Chapter 1114: Supreme Pantheon
"What is going on here?!" A majestic voice demanded an explanation as it arrived above the group.
Draco and the Angels looked up to see a humanoid with the body of a man and the head of a bull... basically a minotaur. However, rather than a half-naked beast, as they were often portrayed in fantasy, this one wore tight fitted armor on his body.
His eyes were blood red and filled with barely concealed rage. It was as if the moment someone so much looked at him the wrong way, he would enter a berserk state and bring the entire world down with him to hell.
On his back was a giant warhammer that could probably smash the entire group into a pulp in equal measure.
｢Name: Barrado - True God
Level: Law of Violent Berserk (Master)
Divine Energy: 100%/100%.｣
Draco frowned as he did not want to deal with a True God with a Law at the Master Rank so early. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit lucky that he had wisely upgraded his power as much as he did before coming.
Meanwhile, the faces of the Angels paled when they saw Barrado, as if they had met someone they should avoid at all costs. The Angel in the lead could only cough a wad of blood and come forth to explain what happened truthfully.
They did not dare twist facts or put the blame on Draco, as not only would that thoroughly break all pretenses with him, but Barrado had an easy way to verify if they were lying.
Barrado snorted. "Trash! I have continually advocated that you useless pretty thing should be the bed warmers of us noble Gods, rather than dogs that bark haphazardly."
The faces of the Angels became incomparably ugly when they heard such brazen words. Normally they would have erupted in fury, but the current era did not favor them against established True Gods, especially ones like Barrado. Besides, they knew the Minotaur well enough to understand that he provoked them to give him an excuse to act.
Barrado glanced at the Angels who had lowered their heads and felt endless disdain. "Tsk, not even daring to fight back, where is that same arrogance you used to bully unsuspecting True Gods? Scram back to the pantheon if you have nothing to do!"
The Angels could only curse him in their hearts, as they bowed respectfully and left in their sorry state. Draco actually felt a hint of pity for them, not because of anything, but because Eva was also an Angel, though she was the most superior of them all.
In fact, Draco's earlier blow could have easily killed the Angels had he not held back for Eva had pleaded on their behalf. Sparing them was not a problem since he could use this chance to bed Eva in even more absurd postures and pound her into oblivion, so Draco had readily agreed to such a simple request.
With the Angels gone, Barrado turned to Draco and sized him up. The Main Law the fellow had chosen was the Law of Malevolent Darkness, it was what he had displayed to others and used it in the previous attack.
So regardless of whether player, NPC or monster True God, if they used their various means to inspect him, they would see that he had the Law of Malevolent Darkness at the Intermediate Rank.
In truth, Draco could take this Main Law to the Advanced Rank with ease, but he chose not to. His choice wasn't due to a silly reason like wanting to stay low profile or anything, but because he planned to blend into the Divine Realm from the grassroots.
However, his pride did not allow him to come as a Basic Law True God as such fellows were not respected at all. While the treatment of a True God with an Intermediate Rank Law would not see him treated like a king, at least he would get treated like a noble rather than a peasant.
Barrado's slight hesitation about how to deal with him spoke volumens. Had Draco simply been just another Basic True God, the Minotaur would have likely taught him a lesson, yet due to his status as an Intermediate True God, Draco was regarded as someone who could prove very useful to their cause against the Grey Rot.
In the end, Barrado released a cloud of steam from his nose and spoke coldly. "You are now in Supreme City, True God. First, give me your name and your purpose here, so I can decide how to deal with you."
Draco smiled. "My name is Draco Morningstar and I just arrived at the Divine Realm after ascending to Divinity."
Barrado didn't hide his shock. "You ascended? In this rotten era? Amazing!"
His demeanor changed from cold to very warm and welcoming in an instant. "What's more, not only did you ascend in such difficult times, you even jumped to the Intermediate Rank of your Law! Such talent has been unheard of since the great days of the old era!"
Draco was intrigued by this. "The old era? Who else achieved it back then, noble sir?"
Being called 'noble sir' by Draco seemed to please Barrado a lot. "Oh back then the Dragons commonly did it. Most True Dragons would jump to the Intermediate Rank once they ascended depending on their bloodlines. Some even reached Advanced, Master or even True Law! They were ridiculous back then!"
Before Draco could ask another question, the Minotaur's impatient manner got the better of him and he waved his hand. "First things first, you have to report to the Supreme Pantheon about your ascension and register as a citizen of Supreme City to gain the right to stay here."
Draco acquiesced and flew into the air behind Barrado, the two moving towards the giant church in the center of the city rather quickly. There were a lot more questions on his mind, but he felt like the information he wanted could be unearthed in due time, so he refrained from bothering his impromptu guide.
Soon, they arrived at the central pantheon and landed before it. The entrance was like a large square where many people passed through. He had not noticed earlier, but this Supreme City was quite densely populated.
Still, that was only relative to the central areas, places like where Draco appeared seemed to be well maintained but deserted. It gave the city a very strange feel. It was lively but at the same time, it had the air of being slowly strangled to death by something in the dark.
Draco and Barrado walked in and passed by the many beings. Draco detected that very few were True Gods, while most were mortals of various Ranks. There were also the occasional Angels patrolling the area with a serious and lofty expression, their bodies glowing white so as to prevent the mortals from seeing their true form easily.
As Draco and Barrado moved deeper into the pantheon, the population thinned and the quality of beings rose. There were plenty more Angels guarding and patrolling, but these did not dare to put on airs and seemed like well trained soldiers.
Draco also saw the occasional True God passing by and they would greet Barrado with a fearful expression and a hint of respect. Most of these True Gods were at the Basic Rank, and their Laws were mostly supportive in turn, which Draco assumed to be the reason the Minotaur did not treat them with much respect in turn.
Upon seeing Barrado personally leading the way for him, they were shocked and confused because he was only a True God with an Intermediate Law. Even though Malevolent Darkness was undoubtedly a powerful offensive Law, that alone should not warrant a Master Law True God like Barrado to do him such favor, making them all intrigued about what made Draco so special.
He ignored all their questioning glances, making their expressions turn ugly. Tough luck for them, but Draco had no intention of befriending small fries here, and even if he established a pantheon using the token he had, he would only recruit his core members who would eventually become True Gods, and his wives like Eva, Shuangtian, Zaine, Roma and Hikari who were also on the cusp.
Barrado noticed his demeanor and agreed. Why should talented fellows like them waste their time with untalented trash? They provided no real assistance to the fight against the Grey Rot because their mediocre Laws could not do anything to its thralls.
So they just remained home and filled up the numbers, allowing the pantheon to feel lively in and to feel powerful, when in actuality, most of its true power and fighting force were at the frontlines.
Soon, they reached a room marked with 'registrar general' and Barrado knocked quietly. Soon, a response to enter came from within and the Minotaur pushed the door open, bringing Draco into the room with him.
It was a neat office with three Angels standing on either side of the room like statues, not even blinking. Meanwhile, the central seat was taken by a relatively short fishman with resplendent scales and two large eyes that were focused on the paperwork in front of him.
He had two whiskers on either side of his face that flowed in the air in an ethereal manner, giving him a feeling of vicissitudes and elderly wisdom. When he raised his head and glanced at the duo, his aged voice seemed to buttress this assumption even more.
"Oh, it's young Barrado. The one next to you must be the new ascender? How rare after so long..."
Barrado bowed with utter respect and solemnity. "Yes, Registrar-General. Please go through the necessary procedures with him."
Draco was not surprised by Barrado's deference to this fishman, for what he had seen when he inspected him shocked Draco greatly.
｢Name: Ulido - True God
Level: Law of Administrative Census (Supreme)
Divine Energy: 100%/100%.｣
This was the first True God he had seen with the maximum Tier 8 Supreme Law that was only inches away from ascending into the Origin grade. Even though Ulido's Law was not offensive and was one of the most basic supportive Laws, just using its grade alone could turn Barrado and Draco into ash.
"Young man, please do not resist my Law. It will record all the necessary details for your registration in Supreme City and the True God database." Ulido spoke as he flicked a finger towards Draco.
Draco could tell that a basic scanning skill that was infused with the Supreme Law had been used on him, and he did not resist it using his own Laws. He did not want to cause trouble first and secondly, if he was pushed to the edge, he would just summon Eva and Shuangtian over and they would unseal their bloodlines then go crazy.
After the skill was done, some information filled itself out before Ulido and he sent one copy into a portal that lead to some form of traditional archive. Another disappeared and went into the sky, becoming a part of the information system of the Divine Realm, while the last one shrank into some sort of token and flew over to Draco.
Draco caught the token and saw that it was just like the one he had from Norma, but hers was slightly larger and seemed more noble.
"That token represents you and your estate within the Divine Realm, not just the Supreme City. My Law is tied to the Will of the Divine Realm, and only with that token can you be recognized as a True God of this realm and enjoy the associated rights as well as privileges." Ulido explained slowly.
Barrado added in from the side. "Make sure not to lose it, for it will be very hard to replace. Not to mention that anyone with your token can impersonate you in many ways and have access to your estate.'
"Young Barrado is right, treat that token as dearly as you would your very life. Now that you have been registered, you are not only a citizen of Supreme City, but you are a reserve True God of the Supreme Pantheon."
Ulido's eyes suddenly sharpened and his whiskers trembled even more. "In the past, you would enjoy endless glory upon being registered by the Supreme Pantheon but this is an era of desolation and despair. You will be given some basic Divine equipment and resources by the pantheon and will have to head to the frontlines immediately to assist in repelling the Grey Rot invasion."