Those time travelers that year

576. Communication with Local Deities (Part 1)

The clash of Forces is a magnificent spectacle invisible to the naked eye. It's a sight only those who can perceive or access the rules of the world can witness; in other words, to see it, you must be at least a legendary-level spellcaster. A legendary-level melee fighter is simply not qualified to see it.

As the two opposing forces clashed, legendary spellcasters from other planes ceased all their work and extended their senses. Some legendary mages, possessing mage towers or other means, even witnessed firsthand the events unfolding in the Wasteland of Destruction and Despair.

Compared to those legendary spellcasters, the gods have it much easier. Even a demigod or someone with only a weak divine power can easily observe this collision from the Force level through their connection with the Sea of ​​Force.

Of course, what truly surprised those powerful gods was that at this moment, accompanied by the roar of the Force of Tyranny, the star representing Bane, the god of tyranny, shone with unprecedented brilliance in the night sky of the prime material world.

This brilliance even gradually surpassed that of other powerful gods, causing almost all of them to leave their palaces and turn their burning gazes toward the wasteland of destruction and despair.

Gods have always been ambitious, especially those with immense power. More than one has dreamed of subjugating other gods and becoming the supreme being. However, this is impossible. All the gods know one thing: their path to godhood has not yet reached its end.

People generally believe that gods are high above, their immense divine power overlooking everything. But have they ever considered that even immense divine power is ultimately just a large ripple in the ocean of primal force? Almost all gods know that if they want to advance, they need the support of the ocean of primal force. Usually, they either rely on accumulating power over time or opening up more domains to gain more primal force support.

However, since everyone harbors this same ambition, conflict becomes inevitable. This leads to everyone secretly engaging in scheming and maneuvering, all in a power struggle. What is the purpose? Simply to advance their own interests further!

However, after reaching the 16th rank of a divine being (out of 20 ranks), one can be considered a powerful deity, like a monarch, surpassing the vast majority of gods. But who will be able to complete the path to becoming a powerful deity?!

The ancient god of death, Yeg, passed by. As a god who possessed multiple powerful divine powers, he achieved the rank of godhood level 19, making him one of the most powerful gods in history.

Unfortunately, for some reason, Jaeger abandoned this path, completely splitting his divine office and creating the Three Gods of Death, as well as the powerful God of Death, Kranvor, who is now alive.

He retained only a small fraction of his power, and even completely relinquished the domains he ruled. No god would believe that the ancient god of death, Jag, made this choice out of sheer weariness.

Among the gods, there has long been a rumor that Jaeger believed this path was impassable, which is why he voluntarily abandoned it as a way to elevate his divine rank. And after abandoning it, he found the path to the highest god, and is now advancing towards great divine power.

This can be seen from the fact that during the Calamity of the Saints, Jaeger was one of the few gods who were not affected. Moreover, during that calamity, he stripped the divine authority of Death from the powerful Prince of Lies, who had leaped to the 19th rank of godhood, and bestowed it upon the mere mortal Kranvor, helping him ascend to become a powerful god in one step.

This power was beyond the level of a powerful deity. Unfortunately, no god or demon dared to question Jaeger.

But now, it seems that it is not just a single ancient god of death, Yeg, but that he has surpassed the realm of powerful gods.

With the clash of that new crimson Force, the Tyrannical Force, which had taken the initiative to confront it, also stirred up more torrents to collide. The collision of the two Forces directly isolated the entire wasteland plane of destruction and despair, completely severing the gaze of the gods and other prying eyes.

However, none of this could make those powerful gods withdraw their burning gazes. The immortal star representing Bane was shining brighter and brighter, reaching the brilliance that the Prince of Lies had achieved when he used all the divine attributes and offices of the three gods of death to ascend to the 19th rank of godhood in one fell swoop.

Within the High Throne, the Prince of Lies's angry curses echoed, but the powerful gods in other planes paid him no heed.

Bane has now achieved the 19th rank of divinity, becoming one of the most powerful gods in history. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have been able to reach the 19th rank of divinity. Even the Prince of Lies and the former Ancient God of Death only reached this level when they held several powerful divine positions. However, Bane has reached this level without changing any of his divine positions.

'How did he achieve a divine rank of 19?' A questioning voice came from the Heart of the Spell.

'To merge with the Force?' The voice of Sylvanas, the Lord of Nature, echoed from within the Temple of Nature. 'But if one actively chooses to merge with the Force, one's own consciousness, unable to maintain its own identity, will be assimilated by the sea of ​​the Force.'

"No, it wasn't Bane who actively sought to merge with the Force." A voice of dissent rang out in the Clearwater Domain. It was Shuni, also a powerful deity. "Now it's the other way around. The Force tributary represented by the tyrannical priesthood, which Bane possesses the largest share of, is actively merging with Bane."

'The Force has no independent will, so why would the tributary of the Force represented by the tyrannical clergy willingly merge with Bane?'

'All of this must be related to that never-before-seen crimson Force…'

'That new Force is targeting Bane. Strange, even in a conflict, this Force shouldn't be actively targeting a powerful divine force.'

'No! Someone must be manipulating that crimson primal force to impact the entire wasteland of destruction and despair.'

'That's impossible! Even the most powerful divine force can only stir up waves in the ocean of primal energy; it's impossible to control even a single tributary of it.'

"No, this is possible!" Within the Temple of Nature, a fanatical emotion flickered in the voice of Sylvanas, the Lord of Nature. This powerful god, of the 18th rank, spoke with a tone both matter-of-fact and unexpected, "Ancient gods of the Force, who transcend great divine power and have formally embarked on the path to great divine power, can do it."

'Lord of Nature, what do you mean?'

'That's right, that unprecedented crimson Force was born from a certain being. And that being is at least an Ancient God of the Force, a being who controls a stream of the Force, waging a divine war against Bane—no, against the tyrannical flow of the Force.'

577. Communication with Local Deities (Part 2)

The War of the Gods is a death battle between gods. It is an absolute battle in which the victor takes everything from the loser, and the only fate for the loser is to lie dead in the astral plane.

No god dared to lightly initiate a divine war, not even those gods who were already hostile to each other or even mortal enemies. This was partly due to the fear of igniting a great war between gods, causing the war force to surge and making the god of war the most powerful. However, once a divine war broke out, it would be impossible to stop, and would likely drag in countless other gods and even countless living beings.

In other worlds, the War of the Gods revealed its stark cruelty. The Ragnarok, the succession of the Olympian gods, and other events all exemplify the brutality of divine wars.

In the war of the gods, there are only victors, no losers. Because the losers are destined for death.

Therefore, if possible, in this multiverse, across countless planes, the supreme deities strongly resist the outbreak of a divine war. Even the war against the demons of the Endless Abyss was entrusted by the original gods of order to the Lord of the Nine Hells, indirectly leading to the birth of the Bathor Hell. This demonstrates just how much those deities vehemently opposed initiating a war that would affect the multiverse.

Thus, after Sylvanas, the Lord of Nature, finished speaking, all the powerful gods who were concerned about this event, except for the Prince of Lies on the Supreme Throne, fell silent.

This was no longer a simple war between gods, but a war centered on the flow of the Force. At this moment, these powerful gods understood why Bane's power had surged so rapidly, even reaching the 19th rank of godhood and the pinnacle of divine power.

Under that crimson Force target, the Force stream representing tyranny actively provided power to Bane. In order to avoid being defeated and weakened by the crimson Force stream, the Force stream representing tyranny began to actively merge with Bane without regard to any cost.

This situation left many powerful deities feeling rather uneasy. Bane's current state was entirely due to sheer luck; otherwise, he would never have been able to reach the 19th rank of divinity in his entire life. Unless he, like the Prince of Lies, absorbed all the divine duties and powers of the three gods of death in one fell swoop.

But now, an unexpected situation has allowed Bane to reach the peak of his powerful divine abilities, making it impossible for the other powerful gods to settle down in peace.

"However, even if Bane reaches the 19th rank of divinity, the outlook isn't optimistic!" The Earth Goddess, Chang Tiya, who also resides in the Temple of Nature, said softly. "The 19th rank of divinity is indeed unprecedentedly powerful among powerful gods, but if he truly is an ancient god of primal forces..."

'Does Your Highness Chang Tiya mean that even if Bane achieves godhood level 19 now, it will be of no use?!'

"That's right..." said the Earth Goddess, "...Do your Highnesses remember when the Prince of Lies was stripped of his divine authority by the ancient God of Death, who then bestowed that authority upon the current God of Death?"

All the powerful divine forces fell silent once more. The calamity of the saints had affected far too many, chilling the hearts of all the powerful gods. The intervention of the supreme god had swept away almost all the deities, and the powerful divine forces were reduced to the mortal realm like ants. Apart from those gods who were truly not involved with the Slate of Fate, all the others, even those who had some connection or involvement, were all banished from their divine kingdoms by the supreme god.

Later, the Prince of Lies, who was still a mortal, returned the Tablet of Fate to the God of Gods. As a result, all the divine offices and divine attributes of the three Gods of Death were given as a reward by the God of Gods, making the Prince of Lies a powerful god with a divine attribute of 19 after the Calamity of the Saints, following the ancient God of Death.

However, at the height of the Prince of Lies's glory, Jaeger appeared and ripped apart the Prince of Lies's throne, severing the divine authority of death. Although this move could not compare to the God of Gods's act of overthrowing the gods, it still shocked the other powerful gods who had returned to the divine realm.

Divine power is not the end of the path for the gods; rather, it is merely the beginning. Realizing this, how can those powerful beings who have stood atop the multiverse, looking down upon countless beings for tens of thousands of years, possibly bear it?

They were not the rulers they believed themselves to be; on the contrary, compared to those who had truly taken that crucial step, they were like ants. Even ants cling to life, let alone these powerful deities. But, in all this time, who else has truly taken that crucial step? The Lord of Nature, whose divine status reached the 18th rank, hasn't he also been stuck here for thousands of years?

But now it seems that actually taking this step isn't impossible!

"Which prince controls that stream of crimson primal force?" a deity asked several powerful gods.

Never seen it before…

'Logically speaking, someone who has reached this level shouldn't be unknown.'

'It's hard to say. No one knows what level the Ancient Gods of the Force are capable of until they reach that level.'

"That's right. Just like how Prince Jaeger severed the divine authority of the Prince of Lies during his 19th era, no one knows how far the Ancient Gods of the Force are capable of. They might even be able to erase all information and experiences related to themselves from the flow of time."

'That's right! Just like Prince Jaeger, who could possibly know the specifics of Prince Jaeger's life?'

'So, the fate of the god of tyranny is sealed?'

'It's highly likely. Unless the God of Tyranny directly surpasses Godhood 19 and becomes the first Godhood 20 in history, it's very difficult, very difficult, very difficult.'

"In this universe now..." another hesitant voice rang out. It was Melika, the goddess of forests and rangers of intermediate divine power. "Your Highnesses of great divine power, do you know which ones are the Ancient Gods of the Force?" Upon hearing this, the other gods who had come to pay attention all turned their gazes toward those powerful gods, waiting for their answer.

'Aside from the ancient God of Death…' the solemn voice of the Lord of Nature rang out, 'besides this unknown being, the Lord of War and the Lord of Knowledge may have already reached that level…'

"Perhaps there's another one who isn't a god, but should have reached that level as well," Shuni said uncertainly. "All along, hidden from the sight of all the gods, with almost no records remaining—the Lord of the Nine Hells."

At this moment, the gods' gazes temporarily shifted from the scene of the two forces colliding and turned to the deepest part of Breton Hell, where Asmodeus, who had remained silent and hidden except for the time when Breton Hell had a rebellion, stood.

"Let's keep silent here!" the Lord of Nature sighed. "The power of the Ancient Gods is beyond our comprehension. Let's see just how far this being, who shattered the Throne of Bane, intends to go this time!"

'Before that crimson torrent of primal force, even those of us with immense divine power are but insignificant ripples…'

578. A sudden blow to the head, quickly convert to Buddhism.

On the wasteland of destruction and despair, Bane was not the only powerful god. Besides this tyrannical god, there was also the goddess of misfortune of moderate power, three goddesses of lesser power—a goddess of torment, a goddess of poison, and a god of vengeance. However, under these circumstances, the gods of the other planes did not believe that these gods, who had not reached the level of powerful gods, could control the battlefield of the Force War.

In fact, regarding the fate of these individuals, not to mention the powerful gods, even the other medium and weak gods were not optimistic about them. On this kind of battlefield, even powerful gods probably couldn't play much of a role.

The goddess of misfortune, who possesses moderate divine power, might be able to barely save her life, but the other less powerful deities can only hope for the best.

The entire wasteland of destruction and despair is now completely sealed off due to the clash of the Force currents. No supernatural ability, spell-like magic, spell, or divine art can enter it at this time. Similarly, there is no way to escape from that plane. Under the seal of the Force currents, even gods are trapped like turtles in a jar.

The reality, however, is far more brutal than the gods watching this battlefield from outside the plane could have imagined.

The moment the crimson stream of Force collided with the stream of Force representing Bane's tyrannical divine authority, the entire wasteland of destruction and despair began to shake violently due to the collision of the two streams of Force. The earthquake directly tore the wasteland's barren ground apart, forming huge, bottomless cracks.

Amidst the dark clouds, lightning raged and struck down, as if the end of the world had arrived.

At the very center of this plane, within that pitch-black fortress, bathed in the immense power of the Force currents, the Tyrant God atop the Skull Throne roared, reveling in the ever-increasing power. At this moment, with the active fusion of this Force current representing the Tyrant God's authority, the Tyrant God felt an unprecedented surge of power.

This was a power that surpassed his previous abilities. At this moment, he could clearly feel the pulse of the world beating. Even when the flow of the Force sealed off the entire plane, he could still clearly see the scenery outside this plane.

Heavenly Mountain, Bartholomew's Hell, the Material Plane... except for the endless abyss shrouded in chaotic Force, the gaze of the Tyrant God easily sees through all planes. Even those powerful deities are no exception; Bane can see them, hear their conversations, yet they know nothing about Bane.

Why could the supreme god so easily sweep away all the other gods? Why could Jaeger so easily tear apart the throne of Cyrek? After truly coming into contact with this level, the god of tyranny clearly realized what the power above the mighty divine power was.

That is the immense power to actively control the entire flow of the Force. Only by reaching this level can one avoid being easily restrained by the god above gods and easily cast down to the mortal realm. Because at this moment, one is part of the world's rules, and the god of tyranny is the true manifestation of tyranny.

He has only fused with a portion of the Force Stream, yet he has already raised his divine power to the peak of powerful divine power. Once he truly merges with the Force Stream, Bane could very well become the first person in the history of this multiverse to achieve Godhood Level 20.

"Come on!" With a surge of divine power, Bane let out a defiant roar that echoed throughout the entire plane. "Come and kill me! This is a war of the Force, a war of life and death, a war that will never end. Bane is here. If you have the guts, come and take my throne!"

"Heh..." A defiant, cold laugh responded to Bane's provocation. The monkey, using itself as a conduit within the flow of the Force, drawing power from its origins outside the world, sneered as it gazed down at Bane. "You idiotic imperial feudal landlord class, you're not even as good as those shameless, bottomless, and unscrupulous capitalists."

But frankly, the gods of this world are almost all a bunch of backward natives. The monkey has no idea that this monster named Bane can hear the sarcasm in his words. When it comes to mobilizing social forces and developing civilization, the imperial feudal landlord class is a bunch of unambitious bastards. In the monkey's eyes, all the gods in this multiverse need to be criticized and educated, and need to undergo a labor reform so that these scumbags can recognize what revolutionary spirit is.

Of course, if one refuses to accept the transformation, then one can only choose between being forced to convert quickly or becoming Shire's meal.

As for Bane, who was provoking him, the monkey automatically and consciously chose the first option for him.

"Hey, you dark-skinned, idiotic monster down there, I, Old Sun, advise you to convert to Buddhism immediately, otherwise, if I, Old Sun, were to strike you with this stick, you'd be left only to go to the Western Paradise to drink tea and chat with those bald Buddhist monks!"

The next moment, before the tyrannical god below could even understand what he was saying, he took out the Ruyi Jingu Bang (Monkey King's staff), enlarged it, and smashed it down from the sky! A giant staff descended from the sky, crashing down on the dark fortress below like an ancient mountain.

He acted without hesitation; that's just his nature as a monkey.

Only dead monsters are good monsters. Similarly, the monkeys of today have come to realize that only dead imperial feudal landlords are good imperial feudal landlords.

However, it was clear that this impulsive action caught Bane off guard and left him momentarily stunned. It wasn't until the massive club crashed down that Bane reacted, erecting a huge divine shield to block the club.

Then it was smashed to pieces with overwhelming force.

Boom...

The earth trembled as the entire ground was smashed down by the blow, unleashing a terrifying shockwave. Even though Bane reacted belatedly and tried to remedy the situation, it was too late. The army loyal to Bane was instantly defeated by the monkey's blow, and a tenth of Bane's divine kingdom was utterly shattered.

"No! You deserve to die!" Bane's roar echoed throughout the entire plane. Then, empowered by the Force, Bane, who had reached the peak of divine power, revealed his form. Under the influence of his extraordinary divine power, Bane transformed into a colossal figure hundreds of meters tall, wielding an equally enlarged meteor hammer, and roared as he unleashed a devastating strike, blasting it towards the sky.

As Bane launched his offensive, the Force stream that had actively merged with Bane's tyrannical priesthood also began to gather power and charge towards the crimson Force stream created by the monkey.

"Hey, you monster of the imperial feudal landlord class, you're utterly incorrigible!" The monkey roared in fury. With a blur, a super-terrifying upright ape, far larger than Bane's current form, appeared in the sky, wielding an equally enlarged golden cudgel and swinging it down. "Take this blow from your old Sun! Quickly convert to the fold!"