Chapter 158: Strangling the Internet God

Chapter 158: Strangling the Internet God

"Huff... Huff..."

Like the furious panting of a predator that lost its prey, the heavy breaths echoed through the temple—cold, piercing, and chilling to the bone!

A deathly silence spread, suffocating the hearts of all present.

The ever-burning Soul Fire could not bring the slightest warmth to the Nether Gods.

They stood trembling in the Nether Temple, their expressions barely composed while their hearts were gripped by terror.

The God of Death Sawyer sat high upon his divine throne, his hands gripping the armrests so tightly they might shatter. His bloodshot eyes glared viciously at the Subordinate Gods below, his voice cruel:

"Divine Spark authority is unique. How could the Internet God possess this ability? Did one of you betray me?"

At these words, the Nether Gods paled in shock.

Indeed, the soul projection feature belonged to the Nether Authority. How could the Internet God have mastered it?

Yet he had.

This could only mean one thing—the Nether Authority had been leaked.

By whom?

The God of Death himself was certainly not the culprit.

That left only the Subordinate Gods and Servant Gods who wielded fragments of the Virtual Nether Godhood!

Realizing this, the Nether Gods, who had initially sympathized with one another, suddenly grew wary, casting sidelong glances at the corpse of the Servant God Barzel. A flash of understanding struck them.

No wonder His Majesty had slain Barzel in a fit of rage.

It must have been because Barzel held the "Binding" authority.

A pity—he had killed the wrong one!

Otherwise, the Internet's soul projection feature would have vanished, and the God of Death would not be interrogating them now.

"Your Majesty, you know me—if I were to rebel, I would never stand here before you!"

"Great God of Death, Duke has sworn lifelong loyalty to Your Majesty! I would never betray you—this matter has nothing to do with me!"

"Your Majesty, if I harbored treachery, may my soul scatter on the spot!"

"Your Majesty, you know my authority is only Soul Transformation—I could never conspire with the enemy!"

The Nether Gods cried out in protest, desperate to prove their innocence.

The God of Death Sawyer stared at them, his breathing growing ragged. After a long silence, he gritted his teeth—and made a decisive move.

Crack!

A sharp, grating sound erupted through the temple.

The Virtual Divine Sparks of all the Nether Gods abruptly shattered.

"Your Majesty, s-spare me—!"

"No—!"

Two Subordinate Gods instantly withered with age. Their eyes filled with terror and pleading as they gazed at the God of Death, but before new Virtual Divine Sparks could be granted, their vitality drained away—and they perished on the spot.

Even the undead had their limits.

These two had followed the God of Death the longest. Their Lifespan had long been exhausted, sustained only by the illusory eternity granted by their Virtual Divine Sparks.

Now, to "test" who had betrayed him—and who might have gifted the Virtual Divine Spark to the Internet God—the God of Death had shattered them all.

For the newer Subordinate Gods, though weakened, their remaining Lifespan barely held.

But the two eldest elders? Their time had long run out. Their deaths were instantaneous.

For a moment, the temple was so silent one could hear a pin drop.

The Nether Gods stared at the withered corpses of their two most senior comrades, their bodies chilled to the core. A sense of shared doom settled over them—for who would be next?

In the Underworld, they were lofty gods before whom countless high-ranking lords prostrated in trembling fear;

In the multiverse, their status even surpassed that of some weaker deities.

Yet who could have imagined that their lives and deaths rested solely on the whim of the God of Death!

Truly:

As swiftly as they rose, so abruptly they fell!

Crack!

Another snapping sound sent the Nether Gods shuddering like startled rabbits.

Summoning what little courage they had left, they looked up to see the God of Death furiously breaking the armrest of his divine throne, his face twisted in disbelief.

"No... impossible! How could the Internet God have obtained the Nether Authority?"

God of Death Sawyer’s expression was one of utter incredulity!

Even as he withdrew the virtual divine authority, the Internet’s soul projection feature remained intact.

What did this imply?

It was almost unthinkable!

After all, the greatest advantage of his dark web over the Internet lay in its secrecy.

When promoting his divine preaching zones online, he would inevitably face suppression.

The Internet, with its content displayed on Virtual Screens, made users easily exposed.

The dark web was different—it embedded itself within the soul. Unless the user revealed it, how could outsiders ever know?

At most, they might appear slightly dazed.

Faced with alternatives, one would choose the lesser of two evils.

One was prone to exposure;

The other concealed within the soul.

Which was superior? The choice was obvious.

But now, the Internet possessed this very same feature, leveling the playing field between them!

No—the dark web might even be at a disadvantage.

Because the Internet still had the Virtual Screen function, which would be its greatest asset within legal preaching zones.

Clack clack clack…

Sawyer’s teeth chattered violently, his fury reaching its peak.

"Duke!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Subordinate God Duke scrambled out from the ranks, crawling on his knees beneath the temple of the God of Death.

"Terminate all invasion plans! Mobilize the Fifth Calamity—divide the forces! One army marches on the Dofi domain, the other on the Keville Empire!!!" Sawyer roared in rage.

"As you command!" Duke replied, his face pale with terror.

"Bennett!"

"Your subordinate is here."

"Gather all Undead Legions from every domain! Except for essential garrisons, every force is to march on the Keville Empire!"

"I will not fail!"

"Owen!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"..."

Despite his fury, the God of Death remained coldly methodical as he issued order after order.

Originally, he had planned to expand his preaching zones first, amassing a vast Fifth Calamity before slowly gnawing away at the Internet God—this tough bone to crack.

But now, he had changed his mind.

The Internet God’s counterattack had left him not just angry, but deeply unsettled!

A gut feeling told him:

If he allowed the Internet God to continue growing, he would be nurturing a tiger that would one day devour him!

So he resolved—even at the cost of severe losses—to utterly destroy the Internet God’s foundation, strangling him in his cradle.

He would grant the Internet God not a single moment to catch his breath.

Without preaching zones, let’s see how you, the Internet God, can possibly oppose me!

In an instant, the Nether Gods—a war machine honed over millennia—sprang into frenzied motion under the will of the God of Death.

The Fifth Calamity, once deployed for conquest, was swiftly recalled to the rear.

The Undead Legions, previously poised for attack, rapidly withdrew, adopting a defensive, turtling stance.

The mobilization of the Fifth Calamity and the Undead Legion could not be concealed from the gods of the multiverse.

Witnessing this, the gods grew increasingly tense rather than relieved.

The God of Death now held overwhelming dominance—why would he suddenly withdraw his forces when victory seemed certain?

Had their behind-the-scenes interference finally taken effect?

Or was the God of Death gathering his strength to crush them one by one?

The latter possibility filled the gods of the multiverse with even greater tension and dread.

Seizing this rare moment of respite, they hurriedly reorganized their legions, consolidated their forces, and even sought alliances, banding together for survival.

Under the pressure of the God of Death, the typically fragmented gods of the multiverse began to coalesce into several factions.

For a time, the winds howled with the coming storm.