Pact of the Gods, Vacuum Period

After hearing Li Lin's words, most of the gods remained expressionless, with only a few frowning. Clearly, although they all understood what Li Lin meant, their individual perspectives prevented them from making the same judgment.

"We've also noticed everything you've done in Saint Roland City, Li Lin."

Finally, the God of Light broke the silence and spoke.

"Of course, we are fully aware of everything this young lady has done."

That's why she's sitting here now.

Li Lin interrupted the God of Light's somewhat hesitant statement.

"Angela is an indispensable figure in this war, and you should all understand that given the current situation on the Prime Material Plane, I cannot fight the enemy using conventional methods. You should all be as aware of this as I am. I need Angela's help to achieve goals that we can both agree on."

Li Lin reached out and stroked Angela's hair, signaling her to calm down.

"Of course, I understand that what we're doing will conflict with the principles of some people, but that's the nature of your existence, so I don't blame you."

As he spoke, Li Lin surveyed his surroundings. The God of Dwarves and the God of Elves remained silent. From their perspective, the more humans died, the less pressure they felt. The Goddess of Secrets and the God of Death were remarkably calm; though their thoughts were unknown, given their positions, it was unlikely they cared about such matters. The only problem lay with those of the benevolent camp, such as the God of Light and the Goddess of Dawn. After all, their very existence brought hope and light to humanity. In the impending and unfolding struggle, if communication wasn't handled properly, Li Lin might very well turn against them. Moreover, their doctrines weren't exactly beneficial to Li Lin at the moment. Especially the Goddess of Dawn; Li Lin didn't want her to bring any hope of resisting invaders to the Five-Nation Alliance, as that would be extremely detrimental to him. Only utter despair was what Li Lin desired.

"You did not interfere in the war a thousand years ago. It will be the same now. I only ask that you remain neutral and observe from the sidelines."

"But..."

"No buts."

Li Lin waved his hand dismissively and glared at the Goddess of Dawn was about to say something.

"When the Magic Empire was attacked, let's not forget that both sides abided by the rules. The same applies now. The Five-Nation Alliance killed so many of our people; blood debts must be repaid in blood! Those who offend us will be punished tenfold! This is the Empire's creed, and it has never changed! I imagine you didn't intervene when those guys were slaughtering our people, did you?"

"We were in a very dangerous period at the time, Arcane Mage."

The Goddess of Dawn complained somewhat discontentedly.

"But you also know very well that we represent the rules of this world, and our duty is to uphold these rules, not destroy them."

"The rules don't speak."

Li Lin did not stop refuting this.

"The reason I'm sitting here, negotiating with you, is because you are not only the rules, but also possess human dignity. Otherwise, I would have no reason to do this. I wouldn't negotiate with a book, nor with laws engraved on stone tablets. You and I are here because we have thoughts, minds, and mouths—these are the most important elements, the prerequisites for negotiating with Arcane Mage. Or perhaps, Your Majesty, the Goddess of Dawn, you haven't traded with the Magic Empire for too long and have forgotten this?"

"The Arcane Mage is right."

The God of Light pondered for a moment, and finally nodded slowly.

"These are extraordinary times. According to the Treaty of the Gods, we have the right and the obligation—however, Arcane Mage, please do not forget that the gods are an indispensable cog in the machine of this world. Even if we can temporarily stop turning, it does not mean we will stop forever."

"Of course I understand."

As he spoke, Li Lin stood up and closed his eyes. Soon, a contract radiating golden light appeared before him, slowly floating in the air. Only then did Li Lin open his eyes.

"If there are no further questions, please sign the contract. As for how you handle your followers and the current situation, I will not interfere. I only hope that you can all do your jobs well and not let short-sightedness cause our entire plan to fail."

The contract's light shone even brighter, but Angela didn't find it dazzling at all. She curiously watched the gods sitting around her, trying to see their reactions. But not a single one of them made a move. Only the contract's own aura kept changing. Then, it suddenly burst into flames, engulfed in black flames, and then vanished completely without leaving a trace of ash.

As the contract vanished, the starry sky gradually became illusory, and sunlight pierced through again, bringing reality back into the space. Everyone's vision blurred, and then they were back in the circular Hall of the Ring of Law. The sacred aura had disappeared, leaving only remnants of Astral Plane dust on the ground, a testament to everything that had just transpired.

"Owner?"

Angela hesitated, then curiously looked up at Li Lin. Li Lin didn't say anything, but simply smiled and patted Angela's head.

"I think you understand now, Angela. Yes, your actions will indeed displease the gods, especially those of the benevolent side. But these are extraordinary times, and they must temporarily relinquish some of their obligations. This is stipulated in the Contract of the Gods, and we have ample time to utilize until this war ends. Your actions are absolutely necessary. Now, do you still have any complaints?"

"Absolutely not!"

Angela smiled excitedly and rushed into Li Lin's arms.

"I will certainly do my best to fulfill your requirements and tasks, Master! Please rest assured and leave everything to me!"

"I look forward to your victory."

Li Lin didn't say much. He understood perfectly well that Angela's detailed description of how she had humiliated the mother and daughter was precisely to ascertain Li Lin's bottom line. To some extent, while Angela was cruel and ruthless, she was never a simple-minded fool who only knew how to indulge in pleasure. If Li Lin believed that Angela's actions would affect his future strategies, then Angela would reduce the brutality of her actions. However, Li Lin clearly had no intention of doing so. This was a war of revenge; all Li Lin needed to do was drive away and destroy the foreign enemies occupying his territory. Therefore, he didn't need prisoners, much less negotiations.

Sometimes, simple killing is more effective than strategies that take a long time to work.

In fact, even without Angela's hint, Li Lin had already planned to convene this Astral Plane Meeting. He had been worried that while these gods claimed to be his allies, they couldn't directly interfere in the affairs of the Prime Material Plane. In other words, their alliance was often just lip service. These rule-personifying gods would never do anything that didn't benefit them or violate their principles. For example, the Goddess of Secrets helped Li Lin keep the secret of the Magic Empire's resurgence precisely because the secret would enhance her power, which was also the source of her existence. However, in other matters, these gods were very fickle. Although Li Lin could learn from the Five-Nation Alliance and ignore the other gods, however...

"I have a feeling that the relationship between the Five-Nation Alliance and the God of Justice is not as simple as it seems."

Thinking about this, Li Lin became even more certain of this.

Although the gods did not intervene when the Magic Empire was destroyed due to the rules... no, perhaps they simply had no way to intervene. Even if the rules restricted their actions, they could have responded through their agents on the ground. Those gods who love peace and light would never allow the Five-Nation Alliance to act so recklessly. Even if all the Arcane Mage were wiped out, from their perspective, they would not allow the Five-Nation Alliance to carry out a massacre of that scale.

However, the God of Justice, who appeared out of nowhere, launched an attack on the gods, greatly weakening them and leaving them with neither the time nor the leisure to intervene in the affairs of the Prime Material Plane. When they recovered and attempted to take action, their Temple and followers on the Prime Material Plane had been almost completely annihilated by the Five-Nation Alliance. Now it seems this was definitely not just a simple coincidence; the Five-Nation Alliance and the God of Justice must have reached some kind of agreement. During the Five-Nation Alliance's attack on the Magic Empire, the God of Justice launched an offensive against the gods in the Divine Realm, forcing them to turn their attention away from the Prime Material Plane, thus leaving the Five-Nation Alliance's actions unchecked.

During the war a thousand years ago, the Arcane Mage were unaware of this situation. Firstly, the God of Justice probably hadn't provided any substantial help to the Five-Nation Alliance, as they hadn't detected any divine power from the soldiers. They mistakenly believed that the gods hadn't intervened in the war. However, they never expected that the God of Justice would actually help the Five-Nation Alliance through a "roundabout" method, using another means.

At the time, the Arcane Mage were focused on the war threats facing the Magic Empire and therefore paid little attention to the situation in the Outer Planes. As for the gods, since the Arcane Mage had no way to intervene in the affairs of the Outer Planes, presumably due to the belief that notification would be useless and the gods' own pride, the two sides did not engage in any communication or discussion on this matter.

Now, after Li Lin signed the pact with the gods, the situation has completely reversed. However, this time, he is responsible for two aspects—not only attacking the Five-Nation Alliance, but also weakening the God of Justice in the Prime Material Plane, forcing the God of Justice to shift his attention from chasing those gods to the Prime Material Plane, thus giving these gods a chance to recuperate and preserve their strength. It is precisely for this reason that when Li Lin proposed this pact, which drastically violated the gods' principles, not a single god expressed explicit opposition. After all, they didn't want to be absorbed and become some kind of hodgepodge of "Hidden Light and Dawn and God of Justice." Faced with survival and principles, even gods will make a choice; otherwise, what use is the other half of their personality?

"It seems our decision this time was correct."

Nia also stood up and let out a soft breath.

"They won't refuse."

Li Lin was very confident about this.

Even disregarding Angela's situation, they would agree with my approach. Arcane Mage has no fixed stance; we can be good or evil. We never insist on achieving victory through a particular method. We simply abide by order and rules, and uphold what we should uphold.

At this point, Li Lin paused and looked at Nia.

How's it going?

"Based on your proposed plan, I've already allocated manpower, but... progress isn't going well."

"Very difficult?"

Hearing this, Li Lin felt a headache coming on.

"After all..."

As she spoke, Nia gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"Although you've drawn up sketches and design plans, none of us have ever seen anything like it. Even in our imagination, it's hard to conceive of such a weapon. I really don't know how that world called Earth managed to create something like this."