At the Heavenly River Legion's base, everyone from the Ice Blade 123 Squad sat together in their private courtyard.
Fukaloss smiled brightly, her eyes curving with delight. "We completed this mission perfectly. We've made a huge haul!"
Blair raised an eyebrow. "Miss, we only killed three of the enemy's Godlevel fighters."
"I already checked at the mission hall." Fukaloss waved a hand. "There were eight targets. Other squads took out two during this time, and we dealt with three. The remaining three haven't shown themselves at all. They've probably already fled our territory."
Under their eager gazes, she cleared her throat and deliberately drew out her words. "Ahem—now, let's divide the spoils!"
The items seized in the earlier battle were laid out one by one.
The three Sanctuary Beast corpses were precious food for Sanctuary-level fighters struggling to survive in the wilderness. But to them, with Godlevel fighters backing them, they were little more than a bonus.
As for the Black Knight remains, though they had been transformed from human Sanctuary-level fighters and wouldn't be taken by the Underworld after death, they couldn't be eaten either. At most, their bones could be used to forge weapons, so they weren't worth much.
"Most of the Sanctuary-level fighters in the Evil Royal City are turned into undead. Their spoils are worth far less than those of ordinary Sanctuary-level fighters after death," Julia said calmly.
Gideon rummaged through the enemies' spatial rings and muttered, "There are more than a dozen Sanctuary-level corpses in here, both human and beast. They must have hunted them in our territory."
"That's all?" Barn blurted out before he could stop himself.
Gideon's honest, bear-like face glared fiercely at him. "That's already a lot! They've only been sneaking around here for twenty years, and they've had to avoid the Heavenly River Legion's patrols the whole time."
Declan asked curiously, "What I really want to know is, why did they collect so much flesh and blood? There are so many Godlevel fighters in the Royal City. Their Divine Power should be plentiful."
Blair explained, "Some rare plants and special magical beasts need to be nourished with flesh and blood. The elemental energy inside the Royal City is barely enough to supply its residents, so they have to make up for the nutrients with flesh and blood. For example, the Sword Ghosts in our Ice Prison Royal City can only produce Blood Swords by devouring enough flesh and blood. The fruit trees in the Royal City also rely on flesh and blood for nourishment."
Fukaloss clapped her hands. "All right, all right. It's such a happy day. Let's not bring up anything so depressing."
She pushed a few truly valuable spoils into the center.
"As for those Sanctuary-level remains and Godlevel corpses, keep some as emergency rations. I'll take the rest to the Royal City and sell them for resources. But these—these are the real haul."
Among them were the Divine Artifacts seized not long ago when they killed two Godlevel fighters in quick succession:
A blood-red spear, a black iron hook, and a metal suit of armor.
The Skull-Eating Mantis had clearly been confident in its own shell—or perhaps it had become a god too recently to have acquired even one Defensive Divine Artifact.
"These two Godlevel fighters probably haven't been gods for long," Fukaloss said. "Even this spear hasn't fully transformed into a true Divine Artifact yet."
Julia stared at the blood-red spear, her gaze shifting slightly. "Is this the Blood Spear produced by the Spear Spirit? It's a fine grade."
"That's right." Fukaloss nodded. "The Sword Ghosts, Spear Spirits, and Blade Demons of the Abyss all produce weapons in the same way. The lowest grade is silver-gray, with power close to that of a Divine Artifact. When it turns blood-red, its power is no less than that of a Lowgod Artifact. To make it any stronger, it has to be produced by a Godlevel individual."
She took out another greatsword wreathed in blood-red energy and waved it around as if showing off.
"This is the mission reward I got in exchange for the badges of those three Godlevel fighters from the Evil Royal City. Normally, one Godlevel badge gets you one gray Blood Sword. But the mission officer was impressed by how well I did and made an exception, giving me this blood-red greatsword. It's worth ten times as much as the gray one!"
"Miss, you're amazing!"
Everyone joined in the praise. Even Julia and Blair, who were usually reserved, applauded softly.
"There are four decent Divine Artifacts in all. Barn contributed the most this time, so you can pick first."
Barn's heart stirred.
He actually wanted the blood-red spear the most. Its material was already comparable to that of a Divine Artifact, and once he became a god and refined it, it would be more powerful than an ordinary Divine Artifact.
But after a moment's hesitation, he reached out and picked up the wind-element metal lock armor, a Defensive Divine Artifact.
A Tiger-pattern Warrior's body was strong, but still fell short of an Undead Warrior's, let alone the protection offered by wearing a Defensive Divine Artifact. Staying alive came first. Everything else was empty talk.
"Now you can choose."
But the others simply watched. No one moved.
Gideon and Declan were magical beasts, so they couldn't use humanoid offensive Divine Artifacts, and Barn had taken the Defensive Divine Artifact. Blair's body was formed from ice, so he couldn't wear one—and besides, he already had a battle-axe. Julia came from a wealthy family, too. The longbow in her hand clearly wasn't ordinary; Barn even suspected it was a Midgod Artifact. The leather armor she wore also gave off a faint trace of Divine Power. As expected, the descendants of Godlevel fighters were well equipped.
"Since none of these suit you, I'll hold on to them for now and give them out as rewards later. For now..."
She opened her palm. Three crystalline Godheads, each radiating a different aura, floated quietly above it: one Earth Element, one Wind Element, and one dark-element Godhead.
"We killed three Godlevel fighters this time, so you can each choose one of these three Godheads as a reward!"
Barn shook his head firmly. As someone who had crossed into this world, he couldn't accept taking the path of refining a Godhead.
Julia and Blair shook their heads as well. They had gone out to gain experience precisely so they could become gods on their own.
Gideon stared at the Earth Element Godhead for a long time, but finally gritted his teeth and shook his head. He was only one step away from becoming a god and didn't want all his efforts to go to waste.
Declan stared at the dark-element Godhead, his dark golden pupils wavering with indecision.
Barn looked at him but didn't try to dissuade him. In this cursed place, Gobada, no one could claim to be absolutely safe, even with a Godlevel fighter protecting them. He respected his companion's choice.
After a moment, Declan shook his head gently, too. "I'll pass."
Fukaloss happily put the Godheads away. "I knew I'd picked the right people. You all have plenty of willpower!"
She took out several Soul Gold Beads and handed them around. "Two for everyone except Barn."
Barn immediately edged closer, gazing at her pleadingly. "Miss, what about me? My soul was badly wounded!"
"You already got a Defensive Divine Artifact. You still have the nerve to ask for more?"
Barn pursed his lips sulkily. He'd only been trying to wheedle a little extra out of her, but it clearly hadn't worked.
Julia asked in confusion, "You handed out eight Soul Gold Beads just now. Were those two Godlevel fighters really that wealthy?"
"They weren't theirs. They were from my own stock." Fukaloss spoke casually, brimming with a rich woman's confidence. "Once I sell these Godheads in the Royal City, I'll be able to get another batch."
She clapped her hands and announced, "We've completed the mission perfectly. Everyone, get some good rest. We'll have a proper feast tonight to celebrate!"
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