The People's God: Sacrificing Trillions to Ascend

The two pursuers crouched together in the darkness, watching Han Wu and Tian Wen. “Big brother, those two don’t even have 100,000 units combined. They must be newcomers. We should teach them a lesson.”

The speaker bore a scar across his face, giving him a menacing look. He stared greedily at Tian Wen as the latter carefully placed fragments into a bag.

His elder brother was fat and covered in freckles, eyes glinting with even more greed as he studied Han Wu and Tian Wen’s fragments. “They’ve only taken down a few wandering low-ranking Divine Souls. Their haul is small. Let’s follow them for now. Once they gather enough fragments, we’ll kill them.”

“Good idea, big brother,” the younger one agreed, nodding and giving a thumbs-up. The elder brother’s lips curled into a cruel smile at the praise.

Meanwhile, Tian Wen felt a chill run down his spine once he realized they were being followed. He walked with trepidation and was worried that he would be robbed at any time. This was the nightmare of a Support like him. Supports usually lacked strong offensive power and carried a lot of money, so they constantly feared becoming targets for robbery.

“Han Wu, let’s head back to camp and deal with the fragments we’ve collected,” Tian Wen suggested.

Han Wu, who had deployed his locusts to track their pursuers, placed a reassuring hand on Tian Wen’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mr. Tian. I’ve got everything under control. Trust me.”

Tian Wen felt a flicker of calm, but then a sudden thought struck him. He was supposed to be the teacher! Why was he the one being reassured by his student?

Han Wu ignored him for now and spread out his locusts to search for more Divine Souls. After a thorough sweep, they found another one with a purple halo.

Han Wu’s heart pounded as he received the report. A purple-halo Divine Soul would drop a Rank 3 Divine Aspect fragment. One Rank 3 fragment was worth more than 100 Rank 1 fragments. But a purple-halo Divine Soul was as powerful as a Lord life form.

Even so, he didn’t hesitate. He had Tian Wen with him, and they both had two Lord life forms under their command. They would definitely win. More importantly, Han Wu and Tian Wen were strong enough to face and kill the purple halo themselves.

Han Wu quickly led Tian Wen and their armies toward the purple-halo Divine Soul. They marched for two hours, eliminating two small teams of Divine Souls along the way. By the time they approached the purple-halo Divine Soul’s vicinity, they had collected 50 Rank 1 Divine Aspect fragments and 2 Rank 2 Divine Aspect fragments.

Han Wu studied their target closely. The Divine Soul wore flowing purple robes and held a feathered fan in one hand. At first glance, it looked frail, almost unassuming. But with every flick of its fan, violent gusts of wind surged outward, powerful enough to obliterate a Heroic unit in a single strike. The scattered corpses of various units surrounding it stood as grim warnings. The Divine Soul had just emerged from a brutal battle.

“That one looks strong.” Tian Wen could gauge its strength simply by the carnage surrounding it.

If Lord life forms ranked from one to nine, his Rabbitman Lord barely reached the second tier, while Han Wu’s Dark Locust ranked as high as the seventh. But this Divine Soul, with its masterful control of wind, clearly belonged to the ninth tier.

Tian Wen was confident that he could win if he summoned all his units and slowly wore down the Divine Soul. Unfortunately, he was unable to summon them now. His only army consisted of the 40,000 Rabbitmen standing before him. He had no cannon fodder to distract the Divine Soul.

Still, just because he didn’t have them didn’t mean Han Wu didn’t. Tian Wen turned to him. “Han Wu, I think we can slowly grind it down. Could you use your units’ Clone and Thunderblaze Detonation? I’ll have my army keep firing Carrot Missiles without pause. We should be able to bring it down that way.”

Han Wu shook his head. “We don’t have to waste so much time on it.”

“Do you have another plan?”

“No. We fight head-on.”

Tian Wen frowned. “Fight it directly? Who’s going to do that? You or me? We’re here with our true bodies. If we die, it’s over.”

Han Wu nodded. “I understand.”

Before Tian Wen could respond, Han Wu activated Black Dragon King Transformation. His body morphed into a three-meter-tall black dragonoid with two vast wings stretching behind him.

Thanks to the combined bonuses of his merged Skills—Enchant Darkness, King’s Dominance, and the Plant Fusion Technique—Han Wu’s power soared to the level of a Lord. The purple-halo Divine Soul sensed the threat in Han Wu’s aura and immediately waved its fan numerous times.

Strong gales surged toward Han Wu, but he merely smiled as he easily dodged the attacks. Raising his fingers, he pointed at the Divine Soul. “Be hungry.”

The power of Famine took hold. The Divine Soul’s stomach clenched painfully, as if thousands of maggots were devouring its very sustenance.

The moment its focus faltered from hunger, Han Wu closed in. He swung his greatsword in a sweeping arc, using the Great Dragon Cleave to sever the purple-halo Divine Soul’s head with ease. The head soared into the air, while the body shattered into 8 Rank 3 Divine Aspect fragments.

Coincidentally, the head dropped neatly in front of the two pursuers, transforming into a lone Rank 3 Divine Aspect fragment. Their eyes lit up with greed. A single Rank 3 fragment held the value of 100 Rank 1 fragments.

Tian Wen had eight such fragments, but neither of the two pursuers dared to challenge Han Wu after witnessing his strength. They knew they couldn’t match him and decided to retreat. Before they did so, though, they didn’t mind collecting the Divine Aspect fragment lying in front of them. After tracking the pair for so long, they intended to walk away with something.

The elder brother reached down to pick it up when Han Wu’s voice cut through the air behind them. “I never thought you’d be bold enough to steal from me.”

Startled, the two pursuers jumped and spun around. Neither had noticed when Han Wu had appeared behind them.

The younger brother quickly pocketed the fragment and barked, “Who says it’s yours? This is the Ancient Battleground. If something’s on the ground, it’s fair game.”

The elder brother backed him up. “Can you prove it belonged to you?”

Han Wu frowned. Their greed was so intense they were willing to gamble with their lives. He stopped wasting words and lifted his greatsword before unleashing another Great Dragon Cleave.

The brothers summoned a Divine shield to defend themselves, but it made little difference. Han Wu sliced through both the shield and their bodies with ease. He gathered the fragments they had collected along the way, grinning as he counted his spoils.

“An excellent hunter always appears as the prey. Unfortunately for you two, you crossed paths with me,” he said.

Tian Wen joined Han Wu to sort the fragments. As they organized the pieces, something unexpected happened. When Tian Wen grouped the regular Rank 1 Divine Aspect fragments together, some merged into a complete Rank 1 Divine Aspect. Though weak, it was the first fully formed Divine Aspect they had collected here.