The Form of a God

Of course, such legends have existed on the mainland for thousands of years. There are always some romantic and sentimental legendary figures who like to do this, and indeed many people are willing to pray for the heroic spirits who sacrificed themselves to protect them on special dates—even Catherine has presided over many similar ceremonies, of course, only for the subordinates of the God of Justice.

In the past, Li Lin would have simply listened to this and let it go, as it wasn't anything particularly noteworthy. However, the visit of the Mysterious Lady of Secrets forced him to be on high alert. During the Magic Empire era, Li Lin earned the honor of being Arcane Mage under the title of "Dominator," a title stemming from his personality. As a mage, Li Lin pushed his cautious nature to the extreme, resulting in near-obsessive demands on his mastery of everything. Only what he could completely control had meaning; anything he couldn't prove or manipulate was dangerous. In fact, Li Lin's philosophy permeated the development of the Magic Empire: prohibiting mages from using spells they couldn't control, and selectively cultivating the self-awareness of Weapon Spirit —these were all Li Lin's proposals. His philosophy was that without precise control, victory couldn't be guaranteed. Even if complete micro-level control was impossible, the macro-level situation must be under his control. If things went astray, Li Lin would do everything in his power to bring them back on track.

Whether as a ruler of a nation or a mage, Li Lin's habit was undeniably somewhat obsessive, but it also brought him unparalleled advantages, which is why he was able to rank first among the thirteen Arcane Mage. His precise manipulation and understanding of spells, as well as his observation and control of the overall situation, were Li Lin propelled the entire Magic Empire into its golden age.

Although the Magic Empire was utterly defeated in the final war, this only strengthened Li Lin's resolve. Uncontrollable, unmanageable power only brings destruction; it must be controlled, and if uncontrollable, it must be destroyed. Even Angela, though seemingly tyrannical and chaotic, adheres to her own rules. While the little creature displays utter contempt for humans, she shows respect and appreciation for those who uphold their beliefs, rather than chaotic indifference. This is why Li Lin tolerated and allowed Angela to stay by his side. If the little creature were truly a complete freak, Li Lin would never have brought it into this world.

Therefore, for Li Lin, any force that could cause the situation to deteriorate in an unstable and uncertain direction, and that is beyond his control, must be eliminated.

There was no other choice.

It was precisely this personality trait that allowed Li Lin to gain the upper hand in battles after returning to this world. Relying on his knowledge, grasp of the situation, and thorough understanding of intelligence, he achieved victory after victory. Li Lin didn't mind local defeats; if they were beneficial to the overall situation, he didn't mind doing so. He wouldn't overlook any potential problems or intelligence sources, especially after receiving the Lady of Secrets's warning.

As an Arcane Mage, Li Lin naturally knew a great deal about the gods. After all, only by understanding one's opponent can one defeat them. Before destroying the God of Magic, Li Lin did a lot of preparation work. He conducted various studies on the habits and behaviors of the gods and gained considerable results and experience.

The idea that gods are semi-personified, semi-rule-based beings has been discussed to death, leaving little room for further explanation. It's common knowledge that gods acquire divine power through faith, but beyond that, few realize that the power of faith can vary significantly.

Many people don't understand why gods need a physical form on Earth. For example, the image of the God of Light is a beautiful woman holding a scepter, while the Goddess of Secrets is always depicted with her face veiled, making it impossible to see her features. If they only rely on the rules of faith to gain power, then such sculpting is meaningless. After all, rules and faith are rooted in people's hearts. Light, kindness, justice, courage, and war do not need a tangible form. If it were merely a matter of faith propaganda, then gods could simply choose their chosen people who look representative; there would be no need to create a physical form. Apart from those gods who rose from mortals, most of the Greater God are products of the rules generating consciousness. In other words, even if these gods were just luminous orbs that could speak, it would not limit the power they wield.

However, these deities subconsciously choose their own image, and that is the crux of the matter.

After conducting his research, Li Lin came to the following conclusion.

The worship of these deities in human form will also grant them divine power.

Of course, this amount of divine power is insignificant compared to the divine power gained through faith in the rules. However, even a small amount is still something, and moreover, this power not only enhances the gods' own divine power but also stabilizes their humanized form, allowing them to retain their personified aspects and avoid being devoured by the power of the rules. This is a contradictory balance: the power of the rules generates consciousness to gain greater power, but the consciousness itself is not for this purpose. If it cannot maintain its own consciousness, then the overwhelming power of the rules will devour it again, leading to collapse. In this sense, the consciousness itself is like a dual entity of prison and absorber. It must absorb power to nourish its internal rules while simultaneously ensuring that it is strong enough to control this power, rather than being destroyed in the process. Among the gods who have died in the Astral Plane, besides those killed by enemy gods, there are also pitiful creatures who perished due to their own weakness causing the power of the rules to go berserk.

The belief in rules can provide deities with their inner strength, while the worship of their outward forms helps them solidify their existence.

Therefore, when Commander Serei mentioned this custom, Li Lin didn't dismiss it as usual, but considered it carefully. The Goddess of Secrets had told him that there were beings here necessary for them to complete their plan, and these beings clearly did not include Li Lin. The current task of those gods in the Upper Planes was not only to weaken the power of the God of Justice, but also to enter the Supreme Temple to reclaim the * Great Book of Law * stolen by the God of Justice. Only by activating the * Great Book of Law * could the chaotic Upper Planes be completely restored to their original state.

Li Lin couldn't interfere with this task. First, the rules prohibited Arcane Mage from going to the Upper Planes. Besides, it wasn't a place where Arcane Mage could exert their power. Li Lin was certain that if he went up there, the battle he had fought against the God of Justice in the Federation would have to be repeated. He didn't have that kind of masochistic fetish, and naturally, he didn't intend to experience it firsthand. So, he could only stay quietly on the Prime Material Plane, adjusting his plans while waiting for the gods of the Upper Planes to take action.

The "action" the Lady of Secrets mentioned refers to this, which means she has already hinted to Li Lin that this matter is related to the gods.

In Li Lin's view, this custom is precisely the worship of the personified aspects of deities. Although the divine power gained in this way is quite weak, it is enough to maintain their minimum existence. After all, as long as the deities have a sliver of hope, they will not perish so easily. In fact, even humans are the same. Saintesses like Catherine, barring unforeseen circumstances, would naturally ascend to Upper Planes if they died, becoming divine messengers to the deities they worshipped. However, as divine messengers, their power is stronger than that of those created by the deities themselves. This is because, in the Prime Material Plane, people's unintentional worship of these beings also enhances their power.

Based on these observations, Li Lin began to suspect that this so-called worshipped figure might have once been a deity.

Of course, his current speculation is based on the limited information he has and his understanding of the gods, and it doesn't necessarily mean it's correct. Although Li Lin is quite confident that his judgment is correct, after all, the arrival of the Goddess of Secrets was too coincidental, and as a god who holds all the secrets of the world, she should naturally know something.

However, until a definitive conclusion is reached, everything remains uncertain.

Dinner ended in a pleasant atmosphere, after which Commander Serei and his men left the steel fortress with great satisfaction. After all, Li Lin had assured them that the steel fortress would fight alongside them until the Kingdom of Serei conquered the fertile plains within Lalia —regardless of whether their enemy was Lalia.

Of course, Commander Serei didn't immediately respond to Li Lin's request. After all, he was a military commander, and it wasn't appropriate for him to interfere in political affairs. Li Lin, naturally, didn't expect a formal reply either, so he made the same request: that Commander Serei take him to the Kingdom of Serei to meet with the King and discuss matters further. Commander Serei readily agreed to Li Lin's request, promising to send his best escort to the Kingdom of Serei before leaving with his men—he needed to return immediately to report to His Majesty the King everything he had witnessed and the current situation.

"Master, are you really going?"

After the Serei left, Yi Aier asked a question out of curiosity. She naturally didn't understand Li Lin's thoughts and thought he was simply going there to discuss diplomatic and political issues.

"Such a small country doesn't need your personal visit, Master. Wouldn't it be better to just have Princess Shirley handle the negotiations? Besides, even if Princess Shirley isn't up to the task, we still have so many people..."

"Besides those mundane little things, I have more important things to do."

Li Lin did not explain to Yi Aier that although the little maid was skilled in creating magical weapons, her understanding of theology was very limited.

"Perhaps we'll run into some old friends there."

As Li Lin processed the information he had just heard, he casually remarked, "If the legends of the Kingdom of Serei are true, then the warrior encountered a god who had come to the Prime Material Plane. If that's the case... then I might even know the other party. After all, during the Magic Empire era, the relationship between Arcane Mage and gods was extremely close—so close that they could almost communicate physically."

The enthusiasm of the Serei people was beyond question. Early the next morning, the commander dispatched a squad of his most elite soldiers, saying they would escort Li Lin to the capital of the Kingdom of Serei. Normally, the commander would never have deployed such elite soldiers—they were battlefield veterans, and staying here was far more meaningful than returning to the capital. However, after yesterday's battle, the Serei commander understood that no matter how many elite troops he had, if the enemy were to be hit by a single shell from that formidable steel fortress, he would be left only with the task of cleaning up the battlefield.

Like the Lalia fortress from yesterday, it's still buried under piles of stones; whether it can be unearthed is still a question.

Therefore, whether they are elite or not is actually meaningless.

However, Li Lin was also a little worried about these soldiers. In fact, he didn't need anyone to escort him. He just needed someone to show him the way. Moreover, he didn't plan to take a carriage anymore. Li Lin naturally had his own methods. So he made a new request to Commander Serei: as long as he could be assigned someone who could point out where the capital was, he didn't need to worry about anything else.

This request put Commander Serei in a bit of a bind, but fortunately, he eventually found a solution. Soon, a quick-witted and resourceful logistics soldier was chosen to accompany Li Lin. Although the commander was also somewhat puzzled, wondering how this young mage planned to get to the capital without riding in a carriage or walking, he remained puzzled.

"Respected Master."

Commander Serei glanced at Li Lin and Yi Aier standing beside him, then quickly looked away.

"Since you don't intend to travel by carriage, then I would like to ask you, how exactly do you intend to go...?"

"I have my own way."

Li Lin shrugged, then looked up at the sky.

"It's about time."

"Why?"

As he heard this strange, inexplicable remark, Commander Serei subconsciously looked up at the sky, and then, to his surprise, saw a black dot slowly moving towards him.

At first, the Serei commander thought it was just a bird, but as the black dot grew larger, his eyes widened. At the same time, the commotion also alerted the Serei soldiers, who rushed out of their tents and looked up at the sky, staring in disbelief at the almost unimaginable sight before them.

That was a ship! A ship flying in the sky!

Although these soldiers were already prepared for the Magic Empire to be able to tear the moon down, most of them were still completely stunned when they witnessed this scene that should never have happened in reality.

The Magic Empire possesses mobile steel fortresses and airborne ships; what in this world could possibly hinder them?

Taking in the expressions of these soldiers, Yi Aier smiled smugly, and Li Lin nodded secretly. After all, the deterrent power of the Magic Empire was indispensable, but relying on the deterrent power brought by undead creatures always had its problems. When facing one's enemies, the deterrent power of the undead army could be 120% effective, but when facing potential allies, it was not a good choice.

Whether it's EMP or bacteriological weapons, the key is to see how the opponent reacts.

Although almost every country on the continent had heard of the Scourge Legion of the Magic Empire, most only knew of it through hearsay. Li Lin himself was proficient in necromancy, so he understood very well that unless you actually saw the undead, you could never truly understand the fear and aversion to death they felt. This was why those smaller countries were willing to follow him; if he were to expose the undead legion to them, many might reconsider their allegiance after returning home.

Magical weapons, on the other hand, do not have this concern.

In fact, Li Lin originally planned to use dragons to achieve his goals. After all, dragons are quite intimidating creatures, and even if the Chromatic Dragon were difficult to control, the dragons of the benevolent faction shouldn't refuse his requests. However, Li Lin quickly dismissed his idea. Previously, during the conquest of the Federation, he had ordered the Chromatic Dragons to conduct an aerial bombardment, and they subsequently plundered half of the Federation's capital as payment. Therefore, Li Lin decided that he would only resort to these damned dragons' help as a last resort.

Money is equally important to him.

Clearly, Commander Serei hadn't expected Li Lin to possess a flying ship, which had thrown his original plans into disarray. Upon seeing the ship, Commander Serei quickly changed his mind. He decided to personally escort Li Lin back to the capital, leaving the local army under the temporary command of his deputy. After all, the reinforcements were so powerful, and he didn't need to stay there all the time. Although desertion was a serious offense, His Majesty the King wouldn't be too harsh on him, considering he was leading an envoy from the Magic Empire. Moreover, having witnessed the previous mobile steel fortress, Commander Serei wanted to experience firsthand what surprises this flying ship could bring.

Li Lin naturally wouldn't refuse this request.