Chapter 157: The God of Death's Rage

Chapter 157: The God of Death's Rage

Underworld · Glazed Mountain

In the Eternal Temple, where the Soul Fire never extinguishes, an ancient Undead Dragon lurked in the shadows, its massive skull resting beside the divine throne. Within the enormous cranium, a ghostly blue Soul Fire flickered silently, radiating boundless pressure.

Yet, no matter how colossal the dragon was, it could never overshadow the majesty of its master—the one seated upon the God of Death's throne.

God of Death Sawyer sat high upon his divine throne, gazing down upon the temple. Below, bone dragons coiled around pillars, while Subordinate Gods and Servant Gods gathered in great numbers. High-ranking Underworld Lords and summoners stood assembled, the clamor deafening.

"Great God of Death, the Fifth Calamity has converged upon the Zihua Domain. Shall we launch an assault on the Taylor Dynasty?"

Subordinate God Duke reported with fervor.

Ever since the great God of Death initiated the propaganda tactics, the Source Essence flowing into the Virtual Divine Spark within just half a day had nearly matched his total gains from an entire year. How could he not be exhilarated?

The God of Death was wise.

From the moment he took control of the Underworld, he recognized his strengths and weaknesses.

His strength, naturally, lay in commanding the Underworld's inexhaustible army.

But his weakness was equally evident—these troops were nothing more than scattered rabble. They required summoners, mages, and even Underworld Lords to organize and command before they could unleash their combat potential.

To this end, he established the Underworld Pantheon, offering the Virtual Divine Spark and Source Essence as supreme rewards.

Those who sought eternal life and the benefits of Source Essence had no choice but to join his system—to wage war for him! To pledge loyalty to him!

It was through this system that he gathered countless talents from the Underworld and even across the multiverse under his banner.

The God of Death was generous, distributing a mere ten-thousandth of the Source Essence he harvested to his subordinates, binding the Underworld Pantheon together with shared interests.

Now, amplified by the dark web, the Underworld Pantheon erupted with astonishing power.

Torrents of Source Essence surged toward the God of Death like raging tides. Even the ten-thousandth portion distributed to his Subordinate Gods and Servant Gods was akin to an unending river, invigorating them all!

For a time, the God of Death's subordinates fought with unprecedented fervor.

Some tirelessly scattered Propaganda Leaflets without rest.

Others monitored the dark web, screening and filtering users.

"Attack. But remember—do not slaughter indiscriminately. Those people will one day be our flock," the God of Death murmured ominously.

"As you command!" Subordinate God Duke responded, then swiftly issued the order.

"Great God of Death, the False Believers' Beginner Village has been completed. Only the dungeon Portal remains under construction," another high-ranking Lord stepped forward to report.

"Excellent. Elro, I entrust this False Believers' Beginner Village to you," the God of Death nodded in satisfaction.

"Elro will not fail his mission!"

A Servant God strode forth from the crowd and hurriedly departed the temple.

The so-called False Believers' Beginner Village was the God of Death's countermeasure against divine retaliation.

Originally, as the dark web expanded wildly, the gods of the multiverse had begun manipulating Ghosts to infiltrate the dark web, wreaking havoc!

This was one of the few means of resistance they could employ without openly provoking the God of Death.

And it had to be said—their resistance was quite effective.

They relentlessly assaulted dungeon Portals, preaching zone Magistrates, and even civilians, dealing a heavy blow to the God of Death's strategy.

This forced the God of Death to temporarily halt his plans of gathering the Fifth Calamity and expanding his territory.

However, though he no longer concentrated the Fifth Calamity's forces for territorial expansion, he scattered them deep into the enemy's rear. Naturally, this was a tactic learned from the Internet God's own methods against them!

By deploying the endless Fifth Calamity behind enemy lines, using human wisdom to wage guerrilla warfare—specifically targeting farmlands and destroying infrastructure—over time, it would be enough to force the enemy to surrender without a fight. After all, any intelligent creature needed to eat.

As for the gods' sabotage?

The God of Death pondered briefly and devised a countermeasure: partitioning.

All new users would be assigned to new beginner villages, serving a dual purpose—centralized supervision and concentrated deployment outside preaching zones. This way, even if someone caused trouble, the damage would be minimal.

"Your Grace, the Shadow Temple has sent an urgent message! The Internet God's propaganda leaflets are appearing across multiple domains!"

A Subordinate God suddenly exclaimed.

As the words fell, a stir rippled through the temple. The God of Death's subordinates exchanged uneasy glances, many with flickers of doubt in their eyes.

Though the Dark Web was advancing unstoppably, they still knew it was merely the God of Death's imitation of the Internet! The Internet God was the true pioneer of connectivity!

If he decided to act, could the Dark Web still compete?

Many subordinates harbored doubts.

"Hmph, the Internet God isn’t stupid!" the God of Death sneered.

"Your Grace, should we launch an attack against the Internet God to keep him off balance?"

Elberta, the banshee-turned-Subordinate God, stepped forward with a proposal.

"No need. The Internet won’t gain momentum. The gods won’t allow its spread! Compared to the Dark Web, the Internet is as glaring as the sun. Absolute suppression may be difficult, but keeping it within limited reach is easy!"

The God of Death wore an arrogant expression.

"No—in fact, the Internet has no room to survive at all. With my Dark Web in place, those cowardly, lowly humans wouldn’t dare defy the gods' ban and log into the Internet!"

As the God of Death spoke, the Servant Gods and lords in the temple exchanged glances, delight flashing in their eyes.

"Your Grace speaks wisely!"

"The Dark Web is the true weapon against the gods!"

"Exactly! The gods won’t permit the Internet’s spread. They’ll send their lackeys to search house by house! Who would dare log in under such circumstances?"

"Then it seems the Dark Web is the real Internet!"

"Indeed! With the authority over souls, what information can’t be replicated? The Internet is laughable—just a mere music section that requires the Music Godhood to function? It’s nothing but rubble!"

Listening to his subordinates' flattery, the God of Death couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The Internet God was truly his lucky star!

Had he not appeared, how would the God of Death have created the Dark Web?

How else could he have achieved this overwhelming momentum sweeping across the multiverse?

"Your Grace, disaster—the Internet has updated—"

Barzel, the Servant God tasked with monitoring the Internet, suddenly cried out in alarm.

"Silence! What disaster? An update is just an update—no need for such hysteria!"

Already intoxicated by his subordinates' praise, the God of Death Sawyer snapped in irritation.

"Forgive me, Your Grace!"

The Servant God Barzel trembled violently, immediately prostrating himself on the ground, shaking with fear like a sieve.

These Subordinate Gods and Servant Gods may appear lofty, but within the Underworld Pantheon, life and death are but a single word from the God of Death!

"Let me guess—the Internet God's update must include contract clauses, right? Like prohibiting souls from recording internet content, correct?" the God of Death asked arrogantly.

Though his methods were radical, that didn’t mean he was foolish.

Frankly, he had already listed over a dozen possible reactions from the Internet God.

It wasn’t that he was particularly clever—it was simply that his long years had granted him profound experience.

There was nothing new under the sun.

Thus, many things were easy to predict.

The old who refuse to die become thieves!

"Y-yes!" the Servant God Barzel stammered.

"Your Highness the God of Death is truly wise!"

"Your Highness the God of Death is far-sighted indeed!"

"Hahaha! Every move of the Internet God falls within the expectations of the great God of Death Sawyer! No matter how cunning he is, he cannot escape His Highness’ grasp!"

"Well said!"

Inside the temple, a crowd of subordinates lavished praise.

Now that the God of Death’s power was growing—no, snowballing—who wouldn’t want to cling desperately to his coattails?

"Since contracts have been established, the rest must be adjustments to content—such as opening more magical knowledge, reducing Source Essence consumption, increasing user login duration. Am I correct?"

The God of Death smirked in satisfaction, casually waving his hand as if directing the world with ease.

Silence lingered after his words.

Barzel remained quiet for a long time.

"Why aren’t you speaking?" The God of Death frowned.

Clack-clack-clack!

The sound of chattering teeth echoed through the hall, trembling with fear.

"Answer me!!"

The God of Death’s frown deepened as a sense of unease crept into his heart.

"R-reporting to the great… God of Death Sawyer… what you mentioned has not yet been updated. The… the Internet God’s update includes… a soul projection feature."

Barzel clenched his teeth, forcing out the truth of the update.

"Oh, so it’s just—" The God of Death’s eyes suddenly widened. "What did you say?!"

At the same time, he immediately summoned a Ghost to log into the internet and verify.

"WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO EARLIER?! HUH?! WHAT ARE YOU PLOTTING?! DIE!!"

The content of the update sent the God of Death Sawyer into a furious rage, his roar shaking the hall.

"Spare me… God of Death, have mercy—"

Barzel’s trembling plea was abruptly cut off.

His body instantly went limp, devoid of life, sprawled across the temple floor like a dead dog.

The subordinates in the hall were stunned!

A terrifying thought echoed in everyone’s minds:

Divine Spark authority is unique—so why does the Internet God possess the authority of soul projection?

Could it be… the Internet God is encroaching upon the God of Death’s… authority?