Chapter 1413: Chapter 1376: What to Do When Students Don’t Listen? Chapter 1413: Chapter 1376: What to Do When Students Don’t Listen? Above the vast plain, billowing dust rose from the earth like signal fires, casting the blue sky dome in gloom. The ground trembled slightly, and the reason was that a huge legion was marching across the plain.

“It’s my first time seeing so many people gathered together! It’s truly spectacular!”

In a phalanx following the troop’s forward march, a young man in full body armor peered around curiously. He could not see much, for he only had a clear view straight ahead and occasionally glanced around with his peripheral vision.

But even so, what he saw left him in awe, a sight he had never witnessed before in his life. The surging crowd of people excited him, and he felt a surge of emotion in his heart.

“If you survive and return home, the events starting from today will not only be something you’ll remember for a lifetime but also boast about for a lifetime.”

An officer riding a battle beast, maintaining the orderliness of the formation, overheard the soldier’s exclamation and responded seriously.

“Uh, sir, what do you mean by that?”

The previously spirited and self-assured warrior, who had been full of bright anticipations for his future, was now in a panic.

“Use that pitiful little head of yours to think about it. We’re heading to a battle. The big figures above have deployed such a massive army, which tells you how powerful our enemies will be.

When the real fighting starts, don’t mention you guys; even I won’t have it much better than you.”

“Then what should we do?” The soldiers buzzed with unease upon hearing the officer’s words, becoming restless and agitated.

“What’s there to panic about? This war is a holy war, and any warrior who dies in this battle will return to the embrace of the deity you worship and then gain eternal life in the Divine Kingdom.”

The officer let out a dismissive rebuke, his demeanor though stern, carried little fear or panic. He knew that his chances of survival in this war were not high, but as a devout believer, death was not an end for him but a new beginning.

“Is that true? After we die in battle, can we really go to the Divine Kingdom and enjoy eternal life?”

Some soldiers couldn’t help but express slight doubts about this matter, as to them, these lofty deities were like distant, unattainable dreams.

The memoirs extolling the deities’ might seemed more like legend to them. The idea of ascending to the divine realm after death felt nebulous and intangible.

“Of course, it’s true. Look how many armies are surrounding us; no lord can summon such a force, not to mention the great ones. The combined oracle of the lords has promised that whoever dies in this war will achieve eternal life after death.

But remember this, only the souls of warriors have this privilege. If, for example, you die while fleeing, turning your back to the enemy and getting shot by their arrows, that doesn’t count.”

“Hahaha!”

When the stern-faced officer cracked this joke, it immediately sparked a round of laughter, neither too loud nor too soft,
and the soldiers, reassured once again, had flames of fighting spirit burning in their eyes. If the great deities had made them a promise, what was there to fear?

Cry! Cry!

As the soldiers chuckled and chatted, a flock of flying battle beasts, neighing, passed overhead like dark clouds, casting large shadows on the ground below.

…

Attack!

In a hilly area uneven and ill-suited for battle, two armies, suddenly encountering each other and confirming the identity of their opponents, engaged in combat without any preparation.

The battle quickly escalated to an intense level of violence, with soldiers on both sides fighting furiously as if possessed by sheer fervor.

Since this was a war arising from the contradictions between deities, most of the participating armies had a certain foundation of faith, with believers constituting at least half of the army.

Guided by a group of devout believers who fundamentally feared not death, the other soldiers, even if hesitant, were swept along in the charge against the enemy and began to fight desperately. In the battlefield, even the commanders had limited options.

The sounds of weapons piercing flesh echoed constantly over the battlefield, and the instinctive screams and wails of dying creatures rose and fell like a tragic symphony.

This was a scene as miserable as the realms of hell. When two armies, both fueled by faith and enmity, clashed, their brutality surpassed that of any secular military.

The two sides both considered the other heretical, wishing nothing more than to utterly demolish the other. There was no possibility for compromise between them unless the deity one side worshiped fell, otherwise, the war would go on forever.

“Muria!”

A gentle call echoed in Muria’s ear; the deity, whose eyes reflected the horrific scenes of the battlefield, slightly turned her head to gaze at her companion.

“I’m here, go ahead.”

“Can we change the way this war is waged? I really don’t like the war that has been initiated now. In my Divine Kingdom, the number of worshippers is increasing every moment.”

The goddess who wielded “Light” but was extremely warlike asked. In her divine kingdom, although the number of worshipers was increasing, she did not feel the joy typical of a deity of faith. She only felt sorrow.

Those believers who provided faith to the deities should have, with the deity’s mighty power, obtained a better life. However, under the deity’s desire, they fell to be a pitiable expendable.

“How do you want to fight?” Muria asked after a long, silent moment.

“Direct battle with the opposing deity—I can serve as the vanguard!” Michaela’s answer was simple and direct. To enemies, she was an invincible valkyrie who bulldozed every direction, but to her own believers, she wanted to be a competent deity.

“We can’t win. I’ve already tried.”

Muria slowly shook his head, fully aware of Michaela’s thoughts.

Because of his whim, the destinies of billions of creatures across hundreds of domains had been altered, with tens of thousands of intelligent creatures falling every moment in the struggle over faith.

Only the most devout believers had the privilege to enter the deity’s kingdom and enjoy the so-called eternal life promised by the deity. In reality, they became nothing but “little batteries” to supply faith. When worshipers exhausted their soul’s potential, that was when they vanished.

If he hadn’t entertained such thoughts, under the rule of the deities, the victory over hundreds of domains might not have been better than the present, but it definitely wouldn’t have been worse. Because war is always the worst consequence without exception.

“…”

This time it was Michaela’s turn to be silent. She genuinely didn’t know what to do, feeling sorrow for her own fallen believers and pity for their plight.

But apart from gathering that group of believers with devout faith who qualified to enter the divine kingdom, she couldn’t do anything substantial.

Because she knew that this war was of significant meaning to her consort—it was a gamble on the future of the couple, determining their future achievements.

It was a battle in which they could only win, not lose; thus, a cease-fire was definitely out of the question, as was changing the way they waged war.

Just as Muria had said, he had already tried. At the top levels of combat power, their side did not have much of an advantage. Thus they could only affect the higher levels through the lower ones, thereby achieving victory.

The foundation of a deity’s existence relied on the intelligent creatures living within the domains. If a large number of believers perished, even a deity would fall from their divine position and lose everything.

Of course, losing believers would be severe for a true faith deity, but for a deity like the sun god, born at the dawn of time, it was not a fundamental harm, merely a partial loss of power, a minor inconvenience.

However, Muria never hoped to affect him through the faith war. All he needed to do was to reduce this deity’s wings as much as possible. Later on, he could easily gather a group of subordinate gods to gang up on this lonely deity.

But the prerequisite for all this was that Muria must achieve victory in the war. Otherwise, it would be the sun god bringing his subordinate gods to gang up on him.

“Actually, there is another way.”

Seeing his silent consort, Muria’s heart softened a bit. Although he, too, disliked causing his believing subjects to fight so fervently to the death, having once been an emperor, he was able to make such a decision.

“What else can you do?” Michaela looked up, slightly puzzled.

“It’s impossible for me to ascend again in the short term, but you can. Stop the war. Once you ascend with powerful divine force, we can join forces and take down the sun god without issue.”

Muria revealed his solution—procrastination.

Given the divine position Michaela controlled, she definitely had potential. With enough faith, ascending to a powerful divine force wasn’t a big problem, but it required time.

“Instead of choosing to use resources to cultivate me, why don’t you choose your two subordinate gods? Whether it’s the Feathered Fire God or the King of Elves, they are both just one step away from ascending to powerful divine force.”

“They are, after all, just my subordinate gods, not my consort. And even if they ascend, would they really be content to continue being at my disposal?”

“You control part of their divine positions in your hands. Even so, are you still wary of them?”

“It’s not about being wary. If they have the ability to ascend on their own, I naturally won’t hinder them in the slightest. But to concentrate resources to cultivate them—I can’t do that.”

“So you’d rather spend more resources to cultivate me?” Michaela couldn’t help but feel a mixture of amusement and frustration, unsure what to say about her consort.

“Mhm, only this way can our divine court wield more deterrence. And after your ascension, even if those two also follow in ascending, they will be much more obedient and won’t harbor too many devious thoughts.”

“I just remembered—you seem to have forgotten someone?”

“Hm?”

“Your student. I recall you appraised him to me, saying he would definitely become a powerful divine force within a millennium. Since that’s the case, and you are lacking high-end combat power now, why not go find your student?”

“It’s true I’m his teacher, but I forced him to be my student in the first place. Whether he recognizes me now is another story. And even if he does, he might not listen to me.”

“If he doesn’t recognize you, why not just coerce him again?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read