"What?" Leon said, his eyes widening as he read the words.

Right under that line was an eye that was printed into the paper, and strangely enough, the eye’s dark pupil moved around, gazing directly at Leon as if it could see him through the page.

The words on the letter then disappeared, being replaced by new ones as if the message was being written in real time by an unseen hand.

[Yes, you shall make a fine servant, one that stands above all others.]

[Perhaps we may be able to work something out, seeing you so easily defeated the people I had in this kingdom.]

Leon’s expression didn’t budge as he saw that, hiding the turmoil in his soul behind a mask of calm indifference.

Because just from the writing, and that eye right there staring at him, he could directly feel that it was the [God of War] talking to him through this letter, his presence palpable.

He was speaking to a god directly, something most players never experienced in their entire time playing.

[I am unable to act directly in the "Higher Domains" due to the Heavenly One’s rules, but using this, we are able to communicate.]

[I can grant you immense strength, so much so you shall never even worry about anything ever again.]

Leon could feel the oppressive aura coming from the letter, and the gaze of the [God of War] was terrifying beyond measure, pressing down on him.

Even though this was just one of his eyes, in fact just a reflection of one of his eyes on a piece of paper, it was still... so incredibly powerful that it made Leon’s knees weak.

Leon felt like he wouldn’t be able to do anything if he stood before the real god of war, the difference in power simply incomprehensible and overwhelming.

[So, what do you say, Celestial?]

Plus, the fact the god of war knew about his ID meant he either knew about Leon already from his exploits, or he could see his panel through divine means.

[Us gods pay close attention to those who clear the God-Rank assessments, you are very... sought after, to say the least.]

[Even more interesting, you are one of THEM.]

Leon resisted the urge to destroy the letter with his [Cataclysmic Fireball] at that moment, his hand trembling slightly with barely contained rage.

Instead, he simply folded it carefully, only gazing at the last sentence that appeared which was:

[I know we will meet soon.]

At least this discovery was information to Leon, and perhaps keeping the letter could be useful in the future for understanding his enemies.

If he could speak to the [God of War] whenever he wanted, there might be a lot of things he could learn about his enemies and their plans, which would be valuable intel.

’And if he thinks that someone like me will join his side... he might be willing to do things that reveal more about his intentions and strategies.’

Still, the one thing that made Leon sit down and think was the fact he said the gods paid attention to the [God-Rank] assessments and those who completed them.

This meant they knew about him, Violet, Godrick, Oasis and more, and were likely watching their progress across the domains.

"Kaaaa~"

The baby dragon was spinning around Emilia and Celeste, and Pyra even flew around Alphox, seemingly playing with him and chasing him in circles through the air.

Meanwhile, Leon didn’t know what to do anymore, his plans thrown into disarray by the sudden turn of events.

They were kicked out of the [Imperial Kingdom], so the next best thing they could do was move forward and continue their journey elsewhere.

Leon could defeat level 100 monsters now, and with a few more days of grinding, so would Emilia and Celeste reach that point of strength.

Their best option now was to simply grow strong enough for Leon to get rid of all the gods’ servants he knew about in the higher domains, then immediately head toward the [Eternal Battlefield] to prepare for the final confrontation.

"Alright," Leon got up, ready to announce his plan to the others, "Lets—"

But he didn’t have the time to complete his sentence before something interrupted him from behind.

BAM!

In a single deafening explosion of light that appeared a few meters from them, Leon saw three figures materialize out of nowhere in a flash of brilliant energy.

It was Iris, Zarek, and Violet, all of them appearing in a flash of teleportation magic that left the grass around them scorched.

They had used the [Imperial Queen]’s magic to teleport here, covering a massive distance in an instant across the plains.

’She’s able to use magic from that far away,’ Leon thought while looking at the queen with new respect, ’No wonder the gods want her so badly for their army...’

Fwoosh!

Iris’ expression remained completely neutral as she lifted her staff, her eyes scanning the group with calculating precision.

Nature’s Strings!

Using the same spell she used against Violet in the imperial arena, vines erupted from the ground to bind Leon and Alphox in place, holding them tight.

She didn’t aim at Celeste, Emilia or Pyra as they hadn’t killed anybody, her targeting precise and deliberate.

"Now," the imperial queen smiled, "We meet again, though in completely different circumstances than before..."

"They were traitors, and trying to kill my friends," Leon immediately said, his eyes glowing with defiance, "They—"

"I know," Iris sighed, her expression softening with understanding, "I could feel that something amiss but couldn’t truly place my hand on it until now..."

Fwoosh!

She swung her staff, and the vines let go of Leon and Alphox, allowing them to drop to the ground freely.

’Oh wow, this was easier than I thought,’ Leon thought, surprised by her quick acceptance of his explanation.

"I told her you wouldn’t do anything like this," Violet smiled as she approached, "Also since I won, she needed to listen to my request!"

"True, my dear," the queen sighed, "But it also means you will be gone soon from this domain."

"A few more weeks and I’ll proceed, yes," Violet confirmed.

"Good, empress," Iris smiled, "And as for you... well, just come back to the kingdom, I’ll give an order to all my guards to stand down, though they might be hostile toward you at first..."

"None of them can defeat me," Leon spoke confidently, "Its fine."

"True, but I’d appreciate if you didn’t kill them all, we need them for my kingdom’s defense."

"Well, those that I killed were allied to the god of—"

Silent Bind!

Iris immediately bound Leon’s mouth with a spell, stopping him from saying the name of the god out loud, the magic sealing his lips.

In fact, as he watched her at that moment, her entire body was shaking with what seemed like fear.

"Do not utter that name, or any of their names," she said coldly, her voice trembling, "That is unforgivable."

For some strange reason, Leon had the feeling that Iris had gone through a lot already in her life because of the gods and their influence.

And that if he didn’t act, she would go through much worse in the future, perhaps even becoming one of their servant herself.

"Grrr..." Zarek groaned as he heard the word "god" as well, becoming much more aggressive and tense, his hands clenching into fists.

The influence of the gods went far beyond anyone could expect at first glance.