Of course it's suitable. Don't say fifty drops, even five hundred would be suitable. Divine power is just a consumable, but a subordinate god is always your own. This is like buying eggs with money and hatching them into hens that will keep laying eggs for you.
"Alright, this matter will be entrusted to you. If you handle it well, I'll put in a good word for you with the Goddess."
Sedurnas wished he could kneel on the ground and lick the Pope's shoes with his tongue. To have his name known by the Goddess, what problem would the position of the next Pope be? Absolutely no problem. The Goddess's words were commandments, truth itself. The Pope was indirectly telling him that as long as this matter was accomplished, he would be the next Pope with one hundred percent certainty.
The Pope encouraged Sedurnas with the gentlest, most knowing smile, "Go then. I will await your good news at headquarters."
"Your subordinate guarantees the mission will be completed."
"Good. You are indeed the most outstanding Cardinal in the Divine Hall. Fifty drops of divine power will be transferred shortly."
"Your subordinate will exert his utmost effort."
The scene flickered and disappeared. After a few breaths, a large bottle appeared in the teleportation array, filled with golden liquid. Its mesmerizing radiance captivated everyone who saw it, making them unable to break free.
The fact that the divine power could be transferred so quickly indicated that the Pope had also made up his mind. Sedurnas secretly resolved to succeed. If he succeeded, he would live a life of luxury. If he failed... Sedurnas shook his head. How could he possibly fail when he was personally handling it?
Sedurnas, overjoyed, picked up the bottle and rushed straight to the sea. Holding the bottle aloft, he addressed the Three-Tailed Beast, "Your Excellency, please look. These fifty drops of divine power are our advance payment. As long as you join our Magic Divine Hall, the remaining one thousand four hundred and fifty drops will be delivered."
Seeing only fifty drops of divine power, Mendit was surprised. The Magic Divine Hall was indeed a top-tier power, capable of procuring fifty drops of divine power so quickly, which put him to shame. However, he retorted verbally, "Yo, yo, yo, wasn't it agreed upon to be fifteen hundred drops? Now there's such a big discount. You're really unreliable."
"What do you say, Your Excellency?"
At this moment, the Three-Tailed Beast was staring intently at the bottle filled with divine power. Li Xi, within its spiritual space, had never seen so much divine power before. This was far more than the divine power crystal refined from the blood sacrifice of Cardo City that Avril had consumed.
With these fifty drops of divine power, he could absorb about six hundred drops of Flame Demon bloodline, which was roughly equivalent to half a Flame Demon. This would immediately alleviate his current predicament of having strength but being unable to use it.
It would also allow him to absorb a large portion of Hashirama Senju's cells. Coupled with the Evil God Octopus in the Three-Tailed Beast's belly, ho ho, Li Xi laughed heartily with joy.
Seeing that the Three-Tailed Beast was not listening to his words and its eyes seemed to be drilling into the divine power bottle, as if it were about to be bribed, Mendit became anxious. The duck that was almost in his grasp couldn't just fly away like this. "Your Excellency, you mustn't believe him! This man is the most untrustworthy. He promised fifteen hundred drops and now there are only fifty. I, unlike him, deliver as promised and never offer discounts. Honesty is the most important thing in an alliance."
Even with Sedurnas's good temper, he couldn't tolerate Mendit's repeated instigation, especially at this critical juncture when success was within reach. The magical energy in his body surged violently, veins faintly appeared on his face, countless magic arrays lit up on the mage robe he wore, and naked killing intent flashed in his eyes. He sternly warned Mendit, "If you utter one more word of nonsense, I will kill you."
In any other situation, Mendit would have given up upon seeing Sedurnas's fury. In a real fight, the old man's strength was absolutely terrifying, and he would surely be at a disadvantage.
But now, he couldn't back down. He had discovered the Three-Tailed Beast first. If it weren't for his precise location of the Three-Tailed Beast, Sedurnas would have died trying to find it. Now, this person was trying to poach his catch and doing so so righteously. Didn't he know where he was? This was the sea, the domain of the God of Storms!
Mendit sneered. Beneath the surface of the sea where they stood, undercurrents began to surge, like poisonous snakes hidden beneath the waves, waiting for Mendit to make his move before this sea would turn upside down.
Just then, the Three-Tailed Beast spoke, "You mean to give me these fifty drops of divine power first, and then I go with you, and you'll give me the rest only when we reach your territory?"
Sedurnas repeatedly said, "No, no, no."
"That is not my territory, but your territory. As long as you join us, you will become a subordinate god under the Goddess, a deity revered by our faith. You can command us to do anything. tens of thousands of mages in our Magic Divine Hall will obey your commands."
"Oh, I don't know if what you say is true or false. I only look at the results in front of me. You clearly promised me fifteen hundred drops, and now there are only fifty. You have deceived me. You humans are too cunning. I can't outsmart you, I'd better find a place to sleep."
The Three-Tailed Beast, after saying this, prepared to leave. Both Sedurnas and Mendit became anxious. If it left now, who knew when it could be found again.
Sedurnas anxiously shouted, "We can make a contract. As long as you return with us, the remaining divine power will be compensated to you."
The Three-Tailed Beast paused to think. It first looked at Mendit. Seeing this, Mendit understood that the Three-Tailed Beast was making a final confirmation of his bargaining chip. But they truly had nothing. He could only shake his head in embarrassment and make a final, reluctant struggle, "We truly cannot produce that much divine power, but our environment and atmosphere are better. I believe Your Excellency should choose us."
A pale and powerless reason. He was out of options.
Within the spiritual space, Li Xi couldn't help but complain, "I don't choose anyone. I want to get away with free loot. Moreover, Sedurnas even mentioned a contract without increasing the divine power. These fifty drops should be the limit. We can't drag this out any longer."
However, the Three-Tailed Beast said with great regret, "In that case, I apologize. I choose the Magic Divine Hall."
Sedurnas couldn't contain his joy. Such a pure evil god, tricked with such simple words. It was too easy. As for the contract they signed, the God of Contracts bowed half a head to the Goddess of Magic and called her sister. Could such a contract be valid? It would be as he said, and he could just ask the God of Contracts to revoke it later.
"Your Excellency is wise to trust me. Our Magic Divine Hall is the most suitable for you."
"Since I've agreed, give me the divine power," the Three-Tailed Beast extended its tongue, gesturing for Sedurnas to place the divine power on it.
"No, let's sign the contract first. Once the contract is established, both you and I will be at ease."
"That's right."
After speaking, the Three-Tailed Beast lay on the sea surface like a well-behaved pet cat, awaiting Sedurnas's contract.
Mendit watched helplessly as Sedurnas was about to succeed, so enraged that he wanted to rush forward and strangle him. Then, looking at the large bottle in Sedurnas's hand, he maliciously cursed in his heart, "The Magic Divine Hall is so wealthy and loves to show off, why don't they get robbed?"
Just as Mendit was still cursing, he suddenly saw the large bottle in Sedurnas's hand, who was reciting the contract incantation, begin to twist and spin towards the central space. Before anyone noticed, the entire large bottle suddenly vanished.
Although Mendit cursed about the divine power being stolen, its sudden disappearance also caught him off guard. He thought he was seeing things and rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, the bottle filled with divine power was still gone. It had truly vanished!
Sedurnas, who was in the process of chanting the contract, also discovered that the divine power bottle in his hand had disappeared. He disbelievingly raised his hand, which was still loosely grasping, as if holding a large club. His palm was empty. Sedurnas instinctively clenched his fist. It was his hand, but the contents were truly gone. Fifty drops of divine power had vanished from his grasp.
Sedurnas seemed stunned, his eyes blankly searching in front of and behind him. He subconsciously believed the bottle had fallen, but he couldn't find where his divine power bottle had gone.
He couldn't accept the fact that the divine power had suddenly disappeared. His chest felt as if it were being crushed by a large stone. He opened his mouth several times, but no sound came out.
If any other item were lost, he wouldn't have cared much. But now, divine power was lost. Divine power! Fifty full drops. Fifty drops!
This amount was beyond his capacity to bear. He didn't even dare to tell the Pope, for fear that the Pope would faint from the news.
One moment he was excited about recruiting a future subordinate god for the divine hall, and the next moment he was told the divine power was lost. This extreme shift from euphoria to despair almost gave Sedurnas a heart attack.
His heart ached terribly!
The Three-Tailed Beast, with a serious expression, raised its paw and pointed at Sedurnas's hand, "The divine power is gone. Don't you want to recruit me anymore?"
"I..." Sedurnas wanted to curse.
"As expected, you humans are unreliable. Not a single word of truth. I'd better find a place to sleep."
"You are not allowed to leave! The divine power is lost, no one is allowed to leave," Sedurnas was frantic. There were only these people present, and anyone could be the thief who stole the divine power. If he truly lost these fifty drops of divine power, not only would he lose his position as a Cardinal, but he might even lose his life. At this moment, he no longer cared whether the Three-Tailed Beast was a recruit or not.
Before the Three-Tailed Beast could get angry, Mendit exploded first, "Sedurnas, don't push it too far. The thing disappeared right in front of your own hands. Who knows if you were playing some trick yourself? Are you going to interrogate me?"
Sedurnas said nothing, but the magic power in his body surged like a dormant volcano erupting. A giant magic array appeared beneath Sedurnas's feet. The moment the magic array appeared, it instantly expanded, encompassing all the people present and the Three-Tailed Beast.
Groans and screams erupted. The air grew heavy. The air, which was normally breathable, seemed to solidify like stone at this moment, requiring a hundred times more effort than usual to inhale into the lungs.
The seawater was directly pushed down by more than ten meters. Many fish beneath the water were directly crushed, and the seawater began to turn red.
Half of the bodies of the priests behind Mendit were pressed into the sea. The Three-Tailed Beast also sank slightly. It was clear that within the space encompassed by the magic array, gravity had increased by more than ten times.
Sedurnas's face was ashen, like a dead mother. Coupled with the erupting aura from his body, he was a terrifying ultimate realm expert. He gritted his teeth and spoke word by word, "Unless this matter is clarified today, no one is leaving."
Despite Mendit's formidable verbal prowess, his aura involuntarily diminished when Sedurnas was about to act. "This matter was not done by us. The teachings of the God of Storms do not condone theft. Furthermore, the signs just now indicated that the divine power was stolen by someone skilled in spatial manipulation. We do not possess spatial abilities."
Sedurnas naturally knew what methods Mendit possessed, so his words were primarily directed at the Three-Tailed Beast. He suspected the Three-Tailed Beast immediately upon the loss of divine power.
The Three-Tailed Beast still wore an innocent and clueless expression. In the environment of greatly increased gravity, the impact on it was not significant. It directly stated, "I don't know any space magic either. I didn't steal the thing. If you suspect me again, I'll fight you to the death."
The Three-Tailed Beast's three tails swung casually. In the air with its gravity increased by more than ten times, sonic booms erupted. Each time it struck the seawater, the water exploded like it had been hit by depth charges.
Sedurnas released his mental power. He didn't sense any external presence. He didn't believe that with his strength as a Grand Magus, someone could hide so perfectly as to be completely undiscovered. Therefore, the thief must be the evil god before him. He had initially thought it was simple, cute, and easily deceived, but now, seeing it, it was covered in sharp spikes, with fangs in its mouth—an ugly, standard evil god's face.
Sedurnas remained silent but began to brew his signature magic. He also used his mental power to notify the airship in the sky. Magical tides began to fluctuate on the airship as well, and all the magic was aimed at the Three-Tailed Beast. At this moment, the Three-Tailed Beast felt a sense of extreme danger, as if its back were covered in thorns. Sedurnas intended to defeat the Three-Tailed Beast in one fell swoop.
Just as the atmosphere before the great battle reached its peak, and the next second was about to be earth-shattering, suddenly, spatial fluctuations occurred around the Three-Tailed Beast. Its colossal body, centered around a single point on itself, began to rotate and be sucked in.
"No, save me quickly."
Before being completely sucked in, the Three-Tailed Beast's originally innocent eyes showed fear, terror, and a desperate plea for help.
Unfortunately, the speed was too great. The Three-Tailed Beast's mountain-like form could not even resist. In the blink of an eye, it was sucked away and vanished from the world.
Mendit and the priests behind him now clearly saw the entire process. The caster of this spell could not have been the Three-Tailed Beast, because the energy fluctuations did not originate from the Three-Tailed Beast. Therefore, the thief of the divine power was someone else entirely.
What Mendit could understand, Sedurnas naturally also realized. So he hadn't lied. It truly wasn't him who did it. And someone actually dared to act under his nose, daring to make a move against a Cardinal of the Magic Divine Hall. They were tired of living! With an enraged roar, he shouted, "Despicable and shameless scoundrel, get out here!"
In the distance, space rippled. A head wearing a cat mask emerged from the space. On the entire mask, only the right eye was visible, and within the eye was an inauspicious and eerie six-petaled pattern.
"Heh heh, the Magic Divine Hall is nothing special."
"Boom"
As soon as the words fell, a beam of energy shot out from the airship, directly at the head that had emerged from the space.