ã€ŠThe New Zeitgeistã€‹


 Chapter 1: Reawakening

    I opened my eyelids with force. It was as if something was weighing down my eyes as it took all my strength to finally be awake. I tried to move my body but found four of my limbs chained onto a wall behind me; propping me into a crucified position. I was trapped. I struggled for a few seconds in vain as the walls did not budge an inch. What sort of chains is able to hold a god like me? As I was lingering with that thought...I also discovered that my divinity is gone.

    ¡°God of the Clouds and Weather, Awana! This one¡¯s name is Neityr and I am extremely honored to be under your holy presence.¡±

    I was surprised to find that someone was standing right in front of me. I was too preoccupied with me being trapped to notice another presence in the room. A very dangerous mistake. It¡¯s a human woman...no, judging by her ears, she¡¯s an elf.

    ¡°Did...you..do this?¡± I asked with a weak voice laced with a tinge of anger.

    ¡°O-of course not! god Awana! This one would never dare to nor do I have the capability to do so!¡± The elven woman named Neityr prostrated herself in front of me. A familiar sight in the past. However¡­

    ¡°And I should trust you why?¡±

    She raised her head to answer me ¡°B-because our White Leaf Tribe worship you! We¡¯ve been your loyal followers for millenniums! Please trust me, almighty god Awana! ¡± She answered with passion.

    Those eyes...did not hide a lie. I have lived long enough to tell the difference. And the elven tribe she mentioned did follow me before.

    ¡°Rise. It is certainly a good thing that you are not an enemy..however, you should also stop calling me that, judging by my current circumstance.¡± I replied in a haughty voice fit for a god despite my current predicament.

    Neityr tilted her head in confusion. ¡°god Awana? Does your holiness have a new name?¡±

    ¡°No...You can drop the title before my name,¡± I replied with a bitter voice.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡° ¡®god¡¯!? This one is not worthy enough to do that! Thou is a god!¡± Neityr prostrated herself even deeper on the ground.

    ¡°Hmph. I have sensed it deep within me. I have lost almost all of my divinity. Although I still have a sliver of my powers... I am no longer a full god. I am closer to a mortal like you right now. Look, I can¡¯t even break these chains.¡±

    I pulled on my chains again in vain.

    ¡°Before you reply any further, do you know of a method to break these chains?¡± I asked her as she was about to open her mouth.

    Neityr stared at me for a few seconds to process the shocking information I just gave her before jolting herself upwards as she realized I asked her a question.

    ¡°Ah! Yes! That is why I am here.¡±

    Neityr pulled out a glowing golden sword from her scabbard. The Sword had a guard made of feathers and a grip of pure white.

    I raised my eyebrows as I sensed it was no ordinary sword.

    ¡°Where did you get that?¡± I asked.

    However, she was already starting to lift the sword and aiming it towards the chains binding me.

    ¡°No time to explain, my holiness! I don¡¯t have much time after the sword is out of the scabbard!¡±

    I understood right away what she meant as I felt the mysterious power inside the sword leaving it at a rapid pace as if the sword was barely able to maintain it. She maneuvered the sword skillfully as all four chains were sliced through with ease. I fell to the ground sheepishly as I felt extremely weak.

    ¡°god Awana!¡± Neityr shouted as she ran to my fallen figure.

    I raised my body to a crouched position and motioned my hand to stop her from approaching. I looked at her with a fiery glare.

    ¡°How long have I been gone?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± She seemed surprised by the sudden question.

    I did not take my time to repeat what I say. It took another second before Neityr could process what I asked.

    ¡°Ah! Yes! Your holiness have not roamed the planet for 5.500 years¡±

    ¡°And who is the current god controlling the skies above?¡± I returned another question.

    ¡°That would be¡­¡±

    Before she could answer, I suddenly lost consciousness. Before I fell, I could hear Neityr screaming something as she rushed towards my falling body.

 Chapter 2: The Saviors

    ¡°You mean to tell me...Hevize¡­.The god of Fire...Has taken my position?¡±

    I was sitting on a shabby bed inside a hut with my fist shaking in anger. Neityr was standing in front of me with an elderly elf. They both looked nervous.

    It was the elderly elven man who answered my question.

    ¡°Y-yes...Hevize is now referred to as the god of Fire and Skies...He is also now able to use god Awana¡¯s power to control the weather...which has been¡­.¡±

    The elderly elf cast his head down with deep sadness.

    Neityr continued.

    ¡°Our White Leaf tribe was not just a simple village tribe when you ruled the skies above. We were more akin to a big city if we compare it to human kingdoms. After he replaced your holiness...he tried to get us to worship him instead. And some of us did. More than half of our population defected. The rest of us who were still loyal to your holiness was cast away from our ancestral grounds into this very faraway land.¡±

    The elderly elf also chimed in with a pained face.

    ¡°Hevize was now able to control the weather. In this new land, he did not grant us basic necessities like rainfall, causing an extreme lack of plants and animals for us to consume. Over the next century, he has tried multiple times to drive us to extinction from causing an endless rainfall that flooded our village to sending his fire golems to attack us. After millenniums...while he has probably forgotten about us and does not attack us anymore, an extreme majority of our population has decreased. We are only around five hundred strong currently.¡±

    After hearing their story, a furious rage overcame my insides. Hevize...he has always envied my power and status. I was revered. He was powerful but only the demons worship him¡ªthey were only minorities at the time.

    ¡°And you also mean to tell me he did not act alone? Other gods also conspired to strip away other gods¡¯ powers?¡±

    There was a reason why I kept asking these questions. I could not remember anything. My last memory was when I was still ruling the skies. It was as if someone manually deleted the parts of my memories pertaining to the purge of the gods. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    It was Neityr who answered.

    ¡°Yes. gods like Lein, Yavue, Brauk, and Hevize conspired to seal away or even kill other gods. In total, there are currently only ten gods ruling this planet.¡±

    Preposterous. Ten? There was a reason why there was so many of us. Many things in the world required many gods to rule over them efficiently. Even then, we also assign Demigods to help us rule different regions. Some gods even marry one another and have their children be their god underlings. Wait. Demigods? What about mine?

    ¡°What about my subordinates, the Demigods...do you know where they are?¡±

    The elderly elven man frowned.

    ¡°I am extremely sorry to say this, god Awana, but the purge of the gods did not spare the Demigods...they killed all of them. Only the gods were spared and sealed away like you.¡±

    This new information caused me even more rage than before. The Demigods I worked so hard to nurture...all gone because of them.

    ¡°And no other gods like me has awoken yet...HOW exactly did you manage to set me free?¡± I asked them again.

    Both of them smiled. Neityr was the one who answered.

    ¡°It was your sword, god Awana.¡±

    ¡°My sword?¡± I was now extremely confused.

    ¡°Yes. When your holiness¡¯ knew Hevize and other gods were about to attack your holiness, your holiness left us one of your holiness¡¯ swords, the Icarus.¡±

    She took the sword from the scabbard and presented it to me. I took the sword from her hand slowly and examined it. Indeed it was one of mine. The sword¡¯s grip was white and the guard was made of beautiful white feathers.

    ¡°When the sword left a god¡¯s hand, it turns mortal. Your holiness told us to channel mana into it until it glows gold before it is able to revive you. However...you also warned us that after the sword is activated, we only have a couple of hours before it is reduced into its original state. It took us 5.500 years to finally have enough mana in the sword to activate it. When activated, the sword is capable of both opening your holiness¡¯ tomb and break away the chains.¡± Neityr explained.

    ¡°A couple of hours? Was the place they sealed me away in that close from here?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, your holiness. It was very fortunate of us but Hevize decided to seal you near our new land here. He said it was both an act of mercy and also as a reminder to never go against him. In retrospect, his arrogance was the reason we are able to release your holiness.¡±

    I chuckled as a response. Hevize was an arrogant god who likes to do things like that. His stupidity has finally caught up to him this time.

    ¡°I see. I thank both of you for enlightening me up to the current situation. I will ask more questions later but first, I would like to see what your settlement looks like. I also want to personally thank all of your citizens.¡±

    Neityr and the elderly elf¡¯s face lit up in great happiness. They motioned me to follow them and we all left the hut.

 Chapter 3: White Leaf Tribe

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

    I already had low expectations when I heard the stories of this land not being blessed by Hevize who was controlling the weather but I did not expect the situation to be this horrible.

    ¡°We are extremely sorry for showing your holiness this sight,¡± The elderly elven man said to me with a face full of anguish.

    The land was dry. Extremely dry. The trees were of only dead branches and the only animals around were insects who could survive extreme situations.

    But it was the conditions of the settlement that startled me. Children were lying without spirit on the streets when they should be playing around at their age. Even the adults were left cooking food with what little resources this land could give. There were not many other activities they could do other than repeating a monotonous everyday life in these desolate lands.  I already had some clues before about their poverty as the clothing that Neityr and the elder wore were beyond shabby but this truly exceeded all of my expectations. The huts were also constructed out of dirt and dead branches that were very low in quality. A gust of wind could knock down these houses.

    ¡°How did your tribe survive here for over five thousand years?¡±

    The elderly elven man replied again. ¡°Technically we did not. Your holiness has to remember that we started with more than ten thousand but our population has decreased by over ninety-five percent since then. We only survived this long due to the longevity of our elven species and the magic of some of our mages who could use water magic to grow crops in extreme conditions. But now, our children have malnutrition as the food we eat is always homogenous and lacking in variety. We also have a severe lack of talent to drive the tribe forward. We don¡¯t even have a system of governance currently.¡±

    I looked at the elderly elven man. His wrinkly face was pained. His long gray hair was unkempt and dirty. I had never seen an elf looking so old and brittle.

    ¡°Elder. What is your name? Forgive me, I was too preoccupied before.¡± I tried changing the subject.

    ¡°You need not apologize, god Awana. My name is Havies. I am the grandfather of Neityr here. I am also currently the unofficial leader of this tribe.¡±

    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you. And also, I want to ask, does everyone here still worship me?¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Of course! We have never stopped worshipping your holiness. That was why we kept channeling mana into the sword for thousands of years in hopes of freeing you.¡±

    That was what I was hoping to hear. I knew that my divinity was gone for now. Most of it. One cannot truly erase all of the divinity within a god. You can decrease a god¡¯s divinity and power by reducing the number of followers they have. In this case, banishing them to a faraway land where they cannot thrive is quite efficient. I guess you could still call me a god but the small number of followers I have currently would just bring me to the point of a very strong mortal rather than an actual god.

    But having some followers around is good news. Even if the number was low.

    ¡°And do you know if any group outside of this tribe still worship me?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps? I truly am clueless as we have no contact with the outside world for thousands of years. Your holiness¡¯ name was of course known all over the world but I worry that they were either converted to the current gods, cast away like us, or just killed.¡±

    I also felt that was the case. I could sense that there were more followers out there than the five hundred in this tribe but the number was low. Around five thousand at most. And even then, I could not sense their location.

    I am currently outnumbered and out divined. My head was filled with a thirst for vengeance but even back in my glory days, I could never hope to fight ten gods. This is also considering the fact that these ten gods have gained the powers and followers of the fallen gods.

    What was worse is the fact that the moment they knew I have woken up, they will send their forces to look for me and perhaps even kill me this time before I could even grow any stronger. This situation is not looking incredibly in my favor.

    ¡°Elder Havies.¡± I called out with a stern voice.

    ¡°Y-yes your holiness?¡± He went nervous as he could tell the difference in tone.

    ¡°I am afraid that we cannot stay relax any longer.¡±

    ¡°W-why is that, your holiness?¡±

    ¡°The gods may have become aware I have awoken. We must leave this land as soon as possible.¡±

    Neityr, who had been silence for a while, chimed in with a panicked tone.

    ¡°But your holiness! The people are still weak, they cannot travel long distances! And where could we move to? All of the lands have been taken under the rule of the ten gods.¡±

    ¡°I will take care of that. Please, just believe me. Just let the tribesmen and women know to pack all of their belongings and meet me at a clearing. Now.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡± Elder Havies nodded as he sensed my urgency. He walked away and started shouting everyone what I ordered.

    Neityr was left fidgeting as she was unsure if she should leave with her grandfather or stay with her god.

    ¡°Neityr.¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, your holiness?¡±

    ¡°Do you have any good idea for a new name?¡±

 Chapter 4: Departure

    All five hundred and ten elves of the White Leaf tribe gathered in a nearby clearing. Well, I said nearby but almost everywhere was a clearing as the land was truly desolate. They all packed their belongings and were left standing in lines unsure of what was about to happen next. The children were crying as they had to leave behind their houses. The adults¡¯ faces were terrified as the elder did not let them know what danger awaits, only that there was one.

    Elder Havies was standing firm in front of the panicking masses. His face was nervous but showed a tinge of strength as he knew he needs to stay calm and collected.

    ¡°Everyone! Please stay quiet!¡± He shouted.

    Not everyone listened, especially the children. They were too scared to do so.

    ¡° Everyone!¡± Elder Havies tried again to no avail. His voice was just too weak.

    The people were even too busy panicking to notice me, a stranger, standing next to the elder.

    This is my time to show dominance but also give them a sense of new hope. I tried channeling the little divinity I had to my hand. I could feel the sensation of golden mana traveling through my veins. I raised my hands to the sky. A black cloud was formed out of nothing. The black cloud¡¯s insides were charging up positive energy as it gradually generated electricity. It was building it up slowly and slowly until finally a roaring thunderstrike left the cloud and traveled into my hands. The incredible sound and spectacle silenced the crowd and the sky turned dark. The wind was blowing furiously.

    Everyone gazed at the black cloud before staring at where the thunder hit the ground. They all witnessed my golden-shining hand and my glowing eyes. My long white hair also flowed with the wind. It was a sight out of a painting. A moment of realization struck them. Every single tribesmen and women dropped down and started worshipping me.

    ¡°God Awana!¡±

    ¡°It is a miracle! God Awana is back!¡±

    ¡°The day has finally come! We are saved!¡±

    The tribespeople was euphoric. This was a moment they have been waiting for literally thousands of years. Generations of their ancestors died for this moment. This moment was the bedtime story parents would tell their children. A legend told in each household. Their god has received his second coming.

    ¡°People of the White Leaf tribe. I have returned thanks to all of your efforts.¡± I increased the volume of my voice with my magic as my voice echoed.

    Everyone cheered and some cried their hearts out.

    ¡°However¡­¡±

    As my voice trailed off, everyone went silent to anticipate what I was going to say next.

    ¡°We are not safe yet. As you know, the ten gods are still the rulers of this planet. The moment they found out I am free, they will send all of their forces here to kill not only me but all of you. I am also not strong enough to deal with them, let alone the demigods they may send. That is why we must move.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°But your holiness! Where!? We have nowhere to go! My children are too weak to travel¡± The one who raised her voice was a mother with two children.

    ¡°Do not worry. Physically traveling will not be necessary. But before that¡­¡±

    I paused for a short moment before continuing.

    ¡°You should no longer refer to me as Awana. This name is now dead. Not only that, your tribe is no longer White Leaf tribe. For now, we are no longer our former selves. This is not only for our safety but also as a way to usher us into a new era." I articulated with regality.

    ¡°My name is now Tiven. A name that in your elvish tongue mean ¡®Sky Angel¡¯. Do not ask me why I chose this name. In fact, it was Neityr here who gave me this name.¡± I looked to my side where she was but Neityr averted her entire head due to embarrassment. The crowd also looked at her with reverence and even envy as she received the incredible honor of naming a god.

    ¡°Of course, you may still refer to my true name if you wish. But remember, if we deal with outsiders, I may only be referred to as Tiven. As for the new name of your tribe, we shall decide at a later date. Now¡­¡±

    I turned my back from where the elven tribe was towards the large and empty desolate land. I raised both of my hands and channeled my powers. Cloud creation. And tis¡¯ no ordinary clouds. This was the type I used as the home of my magnificent palace in the sky when I was still a complete god. This cloud was completely solid and sturdy yet could float and fly up in the skies. I have built an entire palace on top of it but this was surely going to be a first time I will try to house a settlement on top of it.

    I mixed the clouds with soil on the top layer to allow not only the growth of plants and animals but also to act as foundations for buildings. My current powers only allow me to fit perhaps three of the size of the palace I used to own. But it was currently just enough to house five hundred people. As my power grows in the future, I could definitely expand to fill even an entire kingdom.

    I could not look behind me but I hear people shouting something in awe and wonder. Some even started to chant their happiness towards me. The whole process took almost one hour. The entire cloud also became so thick and tall that I had to create a staircase to allow the people to enter the cloud.

    ¡°Your new home is now finished. Please board the cloud.¡± I told the citizens.

    ¡°Everyone! Please form a line! The children and the weak go first!¡± Elder Havies shouted towards everyone.

    The people followed our orders and formed a line. The children who I saw was too weak to even play around before started running with furious speed as they were too excited for what they would see up there. The weak and elders were slower as they had to be assisted by the younger people.

    ¡°Neityr, do you know where¡¯s the nearest place we can get supplies? I am referring to plant seeds, equipment, building materials, and also cattle we can bring up there.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm¡­.Let me ask my grandfather.¡± She poked her Elder Havies¡¯ shoulder who was still helping the people get up the stairs. ¡°Grandpa, Where is the nearest place we can get supplies?¡±

    Elder Havies stroke his beard. ¡°Ah. Our current location is the very south of the continent where everything is hot and dry. But if we go a little north towards the equator, we can reach the tropics. We can extract natural resources from the jungles we will encounter along the way. There are also some small kingdoms over there. But...if we reach civilization, there is also the risk of encountering a god.¡±

    ¡°I see. Do not worry. I have cast a protecting barrier over the cloud to not only protect us from the environment but also the gods. They will only see this cloud as just a simple cloud from the outside. And even then, gods are not omniscient beings who are aware of everything. They¡¯re much stupider than you think¡ªespecially if they are arrogant.¡±  I replied.

    ¡°Oh! I think everyone has boarded the cloud, your holiness.¡± Neityr interjected.

    ¡°Then it is time for us to depart,¡± I replied smiling.

 Chapter 5: Cloud Settlement

    The tribespeople has set up camp throughout the perimeter of the cloud. The uppermost layer o that we are currently standing in is filled with the soil from the ground below so, at a glance, one would assume that this is just the ground and not someplace high. I have also moisturized the soil with cloud vapor to return the desolate dirt its original texture from the previous dried state.

    We are now currently flying northward towards the location that Elder Havies was telling me. Where we are truly going is foreign to both tribe and me. I myself had been trapped for thousands of years and the tribe has not received physical contact with the outside world for almost the same amount time that I was gone. Five thousand years is a very long time. Kingdoms could fall and another takes its place. Entire empires could rise. Or perhaps a catastrophic incident wiped civilization from the region. We truly don''t know. What we do know is that geographically, the equator is located at the center of the planet''s axis which caused the region to be humid and hot. Back then, the tropics housed odd and eccentric kingdoms.

    Creating a cloud this size that is able to be inhabited have put some drain into my power. This meant the cloud is currently flying at a very slow velocity¡ªslower than one would perceive a normal cloud floating in the air. It will take quite a while for us to get to the equator. so I have also informed Elder Havies to have some tribespeople stand on the edge of the cloud to scout the area below to find anything or anywhere where we can extract resources from.

    ¡°God Awana. Your tent is ready.¡± I hear Neityr calling me from behind.

    ¡°Ah yes. Thank you. I shall be there soon. Also, just as a practice for when we encounter outsiders, call me Tiven.¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, God A- Tiven.¡±

    ¡°Without the title.¡±

    ¡°Yes...G-...Tiven.¡± It seems she really struggled with saying that.

    ¡°Good.¡± I smiled as I walked away towards my tent. It seems to be situated right at the very center of the new settlement. In fact, they seem to have used their best and biggest tent for me. Well, it is truly fitting for a god like me after all.

    The tent was triangular in shape and seem to be constructed from actual fabric rather than just dirt and twigs. It seems this is a tent that survived from five thousand years ago when the White Leaf tribe was still a bustling elven metropolis. I entered the tent to find the bed to be as shabby every other tent but I did not mind that much as we will surely get better ones in the future. The most unique part of my tent is perhaps a long mirror situated right beside the bed. Another relic from the past. I looked at the mirror to see my entire figure.

    ¡°My appearance has not changed much.¡±

    My current appearance was of a tall, devilishly handsome man wearing white fabric with an equally long white hair. My chin was chiseled and my pupil purple. The few mortals who witnessed this form in the past depicted me gallantly in their paintings and songs.

    ¡°But if my appearance stays the same¡­¡±

    I would risk someone recognizing me. I have to disguise myself. I started to will mana into my entire body.

    I turned my hair shorter and into the color black. My eyes turned blue and my face less handsome than before. My height also decreased into what¡¯s considered average in this world. The gods surely will not recognize me this way.

    ¡°Perfect. I am now Tiven.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me, G- Tiven. Is everything to your liking?¡±

    Neityr opened the entrance of the tent. Suffice to say, even when quite malnourished, Neityr was an attractive elf with long flowing blonde hair. It was not only a stereotype that elves are attractive. They were made that way for some reason.

    ¡°W-what!? Who are you?¡± She was shocked to see another person staring back at her.

    I just smiled as a response. ¡°The disguise is working well then. Let Elder Havies know to bring all the talented and smart people together for a meeting. I want to see what we have in terms of manpower.¡±

    --The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°This is all we have?¡± I expected the number of talented individuals to be low in number but not this low. Out of five hundred people, these are the only ones?

    Twenty-five people. Aside from Neityr and Havies, twenty-five elves were standing right in front of me. Twenty-five. That¡¯s only five percent of the entire population. No wonder they were struggling.

    ¡°Yes...These twenty-five people are the only ones I would consider talented. The rest of the tribespeople are adequate in simple work like farming and manufacturing but these people in front of you are the only people that have the potential for great things. Of course, you already know my granddaughter Neityr here. She is also perhaps one of the most talented in terms of combat and exploration, that was why she was the one sent to free you, Tiven.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± This was worse than I thought. ¡°What are their skills?¡±

    ¡°Neityr.¡± Elder Havies looked at his granddaughter.

    ¡°Right. Here¡¯s a list of their skills. I¡¯ll try not to bore your holiness with their names, for now, to move things along quicker.¡±

    She gazed at a makeshift paper made out of dead tree bark in her hands.

    ¡°Wait.¡± I interrupted her.

    ¡°Yes, Tiven?¡± She has gotten more used with my new name.

    ¡°Those are writings, correct? Is everyone in the tribe literate?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Even though our general education is incredibly lacking, everyone is taught how to read and write. This was due to a decree one of our ancestors made to not let our written language become extinct.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic. Alright. You can read it now.¡±

    She looked at the paper again. Neityr called out their roles while pointing at them individually. ¡°I understand. Then the list goes as follows. We have four mages, five archers, five warriors, one botanist, one blacksmith, two craftsmen, three farmers, and four scholars.¡±

    No hunters. I guess they have been strictly vegetarian for thousands of years.

    ¡°Wait. You three.¡± I pointed at the farmers.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°U-uh¡­¡±

    ¡°What is it, your holiness?¡±

    The three replied at the same time. Startled.

    ¡°Did you bring any crops and seeds? What did you grow?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We did. We grew fruits that we were able to grow in the dry soil thanks to the help of the mages who used water magic on the crops.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I stroke my chin. ¡°These twenty-five people are truly all we have?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Elder Havies replied. ¡° You asked for the talented ones. These people are those. The rest of the population are more like grunts who can perhaps do some of their tasks if they are ordered but they have not grasped it completely yet.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± I was the God of Clouds and Weather. I was NOT the God of Management or something like that. I have to use my instinct and logic here.

    ¡°And the four scholars. Can you tell me each of their specialties?¡± I am quite surprised they still have some educated people in the mix. I suspect it was also due to the decree their ancestors made to not let some knowledge be lost. The knowledge was probably passed down to their own family line.

    It was Neityr who answered again.

    ¡°We have one historian, one mathematician, one linguist, and one philosopher.¡±

    Philosopher? I am not sure how that would be useful for now but I¡¯ll take it.

    I took a deep breath and faced everyone valiantly.

    ¡°Alright. Here¡¯s what we are going to do.

    "Everyone will work and learn. This includes the children and elders. This means that even if someone received a job, they will also have to get an education as well.

    "I¡¯ll start with the children. The children will gain both primary education and extracurricular education. The primary education includes the subjects that the scholars here are knowledgable on. They will receive primary education for around, say, four hours of primary education. One hour with each lecturer. And then after primary education, they are allowed to choose what they would like to be specialized in. This includes farming, magic training, fighting, crafting, and so on. This will ensure the mental and physical development of the child.

    For the adults, they will also receive an education but perhaps they will only get two lectures per day instead of the maximum of four lectures. They will spend most of their time working. The experts here should conduct examinations and selections for each individual to gauge their specialty. For example, someone with a knack for fighting would be trained under the warriors while people who have more mana will undergo magic training. The rest may be farmers and craftsmen.

    The elders will solely work and won¡¯t have to receive an education. They shall work jobs that would require the least amount of physical labor. Farming and crafting should be alright for them if they do it moderately.

    I want all of these to be implemented. Do you all understand?¡±  I finished my explanation.

    Everyone stared at me blankly. Perhaps it was the first time in a very long time that they have received some sort of clear goal that they are ordered to strive for instead of just the monotonous daily lives they were used to.

    Elder Havies woke up from his daydream first.

    ¡°Y-yes, your holiness! Truly a wonderful plan! I am in awe! We shall do what you say. I am truly excited to see what comes out of this.¡±

    I smiled brightly from his praise. A god is prideful after all.

 Chapter 6: Jungle Fortress

    I clashed my sword with Neityr. Her movements are fast and calculated. For a mortal''s standard, her swordsmanship is excellent.

    "Who the hell did you train with? I don''t see any real danger here or anyone strong to teach you in the tribe." I quipped in the middle of battle.

    She did not reply. Her face was sharp and eyebrows curled up. I''m not even sure if she heard me.

    "Hey. Answer me."

    I''ve had enough. I maneuvered my sword''s grip under her leg as she slashed her sword diagonally to trip her. Her form was broken through as she stayed in the air for a second before tumbling to the ground with force.

    "G-Tiven...Why did...your holiness...go easy on me?" She asked while breathing air in and out.

    "Hmm? What do you mean?" I titled my head.

    Neityr got up from the ground and brushed off the dirt on her clothing.

    "I mean...your holiness'' strength is...low? Forgive me. The swordsmanship itself is incredible. One of the best I''ve seen. But you don''t seem to be putting much power into it?"

    I chuckled. Now that was bad news.

    "You know, most of my power is drained away each second just keeping this settlement afloat. My current strength level right now with the handicap is...not good. " I answered while smiling bitterly.

    Neityr opened her eyes wide.

    "T-then why did your holiness rescue us if  it was going to put your holiness in danger like this?"

    I frowned my face from her question. Something about it disturbed me. "I told you. I need supporters. You, people, are the precious assets that will help lead me to other assets." I answered distastefully.

    "A-ah. I see. Assets..." She had a blank look to her face as if she was pondering something.

    "I mean no offense. That is just how gods are. Here. Sit down. I''ll let you know something." I pointed at an empty space and two chairs made out of dense cloud was created. We both sat down opposite one another.

    "Gods are selfish. Incredibly. We will never help mortals just because. There are some gods with a facade of nobleness and goodness but they all just want to gain more supporters or maintain their current ones. Now, some gods may also rule through fear and intimidation such as the case with Hevize. But he may also help some kingdoms truly prosper but for the purpose of his own gain. " I explained.

    Neityr''s face turned sad. "Then your holiness'' return..."

    "Yes. I don''t remember of course, but I probably planned to give your tribe my sword Icarus because I was desperate and had no other options. It was not because I wanted to save your tribe. Even now, I WILL help you people prosper. But it is for my own gain and thirst for revenge."  I replied.

    Neityr stood in silence and could not reply. We sat in silence for a full minute. I could not stand it anymore so I had to say something. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    "But I don''t know. What I just told you was the truth but I''m also not entirely being honest with myself."

    Neityr looked up at me. I continued.

    "You see, having more divinity and more power actually drives a god mad, arrogant, and prideful. Some ''benevolent'' gods are extremely good at hiding this but gods like Hevize just embraced it entirely. The former group that hides it very well includes me. The more I gain power, the more my godhood will take over me. It is not a matter of personality or corruption, it''s just a trait that a god has innately."

    I exhaled a long sigh.

    "I am currently at the lowest power of my entire lifetime. The majority of my power right now is already used to keep the cloud afloat so my actual power at this moment is even lower than my maximum. This also means that I am currently able to be honest talking to you right now. It''s why I was able to stay humble and smile towards your beautiful people. Being almost mortal has...made me empathized with you mortals. It has unlocked my inner humanity I did not know a god could even have."

    Neityr stared at me before starting to open her mouth.

    "But that would mean...when your holiness'' gain power, your holiness will look at us differently?"

    I looked at her with a bittersweet feeling.

    "Frankly, yes. But...while the thirst for revenge still grows strong within me, the new me right now am not sure if I want that change to happen."

    Before Neityr could open her mouth, an elven messenger approached us.

    "Forgive me! But We found something!"

    <hr>

    "A settlement...no, a fortress?" I muttered as I looked below the clouds. There was a wooden fortress in the middle of the jungle. It was quite big in size judging by the fact that we are able to view it from the sky above.

    "It seems so, your holiness. Shall we ignore them and move on or engage?" Elder Havies who was standing beside me replied.

    "This is our first meeting with the inhabitants of the outside world after five thousand years. I want to meet them. But we don''t know if they are hostile, so we will approach carefully. I shall go down."

    "W-wait, your holiness! You don''t have to trouble yourself like that. We can send one of our people."

    "No. I don''t want to risk killing anyone or even worst, have them be captured. If they are not hostile, I want to interact with them directly. If they are hostile, I also need to hone some of my skills. I am quite rusty." I replied with confidence. I started to create a small cloud in front of me that I can ride to the ground.

    "W-wait!" Elder Havies stopped me as I was about to embark. "At least bring some of us. We want to ensure nothing troublesome happen to your holiness. Not that we don''t think you can handle it yourself, but it is to make sure that you don''t have to do anything unnecessary."

    I stroke my chin to think.

    "Fine. Bring me Neityr and two more individuals. One archer and one mage."

    <hr>

    I looked at my party of four including me. Tis'' a battle party but if the people in the fortress themselves are not hostile, then we won''t have to do any battle.

    In the event of a battle, I myself shall be the second line of defense with my trusty Icarus. Neityr will act as the main attacking force right at the very front. As for the other two...

    "My name is Alisia and I am a mage. I can mostly use water spells and healing spells. I hope I can serve god Awana well" An elven woman wearing a shabby green robe bowed down to me. She will be standing at the back supporting us.

    "I''m Rob. Am an archer. Nice ta meet cha'' " An elven man wearing a red bandana over his forehead introduced himself crudely while flashing a shit-eating grin. He will be at the sides shooting arrows to distract the enemies and hopefully pick them off one by one...though I am not sure if this guy can do that.

    "Rob! You are talking to a god!" Neityr shouted in anger.

    "Oh relax Neit. He don''t seem ta mind it right?" Rob glanced at my direction.

    "I''m sorry. He''s my childhood friend. He''s always been like this. Forgive him, your holiness." Neityr bowed down at my direction.

    "I don''t mind...not now at least." I would have already cast thunderstrike on him if I still had my godhood pride. "Enough time dilly-dallying. Let''s head towards the fortress. Keep an eye out." I ordered. Everyone nodded and started to walk together.

    In order to not arouse suspicion and detection, we dropped down to the ground quite a distance away from the fortress. This is also because they might have some scouts who would be able to detect us if we dropped down too close.

    "It should take us thirty minutes walking from here," Neityr said while we were walking together.

    "Alright."

    Thus, our first encounter with civilization after five thousand years will soon begin.

 Chapter 7: First Encounter

    Our party of our navigated our way through the thick jungle. The tropical jungle was humid. While the trees were tall and dense enough to block out most of the sun above, it was the steamy sensation that was truly getting into the party''s head.

    "How much further?" Rob asked.

    "Not much longer. It has only been thirty minutes. Perhaps another fifteen." Neityr replied.

    I was right at the very front of the group just keeping my focus. Aside from the people in the fortress, one should be cautioned about other dangers that may await us.

    Rob who was behind approached my position.

    "Hey. What''s it like being a god?" Rob asked rather casually.

    My power was low so my godhood pride was also equally low but I still have my problems with not being respected properly to my position.

    "You should return to the back and keep an eye out for us," I replied patiently.

    "Rob! Do what the holiness say!" Neityr scolded.

    Rob just smiled and said something again.

    "I don''t think we''ve introduced ourselves formally. M''name''s Robiard. People like to call me Rob. You may be thinking ''why the hell did they choose this guy to go with me'' but I can assure you I''m the best archer in the entire tribe."

    "I understand. Please just return to your position." I looked at him and frowned.

    "Geez. You''re not fun." He finally gave up.

    "Everyone stop!" Alisia, our mage, suddenly said.

    I turned around at her.

    "What is it?"

    "I heard something."

    "It was probably no¡ª" Rob was about to speak before I silenced him by bringing my index finger into my lips.

    I willed magic into my ears to hear better. I started to hear the various sounds of the forest from the small insects to the wind rustling the leaf. It was then I noticed something strange. A whisper. A murmur. I could not yet tell where it''s coming from.

    I motioned the group to form a circle around me as we formed a battle position that left no openings to our formation.

    "You there. Come out!" I spoke as if I already discovered the person so they would be convinced that they have been found out.

    And then I heard it. The shouting of someone speaking an unknown language. After a few seconds, they finally revealed themselves. Five of them. Their figure was not what we expected. It''s not a human nor an elf. It was humanoid, yet possessing entirely different features than what we are used to. I recognized what they are, looking practically the same way they did five thousand years ago.

    Gnolls. A species of a humanoid race standing on their two feet like us but with the body of a beast and the head of a canine-like creature. The face resembled a feral dog with gray fur and sharp teeth.The gnoll party consisted of five swordsmen.

    One of the gnolls shouted something at us in an unknown language.

    "We can''t understand you, you ugly asses!" Rob shouted back at them.

    Another Gnoll raised his sword and shouted something else as well.

    "Shit. We can''t communicate. We don''t know if they want to attack us." I muttered.

    And then it happened. The five gnolls raised their weapon and readied themselves to attack.

    "They have a disadvantage in range. Alisia, cast spells that keep them busy. Rob, hit the parts of their body that help them move to disable them while I and Neityr will deal the finishing blow." I also pulled Icarus from my scabbard. It was going to be the first time I truly test out my pure combat skills against a hostile enemy without any help from my power.

    I was the one to pull the first move. I charged forward but I ran to the side. Two gnolls eyed me and also charged forward to my position. The other three gnolls have not moved yet as they eyed the rest of the party. This split both parties into two.

    "I will deal with these two gnolls. You three deal with the other three first. After I am done, I shall strike them from behind." I shouted to my group.

    "Got it!" Rob was the one who replied back.

    I focused my attention on the two gnolls in front of me. They both showed their teeth at me as if to intimidate me. One of the gnolls then started to shout something I did not understand.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    I then rushed forward and engaged with the gnoll on the left. I stabbed my sword forward with force but the gnoll was more skillful than I thought as he parried it to the side before replying with a diagonal slash aiming for my neck. I saw this coming so I ducked down to the ground. From a crouched position I kicked the leg of the gnoll as he floated on the earth for a second before tumbling down to the ground.

    As the left gnoll was down, I turned my head towards the second gnoll who was already mid-charge with its sword above its head. It tried to slash vertically. That''s not good. There was not enough time to recover and lift my sword to block. The gnoll was faster than I thought. I had to use some amount of my power.

    I channeled mana into my fingertips to create a small bolt of lightning that I shot towards the gnoll''s hand.

    "Raaah!" The gnoll''s hands lost the grip of his sword as he was jolted by the electricity. It did not do enough to damage him but it was enough to create an opening. I charged forward and slashed my sword diagonally on its stomach. A severe gashing wound was created before the gnoll fell.

    The other gnoll also managed to recover and stood up again to face me. But it was for naught as I used the same technique to disable his hand that was holding the sword with an electric bolt. As the gnoll roared in pain, I closed the distance between him and aimed for the neck. It tried to block my sword using its arms but my Icarus was too sharp as it cut both his harms and then his neck as well in one go. After the deadly blow, the gnoll''s body was headless and blood spurted out from the severed neck before it tumbled down to the ground.

    "That was troublesome." I am incredibly weak right now. If only I did not need to maintain the cloud settlement, then it would have only taken perhaps one second.

    I returned my eyesight to my group. It seems the battle was going quite well with them as well. I must say, their level of cooperation is incredible for people that never fought anyone outside of their tribe. These kinds of battle experience will have tremendous effects on them.

    They already have slain one gnoll. The dead gnoll had an arrow stuck on its shoulder and a punctured neck. The other two gnolls were both trying to target Neityr in the front as they could not reach Rob and Alisia who was standing far back. It seems I need not interfere. I shall stay here and observe.

    I saw Alisia''s mana surging up from her entire body. She was chanting something in elvish with her eyes closed. After a few seconds, her eyes shot open. A stream of water was created out of nothing. The water then turned into small and sharp needles that were floating in mid-air. Finally, Alisia aimed her hand towards one of the gnolls.

    "Take this!" Alisia shouted.

    The stream of water needles was shot towards the targeted gnoll.

    "Gaah!" The gnoll turned into a water porcupine within seconds. He could not even move any more of his muscle before falling down.

    The other gnollturned towards its friend who suffered from the water needles. Its eyes seem to show some form of despair, yet not sadness, seeing all of its companions fallen. The split second of distraction was enough. Three of Rob''s arrows were shot consecutively. They all hit their targets perfectly. Two arrows were lodged in the right and left shoulder of the gnoll respectively. The final arrow hit the skeleton.

    With three arrows lodged in its body, the gnoll fell on its knees. However, it was not yet gone. It was still alive.

    Neityr approached the fallen gnoll until she was right in front of it. The gnoll looked up at her in defiance and flashed its fangs as if it was ready to be killed. But Neityr hesitated. She stood there unmoving.

    Not wanting to wait any longer, I approached the group and Neityr.

    "What are you doing? Kill it." I ordered.

    "But it''s already fallen...We can just leave now." Neityr replied. Her face showed that she was having second thoughts about this.

    I looked at the eyes of the other elves. They had the same look in their eyes. Even Rob who seemed to always be bold and brash seem to feel regret from killing the gnolls.

    I sighed. "I understand that it''s your first time killing a humanoid, or even any creature with intelligence. Your tribe probably have not done this for a very long time."

    I figured that there was some form of catch. I was ecstatic in finding out the elves were extremely skilled in group combat. However, they might be, in reality, softer than I thought. This may prove to be problematic.

    "However, if you choose to follow me into the outside world, you will definitely have blood in your hands. Rest assured, we won''t kill any innocent people. However, will the world show the same mercy that you have?" I continued.

    I approached the fallen gnoll who was struggling to stay alive. I grabbed its hair from the back and raised his head so its eyes could gaze at Neityr and the group.

    "Do you think if you were in this gnoll''s position and the gnoll was the one in your place that it would show mercy? Or will it kill you in one swift strike or worse, take you to its lair to torture you.? Which is it?" I asked.

    I knew this might be too much on them. But what more can I do to ease a group of people that have not killed in five thousand years into being more used to killing other creatures? The world will show no mercy to them. Having sympathy and morals are one thing, being killed for having too much of it is another. I knew that I was speaking from a biased standpoint as a former god, but I needed to make them get used to this.

    "Well?" I waited for my answer.

    Neityr and the other stayed silent. Their face was contorted in unusual ways and shifted every few seconds in pure discomfort.

    "I..." Neityr was about to say something.

    Before she could answer, I took Icarus and swiftly cut off the gnoll''s head as if cutting butter. As I was grabbing its hair, I was currently holding the severed head after the strike.

    "You see? The gnoll won''t wait for you to speak up. So will other hostile creatures that we might encounter." I threw the head to the side. "You three. Go on ahead and scout for any other gnolls. I will catch up."

    The three could not move for a while after seeing my action.

    "What are you waiting for? GO!" I bellowed. The three were jolted awake and left the area in a hurry. I was now alone.

    "These gnolls...why are they speaking a language I did not understand..." I muttered.

    I was a god. I could understand all the languages in all the lands. Could this be the case of language evolving and disappearing for the past five thousand years? Then why could I understand the elves of the White Leaf tribe? Could they still be using the same exact elvish they were also using five thousand years ago? I need to ask the linguist of the tribe later.

    Nevertheless, this will prove to be problematic if the people we meet at the fortress does not speak a language I could understand. It might even be worse if it were the gnolls that live in the fortress. Although I remember that gnolls could only create simple tents five thousand years ago and not an entire structure. But things could have change.

    Well, I was wasting time pondering about this. I should catch up to them. With this in mind, I walked off from the dead gnolls and returned to the group.

 Chapter 8: Keeeee!

    It took us another fifteen minutes to reach the wooden fortress. The wooden fortress was situated in a clearing in the middle of the jungle. The clearing itself looked to have been artificial and was probably done by the owner of the fortress in order to construct the structure. The size of the fortress itself was bigger than we initially thought when we observed it from above.

    The fortress was quiet. Too quiet. There were not even guards stationed around the perimeter. It was as if it was completely empty. Our group was just crudely hiding behind a tree. A good scout could probably spot us from a distance.

    "So...should we go?" Rob asked the question we were all wondering.

    "I am not entirely sure myself..."

    I am not a god who plan ten steps ahead. Nor am I a god who is able to come up with genius strategies on the fly.

    "But it''s really too quiet, isn''t it? I quite literally can''t hear anything. Not even any sounds of small chatters." Alisia also chimed in.

    I stroke my chin to think. Could this be a trap? Did they know we were coming? But whichever it was...

    " I''m going in. You three stay here." I left the cover behind the tree towards the clearing.

    "Tiven! We''ll follow¡ª" Neityr was about to follow me as well. I turned around and stopped here.

    "No. I already told you that I wanted to go alone and risk anyone. Now just let me check if there''s anyone. I may be weakened, but I am still a god. I''ll be fine."

    I started walking towards the fortress before she could say anything else. I approached the large wooden gate in front of the fortress when I realized something. I pushed the door open to find...no one.

    "Huh?"

    There was no one. I could see that there were tents set up and...cages. I activated my enhanced hearing but did not find any trace of anyone in the vicinity. With that realization, I turned around towards our hiding spot.

    "You three! There''s no one here! Come." I shouted.

    "Really?" Rob shouted back.

    The three hurriedly made their way towards the fortress.

    "Huh. There''s really no one here." Rob started to examine the tents.

    "But the way the tent is set up is as if people were sleeping here not very long ago." Neityr also did the same thing as Rob.

    The tents did not interest me as much as these iron cages. What could they be for? They''re huge. Were they capturing large beasts? Perhaps they are a group of hunters?

    "I found something!" It was Alisia who shouted. She went deeper inside the fortress. We made our way to her in a hurry.

    "What is it?"

    "This campfire. I can tell that they are from around three days ago." Alisia was touching the remaining ashes of the campfire.

    "Then they have not been gone for long. But why would they leave their fortress unattended?"

    Could they be the gnolls? It would explain their lack of foresight but it would not answer how they built this structure.

    "Alright. Close the gate behind us in case anyone comes. We will split up and search through the tents to see what we could find." I ordered.

    <hr>

    We split up to search through the expansive fortress. I went deeper inside to find the center when I heard a noise. Or rather, a cry. But it did not sound like a cry of any humanoid creatures I knew. It could only come from an animal.

    I searched for the source of the cry with my enhanced hearing until I found a very large cage. Inside, there was a dead carcass of a humongous beast. The beast had the face of an avian creature with the body of a large mammal. The mammalian bottom half have furs while the avian arms and head have feathers. Its face consisted of a beak and two large pupils. This creature is known as an owlbear, vicious hunters of the night capable of besting experienced warriors if they are not careful.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    The owlbear seems to have died a couple of days ago. Flies and maggots were slowly developing in gaping wounds in the middle of its chest. The creature was dead yet I still head a cry. Where could it come from?

    It was thenI saw it. From the behind the massive owlbear, a small baby owlbear emerged. Its face was filled with anguish from the death of its parent but it lit up when it saw me. The baby owlbear approached me as it cried some more, begging me to release it.

    I crouched down to reach the eye level of the owlbear. "The people who live in this fortress did this to your parents?"

    Of course, the owlbear could not understand me and yet its eyes seem to answer my question.

    "Aren''t you showing a little too much trust in me? Who knows? I could be one of them." I said that and stood up again. It seems apparent that the people who live here may be hunters after all. It''s hard to tell if they would be hostile towards us since I don''t know what race they are. We should hurry.

    "Keee!" The owlbear responded. Its eyes seem to say it knows that I am not one of them.

    "Interesting. Maybe you can tell I am not a mortal?" I asked the baby owlbear not expecting an answer.

    "Keee!" It cried again.

    "Well. Good luck." I was about to walk off andthe baby owlbearcried even louder; rattling the metal cage with quite a lot of force.

    It seems Neityr was also nearby as she also suddenly appeared.

    "Hey! What is that creature? It''s really cute. " Neityr was awestruck by the baby owlbear and the dead parent behind it. She also approached the cage and crouched down. Neityr put her hand inside the cage and pet the baby owlbear.

    "An owlbear. Did you not recognize the gnoll from before? Do the tribe give you education on monster species?"

    "Not really, Tiven. We were only given rudimentary knowledge on intelligence species but certainly not monsters."

    "Well, that''s an owlbear. I presume the people who live here are hunters then since they are locking them up in cages. Maybe they are currently out on a hunt and will return soon so we should hurry with our search." I turned around to search someplace else.

    "Wait!" Neityr called out to me.

    "What is it?"

    "Can''t we release it? I...don''t feel good leaving a defenseless child without a parent like this."

    "Why should we?"

    "I don''t know...I just think we should."

    I raised my eyebrows at her answer. "But what benefit will it give us?"

    Neityr looked up to me with a confused face. "I don''t know..."

    Interesting. This is what makes mortals quite fascinating. Sympathy, selflessness, heroism. There exist a mysterious force telling them what they should do. Tis'' a feeling foreign to a god. But spending time with the tribe has also kindled that mysterious emotions in me. Perhaps I should go all the way, for now, to test it out.

    "Alright. You win. Step back. I''ll try to get it to open." I hope the sheer sharpness of Icarus is enough to open it.

    "Thank you, Tiven!" Neityr was overjoyed and walked away from the cage. Why did she thank me? I was about to help this creature, not her.

    I pulled Icarus from its scabbard and slashed the door of the cage where the lock mechanism should be. It worked. The door of the cage flung open with force.

    "Keee!" The baby owlbear cried out in joy. It ran up to me and hugged my leg.

    "It seems like it really likes you, Tiven!" Neityr smiled at the sight.

    "Indeed. But I have no clue why."

    As we were conversing, Rob and Alisia also made their way towards us.

    "Hey, guys. It''s so weird but we didn''t find nothin''. Only blankets and beds inside the tents¡ªWhat the hell is that thing!?" Rob seems shocked to see the baby owlbear.

    "Keee!" The baby owlbear responded as it looked towards Rob. Perhaps I misheard but the sound of the cry seems to be more hostile towards him.

    "Nevermind that for now. You three truly did not find anything?" I asked them.

    "No. It''s truly odd. It seems as if they took everything and yet they left the door open." Alisia responded.

    "Then we should probably just leave this place for now and continue our journey with the settlement. This is a waste of¡ª" Something interrupted my speech.

    The sounds of carriages rolling in the grass were heard by us coming from outside the gate. Chatters of an unknown language were also spoken by various individuals of different genders.

    "This is bad. The owners of this place are coming. From the sounds of it, we are massively outnumbered as well." I did not expect they would return this soon. This was a huge blunder on my part.

    "M-maybe we could talk to them?" Neityr stuttered in nervousness.

    "Nah! This is not good! What would you do if a stranger invades your place and then starts to talk to you in an unknown language? Nevermind we freed this fucking monster here! We should get the fuck out of here! " Rob pointed at the baby owlbear in my leg.

    "Keeeeee!!!" The owlbear responded in anger. But it also buried itself behind my leg as it also knew its kidnappers and murderers of its parent have arrived again.

    "For once, I agree with this numbskull. However, the only gate leading outside is at the front and the walls are too high for us to climb. For now, we need to find a place to hide." I responded.

    We searched for a place to hide in a hurry before we managed to find the back of a huge tent in the furthest area from the gate. The cover of the tent and the wall behind us should hide us for a while. However, we truly did not expect what we saw when they entered through the door.

 Chapter 9: Planning Stage

    "They''re...humans?" Neityr muttered first as the figures start rolling in.

    What we saw was a large group of humans entering the gate. The humans themselves number around two hundred. However, it did not seem as if they all belonged to the same faction.

    "Most of them are wearing shining knight armors but why are some of them also wearing shabby leather clothing?" Alisia also chimed in.

    That was correct. Around fifty of the two hundred humans looked as if they were lower in status than their knight-looking counterparts. The knightsfelt to uslike they were calling the shots while the fifty ragged bronze skin humans appeared as their servants if we characterize them by how they were carrying all of their heavy bags and supplies.

    "Interesting. It seems that they are either the knights'' slaves or subordinates. But look at those cages they are pulling with their horses"

    As the humans start to enter the wooden fortress with their horses, various cages were also brought in. What truly shocked us was that they were not carrying monsters like owlbears as we expected but rather...

    "Elves! They''re elves!" Rob raised his voice quite loud as he exclaimed his utter surprise.

    "Ssshhh!" Neityr tried to shut Rob up.

    "But they''re elves! They''re us! We gotta free em!" Rob replied as he tried to charge forward with recklessness.

    "Shut it. We must assess the situation further before we do anything. " I scolded him as the voice of reason.

    The elves in the group all look flustered as they witnessed their own kind being brought in cages. There were a lot of cages being brought in. The elves number to an incredible one hundred or so. The elves themselves were wearing clothes made out of various dried plants to cover their vital parts. They all looked scared as the children were crying and the parents even more frightened as they personally knew what humans do to elven slaves.

    "These human bastards! They''re capturing the elves! Are they selling them as slaves?" Rob exclaimed.

    "Perhaps. But the elves seem to be another subraceof your elven species. They look to be wood elves. Also, look at the last cage behind them."

    I pointed at the last lone cages following behind the rows of elves.

    "Dwarves? No...gnomes?" Neityr muttered.

    That was correct. Gnomes. A small race of pointed eared humanoids known for their vibrancy and creativity. Such races that I knew to be quite the innovative and intelligent one in the past...I cannot believe they are captured in that undignified manner. The gnomes itself number around thirty from what I could count and their small statures allow only one cage to fit all of them in a very dense pack. The gnomes all looked desperate and terrified, nothing like the philosophers and geniuses I met in the past.

    "Keee!" The baby owlbear shrieked seeing the creatures brought in by cages. It was as if it sympathize with their circumstances quite a bit.

    "What the hell is this? Are these human filths going to enslave them? Or perhaps even consume them?" Rob voiced out his concern.

    "I am also truly at a loss of words."

    "Then what are we doing? We should free all of them!" Rob was about to push forward when I pulled him back with force behind the tent again.

    "What are you thinking? Do you think we are able to handle two hundred men at once?" I scolded him.

    "But...those are our people! We must free them."

    "I...agree." Alisia also interjected. "I think....this will also bring Lord Tiven a great power boost and leverage as well. Not only will they worship you and thus increase your number of followers, but they will also bring us valuable information on the current state of the surrounding area. And those bronze skin individuals" Alisia pointed at the people carrying the luggage and supplies.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "I believe that they may not be voluntarily doing this. If we get them to our side perhaps we can also find out who those knights are." She continued.

    I stared at Alisia with awe. Her deductionskill was better than I thought. She was as quiet as the morning''s mist but when the situation calls for it, Alisia was the one you look for if you are looking for a last-minute strategy.

    "That is correct, Alisia. Nice work. I fully agree with what you said. I have some rough plans in my head to set them free, but I think we should the first rendezvous with the people above before coming back here with more force."

    "But how are we going to get out of here?" Alisia asked.

    "Well. That''s the easy part." I pulled out Icarus with a large smile on my face. "Remember this? If it could cut through the owlbear''s cage, then it could certainly cut through the wood. However, we have very limited time to plan and act before they notice this gaping hole in the back of their fortress and start to strengthen their defense. Now, let''s go."

    I made a square-shaped incision on the wooden walls behind us¡ªsmall enough to not be seen from afar but big enough to fit all of us. What''s left for us now is to plan our strike.

    <hr>

    It took us just another thirty minutes to get as far as we could so we were not spotted while we took my small cloud platform into the settlement above. We were currently at my tent with Elder Havies, Alisia, Neityr, and Rob. I was sitting at my bed while the rest were standing.

    "One hundred wood elves!? And thirty gnomes?" Elder Havies exclaimed in surprise as he heard my explanations.

    "That is right."

    "But...fighting a force of two hundred fully armed men while we have no proper equipment ourselves is a bit..."

    "Then what do you currently have as far as battle supplies, Elder Havies?"

    "I believe we have enough arrows and bows for our archers as they are relatively easy to make. But as for our warriors...We only have enough for perhaps ten warriors. We are currently still trying to train the warriors so we only currently have five combat experts, six if you are including Neityr."

    "Alright. Give me the full statistics of relatively combat-ready citizens." I put my hand on my chin as I waited for the answer.

    "Well...Including the experts and the people currently in training relatively fit for combat, we have around forty warriors, twenty archers, and around ten mages. But out of all of them, the mages are still quite undependable as the training to be a full-fledged mage takes far longer than the rest." Elder Havies explained.

    "Hmmm..." I stroke my chin to think. The situation was not looking good again. If the numbers we have are all full of experts, then with clever planning we could definitely take the knights on even with the numerical disadvantage. But the current condition of the soldiers will never allow them to defeat two hundred fully armed men. Even if we do not need to fight the fifty bronze skin men, the one hundred fifty knights still possess a serious threat as we have not fully assessed their threat level yet.

    "Perhaps...we don''t need people to fight a frontal assault?" Alisia chimed in.

    I raised my head with curiosity. Alisia was quite dependable in times of trouble like this.

    "Elaborate." I replied simply.

    "Well...It''s not really an honorable way to fight..." Alisia seemed hesitant to voice out her plan.

    "I don''t care. Honor? In whose standard? I am your current god and gets the final say in that concept. I decide what is honorable or not. If we could rescue the people in those cages then I am allowing even so-called dirty methods for the freedom and liberation of those individuals. Won''t that be honorable as well? " I replied firmly with conviction.

    "That is very well-put, Lord Tiven. Ummm...If we strike tonight when they are asleep, we can certainly catch them off guard. I am sure that they will have guards stationed around the perimeter but some of the experts we have, if they are careful, could perhaps handle the stationed guards. After that, we should free the people in cages first and lead them outside the fortress before beginning our assault. It would also be better if we could strike them when they are asleep so they don''t even get the chance to put on their suit of armor while we give them the longest sleep of their lives." Alisia explained with a terrifying yet charming smile.

    Everyone in the room was surprised to hear her plan. I was surprised that she could come up with a comprehensive plan while the rest was surprised Alisia the innocent mage could conjure up such a dirty plan.

    "Ah!" Elder Havies interjected with excitement. "Our botanist currently possess the herbs required to create Nightvision potions. I am sure that consuming it would help our warriors to be able to be more stealthy under the veil of darkness."

    "Indeed. That shall be a great boost to our troops" I replied to Elder Havies.

    "What about the bronze-skinned servants? Will we try to rescue them as well?" Neityr asked.

    "No. We have too many things already in our hands. If some of them survive then that''s good but I am not jeopardizing the plan just to rescue another fifty individuals that may or may not be loyal to those knights."

    I stood up from my bed.

    "Alright. I also just came up with a plan on how to strike after we get the caged elves and gnomes out of the fortress. However, it will take up the vast majority of my power. If I do this, I shall be at a weakened state for months but we will certainly win." I smiled in excitement for what was about to come.

 Chapter 10: The Night Raid

    Through the eyes of the humans

    <hr>

    The night rolled in as it usually does. The brave knights settled down their shining armors and sharp swords aside to finally receive their long-awaited break. Even when not in battle, the knights were extremely efficient in their conduct as the roles for each individual were already set in place beforehand. Some knights moved the cages to its appointed location while some were in charge of the paperwork. The paperwork involve individually branding the captured elves and gnomes on their backs forcefully and numbering each of them. The foreign curses of the new slaves and the cries of the children seem to not deter any of the knights as they performed their duties with no hesitation.

    The bronze-skinned humans, in contrast, seemed to be the knights'' servants as they were tasked to skin animals and cook them. Some also prepared the campfire and perform other miscellaneous lowly tasks.

    In one of the campfires, knights who seem to be higher in rank than the others were sitting in a circle on individual chairs rather than the lower-ranked knights who sat on the floor. The air seemed joyous as they sang patriotic anthems even with the cries of the slaves ringing in the background.

    "This expedition is taking longer than the Lord initially thought. I have to apologize to him after our glorious return." A single handsome blonde man in his thirties wearing a golden chain mail said to another high-ranking knight beside him.

    The knight beside him also wore chainmail albeit it being silver in color.

    "I have to respectfully disagree, Captain Alfred. This much elves and gnomes being brought back will please the Lord greatly. I hear our kingdom is in need of gnomes for their cunning tinkering of magic items." The knight with the silver chain mail replied.

    Captain Alfred curved his lips in a gentleman-like manner. "Praise be to Hevize for this bountiful harvest...I do miss the temperate temperature of the north, though. The equator is far too hot and humid for my taste. I hope I will get a chance to go home next month."

    "Well, Captain. It is all for the expansion of our empire....Hey, you!" The silver knight called out a bronze-skinned woman with black hair who was carrying mugs of alcohol and passing them around to the knights. The woman was wearing a dress with exotic patterns that seem to be designed to withstand the tropical heat with its somewhat open upper body portion.

    The bronze-skinned woman turned her head and was startled to see who called her. She immediately ceased serving the other knights and practically ran towards the silver knight.

    "Y-yes, Sir. What need?" She asked with a tinge of accent.

    The silver knight frowned.

    "You bitch. Why are you serving the other knights and forgetting the VIPs? Fucking savages."

    The woman hurriedly handed alcohol to Captain Alfred and the silver knight.

    "I sorry. Me mistake. No happen again."

    The silver knight chuckled in disgust. "Hah. Look at her. Her kind can''t even use our language properly."

    "That''s what happens when one does not come from a civilized society. Their brains are not even smart enough to use the common tongue" Captain Alfred interjected with a smile.

    "I...am sorry. No happen again." The woman bowed her head repeatedly.

    "Tch. Get out of our sights. We have important matters to discuss." The silver knight drank from the big wooden mug. The woman did not seem to want to stay for another second and left in a hurry after bowing. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    "Savages. They should be grateful their pitiful kingdom is currently being properly cared for by our empire." Captain Alfred muttered in disgust.

    The rest of the camp lit up in a party atmosphere as many drank a lot of alcohol to their heart''s content. They partied, eat, and drink as they pleased as they have endured and succeed a long expedition to capture the slaves and have even lost some men along the way. Some knights were also so drunk that they had taken some of the bronze-skinned women to the tents. One intoxicated knight even tried to open the cage to taste an elven woman before being heavily reprimanded by his superior.

    Captain Alfred and the silver knight also drank quite a lot as their conversations got more nonsensical and inappropriate as they went along. It was not until a low-ranked knight approached them in a hurry that they snapped out of it.

    "What...the fuck...do you want?" The silver knight shouted at the soldier that approached them.

    "Sir! O-o-one of the cages. The owlbear cage...there''s a small hole in it. The owlbear''s corpse is still there but the baby is missing!" The knight seemed to be quite nervous to relay the intel.

    Captain Alfred who was drunk sobered up in an instant due to his high constitution after hearing the report. "What!? That cage used high-quality metals from the north. Even the owlbear themselves couldn''t break out! Someone must have freed them"

    Captain Alfred stood up in a daze.

    "EVERYONE! ARM YOURSELVES! INCREASE DEFENSE AND SEND A SEARCH PARTY AROUND THE FORTRESS'' PERIMETER! NOOOOW!!! " Captain Alfred barked with his loudest voice.

    Everyone stopped what they were doing. Unfortunately, the men have gotten extremely drunk and it took a few seconds to process what Captain Alfred said. Even under intoxication, the knights got off their asses and start to drunkenly put on their armors again.

    <hr>

    Through the eyes of Awana

    <hr>

    "Something is wrong," I muttered in a low voice.

    I was standing on a small floating cloud I created with Elder Havies, Alisia, Neityr, and Rob as we observed the fortress below us. We have set up our forces around the fortress ready to pounce on my mark. Our force consisted of twenty fully-armed archers; forty warriors with only around ten of them having adequate equipment while the rest only used wooden swords and; ten mages with four being experienced wizards.

    "Those lowly humans treating those elves that way...and then celebrating like barbarians...are these people an example of the humans in the current era?" Neityr said with an almost visible tinge of anger.

    "You said something, Tiven?" Alisia was the only one who noticed I said something.

    "There''s something bugging me. I am forgetting something important..."

    "Does it have something to do with our planning?" Elder Havies asked.

    "That''s not it...."

    As I was pondering what it was I was missing, I saw the knights start to arm themselves instead of going to their tents to sleep.

    "What!?" I exclaimed.

    "They noticed something! What do we do!?" Neityr panicked as she thought of her fellow elves below in danger.

    "The cage!" I realized my grave mistake. "Shit. No time. I must begin the plan now. Neityr, Alisia, and Rob. You three join the battle." I separated the cloud in two with my power as I send their cloud below before they could reply any further. There was only Elder Havies and me above.

    "G-Tiven. Are you sure the plan will work? What if the elves and gnomes get caught in the middle of it?"

    "I am sure I can control my power. The team below just need to free them quickly. I shall begin now."

    I put both of my hands in front of me in an open position. I channeled my powers as my eyes glowed a white light and my appearance slowly changed to my original god form with my long flowing white hair and tall body.

    An enormous dark cloud started to form directly above the fortress. The wind was also inadvertently influenced as it blew a violent gust throughout the jungle, making the leaf and branches to sway rapidly. Crackling electricity was conjured as it builds up inside the dark cloud slowly and slowly.

    "This is..." Elder Havies dropped down to his knees as he stared at me in reverence. His white beard swayed by the wind and blue eyes glimmered. "The might of a god." He put both of his hands together in prayer.

    "Let the thunderstorm I birthed strike upon these lowly mortals." I smiled.

    Multiple thunderstrike start to leave the cloud and towards the men and tents below.

    "Aaaaaah!" I faintly hear the screams of the knights and also their curses in a language I did not understand. The knights start to panic and disperse their formation. Many of them also fell to the ground as they seem to still be intoxicated by alcohol. The tents that were struck by my might was also caught on fire that quickly spread throughout the entire settlement. The knights inside who were enjoying themselves were purified in flames.

    "This should ensure they are disoriented. Then..."

    I also channeled power into my throat and mouth.

    "ATTACK!" My voice bellowed below as if it was a divine message by a higher power¡ªin which it was.

 Chapter 11: A Glimpse of Warfare

    "I have done all I could to tip the balance in our favor." My eyes stopped glowing and my appearance returned to Tiven, a man of average height and dark hair.

    With this, I have used up almost all of the powers I have currently¡ªincluding maintaining the cloud settlement. I plopped down to the ground helplessly before being caught by Elder Havies.

    "Your holiness!"

    "I am fine." I forced myself to stand again. I realized that in actuality, the thunder will only help the initial attack and that I could perform one more action.

    "I...need to do one more thing. The thunder won''t be enough."

    "What do you mean, your holiness!? I think you have used too much of your powers!" Elder Havies showed concern.

    "I am a god...This will be quite risky but I have to do it to ensure the survival of the elves. I will be extremely weakened after this so please take care of me." I smiled as I looked down below in anticipation.

    <hr>

    Through the eyes of the captives

    <hr>

    "Mommy...hic..hic.." A young wood elven girl cried relentlessly in the arms of her mother.

    The cages that house these wood elves were crowded and cramped. There were multiple cages: one for women and children; another for men and; a smaller cage with only the elder elves. This categorization revealed sinister cataloging of the elves based on what type of people would be interested to buy and own them. Although these elves were fortunately not officially slaves just yet as the ritual had not been performed. However, the painful iron branding on their backs will remain forever.

    "It''s okay. It''s okay. Goddess Salyna will protect us. Her holiness is probably sending her help towards us now." The mother comforted her daughter. Her face was also contorted and hopeless but she tried her best to calm her child.

    "But why didn''t she save papa and brother? Why did she let us be captured like this?" The young wood elf showed a sign of greater intelligence with her questions.

    "That''s..."

    "The goddess has forsaken us." From the cage next to them, one elven man answered.

    "Heresy!" Another elf barked at him angrily.

    "Heresy? To whom? If we were considered her true worshippers, then she would save us. But she didn''t. That could only mean she has forsaken us and we are probably not even considered her subjects anymore." The man replied.

    "You!" From the other cage, an elder elven woman interjected. "Your heretic speech will only land us in more trouble! The gods shall not be disrespected!"

    "The gods do not care for us mortals! They will only help us if it serves their needs!" The elven man seemed to have had enough of the conversation as he retreated back into the cramped cell.

    "Calm down, Elder." The mother chimed in. "That man. I know he lost his wife and his son in the invasion. Please let him vent his anger."

    "But heresy towards the goddess¡ª" The elder''s words were cut off.

    Suddenly, they heard the crackling of thunder above their heads.

    "It''s gonna rain!" One person said as they all looked towards the sky.

    "No...It''s something else. I sense something mysterious." Another elf replied.

    Thunder exited the dark cloud and struck at the entire wooden fortress, blazing everything in a fiery fire. The drunken knights seemed to have realized something were wrong before the thunderstruck as they have already put on their armor and equipment clumsily. Many of the knights who were inside the tents pleasuring themselves with the servants ran outside of the tent with their bodies on fire. Some of the unfortunate bronze-skinned servants were also burnt. Mysteriously, none of the thunder ever struck anywhere near any of the cages.

    "This is a miracle! An act of a higher being! It must be Goddess Salyna!" The elder from before raised her voice.

    "But Goddess Salyna is the goddess of plants and beasts! I don''t think she controls the weather! " Another elf raised their voice. They were all practically shouting as the wind and thunder were extremely loud.

    "Then it''s Hevize!!? He controls the skies!"

    "That''s impossible! Hevize hates our kind!"

    "Then who could it be!?"

    As the thunder roared they also heard a bellowing male voice in an unknown language reverberating throughout the fortress.

    "T-that! It''s really a god! But who is it?"

    As shouts and discussion filled the cages, mysterious figures climbed the walls behind them and landed in front of them.

    "They are...."

    They could see humanoid forms greatly resembling them although slightly different. While the wood elves had copper skin, the figures that descendedwere very fair, almost white.

    "High elves!"

    Waves after waves of high elves climbed the fortress walls. A significant chunk of the force then approached the cages.

    "Are all of you okay?"One of the high elves asked.

    "They''re speaking a different language!"

    The high elves looked at each other after hearing the wood elves speaking another tongue. Both of the elvish sound similar and familiar in tone and intonations and yet significantly different in vocabulary.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "Wait! That''s ancient elvish!" An elder wood elf exclaimed and then proceed to rattle the cage.

    "Us need help!"The elder elf said in ancient elvish with his wood elven accent.

    The high elves were surprised and one of them approached the elder.

    "You can understand us?"

    "Little bit. Me scholar." The elder replied.

    The high elf smiled.

    "Please tell your people to stand back. We will free you."

    The elder opened his eyes wide and nodded.

    "Everyone!!! Stand back!" The elder shouted with all his might. His seniority and loudness proved useful as everyone did as he ordered.

    The high elf then pulled something out of his scabbard to reveal a sword glowing with a white aura of light surrounding it.

    "W-what! That''s not normal magical energy!" One elf shouted in surprise after seeing that sword.

    The high elf then proceeds to slash the sword diagonally in a very wide arc. The arc was enough to not only slice open the three cages of the elves, but also the cage of the gnomes who had been quiet yet highly curious at the current situation. The sword opened a pathway for all to step out into freedom before the white light disappeared.

    "We''re freed!"

    <hr>

    Through the eyes of the knights and invaders

    <hr>

    The initial attack was a large success. The knights were still very drunken and some of them had only put on their armors but had not grabbed their swords and other equipment. The thunder had shaken them to their cores and the sudden incoming waves of invaders struck them by incredible surprise. The elves first targeted the knights who were scattered about in the settlement in panic as they were the easiest targets. Surprisingly, the bronze-skinned men and women raised their hands in a plead of mercy after seeing the intruders and did not try to engage.

    In total, more than a third of the one hundred fifty knights were slain or died due to the fire from the thunder strike in the first few minutes. Around one hundred or so were left. Unfortunately, they all seemed highly trained even under their dazed state as many of them grabbed their shield, sword, and bows. The knights all converged towards the middle of the camp that was a large clearing where the campfires were. They all formed a formation with the leader who was wearing a golden armor commanding them.

    The under-equipped elves also followed the order of Alisia to quickly loot the fallen knights of their armors and weapons and quickly equip them. In actual warfare, this tactic was seen as being very dishonorable and the remaining knights who saw that the enemies in front of them were using the tools of their dead comrades were enraged.

    "Those are elves! Fucking shit! Where did they come from!?"Captain Alfred cursed using the common tongue. Half of his face was burnt from the thunder, scarring his previous handsome face. "What was that voice before? Is the thunder the doing of their wizard!?"

    The silver knight stood beside the golden knight. "Captain! I think we may outnumber them! If we go on the offense now we may stand a chance."

    Captain Knight looked at the enemies. He saw that the elves did not have much of a formation but rather they were just waiting for their chance to strike. "I think you''re right. We do not have many choices anyway but seek vengeance for our fallen comrades. EVERYONE! CHARGE!"

    The knights yelled their war cries and prepared themselves to charge.

    Meanwhile, on the elven side, the party that discovered the fortress with Tiven stood by each other with their own squad of elves.

    "What do we do? We are up against highly trained knights and they have the number advantage." Rob said desperately while he was shooting arrows at the enemies.

    Neityr also firmly grip her sword to prepare for the enemies'' charge. "Our initial plan was to strike them when they were asleep! The holiness'' thunder have reduced their numbers but it was not enough!"

    Suddenly, the thunder from the dark cloud above ended their seemingly endless barrage. However, the howling wind did not stop. What came after was rain. Pouring rain. This rain was no ordinary rain. A tinge of white aura filled every droplet of water. The rain came into contact with the elves of the white leaf tribe which resulted in their bodies starting to glow with a faint white light. However, nothing special happened tothe knights in the opposing force.

    "This is!" One elf exclaimed.

    "This is the doing of the holiness! I feel...I feel myself feeling stronger!" Another elf shouted as they felt their muscles becoming firmer.

    "Tiven..." Only Neityr did not share the joy of others as she looked above. Her face was full of worry and discomfort although she also felt herself becoming more powerful.

    "This is our chance! Let''s also strike!" Rob shouted.

    Neityr snapped out of her daze and her face became resolute.

    "Everyone! With me!"

    The two small armies charged towards each other. The rain also became even fiercer and the tropical soil below became sticky mud that hindered the mobility of all people involved. After a few seconds, the two forces meet with each other in the large clearing. The blessing given to them through the rain proved to be extremely effective as their newfound might allow them to struck the knights so hard that their shields flew away before dealing the final blow at the knights.

    The twenty elven archers led by Rob that were perhaps the deadliest of the elven force also became capable of firing more arrows. The time it took to fire three arrows normally they could now fire six arrows.

    The inexperienced mages were still standing far back as their task was only to heal wounds. Even then, they could only heal painfully slow. The most experienced mages that could almost be considered wizards consisted of four individuals led by Alisia. The blessing of the rain gave them a larger magic reserve and allow them to cast spells faster. The four wizards cast spells which deal damage in a wide area like water needles or fireballs to greatly thin out the enemy numbers.

    Finally, the squad with the largest numbers was the warriors, led by Neityr¡ªalthough their number was also slightly reduced as some of them were charged with evacuating the captives. They all stood at the front lines. Many of them have looted the swords of the fallen knights. As the knights fell, the few of them that had not gotten any equipment quickly grab the swords from the corpse and rejoin the battle.

    Even with the number disadvantage, the elves had the upper hand due to the blessing. However, the knights were highly trained as well and some of them were strong enough to slain few of the elves. Because even with more power, the technique of the knights were leagues above the elves.

    What followed was a struggle on both sides. The battle depicted was not like stories and fairytales where the heroes and enemies exchange quips and one-liners in the midst of battle. No. It was frankly quite brutal. The muddied soil coupled with the heavy rain and wind still occurringmade a scene of a messy battle. While one side was winning, both sides fight desperately.

    The end of the battle was in reach. Twenty elves had tragically fallen¡ªall of them the front line inexperienced warriors. This was unfortunate in itself but the heaviest toll was the human forces. There were only ten knights left out of the previous one hundred.

    "Shit!"The scarred-face Captain Alfred looked at his side as his trusty silver knight had been slain. He also saw there were only nine of his knights remaining.

    Captain Alfred suddenly threw away his sword and raised his arms.

    "Everyone surrender! We surrender!"He shouted.

    Only some of the men heard his shout as they also did the same thing as him. However, a few further ahead did not hear his cries and were also promptly killed. In the end, with Captain Alfred, only five remained.

    Neityr who was just done killing a knight looked at the remaining knights raising their hands into the air. Her hair was extremely disheveled and her entire face and armor were covered in wet mud. She breathed in and out rapidly as her lungs were barely keeping up with her enhanced strength.

    "Hah...Hah...Everyone stand down! The knights have surrendered! We have won..." Her voice trailed off in the end and did not show any sign of triumph.

    The rest of the elves also shared similar dirty appearance to Neityr. After the end of the battle, none of them cheered as they were also too exhausted to do so.

    "Ever...y..one...capture the...remaining humans..." As Neityr ordered the elven force, she collapsed to the ground.

 Chapter 12: The Pantheon

    Through the eyes of Awana

    <hr>

    It took a full day before I could even stand up with my own power without the help of the elves. Although fortunately, I have been conscious the whole time.

    There were people who have not yet regain their consciousness yet...Neityr was one of them. The wizards and mages were constantly casting heal on them and even some of the wood elves helped by searching for herbs around the forest that was effective in accelerating the recovery.

    We have succeeded in freeing everyone and capturing six of the knights but it was not without cost. Twenty high elves of the White Leaf tribe lost their lives. This is one biggest loss of lives in the tribe''s history of thousands of years¡ªthe worst of them being only when Hevize was still bothering them personally.

    I personally apologized to the elders and citizens for my failure but they were all very understanding and did not blame me personally. Many were sad and devastated for the loss of their family and friends but they took dying directly for the cause of their patron god was one of the most honorable things one could have done.

    Once I regain my full power again, I will make sure each soul lost will have a joyous afterlife. I also offered to give them a burial but I was reminded that the elves cremate the bodies of the dead in which we did to each of them. We held a large funeral service with even the wood elves and the gnomes in attendance. The wood elves were especially touched and moved as they knew personally that these elves gave their lives to free them.

    In the end, one hundred wood elves and twenty gnomes were rescued. While communication with the wood elves could be achieved through their representative that speaks "ancient elvish", which was the language the high elves were speaking and one that I could I understand as wel, conversations with the gnomes have not been possible yet as no one knew how to speak gnomish¡ªbut the gnomes themselves seem to acknowledge that we have rescued them and continued to smile and help us in various tasks.

    Finally, humans. Only thirty-five of the original fifty bronze-skinned humans that seem to be the servants of the knights survived. We did not do anything to them as they seemed to display no hostility towards us¡ªsome even seemed glad that we killed their oppressors. In addition, six fair-skinned knights surrendered themselves to us. The rest of the knights'' bodies we looted and burnt. The leader of the knights was a man with blonde hair and golden armor, half his face burnt. Both the bronze-skinned humans and the knights spoke different languages and we have not established any substantial exchange with them.

    We were all still on the grounds below where the wooden fortress was. None of the rescued and captured have seen the cloud settlement yet as we were still recovering and I am still assessing the risks of letting them know of the truth about myself.

    <hr>

    "Great one! I thank thee again for rescue my people!" An elder wood elf with copper skin and braided long white hair presented himself in front of me as I was walking in the ruin of the wooden fortress. He talked with an accent but he seemed to have already improved his articulacy in just one day of interacting with the high elves.

    "Ah, you need not thank me but rather the high elves that put all of their efforts into freeing your people" I replied with a gentle smile. "What was your name again?"

    "Name is Adjor. Master Tiven was one who did thunder, no? And magic rain? Amazing! Incredible! We lost entire village. One hundred remains. I scared we all separated as slaves. YOU saved us."

    I looked at him and his glimmering eyes that seem to hold utmost respect directed at myself. Such eyes are not unfamiliar as the white leaf tribe also had it. And it was also unfamiliar in my past life of being a god when I look down at people kneeling every timeI gave them rainfall. But something felt oddly different this time.

    "Alright. I will accept your gratitude...." I touched the wood elf''s shoulder. "Please tell your people to gather in front of the fortress soon. I have something to announce"

    <hr>

    After I left Elder Havies, I continued my path towards a makeshift tent. Inside, Elder Havies was accompanying his granddaughter Neityr who was still asleep.

    "Has she woken up yet?" I asked as I stepped inside.

    "She did, your holiness. Briefly. I think the emotional toll of the battle combined with some of the wounds she suffered shut down her body...but she will be okay." Elder Havies replied.

    "That''s good..." I walked forward and sat next to Elder Havies beside the bed.

    "Any update on the interrogation?"

    Elder Havies sighed. "Nothing so far. They are currently not causing troubles but we can''t communicate either. Adjor, the sole wood elf that could communicate with us does not understand the language of the knights either. I have personally sent our tribe''s linguist by the name of Elkian to analyze their language and decipher it. It will certainly take a while and I am not sure how long your holiness wishes to stay down here."

    "We are leaving today. I don''t want to risk any other humans finding us. But from my observation...the bronze-skinned humans are probably from a tribe or a kingdom in this equatorial land. From their differences in skin color and even clothing, I suspect the fair-skinned knights are probably visitors from the kingdoms of the north. But it does not really explain why they seem to treat the bronze-skinned natives with contempt and disrespect...Those bodies of raped women we found..." I frowned as I was brought back to what remained out of the burnt tents.

    "Your holiness, from the legends of my ancestors, humans seem to like to create hierarchies between races and even within their own people." Elder Havies replied.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "In that case, it''s not like the elves are better in that regard." I flashed a cheeky smile.

    Elder Havies chuckled. "I guess you''re right. But our white leaf tribe has practically dissolved all of those traditions in the thousands of years we have been isolated. However, some of the wood elves we rescued are still quite wary of us as Adjor told me that normally high elves think of wood elves as being inferior and our kind are usually not well-liked by the wood elves." He explained.

    "In any case, even though I know it''s quite risky, we have to bring everyone abroad the cloud settlement. The knights will run off to tell on us if we set them free and I don''t fully trust the bronze-skinned humans yet either...I will, however, give the wood elves and gnomes a chance to stay behind in the jungle if they wish since this is their native home."

    "I apologize, your holiness, but I don''t think we have enough space in the cloud settlement for all of them...and you are still too weakened to expand the cloud, no?" Elder Havies'' face showed concern.

    I curved my lips upward. "Normally, yes. But I think I might have a method to temporarily boost my divinity reserve."

    <hr>

    I met Adjor the elder wood elf again outside of the fortress where everyone was. They were all gathered in a large clearing in a scene reminiscent of the time I invited the white leaf tribe to join my journey. The wood elves, the gnomes, and even the humans have gathered¡ªof course, the knights were restrained.

    "Master Tiven. I did as you told. What now?" Adjor asked.

    "I want you to translate what I say to the wood elves"

    "That easy! Please speak"

    I smiled at him before turning my head towards the crowd. The wood elves all looked at me with curiosity yet also admiration as they knew I was the leader of the high elves that rescued them.

    "My dear wood elves. I know all of you have suffered through a lot. You have lost friends, families, and home."

    I turned to Adjor after I finished speaking to let him translate. He echoed my statement in the wood elvish to the crowd...I hope the translation is accurate at least.

    "And I also know that the goddess you serve, Salyna, did not rescue all of you as well in time of predicament."

    Adjor looked at me strangely. "Uh...master. Sure you want to translate?"

    I nodded. He gulped with a nervous face before translating my statement. My statement quickly incites numerous chatters around the audience with people turning towards each other in discomfort. Some seem to agree as they nodded and shouted but some frowned with anger.

    I continued my speech.

    "I want all of you to know that the gods don''t truly care about the mortals. I will seek to provide the truth of the gods. Do all of you know what happened more than five thousand years ago? How many gods are you aware of?"

    Chatters and discussions occurred again with many shaking their head diagonally with a contorted face.

    Adjor turned to me again. "Master. We no understand your question. We know ten gods but not now what happen five thousand years ago. We call era ''forgotten era'' with lost records"

    Clever. The ten gods have basically wiped the entire pantheon of gods out of existence and out of history. That way, no mortals would be foolish enough to try to revive any of us. If you are playing that game, I can also use my own brand of propaganda.

    I gathered power in my fingertips and a large cloud was created in front of me. The cloud descended into the ground and acted like floors. Suddenly, figures and shapes took form out of the white cloud. I created images of the entire two-dimensional map of the planet and large figurines numbering hundreds floating on top of the map¡ªthey represented the fallen gods.

    Everyone who saw this whether it be the high elves, wood elves, gnomes, and humans were all struck with shock after seeing my feat. A magical theater was formed in front of them.

    "You see this? This was the planet five thousand years ago. These figurines represent gods. Yes, gods. There were hundreds of us and each of us possesses unique powers that represented our niche title. Our powers were spread in a balanced manner with no one god that could overpower other gods. We have one that controls the ocean, the wind, even trivial things like love, music, and wine. Everything was designed to be balanced so that both the gods and mortals could live in harmony."

    I turned to Adjor so that he could translate first before I continued. He looked at me with furious sweat dripping down his face before he nodded and continued. Unsurprisingly, many gasps of shock could be heard with the information I have just given them.

    "That''s right. Every little field in the world had a patron god. This means that every mortal were also represented fairly and equally depending on which patron gods they chose to worship. Tipping the balance too far and giving too much power to one god could ruin the balance of nature that we have set in place. Of course, not every god was equal I must admit. There were some gods that could be considered the ''fundamentals'' as their realm of power was larger than the rest such as god of the ocean, god of fire, goddess of nature, god of death, god of the weather, and so on. But all the fundamentals worked alongside one another instead of against one another."

    I relayed the information again to Adjor before continuing.

    "That was...until a great battle of the gods occurred more than five thousand five hundred years ago. I have heard from you wood elves of the current ten gods that rule the planet...they were all fundamental gods that joined forces to absorb the powers of all the other gods and seize full control of the planet.

    1. Hevize, the god of fire. He is now the god of fire and the skies.

    2. Salyna, the goddess of plants. She is now the goddess of plants and beasts.

    3. Yavue, the god of the ocean. He is now the god of water and the ocean.

    4. Brauk, the god of darkness. He is now the god of demons and darkness.

    5. Lein, the god of light. He is now the god of light and prosperity.

    6. Hereth, the goddess of magic. She is now the goddess of knowledge and magic.

    7. Qul, the god of war. He is now the god of war and death.

    8. Reinas, the goddess of birth. She is now the goddess of birth and peace.

    9. Mobius, the god of craft. He is now the god of craft and creations.

    10. Elainar, the goddess of ice. She is now the goddess of ice and wisdom.

    These are all the gods that are currently ruling over all of you"

    Gasps and chatters were heard again throughout my explanations and my reveal of the gods'' previous titles.

    "I do not remember anything about the battle but...these ten gods all either seal gods away in forgotten and remote places or outright kill them. Either way, they absorb the powers of the gods they defeated. What followed as the white leaf tribe told me was that the war of the gods seeped in into the mortal realm as well. The mortals who were worshippers of the old gods were either killed en masse or forced to convert. Mass genocides were conducted and the entire structure of civilization shifted."

    I finished my explanation as Adjor relayed the information as best as he could with buckets of sweats dripping from his body.

    "How do you know of this event when no one else here does!? Why should we trust this!?"A wood elf shouted in his language. Adjor translated his question to me.

    "That''s because..."

    I changed my appearance back into my previous god form. Long white flowing hair formed, my height increased, face restructured, and pupils turned golden.

    "I am...or was...a god. My name is Awana, the god of weather and the skies." I said with grace.