“Don’t go in there!”

 Just as Li Yi and Brother Windcloud Nine were about to enter the Wind God’s Shrine, a weak voice reached their ears.

 A plume of purple smoke approached and stopped before the two of them, shifting to form the shape of the Second Demon God, Aersith.

 Li Yi was taken aback. “Why are you here, Aersith?”

 Brother Windcloud Nine pulled out his Blazing Judgment and watched, confused, as Li Yi and Aersith spoke to each other. He did not know that Aersith was also Li Yi’s mercenary. In his eyes, Aersith’s name was red, and that made her an enemy.

 Aersith shook her head. “I’ve been here for a long while now.”

 Her face was pale, and she looked weak, as though she had suffered a serious injury.

 “I fought God-queen Carulla.”

 “You?” Li Yi was shocked again.

 He knew Aersith’s power perfectly well, but he knew God-queen Carulla’s abilities even better. To think that Aersith challenged the God-queen bad actually… survived… that was just…

 “Didn’t you say that demons can’t enter shrines?”

 “Under the usual circumstances, of course we can’t. However, although I did not discover a way t destroy the shrines the last time I went back to the Demon God Castle, I did find a demonic Divine Weapon that allowed me to enter the shrine without taking any damage.”

 Li Yi was immediately intrigued. “What Divine Weapon?”

 Demons could not enter the Four Major Elemental Shrines because the shrines were filled with Divine Power. Demons had unique biological structures which meant that regular abilities could not kill them, and Territory Power could only kill them temporarily until their eventual resurrection. Divine Power, however, could eliminate them completely and kill them for real.

 A Divine Weapon that could stand up against Divine Power was exactly what Li Yi needed now, right?

 Aersith did not reply. Instead, she just said, “The Divine Weapon has to do with the demons’ greatest secret.”

 The subtext was clear. She could not tell him what the Divine Weapon was.

 Aersith then sighed, “Without that Divine Weapon, I would’ve died earlier.

 “God-queen Carulla is powerful. I am no match for her, and you two won’t stand a chance.”

 Brother Windcloud Nine snorted coldly. “Not necessarily. We won’t know unless we try, right?”

 Lately, the God-queen Carulla had been doing everything she could to cause trouble for Brother Windcloud Nine. He had reached the end of his patience and was about to blow up on her, so Li Yi’s request was just what he wanted.

 Aersith nodded. “You want to try? Don’t doubt my words, human. Although I may be grievously wounded now, you are still no match for me. If you can’t even defeat me, what right do you have to challenge the God-queen?”

 Aersith waved one hand and her Nihilistic Territory spread rapidly, enveloping Brother Windcloud Nine in it.

 Inside the Nihilistic Territory, all of Brother Windcloud Nine’s attacks and equipment meant nothing.

 Aersith stopped and pulled back her Nihilistic Territory. Only then did Brother Windcloud Nine return to normal.

 Brother Windcloud Nine fell silent. He had always been a believer in the strong, and Aersith’s display of power had him convinced.

 “God-queen Carulla is several hundred times stronger than I am. I could only escape thanks to that Divine Weapon. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I would warn you two not to mess with her.”

 Li Yi smiled slightly and gestured to Aersith.

 This was the order to dismiss the mercenaries. Aersith received the message immediately.

 “What are you trying to do?” Aersith did not accept the dismissal. Instead, she questioned Li Yi.

 “I’ll take you with me, don’t worry. Unlike you, we won’t lose much even when we do die.”

 Aersith looked at Li Yi blankly for more than ten seconds before she nodded slightly and accepted the dismissal.

 Aersith turned into a small statue and flew back into Li Yi’s hand.

 “She’s your mercenary?” said Brother Windcloud Nine in shock!

 “She’s the Mysterious Leader of the Traitors’ Alliance. Cool, huh?”

 Li Yi held the little Aersith statue and even poked her chest with his finger. The statue was made of neither metal nor steel, but it was very solid anyway. Of course he could not feel anything.

 “Mad respect, brother!” Brother Windcloud Nine’s eyes were full of admiration.

 “Come on, let’s go in!”

 Li Yi beckoned Brother Windcloud Nine and led the way inside.

 Having met Aersith, Li Yi was suddenly in a much better mood. To think there was a Divine Weapon that could control Divine Power! This was a great opportunity, and as long as he could make the most of it, the idea of killing a god was less unfeasible than it had been earlier.

 Inside the Wind God’s Shrine, that Wind’s Divine Sword was still standing in the platform at the center of the room. God-queen Carulla stood in front of the platform, her hands glowing with a Divine Light. She kept waving her hands at the Wind’s Divine Sword, though her reasons were up to anyone’s guess.

 God-queen Carulla paused then and looked at Brother Windcloud Nine coldly.

 “Mortal, who allowed you to bring others in?”

 “Crack!”

 Carulla swung a bolt of lightning from her palm at Li Yi, but Li Yi was ready for her. He evaded in advance and drew his bow, shooting a Time Stinger Arrow.

 “Whoosh—”

 The Time Stinger Arrow flew at Carulla rapidly, but the moment it touched Carulla’s body, it mysteriously turned around and launched back the same way it came, hitting Li Yi instead.

 “Pfft pfft pfft pfft—”

 There was an explosion of damage figures, and Li Yi fell, dead.

 Li Yi’s Time Stinger Arrow could always kill others in an instant, but now the opposite was true. He had been one-shotted.

 “How dare you attack a god, you insignificant creature!”

 This God-queen Carulla had only recently spawned, so she had lost all of her memories from before. However, if she still remembered, she would have been ecstatic about the hit she just landed. After all, Li Yi was the first mortal to actually challenge her authority.

 “Emperor of the Continent, Brother Windcloud Nine, how are you progressing with the task I entrusted to you?”

 “I’m working on it.”

 As Brother Windcloud Nine replied to her question, he walked toward her slowly.

 Brother Nine did not attack just now because Li Yi asked him not to. When fighting against an enemy as powerful as Carulla, going head-on was a very bad idea. That was why they had to try other methods.

 “Brother Windcloud Nine, why aren’t you kneeling in the presence of the God-queen? Are you undermining my authority?” barked Carulla.

 Be it this Carulla or the previous one who had died a tragic death, both had the exact thought processes. They looked down on mortals.

 “You want me to kneel? Sure.”

 Brother Windcloud Nine pointed at the Wind’s Divine Sword in the platform.

 “Give me that sword and I’ll obey you.”

 “Fool, are you trying to bargain with me?”

 “I am!”

 Brother Windcloud Nine did not stop, approaching Carulla one step at a time.

 “Don’t stop, keep bargaining with her. Don’t worry, as long as you don’t retort, she won’t attack you unprovoked.”

 Li Yi lay on the ground and occasionally reminded Brother Windcloud Nine.

 He was on the ground now, but he had the Sacramental Stone on him, so he could resurrect whenever he wanted to. However, now was not the best time to resurrect. He had to patiently wait a little longer.

 “The Wind’s Divine Sword is a Divine Weapon that maintains the balance of the Pantheon Continent. What right do you have to demand this sword?”

 “I am the Emperor of the Continent, but I don’t have a weapon to call my own. You ask me to help you, but why should I help you if you don’t give me anything in return?”

 Carulla was stumped by Brother Windcloud Nine’s words. It was the first time anyone asked for a reward for running her errands.

 “If you help me, I’ll help you ascend. Mortal, would you rather become a god or wield a Divine Weapon?”

 “Can I have both?”

 As he said that, Brother Windcloud Nine was already standing right in front of Carulla.

 He just had to send his Blazing Judgment forth a little, and he would be able to stab it into Carulla’s chest. However, there was no way such a simple ambush could kill a god. Brother Windcloud Nine knew that there was a less than 1% chance of it working.

 “As long as you obey my commands obediently, I’ll give you everything.”

 “Can I have you?”

 Brother Windcloud Nine’s words were like a bombshell, and before Carulla could recover from the shock, he took out a Fire God Summoning Scroll and tore it.

 An enormous figure of the Ancient Fire God appeared and raised its fists high above its head, smashing them down on God-queen Carulla.

 No one knew if a close-range ambush with a God Summoning Scroll would work. Many had attempted it in the past life, using a scroll to kill a god from a distance, but every attempt resulted in the Ancient God’s spirit getting purified while the god remained completely unharmed.

 Since a long-range attack would not work, they had no choice but to try it at point-black distance.

 “Resurrect!”

 “Teleport!”

 “Water Clone! Shooting Star Arrow Hail!”

 Just as the Ancient Fire God brought down its fists, Li Yi resurrected on the spot and teleported up to Carulla’s side, using his Doable Shooting Star Arrow Hail.

 “Squeak!”

 Dolly appeared on Carulla’s other side and used her Chain Arrow Skill.

 “How dare you insult a god! You should…”

 “Boom!”

 Carulla’s words were interrupted by the Ancient Fire God’s attack, and her body was enveloped in flames…

 “Smack smack smack smack smack smack…”

 The Shooting Star Arrow Hail fell on Carulla, but Li Yi could not see if it dealt any damage. Right now, the shrine was utterly buried in the Ancient Fire God’s flames.

 Brother Windcloud Nine held Blazing Judgment and slashed blindly into the fire. Just like Li Yi, he was throwing everything he had at a wall and hoping it would stick.

 “A god’s authority… bears no doubt!”

 Carulla’s authoritative voice came from within the flames, and the Ancient Fire God suddenly roared in agony. The flames flooding the shrine began to fade rapidly.

 “Whoosh…”

 A strong gust of wind extinguished the flames. It also picked up Li Yi and Brother Windcloud Nine, continuously dealing damage to them.

  Carulla looked rather worse for the wear. There were ambers all over her black robes. The Ancient Fire God’s attack had dealt her some damage, but Li Yi and Brother Windcloud Nine’s attacks had been wholly ineffective.

 The King of Northwind appeared, Wind’s Divine Sword in hand, and stood in front of Carulla.

 “How dare you attack a god! Mortals, your sins are unforgivable!”

 The King of Northwind controlled a tornado and killed both Li Yi and Brother Windcloud Nine with ease. Carulla did not even have to lift a finger.

 By the time the tornado passed, Li Yi and Brother Nine crashed to the ground, dead as doornails.

“Mortal, you have insulted me. I shall take away your throne as Emperor of the Continent and cast a Divine Punishment upon your head!”

 God-queen Carulla pointed at Brother Windcloud Nine’s corpse, and a ray of red light entered his body, forming a large blood-colored word behind him.

 “Punishment!”

 …