Hidden across the Endless Continent, millions of Beast Gods were indeed vibrating with a holy, predatory fervor. They weren't absent because they were neutral; they were absent because they were waiting for Lysandra's command.
"The great His Majesty Kazehaya promised us." A Beast God whispered in the shadows, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon, "He promised us the Light Empire. Three hundred thousand True Gods… It will be a harvest large enough for all of us. I will definitely become a High God soon!"
"May the order come soon. Praise be to the Lord of the Great Aetherium!"
The Dark Empire's fall was merely the opening act. The real slaughter, the one that would redraw the map of the continent, was only a heartbeat away.
…
In the silent, fractured expanse of the sealed battlefield, the True Gods of the Great Aetherium moved like radiant harvesters, systematically sweeping the cosmic debris and collecting the spoils of a shattered army.
At a respectful distance, the True Gods of the Castle Faction stood watch, their eyes clear of greed. They knew the unspoken rules of this world. The Great Aetherium was dominant, but it was not tyrannical. Haru's forces would not swallow the entirety of the wealth alone.
After all, hundreds of thousands of Castle Faction Gods had risked their lives in this clash, earning their right to a share of the loot. Still, the distribution required a delicate balance.
The casualty list of the Dark Empire's divine host was staggering: two hundred thousand Dark Gods had fallen, alongside half a million God Tier alchemy puppets and undead slaves, bringing the total divine harvest to roughly seven hundred thousand entities.
Had the millions of ordinary Castle Faction troops also demanded an equal portion, the Great Aetherium's share would have been diluted to almost nothing.
Thus, Lysandra decreed that only the Castle Lords and Rangers themselves would receive loot quotas. It was an exceptionally generous compromise, and none among the outsiders dared to voice an objection.
The Great Aetherium had deployed over six hundred thousand Gods into this battle, doubling the strength of the Castle Faction and claiming the absolute lion's share of the kills.
Might dictated right, and with four magnificent, terrifying Supreme Goddesses suppressing the entire battlefield, compliance was the only sensible choice. To offend them was to invite instant erasure.
Yet, Lysandra's fairness left the Castle Lords and Rangers immensely satisfied. For them, the material wealth was secondary to the intangible rewards of the system. The sheer volume of exp harvested from the slaughter had triggered a wave of breakthroughs across their ranks.
"This trip was worth every drop of blood!" One Castle Lord exclaimed, a golden aura vibrating around his form, "I managed to kill a Lower True God and a couple of God Tier puppets, which helped me break through to the peak of Lower True God Tier! Ascension to Intermediate God Tier is well within my grasp!"
"You aren't the only one." Another laughed, looking toward the distant lines of the Castle Faction alliance, "Have you seen Lady Diane, the ruler of Aelith Queendom? I watched her execute several Dark Gods with my own eyes. Her combat prowess is practically indistinguishable from the Nature Elves of the Great Aetherium. She's already reached the peak of the Intermediate God Tier, just a breath away from becoming a High Goddess."
(T/N: I believe the dynasties ruled by female Castle Lords should be called Queendom instead of Kingdom. What's your opinion?)
"It's intimidating." A Ranger sighed, shaking his head, "Lady Lydia of the Nightreign Queendom has also broken through to the late stages of Intermediate God Tier. I swear, the women 'players' have received some kind of celestial buff since arriving on the Endless Continent. Back home, they were soft and gentle; here, they're dominating the leaderboards. Lady Isabella Rodriguez, Lady Aria Taylor… every single one of them is walking laps around the male Castle Lords."
(T/N: Isabella Rodriguez is the 2nd Friend Haru added back in the days in case someone forgot.)
A chorus of sighs echoed through the group. It wasn't just the 'players' either, the native forces of the Endless Continent were defined by terrifying female entities like Elunara, Pandora, Svetlana, Amelie, the Ice Queen Eira, and the Elf Empress Aurelyss.
These were names that had commanded primal terror since the ancient eras. The 'Four Sisters' alone were beings that even ancient overlords like the Titan Lord Varkath and the Dragon Lord Drakenvader hesitated to provoke. Even Evil Gods like Malakar and Skarion stayed clear of them.
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