Vulture through an Azalea Secret Ritual was simply too high!

It was only natural for Rhine to reject White Vulture.

What had happened could certainly be explained as Rhine spending all night agonizing over it, then finally deciding—with Hela's support—to abandon this losing proposition.

But...

what if, just what if...

what if Rhine had never intended to work with White Vulture in the first place?

What if, from the very beginning, yesterday's conversation hadn't been meant for White Vulture at all?

White Vulture suddenly understood!!

Perhaps Rhine had never approved of the deal!

But!

He had deliberately pretended he was willing to perform an Azalea Secret Ritual with White Vulture, flirting shamelessly with her.

And all of it

was to make Hela, who loved Rhine deeply but couldn't make up her mind, finally choose!!

The man she loved was about to fall into the arms of another demigod and accept her protection!

That way,

Hela would have no choice but to resolve herself to breaking the iron laws of Order and offer Rhine everything precious to her before White Vulture could take her place.

And afterward, Hela would still think she had forced Rhine into it, and feel guilty toward him!!

Little did she know that her surging, fluttering maiden's heart had never once escaped Rhine's calculations.

What a scumbag!

An absolute scumbag!!!

Though this theory was utterly outrageous,

the powerful intuition bestowed upon White Vulture by her composite divinity told her it was exactly what had happened!!

And White Vulture, from beginning to end, had played no more than the role of a stepping stone.

A stepping stone that served Hela a nice, big lemon.

Unlike Hela, hopelessly lost in the sweet bliss of love,

cool-headed White Vulture had already seen through Rhine's scheme and his true nature.

White Vulture lifted her cheeks with trembling hands, her gaze dreamy...

After seeing through Rhine... her tastes had changed.

Ah...

Your Highness Rhine is so wicked...

But I love it!!!

Thanks to ATATA for the tip. What a generous boss!!

Obadiah, you wouldn't want Constance to get bullied, would you? After passing through the spatial fissure, Rhine and Hela arrived in an instant at the lowest level of the Golden Land.

It was an endless mine shaft spiraling deep underground.

At its center stood a golden platform, floating above the abyss.

An elaborate array was carved into the platform's floor and protected by some powerful magic, temporarily holding back the Nether Realm's corruption.

It was a door.

The part of the Golden Land where Rhine now stood was merely an auxiliary field base, excavated by the dwarves to supply fuel to the Golden Land.

But the real Golden Land—the doomsday cannon powered by gold—hadn't been seen by anyone since the Golden Dwarves went extinct.

And this golden platform was the gateway to that god-slaying superweapon.

By now, the lowest mine level and the Golden Land's gate had both been completely occupied by demons.

Countless demons crowded the place, using all kinds of evil methods to carry out some sort of profane ritual.

The Gospel Blood Cavalry of [Justice] could invade the mortal world without relying on a Nether Realm Gate, using living bodies as vessels to manifest out of thin air.

But that didn't mean the Gospel Blood Cavalry couldn't use conventional means to invade the mortal world.

Here, beneath the Golden Land, Rhine could see at least five Nether Realm Gates.

As the Nether Realm's corruption deepened, creating portals into it was becoming steadily easier.

And so,

the Gospel Blood Cavalry kept tearing open the mortal world, creating more Nether Realm Gates and pouring into it in a frenzy.

Warriors—

they needed more warriors.

They had to prepare for the coming holy war.

The cowardly goblins and the garrison were no threat at all,

but the divine fleet of the dwarf kings

was about to arrive!

Rhine said, "Hela, take out the sword."

A golden single-handed sword was placed in Rhine's hand.

New Single-Handed Sword 01,

this sword had another name.

The Sword of Justice.

Not because the sword itself was particularly just.

Rather,

according to the Primal Sequence's plan,

this sword would one day smash the skull of the current Nether Realm Empress [Justice].

With the Pay-to-Win Sword, Rhine could open the door to the real Golden Land.

But...

if he opened the door while bringing tens of thousands—or even more—demons inside the Golden Land with him, that would be a serious problem...

He had to clear the place out first.

And he had to do it quickly. The Nether Realm Gates also had to be closed at once.

Otherwise, with five Nether Realm Gates at their backs, the demons could replenish the forces Rhine killed several times over in the blink of an eye!

Rhine had only two options for clearing out the demons.

Have Hela do it, or control a puppet and fight them himself.

But...

ever since he'd gotten the Pay-to-Win Sword from Constance earlier, a new idea had taken shape in Rhine's mind.

Rhine tapped the spine of the Pay-to-Win Sword.

Rhine said, "Obadiah, come out for a moment."

Obadiah said, "..."

Demonic light shimmered inside the Pay-to-Win Sword, and an overly round, tiny ancient dragon reluctantly emerged from it.

Obadiah glared coldly at Rhine, defiance written all over his face.

Obadiah said, "What?"

Rhine said, "I need a hand."

Obadiah said, "No!"

Rhine smiled. "Relax, it's simple. Here, take a look."

Rhine pointed at the demonic nest below. "Kill all these demons. Can you do it?"

"Are you crazy?!"

Obadiah glanced below and was shocked.

"How am I supposed to fight this many demons now?! Can't you have your demigod do it?!"

Obadiah's strength had greatly diminished by now. He was no longer the princess who had dared to fight Olivia for the throne.

"But you're an ancient dragon."

Rhine beamed. "That means you can use this sword!"

W-wait, what?

Obadiah froze.

This bastard... actually had the nerve to think of that?

Rhine explained his tactics. "You're an ancient dragon, after all, so you have authorization to use New Single-Handed Sword 01. You may be down on your luck now, but if you can still use the power of this sword, it shouldn't be difficult to clear out the demons down there, right?"