Chapter 464 Am I Being Played With??
Rosalie was surprised. If her master had tracked her down all the way here, he would surely have noticed the signs of divine conflict among the gods. Given Sterl's cautious nature, it was unreasonable for him to come and check on the situation…
The joy she felt stemmed from her realization that the only reason her master would come here was due to her safety. Could it be that he cared about her that much? It couldn't possibly be because of Gloria; their relationship wasn't that deep.
"Do I... hold a significant place in my master's heart?"
"All this time, he looked at me with such hostility, as if I would be killed for inadvertently stumbling upon one of his secrets. It turns out that was just a facade."
"My master treats me like this, yet I often doubted his intentions. I really should be ashamed!"
The demigod girl felt a surge of emotion.
But in the next moment, a wave of panic washed over her. Saving herself? That was impossible!
After all, a single god would be more than enough for her master to handle, and her mother had made it so that he couldn't summon her freely in the Hall of Valor.
Now, there were three gods!
Even if their strength was far inferior to her mother's, three against one was still formidable!
If her master came to save her, even if he managed to hold off one of the gods alongside Gloria, the remaining two respected deities could easily crush Sterl.
It wasn't just about coming to her rescue; even merely watching from afar was a risk!
The perception abilities of gods were incredibly strong!
Rosalie felt utterly helpless. She couldn't even warn Sterl to escape quickly; any hint of her anxiety might lead those three mad gods to uncover her master's whereabouts.
The demigod girl was in a state of turmoil.
Having already resigned herself to death, she believed that her master's coldness and ruthlessness would never lead him to confront the gods for her sake. She had been prepared to accept her fate.
After all, back in the Heavenly Curtain Canyon, she should have already perished.
But now, with a glimmer of hope, Rosalie found herself in greater agony.
She had always been a child starved for love. The constraints imposed by the Illuminated King, while not as powerful as a deputy star, still had the subtle ability to alter the thoughts of those under control.
Yet, from Sterl, she had felt the genuine sensation of being alive—the thrill of frenzy coursing through her.
Moreover, she was deeply moved by the thought that her master had come personally to rescue her…
Instantly, she felt overwhelmed!
She could only think of urging Sterl to flee!
But all she could do was desperately chant in her heart.
"Master, please don't do anything rash! This is divine level danger!"
"Just abandon me! Find another avatar. With your strength, you'll catch up soon enough. Clear some space, and just arrange for a divine level avatar!"
Wuwuwu…
Forget about me.
Rosalie knew that her master's Illuminated King protection could read the thoughts of his avatars.
She thought, if Sterl was currently reading her mind to gather information, then she needed to rush him to escape!
Then, the demigod girl's eyes lit up as she sensed that her mental connection with Sterl had been established.
"My thoughts should have been transmitted…"
"Thank goodness."
"At least my master won't be in danger."
However, Rosalie's moment of relief didn't last long.
She noticed that her master had no intention of leaving.
What was he planning to do?
Should I just take my own life?
That way, her master wouldn't need to come to her rescue.
Damn it, I can't take my own life.
Rosalie had initially considered self-detonation, but then realized that as an avatar, her life was in Sterl's hands. When he didn't give the command, she had a degree of autonomy, but her right to life wasn't included in that. She couldn't even kill herself if she wanted to!
No!
"Master, please hurry and leave!"
Rosalie was on the verge of tears, and she could almost see Sterl being easily torn apart by the gods.
…
On the other side, Sterl frowned slightly.
He sensed a wave of chaotic emotions coming from his avatar, and after reading her thoughts, he was speechless.
Rosalie was so confident?
She still thought I was here to save her?
However…
He looked at the expression on Rosalie's face, which was filled with a sense of "loyalty."
Sterl remained calm. He knew he could safely hide off to the side without worrying about Rosalie causing trouble that would reveal his position.
As for… taking action?
Sterl had no intention of doing so. Earlier, to ensure the golden code remained hidden, he had used his Holy Spirit Bloodline's daily enhancement to evolve shadowLaw into divine authority.
Now he was down one important trump card. Even though Sterl sensed that the three rather flamboyant gods before him weren't particularly strong—
One of them wielded both shadow and moon divine authority, while the other two each possessed one of those divine authorities.
But their auras felt somewhat weak; they were weaker than the newly ascended god he encountered from the Golden Kingdom back in Hell.
These three gods had likely ascended to divinity not long ago.
During this time, Sterl had experienced quite a bit, especially in the Starry Clan's underground palace, where he had battled mummies and Princess Billie. He was aware that his output was exceptionally powerful within the divine level.
After ascending to godhood, unleashing Shattered Void would easily finish them off!
But what if…?
Just like Gloria, who managed to hold off three gods with a shield for quite a while.
It was reasonable to assume these three gods also had their own hidden cards.
Sterl decided not to rush into action and would wait for Gloria to expend some of her strength first.
Moreover…
Sterl had also sensed Gloria's movements through Rosalie.
From Gloria's words, he could deduce two points—
First, this goddess was unaware of the recent changes in Alpha 8 and did not know whether she was in seclusion or had simply not logged in while remaining on Earth.
Second, Gloria was aware of some information regarding the world merging.
However, this point contradicted the first one.
The world merging, theoretically, had only occurred this time!
Based on known historical information, Sterl could infer that during the Starry Clan era, the world was a whole, followed by a division into the upper and lower realms, and then it fragmented into countless Crystal Barrier Galaxies.
The current merging of worlds only came after the last division.
How could Gloria have known in advance that the world would merge??
This meant that after the separation of the upper and lower realms, the re-merging of the world was an inevitability?? And it had been prophesied by someone.
Sterl's heart trembled!
This time, he had come to investigate, and the situation was not the crisis he had imagined.
Turning down Linna and the others' advances had indeed paid off; he had gained access to such valuable information, and it was worth it!
After completing his analysis, Sterl's expression shifted, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth as he wore a half-smile.
"Gloria didn't tell me the truth back then…"
His gaze was indifferent.
"Previously, the innocence and confusion she displayed after wiping her memories were just a facade."
"I've been played."
Sterl had never really trusted Gloria, but he still felt a twinge of annoyance. Back then, he genuinely thought Gloria had become much more lively after losing her memories, and a bit troublesome—best to keep some distance.
In any case, he felt like a puppet being manipulated.
However, Sterl knew he wasn't clever enough and had instinctively doubted everything, preparing himself mentally for the possibility that Gloria was deceiving him. That had led to his current calm judgment.
So, he was quite irritated.
"No matter what secrets you're hiding, it doesn't matter."
"You're in my hands today."
"I'll take you down, and once I've trained into a deputy star, you'll obediently tell me everything."
Sterl quietly watched the battlefield ahead.
He was waiting for the right moment to force out some of the gods' hidden cards, and just as Gloria was about to fall, he would strike!
At that time, he could guarantee that the Dark Moon Goddess would not escape his grasp!
Pop!
Accompanied by a soft sound, Gloria's incredibly valuable protective artifact shattered instantly!
Completely destroyed!
It turned into a wisp of pale purple light.
Sterl's mouth twitched; he felt a pang of regret. He had been quite envious of that protective artifact, which allowed Gloria to withstand the onslaught of three gods for so long—it clearly had exceptional utility!
Now, it was gone!
Sterl felt helpless; after all, the information in Gloria's possession was far more important.
As for using the Key of the Realms to look up information, Sterl would rather use that tool to venture into the upper realms than enter a room filled with stored data.
Especially now that he knew Gloria had been pulling a fast one on him, he was even less inclined to take unnecessary risks.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Gloria smiled calmly.
"Rosalie, try to escape."
"I'll give you a push."
With that, she prepared to gather Divine Power and "throw" Rosalie away.
The three gods outside were extremely frenzied and wouldn't let Rosalie escape, but they wouldn't actively hunt down a "weak" demigod either.
Doing this…
Perhaps it would earn David some goodwill.
It would help fulfill the wishes of her people better.
Gloria thought to herself.
From Rosalie's words, she had analyzed that David seemed indifferent to outsiders but appeared quite decent to his own people.
He had helped a girl who once had psychological issues regain her life!
Whether Rosalie survived after being thrown out was not important.
What mattered was that David would know she had sacrificed her last chance of survival to do this!
However, upon hearing Gloria's words, Rosalie shook her head vigorously!
It wasn't that she didn't want to live, but she felt the odds were slim.
Faced with the pursuit of three gods, any move Gloria made would be meaningless. Under the onslaught of Divine Power, her chances of survival were no more than 1%!
Even as an "avatar," Divine Power was enough to crush everything; there was no way Rosalie could be revived.
Gloria's rescue would only result in her own death and the senseless demise of the Dark Moon Goddess!
It would be better to…
Rosalie decisively shouted, "Lady Gloria, given the situation, do you really think I have any chance of surviving?"
"May as well go down fighting with those three guys; if I'm going to die, I'll at least take a piece of them with me!"