The Shining Compass

"We've done our best!"

With a flash of light, the noble woman appeared before the Elf Goddess. Her once dignified and elegant face was now filled with weariness and vicissitudes. In some ways, the gods who had lost their divine realm and the humans who had lost their homes were the same; they not only had nothing, but had also become very weak.

"It seems that this is the only way."

The Elf Goddess frowned. She, along with the God of Light and the Lady of Secrets, were the only three remaining deities possessing divine domains. It wasn't that they were unwilling to help, but rather that Li Lin had instructed them to preserve their strength. After all, the elven and Angel Legion in Ringwraith City still needed their care. Although the loss of a divine domain wouldn't cause the believers the same devastating blow as the death of a god, leading to their death or madness, it would still sever their power. Li Lin had taken in the elves and angels for combat; he didn't want to find his carefully guarded legion rendered useless at a crucial moment.

"The Arcane Mage is attacking the last stronghold; it seems he has succeeded."

In the eyes of the Elf Goddess, the speed of Mount Celestia was rapidly slowing down. This wasn't solely due to the collision of the divine realms, but also because the most fundamental element sustaining the God of Justice —the power of faith—was gradually diminishing. Although the God of Justice was currently replenishing his energy by absorbing the power of other divine realms, a tree without roots cannot sustain itself for long. Once the power of faith completely vanished, the God of Justice would receive no replenishment. At that point, even if he couldn't be killed by the gods, he would become a desiccated corpse due to the exhaustion of his power, and might even transform into something even more hideous.

But that's far from enough, because their goal isn't to confine the God of Justice to this small prison, but to completely destroy it.

"The Great Book of Law..."

The Elf Goddess's expression rarely showed a hint of anxiety.

"Lady of Secrets, please have her prepare; we don't have much time left."

Wandering leisurely through the city ruins, Li Lin strolled as if taking a leisurely walk, his hands behind his back, navigating the city streets now reduced to rubble. Not far behind him, the steel fortresses moved, searching for surviving life. The mages, now able to exact revenge with their own hands for the first time, were visibly excited. They used magic to pinpoint signs of life, then unleashed magical cannons to bombard them—until no life was detected. More steel fortresses lined up, interspersed with undead creatures, bombarding them from a distance. Houses were blasted to pieces by the powerful magic, the once-smooth streets were now in ruins, and the refugee camps outside the city had become a blood-and-flesh grinder. The elderly and children cried out as they were turned to death under the claws of the undead. Their loud prayers received no response; only the mutilated, sharp claws pierced their bodies, robbing them of their beating hearts and lives.

Then, Li Lin stopped in his tracks.

"You've truly inherited Angela's skills."

As Li Lin spoke, he looked at the scene before him. Surrounded by dozens of undead creatures, the heroine was naked and being repeatedly violated by several men. Her eyes had lost their light, and the sticky white fluid between her spread legs was nauseating. However, the young men did not stop; they continued to vie for this thing that was almost half a corpse. Without much thought, judging from these men's extraordinary lust, Li Lin could guess that Catherine must have used some special method to arouse their passion. This reminded him of how Angela had treated Henderson's family. The little girl seemed to really enjoy using such near-death horrors to tear apart the feelings and trust between people. Although Catherine hadn't become the little girl's servant, it seemed that their styles of doing things were becoming more and more similar.

"Thank you for your praise, Master."

Just then, another man roared in exhaustion. He continued to shake his hips, but his ashen face showed he was like a deflated toothpaste tube, unable to expel a single drop no matter what he tried. Catherine, noticing this, narrowed her eyes, then leaped forward, grabbing and releasing the man from the heroine's body. With a wail, he was thrown into the sea of undead creatures by the immense magical power. The wail then transformed into a chilling scream, gradually fading away with the sounds of zombies devouring him, returning to nothingness.

"It seems this heroine still has some will to go. I plan to take her all over the city to see where there are still survivors who need her 'personal comfort'."

"That's a good idea."

As Li Lin spoke, he walked to the trembling, snow-white body and gazed into those half-dazed eyes.

How are you feeling now?

"Ah... ah... woo..."

The only response he received was the heroine's weak shouts and vomit mixed with white, cloudy liquid.

"You seem to be really enjoying yourself."

As Li Lin spoke, he looked at Catherine.

"Prepare 'that spell,' don't let her die so easily. Bind her soul to her body. After she dies, use her to comfort the troops— the Scourge Legion didn't get here easily either, they deserve some solace too."

"But Master..."

"There are plenty of spells that can make that happen; think about it carefully."

Li Lin nodded to Catherine, whose expression was somewhat strange, and became serious again.

"Time is running out, enjoy your last moments of happiness. I think the God of Justice might appear soon."

"I understand, Master."

Catherine's expression hardened, and she quickly replied, then looked around curiously.

Where did Miss Angela go?

"She has things to do."

Li Lin shrugged.

"The little one's toys are nearby, why isn't she too shy to say hello?"

"You mean...?"

Catherine didn't ask any further questions; she immediately guessed what Li Lin meant.

"You keep going with your work. I need to look around a bit more. After all, even if the time to enjoy the victory is short, it's better than not enjoying it at all."

With that, Li Lin turned and left.

In the nearby forest, the Grand Knight Commander stood under a large tree, his face contorted with hatred and rage as he gazed at the city engulfed in black smoke.

"Damn evil mage! You monstrous undead! I'll make you pay for your sins with your blood!!"

A deep, angry roar escaped Henderson's lips, but he could only wait, awaiting the signal from the great god. In truth, Henderson hadn't participated in the battle to defend the royal city for two reasons. First, he was unwilling to fight alongside Catherine; long-accumulated resentment had fueled his intense hostility towards the saintess. But this wasn't the primary reason. In fact, the God of Justice had already instructed Henderson that for justice to truly prevail, he needed to unleash evil, to let them "confusion," and the people of the royal city were the sacrifices to pay for this.

"Evil mages, you will pay the price."

Henderson gripped the longsword tightly in his hand; its brilliance was unusually dim, yet he continued to wait, awaiting divine revelation.

Just then, a sound echoed from the earth.

An unseen wave spread to every corner of the earth in an instant, the violent tremors bringing the steel fortresses to a halt. Li Lin frowned slightly, and then, with a flash of magical light, he was back in Ringwraith City in the next instant.

"Mount Celestia has begun its collision with the barrier of the Prime Material Plane."

Nia was already waiting there, immediately reported.

"How is the thief doing?"

"News has just come from the Elf Goddess: the Goddess of Theft has begun her operation as planned."

"Very good."

Looking at Nisi, Li Lin nodded, then he opened his arms, and with this movement, the entire Ringwraith City began to tremble slightly and uncontrollably.

"Retract the protective barrier and let them in!"

Magical runes then leaped from Li Lin's body, twisting and arranging themselves into complex incantations before disappearing. At the same time, the invisible barrier began to shrink under the influence of magical power, creating a huge gap.

A sacred, pure white, and radiant light, eclipsing even the sun, pierced the sky, illuminating the earth. A divine aura began to spread, and the sky slowly distorted, revealing a colossal mountain peak indistinctly in the blurred silhouette. Mount Celestia, though not yet fully revealed, its boundless majesty and divinity had already begun to influence the Prime Material Plane. The most significant change was that the undead creatures that had been relentlessly hunting the survivors halted. For the first time in their lives, they retreated without their master's command, fearing the terrifying power that was their nemesis. The black tide began to flow backward, stopping before the barrier of sacred light.

"The great God of Justice!!"

Witnessing this miracle, Henderson raised his arm and roared. He held his longsword high, and with this movement, divine power fueled by life began to burn in his body, condensing on the sword before bursting forth and shooting into the sky. The protective shield, already weakened by Li Lin's contraction, could not withstand this powerful blow, and instantly, the sky was completely cleaved open, creating a huge rift.

The image of the mountain peaks is more clearly visible.

"Now!"

Li Lin, who had been waiting for this moment, finally stretched out his hands. He gritted his teeth, chanted an incantation, and as the magical power spread, the previously sealed dimensional weapon began to become active again. Then, Li Lin waved his hand, and the strange object turned into a black meteor, rushing straight into the orbit of the dimensional rift.

Li Lin had long anticipated that the God of Justice would choose to breach the Prime Material Plane's protective shield from the inside. He also understood that this was the perfect opportunity to use a dimensional weapon. After all, the power of that weapon, created by mages from the Magic Empire era but never tested, was difficult to predict, and if it became too powerful, it could potentially affect the Prime Material Plane. Therefore, Li Lin decided to send it to Mount Celestia at the same time the passage was created. This way, even if something happened, the barrier power of the Mount Celestia realm itself could offset a significant impact, thus minimizing the danger to the Prime Material Plane.

According to Li Lin's plan, if that thing really works, then the Goddess of Theft will obviously have an opportunity.