“What did the proxy say?”
Bai Zhantang called out to Ye Yunshang, who was about to head home from work.
“He said this is all a step toward our ultimate victory.”
Hearing him mention the proxy she had just met, Ye Yunshang directly relayed their conversation.
Although they could share information through the hive mind, they were still more accustomed to communicating with their voices.
“The people who joined us earlier said that not all deities pursue absolute victory. It's like how not every student aims to be first in class, right? They might make pragmatic compromises, thinking second or third place is good enough.”
“Then they just want to use this land and its people to reap benefits.”
“Exactly, but the one we serve is not like that.”
Bai Zhantang grinned, encouraging Ye Yunshang.
“And he, who was chosen as that lord's proxy, is definitely an extraordinary figure. This is by no means a common practice. Just listening to the testimonies of the other members makes it clear: almost no Apostle can execute and represent all commands alone. Without him, we wouldn't even be able to reach that Great One.”
Like a business operator, Bai Zhantang quickly saw through the actual operational reality of this organization.
This was precisely what made Lin Miao, who personally played the role of his own proxy, so unique.
“Miss Ye Yunshang, since that Great One has recognized your talent and established you as the queen, you must get closer to him for the sake of us all.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You are the queen recognized by that Great One. To that lord's Apostles, you are the only one who can stand on equal footing with him, aren't you? No matter how hard I work, I'm merely that lord's butler at best.”
Bai Zhantang nodded sincerely.
The fierce competition and worries among servants trying to gain the attention of their deities were a natural phenomenon that could be seen everywhere.
“...”
Ye Yunshang blushed and fell silent.
◆◆◆
After merging with Iron Raven, they had imperceptibly grown into a medium-sized Awakened enterprise.
Of course, due to legal issues and overly complex paperwork procedures, it looked more like a close partnership to outsiders, but those in the know understood that Iron Raven had completely integrated into Lin Miao's company.
“Hmm?”
The same was true for the competing deities.
It was another uneventful day. Lin Miao was watching the Great Devourer conquer planets and battle the Goddess of Light Association, while Ye Yunshang's human colony was running around handling the aftermath. Suddenly, he received a private message.
[God of Balance: I heard you have made quite a few investment moves recently, so your income must be substantial. Do you have time to chat now?]
[Supreme Will of the All-Devouring Hive: Who are you?]
Lin Miao calmly sent a reply.
It would be one thing if he didn't participate in such activities at all, but since he had paid the entry fee to the Awakened system and was secretly reselling resources, they naturally couldn't ignore him.
Although the alias “God of Balance” was displayed, how could Lin Miao know who they were just by looking at this goosebump-inducing name?
To be honest, Lin Miao still wasn't quite used to it, and the same went for his own alias.
It was like the nobles of old, who would rattle off long lists of titles, claiming to be the king of this place or the duke of that place.
[God of Balance: Like you, I have established a firm foothold in Asia. If you have been active on Earth, you should know that the other deities are currently forming three major factions.]
The other party straightforwardly revealed their identity. They were a deity who currently owned an Awakened enterprise in Japan called the Mitsubishi Group.
During his employment, Lin Miao had heard of this name, and he frowned slightly.
The Mitsubishi Group was one of the few massive conglomerates in Japan, as well as a powerful force possessing strong Awakened.
[God of Balance: The deities in North America, Russia, and Europe have all banded together, leaving only us excluded. Especially in your Dragon Nation—I heard you still haven't resolved that mysterious issue preventing the generation of rifts?]
Unlike other arrogant deities, the other party spoke directly and got straight to the point.
Lin Miao quietly searched the Divine Net forum and found that the God of Balance was categorized as a god of war. Gods of war indeed had a straightforward side to them.
An issue with an unknown cause... It will probably get even worse in the future, right?
Hearing the other party's words, Lin Miao smirked.
The Transcendent Divine Status accumulating on Lin Miao was a measure of his servants' activity.
As his own strength grew, Lin Miao's control over it became more proficient, which was why it hadn't led to a complete severance of rifts or a total collapse of the Awakened system.
Although he couldn't influence the entire world, he had already protected the area around his residence, preventing any rifts from appearing there.
Lin Miao hated trouble the most, and he had always dreamed of one day fully releasing this power to cover the entire Earth.
[God of Balance: Those deities will band together, gradually weeding out other competitors, and act to secure victory.]
The other party confirmed that the suspicious atmosphere Lin Miao had recently observed on the Divine Net forum was indeed real.
Most of the deities who had to win the competition, upon realizing the vast differences in Earth's balance and development, had gathered in wealthy, powerful, and heavily populated nations.
In modern times, these countries were commonly referred to as developed nations or global powers, serving as their primary stages.
Of course, there were also many competitors within the same country.
They had been busy competing with one another up until now.
But now, they had stopped competing with each other and were instead joining forces one after another.
Their plan was to eliminate the solo deity factions first before making further moves.
If they, who controlled most of Earth's potential Awakened, united, it would be extremely difficult for other regions to win the competition. Thus, Lin Miao had to resist as much as possible.
[Supreme Will of the All-Devouring Hive: So, you want us to form our own alliance?]
[God of Balance: I have already reached an agreement with the ‘Source of Silent Wisdom,’ and we are currently gathering participants, focusing on the main forces of various nations.]
Having already reached an agreement with the strongest force in the Dragon Nation meant that regardless of whether Lin Miao agreed or not, a new alliance of deities centered around the Dragon Nation and Japan would be born.
Faced with this sudden proposal, Lin Miao fell into a brief moment of contemplation.
They had proactively invited Lin Miao to join, likely because his faction had already grown considerably within the Dragon Nation.
There's no reason to refuse, nor is there any need to. In fact, it's a stroke of luck. If my faction had expanded any slower, I might have been targeted by someone.
The calculation did not take long.
Even for his own purposes, the competition and conflict among the deities on Earth had to continue.
If the Great Devourer developed further, these deities' territories somewhere in the universe would be attacked one by one.
Lin Miao would issue such instructions, and the Great Devourer would faithfully follow them to continue the war.
When that happened, these deities would have no choice but to withdraw their attention from Earth.
Just like Hestia, they would have to rush over to put out the fire in their own backyards.
To maximize the dispersion of their strength and attention, some major events needed to break out on Earth as well.
[Supreme Will of the All-Devouring Hive: Fine. Is there anything you need me to do right now?]
[God of Balance: Given your Divine Status, not yet. Thoroughly train your servants. We will soon manipulate the politicians of various nations to establish cooperative relationships.]
The other party told Lin Miao that since he had no connections in politics, he only needed to wait and observe the situation for now.
In any case, the politicians of most nations in the world were already puppets in the hands of deities.
Domestic public opinion? Debates of approval or opposition? Legal issues? None of that mattered in the slightest.
After all, this world had long since completely degenerated into a plaything for the deities.
The rulers of nations no longer craved the votes of the public.
Once they fell from power, new rulers controlled by deities would step onto the stage and repeat the same schemes.
The servants only pursued the rewards and divine protection bestowed by the deities.
The ignorant ordinary people, in the end, could do nothing.
The era where things could be accomplished simply by sheer numbers was long gone.
“I'm afraid it won't be long before the colony has to expand again.”
Lin Miao gave Ye Yunshang a call to forewarn her.
Some would join them, but there would certainly be others who refused.
Lin Miao would never leave those people alone in his territory.
If they could swarm them, dismantle and analyze them, and then devour a portion of them, that would be excellent news for them.
Rate on N.U.
