After the bully locusts infiltrated and cut off the logistics of the blackwater minnows, Lu Yao had long anticipated the lethality of Transcendent creatures.
The divine battle was bound to end with Wuzi Wang’s victory, which was to be expected.
But God Bo’s decisive self-destruction was beyond his expectations.
Lu Yao looked at the prompt on the screen.
【God Bo’s faith has completely vanished from this world.】
Unlike the gods who had fallen before, this time the scope of the word was 【world】, and there were no prompts related to believers. It seemed that indeed all of God Bo’s followers had been killed in a sacrificial burial.
Knowing defeat was imminent, God Bo refused to leave behind a Divine Body and population for the victor to benefit from, preferring to destroy everything. This mindset and approach of self-destruction were understandable.
Lu Yao asked Isabella to try calling out to the souls of the dead.
As a result, a single shout in Crystal City brought forth a dense throng of ghosts. Their bodies had indeed been turned to glass, stripped of the qualifications of the living, but they were still souls lingering in the world of the living.
That settled it.
The Yao Clan was equally welcoming to the deceased population from outside.
Lu Yao brought over the skeletal Phileas to persuade the ghosts, offering them the chance to migrate to Sanilo if they wished.
The war was over, but the post-war cleanup was the most difficult and tedious part.
Isabella continued to negotiate with Wuzi Wang, discussing various post-war matters.
Lu Yao, meanwhile, turned his attention to God Bo’s realm.
This divine kingdom wasn’t large, about the size of the Eastern Continent, but whether due to some issue during ascension or God Bo’s personal preference, it had been torn into a horseshoe shape.
However, integrating this small world was certainly faster than waiting for a new continent to evolve gradually.
Lu Yao activated the Golden Fields, chose 【Anchor World】, and completely connected 【God Bo’s realm】 with the Yao Clan’s world.
After the fall of God Bo, the faith fire that anchored this divine kingdom suddenly halved to just over 50,000.
The expenditure was significantly reduced.
Lu Yao overlooked Crystal City.
The tall and thick walls of the city seemed more like a symbol of authority, with a flame totem placed on each of the four sides. However, these totems had lost the support of the faith fire and had become unusable.
After Lu Yao clicked on them, the four tall obelisk-like totems came back to life.
The old capital of the empire was itself a mature city with fairly complete infrastructure. As long as people moved in, it wouldn’t take long for it to thrive once again.
What pleased him even more were the two intact wonders within Crystal City.
……
【Glass Kiln LV3】: A wonder built by the Bo Clan, where people mastered the technique of glass melting. It is said that the old gods crystallized and dissipated here, leaving behind the power of miracles. Within it, one can learn the method of glass production.
In the city where the kiln is located, all craftsmen have +1 luck, and the success rate of glass production is slightly increased.
……
【Underground Training Ground LV2】: A wonder of Crystal City. The vast underground labyrinth of ancient paths was once the battlefield between the Bo Clan and serpent monsters. After the serpents were exterminated, it became the most rigorous training ground for soldiers.
In the city where the training ground is located, all residents have +1 morale, and the effect of conscription is slightly increased.
……
One technological wonder, one military wonder, not bad at all.
But most importantly, he had gained a base of over 300,000 ghostly inhabitants. Even if only a portion of them were converted into believers, their inherent technical knowledge and imperial experience would further advance the civilization of the Yao Clan.
Inside the city, a snowman stood outside the conspicuous divine palace, clutching a small four-legged iron furnace in its red gloves.
“Lord God, Jimmy has found a fine treasure within the heretic god’s statue, hoping you will like it.”
Lu Yao placed it into his inventory.
……
【Elemental Casting Furnace LV6】: Faith +1/hour.
An untraceable casting furnace, fixed with the spell 【Elemental Confusion】.
……
【Elemental Confusion LV5】 (50 mana)
Mixes various elements in certain proportions to expand specific elemental abilities or negate elemental effects.
……
So, this ability wasn’t inherent to God Bo, but granted by an item.
But how to understand this piece of equipment?
Lu Yao let Isabella try to control it. She had 【Spell Conjecture】, perfect for reverse-engineering the principles of spells.
After some busy work, Isabella came to a conclusion.
“Lord, this ability balances or fuses various elements. For example, blending earth and fire elements to combine the solidity of earth with the scorching of fire.”
“Of course, it could also be a single element, like attaching the fire element to a sword.”
“Or, by mixing, directly neutralize an existing elemental power.”
Lu Yao understood.
An elemental enchantment device.
This furnace could enchant various items with elements, as well as remove enchantments.
In the world of the Yao Clan, the fire element was the most abundant and convenient to extract. The fire boxes at 【Aegir’s Fire】 were constantly being generated, and without consumption, they could cause volcanic eruptions.
After some thought, Lu Yao handed the furnace over to Phileas.
As the only engineer and craftsman among the Apostles, he was the most suitable to hold this item. In his spare time, Phileas could lead the dwarves to craft some fine enchanted equipment, further advancing the technological development of the Yao Clan.
“Lord God Yao, thank you for your trust. I will make good use of the 【Elemental Casting Furnace】 and not let you down.”
The skeletal man knelt on the ground, a large smiley face appearing above his head, seemingly very pleased with this crafting equipment.
It was right up his alley.
Phileas added, “Lord God Yao, the ghosts here still don’t believe in the fall of God Bo. They firmly believe that the deity will revive and may need some time to accept the new world order.”
Lu Yao wasn’t concerned.
Take it slow, time is the best catalyst for change.
The cultural integration of two worlds wasn’t something that happened overnight.
Lu Yao looked towards Crystal City.
Now the city was littered with glass shards, truly living up to the name Crystal City.
Lu Yao calculated the expenses of the great war.
The bulk was the 50,000 faith spent on anchoring, then the use of four Apostle soul imprints costing 20,000 faith, plus some losses of the corrupted on the frontlines.
Direct gains included: a relatively intact realm of God Bo, a sizable Crystal City, a population of 300,000 ghosts, 25,000 faith obtained by the snowman from God Bo’s divine palace, and the item 【Elemental Casting Furnace】.
In total, he had spent 50,000 faith to acquire a well-equipped, population and infrastructure-ready ghostly mini-world.
This deal was not a loss.
Most crucially, after integrating God Bo’s realm, this worldship could finally set sail normally in the interdimensional space.
Lu Yao let Isabella and Wuzi Wang exchange greetings, preparing to withdraw.
But then Wuzi Wang made a request.
“The kingdom of Wuzi Wang wishes to follow. Please take us with you.”
“I hope to become a subordinate deity to that god behind you.”
Lu Yao had considered this.
Wuzi Wang was a local deity with a clear history, evident in the 【Rule Repair】 world encyclopedia, where his past experiences and character assessments were clearly listed.
His strengths were patience and steadiness, but his weakness was a lack of ambition.
In the survival-of-the-fittest ranking competition of the crawling area, with insufficient foundation and sense of crisis, downfall was almost certain.
But for Lu Yao, this actually met his standards for a subordinate deity.
Skilled and no troublemaker.
There was just one issue.
Wuzi Wang was among the gods, and temple subordinate deities had no rank requirements, but gods couldn’t enter fragment worlds, a basic rule limitation that couldn’t be changed.
Either Lu Yao had to drag along the relatively independent kingdom of Wuzi Wang, with Wuzi Wang possibly facing attacks from other gods at any time, making the road ahead fraught with enemies and potentially leading to constant battles.
That would be too much of a loss, not the easy life Lu Yao wanted.
So he decisively gave up on recruitment.
Isabella explained to Wuzi Wang.
“…Lord God also appreciates your steady style, but when recruiting subordinate deities, he only considers novice deities, not the group of gods.”
“You have already carved out your own path to divinity, and the operation of the entire kingdom of Wuzi Wang is proper and stable. Lord God admires you, but he prefers to cultivate subordinate deities from the initial stage of novice deities. It’s a pity, but please understand.”
“We shall take our leave now, wishing you all the best.”
Lu Yao watched with a comfortable heart.
Look at Isabella, how well she speaks. If it were the Blood Knight, it would probably just be a cold “No.”
“Please wait!”
The towering Wuzi Wang’s dialogue box popped up: “So, if I step down to become a novice deity, that great one would accept me and the kingdom of Wuzi Wang, right?”
“…”
Isabella looked towards the screen.
Lu Yao was at a loss for words.
This was a determined character.
He thought about it; if Wuzi Wang was willing to step down to become a novice, then it would be consistent with his own requirements.
There wouldn’t be a problem.
Wuzi Wang said, “The divine battle made me deeply aware of my own weakness, and I hope to receive protection and guidance. Your righteousness and honesty towards the weak have convinced me that you are a powerful deity worthy of trust and allegiance.”
Lu Yao liked straightforward and sincere people.
This little brother, I’ll take you in.
Thanks to: Zhan Ru Mou for supporting with 500 QiDian coins, Yi Tian Tu Long Axe for supporting with 500 QiDian coins, Lucky09 for supporting with 200 QiDian coins.