Chapter 898: The God of War and His Illiterate / Directionally Challenged / Disgraceful Old Father

"But... this man-on-man lock, what kind of marvelous technique does it contain to actually slay a god?" the Valkyrie Isabella stared with deep suspicion, wondering why something felt entirely amiss.

Yet, by all appearances, this foreign deity had not crawled back out of the canyon after his death this time; it seemed that even if he weren't dead, he had sustained tons of damage from this particular combat technique.

As these thoughts lingered in her mind, within the game, Kratos was seen walking back with profound exhaustion, drenched in blood, until his strength failed him entirely and he collapsed into the snow.

A long while passed before his wounds barely mended; it was glaringly obvious that they could no longer tarry here.

Honoring his wife's dying wish, he bade his son carry her ashes and journey toward the highest peak across the Nine Realms.

Perhaps he understood what manner of perils lay hidden within, or perhaps... it concerned an ancient prophecy, or maybe his son was not yet ready to face the era foretold, but they had to embark on this voyage, for that stranger god might very well resurrect once more at any given moment.

Stepping out of the cabin, one could see that the entire surrounding landscape had been drastically altered by the battle just fought—forests had split into chasms, and mountains had crumbled into plains.

In the distance stretched an endless expanse of peaks capped with pristine snow, beneath which lay dense, vast forests; no soul knew how many wondrous creatures of the mythic age lurked amidst those ranges, nor how many gods who stood at the apex of the world dwelt there in seclusion.

And hidden in the furthest reaches of that mountain chain was the grandest monument of all—the loftiest peak of this mythic era, which served as the ultimate destination of their journey.

This path would be anything but easy; to say nothing of other perils, the mere undead lurking within the forest were not adversaries that any ordinary traveler could contend with.

In this day and age, save for the incomparably supreme deities, nearly all living things had been warped into such monstrosities.

Of course, there were pleasant surprises to be found; because countless creatures of this decaying world had turned into the undead, the worldly possessions they left behind had become a hoard of masterless treasure.

In this world of a mythic era, awe-inspiring artifacts of immense power were aplenty; at that moment, Boss Fang was seen controlling Kratos, pulling a simple, unadorned rune from a shattered chest amidst the roadside ruins.

In Diablo II, they had already witnessed the might of runes, and within God of War 4, there were likewise runestones forged with ancient runes.

Yet, unlike in Diablo, the runestone before them appeared far more concise and ancient; these characters were steeped in mysticism, rumored to be the Runes created by Odin, the Allfather of Norse mythology, representing the primordial laws of the world, where every letter was said to possess magical potency that could bring about miracles if properly combined, serving perhaps as the predecessor and origin of magical incantations.

"It looks like embedding this into the axe allows the use of magic?" Boss Fang hastily lifted the battleaxe to give it a try.

As the battleaxe was raised, a powerful surge of magical shockwaves instantly swept across the surroundings!

"Whoa—!" The eyes of the mages and alchemists in the shop nearly popped out of their sockets. "A single, simple character actually possesses such devastating power?!"

Furthermore, this actually... required no consumption of mana! It was solely the innate power of the rune itself!

"Father, over here! The mountain is that way! Let us hasten!"

After some time, Boss Fang was running his live stream, practicing combat techniques himself while explaining them to the audience; though it was his first time encountering the highest difficulty, at the very least...

"At least it wasn't a total trainwreck!" Boss Fang wiped a non-existent bead of sweat from his brow and walked toward the direction Atreus was gesturing. "This is excellent! It feels like the boy is practically our guide; we don't even need to look at a map anymore, no matter which way we go."

Boss Fang hurriedly operated Kratos to follow his son Atreus: "Hiss... this developer truly has a conscience!"

Boss Fang mused in his heart; although he had felt nothing but pure malice while fighting monsters earlier, this segment—unlike a certain conspiracy-riddled, disgraceful game that didn't even grant the luxury of a map—filled him with absolute warmth and a profound sense of the developer's care.

"This is completely different from the previous entries, haha!" By this time, Boss Fang had already taken Atreus out for a hunt and returned; in this installment of God of War, though his godly powers were gone, bringing along a son who could guide the way, warn him of enemies behind, and even be commanded to launch ranged arrow attacks to assist in combat changed everything.

Though the monsters were a bit grueling, nearly bringing Boss Fang to utter ruin at the start, looking at it now, the gameplay experience could be described as incredibly smooth.

The two traversed the mountain cliffs, where remnants of this era could be seen everywhere: countless monsters and undead, collapsed temples, bizarre beasts never seen before, and... stone tablets inscribed with runic letters.

"Boss... there are so many runes here!"

"Can we take these?!"

A group of elves, including Sera, grew instantly thrilled; a single rune just now held such immense power, and here was a whole cluster of them?!

"They certainly wouldn't be that generous!" Saint Hermadon and the others beside them delivered a cold, disheartening blow.

"I have a feeling this is trying to convey some sort of message to us." Boss Fang walked up to the massive stone tablet, staring at the characters that exuded a faint luminescence of magical energy.

"Can you make out what is written on it then?" many people hastily asked through the bullet chat.

"..." Boss Fang's face darkened; how on earth should I know!

But there is a bit of a design flaw in this game—does playing this mean I have to learn ancient Old Norse runes?

What is wrong with this God of War developer?!

Before Boss Fang could finish venting his inner frustrations while controlling Kratos, his son Atreus stepped forward: "It looks like this describes a marketplace where giants would trade with the gods. Though I wonder if Odin ever came here."

"Ah—! This game...!" Boss Fang could not help but marvel. "Having a son in this generation is truly marvelous!"

Grand Elder Hiriu, who had played God of War for a long time previously, also remarked, "Oh my! I never imagined having a son would make things so much more convenient!"

"I think we should play it in a bit too!" the elven maiden Sera said in pleasant surprise.

For a group of sightseers and mechanically challenged players like them, playing this kind of game usually meant constantly getting battered, lost, and bewildered by puzzles, reducing their game experience essentially to zero; now, with a son to help output damage, solve puzzles, and recognize paths as a guide, it was bound to be exceptionally smooth!

"This is perfect for streaming!" Su Tianji also exclaimed in delight.

After all, she, the Grand Elder Su, always dreaded these intricate twists and turns during her live streams.

Thus, after Boss Fang concluded his stream, Sera and the other elves, along with various Saint-level experts, knights, and assassins, all began purchasing the game to play.

"Watch my stream! Watch my stream, alright!" In the evening, just as Boss Fang returned to the shop from outside, he saw Su Tianji broadcasting, vibrantly inviting Boss Fang, Nalan Mingxue, Song Qingfeng, Xiaoyue, and others to watch.

Clearly, with the guidance of his son Atreus, playing God of War 4 had become exceptionally fluid.

Due to the recent soaring popularity of God of War 4, even Sera and others from the Canglan City shop were tuning into Su Tianji's stream.

"This streamer is incredibly entertaining! We're back to watch the stream again!" Sera hastily posted a message in the bullet chat.

At that moment, within Su Tianji's streaming room:

"Son! What do these characters mean?"

"Son! Which way should we go next!?"

"Son! Strike that monster!"

"Isn't this amazing!" The journey was seamlessly smooth. "The God of War and his mantle-inheriting son!"

"Huh..." Boss Fang watched with surprise, and even the viewers in the streaming room were amazed!

Yet... at that very moment, while pursuing a piece of prey, Kratos and his son became separated.

"..." The streaming room suddenly fell into dead silence.

After a long pause.

"Son, where are you?! Daddy is lost!"

"Son! Daddy is illiterate, I can't read the signposts!"

"Son! Daddy can't beat this monster—!"

"Come save me—!"

Boss Fang's face turned grim as he watched: "Are you perhaps playing 'The God of War and His Illiterate, Directionally-Challenged, Disgraceful Old Father'..."

"Aaaah—!!!!" Su Tianji took off her virtual reality headset, glaring furiously at Boss Fang who was spectating from behind, her fur completely standing on end!

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