"Phew."
"Good thing I experimented first. Strengthening myself with divine spark essence is far too risky. A Midgod body simply can't withstand it. Even a Divine Beast can only barely endure it, and there's still some risk. It looks like anyone who isn't a Divine Beast can't withstand strengthening with divine spark essence at all. Ideally, it should be a Divine Beast that's already reached Highgod. A Midgod Divine Beast is still cutting it a little close, but the increase in the strength of its divine body is visible to the naked eye!"
With that, Rhodes ended the Midgod Divine Beast serving as his test subject with a single sword strike. After all, aside from himself, the fewer people who knew certain secrets, the better.
Besides, the Deities he killed were enemies of Hathaway, so Rhodes felt no burden killing them. As for mercy, heh!
For five hundred years, Rhodes had continually extracted divine spark essence, practically never stopping to rest. As soon as he recovered, he used his ability again. Even Rhodes had forgotten exactly how many times he had used it. All he remembered was that, out of all the spatial rings he had brought from the Amethyst Mountains, he had emptied two. He had used all the amethyst inside to restore his soul power.
Over those five hundred years, he had asked Hathaway for more divine sparks many times, apart from Lightning Element and Wind Element divine sparks.
Fortunately, as time passed, there were more and more Deities in the Netherworld. There was never any shortage of people. If they wouldn't join them, they could contribute their divine sparks instead!
Over those five hundred years, the territory held by Hathaway's forces had expanded southward by untold tens of thousands of miles. In fifteen hundred years, they had