Chapter 391 - 289: Demon God Arms Race!?

Chapter 391: Chapter 289: Demon God Arms Race!?

Time slowly trickled by. In the blink of an eye, three months had passed...

Three months wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short, either. It was, at the very least, enough for the preliminary development of the Underground Palace City.

Thanks to the efforts of Isaac and the two Virtual Deities, the Underground Palace City’s population grew from the original three hundred to three thousand in just three short months!

The population had grown a full tenfold!

The number of Divine Creatures also surpassed one thousand!

A full one-third of the population!

At this point, however, they had temporarily hit their growth ceiling. Isaac and the two Virtual Deities had already scooped up every human in the vicinity. Further expansion would require exploring more distant lands.

Of course, it wasn’t a matter of capability. With three Tier Four powerhouses—one a Tier Four Mage and two Deities—all on a Path of the Extraordinary with explosive combat strength, it would take a joint effort of more than ten Tier Fours to take them down.

But there was no need.

For one, it would be too much effort. For another, the Underground Palace City wasn’t ready for more people. While Mephisto and the Fighting God had been leaders before, the largest group Mephisto had ever managed numbered just over a hundred. Managing three thousand people...

It was a considerable challenge for them. They only managed to hold things together thanks to a two-pronged approach: their absolute power to keep order, and the fact that many of the humans they had gathered possessed some administrative experience.

If they continued to expand, the Underground Palace City would collapse!

Therefore, the Underground Palace City’s current objective wasn’t further expansion. Instead, they focused on consolidating their gains, properly managing the existing population, and, at the same time, ramping up both infrastructure construction and their efforts to conquer the Underground Palaces.

After all, the Underground Palace City was different from other Magic Cities. Isaac wasn’t providing them with any basic supplies. From the resources to build the city to the food they ate, they had to acquire everything themselves.

This wasn’t too difficult for them.

After all, unlike other Magic Cities, while the Underground Palace City lacked provisions from Isaac, its people were granted greater Transcendent power. It was no exaggeration to say that, led by the two Virtual Deities, they were unmatched in the seven nearby Underground Palaces—barring the deepest levels.

Although the other Followers were a bit weaker, as long as they were careful, they had no trouble sweeping through the first floors.

With a steady supply of resources from the respawning Underground Palaces, the Underground Palace City had no problem securing basic food and shelter. However, it was just that—basic. To advance further, they would need to utilize the Underground Palace’s resources with greater refinement.

This was also true for strengthening the Divine Creatures; relying on just the two Virtual Deities wasn’t enough.

Moreover, for some unknown reason, the resistance they faced in any Underground Palace they entered had recently become much stronger than before!

This left them completely baffled. They had wanted to ask Isaac, but he had vanished ever since the Underground Palace City’s population surpassed two thousand and began to function on its own. Unable to contact him, they could only bury their confusion, halt their expeditions into the deeper levels of the Underground Palaces, and focus their energy on strengthening their Followers.

In truth, the Dimensional Demon Gods behind the Underground Palaces were even more dumbfounded than those two!

’An Underground Palace that had been dormant for years suddenly activating? That was fairly normal. After all, the Endless Tower had opened once again in the Real World of those Wizards. It was a given that they’d stir things up upon entry. In fact, other Underground Palaces they’d previously set up had also been activating recently.’

’But what wasn’t normal was—why the hell had two Deities shown up?!’

’These weren’t those inferior things like Divine Species; they were genuine, bona fide Deities!’

’The kind who had voluntarily lowered their power to Tier Four while retaining all the characteristics of a Deity... True Gods!’

’Have the True Gods of that world gone completely insane? Did they finally get infected by that bunch of Wizards?’

’Severing one’s own power was no small matter. Once you fell, climbing back up was far from easy.’

’First, after severing your power, the Authority you previously held would inevitably shrink. It was also a given that these lost portions would be seized by other Deities or Wizards. It’s not so easy to make someone spit out meat they’ve already swallowed.’

’Second, the Power of Faith required for ascension would need to be re-accumulated from scratch. This was even more troublesome than having one’s Authority encroached upon. You could forget about recovering for several hundred years, and that was only if your Sect developed without a hitch.’

’If you ran into even the slightest trouble, you’d be in for a long, long wait!’

’And wait you would!’

’Finally, and most vexing of all, the severing process itself was perilous. The slightest misstep could leave one with devastating after-effects—so severe that one’s power could be permanently locked at Tier Four!’

’Never to advance another step!’

’That was the most despairing part!’

’And based on their recent Observation, it seemed these two blockheads had landed themselves in precisely that worst-case scenario!’

’Not only was less than a tenth of their Divine Power remaining, but their path to recovery was also sealed off. Even their [Eternal] characteristic, a hallmark of a Deity, now seemed illusory...’

’That last part was absolutely fatal!’

’After all, besides them, the Dimensional Demon Gods, the greatest asset of any other Deity in this world—be they True Gods or Evil Gods—was their possession of the [Eternal] Concept, which made them incredibly difficult to kill!’

’And as long as one was Undying, one had Infinite opportunities!’

’But now, these two blockheads’ [Eternal] Concept was failing...’

At this, the Dimensional Demon Gods were first shocked, then curious, and finally, greedy!

’So, what incredible thing could this world possibly hold, for which two True Gods would be willing to pay such a monumental price to enter?’

’They had been in this world for a very long time and had more or less scouted all its resources, but this was, after all, a Great Creation by a Great Wizard—even if it was only a piece of that Great Creation.’

’The profound power it contained was beyond the comprehension of small fries like them.’

’Perhaps there really was something extraordinary hidden here?’

’After all, these two True Gods hailed from the Main World—the world where the Great Wizard originated, a world of unbelievably powerful Wizards. It was only natural for them to have some inside information, right?’

With this thought in mind, these Demon Gods began to increase their investment in the Underground Palaces. They poured in Magic Power with everything they had, especially when Mephisto and the Fighting God entered. To them, a Demon God, what was a bit of inexhaustible Magic Power compared to a Secret Treasure left behind by the Great Wizard? It was nothing!

They even began to increase the infusion of Magic Power into Underground Palaces in other areas!

The circle of Demon Gods was small, especially the group from the Wilderness Dungeons. Though the other Demon Gods didn’t know the specifics, they all followed suit. After all, it was just a little Magic Power and a little time. They could afford it.

Conveniently, while the Endless Tower was open, the Real World was shrouded by the Great Wizard’s power, preventing any interference—from True Gods and Outer Gods alike.