On the New Continent running north to south, the Galliot Duchy in the northern hemisphere was locked in deep winter, but in the southern hemisphere, the Golden Palm Federation was in the blazing heat of midsummer.

A middle-aged gentleman with a completely forgettable, utterly average face strolled leisurely out of the ever more prosperous Camside City. Yet the moment he passed through the shadow cast by a rubber tree under the fierce sun, he abruptly vanished without a trace.

Swish!

At the same time, a huge, dense flock of birds burst up from this woodland, soaring into the sky and flying toward the southwest, deeper into the Federation.

Just like that.

Aiven would sometimes turn into a New Continent tit and dance with the flock, sometimes turn into a dragonfly skimming across rippling water, sometimes into a salmon crossing a river...

Every one of his transformations was smooth as silk, as if he were originally a part of this ecosystem and was merely returning to where he belonged.

As a Divine Primordial Species based on Genetic Theory, Aiven might not have fused any corresponding Divine Position, nor did he possess a true Mythical Form.

But what he could do now was already something many Demigods on the "Life" path in history could not accomplish, or even imagine.

Once he fully merged into the ecosystem, even if a Demigod Level being focused all their attention on this place, they still couldn't hope to trace his tracks.

Winding along in no particular hurry, Aiven was not in a rush to reach his destination. Coming in person to this enemy nation, "Golden Palm," was completely different from sitting behind a desk reading reports.

A Divine Creature could often see many secrets hidden beneath the surface that others couldn't even notice.

Besides, he still had plenty left of the massive World's Favor he'd gained from landing on the moon last time; it was more than enough to support him wandering around wherever he pleased.

Bang!

After a short-tailed deer dashed through a stand of trees, a majestic eagle shot into the sky.

By now, what appeared before his eyes was a vast stretch of connected lakes, wetlands, and swamps.

A pair of sharp, sword-like golden eyes pierced the ever-present mist that refused to dissipate, seeing the artificial structures deep within the swamp.

This trip.

Aiven had taken the field personally, and his ultimate goal, naturally, was to reclaim the last two Golden Compasses.

Aside from some intelligence support early on.

He hadn't mobilized Lady Crow, Ye He'er, nor any of the Faceless Men already embedded throughout the hierarchy of this nation, nor even the Invisible Sons who'd been sent here for "field practice."

Because the location indicated by the ritual wasn't the Federation's most prosperous Camside City, but the Withered Wood Swamp deep inside the Golden Palm Federation—also the infamous base camp of the Curse School.

Aiven was not particularly surprised by that.

Back then, the Heart of the Ocean in the Black Sea, which had stirred up an uproar, had been hidden away in the vault of the Netherlands Bank Group.

For Extraordinary Treasures like the Golden Compass, whose name was by no means obscure in the Material World, ending up collected by unrelated parties after being lost by the thirteen families was only to be expected.

Moreover, Aiven had received a piece of intel from Ye He'er.

With the shift in development focus and advances in transportation, many of the Eye of Wealth's big bankers and major capitalists had already begun gradually transferring their assets to the New Continent.

After experiencing the "Octopus Ghost" Hawkins' attack, they had clearly learned the lesson of not putting all their eggs in one basket, and that your security forces absolutely had to be reliable.

Before the central grand vault in Camside City was fully completed.

All Extraordinary Treasures above a certain level, held by the various Bank Groups, had been temporarily deposited in the Wizard Tower of the Curse School.

Times were different now; in their eyes, there was no safer place in the Material World than the Wizard Tower painstakingly managed for years by a Crowned Wizard.

Aiven couldn't tell whether the Golden Compasses indicated by the ritual belonged to the bankers or to the Curse School.

He only knew that it didn't matter in the slightest who the current owner of the Golden Compasses was; a fist the size of a rice bowl would naturally help their owner recognize reality.

He'd served a few years in the Navy and a few more as a pirate. Even if he'd long since washed his hands of that life, when it came to "cunning plunder," he was still very much a seasoned professional!

"Hm? This is... a minor Spirit Tide?"

A dark green Water Snake slowly wove its way through the swamp, then suddenly turned its head, unexpectedly witnessing an Extraordinary level battle.

The Spiritual Overflow level wasn't high—at most, it was only at Level 2 "Fruit."

Oooo...

Chitter chitter...

On one side was a large group of Black Wizards from the Curse School, Shadow School, Spirit Communication School, Voodoo, Black Pyramid... as well as quite a few Demon-like Extraordinary on various unorthodox paths with bizarre appearances.

On the other side were powerful Spirit Bodies that could come and go freely even in broad daylight, clearly having gained tremendous benefits from the years of Spiritual Overflow.

Compared to the Galliot Duchy, which had already fully achieved Absolute Spirit.

Within the Golden Palm Federation, there still existed large numbers of Spirit Ghosts and Natural Spirits that grew stronger as the scale of the Spiritual Overflow expanded.

Although the Evil God side surely had intelligence agents stationed in the Galliot Duchy, they had yet to uncover the secret of the miraculous Tree of Rest, but they had their own advantages as well.

Under more than a dozen Evil Gods or Ancient Gods, they commanded vast legions of Evil God Cultists and Extraordinary on all sorts of unorthodox paths.

Even if they couldn't solve the problem at its Origin, they could still keep the Spirit Tide intensity across this land within a relatively stable range, creating the necessary conditions for Golden Palm's development.

In contrast. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Now that the 72 Pillar Demon Gods have passed their dormant period and the Demon-like beings are starting to stir, the activity of Evil God Cultists on the Old Continent has also dropped sharply, as if there were some predestined order in the dark.

Whoosh!

Aiven had no intention of interfering; his serpentine body slipped into the water and continued forward.

Just from their faces you could tell neither side was anything good; it'd be best if they could perish together right here, for the sake of... world peace.

...

At the same time.

In the deepest part of the Swamp, a towering black spire loomed in and out of sight within a thin mist glowing with strange colors.

If one walked a little closer, one would see that the outer wall of the tower was like congealed black wax, sealing faces one after another within it, and one could even faintly hear the eerie wails of "men and women, young and old."

This was the Wizard Tower of the Curse School, and also the base camp of the Crowned Wizard "Death Messenger."

Tap tap tap...

After his promotion to "Crowned Wizard," the "Death Messenger," whose withered old-man body had recovered to the Status of a gray-haired youth, followed the spiral stairs of the Wizard Tower and walked into the Lower Realm space that had been expanded by Witchcraft.

The heavy bronze Gate slowly opened before him.

There were now six standing committee members in Congress who held real power.

"Corrupted Followers" Yellen, "Blasphemous Cultist" Bradley, Crowned Wizard "Death Messenger," High-Rank Totem Gods "Rain God" Chuck, "Voodoo" chief and Female Pope Laviu, "Mourning Church" Ye He'er.

But their current task was to spare no effort in building the "Golden Palm Federation" into a [democratic] model after the "Lowland Republic," to drive the torrent of [Capital].

Even these standing committee members still had no idea about their own Main God's overall scheme, including "Lady Crow" Ye He'er, who was lurking in the enemy's very heart.

In truth, there was really no need to let them know.

After all.

Leaving aside whether their lifespans could withstand the future Era Catastrophe, even if they did survive to that time, Demigods didn't have the absolute confidence of "Sea Monarchy" Hekater to hand out a guaranteed ticket.

It was better to make sure from the very beginning that these tools, each in charge of their own domain, didn't develop any unnecessary thoughts and simply obediently completed the tasks assigned to them.

But there were exceptions.

As one of the few "Crowned Wizards" on the Evil God side, and someone extremely likely in the future to fully complete the [Truth Embodiment] and stand alongside Demigods, the "Death Messenger" had been entrusted with more tasks.

"Your Majesty Baimon, how is our processing progress coming along?"

The "Death Messenger" looked at the young figure lying on the back of a one-humped camel in the underground space, whose gender was indistinguishable and who was guzzling fine wine, and couldn't help but frown slightly.

The figure had a woman's face and a man's bearing, broad shoulders, a perfect physique, and wore a Gemstone-studded Golden Crown upon his head.

Beneath him, the golden dromedary with a mouthful of fangs wore a ring of Gemstone decorations and three carefully adorned female heads hung from its neck.

Though their eyes were closed and their faces pale, each one of them was an absolute beauty worth over 90 points in the mortal world.

Ha—!

Even when facing a "Crowned Wizard," the figure remained completely unconcerned, letting out a deep breath of sweet wine, tilting his head to cast him a sidelong glance:

"Hm? Are you teaching me how to do my job?"

Just that one glance made the "Death Messenger" involuntarily step back, a thin layer of sweat already seeping across his back.

Only then did he remember: this excessively handsome young man was no subordinate he could order around, but a collaborator of the Main Gods—a Demon God from the Lower Realm.

And moreover, one of the [Supreme Four Pillars], the "God of Deceit"——Baimon!

Some time ago.

According to what the Demon God Samikina, ranked 4th among the 72 Pillar Demon Gods Aiven had encountered, had said—

The Demon Gods who cooperated officially with Human Kingdom governments and advanced the "Weakening Compensation" trend along the scientific route were far from limited to just the Atlant Kingdom.

They included: the Demon God "Vashak," ranked 3rd among the 72 Pillar Demon Gods; the 6th, "Valefor"; the 9th, "Baimon"; the 25th, "Kathy Morale"; the 28th, "Belie"; and the 33rd, "Gyalpo."

These six all possessed related authorities.

And as one of the [Supreme Four Pillars], Baimon was the strongest among them.

His attainments in science, art, and arcana were exceedingly profound, and whenever he wished, he could bestow this knowledge upon humans in an instant.

However, perhaps out of concern for the strength he had yet to fully recover, as well as the Evil God standing behind the "Death Messenger,"

after glaring at him, Baimon finally just waved his hand and opened yet another Gate in the underground space.

With shouts and hammering ringing out, a billowing wave of heat surged forth.

He took another swig of wine and replied impatiently, perfunctorily:

"At the current pace, we'll need another two months."

Buzz——!

Just then, neither of them noticed a tiny flying insect flash through the underground space and slip past the Gate.