Chapter 151: The Weakness of the Dark Web Bank

Chapter 151: The Weakness of the Dark Web Bank

The emergence of the dark web may not have been earth-shattering, but it was undoubtedly unexpected—a bolt from the blue!

Not only did it shake the monopoly of the internet, sending tremors through the alliance of the Internet God’s faction, but it also horrified the gods of the multiverse, forcing a complete reshuffling of the cosmic order.

...

In an abandoned mine near the edge of the Cordillera Mountains within the Duchy of Raleigh of the Saint-Todd United Nations, dust suddenly swirled without wind beside the skeletal remains of a dismantled boiler in the pithead’s joint structure.

Portals lit up across the ground, one after another, and figures emerged from them.

Amid the shimmering light, anti-magic magic spread outward like devil vines, isolating the area entirely from the gaze of the gods.

The figures stepping out of the portals were none other than the Five Great Righteous Gods who controlled the Saint-Todd United Nations.

No—one was missing. The God of Death, wielder of the Nether Godhood, was absent.

As the swirling dust settled, silence fell within the crumbling structure.

For some reason, the four gathered gods collectively fell into silence.

"That stinking corpse has created the dark web. Does no one have any thoughts?"

The God of War was the first to speak, his face dark as a volcano on the verge of eruption.

The God of War had been faring poorly lately.

The siege of Keville not only cost him countless soldiers, with most of his elite forces perishing, but his stronghold in Sparda was also reduced to ruins by the Internet God.

And to make matters worse, he had sold it to the Plen Three Gods—truly adding insult to injury.

Before he could lick his wounds and rebuild his strength for a comeback, his ally and rival, the God of Death, had imitated the internet and created the dark web—a force no less formidable!

The multiverse was shaken, and the Five Gods Alliance was no exception, left stunned and chilled to the bone.

After all, the God of Death now seemed poised to dominate alone.

"The God of Death is truly remarkable!"

The God of Life’s words carried a veiled sneer.

"Hmph! The internet is already a festering wound that plagues us endlessly. Now, with the dark web added to the mix, I fear our preaching zones will soon be completely infiltrated!"

The mature and composed Earth Mother Goddess wore an ugly expression.

"Indeed. Unlike the Internet God, who lacks deep foundations, the God of Death has the Underworld as his stronghold, commanding an endless undead army! Previously, his control was limited, preventing him from fully leveraging his advantages. But now, by following the Internet God’s example and creating the Fifth Calamity, he’s squeezing every drop of Source Essence from his believers while multiplying his undead forces. It’s practically a case of ‘as many believers as there are, so too are there soldiers.’ His strength has likely already surpassed ours!"

The God of Life’s voice was icy as he laid out the facts, his eyes filled with deep apprehension.

"Now, we have two choices: either submit to that stinking corpse completely, as the Music Goddess did to the Internet God, or strike while his foundations are unstable—sparing no cost—and join forces to tear through the Underworld, utterly destroying his base!"

The God of War’s expression twisted with madness, his Battle Aura flaring wildly.

The other three gods fell silent.

Submitting to the God of Death? Easier said than done. Who could truly accept that?

One moment, they were equals;

The next, they were expected to follow his lead—the sheer humiliation of it was unbearable!

Besides, they were nearly all powerful gods who ruled over their own Primary Domains. How could they possibly submit to another deity?

As for breaking through the Underworld?

Easier said than done. The Underworld was the God of Death’s domain. Any non-undead creatures entering would have their power suppressed—how could they fight?

Unless they launched a full-scale assault!

But that would mean abandoning countless small and medium domains.

The other evil gods would never miss the opportunity to exploit their weakened defenses in those territories.

So who would dare make such a reckless decision?

Even if they did break through the Underworld, without the Nether Authority, how could they rule it?

Nor could they completely destroy the dark web, for as long as its knowledge remained, the God of Death would never lack users.

This was nothing but a quagmire!

In truth, this was also the fundamental reason the Five Great Righteous Gods had formed their alliance and maintained relative balance.

Each possessed the power to overturn the table—and the restraint not to.

Unfortunately, that balance had now been shattered by the God of Death!

"These two choices are impossible!" the God of Life sneered.

"Then should we just sit back and watch the God of Death grow stronger? He’s not targeting us now only because he doesn’t want to provoke us! Once he conquers the world, his armies will inevitably turn toward our preaching zones!"

"By then, even small domains won’t be able to preserve our Source Essence Flame! Have you forgotten how the Fourth Calamity dealt with the beastmen? And how it crushed Kazad-dûm?"

At this, the God of War couldn’t help but curse the Internet God again:

"That damned Internet God, that damned Azure Star—don’t let me find that domain, or I’ll make you taste the spread of war!"

The God of the Sea, his neck covered in scales, murmured in response:

"The only way to counter the internet is with the internet. Rather than debating how to deal with the God of Death, we should focus on how to use our authority to recreate the internet! This is no time to hold back—whatever Godhood you’ve hidden, bring it out now."

He had long suspected his allies might be hiding other Godhoods.

After all, they each ruled over a Primary Domain;

After all, most had lived for millennia, even tens of thousands of years.

Though gods were slippery creatures, some inevitably exposed their coordinates for one reason or another, suffering fatal blows.

Thus, the God of the Sea had reason to believe his allies possessed other Godhoods.

Perhaps their abilities were unremarkable;

Perhaps they were weaker Godhoods.

But used unexpectedly, they could still unleash terrifying power.

"Hmph, if I had another Godhood, would the God of Death even be a problem now?" the God of War snorted.

"I don’t have one!"

"Neither do I."

The God of Life and the Earth Mother Goddess shook their heads in denial.

Was it truly the case?

Or were the Godhoods they concealed simply incapable of constructing an internet?

Or perhaps, if they could, they would have done so in secret long ago—why admit it now?

"Is that so!"

The God of the Sea laughed, a mocking glint flashing in his eyes:

"Facing calamity, yet still clinging to selfish interests—what a fine alliance of five gods! Let me be frank, I too have ideas about the internet. The three of you can discuss your strategies; I won’t keep you company."

Having failed to pry loose his allies' hidden cards, the God of the Sea vanished abruptly.

Millennia of alliance had made him all too familiar with his comrades.

Those who could dominate an entire Primary Domain were no pushovers.

His probing had been casual—success would have been ideal, but failure mattered little.

He had seen it clearly now: with the God of Death forging ahead and replicating the internet’s dominance, the alliance of the Five Great Righteous Gods was already fractured in spirit.

What was once an unbreakable bond now teetered on the brink of collapse.

If that was the case, why remain in this alliance of mutual distrust?

After all, he commanded the seas, granting him natural independence.

Nor did he harbor much ambition for the land.

All he sought was to safeguard his core domain amid the sweeping tides of change, then seize opportunities to claim other Godhoods and pursue new growth!

"What did you say?"

The God of War, the God of Life, and the Earth Mother Goddess exclaimed in unison, staring in shock at the fading figure of the God of the Sea.

Amid the glow of teleportation, the God of the Sea only smiled without answering, vanishing completely.

The three deities exchanged uneasy glances.

The God of Death had created the dark web—and now the God of the Sea claimed to have ideas of his own?

No, if he dared to speak of it, he must already have a framework in place, needing only refinement!

Did this mean that among the once-equal Five Great Righteous Gods, only the three of them now lacked the internet’s devastating weapon?

For a moment, an absurd sense of being left behind by the times took root in their hearts.

A butterfly from the Azure Star had ultimately stirred a storm of transformation sweeping across the multiverse.

This storm would churn up dust that would blanket the skies!

……

……

The dust of the era, falling upon each individual, would weigh as heavily as a mountain.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The sound of waist drums echoed through the village as the preachers of the Church of the God of Death repeated their proclamation:

"By decree of the God of Death: All subjects of His domain must log into the dark web, study magic, and command the undead without fail! Those who report internet users shall be rewarded with one gold coin!"

In the fields, several tenant farmers lifted their heads.

"The preachers are at it again!"

"They’ve been coming around so often these days!"

"Aye, that they have!"

The tenant farmers couldn’t help but chatter.

"Honestly, why bother? Even the three-year-olds in our village know about the dark web by now."

"The great God of Death truly reigns over the realm of the departed. Never thought I’d set foot in the Underworld in this lifetime!"

"Indeed, who knew the afterlife looked like that? I’ve seen it with my own eyes!"

"Ah, when I first entered the Underworld, I was terrified! Corpses everywhere—even worse than the Skull Church!"

Philip, newly come of age, straightened his back in the field.

Listening to the farmers’ chatter, he felt a surge of disdain and superiority.

Look at how little you all know.

"I saw it months ago!"

"Ever heard of the internet?"

"No, right?"

"The dark web is just a copy of the internet!"

"No one knows, but Philip has been a user of the internet for a while now."

"Remember months ago, when countless pieces of paper suddenly fell from the sky?"

"He picked one up by chance, and reciting it unconsciously summoned the internet."

"That very day, his spiritual world was turned upside down!"

"The divine miracles revealed by the internet nearly shattered his faith to its core."

"As he logged into the internet more and more, learning more and more, his belief in the God of Death grew increasingly fragmented."

"Eventually, he became a complete false believer!"

"Philip, which district are you in? Wanna hang out tonight?" a companion called out beside him.

"Sure, I’m in District Twelve too."

Philip replied, quietly letting out a sigh of relief.

Now that the God of Death had developed the dark web, he no longer had to log into the internet every day with fear and trembling.

Honestly, after experiencing the internet, he simply couldn’t bear a life without it.

Not logging in for even a day left him feeling restless all over.

Though the dark web still had many shortcomings compared to the internet and felt awkward to use, it was more or less the same in the end.

Being able to go online without constant dread—Philip was already satisfied.

……

……

Yet while Philip was content, Jerry, another subject of the God of Death, felt anything but.

He was the notorious old bachelor of the surrounding villages.

Always restless, always dissatisfied—