When the Saint Descended

The previously chaotic battlefield immediately fell silent.

The Ghoul retreated swiftly, kneeling on the ground, too ashamed to raise their heads. At Angela's command, they expressed their fear and respect to the man shimmering with magical light. The paladins, swords in hand, knelt on one knee, their eyes filled with piety, fanaticism, and excitement as they watched the figure slowly materialize from the white mist. Both sides understood that at this level of combat, the outcome between them was no longer important. For the two who would decide the battle had appeared.

Unlike usual, Li Lin now wore a black cloak never before seen by anyone. The cloak billowed in the storm, its surface shimmering with an illusory, beautiful light. Behind him, three diamond-shaped metal plates slowly rotated, floating above Li Lin shoulders. Strolling across the carpet of corpses, Li Lin's expression was indifferent and natural as he walked forward leisurely, as if taking a post-dinner stroll. Before him, the divine power emanating from the figures seemed to encounter an impenetrable barrier, constantly retreating.

Just then, a sacred, gentle voice appeared, whispering as if it entered the depths of everyone's soul.

"Arcane Mage..."

"This is our first meeting, isn't it, God of Justice... or rather, the new God of Justice?"

Li Lin was not shaken by the low shout. As Arcane Mage, having the power to stand on equal footing with the gods was not solely based on reputation.

Why would you... commit such a foolish act?

"That's what I wanted to say."

Li Lin stood before the white mist, gazing at the figures within through the indistinct clouds.

"The Prime Material Plane has always been managed by us Arcane Mage. Why are you, as a god, interfering in my actions?"

"... The era of the Magic Empire is over, Arcane Mage. I advise you to retire as soon as possible."

"As long as Arcane Mage exist, the Magic Empire will endure forever."

Li Lin stared intently at the figure inside, secretly gathering his power. Although this was his first time seeing the God of Justice, Li Lin, who had dealt with countless gods before, quickly sensed something was amiss. At first glance, the pure divine power contained various auras, not just good and neutral, but even the aura of evil was faintly visible within. He wondered how many divine positions this God of Justice had obtained to possess such a vast reserve of divine power.

That's really strange.

Li Lin frowned slightly. He knew that becoming a god wasn't something that could be done overnight; the progression from Lesser God to Intermediate God, and then to a high-level god, required a very long time. Just like a mage, each advancement carried some kind of risk. According to the rules, the power possessed by each god was roughly fixed. Take the God of Light, for example; his divine office was "light," so all divine offices related to light, such as "dawn," "hope," "justice," and "goodness," were under his jurisdiction. Moreover, the power of these other gods could never surpass that of the God of Light. If a low-level god wanted to devour the divine power and office of a Greater God, the risk was no less than that of a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Li Lin had once witnessed a mage in the multiverse attempting to seize the position of Greater God, only to perish because he couldn't withstand the power of that Greater God. The same principle applied to the advancement from Lesser God to Greater God; before the rules, those who defied their superiors generally only brought about their own destruction. However, this God of Justice was strange. Even though he had killed so many gods over a thousand years, how had he managed to absorb all their power into his own body?

"Last time, I fell into your trap. But this time, I won't make the same mistake again. This isn't the Capital of the Magic Empire, and you can't suppress my power."

"But you also can't use your full strength."

Faced with the provocation of the God of Justice, Li Lin suppressed his doubts and answered leisurely.

"Unless you want to destroy the entire Prime Material Plane, but I guess even if your theology is terrible, you should understand that the destruction of the Prime Material Plane will only lead to your own collapse."

As they spoke, the two continued to move forward. The white mist swallowed the flesh and blood on the ground, and then... it stopped.

"Evil Arcane Mage, your plan will never succeed."

"Then let's give it a try."

The pause was only momentary, before it escalated into a fierce collision.

Like a manifestation of energy, the white clouds and the unseen magical barrier in front of Li Lin collided violently. Light and sparks erupted, cracking the ground and causing the air to tremble irregularly. Even the entire city and space itself began to distort and deform. The sacred gate to another world remained wide open, and the massive city floating in the sky remained motionless. Then, under the combined force of the collision and accumulation of power, the unbalanced confrontation finally erupted with a loud "bang." The clouds dissipated, and several magical runes suddenly appeared around Li Lin, then transformed into golden sand and vanished into the air.

At this moment, the true face of the God of Justice was finally revealed to everyone.

He didn't look old; in fact, he seemed too young. His spirited face, black eyes, and hair formed a perfect harmony. His robust body was clad in unassuming armor. He looked no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old, hardly resembling a god ruling the world. Yet, his smile was full of confidence and hope, and the white flame burning in his eyes was like an unwavering, irresistible belief. The God of Justice stood empty-handed, without any weapons, just like Li Lin, gazing at the man before him with a confident smile.

"That's really..."

Although he was somewhat prepared, Li Lin still couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The descent of a saint was nothing like an ordinary incarnation. When a god used his power to create an avatar and descend to the Prime Material Plane, the act itself meant a considerable expenditure of resources. To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, a god entering the Prime Material Plane was like a coin-devouring machine that automatically consumed a considerable amount of money every second; a god with insufficient wealth would lose everything. But the God of Justice was now descending not through believers, but through his own avatar. This was like a wealthy landowner whose only worry was that he could never spend all his money.

On the other hand, it can also be seen that the God of Justice has indeed obtained a considerable amount of divine power. No wonder even the God of Light and the Goddess of Secrets avoid him like mice hide from a cat, and even that bisexual pervert was beaten down and forced to flee from the Abyss to the Prime Material Plane to hide from the storm.

"Arcane Mage, I warn you again."

Gazing at Li Lin, the God of Justice slowly spoke.

"Stop immediately and abandon this evil plan. How many more people do you intend to suffer and die before you're satisfied?"

"It will be enough until the Five-Nation Alliance is completely wiped out."

Li Lin put his hands behind his back and disappeared into his cloak.

"I also warn you again, God of Justice, do not interfere with the actions of Arcane Mage. I do not recall ever transferring jurisdiction over the Prime Material Plane."

"Presumptuous!!"

Before the God of Justice could speak, a beam of white light suddenly erupted from behind him, shooting straight towards Li Lin. Henderson, gripping his sword with both hands and protected by divine power, thrust it towards Li Lin's body. What kind of thing was Arcane Mage? How dare he so brazenly defy a great god! This was utterly unforgivable evil that had to be eradicated!

However, Henderson's longsword did not achieve its intended goal. Accompanied by a cold, dark storm, a fan easily blocked the tip of Henderson's longsword.

"Get out of my way, you lowly commoner!"

Angela shouted, her eyes bloodshot.

"You have no right to appear before my master!!"

Henderson roared, his body flying backward and landing behind the God of Justice. Angela swayed slightly, then looked at the holy knight with a cold smile, gracefully lifting her skirt and returning to Li Lin's side.

"It seems the negotiations have broken down."

The God of Justice glanced at Angela and slowly spoke.

"From the very beginning, I had no intention of negotiating with you."

Li Lin bent forward slightly, it was unclear what preparations he was making.

"Then... submit to the light of justice Arcane Mage!!"

Just then, the God of Justice suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed at Li Lin.

There was no power, no light, nothing at all. It was as if he had merely flicked his finger casually, but in the next instant, the God of Justice widened his eyes in surprise, while a mocking smile appeared on Li Lin's lips.

"The first lesson in the study of divinity is this: Arcane Mage are never ordinary beings!"

Then, Li Lin's figure vanished instantly.

Dark, dense shadows gathered and coalesced from all around. Faced with this scene, the God of Justice's expression turned God of Justice. He quickly withdrew his hand and retreated. Just as he retreated, he seemed to suddenly sense something, swiftly turning around and drawing a longsword composed of pure light from the void with his right hand, which he then quickly moved in front of him. As the God of Justice held the longsword horizontally beside him, Li Lin's figure suddenly appeared before him, wearing his usual smile, and thrust out a dark dagger.

"Bite!!"

Swords clashed.

Although neither of them moved, everyone felt the light enveloping them and the shadows covering the ground tremble simultaneously.

"Hmph, what a boring trick!"

Faced with Li Lin's sneak attack, the God of Justice was clearly surprised. He hadn't expected that a mage would act like a thief.

"I really don't know what you take Arcane Mage for."

Both figures vanished simultaneously, their movements unseen by anyone. The only clues were the collisions, vibrations, cracks, and firelight between light and darkness. Under the influence of magic, Li Lin's figure became ethereal, while the God of Justice seemed to manipulate all light and space, appearing in every corner bathed in light, relentlessly pursuing the ghostly Arcane Mage.

After missing his target again, Li Lin quickly retreated, the Gloomy Curse in his hand turning into a shadow and returning to his cloak. Taking advantage of this gap, the God of Justice rushed in front of Li Lin with almost imperceptible movements. He raised the Sword of Light, as if to slash downwards—then immediately flipped his body, dodging the arrow that grazed his cheek in an extremely bizarre posture.

"Not bad, but still a bit lacking compared to the God of War. Didn't you absorb his power? Let me see your abilities."

At this moment, a jade-green longbow had appeared in Li Lin's hand without anyone noticing. Magical light flowed and radiated from it, shining brightly and exuding a natural brilliance.

Tear of the Meteor.

"You will regret this, Arcane Mage. Your arrogance and hubris will be the Root of your downfall."

Whether angered by Li Lin's words or deciding to end the conflict, the God of Justice fell silent. He raised his longsword, and countless rays of light converged in his hand. The sword, initially intangible, began to transform. Then, the God of Justice of God of Justice gripped the sword with both hands and forcefully cleaved it down. With this action, all the surrounding light transformed into tangible blades, slashing down towards Li Lin. The vibrations and roars in the air surpassed everything else; even the small pebbles scattered in the air could not escape the light-speed strikes and were completely pulverized.

However, despite this terrifying attack, Li Lin maintained his leisurely expression, smiling indifferently.

"A very powerful method of using divine power... but don't forget, I am a mage— Arcane Mage!"

As Li Lin muttered to himself, a magnificent and heavy spellbook suddenly appeared before him. Instantly, countless magical runes appeared on the spellbook, spreading out and enveloping Li Lin. Various powerful protective spells were activated by Li Lin's Magic Power, forming a flawless defensive posture to meet the light slash launched by the God of Justice.

This was a true head-on clash. Surrounded by dozens of defensive spells and multiple magical structures, Li Lin was nearly invincible. However, the light slash, condensed from pure and immense divine power, was no ordinary weapon either.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the immense blade of light unleashed by the God of Justice, powerful enough to drastically alter the very fabric of the world, struck Li Lin squarely, despite his defenses being reinforced by multiple magical structures. This was a true clash between divine and Magic Power. Would the God of Justice, having plundered the power of hundreds of gods, ultimately gain an overwhelming advantage, or would the Arcane Mage, possessing the very essence of this world's Magic Power, withstand the attack? All eyes were now fixed on the battle between the two. The Ghoul screamed in agony at the blinding holy light, while the paladins gripped their weapons, anxiously awaiting the final outcome. Only Angela remained calmly standing her ground, paying no further attention whatsoever. To her, Li Lin's life or death seemed utterly irrelevant.

The Blade of Light shone ever brighter, and the God of Justice's expression grew increasingly solemn. He could sense that even with so much divine power, Li Lin's magical defenses remained impenetrable. Although many protective spells shattered and were destroyed under the influence of divine power, these damned magical defenses had not completely dissipated. On the contrary, with the disappearance of most spells, the remaining protective spells seemed to be becoming increasingly difficult to break.

Meanwhile, Li Lin, protected by magic, was not so relaxed as he stared at the sharp blade that was pressing down on his head. Although the holy light did not affect him, the aura of divine power still made Li Lin feel somewhat uncomfortable. This was an innate confrontation between Magic Power users and divine power users, and neither of them could change it.

"This looks like a real hassle... But the data has been collected, and it's about time this game ended."

As Li Lin spoke, he casually made a few hand gestures in the air. Then, a teleportation light appeared beside him, and Li Lin took a step to the side.

"Boom!!!"

The blade of light finally shattered the last magical defense and pierced deep into the earth.

We won!!

Witnessing the scene before them, the paladins cheered with joy. This proved once again that the power of the great god was irresistible! Even Arcane Mage and evil sorcerers would ultimately be no match for the great god! They would be reduced to ashes and vanish into nothingness in the god's wrath. Cheers erupted, and all the paladins seemed to be filled with courage, hope, and strength once more. They had absolute confidence in destroying these undead creatures and restoring justice and light to the earth.

However, the God of Justice did not show any joy. He looked up and then saw Li Lin floating in the sky.

"I really wanted to continue playing with you, but unfortunately..."

Li Lin shrugged.

"After all, the Prime Material Plane is under my jurisdiction, and I don't want my territory to become a mess. Besides, I am Arcane Mage, and I must abide by the rules."

The diamond-shaped magical metal plate's rotation speed increased, and countless magical forces began to condense and converge, eventually transforming into a massive, all-destroying force. Then, Li Lin reached forward, manipulating the metal plate to aim at the interdimensional gate in the void.

Upon seeing this action, the God of Justice's expression changed.

"Arcane Mage, do you intend to...?!"

"I'll show you who the true ruler of the Prime Material Plane is! Go back to the Upper Realm!"

A surging torrent of magical light erupted from the center of the metal plate, rushing towards the interdimensional gate without hesitation and shattering it completely.