Chapter 1573: Dividing the Territory!

Chapter 1573: Dividing Territories!

Zhou Wuyu watched the despair etched upon Os's face and couldn't help but smile.

How uncomfortable it must feel to be betrayed by one's own allies?

He stood up, walked over to Os, and stared at the familiar face before him, speaking with a deep, lingering tone:

"Os."

"Long time no see."

Os didn't understand the meaning behind the demon lord's words.

Long time no see?

Hadn't they just met not long ago?

At that time, the demon lord had been Os's humiliating defeat—how could anyone have imagined such a reversal would occur so swiftly?

"Victor becomes king, vanquished becomes foe."

"Kill or mutilate—your pleasure, my lord."

Os lowered his head and spoke.

Zhou Shiyu exhaled softly, his eyes widening in surprise, "You've really absorbed the Blue Star culture well, haven't you?"

Of course, with the rise of the Celestial Sovereign, now the Fourth Reserve Supreme Lord, and the Sunlight God Realm becoming one of the most powerful dominions across the myriad realms, the Blue Star culture had naturally spread throughout the cosmos.

Yet, to hear a Sovereign of the Crimson Realm utter a Blue Star idiom—something so distinctly from their own world—was still astonishing to Zhou Shiyu.

Had the Blue Star culture already reached another universe?

Os said nothing.

Zhou Shiyu didn’t press further. Instead, he asked, "Before you die, is there anything else you’d like to say?"

For this Sovereign of the Crimson Cosmos, Os, Zhou Shiyu actually held a certain admiration.

Plus, His "cunning path" bore a striking resemblance to His essence, so Zhou Shiba was indeed willing to grant Him the chance to leave a final message.

As for subduing Him?

Impossible!

Though Os's talent was commendable, and at this juncture he had already reached the level of a Supreme God, the very nature of his existence made him too conspicuous—drawing the sharp gaze of the Crimson Lord.

Thus, leaving Os unharmed was the only truly sound decision.

After hearing the Crimson Lord's words, Os couldn't help but lift his eyes toward Zhou Shiba.

"Lord of the Demon Maiden,"

"I once spared your life."

"Shouldn't you spare mine as well?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wufifteen truly began to think seriously.

Should I spare Os for a moment?

Not impossible.

After all, the original body had indeed been granted a reprieve by Him—otherwise, I would never have entered the divine form of the Demon Lord.

Though the original body and my true self are not particularly aligned, there is still this chain of cause and effect.

Moreover, I was worried that Os might reveal my identity if he were near me—but couldn’t I simply keep Os away from me?

What could a lord who has lost everything possibly do?

Finally, there was one more crucial reason.

Zhou Wufifteen ran a hand over the area of his heart.

He, or rather, the True Being, already carried the arrogance of a mighty one.

Before a defeated foe—indeed, a failure who posed no threat to him whatsoever—he was more than willing to display his mercy.

After all, now, He did not need to survive with the caution of yesteryear, nor pursue ruthless eradication, eliminating every trace of potential danger.

Even at the height of his power, Os was no match for a fraction of what He had become.

Should he ever rise again in the future, he would likely never reach the peak he once stood upon.

"I may let you go," said Zhou Wusi.

"But I shall erase your divine realm and your lordly aptitude."

Upon hearing this, Os’ face instantly paled.

Erase his divine realm and his lordly aptitude?

This is how He can never rise again.

But...

As long as he can survive, whether or not he rises has become irrelevant.

"Good!"

"Please, Your Majesty, use your means."

Osric gritted his teeth.

Zhou Shiba nodded.

He looked at Osric, and a flash of gold passed through his eyes.

The very next moment,

Osric felt the divine essence within his mind fracturing subtly, the vast divine power contained within it dispersing into countless energies, flowing back into the world.

And His willful power quietly unraveled, dissolving into nothingness.

Now He was merely an ordinary crimson being, possessing only a normal body and soul, not even reaching the level of a black iron transcendental.

At the same time, He sensed his lordly gift vanish instantly, as if stolen away.

Oss stared blankly, disoriented.

He knew—he had fallen from heaven into hell.

The former strength and glory had now been utterly severed from him.

He had officially become just another ordinary member among the endless masses.

"Go away."

Zhou Shiba spoke softly.

"Thank you, Lady Demon Lord... Your Majesty."

Os spoke bitterly.

Then He rose, staggering and weak, and retreated into the distance, walking for a long while before fading from the sight of the gods.

Only when he had truly vanished from their gaze did He dare to turn back.

"Everything is over."

Os murmured to himself.

At that moment, His heart was heavy with loss, yet also carried a long-forgotten sense of ease and freedom.

"Perhaps."

"To give up all this—perhaps it was a good thing for me."

"A simple, ordinary life might bring me a different kind of fulfillment."

Carrying the hope of a new life and the lightness of release, Os walked steadily, his steps light and unhurried, toward the horizon.

……

At the same time.

"Your Majesty, shall I..."

Bai Yun spoke softly.

He understood well the nature and manner of Zhou Shiyu's character, which was why he asked.

"No."

Zhou Shiyu shook his head. He watched the fading silhouette of Os, and even now, as the moment approached, no warning sign stirred within his heart.

This proved that the other party truly no longer posed any threat to him.

Zhou Shiyu, blessed with great destiny, deeply trusted his instincts.

If his instincts offered no warning, then the other had likely no chance of rising again.

"Let's go."

Zhou Shiyu no longer hesitated. He turned and stepped into the inner sanctum of the divine temple, swiftly seizing control of the Chaotic Crimson God Dominion.

As soon as control was secured, a single thought passed through his mind, and the requirements for ascending to the rank of Senior Master God Dominion Lord appeared before him.

There, among the stipulations, the requirement to conquer three junior Master God Dominion Lord territories under the command of the Crimson Lords had changed—from (0/3) to (1/3).

Zhou Shiyu nodded slightly.

Ling'er's spiritual elixir Master God Dominion had already been incorporated into the state's holdings.

Now, all that remained was for him to conquer two more junior Master God Dominion Lord territories under the Crimson Lords' command, and he would fulfill all the conditions necessary to elevate the Prairial God Dominion to the status of a Senior Master God Dominion Lord Territory.

With this in mind, Zhou Shiyu turned his gaze toward the other Crimson Lords of the Crimson God Dominions.

And there, a portion of them looked in the direction where Os had departed, their faces etched with a complex mixture of regret and admiration.

A different faction of lords stared at Zhou Wufu with burning, exhilarated eyes, as though he were a celebrity;

Zhou Wufu smiled inwardly at this sight.

He knew exactly what was going through their minds.

Oss had long suppressed them—among all the Crimson Lords, he was the most promising candidate to become the Fifth Reserve of the Crimson Sovereign.

Now, under the leadership of the Demon Lord, they had effortlessly destroyed this Crimson First Lord, bringing him from heaven crashing down to the dust—this sensation of an impossible reversal, of defeating a rival, was one that anyone who had experienced it could understand.

And when one thought of the vast, chaotic Crimson Dominion, the possibility that they too might share in some of its spoils—how could they not be thrilled?

"Comrades,"

Zhou Wufu spoke, "the Chaotic Crimson Dominion has now fallen into our hands. I need not elaborate further. Let us now divide this Chaotic Crimson Dominion among ourselves."

At these words, the Crimson Lords' eyes lit up instantly, their gaze fixed tightly on Zhou Wufu, waiting for his next words.

"In this war, I was the main force and bore the greatest sacrifice, therefore I claim all the wealth of the Chaotic Crimson Dominion and half of its territory."

"As for the remaining half of the Chaotic Crimson God Realm territory, by right I should have divided it among you all. But now, suddenly, I have a new idea."

"I can offer you two choices."

"First: I will divide this half of the Chaotic Crimson God Realm territory among you, according to the extent of your efforts."

"Second: You may relinquish your share of the Chaotic Crimson God Realm, and I will assist your lordly factions in ascending from god-realm lordships to master god-nation lordships."

"Everyone, what would you prefer?"

Zhou Shiba asked.

The twenty-five Crimson Lords below exchanged glances, each reading the shock and suspicion in the other's eyes.

Could this be true?

Would this demon lord truly be willing to help them rise to master god-nation lordships?

And what exactly did he demand? Only territory?

This couldn't be possible, could it?

Territory was the sort of thing where, if one possessed the strength, one could claim as much as they desired.

Yet the resources required to ascend to a main divine kingdom were by no means easily obtained.

What exactly was this succubus lord's motive that prompted It to utter such words?

For a moment, the various crimson lords fell silent.

With a single glance at their expressions, Zhou Shiwu knew precisely what was crossing their minds.

He secretly shook his head in his heart.

Had this been within the Supreme Great Universe, and had any divine kingdom-level lord faction chanced by, they likely would have agreed decisively by now rather than hesitating as these lords were.

Never mind.

Prestige was something to be built up, piece by piece.

After all, he would be permanently stationed in the Scarlet Great Universe from now on.

"I know this may be difficult for you to believe all at once."

"However, you might as well take a look at these two top-tier Supreme Gods behind me."

Zhou Shiwu pointed toward Bai Yun and the other Supreme God standing at his back, speaking with an amused undertone:

"With them here, do you truly still believe that I cannot assist you in ascending to the rank of a Divine Kingdom-tier lord faction?"

The realization suddenly dawned upon the assembled Scarlet Lords as they heard his words.

Of course!

With those two top-tier Supreme Gods at the Succubus Lord's disposal, gathering the resources necessary to advance to a primary Divine Kingdom realm would be an incredibly simple matter.

If the other party truly wished to support a few Divine Kingdom-tier lord factions and raise them into Divine Kingdom lord forces, it was indeed far from impossible.

"Your Majesty, we believe you."

The Shadow Lord of the Shadow Elf Crimson Divine Kingdom spoke, "But could you tell us why you are spending such a massive price to support our promotion into a True God Kingdom lord faction? I feel that a mere handful of territories should not be worth such a heavy price from Your Majesty in exchange."

Hearing this, the other Crimson Lords also looked toward Zhou Shiwu.

Their doubts and hesitations stemmed from this exact same point.

Zhou Shiwu smiled upon hearing their words and said, "You are a clever lord."

"Very well, since you have thought of this, I shall not hide it from you."

"I have learned through certain channels that Lord Crimson Supreme desires our Crimson Great Universe to give birth to more True God Kingdoms. If I help you establish a low-tier True God Kingdom, it is highly likely to increase my weight in the heart of Lord Crimson Supreme, and it will also add to my bargaining chips to become the Crimson Sovereign in the future, which is why I want to lend a hand."

"There is one more reason."

"I have only recently learned that in the future, for a low-tier True God Kingdom to advance into a mid-tier or high-tier True God Kingdom, one must conquer other True God Kingdoms to complete the promotion."

"Your speed of advancement is far too slow, so I wish to help you establish yourselves faster. This way, when I have need of it, I can directly choose to attack you newly ascended low-tier True God Kingdoms to fulfill the requirements of promoting my own True God Kingdom."

"Do you have any other doubts this time?"

Zhou Shiba said.

What he said was eight parts true and two parts false.

Yet precisely because of this manner of speaking, the assembled Crimson Lords believed him even more.

"Ah, so it is."

The Crimson Lords suddenly understood.

Now, there was no hesitation or doubt upon their faces.

Most creatures in the world fear what is unknown.

When the unknown is unraveled and becomes known—no matter how terrifying that known truth may be—within the heart, a subtle sense of confidence, born of knowledge, begins to take root.

"There is no longer any doubt."

"May the Emperor allow us to discuss this further?"

Cain spoke respectfully.

Zhou Shiba nodded.

Upon hearing this, the lords immediately began to discuss it.

They had not concealed their conversation from Zhou Shiba, and upon hearing their words, Zhou Shiba's face softened into a faint, gentle smile.

A moment later—

The red lords had concluded their deliberations.

Then, Lord Solor of the Dark Red Divine Realm stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, we have finished our discussion."

"We, the twenty-five red lords—me and Lord Cain—would like to accept Your Majesty's assistance, and with Your Majesty's help, strive to establish our own divine realm as soon as possible."

"As for the other red lords, Your Majesty may assign them territories according to their capabilities."

Zhou Wuyu looked toward the other Crimson Lords.

He saw that though their expressions varied, none of them spoke out against it.

Zhou Wuyu nodded, "Very well. Then, from this moment on, I shall divide the territories among you."

Upon speaking,

He immediately produced a map of the Chaos Crimson Sovereign State, and divided his main holdings in half, assigning one half to the Demoness Sovereign State.

The other half of the Chaos Crimson Sovereign State's territory, Zhou Wuyu divided into twenty-three portions according to the contributions of the twenty-three Crimson Lords, and presented it to them.

After reviewing it, they confirmed there was no issue and unanimously agreed to this territorial division.

Then, as Zhou Wuyu was about to take Sulong and Cai Yin away, he heard the Sovereign of the Shadow Sprite Sovereign State, speaking cautiously:

"Your Majesty, shouldn't you now begin launching an attack on the surrounding Crimson Lords' territories?"

"We could also assist you."

"At that point, Your Majesty, just grant us a little piece of territory like today, and we won't ask for much—only that we might assist you."

Zhou Shiba stroked his chin, nodding with a smile.

It seemed they intended to send Solor and Cain as pawns, to test whether he truly wished to help them establish a nascent divine realm.

Once that was confirmed, they could proceed with their plans accordingly.

That was why they had proposed offering their assistance.

Thus, in the future, they would have the opportunity to petition for His aid in founding such a realm; at the same time, they could avoid facing opposition—especially since, upon His return to the divine realm, he might suddenly hear of the Mephistopheles' territory launching an attack.

A win-win situation indeed!

And this precisely aligned with His own desires.

Therefore, He agreed.