The Beastlands of the Endless Wilderness.
This is a place filled with wild nature.
It is the Eternal Forest.
It is the resting place for many faithful animal species after their passing.
The Beastlands are an unbounded natural plane, a land covered endlessly with forests, from mangroves covered in moss to snow-laden pines, and gigantic redwoods that even sunlight cannot penetrate.
There are oaks, birches, spruces, firs, maples, and countless giant fungi and mushroom forests visible even from the plane's distant corners. There are vast deserts as well, but they are not barren. Cacti, aloes, and other desert plants thrive in the dry regions of the Beastlands.
Like other outer planes, the Beastlands have three distinct layers.
At the top is the Shining Forest, eternally bathed in sunlight; in the middle is the Twilight Forest, known as the Land of Dawn; and at the bottom is the Night Forest, illuminated by moonlight.
Countless giant beasts, magical creatures, ferocious species, and other creatures can be seen throughout the Beastlands.
Intelligent beings are relatively rare here.
Animal lords with quasi-divine power govern their territories in the Beastlands. As long as one does not disturb other lords' domains, they can roam freely in this wild land.
The Shining Forest.
This layer, eternally bathed in sunlight, is also the home of the Storm Lord's divine kingdom.
Many creatures, unfamiliar with the Storm Lord, might mistakenly think that he is a deity who rules storms. Indeed, storms are among his domains, but he also holds dominion over the sun.
Hence, he chose to build his divine kingdom in the Shining Forest.
The sun, the sky, the weather, storms, thunder, the ocean—before slaying his father, the Storm Lord possessed many domains.
Now, he holds even more, making him unfathomably powerful.
In the Shining Forest, in a hidden space undetectable by beings beneath gods, lies the Storm Lord's divine realm, bathed in the brightest sunlight.
The divine kingdom of the Storm Lord is quite peculiar.
There is no land here; apart from a few sky castles where his followers reside, there is nothing but void.
Countless thunderbolts and storms fill the area, crossing the sky, like the most dangerous of realms.
Apart from storm giants who can control storms and fly through the air, living in the thunder, there are almost no other creatures in the Storm Lord's kingdom.
Amid the dancing blue lightning, there stands a grand, wild, and majestic castle, unshaken by the storms and lightning surrounding it.
The Storm Fortress, the residence of the Storm Lord.
At the moment of the Frost Giant God's death.
Inside the Storm Fortress, the Storm Lord, with eyes open and lightning flowing all over his body but expressionless, as if his spirit was not in his body, trembled slightly. The lightning in his eyes dissipated, revealing a deep and serene gaze.
As he regained his senses, the Storm Lord's face immediately darkened.
A cracked divine spark floated before the Storm Lord, the divine spark that had escaped when the Frost Giant God died.
Looking at the divine spark carrying Solem's divine power fluctuations, the Storm Lord took a deep breath to calm himself, then injected his will into it. Scenes from the Frozen Wasteland unfolded before his eyes.
After watching, the Storm Lord closed his eyes and then slowly opened them again.
Simultaneously, a voice filled with disappointment and irritation echoed in the Storm Fortress.
"Solem, my brother, you are an elder god among the giant pantheon."
"And you were one of the first to respond to my will when I sought the authority of the chief god."
"I had high hopes for you, but your foolishness is beyond belief."
"I repeatedly warned you not to act rashly during this time, yet you fell into the Dragon Pantheon's trap for a notorious cold goddess, leading to your death."
The divine spark flickered as if responding to the Storm Lord's words.
The Storm Lord stood up and said, "It's too late now. Apologizing to me is useless."
"Your divine spark is damaged. In this state, rebuilding your divinity and godbody will require vast amounts of faith power and time to nurture, but the war with the Dragon Pantheon is imminent. You cannot provide any assistance to the giant pantheon."
As he spoke, the Storm Lord reached out to the divine spark, enveloping it with his lightning-wreathed blue-purple hand.
The divine spark was drawn into the Storm Lord's hand.
"You'd better pray for the giant pantheon, pray that we win this war."
"Otherwise, in the long years to come, the defeated giant pantheon will have no resources to revive you."
The Storm Lord held the divine spark and said quietly, "I will take your divine spark to your divine kingdom. You should take care of yourself."
At this moment, Solem's divine spark trembled violently.
The Storm Lord looked surprised and said in a puzzled tone, "You say Auril is still in your divine kingdom? Interesting. Does she think the giant pantheon won't discover her betrayal after your death?"
Shaking his head, the Storm Lord's face turned brutal, and he said coldly, "Solem, I warned you before: a traitor like Auril, no matter how many times she has betrayed you, can never be trusted again."
"But you stubbornly ignored my advice, leading to today's consequences."
"Now, let me kill this unfaithful goddess for you to vent your anger."
With that, the divine spark trembled again.
The Storm Lord looked down at the divine spark, disappointed, and said, "You think she had her reasons? That she was blackmailed by the Dragon Pantheon?"
"Give up your pathetic and ridiculous fantasy."
"Hmph, she has already bewitched your mind. I should have killed Auril long ago."
The divine spark trembled more violently, but the Storm Lord coldly tucked it away.
Zap!
A bolt of lightning flashed, and the Storm Lord's figure disappeared from where he stood.
At the same time, in Solem's divine kingdom, where frost and snow whirled, a bolt of lightning pierced the sky, cutting through the storm and snow, and shot straight into the ice crystal palace atop the highest peak.
Inside the palace, Auril, who was packing Solem's treasures, paused.
Auril had been instructed by Garon to leave immediately after Solem left the divine kingdom.
However, as an ancient giant deity, Solem's kingdom was filled with countless treasures, artifacts, and rare divine materials that Auril couldn't ignore.
With a greedy mindset, she intended to take as many treasures as possible before leaving.
Turning around, Auril saw the dissipating lightning and the storm giant deity standing silently.
Auril forced a smile, her face stiff, and, putting on a pitiful, harmless expression, said softly to the Storm Lord, "Great Storm Lord, I didn't know you were here—"
Before she could finish, the Storm Lord waved his hand.
To him, Auril wasn't worth another word.
Lightning and storms erupted, like thousands of dancing thunder snakes, instantly engulfing Auril's fragile body.
During this, Auril used her divine power to protect her godbody with ice crystals, but they melted like snowflakes before fire.
"Ah—"
In a brief scream, the consuming lightning pierced Auril's body, devouring her godbody.
In just a moment, the lightning receded, revealing her now-ashen godbody.
Whoosh!
Auril's divine spark shot out, riddled with holes from the lightning but stubbornly intact.
The Storm Lord snorted coldly and looked away, deciding that no matter how many times Auril resurrected, he would kill her each time, making her live in perpetual terror.
"Solem, she stayed in your kingdom out of greed."
"Abandon your last illusion."
In the temple, there was a pool formed by the power of faith.
The Storm Lord placed Solem's divine spark in the faith pool and said, "Regardless of whether the timing is right, your death will mark the start of the war between dragons and giants."
"As for whether the dragons win again or the giants prevail, I cannot say."
"Solem, pray silently for the giant pantheon here."
With that, the Storm Lord returned to the Beastlands, entering the depths of the Storm Fortress to urgently summon the giant pantheon gods.
At this time, the animal lords of the Beastlands sensed something and looked up at the sky with tense, wary expressions.
Meteor-like streaks of light crossed the sky, entering the Shining Forest. These lights represented various deities, their divine glow outshining the sun in the Shining Forest, and even some carrying deep abyssal evil auras.
Moreover, a few powerful animal lords also entered the Storm Lord's divine kingdom, seemingly to involve themselves in this turmoil.
Loenya Heaven, Eternal Divine Kingdom.
After dealing with the Frost Giant God, Garon did not linger in the Abyss, leaving an avatar to temporarily manage the Frozen Wasteland while his true form returned to his divine kingdom on the Mountain of Heaven. He informed the Dragon Pantheon gods of their successful plan.
The Metal Dragon God was in the Eternal Divine Kingdom, laughing with dragon roars.
"Who would have thought that a pawn placed beside Solem long ago would lead to his death."
"It's interesting that this Frost Giant God trusted Auril so much."
"Should I call him infatuated or foolish?"
The Metal Dragon God didn't hide his mocking tone.
After conversing with Garon for a while, the Metal Dragon God shook his head, his dragon face becoming serious, and said, "With Solem dead, the war between dragons and giants is imminent."
Garon showed a look of regret and said, "It's a pity we couldn't truly kill him. He still has a chance to revive."
It's very difficult to truly kill a god.
As a result, Garon increasingly craved the Time Annihilation Sword, which could truly kill gods.
The Metal Dragon God said nonchalantly, "No matter. At the very least, Solem cannot participate in this war. Removing an enemy god before the battle begins is already excellent."
"Without surprise, the Storm Lord will soon rally the giants and formally declare war on us dragons."
"I'm curious, though. How much of Annan's power has the Storm Lord absorbed?"
Garon asked curiously, "Bahamut, you fought the Storm Lord during the Dragonfall War. How strong was he back then?"
The Metal Dragon God raised his head proudly and said, "Back then, I was a greater god. I could crush the Storm Lord's head with one claw."
After a pause, the Metal Dragon God spoke about the present, "Now I haven't fully recovered, and I am merely a medium god. Moreover, the Storm Lord has undoubtedly grown much stronger."
"Though I cannot guarantee a victory over him, he certainly won't defeat me either."
Garon nodded and said solemnly, "Our chances of winning are clearly greater. Once the war breaks out, as long as we fight steadily and don't give the enemy an opportunity, we should have a high probability of victory."
As they spoke, Garon suddenly looked towards the southeast.
The Metal Dragon God also glanced in that direction.
A divine spark, riddled with holes and severely damaged, appeared in Garon's divine kingdom, heading straight for a polar ice field in the southeast.
"Auril's divine spark?"
Garon sensed Auril's aura.
"Tch, you go handle your business. I'm leaving."
With that, the Metal Dragon God left Garon's divine kingdom.
Garon descended to the ice field where Auril's saintly avatar was. Upon arrival, he saw Auril with tear-filled eyes, her gaze dim.
Her divine spark had merged back into her body.
Her complexion was deathly pale, and her body was covered in cracks spreading visibly.
When she saw Garon, Auril cried, "My true form is dead, killed by the Storm Lord."
In the Eternal Divine Kingdom, Auril had never been present in her true form, only a saintly avatar barely holding legendary strength. With her true form dead, this avatar's strength had further plummeted below the legendary level.
Garon frowned and said, "I told you to leave Solem's divine kingdom immediately, but why didn't you listen?"
Auril sobbed, "My lord, I only wanted to take the treasures from Solem's kingdom to present them as gifts to you, to please you."
"But I didn't expect the Storm Lord to come so quickly."
Garon neither believed nor disbelieved her words.
"My lord, my true form is dead, and this saintly body is too weak to last long."
"Please, find a way to save me. You have always seen my loyalty."
Auril was now extremely anxious.
She wasn't a powerful deity. After dying, reviving herself was nearly impossible. As time passed and her followers completely forgot her name, she would truly die.
"Don't worry."
"With the war against the giant pantheon imminent, I cannot spare the effort to revive you now."
"I will not forget your contributions."
"Once the war with the giant pantheon is over and the time is right, I will try to revive you."
Auril never realized her value lay in Solem's trust and affection for her. With Solem dead, Auril's value to Garon was nearly nonexistent. Garon was not like Solem; he did not have a fascination with this treacherous goddess.
Especially now that her true form was dead.
However, perhaps out of defiance or a desire to make Garon obsessed with her, Auril had always shown great loyalty. Her contribution to the successful ambush of Solem was undeniable.
Abandoning Auril outright would damage Garon's reputation, making it difficult for him to find loyal followers.
Therefore, Garon planned to revive Auril when he had the resources to do so.
Knowing Auril's true nature, Garon was not afraid she would betray him.
In Garon's view, only Solem tolerated Auril's betrayal. It was a mutually destructive relationship.
Auril was not reassured, tears in her eyes, looking pitiful, "Can you revive me first?"
"The Storm Lord is very powerful. If... if the Dragon Pantheon loses..."
Garon's face darkened, "That's impossible."
"Don't mention it again. I will seal your saintly form and divine spark for later revival."
In fear and uncertainty, Auril's saintly form was sealed by Garon's extraordinary divine power. Her body stopped cracking, but she also lost the ability to think or act.
Auril was among the weakest of lesser deities. Her saintly form was already weak and would soon perish in its current state.
With a saintly form intact, her true form would be easier to revive later.
After sealing Auril, Garon returned to his temple, feeling his own divine spark.
Inside his body, Garon's four-faced divine spark had changed, now sprouting two new faces in their infancy.
Arcane Power and Resonant Casting were abilities shared with the dragonkind, leading to the formation of new domains, though it would take a long time to fully develop.
Time passed quietly.
The prime material world remained calm, but like the calm before a storm, the heavy atmosphere of impending conflict was palpable.
In this tense atmosphere.
Three days after the ambush on the Frost Giant God.
Across the prime material world and various outer planes, all giants froze, setting aside their tasks. The reaction was most intense among the frost giants.
"War!"
"War!"
"With dragon blood, we shall honor our fallen god!"
As if receiving some intense message, after a brief silence, the roars of giants echoed through the countless planes of existence.
"The dragons seized our lord's territory, enticing the cold goddess to betray us, allying with the demon lord and ambushing our Frost Giant God, causing his brutal death."
"The dragon gods are ruthless and unscrupulous, eliminating dissidents at any cost."
"The giant pantheon does not wish for war, not wanting to burden our people with its hardships."
"But the dragon gods are merciless, unwilling to give the giants even a small place to live."
"My brave warriors, fearless of death and pain, will you cower under the shadow of dragon wings, or will you follow our gods and make the dragons feel our pain!"
Just now, the Storm Lord descended with a divine edict, calling all giants to declare war on the dragons.
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