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Location: First layer of the Underground World, Planet X.
Trillions of Castle Lords, their troops and Rangers battled against the tide of demonized creatures. Casualties piled up on both sides at every moment. Among them were comparatively fewer Castle Lords and Rangers as they all had teleportation marks.
Once they encountered fatal danger, the mark would instantly activate and return them directly to the Endless Continent, but their troops didn't have this luxury. They could only obey the orders and fight to the death. Their only hope for survival was to kill enough demonized creatures to level up.
In a war of this magnitude and scale, weak troops had little chance. Only constant improvement allowed them an opportunity to survive. The same applied to Castle Lords and Rangers as there would be no such protection in the upcoming Divine War. They pushed themselves to improve through this event.
While most Castle Lords didn't fight demonized creatures directly like their troops, they still released magic spells and other long-range attacks combat skills from far. The powerful Castle Lords even released their Saint Tier and Demigod Tier domains to slaughter the demonized creatures en masse.
A war of this scale brought massive improvement. On battlefields across every area, Castle Lords and Rangers were constantly getting shrouded in a golden light. Their troops were also leveling up frequently too. There were simply too many demonized monsters, and their strength wasn't low. High numbers plus high strength meant killing them granted huge amounts of exp.
"Finally!!" On one regional battlefield, a surge of divine power suddenly erupted and enveloped the entire area, followed with an unrestrained laughter.
"Finally! After suffering for more than a month, I've become a God! Hahaha… I never expected that I, Maxim, would one day become a God!"
"Is this Divine Power? Is this… the power of a God? I'm at least ten times stronger than when I was a peak Demigod. From now on, no Castle Lord is my opponent!"
Maxim's crazy laughter shook the battlefield, and they saw a young man radiating divine power, standing above the battlefield area. With one palm strike, he killed tens of thousands of demonized creatures. All the Castle Lords and Rangers who witnessed this scene expressed their envy.
"Becoming a God means becoming truly immortal!"
"Maxim and I were both originally peak Demigods. I shouldn't be that far behind, right?"
"Isn't attaining Godhood just a matter of time?"
Castle Lords and Rangers across the battlefield talked to themselves, expressing envy while encouraging themselves. Maxim's ascension aroused everyone's hearts. They all eagerly hoped to be the next one to ascend to Godhood. They even left their fear of death behind and started attacking the monsters enthusiastically.
Their attitude affected the troops as well. If even their lords weren't afraid of death, the troops naturally became fearless as well. If the lords were cowardly and hid behind the battlefield, the troops' morale would decrease accordingly, influencing their combat effectiveness.
…
The situation in other regions was similar. Many top-level Castle Lords and strong Rangers became Gods en masse, directly on the battlefield, inspiring the others to madness.
As time passed, more and more Castle Lords achieved Godhood. There was no helping it. There were too many demonized monsters, generally at the King Tier with many at Saints Tier and even Demigods among them. Killing them provided massive amounts of exp, helping the Castle Lords ascend smoothly.
Beyond those becoming Gods, hundreds of millions became Demigods. As for their troops, those who survived had basically all been promoted to Saint Tier, with Demigods numbering in the tens of billions.
Of course, far more troops had been killed in battle. According to incomplete statistics and rough estimates, total casualties across all battlefield areas may have exceeded 100 billion.
Such was war. Gains and rewards came with sacrifices and dedication. Most of the Castle Lords' gains were actually due to their troops' dedication and sacrifice which realized the Castle Lords' growth. Though this sounded cruel and unfair to the troops, this was how the Castle Lord faction worked.
Of course, the troops also grew in the process. As long as they weren't sacrificed on the battlefield, they became very powerful, with some even surpassing the Castle Lords themselves. Just like Haru, who had never been the strongest in his own faction.
Even now, as a peak High God with dozens of Divine Laws, Celestia and Yvonne were stronger than him. In terms of strength, Haru's strongest fighting state might be comparable to Angela, but he definitely wasn't Celestia's opponent.
In short, as more Castle Lords, Rangers, and troops became Gods, every battlefield in the first layer erupted into an even greater frenzy. Since someone had become a God in their presence and gained eternal life, how could the others bear it? Jealousy consumed them beyond recognition.
Some were even mad enough to plunge into the demonized creatures' camp to kill more and become True Gods. Of course, these people considered themselves powerful and confident enough to escape in the face of danger before taking the risk.
The weak ones who were brave weren't even qualified to reach the monsters' camp. They were torn to pieces on the outer perimeter, but even their tragic deaths wouldn't stop the others from wanting Godhood.
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