Chapter 1635 – 1635. God’S Atlantis
The desert situation was turning unfavorable for the alliance.
Seven districts had joined the alliance, four declared neutrality, and the remaining twelve declared non-alliance.
‘The desert alliance has failed.’
At least ten districts needed to ally to exert significant influence.
‘Did I join the alliance for nothing?’
It might have been more beneficial to attack the Desert Forest district without joining the alliance. Plundering the dancers would also be an option.
‘Those vaguely neutral guys are the most annoying.’
Their intention to play both sides was obvious. They would try to get in on the action if the alliance became advantageous, and they would turn to the non-alliance side if the alliance became unfavorable.
‘I’m this annoyed, so the ruler of the Desert Forest, the main force behind the desert alliance, must be even more pissed.’
I looked out the window. It was pouring rain. It had been a week since the oasis disappeared. I don’t know about other districts, but there’s no significant damage in the district I rule. It rains once a week, so the citizens are praising me.
“Celestial Demon Lord.”
Enas approached.
“What is it?”
“We received word from the Desert Forest. They’ve found traces of the oasis’s owner.”
“A bit late. Where is it?”
“District 5,144, the Golden Desert.”
I curled up the corners of my mouth. Things are getting interesting.
District 5,144, the Golden Desert, is one of the non-alliance districts. The bigger problem is that it’s the largest district in the western Golden Desert region and the wealthiest. That’s because the Golden Desert, as its name suggests, has gold mines. It also has one super-large oasis and five large oases.
‘This is going to be a headache for the Desert Forest.’
To subjugate the owner of the oasis, they have to go to the Golden Desert. The non-aligned Golden Desert was unlikely to cooperate with the Desert Forest.
“Enas. How do you think the Desert Forest will react?”
“If I were the ruler of the Desert Forest… I would spread rumors.”
“Rumors?”
“Rumors that the Golden Desert is colluding with the owner of the oasis to take control of all the oases in the desert. They’ll use the rumors to gain the cooperation of the Golden Desert.”
As Enas said, rumors began to spread in the desert.
The rumor was that the owner of the oasis was in the Golden Desert. The desert’s attention turned to the Golden Desert.
I thought the Golden Desert would deny it or even blame the Desert Forest. But, contrary to my expectations, the Golden Desert announced that it would cooperate with the Desert Forest.
“They won’t join the alliance, but they’ll cooperate… Wouldn’t it be easier to join the alliance from the start?”
“It seems the ruler of the Golden Desert is mindful of the citizens.”
Human sacrifice.
It’s nothing to rulers like me, but it must be awful for those being sacrificed.
• • •
The ruler of the Desert Forest, Kalas, summoned the alliance to subjugate the ‘owner of the oasis.’ Even though it was an alliance, the rulers didn’t need to move personally. What Kalas wanted was combat personnel. But I led my troops directly to the Golden Desert.
The ruler of the Golden Desert limited the number of personnel, so I could only bring 30 people. Including the alliance, the total force was 210.
I met Kalas, the ruler of the Desert Forest, on the outskirts of the Golden Desert. He had also brought his troops directly, like me.
Kalas was a desert elf with a bronze complexion. He was a man.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Celestial Demon. I am Kalas, the ruler of the Desert Forest, district 5,140.”
Despite his appearance, which looked to be in his early twenties, his voice was similar to that of a middle-aged man.
“I am the Celestial Demon, the master of the Celestial Demon Church.”
“I have heard of your reputation. I was relieved that you joined the alliance.”
Behind Kalas were people covered in black cloth. I could feel a restrained energy. They were all close to being elite soldiers. The warriors sent by the other alliances were below standard. They didn’t seem like they would be of much help.
“Kalas. I would like you to share information about the owner of the oasis.”
“Of course. The owner of the oasis is a god named Set. Have you heard of him?”
“I know he’s an Egyptian god.”
“Set is the god of the land. He is a god who can create sandstorms and control oases. He is also the god of war.”
“He’s quite a high-ranking god. Why is he acting so petty?”
“This is just a guess from the shamans… The human sacrifices are to accumulate power. That means Set is weak right now. Now is the perfect opportunity to kill Set.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know his exact location. The ruler of the Golden Desert will help us, so don’t worry.”
“Do you think the ruler of the Golden Desert will cooperate until the end?”
“I heard that the ruler of the Golden Desert offered 500 women to the owner of the oasis. The more oases there are, the more sacrifices there are. The ruler of the Golden Desert must be desperate for us to subjugate the owner of the oasis.”
“And yet, he doesn’t join the alliance? Something feels fishy.”
“You shouldn’t trust the ruler of the Golden Desert too much. We are not his hunting dogs. Be careful not to get eaten.”
We headed towards the center of the Golden Desert with the warriors.
It wasn’t long before I noticed the special nature of the Golden Desert. The temperature was 2-3 degrees lower than the Scorpion Desert I ruled. I also saw cacti and wild camel herds frequently. What was surprising was that I could see an oasis every 2-3 kilometers.
“There are many oases.”
They were small oases, but they would be a great help to those crossing the desert.
“Is it called the Golden Desert for nothing? I’ve heard that this desert is full of small oases.”
“You have a forest in your desert, and here there are oases everywhere… Damn it. Only my district is barren.”
“I heard it rains often in the Scorpion Desert these days.”
“It’s artificial rain. I’m making it rain because there are no oases.”
“That’s even more amazing. You’ve overcome nature with human power, haven’t you? The people of the Scorpion Desert must be praising you.”
“They already praise me. It’s made city management easier.”
We passed by the oases. We didn’t have time to spend at the oases. The desert alliance, which didn’t accept the owner of the oasis’s offer, was in a situation where the oases had dried up. They had to subjugate the owner of the oasis as soon as possible to get the oases back.
“We’ve arrived.”
Kalas said.
In front of us was a half-destroyed temple.
Whoosh.
A faint sandstorm blew around the temple.
“The owner of the oasis… Set, should be in that temple.”
“Judging by the looks of it, it seems someone has broken the seal. Isn’t the ruler of the Golden Desert the cause?”
“He says he wasn’t… but I think he’s the cause. But we can’t hold him responsible.”
There was only one reason why they couldn’t hold him responsible. The Golden Desert, the wealthiest in the western desert region, had a force that was difficult to deal with.
“Get out of the way.”
“…What are you planning to do?”
“Look at that temple. Doesn’t it look like there are traps everywhere? It’s clear that we’ll suffer as soon as we enter that temple.”
“Hmm. You have a lot of experience in this area? You talk like a veteran adventurer.”
“I’ve fallen into hell and killed a demon king. No ordinary adventurer can even show their face in front of me.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to do this.”
I focused on my breathing in front of the temple. My heart was pounding. The Celestial Demon energy generated in my dantian spread throughout my body. I could feel the power of the Celestial Demon Divine Art.
I raised my right fist. Black aura began to condense in my fist.
Celestial Demon Divine Art(天魔神功) Dragon Fist(竜拳).
I punched towards the temple. A shockwave occurred from the fist that struck the air, and the condensed Celestial Demon energy surged into the temple.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
The temple collapsed. It was only natural. There was no way the already half-destroyed temple could withstand my punch.
[The temple of the owner of the oasis is destroyed.]
[You have destroyed a sacred temple. A god’s curse falls upon you.]
A black aura fell on me from the sky. Kalas, who was watching from the side, widened his eyes in shock.
“A curse! A god’s curse has fallen! Celestial Demon! Are you alright?!”
“Shut up. This kind of curse is nothing.”
I said calmly, but the curse was quite powerful.
[The desert’s curse falls upon you.]
[The monsters of the desert are hostile to you.]
[You cannot consume the water of the oasis.]
[You will suffer from thirst.]
[All your stats are reduced by 20% while in the desert.]
The effects of the curse were immediate. My body suddenly became heavy as my stats dropped by 20%. I wanted to sit down on the ground and rest right away.
‘Celestial Heart.’
[Celestial Heart(天心) is activated. Lasts for 1 minute.]
The curse disappeared. My body became light again.
“You destroyed the temple, but it seems the owner of the oasis we need to subjugate is still fine. What are you going to do now?”
“The temple is more….”
I stopped talking. Kalas did the same. We could feel a huge presence from the destroyed temple.
The destroyed temple shook, and a figure with an animal’s head and a split tail walked out of the temple. Standing tall on the sand, he looked at me and Kalas.
[The owner of the oasis (False) is glaring at you.]
“Kueeeek!”
Kalas groaned and stepped back. I was momentarily flustered. I didn’t understand why he suddenly stepped back.
Kalas, who was staggering, eventually moved behind me. Set stared at me.
“Huk. As expected of the god of war with such powerful force… Just receiving his gaze is this oppressive… Celestial Demon. Are you alright?”
“I can handle it.”
“You are indeed amazing.”
Actually, I didn’t feel any pressure or anything. It seemed that Set was trying something, but it wasn’t working because I was using Celestial Heart.
[The owner of the oasis (False) despises you.]
“You faithless ones, you are not worthy of the blessings of this land. I will soak the sand with your blood.”
Set slammed the staff he was holding into the ground.
The sand surged up and became soldiers with spears and shields.
