The Era of Gods

Lin Xiao meticulously felt each prayer of the followers in his mind, the threads of faith thickened a lot, and the degree of faith deepened, but none had undergone a qualitative change.

By this time, the entire Supreme Naga race consisted solely of Devout Believers or Fanatic Believers, with no faith lower than these two levels.

Devout Believers and Fanatic Believers were already the upper limits of normal believers’ devotion. Normally, faith would deepen, but would not transform qualitatively, for it was impossible to transform any further.

The only more advanced level of faith was that of a Saint, and the conditions for becoming a Saint were so stringent that it wasn’t just a matter of being devout enough.

He dared say that if he gave the order, all Supreme Nagas would be willing to die for him, but no matter how devout the faith, unless the understanding of doctrine, the synchronization with the object of worship were up to par, it was impossible to become a Saint.

Truth be told, Lin Xiao was already quite satisfied to have a single Saint; many True Gods didn’t even have one.

In the days that followed, many Supreme Nagas, especially those of Rank 6 and Rank 7, entered the ancient arenas to train themselves and break through their own limits.

It’s worth mentioning that with the increase in the bloodline limit, it became easier for Supreme Nagas to advance, whether from Rank 5 to the Transcendent Level of Rank 6, or from the previously extremely difficult Rank 6 to Rank 7, it all became easier than before.

However, advancing to the Legendary Level of Rank 8 was still very difficult, akin to the previous difficulty of advancing from Rank 6 to Rank 7.

After years of reproduction, there were now more than fifty-six thousand Supreme Nagas. Aside from Slarda, there were currently a total of one hundred seventeen Rank 8 Naga Lords, no Rank 9 Supreme Naga Great Lords for the time being, and more than three hundred Rank 7 Naga warriors. However, as the restrictions on advancement were lifted and it became easier, it was believed that Rank 9 would emerge on a large scale before long.

There were now more than sixteen thousand Rank 6 Naga warriors, while the remaining over forty-two thousand were regular adult Supreme Nagas.

But as it was said, as the advancement restrictions were lifted, more and more Supreme Nagas would ascend to Rank 6, and the overall strength of the Divine Realm would thereby be greatly improved.

After spending the better part of a year in the Divine Realm, watching one Supreme Naga after another advance, Lin Xiao was filled with joy.

However, until he received a reminder from Xie Yufei to leave the Divine Realm, no Rank 9 Supreme Naga Great Lord had yet been born within it.

Returning with a slight sense of regret, a projection of Xie Yufei appeared before him, and he was surprised to find that she was wearing a uniform specially designed for attending ceremonies. Her expression was also unusually serious as she said in a grave tone,

“The military department has confirmed your merit evaluation and rewards. Due to the limits of your strength, your rank will be that of an Elite Major, and the specific position and rewards are to be proposed by our military district.”

At this point, her serious expression relaxed and she said with a smile in a softer tone,

“Limited by your strength, you cannot be promoted directly to general, so there will be special consideration for your military position and treatment. Several options have been drafted for you to choose from. I’ll go over them with you, and after you listen, you can make your choice and tell me.”

“Your rank will be that of an Elite Major, belonging to the Yan Huang No. 5 War Zone, with a High-standard General Exclusive Guard, a High-standard General Exclusive Void Warship, along with the ship’s accompanying staff, but not including the troops for the Void Ship.”

“There are three choices for military positions. One is the authority to form your own battalion, where you can establish a battalion and be the battalion commander.”

“The second option is to join an existing official battalion as the acting battalion commander. Currently, in the military district, there are four official battalions whose commanders are about to take office, retire, or be transferred. If you choose this, I’ll send you the information of the four battalions later.”

“The third option is to forego a military command position and choose a civil service position. The military district inspection team is currently lacking a team leader, if you’re willing, you can select this.”

Lin Xiao…

“Isn’t this… a bit too exaggerated?”

Each of the three options seemed outrageous to him. What concept was the commander of a battalion with real power?

Although the current military system still follows the division and corps system, this division and corps are entirely different concepts from those of ancient times.

An official division now refers to a military body that has the power to independently attack a strong plane with Powerful Divine Power. Note that only the main divisions can take on those with Powerful Divine Power; ordinary divisions surely don’t have this capability.

An official corps, on the other hand, refers to a military body that has the ability to conquer a Crystal Wall System that is not very powerful, which here means not more than five Powerful Divine Powers and without any Great Beings.

The Yan Huang No. 5 War Zone is a main combat zone, having no more than ten corps, including the Expeditionary Army and Fortress garrison corps.

As a military unit one level below a division, a battalion has always been known for its martial prowess. Smaller battalions do not stand out much, such as those newly created and still not strong in power, whereas large ones, like the Furious Flame Battalion, possess several beings with Medium Divine Power.

Coincidentally, among the several official battalions they offered was the Furious Flame Battalion.

Keep in mind, it seems Xie Yufei is currently the deputy commander of the Furious Flame Battalion…

“Of course, with your current strength being insufficient, you surely cannot command respect, so for now, you can only act as an interim commander, with the battalion affairs temporarily managed by the original first deputy commander.”

Xie Yufei’s next words shattered Lin Xiao’s illusions.

“Well, as expected!”

It meant giving him a position, a military rank that was indeed a genuine position with real authority—it was true. However, with his current strength, he definitely wouldn’t be able to command his subordinates.

It was a joke—one group of True Gods, how could they be willing to follow his orders? Even if the military discipline was strict and it wouldn’t result in subordinates pressuring their superiors, there would surely be issues with insubordination, and he definitely wouldn’t be able to command these powerful subordinates.

So, this military position looked powerful and outrageous, but in reality, it was useless; it was just a nominal post.

He suspected that this was a way for the military to woo him or to bind him to them.

After all, although he wasn’t strong now, he had tremendous potential. Not to mention the immense favor from Commander Xie, just the great feats he had accomplished meant it was almost certain he would become a Son of Gaia. How could the military bigwigs not know this implied that as long as he didn’t die, he would definitely become a top-tier powerhouse in the future, a kind of powerhouse who was a sure bet as long as they lived. Who wouldn’t be willing to invest in such a person?

So now the question came, how to choose?

The first option, to build his own battalion, was definitely a PASS; with his current lack of strength, resources, connections, and territory, it was impossible to create any sort of battalion.

That left him only the second and third options to choose from: a military position with real power or a civilian position with immense authority. Between these two…

As he was contemplating, Xie Yufei, reminded of the words her father had said to her earlier, looked at Lin Xiao, who was deep in thought. A slight blush crept onto her face, and after steadying herself, she suddenly pointed at one of the four candidate battalions on the screen in front of Lin Xiao and said:

“If I were you, I’d choose this one.”

Lin Xiao looked up confusedly at the Furious Flame Battalion Xie Yufei was pointing to; seconds later, realization dawned on him. She said:

“I am currently the first deputy commander of the Furious Flame Battalion. If you choose to become the commander of the Furious Flame Battalion, then I will handle the daily operations of the Furious Flame Battalion on your behalf in my capacity as the first deputy commander.”

With her hand on her full chest, she said:

“With sister here, you can just let sister know whenever you need the strength of the battalion, and sister will help you with it. That way, through me, you’ll be able to borrow the battalion’s strength.”

Lin Xiao, recovering from his state of indecision, carefully considered her words. He had to admit that her proposal was somewhat enticing.

After all, it involved taking command of a battalion—albeit indirectly and perhaps only a small portion of its strength. Yet, it was still better than the so-called role of patrol group leader.

The so-called patrol group was nothing but idly inspecting among the fortresses of various Crystal Walls or planes within the War Zone’s territory when there was nothing else to do. He didn’t have the time to go on patrols everywhere, and besides, the position was both thankless and labor-intensive. It was very easy to offend people, and going there as an outsider, he’d probably be marginalized and end up as a mere figurehead without any real power.

After thinking it over, he realized that Xie Yufei’s suggestion was the most reliable.

With this in mind, he nodded with a smile and said:

“Then I’ll be in your care, Sister Feifei!”

“No problem, no problem at all!”

Both of them smiled simultaneously.

Having made his decision, the investiture ceremony was next. It was worth mentioning that he was awarded two medals this time: a Dark Gold Special Merit Medal and a Gaia Medal.

The special merit was the highest military honor, and like any other era, military honors were extremely difficult to get. Yet, once obtained, they were akin to a cheat that could rapidly promote military rank. As long as one avoided mistakes and had the necessary strength, becoming a general was guaranteed.

For Lin Xiao’s achievement, receiving a special merit was a justified entitlement, and no one objected to it.

As for the Gaia Medal, this didn’t belong to the internal military decorations but was an honorary medal within the Human Main World, only awarded for outstanding contributions to the Main World.

The Gaia Medal also had different levels, and his was the lowest, a one-star Gaia Medal.

The Gaia Medal didn’t come with direct rewards, but it would attract the attention of the Gaia Will, thus granting some invisible benefits that ordinary people couldn’t obtain.

It was one of Commander Xie Tianyan’s incarnations who presented the medals to him, and the ceremony took place in a small auditorium inside the Fortress.

Possibly considering that his strength was too weak for too high a profile and after consulting Lin Xiao himself, the award ceremony took place in this small auditorium. In addition to the commander, there were more than a dozen high-ranking officials from inside the Fortress in attendance. At a glance, they all wore generals’ gold stars on their shoulders. Although they tried their best to conceal their auras, Lin Xiao, now a Son of Gaia, could sense through some newfound amplification the disturbing fluctuations emanating from them that made his heart race.

All were powerful True Gods, at least of Medium Divine Power, and most with Powerful Divine Power. Each of them watching the handsome young man brought in by Xie Yufei smiled gently and gave a light applause.

As Lin Xiao drew closer, several generals’ smiles…