The Era of Gods - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Cooperation? Picking Peaches?

Translator: 549690339

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The so-called Sanctuary is the nest of a Demigod before their Divine Enthronement. As is well-known, once a Deity undergoes the Divine Enthronement, they will elevate their God Country and leave the Material Plane. However, before the Divine Enthronement occurs, there is no God Country, or rather, the God Country is not yet fully established. This not-yet-fully-established God Country is the Sanctuary, the last den of a Demigod, and also the safest place.

Although it is not yet a God Country, it already possesses a portion of the God Country’s mighty powers.

Inside the Sanctuary, a Demigod can gain home field advantage, as well as the ability to weaken their enemies.

There are also Prayers within the Sanctuary, but because it is not yet a Divine Realm, the rules are not perfect, and the number of Prayers it can support is limited. The Snake People Demigod transformed the most elite of the deceased believers over the years into Prayers, all set as Sacred Place Guards.

In other words, if Lin Xiao wants to break into the Sanctuary, he must kill all the Sacred Place Guards first.

Of course, at this point, not even the Entrance of Sacred Mountain has been breached, let alone pinpointing the location of the unknown Sanctuary within. The Giant Clam itself is not something that can be dealt with in a short period of time.

This big guy has a thick skin and an incredible vitality, stronger even than the Giant Sea Snake they had killed before. Its regenerative healing is equally terrifying; the wounds inflicted by piercing through its tough skin by the Grey Mist Fish People heal in a mere fifteen seconds. Even the large wounds torn open by the Naga close at a visibly slow rate.

This fellow stubbornly guards near the Entrance of Sacred Mountain, bouncing around and smashing down, and with just one flick of its tongue, it can stick to a target and swallow it whole.

No matter how the battle goes, once any Fishman approaches the Entrance of Sacred Mountain, the Giant Clam fiercely leaps over and crushes a swath of them. By virtue of its unreasonable robust size, it has held its ground against the assault of seventy to eighty thousand Fish People and Naga combined.

The Naga, even with their ordinary attacks, can break through the defenses of the Giant Clam, but the damage is not enough to significantly affect it; in about fifteen seconds, the wounds have essentially healed.

And while the Salted Fish Charge is powerful, its ten-minute cooldown is too long, and it’s not capable of killing the Giant Clam instantly. By the time ten minutes pass, the damage from the previous assault is almost healed.

Meanwhile, during this time, Naga are continually killed by the Giant Clam, causing losses that make Lin Xiao’s heart ache.

The situation is now at a stalemate; the Fish People’s Army lacks the ability to inflict lethal damage on the Giant Clam, and can only continue this war of attrition.

Fortunately, regeneration of life also consumes physical strength and nutrition. No matter how strong the Giant Clam’s vitality is, it is finite; it can’t keep bouncing around indefinitely. There will come a time when it is exhausted.

But Lin Xiao felt that he could not possibly wait that long, and he definitely could not continue this attrition war. By his estimate, killing the Giant Clam would require the deaths of tens of thousands of Fishman Naga, which would not be feasible. By then, what forces would he have left to assault the Sanctuary?

Therefore, he prepared for a True-Body Descend!

Yes, he decided to take the risk of a True-Body Descend to kill the Giant Clam and open the path to the Snake Man Demi-God Holy Place, and to take down the Sanctuary in one fell swoop before the Snake People Demigod could catch a breath.

This was the best chance they had. If he delayed any longer and the Snake People Demigod managed to recover, any descent he made would be equivalent to delivering himself up on a platter.

Furthermore, if they waited too long, he feared the Sea God might arrive, and besides, there were other Demigods in this world. He worried that the commotion of the battle might attract other Demigods, resulting in a wasted effort, dressing the bride for another’s wedding.

While Lin Xiao was considering his options, on the Divine Artifact Platform outside the Plane Crystal Wall, the ten homeroom teachers who had been closely watching the battle, among them the second-class homeroom teacher Zheng Yifan, noticed that the Fish People’s Army was already attacking the Holy Mountain and the Snake People Demigod had not yet made an appearance. His eyes suddenly shifted as he turned to the vice-principal and said:

“Your Excellency Vice-Principal Xu, I suddenly have an idea.”

The vice-principal glanced at him and said:

“Speak.”

Zheng Yifan looked at the other teachers, especially at Wu Hai, and said:

“From the current situation, it seems quite difficult for student Lin Xiao to break through this Snake People Demigod’s Sanctuary. However, the level he has achieved so far is already very impressive. It’s a golden opportunity, and it would be a pity if he failed now. So I have an idea, to summon Yan Renjie from my second class and Wan Ying from the first class. These three are the most outstanding students of this year, and the gap between them and the other students is quite notable. I suggest that we let these three work together to complete this task and share the pressure.”

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All the homeroom teachers turned their surprised gazes his way as Zheng Yifan gave Wu Hai a slight smile and continued:

“Given Lin Xiao’s current strength, there’s a high chance he’ll fail, and I think it would be a pity for him to fail at this point. Instead of ending up with nothing, it would be better for the three of us to cooperate and take down this severely injured Snake People Demigod, and share the spoils.”

Everyone pondered for a moment, then Vice Principal Xu said to Wu Hai:

“Lin Xiao is your student, what do you think?”

By saying this, the vice principal was obviously agreeing with the proposal, but since it concerned a student from Class Three, he needed to ask for the opinion of the Class Three homeroom teacher.

Wu Hai pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up, saying:

“In principle, I agree, but I cannot make a decision on his behalf. I need to contact Lin Xiao and ask for his opinion first.”

“That’s only right!”

Vice Principal Xu nodded in agreement, and the other homeroom teachers concurred.

Inside the Divine Realm, having already considered and prepared for his True-Body Descend, Lin Xiao suddenly received a transmission from his homeroom teacher Wu Hai. He reached out his finger and Wu Hai’s projection appeared in front of him, saying:

“The homeroom teacher of Class Two just proposed to the vice principal that Yan Renjie from Class Two and Wan Ying from Class One come to help you attack the Snake People Demigod’s Sanctuary. What do you think?”

“This…”

Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment, his mind racing as he considered the implications of his teacher’s message, specifically how combining the forces of Yan Renjie’s Clan and Wan Ying’s Clan could impact the operation.

He didn’t refuse. Having someone share the burden was a good thing; why refuse it?

It was a struggle just for him alone; even dealing with a gatekeeper was difficult. Now facing a Demigod in the Sanctuary, even a severely injured one, the pressure on him was immense. To be honest, he didn’t have much confidence.

He had already planned that, once his True Body descended, he would only kill the Giant Clam. The attack on the Sanctuary would be left to his subordinates. His True Body would not enter the Snake Man Demigod’s Holy Place lightly, unless the battle went smoothly; otherwise, he wouldn’t take the risk.

However, although he wouldn’t refuse, there were some things he needed to clarify before agreeing.

Lin Xiao bluntly asked his teacher:

“If we cooperate and, in the end, we succeed, how will the spoils be distributed?”

This was the most critical issue. It needed to be decided upfront; otherwise, bickering over it at the end would be troublesome.

Wu Hai paused for a moment, then conveyed Lin Xiao’s concerns to the homeroom teachers of Class One and Class Two. He spread his hands and said:

“This operation has been completed entirely by my student up to this point, and it was also my student who inflicted the serious injury on the Snake People Demigod. Now we’re only a step away from finishing, so my student must take the lion’s share of the spoils.”

“That’s a given.”

Vice Principal Xu affirmed immediately, causing the about-to-speak homeroom teachers of Class One, Qiao Liang, and Class Two, Zheng Yifan, to open their mouths but then remain speechless for a long moment.