Book 9: Chapter 62: Strings (2)

Dyon didn’t want to rule his people by means of religion. He didn’t have any particular opinion of the matter itself one way or another, but what he knew was that he didn’t want to be worshipped like God.He wanted to foster a culture where certain people were revered, yes. But he didn’t want it to feel as though they were out of reach. This was where the religion that that dominated Ragnor territory presented a unique opportunity.Norse mythology, as Dyon’s homeland called it, was one that had Gods and Goddesses. But, it was unique in one aspect: mortals could become Gods as well.It was a bit different from the exact lore Dyon knew from his youth, but in Ragnor territory, valiant warriors had a chance to enter Valhalla after their deaths. This Valhalla was known as a paradise of warriors. In this place, you earned the right to fight for and alongside the Gods. Then, over time, one could become a God themselves.This concept couldn’t have been more beautiful to Dyon. These people of Oswald City and cities just like it across Ragnor territory worshipped Gods, but they didn’t feel that they were unreachable. They felt that if they pushed hard enough, that if they tried hard enough, they too could reach such a height one day.This sort of feeling, this sort of hope, it was in sharp contract to the feelings that permeated amidst the Thralls. Or, maybe, it was exactly the same… Maybe it was with thoughts of Valhalla that the Thralls willingly threw their lives away… Maybe it was because of Valhalla that they forsook their wives and children, believing that one day they would join them on a higher plane.This was why the people of Oswald were so disgusted by the Ragnors. They had their own code of honor, a code they believed should dictate the lives of true warriors. Yet, the so-called warriors of Ragnor seemed to spit on those rules at every turn.Belief and conviction were powerful things, especially in the hands of humans. And when manipulated by a man as intelligent as Dyon… the effects were unimaginable.The results spoke for themselves. Without a single ounce of bloodshed, without lifting a single weapon, the Mortal Alliance conquered its first Ragnor Universe. Dyon simply had too many Goddesses on his side. His wives, his sisters, the Dream Panthers… He used the beauty of each and every one to his utmost advantage. Not only did he gain the universe, he gained the hearts of the people.Ragnor territory touched upon 3 Beast Clan Universes with 5 of their own. They usually neglected these universes, believing them to be useless for anything other than their Faith. Other than sending a few experts to keep the Beast Clans in check every year, they did little else.Right under their noses, these 5 universes were swept away. However, they were too busy with a battle from across the quadrant to even notice.**Dyon stood before Abraham and Dravil, both of whom seemed tired beyond believe. Over the past few months, they had tried their hardest to sweep through King Universe while also keeping their true identities under wraps, but it was definitely difficult. Trying to make sure the Pakals believed they were the Ragnors and the Ragnors believed the vice versa was taxing on their mentals. Even with Dyon constantly feeding them information, it was an uphill battle.This matter would have been made much easier if Dyon could simply conquer the 5 Ragnor Universes attached to Beast Clan territory. Then, the Ragnors would fall from Emperor God Clan to King God Clan. But, there were several problems with this.First, the upper echelon members of the Ragnors would immediately sense any attempt, just like the Five Beast Clans had.Second, as an Emperor God Clan, and controller of 29 Universes, the difficulty was on another level. Dyon couldn’t simply speed run Universe Spirits as he had against the Beast Clans.Since the Gates were opened, even if Dyon took control of all of the teleportation formations, it would only be a matter of the Ragnors sending all of their elites to storm a single Gate before they could breakthrough. Dyon’s armies weren’t quite yet powerful enough to take the Ragnors head on.And third reason was why Dyon hadn’t simply attacked while the Gates were closed: Universe Spirits underwent a fundamental change after entering the Emperor God ranks.Royal God Clans had no spirits and their Faith had no real substance. It was rather an aura, a feeling, rather than a legitimate being.King God Clans had at least one Universe Spirit. This came after conquering at least one universe.Emperor God Clans, however, had the ability to consolidate the power of their Universe Spirits. In this case, there was no such thing as a “weak link” like in Beast Clan territory. Even if one Universe Spirit was fundamentally weak, it would rely on the support of the others to survive.In that case, Dyon’s battle would be extended. Not only that, but he would have to face the Faith of several Emperor God level spirits with his mere King God level spirit.For all of these reasons, Dyon’s approach took a shift. Though he had already conquered King Universe, he now needed to purge it of Ragnor and Pakal influence, a task that was far harder than anything he had come across until now.While his wives and Alidor swept through Ragnor territory from the front, he would do so from the back!