"Me… become the Forest God?"
Synk's jaw dropped. She suspected her ears were broken.
Putting aside whether the power of an Old Deus could even be inherited, to so casually hand over such a level of power to her was simply too absurd, right?
"Lord Su Mo, did I hear that right, meow? Did you just say you want this weed to become a god?"
It wasn't just Synk who couldn't understand; even Azriel, who had slain gods herself, couldn't comprehend it.
The Old Deus were the pinnacle of power in this world. They had always been born, not made. How could such a thing be bestowed upon someone?
The only one who, after her initial surprise, could quickly regain her composure was Jibril, who had spent some time by Su Mo's side.
"With Master's power, even creating a god is a casual act, let alone bestowing a Divinity upon another."
On this point, Jibril had a lot to say.
Previously, she had been using a divine protection, using her own power to exercise divine authority, which elevated her strength to a level comparable to a lower-ranking Old Deus.
If she were to call upon the core power of a Mythological Thaumaturgy, the Divinity itself, her power would surpass its current level and reach that of a high-ranking Old Deus.
So she understood that bestowing divine authority was a simple matter for Su Mo.
"Although I don't know why Master has taken a liking to you, if it's Master's command, you can only accept."
Jibril looked at Synk with a powerful gaze.
"Master has already decided. You will be the Forest God. Don't tell me you want to refuse!"
"...I don't seem to have the right to refuse."
Synk retorted speechlessly, then added, "Besides, who could refuse such a condition?"
The opportunity to become a god—if this news were to get out to the other factions, they would surely fight madly for it. Although the condition was to submit to him, compared to the power of a god, such a condition was nothing. Even the elders of the Elves would not refuse such a good opportunity.
Whether they wanted to avenge the previous Forest God or not, if the Elven race wanted to continue, they had to have a god-level being to back them up.
"It's best that you accept. With your talent, only by obtaining the divine authority of the Forest God can you maximize it."
Seeing Synk's attitude, Su Mo nodded.
As a mortal, Synk was eventually able to create techniques comparable to Authorities. If she possessed the power of a god, her talent would only be magnified, and she might even become far stronger than the previous Kainas.
For Su Mo, even a divine-tier genius was only qualified to be his assistant if they were in a matching environment.
"My talent?"
Synk froze, finally realizing why he had kept her around.
Although she had held the title of Flower Crown Lord since she was young, this was the first time someone had placed her importance above that of a god, even believing her talent was worthy of a god's authority. For a being of this world, this was the highest praise.
"With your magnanimity, if you hadn't appeared in this manner, I would have been willing to forsake my clan to pledge my allegiance to you." she sighed with genuine emotion.
In a world like this, to encounter such a generous superior was the greatest fortune.
"The result remains unchanged." Su Mo shook his head.
Whether she was willing or not, with Synk's character, she had no reason to refuse him.
"You're right." Synk had to admit it. Then she asked curiously, "So, you want me to succeed as the Forest God. Do you have some special idea? Like unifying the power of the Elves to conquer the world or something?"
After being forced to accept Su Mo's request, she began to ponder his purpose.
Actually, there wasn't much to ponder. During the great war, the motive of an Old Deus was likely only one thing: the war's prize, the Star Grail. However, with the strength Su Mo had displayed, could the power of the Forest God and the Elves really help him? Synk was doubtful.
"No, I only need you to do one thing." Su Mo shook his head.
"What is it?" Synk asked curiously. Jibril and Azriel also cast curious glances.
"Research the divine essence." Su Mo didn't beat around the bush. "The actual coordinates of an Old Deus's divine essence are in the void. According to my previous speculation, an Old Deus can not only draw power from the Elemental Corridors, but also capture a power from the void called imaginary internal energy."
"Your task is simple: by stimulating the divine essence at different frequencies, successfully observe traces of imaginary internal energy and hand the records over to me."
If you can observe it, you can interfere with it. If you can interfere, you can control.
For Su Mo, the subsequent steps were simple, but the initial observation was pure grunt work.
There's a saying in the scientific community: your life's work may only be to save a genius an afternoon's tea time. For Su Mo, Synk's value lay precisely here.
Just as the main purpose of graduate students in a university lab is to conduct repetitive experiments to capture a possible result, this tedious, repetitive work was necessary but required little technical skill, and was usually left to the research dogs.
And now, Synk occupied this ecological niche. If she could successfully observe the existence of imaginary internal energy, that would be great, saving Su Mo's energy. Even if she couldn't, Su Mo could still improve upon her existing methods and save some time.
"Imaginary internal energy?"
Hearing Su Mo's request, Synk was very surprised. She had never thought his goal would be some unheard-of power, rather than the boring conquest of the world.
"A power outside the Elemental Corridor system… Interesting. I understand what you mean!" As a genius of techniques, her motivation was immediately ignited.
"Very good!" Su Mo nodded.
In the next moment, the three of them disappeared from the light and shadow, directly crossing space and arriving inside the temple.
Looking at the kneeling Synk, Su Mo reached out and placed his hand on her head. A golden polyhedron passed from his palm into her body. The divine essence of nature manifested, and the Primordial Divinity of the Forest God exerted its proliferative effect, directly creating a replica of the Forest God's Divinity.
Finally, the power of the Sword's Origin transformed Synk directly into Su Mo's Vassal God.
Thus, the second Forest God, Synk Nirvalen, was born.
A few seconds later, Synk slowly opened her eyes, feeling the power within her, her expression dazed and incredulous. Just like that, I became a god?
One hundred and sixty-eight techniques could be used as if by instinct, and the Forest God's divine essence drew almost endless power from the Elemental Corridors.
Feeling this divine might, capable of easily destroying continents and the moon, Synk suddenly felt it was all a bit absurd.
"To possess such immense power, yet to have been hiding all these years, doing nothing… What was that useless god thinking?" She couldn't understand it at all.
If she had possessed this power long ago, she could have advanced the development of techniques to a level where all Elves could rival the Flügel. For Kainas, this should not have been a difficult matter.
Faced with Synk's question, Azriel looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"Of course it's because he feared my Master God, Lord Artosh!"
No matter how strong the Forest God's power was, it couldn't compare to an outlier-level Old Deus like Artosh.
"That's right!" Looking at Su Mo, Synk finally calmed down. I can't get too arrogant. Even the power of an Old Deus is not that big of a deal in this world. If Su Mo can casually grant me this power, he can surely take it back just as casually.
Feeling the master-servant contract between herself and Su Mo, any thoughts of resistance vanished from her mind.
"Besides imaginary internal energy, does Lord Su Mo have any other instructions?"
Despite becoming a god, Synk remained pragmatic, kneeling on the spot and asking for Su Mo's plans.
"Whoa, this is bad, Lord Su Mo!" Just then, Azriel suddenly jumped up as if her butt was on fire.
"Idiot Riel, don't act like a monkey in front of Master!" Jibril scolded her in dissatisfaction.
"N-No! Don't secretly call your sister an idiot, meow! Even I get hurt when I hear that… no, this isn't the time for that! This is a big deal, meow! The Flügel squads are in trouble, meow!" Azriel looked at Su Mo in a panic.
She didn't even realize that after acknowledging Su Mo's strength, the first person she thought of when there was a problem was no longer her own master, but Su Mo.
"Trouble? What kind of trouble could they run into?" Jibril's eyes were even more puzzled. "Lord Su Mo told them to organize their own defense if they were attacked. With their strength, besides an Old Deus, who else could cause them trouble?"
Over a thousand Flügel—this was a lineup that even an Old Deus would fear. Probably only high-ranking Old Deus, like the Forest God Kainas, would not be afraid of them.
Synk had the same thought, but…
"It is an Old Deus, meow! They found a lot of targets Lord Su Mo wanted among the Dwarfs, and the Forge God Ocain found them! They're in a standoff right now, meow!"
Azriel immediately explained the situation, then looked at Su Mo with teary eyes.
"Lord Su Mo, please hurry and make a move, meow! Although those moles are nothing, their god is a powerhouse no weaker than Kainas, meow! If we go too late, I'm worried the sisters will suffer too many losses!"
In the past, when she had led her troops, they had suffered casualties to achieve victory even against a lower-ranking Old Deus.
Now, although the Flügel forces were stronger, the enemy Old Deus was also countless times stronger. If they were allowed to fight, even if they could win, at least half the Flügel would be wiped out.
Hearing this, Jibril also became nervous. No one knew the strength of an Old Deus better than she did.
"Master, please let me go and support them! I will surely defeat the enemy and sing a song of victory!"
If she used the God-Manifestation technique, she was confident she could fight a high-ranking Old Deus, and even slay them.
"The enemy is a mole-man? Master God, may I apply to join this war?" After figuring out what was happening, Synk also raised her hand eagerly, wanting a piece of the action.
The hatred between the Elves and the Dwarfs was long-standing.
If there was a chance to slay the Forge God Ocain, she didn't want to miss it. Besides, even in the worst-case scenario, she could deal a devastating blow to the Dwarfs.
For such an activity, she would be willing to pay, let alone show her loyalty to her new Master God.
Looking at the expressions of the three girls, Su Mo instantly understood their thoughts. Thinking about the grudge between the Dwarfs and the Elves, he pondered for two seconds and nodded.
"I have already understood the situation on the Flügel's side through the temporary contract. Although it's not what I was looking for, it's worth a trip."
"Since you all want to go, let's leave now!"
The moment his words fell, after a subtle spatial fluctuation, the four figures in the temple all disappeared.
Outside, the Elven nation remained prosperous, completely unaware that their god had fallen.