From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 170: Gathering Storm

Bai Yang guided the Ice Block, allowing it to completely cover the area. Only then did he wave his hand, causing the Mysterious Cave that originally existed there to vanish without a trace.

This way, even if someone leaked the matter and people came looking, and even if their coordinates were incredibly precise, they wouldn't find anything but rock.

This was, amusingly enough, one of the core techniques from The Peach Blossom Spring.

However, his focus was not on this at all, but rather on the group of students from ETH Zurich. "My goodness, hardly any of them listened. Every single one of them is stuffing things into their bags and backpacks!"

Before his eyes, aside from Olavur and Tore, the rest of the group held at least five items each!

Some grabbed ornaments or small trinkets, thinking to themselves, 'These trinkets do not count as real items.'

Some had clearly taken weapons but still greedily snatched up accessories, fully embodying the concept of insatiable greed.

Others were even more amazing, taking one of every type of item and two weapons, making sure to grab a bit of everything!

"Only those two restrained themselves. The rest took quite a hefty haul!" Alvin remarked. "Crown, humanity has once again chosen desire!"

"Yes, that is humanity for you!" Bai Yang replied. "Those two—one Danish, the other from Iceland—do indeed have a solid family heritage. The rest, however, have been completely blinded by greed!"Those two knew that every Boon came with a Price, and the others likely knew it too, but they allowed greed to blind them anyway!

"Tsk, these people are truly interesting. They know it is dangerous, yet they still want to try their luck!" Bai Yang shook his head. He did not feel pity, only that it was fitting. "They won't be able to leave this island, which works out perfectly. They can help us continue expanding the Worldview of the Norse Pantheon!"

He did not intend to dwell on this location, but if The Greedy truly came knocking, he wouldn't mind teaching them a little lesson!

"Small greed will inevitably attract greater greed, without a doubt! I just wonder how many people it will draw in!"

Alvin was quite familiar with this sort of thing. "Crown, do you plan to give these items away in the end, or..."

"Give them away, of course. One for each faction, but only after they have paid a sufficient Price!" Bai Yang said with a smile. "I am also quite curious to see how these major powers will act once they obtain the Supernatural Prerequisites."

This was also part of the plan—the plan to stir up Transcendent Power, as well as his scheme for utilizing this world's Energy.

It wasn't the final stage yet, but he could certainly start beating the war drums to set the stage!

...

At night, on the fifth floor of a Hotel in Reykjavik.

"Professor!" Olavur walked up to Tore and looked at him. "You called for me?"

"You were the only one I could call. Half an hour after our group returned to the Hotel, the rest of them practically lost contact!" Professor Tore said. "You also contacted people from your country, right?"

"Yes!" Olavur didn't lie; he wasn't the type to lie, which was exactly why Tore had sought him out. "This Hotel has already been secured by the Police, but we... probably don't have the authority to decide how this plays out, do we?"

As members of the upper class, Tore naturally understood the underlying truth of his words.

In this Era of the Extraordinary, now that true Transcendence had appeared, how could the nations behind them possibly protect them?

Everyone was merely a Pawn in the Great Power Game!

Let alone them, even their homelands lacked the right to make the final decisions!

Tore gave a slight nod. "You know it, and I know it. So that isn't what I wanted to discuss. I want to talk about them!"

"Them?" Prompted by a sudden realization, Olavur pulled a red dragon scale from his pocket. "Are you talking about the other students and teachers?"

"Exactly them. Olavur, you are my most outstanding student, and you are my only student from the Nordic Five. We both know what it means if the myths are true!"

Olavur nodded slowly. "It means The Greedy will eventually be disciplined, the disrespectful will surely be punished, the gods will return to their thrones, and all things will awaken..."

He didn't sound like he was simply speaking; rather, it was as if he were praying, chanting an ancient ballad. They had both witnessed the actions of their colleagues, and they had offered their warnings. Those people had agreed verbally, yet their hands hadn't stopped grabbing for a single second...

"The crisis has already descended. I dread to imagine what kind of terrifying events they will bring upon us!"

Tore finally said, "In Sweden, the messengers of the gods have already descended to the mortal realm. If you can't hold on, you can choose to head to Malmo or Copenhagen. As descendants of a Mythological Hero and fellow Vikings, they should be willing to grant you shelter!"

"Professor..." Olavur looked deeply moved. The man was tangibly looking out for his best interests!

Tore chuckled softly. "Don't thank me. As descendants of the Vikings, we should unite at a time like this, shouldn't we? Serving under the gods is far better than being under the thumb of those Puritans or Catholics!"

The elderly professor pulled out the book that recorded the unknown history, a mix of melancholy and hope appearing on his face. "With the gods descending and Transcendence rising once more, even a weak nation now has the capital to stand tall! If others can do it, why can't we?"

They say science knows no borders, yet many conveniently forget that scientists have a homeland. It was quite an amusing paradox...

Just as Professor Tore had guessed, this group of students and teachers from all over the world had notified their inner circles almost immediately.

Whether showing off or sharing their pleasant surprise, they recounted their experiences of the day to their friends and family.

Transcendence, Runes, Dragons, Elves, and Dwarves, and of course, the treasure of the Dragon Slayer... These things that had once only existed in stories had tangibly appeared before their very eyes. How could they not be excited?

Achieving success and keeping it a secret is like Wearing Brocade at Night. For some, encountering the Supernatural and not bragging about it was an unbearable torment. Such is the nature and deep-rooted vice of humanity!

As naturally greedy people, how much restraint could anyone really expect from them?

Some merely spoke of their supernatural encounters, while others went so far as to blab about the treasures they had obtained, triumphantly declaring that they were bound to become the world's next renowned Transcendent Beings!

And these reports, scarcely ten minutes later, had already landed on the desks of various Heads of State!

The leaders of the major powers, who had been driving themselves mad with the desire for Transcendence, had their eyes light up when they saw these reports and realized it was happening in the incredibly small nation of Iceland!

They couldn't make a move on America; it was the world's greatest superpower. They couldn't touch the Vatican or the Indigenous Americans, because there were actual gods backing them. Sweden wasn't easy to mess with lately either; that giant god by the sea left almost every nation breathless with pressure!

Now, it was this tiny, insignificant country's turn. It finally gave them the urge to strike!

A small place with a Population of just over three hundred thousand—how much of a military or police force could one expect them to have?

It was a nation without an army. A single squad of special agents could force them to bow their heads.

But this place held the ruins of Dragons, Elves, and Dwarves, and even the relics of a Dragon Slayer. What terrifying power was this? Naturally, it had to be confiscated, or nationalized!

As for which nation it would be nationalized by, that was a detail to worry about later!

The mentality of plunder and possession surfaced in almost every one of their hearts. They impatiently issued orders, directing their forces to converge on that location!

Overnight, the news spread across the entire world.

Local intelligence agents immediately sprang into action, leading their personnel through the city!

Early the next morning, the Reykjavik airport was jam-packed with arriving flights. On this island nation of merely three hundred thousand people, the sudden influx of arrivals instantly exceeded one percent of the national Population, and practically none of them were tourists!

The entire airport immediately went into lockdown. Battalions of Police moved in, solely to ensure the safety of the area!

After all, even the female Prime Minister of Iceland knew exactly what this group of people from all over the world—tourists in name only—had come for.

At this moment, this female prime minister, the first in the world to publicly come out, was holding a Ring and studying it closely.

"Is this the Dragon Slayer's relic?" she asked with Curiosity, rubbing the Ring. "There's nothing particularly special about it..."

Just as she said that, a faint glimmer flashed across the Ring.

"Hum..." This light clouded her originally clear eyes, but it also effortlessly repaired her body, which had been feeling unwell due to a cold and the stress of her lifestyle and work!

"Wait, this feeling..." A look of astonishment appeared on her face as she glanced at the mirror on her desk. "My body is recovering, and my appearance is growing younger?"

The initial Curiosity and doubt in her eyes vanished completely, replaced entirely by a surging Ambition!

"We must have these things!"