Chapter 469: Playground of the Evil Gods

The blood of the kuo-toa stained the entire sea red. Countless bloodthirsty sea beasts, attracted by the scent, came from all directions, feasting on the corpses of the kuo-toa. This was a rare banquet in the ocean.

"Brother Muria, is it okay for you to casually destroy the statue like this?" Remilia asked with a worried expression, standing in the ruins of the temple.

"It's fine." Muria looked around. At his feet lay a toppled statue over six meters tall, depicting a female humanoid figure with a lobster head and claws. The statue was almost completely shattered, its head currently under Muria's foot.

"This is just another isolated and powerless chaotic evil god like Lolth." Muria showed a dismissive expression. At this moment, he felt a strange sensation from under his foot, as if he was stepping on a flesh-and-blood head rather than a stone statue.

"Your reaction is too slow." Muria looked down slightly, seeing a faint blue divine light emanating from the eyes of the statue's head under his foot, making it appear alive.

"Insignificant ant, how dare you desecrate a deity." A weak thought came through, causing Muria to smirk sarcastically.

"I've desecrated you, so what can you do about it? When your kuo-toa followers were still alive, you didn't react at all. Now they are all dead, and your statue is in pieces. What can you do by descending your consciousness now? I really don't understand how you chaotic and brainless deities think."

"I curse you in the name of the Sea Mother. You shall face endless disasters on the vast ocean, dying in the most miserable and painful way, and your soul shall fall into the abyss..." The god of the kuo-toa, Blibdoolpoolp, cursed Muria with malice and hatred.

"Your curse has no effect on me." Muria exerted a bit of force, crushing the stone head underfoot despite the divine thought attached to it.

"Did you feel any discomfort, Brother Muria?" Remilia, seeing Muria's extremely firm stance against the deity, showed undisguised admiration but soon asked with concern.

"Don't worry. A curse of this level can't harm me. To kill me with a curse, she would need to consume part of her divine power. These casual curses are useless; just ignore them."

"But she is a sea deity, and she has a vast number of followers in the ocean. If she holds a grudge, you will face endless attacks."

"Her followers are all kuo-toa. If these sea creatures keep attacking me, I would be delighted. Such prey saves me the trouble of sending out many storm giants and tidal giants to hunt. It will make things easier for my giants."

"That is a deity," Remilia reminded in a weak voice, seeing Muria's nonchalant attitude.

"I've already offended Lolth. Another evil god far inferior to Lolth doesn't matter." Muria smiled and ruffled Remilia's blue short hair.

"Brother, how many sea deities have you offended?" Remilia asked in a small voice, seeing Muria's dismissive attitude towards deities.

"The Deep Sea Queen Ambori, the King of the Deep Sea Dagon, just to name a few. There are quite a number," Muria replied with a smile.

"Brother, you've offended so many deities..."

"These are all evil gods. Given my status, I'm naturally their enemy. Even if I don't provoke them, they will attack me if they see me."

Muria explained patiently while directing his subordinates to collect spoils and clean up the battlefield.

"Moreover, my construction and transformation of the cloud island into a floating city require a lot of resources. Obtaining resources through peaceful means is too slow. By plundering these enemies, I can develop better and faster."

"But..."

"Don't worry. If these evil gods unite to retaliate, I might be concerned. But their hatred for each other is far greater than their hatred for me, so they won't unite."

The followers of the Sea Mother and the King of the Deep Sea Dagon, both kuo-toa, have an endless faith conflict. The Ocean Queen Ambori, also known as the Fiery Queen, has a primary following among the sahuagin, who are also in deadly competition with the kuo-toa.

Few oceanic evil gods have harmonious relationships; they are mostly mortal enemies. This will not change because of Muria's presence.

"Your Highness, the spoils have been sorted," reported Terence, the storm giant leader who had grown to 34 meters under Muria's influence.

"Let's go back!" Muria said, holding Remilia's hand as they boarded a floating warship.

"Brother Muria, why don't you keep these kuo-toa prisoners?" Remilia asked, puzzled, watching the tidal giants send the surviving kuo-toa to meet their deity.

"Because they are chaotic beings," Muria answered calmly.

"I remember some of your subordinates used to be chaotic."

"They are now lawful beings. I have changed their nature."

"If that's the case, then..."

"Okay, I admit it. Mainly because these kuo-toa are too ugly. I can't stand looking at them."

...

Having just sent Remilia off, Muria sat in the central castle built next to the Wind King Eagle, contemplating the route of the cloud island while looking at the nautical chart in front of him.

"Your Highness Muria, I must remind you that the Synapse Subcontinent you are about to reach will be the most dangerous subcontinent in the world for you," said a gentle and soft voice in Muria's mind—his spirit, Casio.

"I know," Muria replied, squinting slightly. "The Synapse Subcontinent is known as the playground of the evil gods, filled with their followers and demonic cultists, with almost no place for good-aligned beings."

"Your Highness, there are no metallic dragons in the Synapse Subcontinent. You will receive no help and instead face hatred and pursuit from the followers of these evil gods. Shouldn't you consider avoiding this subcontinent?"

"No need."