The Goddess of Wealth, Manissy, was a god of action. Like her, most of those who were mortals that were eventually sealed as gods had great mobility.

  Would a slow fellow possibly get the chance to be a sealed god?

  So once her decision was made, she sprung to action immediately. She adjusted her teachings and issued Oracles to her clergymen and followers to change their past perceptions.

  This was not met with great resistance. To the vast majority of mortals, so long as the gods were able to protect them, especially being able to take and lead their souls away upon death, that was more than good enough for them. There were very few mortals who truly needed more than that.

  The big shots of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins were naturally informed by Manissy, and neither the merchant party nor the aristocratic party objected to her decision.

  The merchants of the merchant party were focused on the protection of the Goddess of Wealth for the merchants and commercial practices. So long as this protection was maintained, nothing else would be a problem. The leaders of the aristocratic party paid much attention to the protection of the Goddess of Wealth for their wealth. Since there was no problem with this protection, then anything else would also not be considered a problem.

  As for the protection of the state and regime, the Goddess of Wealth did not have to protect these in the first place. Her church had always been playing the role of a mediator, so no one would have expected her to protect the country.

  So the decision of the Goddess of Wealth met with little resistance and was carried out smoothly.

  Taking advantage of this favorable momentum, both the North and South of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins began to prepare for the matter of establishing themselves as independent states.

  They did not hide this from the world, and the news was soon spread to countries on the Main Plane. The various heads of states were not surprised. Even the average people who were a little more knowledgeable would not find it surprising.

  The conflict between the North and South had escalated to the extent of an internal war. How could the country not be divided?

  In the God Kingdom of the human gods, the God of Diplomacy was all smiles as he reported the news to the God of Light.

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  “The plan is well executed!” exclaimed the God of Light. There was also a slight smile on his face. For someone who usually kept a straight face, this hint of a smile was enough to prove that he was in a good mood.

  “Yes, everything is just as what Your Majesty has expected!”

  “Not just as what I expected, but just as how we expected,” the God of Light said lightly. “You are the ones who designed the plan. I’m only responsible for the review and approval, that’s all.”

  The God of Diplomacy and the God of Conspiracy bowed their heads together and repeatedly declined any credit.

  The God of Light also did not emphasize on it any further. He thought for a moment, then asked, “How is the missionary work coming along?”

  “Very smoothly,” replied the God of Diplomacy. “The aristocratic party is eagerly searching for a strength that could allow them to protect their power and status. And the merchant party, on the other hand, is also in search for the support of a strong and powerful church. After all, the hatred between them is so deep that even if they split into two countries, they are bound to fight again in the future.”

  “Don’t give the War God System the chance to take advantage of the situation.”

  “Rest assured, Your Majesty. The greatest flaw of the War God System is that they support all acts of war—regardless of whether its offensive or defensive. They will support anything that is pertaining to war. Although it is good to believe in them in the quest for victory, it is still hard for mortals not to be afraid and worried in the face of gods who take neutral positions and only care about fighting battles.”

  “Well, you all must bear this in mind. Our keynote is ‘human unity and expansion.’ We have to let both sides know that the purpose of war is not to strike an opponent but to accomplish the great cause of human unity. The brave can vie for their place in this great undertaking. The cowards can step back and let others finish the job while they freeload some benefits from a free ride—but we have to succeed in what we set out to do. The Main Plane will become a world that belongs to mankind!”

  The human gods stood together to salute this great plan.

  The God of Light waved his hand to get the crowd to sit down. Then he said, “This plan is already well underway now. The relations and alliances among the human countries are developing well. But let us all know that, the relations and alliances of human countries, is only the first step of our plan.”

  The gods were in awe as they awaited his orders.

  “Right now, the biggest question for us is, where should we go to for our next step?” asked the God of Light as his gaze swept through the faces of the human gods. “Should we attack the elves first and force them to officially surrender or leave altogether? Or should we attack the Orcs first and utterly crush this longtime opponent of ours?”

  “I think that it’s better to deal with the elves first,” said the God of Heroes. “We should always do the easy tasks first and deal with the difficult ones later. It will be relatively easy to force the elves to officially surrender themselves.”

  “But honestly speaking, there’s no profound hatred in particular between us humans and the elves,” said the God of Protection, whose opinion was contrary to that of the God of Heroes. “And we have a blood feud with the Orcs on the other hand. So it is likelier to gain the support of the other countries by attacking the Orcs.”

  “The rulers of the other countries are greedy and cruel. So long as there are benefits, who will bother about hatred or friendship?” the God of Craftsmen said coldly. “They can even kill their own parents and brothers, so what other evil acts are they not capable of?

  The God of Travelers, who was in charge of the spy department of the Human God System, said, “The Orc Empire has the ‘Half-Orcs’ who exist as an unstable factor. If we use them well, we can deal them a heavy blow the very moment the battle commences!”

  So the gods went into a flurry of heated arguments.

  The God of Light did not stop them from arguing, neither did he intend to join in the debate. He watched the gods calmly and peacefully. But on the other hand, his clone had already made its way to the God Kingdom of the God of Aristocracy as it stood outside the quiet room.

  This Divine Power that was capable of blocking out everything was unable to block its master. His gaze penetrated the hindrance imposed by his Divine Power as he took a clear look at the God of Aristocracy who was seated inside the quiet room. They wore a troubled expression, and their face was pale.

  “Originally, you should have a place in this discussion. But you lost the opportunity yourself,” he said calmly. His voice was blocked out of the quiet room. None of it could get in at all.

  “I had pinned some hope on you, but you truly disappointed me,” he said. “It’s already up to this point in time, yet you are still not rushing to isolate yourself from the priesthoods and cut out the parts that truly belonged to you to master them well. Instead, you are praying that I will come and shelter you from the storm. This is simply absurd!

  “If you want to be a master of humans, you can’t do it without enough courage and determination. In the face of a crisis, you only know to rely on others, how can I trust you with the future of mankind?

  “Ultimately, that’s all you’ve got.”

  With that, his figure disappeared and reappeared in his bedroom.

  On the wall of his bedroom hung a broad and huge sword. On the ground next to it laid a heavy war hammer. These were his weapons, the ones that he had depended on that made him invincible and unconquerable on the battlefields.

  And inside the bedroom, there was also a golden chair that radiated with a light that was as bright as the huge sword and war hammer. The God of Light walked to the side of the chair and stroked the back of the chair gently. A trace of smile was seen on his face again.

  “By then, it will be up to you to finish up the job.”

  Then his figure slowly disappeared, as though it had never appeared before. The only thing was that the light of the chair grew stronger and more intense, fully giving out a majestic and powerful vibe.