A furious blaze erupted skyward, colliding head-on with the Horned Rat's claw. With a heart-piercing scream, the creature stumbled backward, its beady eyes filled with both rage and fear as it glared at Duanmu Huai—then vanished without a trace.
Duanmu Huai wasn't fazed. He held his stance, hammer at the ready.
He had no intention of recklessly attacking in the Horned Rat's own domain. His goal was simple: defend, endure, and let the black flame consume everything until this realm of filth burned to cinders. The Horned Rat, however, would never sit idle while its own divine realm was destroyed—it would be forced to act.
It was like someone setting your house on fire: you could either flee and live as a penniless vagrant, or try desperately to put out the flames.
As for calling for help? Ha! Maybe some gods could, but not this one. The Horned Rat might technically belong to the "Order" pantheon, but among the deities of this world, it was despised by all. No matter the race or dominion, every god loathed the pest-lord. With someone burning its lair to the ground, the rest were probably celebrating. No one was coming to help.
So the Horned Rat had only two choices:
either watch its realm burn, or kill Duanmu Huai to stop the black fire.
As for intrigue and cunning—Duanmu Huai freely admitted he wasn't good at that sort of thing. But who said he had to play their game? Force crushes all schemes. No matter how clever you are, if I give you only two options, I'll just watch which one you pick.
After all, even in the real world, humans don't crawl into the rats' burrows to fight them. They just burn the nest.
And besides, even if the Horned Rat didn't attack, Duanmu Huai was still gaining from this.
This was the Horned Rat's divine realm—everything he burned here was part of the god's own essence. And unlike inside the World Fragments, he could earn experience here.
[Destroying Ruined Kingdom progress: 1/100 — Gained 3,000 EXP]
[Destroying Ruined Kingdom progress: 2/100 — Gained 3,000 EXP]
[Destroying Ruined Kingdom progress: 3/100 — Gained 3,000 EXP]
The soft chime of the system prompts rang again and again, bringing a cold smile to Duanmu Huai's lips. Yes—this was his greatest advantage. Inside the World Fragments, he couldn't gain EXP, but here he could. Destroying a god's domain counted as defeating enemies; therefore, he leveled up.
And though controlling the black flame drained his strength, each time he leveled up, his energy was fully restored.
That was why, in the old Star Sea Online, players often held back their experience right before a boss fight—then leveled up mid-battle to instantly recover, like getting a free full-heal.
But for Duanmu Huai now… this wasn't a one-time trick.
[God of Destruction leveled up to LV2 — Attribute Points +1, Specialization +1]
[Black Flame leveled up to LV2 — Increased range, higher critical chance]
The notifications kept rolling.
This is faster than grinding mobs, he thought, eyes gleaming.
In his past life, no one had ever discovered this method—of course not. No one had possessed both the Black Flame and the Rune of Death, nor had anyone taken the Destroyer advanced class. Without those, no one could have even attempted this kind of divine-domain farming.
Still… this class demanded an absurd amount of EXP. His quick calculation showed it had taken nearly 300,000 EXP just to reach level two, and the next jump to level three required double that.
Even if he burned down the Horned Rat's entire kingdom, he might not even reach level ten.
But so what?
It was still free. And opportunities to burn a god's home to the ground didn't come often.
So—burn it all.
While Duanmu Huai spread the black flames, devouring everything, the Horned Rat watched from the shadows, seething with frustration and greed. It had calmed down now; though shocked by the destruction of its realm, its mind—filthy and cunning as ever—quickly returned to plotting.
That power must have limits. If it waited long enough for the intruder to exhaust himself, it could seize control and devour him. Not only would it destroy its enemy, but it would claim his terrible power of death and destruction.
The Horned Rat's crimson eyes gleamed. The pain of losing its realm could be endured—if it gained such power, it could rival the Chaos Gods themselves. It would become a true High God!
Rats were greedy by nature, and so was their god. The moment it saw that black fire, the Horned Rat wanted it for itself. After all, its ultimate goal was world destruction—what could be more tempting than a flame born purely of annihilation?
And so it gave the order—
Kill that man!
It would have its minions wear the human down, then strike once he was weak, devouring his soul and the flame together.
Once more, countless rats and ratmen swarmed forth, throwing themselves into the dark inferno. Yet they were nothing but moths to a torch. One after another, they were consumed, and still the black fire burned stronger, spreading faster, devouring the Ruined Kingdom itself.
Damn it… what's happening?
The Horned Rat's agitation grew. It had sacrificed its followers and its domain, yet the fire only intensified. This was its own realm—why wasn't the intruder's power being drained?
If this continued, it would lose everything.
The Horned Rat wasn't truly a great god, merely a lesser one born from mortal vermin's belief. Its strength and domain were limited. Losing them all might be worth it if it gained the flame—but if it gained nothing in the end…
That thought chilled it.
The human had entered its realm willingly. Clearly, he was prepared. If this black fire didn't consume his strength, then its attacks were doing nothing but hastening its own doom.
So what should it do now?
Flee?
Abandon its domain and start over somewhere else? That was what rats did—flee their nests and burrow anew when danger struck.
But the Horned Rat wasn't just any rat. It was despised by every god alive. If it left its lair, there'd be a queue of deities lining up to destroy it—and maybe even fighting for the privilege.
It glanced at its scorched claws. The last exchange had left them charred, the pain still throbbing down to the bone.
That flame… it's bad news.
Even as a god, it had been burned—if that fire struck a vital point, it could actually die.
So, should it risk everything, or run?
The Horned Rat hesitated, torn between its twin instincts: cowardice and greed.
Humans had dealt with rats the same way for millennia—set the trap, wait for the rat to take the bait.
Because that's what rats do.
Greedy, fearful, predictable.
The spreading black flame was the trap; Duanmu Huai standing within it was the bait. The rat wanted the prize—but feared the snare. It trembled on the edge, unable to choose.
"So," Duanmu Huai murmured, hefting his hammer and staring into the skies, "which will it be?"
Too many players, he thought, always overestimated their enemies. They saw cunning where there was only instinct. But once you understood a being's essence, everything became simple.
For the gods of Order, that essence was everything—their divine nature was their very existence.
As the God of Destruction, Duanmu Huai's essence was to destroy all threats to humanity without mercy. Were he to ever spare one, or flee before one, his divine heart would collapse, his godhood would shatter—instant death, body and soul.
The Horned Rat was no different. No matter how clever or sly, it could never escape what it truly was: a rat.
So it only had two options—fight or flee.
"Hoooaaah!!"
At last, the Horned Rat made its choice.
A toxic emerald wind roared to life, so violent it made even the black flames waver. From the sky, a massive shape dove straight down, claws gleaming like knives as it lunged for Duanmu Huai's chest.
There it is.
You couldn't resist the bait after all.
With a roar, Duanmu Huai swung his hammer upward to meet it—but the Horned Rat twisted mid-air, snatching the hammer in one claw while throwing itself forward, crashing directly into him.
If it had been a beautiful woman leaping into his arms, that would've been pleasant. Unfortunately, it was a giant rat.
"RAAAAH!"
Duanmu Huai bellowed, black fire erupting once more from his hammer. But the Horned Rat ignored the burning of its arm, wriggled closer, and bit into his neck with a crunch.
CRACK!
Even the armor of an Astartes couldn't withstand a god's fangs. Metal tore like paper; teeth sank deep into flesh and bone.
So that's your plan—kill me before I kill you, huh?
Duanmu Huai instantly understood. The Horned Rat couldn't resist the lure of the black flame, yet it feared it too much to prolong the fight. It gambled everything on one swift kill—devour him, claim his power, heal later.
And honestly… it wasn't a bad plan.
Venom surged into his veins; his neck went numb. Then, with a sickening crack, his head was ripped from his shoulders. His body collapsed into bloody chunks.
The Horned Rat froze—then grinned.
Success!
It could already feel the human's life fading. Soon, it would feast on his soul and take his strength for its own—
BOOM!
An explosion of fire burst from the corpse, hurling the Horned Rat backward. From the blazing ruin, Duanmu Huai rose again, his body whole, his eyes burning like molten steel.
[Immortal Warrior: Upon receiving fatal damage, immediately revive. Knock back and stun enemies within 30 m. Enter Berserk Mode upon revival.]
"You… you're—what are you—?!"
The Horned Rat's eyes went wide with panic.
But it never got the answer.
With a roar, the chain-sword roared to life, and its spinning teeth cleaved straight through the god's skull.
(End of Chapter)