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"This is finally over." Christine said, while standing next to Haru, relief evident in her tone. Though a peak High Goddess herself, the pressure from Supreme Gods still humbled her, especially Micteya's newfound strength.
She remembered Haru's promise that he'd make her a Supreme Goddess if she pledged absolute allegiance to him.
"My Lord!" Celestia returned and bowed respectfully.
Elunara approached next to her with a warm smile, "Your Majesty, aren't you going to invite me to your kingdom?"
Haru smiled brightly, "Of course, Lady Elunara, the doors to my kingdom are always open for the Nature Pantheon."
After cleaning the battlefield, Haru returned to the capital with his Angels, their wings casting long shadows across the glowing streets. The Elven Goddess Elunara walked beside him, her presence both commanding and warm, as if an ancient forest itself had taken human form.
Flanking her were the legendary Goddesses of Nature like Selene, the Goddess of Moonlight and Hunting, the Goddess of Sea, the Goddess of Victory, the Goddess of Flames, the Goddess of War, and the others.
Even Christine had brought the strongest Beast Gods from her pantheon, a towering Lion-kin and a Serpentine God, with her back to Angel City's Core Area.
Christine's aid at the critical moment had transformed a situation where most Angels could've died into a situation where they maintained a stalemate with minimal losses. Haru now regarded her and the Beast God Pantheon as true allies rather than mere convenient partners.
For all their troubles and sacrifices, Haru offered her 30% of the spoils, including Godheads and Artifacts. This was not a charity, but a fair share of spoils because hundreds of Beast Gods have perished in this war, their souls lost forever, without any opportunity of resurrection.
Christine bowed with gratitude, "Your generosity honors us, Your Majesty. We won't forget this."
The Beast Gods behind her nodded with respect in their eyes. Haru's strength definitely surpassed theirs. As the Great Aetherium's King with a Lord type Artifact and a Supreme Goddess as a subordinate, he was naturally invincible below the Supreme God Tier.
Moreover, thanks to him, the Beast Gods would gain shelter under the Angel Supreme Goddess. The timing was also perfect with the Divine War looming. During the Ancient War, pantheons without the backings of Supreme Gods were called mercilessly by the Dimensional Demons.
They have already attempted to ally with the Royal Beast Court, but the negotiations failed because of the deep ideological rifts between 'Truth' and 'Faith'. Haru, as a fellow 'God of Faith' was the perfect fit for an alliance.
…
Back in the capital, everyone settled near the three Angel Reincarnation Pools, where the Goddess of Sea pointed at the pools pulsing with holy light and asked with genuine awe in her tone, "What's that?"
Haru smiled, "Those are Angel Reincarnation Pools. They give birth to the Angels daily. Recruiting troops like this is what defines us Castle Lords."
The surrounding Gods nodded. These mechanics were well known among the Gods by now.
Elunara's eyes widened, voice soft, "That's an incredible power. Also, what are those Angels doing? Are they praying?"
Haru shook his head, smiling knowingly, "Yes and no. While they're praying, Angels are creatures of faith. They cultivate by praying daily and especially next to the Angel Reincarnation Pools when they're about to ascend."
Suddenly, the Angels released their suppressed auras and simultaneously, golden lights bathed over two hundred Angels, mostly Lower and Intermediate Gods, their power surging as their strength increased rapidly.
A gasp rippled through the crowd. Two hundred true Gods ascending simultaneously was unheard of.
Elunara murmured, "The World Laws of the Endless Continent clearly favor you Castle Lords, there's no denying it."
The others nodded. If they were allowed the choice to ascend so easily, then by now, the Endless Continent would've been teeming with thousands of Supreme Gods…
Haru chuckled, "Lady Elunara, we were outrageously weak and outnumbered when we arrived here. Without this edge, how could we fight beside the natives in the upcoming Divine War?"
This battle yielded massive exp. With deaths of High Gods like Maddox, the Angels would've already risen mid-battle had they not suppressed it to avoid getting killed while ascending. Haru even sensed that Lysandra, the General of his Royal Army, has become a High Goddess.
Now, including her, Haru had eleven High God Tier subordinates. Such terrifying growth… No wonder Elunara envied Castle Lords so much, but then again, most other Castle Lords didn't even have a single Lower True God.
…
Suddenly Haru noticed a Goddess, whose aura marked her as an early stage Lower True Goddess, who had just freshly attained Godhood, as well as the unmistakable aura of another world that only Castle Lords and Rangers possessed.
She noticed his look and approached with an excited smile, "Lord Kazehaya, it's so good to finally meet you. My friends will be really jealous about it when I tell them!"
Her voice trembled with awe as she saw seven maxed out barracks, and all of them were at least top-level barracks!
Three Angel Reincarnation Pools
An Elven Mother Tree
A Dragon Island
A Holy Monastery
A Golden Beamon Palace
"I'm Diane, the Castle Lord of the Elf Garden. I was favored by Her Holiness and when I became a Goddess, I joined the Nature Pantheon."
Haru nodded, and before he could say anything, she raised her hand, "I promise not to leak any intel on you."
Haru waved his hand, "Ah, I don't care about that. You are free to tell anyone about my capital."
Hearing his words, Diane also felt relaxed.
…
Haru led the group on a full tour throughout the capital, and they finally reached the Throne Room in the palace. Instead of sitting on his throne, Haru conjured a golden round table using his Law of Creation and sat opposite to Elunara.
The Angels and the three members of the Beast God Pantheon stood behind him, while the Nature Pantheon stood behind Elunara, who smiled warmly.
"In the end, I thought Your Majesty would push Her Holiness to crush Micteya and spark an all-out war against Evil Gods."
Haru shook his head, "Come on, Lady Elunara, I'm not that stupid. We aren't ready to handle the millions of Evil Gods without unimaginable losses—not yet."
"That's true." Elunara nodded, "With the Divine War looming, it is indeed not a time for a war of that scale."
Although losses of High Gods were tolerable, it would truly be a disaster if a Supreme God fell. She personally stepped in because, as she said, she was afraid of an all-out-war.
Haru nodded with a smile, of course he would fight a war against the Evil Pantheon soon. Anyway, he would resurrect all the Gods, so the Endless Continent wouldn't lose any Supreme God in the upcoming Divine War.
The Demon Slayer Tournament was the perfect chance for him to nurture numerous Gods. He asked straight, "Why did the Nature Pantheon help us so much? What's in it for you?"
Elunara leaned in, "We need allies for the Divine War. The Nature Pantheon and the Great Aetherium together ensure protection for us. We watch each other's backs, double our strength and prevent unnecessary losses."
Haru asked, "If I declare an all-out war against the Evil Gods, would the Nature Pantheon join?"
Elunara frowned, "Why does Your Majesty obsess over them? The Evil Pantheon won't provoke you again after today."
"They'll come for Maddox's soul in seven days. A war is unavoidable unless someone completely submits."
"But why Your Majesty? Isn't his soul virtually useless for you? You can simply return it and there will be peace."
Haru said with a mysterious smile, "Maddox's value is immense, Lady Elunara."
A Beast God suddenly exclaimed behind Christine, "Zylo? Tigranov? Aren't they dead?"
'Can he casually resurrect Gods?!' Elunara's expressions paled and her gaze locked onto Haru.
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