"The bandits in the Black Mountain Range are as thick as fleas!" Hodan couldn't even be bothered to glance at the corpses on the ground. "My Fate God Clone has finally recovered, too. It's time to move on to the next step."
Hodan was in an unfamiliar place, so he couldn't afford to let his guard down. He had spotted the brown-haired man as soon as he appeared.
He just hadn't expected the man to attack the cave so decisively.
But it was already too late. Hodan had finished healing. Fortunately, he had prepared well, bringing plenty of healing pills and drinking his fill of Golden Clarity Wine to strengthen his foundations and nourish his vitality.
After three months of recuperation, his Fate God Clone had now fully recovered. And after that fierce battle, Hodan's comprehension of the Fate Rule had finally reached the Six-Star Fiend level.
Disaster was the best catalyst for growth. Calamity could bring fortune—one either failed to overcome it and suffered a calamity, or overcame it and found good fortune. Hodan's Fate God Clone had enjoyed that good fortune and naturally broken through to the Six-Star Fiend level.
Now Hodan could finally use his ultimate move to a limited extent. Before, his cultivation had been insufficient to sustain it. But now, he could use "Present World Delusion" twenty or thirty times in a single battle without issue. Once Hodan truly became a Seven-Star Fiend, the move would become one he could use routinely.
Hodan was now a Six-Star Fiend at the peak of his level. His attack power could even reach the Seven-Star level; only his speed and defense fell short. But he had a full set of Defensive Divine Artifacts, so his defense wasn't a problem. Speed was what he lacked. For now, Hodan was a Six-Star Fiend with Seven-Star attack power.
He could be called a quasi-Seven-Star Fiend. Such beings were Six-Star Fiends with a severe imbalance: they had reached the Seven-Star Fiend level in one particular area, but were less well-rounded overall. Under the right circumstances, however, they could kill a Seven-Star Fiend.
Although he had been gravely wounded in that battle, he had gained a great deal as well. His understanding of the Death Rule had deepened. Killing, after all, was the clearest expression of death.
It seemed he could take on more war-related Fiend Missions. That would help him comprehend the Death Rule faster.
"It's time to leave." Hodan took a flying Metal Lifeform from a ring, climbed inside, and guided it into the sky. It streaked out of the mountain range at terrifying speed.
After breaking through, Hodan was at least ten times stronger than he had been three months earlier. The Metal Lifeform he piloted also flew much faster.
Hodan's Metal Lifeform cut across the sky. Whenever anyone probed him with divine sense, he sent out a blade of light to warn them off.
Hodan no longer bothered with low-level bandits. As long as they didn't attack him, he didn't mind letting them go.
At dusk, outside Silvermoon City.
The Metal Lifeform Hodan piloted streaked over like a stream of light and stopped in front of the city gates. It had taken Hodan nearly six months to reach the Black Mountain Range, but only ten days to return.
The benefits of his greatly increased strength were obvious—even traveling took far less time. He couldn't use his full speed because of his newly created ultimate move, and he had also gotten lost along the way, but even so, the change in his strength was clear.
After entering Silvermoon City through the Fiend passage, Hodan was now the one people watched with envy and awe.
After resting for one night, Hodan gathered all his divine clones in Hell. From now on, he would push himself to the limit and strive to improve as quickly as possible.
Hodan didn't go meet up with Silvermoon and the others. Without stopping, he headed to Fiend Castle to take a war mission.
Hodan would temper his Fate Rule through killing and death, rapidly strengthen his Destruction God Clone, and bring the Death Rule to godhood.
Fiend Castle seemed as eternally unchanging as ever.
Hodan accepted a Six-Star war mission. That was right—he planned to raise his Fiend rank. He already had the strength of a Six-Star Fiend, so he saw no reason to keep lying low. Besides, he would need the status of a Prefect when dealing with the Four Divine Beasts Clan in the future.
Only a Seven-Star Fiend could challenge for the position of Prefect; otherwise, you wouldn't even get to meet one. Unless you were a Paragon, you still had to follow Fiend Castle's rules and work your way up through the missions, from the lowest rank to Seven-Star.
Six-Star War Mission: At the request of Alex, chief of the Thick Earth Tribe, join the Thick Earth Tribe in destroying the Black Water Tribe. Reward: 6 billion Inkstones. Slots: 1 (of 6). Arrive at the Thick Earth Tribe within one year. (Note: This mission is extremely dangerous. It is recommended that only those with the strength of a peak Six-Star Fiend accept it.)
The Metal Lifeform vanished from the sky with a whoosh, leaving Silvermoon City behind as it flew toward the Thick Earth Tribe.
Hodan's Fate God Clone piloted the Metal Lifeform, while his Destruction God Clone studied the Destruction Rules, and his original body comprehended the Death Rule.
His Fate God Clone had already reached the Six-Star Fiend level, so it would be difficult to make much progress in the short term. He would need an event that changed the protagonist's fate or to survive a great battle. But Linley was only about two years old now, still in infancy. Aside from his mother Lina being sacrificed to the Radiant Overlord by the Radiant Church, nothing major had happened.
Even that sacrifice had only moved Hodan a little; it hadn't led to any great progress. After all, Linley's mother hadn't had much influence on him. Apart from giving birth to the protagonist, she hadn't done much to shape Linley's fate.
War was cruel. In the past, Hodan had only seen such cruelty on television and in the news. Now he was about to take part in it himself, even appearing in the role of a creator.
In truth, the danger of hovering on the brink of life and death, of dancing along the edge of a blade, made Hodan's once peaceful life feel like it was surging with excitement.
Hodan was afraid, too, but the conviction that he would return home was deeply ingrained in his soul.
Facing death was something Hodan had never experienced before, yet it made him feel a surge of excitement. Between life and death lay great terror—and great opportunities.
Hodan was beginning to enjoy breaking through in the midst of life-and-death struggles. The feeling was indescribable.
Different worlds and different experiences could truly change a person. Hodan had once been an ordinary office worker; now he was showing signs of becoming a battle maniac.
On the plains where the Thick Earth Tribe was based, an ancient blackish-brown castle rose from the ground. It was built entirely of Black Brown Stone. Despite its name, Black Brown Stone was harder than Black Jade. It was a major material used to build walls throughout Hell, and this castle, built entirely of it and reinforced with magical arrays, was even sturdier than a city wall.
The castle was also the residence of the Thick Earth Tribe's chief.
The Thick Earth Tribe produced Black Brown Stone in abundance. Its chief excelled at the Laws of the Earth and was himself a Seven-Star Fiend. The tribe had been named after him. Only a tribe founded by a Seven-Star Fiend could occupy such a vast territory rich in this important construction material.
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