Necromancer, but pre-collapse civilization

　However, this is not something to worry about for the god of faith.

　After all, they had already undergone such a baptism and transformation when they embarked on the path of faith and deification.

　Getting back to the main point, after transforming into a divine being, Moros entered the stage of [Initial Divinity].

　The scope of divinity in this stage is defined as between 0 and 9 units.

　At this stage, although divinity will not directly grant him new abilities, its role should not be underestimated.

　When using abilities related to one's own divine domain, the possessor of divinity will receive additional bonuses.

　For example, the 1 point of divinity that a necromancer currently possesses will grant a 1-point divinity bonus when casting supernatural abilities related to magic.

　Divinity bonuses are very difficult to exempt.

　Even damage immunity granted by divinity itself or by divine status can only be offset against divinity bonuses, and cannot be directly ignored.

　In addition, as long as Moros possesses divinity, the difficulty for the opponent to cast a divination spell will be significantly increased when facing detection of divination spells.

　This undoubtedly added an invisible layer of protection for him.

Chapter 826 The Path to Divinity and the Growing Prosperity of the Colonies

　As we all know, the leap from zero to one is extremely difficult, while the extension from one to one hundred is relatively smooth.

　After obtaining that precious first wisp of divinity, Moros made rapid progress in his journey to condense divinity.

　In less than half a year, he successively condensed four more divine units from different fields.

　[Undead] Domain, [Death] Domain, [Soul] Domain, [Evil] Domain.

　These four distinct divine powers, together with the initial unit of divinity originating from the realm of magic, constitute Moros's current divine lineage.

　[Divinity: Initial Divinity 5 (1 Magic, 1 Undead, 1 Death, 1 Soul, 1 Evil)]

　The distribution of these divine attributes alone provides a clear insight into the necromancer's preferences and priorities on the path to transcendence.

　However, behind all these achievements lies his decades of dedicated and profound accumulation.

　As the saying goes, "great things are built up over time," and the hard work accumulated over the years was fully activated during this period, transforming into significant leaps and breakthroughs in his divine realm.

　Unfortunately, this rapid and extraordinary progress was ultimately just a flash in the pan.

　As his past accumulations gradually ran out, Moros had no choice but to return to the seemingly tedious but actually challenging path of magical research, accumulating new knowledge with a more focused attitude to lay the foundation for gathering the next unit of divine power.

　The only fair thing in the world is time.

　Time is fair to everyone; everyone has 24 hours a day.

　Whether you are rich or poor, successful or unsuccessful, time does not favor anyone.

　Although even time can be distorted and controlled by the powerful in a world of extraordinary prosperity, it still maintains its precious fairness in most cases.

　Just as Moros was deep within the vast ocean of magic and the abyss where divinity converged, he and Velvet...

　The alien colonies that Mebius and his team built, which floated in the atmosphere of Venus, gradually entered a period of rapid population growth.

　Twenty years ago, when the necromancer launched his grand plan to explore the Quantum Sea and find the higher-dimensional plant, Sa, rooted within it, he presciently foresaw this scene today.

　Therefore, over the long course of time, he regularly visited the blacksmith shop to exchange for balloon cities to cope with the population growth of Venus.

　However, even with such far-sighted foresight and meticulous preparation, faced with an explosive surge in population, those once empty and tranquil balloon cities were eventually filled with a constant stream of residents.

　In response, Morlos, along with Vervière and Mebius, remained steadfast in their original strategy.

　Build more balloon cities to accommodate this ever-expanding population.

　This solution is actually very easy to understand.

　For necromancers, the souls of intelligent beings are indispensable magical materials.

　Even though he had embarked on the sublime journey of condensing divinity, his pursuit and cherishing of this special magical resource had never wavered or slackened in the slightest.

　From the initial attempt to unite divinity to the ultimate goal of ascending to the divine realm, lies a long and challenging road.

　On this path, special legendary spells such as [Soul Torrent] and [Soul Circulation], which require a large amount of souls to cast, are Moros's most reliable talismans.

　To unleash the full power of these spells, an abundant reserve of souls is undoubtedly an indispensable foundation.

　Moreover, if any necromancer wants to go further and more steadily on the path of divine condensation, they must rely on a large number of magical experiments to explore and verify.

　At his current level of strength, the magical experiments that significantly boosted his power were already magnificent in terms of cost and scale, requiring no further explanation.

　Furthermore, with the continuous expansion of the undead legions and fleets, the resulting resource shortage is entirely predictable.

　Faced with such enormous resource demands, the revenue provided by buildings such as the [Congress], [Gold Mine], and [City Council] is clearly far from sufficient.

　In fact, most of the resources used by necromancers for their magical experiments over the years came from magical resources obtained by exchanging goods produced in these balloon cities.

　These resources, like a continuous flow of blood, nourished his exploration and growth on the path of magic.

　In this context, reducing the population of the Venusian colony is tantamount to cutting into its own fiscal revenue.

　Obviously, no one would tear up RMB for fun.

　Therefore, Morros not only cannot slow down the expansion of the balloon city, but needs to accelerate the process to ensure a stable supply of resources to match his growing needs.

　As for Vervière and Mebius, their support is beyond question.

　The reason these two necromancers initially supported his proposed Venus colony plan was that they wanted to have a human civilization that they themselves could lead and control.

　Now that this civilization is flourishing and thriving, why would they want to curb its population growth at such a crucial moment?

　With the consensus reached among Morros, Vervie, and Mebius, the number of balloon cities in Venus's atmosphere quickly increased to one hundred.

　It's important to know that each balloon city redeemed from the [Blacksmith Shop] can accommodate a population of 20.

　In addition to the magnificent balloon city that was initially built, capable of holding 300,000 people, the total population capacity of the Venus colony has climbed to an astonishing 20.1 million.

　According to the population projections completed by the expert and Möbius, such a large population carrying capacity is sufficient to easily cope with the demand growth over the next twenty years.

　However, as the price of this feat, Moros's wallet inevitably underwent a significant "slimming down".

　This is also something that can't be helped.

　A flying city capable of accommodating 20 people and possessing corresponding industrial and agricultural production capabilities—it's easy to imagine how many Ashan Gold Coins it would cost to exchange for it from the [Blacksmith Shop].

　Even knowing that exchanging for balloon cities would cost a huge amount of Ashan gold coins, Moros still exchanged for dozens without hesitation.

　After all, these alien colonies will continue to supply him with a wealth of resources, including industrial goods, agricultural products, and souls, for a long time to come.

　Anyone with foresight would not easily refuse such an investment that involves upfront costs.

　Moros was no exception.

　He knew that what he invested today would bring him endless rewards in the future.

Chapter 827 Sakura

　While the progress of those alien colonies floating in Venus's atmosphere was certainly gratifying, what truly delighted Moros was the breakthrough in his relationship with Sakura.

　As the saying goes, "Accompanying is the longest confession of love, and staying together is..."

　"The warmest promise"—more than twenty years of knowing and accompanying each other was enough for him to deeply capture the heart of that fox-eared girl with long cherry-blossom hair.

　"Well……"

　Opening her slightly sleepy eyes, the fox-eared girl with cherry-blossom hair seemed to sense something, and a shy blush appeared on her face.

　Before she could say anything more, a gentle and familiar voice softly sounded in her ear.

　"Now that you're awake, shall we continue?"

　"Huh? Wait, wait a minute, wasn't it already yesterday..."

　Sakura's cheeks flushed even more as she realized what the people around her were saying.

　Upon seeing this alluring scene, Moros felt an irresistible urge surge within him.

　Sensing his movement, Sakura cried out in alarm.

　"But it's daytime now!"

　"It's okay, aren't you comfortable?"

　"Wait, um, hmm..."

　Before the fox-eared girl with cherry-blossom hair could finish speaking, Moros reached out and wrapped his arm around her slender waist, pulling her tightly into his embrace.

　then……

　For the fox-eared girl with cherry-blossom hair, this day was already over.

　The next day, early in the morning.

　Sakura, who no longer had the strength to get out of bed, leaned against the headboard, accepting the feeding from the culprit who had brought her to this predicament with an expression of utter shame and indignation.

　"Okay, don't be angry anymore. I was too impulsive yesterday and didn't consider your feelings..."

　As he brought the spoonful of soup to Sakura's lips, Moros sincerely expressed his apologies.

　Looking at the necromancer's face and the food offered to her, even though Sakura was still a little annoyed, she couldn't resist the care and warmth from the bottom of her heart and obediently swallowed the spoonful of soup full of love.

　Seeing Sakura obediently eat the soup he had personally prepared, Moros felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction and happiness.

　"Darling, your expression tells me that this soup tastes pretty good, doesn't it?"

　With a blush still lingering on her cheeks, the cherry-haired fox-eared girl lowered her head slightly and answered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

　"Mm, it's delicious."

　Upon hearing this, the necromancer's joy intensified.

　It seems my previous learning from Baiwei was quite effective...

　However, Moros himself knew that it was inappropriate to bring up this matter at this warm yet slightly awkward moment.

　So he reached out and gently stroked Sakura's long, silky hair that shimmered with a cherry-colored sheen.

　"Sakura, do you know? Your smile, your words, everything about you makes me feel incredibly happy and content."

　Upon hearing this, Sakura's eyes reddened slightly.

　She has always had a rather pessimistic and insecure personality.

　After all, it would be difficult for anyone to maintain an optimistic attitude after experiencing her difficult and tragic past.

　Even in her childhood, the devastating loss of both her parents forced her to take on the responsibility of caring for her younger sister alone.

　Those difficult days made her independent and strong.

　Her subsequent career as an assassin further shaped her into a remarkably independent woman.

　At that time, the katana in her hand became the only thing she could believe in and rely on.

　Even after joining the Fire Moth, Sakura still found it difficult to completely let down her guard.

　After all, wasn't the reason Dr. May pardoned her past assassination attempts precisely to make her his hidden weapon?

　How is this any different from Sakura's life as "Forget-Me-Not" in the past?

　It's simply a matter of working for a different organization.

　However, everything changed dramatically on that day.

　Initially, Sakura was willing to sign that magical contract and become the necromancer's subordinate simply to protect her only relative, Rin, in that increasingly chaotic era.

　But as time went by, this original intention changed quietly.

　Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect?

　Sakura naturally saw and remembered Moros's care and concern for her.

　Although she knew that there might be some admiration and covetousness mixed in with this, Sakura was still willing to feel the warmth from the necromancer.

　After all, in a world full of crisis and despair, the fact that someone is willing to do something for her, even if it's just out of a shallow affection, is enough to give her some comfort.

　Moreover, this being, whose strength is enough to confront the Herrscher of the End who has destroyed human civilization, is willing to spend his precious time and energy to treat her well. Doesn't that say something?

　It was precisely because Sakura understood this that she accepted Morros's love.

　She gently took Moros's hand, a hand that once trusted only the katana, but now felt an unprecedented warmth and security.

　"Moros, thank you."

　Sakura's voice was soft, but...

　With genuine emotion.