Chapter 165: Curse of Deprivation [Two-in-One]

Chapter 165: Curse of Deprivation [Two-in-One]

"Prioritize destroying the portals!"

The Saint Magus Dandell and Qimoer floated ahead of the charging warriors, entangled with the God of Death’s subordinate gods and high-ranking lords while confirming their primary targets through the war channel.

The images displayed by the Internet God had already revealed much.

Though the God of Death now wielded immense power, he had clearly made enemies of the entire world—even his allies had betrayed him.

If they didn’t strike while he was vulnerable, when would they?

"God bless the Empire!"

Qimoer roared furiously, bolstering morale.

Then he abruptly spread his arms, mana converging around him. Transformed by magic runes, it formed raging tornadoes that tore toward the Fifth Calamity.

The howling winds swept countless undead into the sky before they could even approach.

The weak were torn apart, while the stronger ones were sent spinning wildly, disoriented and dizzy, raining down like an undead storm.

Just as the two Saint Magus wreaked havoc with unstoppable force, the God of Death suddenly unleashed Undead Conversion, leaving them aghast.

"Shields!"

Dandell bellowed hoarsely, both casting his own and warning his battle-weary subordinates.

He frantically expanded his magical shield, trying to envelop as many mages as possible.

But the battlefield was too vast!

Especially since the Internet God had cleared the undead legion for dozens of miles around Willis City, leaving the emptied space now filled with charging warriors from Willis.

Such a massive area was impossible to cover entirely in such a short time.

"Virtualize!"

Saint Magus Beixi needed no reminder, straining to envelop a portion of the warriors and virtualize them, evading the God of Death’s assault.

At this moment, aside from the Three Saint Magus of Keville, numerous Archmages also desperately expanded their shields, trying to protect as many as they could.

Yet mortal strength had its limits. No matter how powerful they were, they were still flesh and blood, able to shield only a fraction of the warriors—most remained exposed to the God of Death’s attack.

In an instant, countless warriors mid-charge suddenly stiffened, their features twisting uncontrollably as translucent souls seemed to tear free from their bodies.

"Deserves to die!"

Qimoer’s fury burned, but he was powerless.

"No!"

Dandell screamed in horror—Willis was his stronghold, after all.

Most of the mages here could be considered his direct subordinates. Seeing them attacked now was nothing short of agonizing.

"Ah—!"

A sudden scream interrupted the Undead Conversion.

Countless living souls, nearly ripped from their bodies and converted into undead, recoiled like startled quails, snapping back into their flesh.

Countless faces turned in stunned confusion toward the source of the sound.

There, the hundred-zhang-tall giant standing atop Willis City’s shield clutched his head in agony, letting out a piercing wail.

He had been cursed—a curse from Yu Sheng’an’s soul authority!

By casting Undead Conversion, he had exposed his soul, giving Yu Sheng’an the opening he needed.

His body rapidly shrank—no, rather, a hundred-zhang-tall phantom of a Titan remnant soul tore free from his form, flying toward the Internet God.

This was none other than the Curse of Deprivation.

"No! How do you possess soul authority?!"

The God of Death, who had attempted to transfer the Curse through soul grafting, widened his eyes like bronze bells, his cheek muscles twitching violently.

Compared to the pain inflicted by the Curse, Yu Sheng'an's exposed soul authority shocked and terrified him even more!

But now was not the time for astonishment. Before his fury could subside, he frantically cast Soul Swap.

One after another, illusory souls flew out from his body, surging toward the Titan remnant soul.

He wanted to swap the Titan remnant soul back.

"Scram!"

Yu Sheng'an roared in anger. A high-energy laser shot out from the light sphere above his head, guided by microwave radar, relentlessly pursuing the God of Death.

The God of Death dodged while resisting.

The stray lasers struck Willis City's protective shield, sending rippling waves across its surface, terrifying the citizens below!

As he evaded, the God of Death desperately tried to swap the Titan.

Yet the souls he sent out were like meat buns thrown at a dog—gone without return.

"Roar!"

Amid his frantic movements, the God of Death suddenly gritted his teeth, and a dragon soul burst forth from his body. At first small, it grew larger the farther it flew from him, catching up to the Titan remnant soul with a low, thunderous roar!

Soul Swap!

In an instant, the two Divine Spark authorities—Curse deprivation and Soul Swap—clashed in an ultimate confrontation!

With ample Source Essence fueling them, a tug-of-war between authorities began.

Divine Spark authorities knew no hierarchy or precedence. When they collided, the outcome hinged solely on the abundance of Source Essence or the wielder's will.

Of course, there was a third possibility—the rope snapping in the middle.

Pop!

A strange tearing sound echoed between the two forces.

The Titan and dragon souls split in half, each fragment flying back to their respective masters.

"No—!"

This sight drove the God of Death into a hysterical, skyward roar.

This was the Titan remnant soul he had painstakingly found—already reduced to a wisp, nurtured through countless efforts to a barely usable state.

And now, torn apart once more.

Under the power of Divine Spark authority, this tear struck at the very essence of the Titan remnant soul, the core of its Titan power. How could he possibly accept this?

In stark contrast to the God of Death's fury, Yu Sheng'an, now holding two wispy remnant souls, was overjoyed.

Originally, he had only intended to deprive the God of Death of the Titan soul mid-swap. He never expected the God of Death to care so deeply, sending wave after wave of undead souls—and even resorting to sacrificing the dark dragon soul in the end.

Now, the God of Death had tried to steal a chicken only to lose his rice.

Both sides suffered half the loss—what a perfect outcome!

The God of Death hovered in the air, his bronze-like eyes bloodshot, chest heaving violently, lungs nearly bursting with rage.

Yet, in the end, he took a deep breath and ground his teeth. "Internet God, our war has only just begun. I'll be waiting for you!"

With that, his figure vanished in the dazzling light of a portal.

One had to admit—even in the throes of fury, the God of Death, having lived for millennia, remained rational enough.

Staying now served no purpose. It was better to retreat and salvage his besieged preaching zones.

Yu Sheng'an narrowed his eyes, and his figure disappeared as well.

The next moment, his primary consciousness descended into Ajef, standing atop the city walls.

"Did the God of Death leave?"

Seeing Ajef open his eyes, Aphnora couldn't help but ask.

"He's gone."

Yu Sheng'an nodded and stood by the parapet, gazing out beyond the city walls. The undead legion in the far distance had mostly retreated, leaving only a batch of "disconnected" Fifth Calamity members standing foolishly in place, becoming easy targets.

But Yu Sheng'an wasn't just looking outside the city.

Inside the city, the frenzied bank run outside the Interconnected Bank branch had ceased.

Countless people opened the Internet Social Platform, fixated on the battle beyond the walls.

The crowd erupted into excited cheers from time to time!

Yet the crowd didn't disperse—it grew even denser.

Because they wanted to deposit the money they had withdrawn back into the bank.

Trembling citizens who had hidden indoors mustered their Courage and stepped outside, with countless others surging toward the city walls.

This time, the guards stationed on the walls didn't stop them.

Thus, more and more people flooded up.

Watching the one-sided battle outside, their faces flushed with excitement, they gestured grandly, their pride and arrogance overflowing.

Many conveniently forgot how they had cowered beneath their beds, shivering in fear.

The varied scenes inside and outside the city made Yu Sheng'an exhale deeply. He had no intention of mocking the fickleness of the masses—after all, he wouldn’t have fared much better in their place.

All he knew was that he had survived another crisis.

……

……

By the time the war ended, Eileen still hadn’t met Mr. Ajef.

No, to be precise, she had caught a distant glimpse of him.

He stood atop the city walls, overlooking the lingering smoke outside, occasionally waving his arm as he spoke, surrounded by nodding high-ranking officials of the Empire.

It was clear that as a follower and spokesperson of the great Internet God, Mr. Ajef was extremely busy. Now wasn’t the right time to disturb him.

Most importantly, the threat from Willis had been neutralized, so the seed samples she had prepared no longer needed to be handed over to Mr. Ajef for safekeeping.

With that thought, Eileen turned to leave.

But before she did, she couldn’t help but glance at the scorched earth beyond the walls, her clear eyes filled with heartache and pity.

Whose land was that?

Whose lifeline of farmland had it been?

The Empire had won this battle, but the suffering would ultimately fall upon those at the bottom.

Unable to bear the sight any longer, Eileen turned away. She was powerless to change any of this, and looking would only bring futile sorrow.

"Ding ding!"

A crisp notification chimed in her ear.

Eileen froze—this was the special alert tone she had set on her Internet Social Platform, reserved for only one person: her most revered mentor, Mr. Ajef.

She hurriedly opened the internet and saw a message from him.

Eileen stood stunned.

She suddenly turned back to look at Mr. Ajef in the distance atop the walls.

As if sensing her gaze, he glanced her way and gave a slight nod before turning his attention elsewhere.

Though it was just a faint, almost imperceptible nod—perhaps even an illusion—Eileen clenched her fists in exhilaration.

I knew it! As a follower of the benevolent Internet God, Mr. Ajef would always be so kind!

Even with the battle just ended, his thoughts were still with the land, with the crops!

Whether Ajef was truly kind or not, Yu Sheng'an didn’t know.

But he did know that food was the foundation of all problems. Only by solving the food crisis could they free up the energy to tackle everything else.

"Mr. Ajef, do you think we should take this opportunity to attack the God of Death's preaching zones?" Saint Magus Beixi appeared to be seeking advice, but his expression clearly conveyed a request for orders.

Atop the walls of Willis City, the gazes of the Three Saint Magus of Keville toward Yu Sheng'an had completely transformed!

If before the God of Death's assault on Willis, the Three Saint Magus of Keville had viewed Yu Sheng'an more as a cooperative partner, now they had submitted to him wholeheartedly, even bowing in reverence.

A battle that was destined for defeat had not only been ingeniously resolved under his masterful arrangements but had also plunged the multiverse into chaos.

Meanwhile, the Keville Empire—the very spark that ignited this cosmic war—had bizarrely managed to withdraw unscathed.

Such tactics left the Three Saint Magus of Keville in awe.

And in their hearts, a blazing ambition was kindled!

The strife between the Four Pillar Gods and the God of Death was precisely the moment for them to reap the spoils.

Because of this, even the relatively meek Saint Magus Beixi was salivating with eagerness.

"No! This war ends here," Yu Sheng'an shook his head.

"What?"

"Why?"

Not only the Three Saint Magus of Keville, but even Aphnora and Phoebus were stunned.

Yu Sheng'an swept his gaze over them and asked, "Let me ask you—what would attacking the God of Death's preaching zones gain us? Territory? Population? Technology? Gold coins? Resources? Or just to weaken the God of Death?"

This rhetorical question left the gods momentarily dumbfounded, prompting them to instinctively ponder.

Yu Sheng'an then proceeded to explain point by point.

"Exclave territories are rootless. Though portals may aid us, once attacked, we’d be stretched too thin to defend them. With all factions now embroiled in chaos, blindly expanding territory would only deplete our vital forces!"

"Most crucially, our strength isn’t yet sufficient to rule over too much land."

"So rather than invading other domains, we should focus entirely on developing Keville’s territory, clearing the forests between our cities!"

"As for population? We can easily expand our numbers by taking in refugees or purchasing slaves to fill the wastelands within the Empire, making assimilation and governance smoother."

Yu Sheng'an took a slight breath before continuing:

"Right now, the war is chaotic, and the situation remains unclear. Jumping in recklessly would only disrupt the balance! Given that, it’s better to stand aside—while selling weapons to profit massively! 'Build high walls, amass provisions'—that is the true path to supremacy."

With those final words, the listeners felt a sudden tremor in their hearts.

The Internet God’s vision was truly far-reaching!

At present, the Four Pillar Gods held the upper hand. If the Keville Empire rashly joined the war, they might assume the Internet God was merely there to carve up the spoils—and might even stab them in the back.

If that happened, would the Keville Empire fight the Four Pillar Gods or not?

Fighting would give the God of Death breathing room;

Not fighting would leave them fuming!

Moreover, if they teamed up to cripple the God of Death, the Four Pillar Gods might just turn their guns on the Keville Empire next.

Thus, the wisest course was to remain neutral—or play both sides, offering aid as needed to maintain balance in the war.

In the end, it all boiled down to one truth: Without enough soldiers, any territory seized would be impossible to hold, making them nothing but fat targets in others’ eyes—a waste of effort and resources!

Just as everyone was nodding in agreement with Yu Sheng'an’s reasoning and preparing to abandon the idea of joining the war, he suddenly shifted the conversation.

"However, it would be a shame to let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away. As the saying goes: 'A horse cannot grow fat without night grazing, and a man cannot grow rich without windfall gains.' To forgo profiting from war would be a sin against heaven. Selling weapons is one path, but the path of plunder must not be abandoned either."

"Though we won’t engage directly in the war, we can form mercenary armies, using the Fourth Calamity as expendable forces, accepting contracts from the gods. Let them bear the costs of war while we reap the wealth. We’ll train soldiers, earn money, spread the internet, and even drag the Believers of other gods into our fold—killing multiple birds with one stone. Why wouldn’t we do it?"

Yu Sheng’an spread his hands with a smile.

As his words fell, the high officials of the Internet God divine system were stunned.

How utterly devious!

This was absolutely brilliant!

One could say that forming mercenaries would grant them nearly every benefit except territorial gains.

But for Yu Sheng’an, the Internet God, what use did he have for territory?

That was thinking too small!

Under the guise of mercenary work, he would achieve colonial-like control—resolving conflicts over differing faiths in various preaching zones, avoiding direct clashes with the gods, and achieving indirect rule.

Source Essence—that was his true core objective.

With ample Source Essence, he alone could be an army! A calamity!

"This plan is absolutely ingenious!"

The Three Saint Magus of Keville slammed the table in admiration, awed by the wisdom of the Internet God.

The matter of mercenaries was of great significance and required meticulous planning from the ground up. The high officials of the Internet God divine system promptly teleported back to Yu Sheng’an’s mansion conference room in the Dragon Factory to discuss the details.