The Path to Another World

“You’ve done enough, but will anyone remember you? Now, besides the elves, there’s also the nature goddess Geqiusha. Will humans believe in you? Think about those elves who were captured and kept in captivity, think about those disgusting humans. Your sacrifice is really not worth it.” Hades, the god of death, was still trying to persuade Geqiusha. He simply couldn’t bring himself to harm her.

"I don't need anyone to believe in me. What I need to do is what I should do: protect this land beneath my feet. That's my true intention. You should still do it. You can't persuade me." Ge Qiusha shook her head, looking longingly at the continent beneath her feet. This was her birthplace, where she grew up, and where she finally became a god. It was the root she could never sever.

"But..." The infatuated Grim Reaper was about to persuade Ge Qiusha when a sinister voice interrupted him: "I knew you wouldn't do it. I'll do this ruthless thing! Great men don't concern themselves with trifles." The cold voice came from nowhere, making Ye Fan, who was watching, shiver. He wanted to remind the Goddess of Nature, but at the crucial moment, he couldn't utter a sound and just stood there anxiously.

Hearing the voice that seemed to come from near and far, Hades' face paled with anxiety. Thinking of the ruthless man who resembled a scorpion, he quickly shouted, "Be careful! Ge Qiusha is the Goddess of Schemes!"

"Too late." The chilling voice had barely faded when a long crack suddenly appeared in the space behind Ge Qiusha. A sleazy man, the size of a dwarf, leaped out. His short, stocky frame and darting eyes resembled a giant, oversized rat. He stretched out his short hands and launched a sneak attack towards Ge Qiusha's back. There was no sound of wind, but wherever his hands passed, the space rippled, seemingly on the verge of shattering. Numerous spatial rifts and small black holes appeared, demonstrating the immense power of his palm strike. If it landed squarely, even if Ge Qiusha were a goddess of nature, she would be severely injured, or even perish.

"Sticky, you despicable rat!" Feeling the fierce attack from behind, she was locked onto by the opponent's mental power and had no way to dodge. She could only endure the attack and shouted, "Flower Shield!" Instantly, a peony made of elements enveloped Ge Qiusha. The seven-colored petals seemed to have extraordinary defensive power, but it was no match for the earth-shattering palm strike. It only blocked for a tenth of a second before shattering and turning back into pure magical elements. In that short tenth of a second, Ge Qiusha had already repeatedly set up thousands of layers of elemental shields in front of her, but unfortunately, it still could not withstand the earth-shattering palm strike. In the face of absolute power, everything seemed so pale and powerless. The layers of elemental shields were easily torn apart like soap bubbles. The palm strike hit Ge Qiusha's back heavily, and the powerful force burst out and directly penetrated the skin and hit Ge Qiusha's internal organs.

Ge Qiusha was like a rag doll violently struck by a baseball bat, sent flying far away. Using the immense force of the attack, she retreated nearly hundreds of kilometers to escape the ambush, bleeding profusely along the way. Her internal organs were severely injured, and her fighting strength had dropped to half of its usual level. Ye Fan, who had been watching the battle closely, was on the verge of tears. He couldn't help but secretly despise that big rat. "Damn it," he thought, "such a beautiful woman deserves our utmost care, yet you severely injured her. Are you even a man?" He added, "I despise you on behalf of all men." Of course, he could only despise her silently in his heart; if he did it in front of the man, he'd probably be reduced to ashes. In the distance, Hades, the Grim Reaper, felt a pang of heartache watching Ge Qiusha being sent flying. Just as he was about to step forward to check on her injuries, Stik's cold voice rang out again: "Hades, don't forget your current status. You're no longer on her side."

“This is my own business, Stik. I’m not your concern,” Hades retorted without any politeness. If they weren’t on the same side now, Hades would have chased him to the ends of the earth and fought him to the death just for the fact that he had injured Ge Qiusha.

"And what about the Lord of Darkness? I'm sure he'd be very unhappy to see this happen! Don't blame me for not reminding you, you know what he's capable of," Stik said with a nonchalant smile.

"You dare threaten me?" Upon hearing the name of the Lord of Darkness, Hades stopped in his tracks. He had witnessed the Lord of Darkness punish traitors before, and even as a god, he had been awakened from his sleep several times by the terror—it was truly horrifying, leaving a deep mark on his heart. Although his strength was considerable, compared to the Lord of Darkness, he was like an infant before a giant, so he had no room to resist. Hearing the name of the Lord of Darkness, he didn't even have the courage to defy him.

"I'm just stating the facts, completing the task assigned by the Lord of Darkness. Since you can't bring yourself to do it, you can stay on the sidelines and provide cover. I'm going to take her divine essence and recreate a nature goddess belonging to our dark faction, which will increase the number of people who believe in darkness." Seeing Hades fall silent, Stik said without any politeness. His body flashed and disappeared into the space before him, chasing after the retreating Geqiusha, intending to press his advantage and strike while she was weak—this was the only way to win. Hades watched Stik disappear into space, then glanced at the pale and pitiful Geqiusha. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but finally, he turned away cruelly, without uttering a word.

Ge Qiusha, who had been knocked away, didn't even have time to heal her injuries. Like a leech, Stik clung to her again. The God of Schemes, known for his cunning and treacherous nature, possessed spatial manipulation skills second only to the God of Space. He could tear open a space with a flick of his wrist, covering a distance of over a hundred miles in the blink of an eye. He reappeared before Ge Qiusha, looking at her with the eyes of a cat toying with a mouse: "You'd better surrender. If we were in the forest, I probably couldn't do anything to you, but here you have no chance to fight back. Surrender, and I believe the Lord of Darkness won't treat you unfairly."

Already severely injured, Ge Qiusha saw the energetic and leisurely Stik and knew that she was probably going to perish here today. She glanced down at the defeated Allied army on the ground and couldn't help but feel gloomy. Was the continent really going to be finished? In the instant she looked down in a daze, Stik, who had been trying to persuade her to surrender, suddenly sneered and launched a surprise attack. A barrage of attacks came at Ge Qiusha, each move vicious and aimed at her vital points, clearly intending to kill her. Ye Fan's heart ached at the sight.

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