Divine War Realm, Barbatos' First Divine War

In the divine war realm, the environment mimicked the Eternal Continent but with a significant difference: unexplored areas were shrouded in mist, blocking sight and other senses. These areas could only be revealed when believers approached them.

The divine war realm was divided into two sides. Barbatos' territory occupied the right, while Sylvanus' held the left. Both the God of Free Wind and the God of Forest were unaware of the other's exact location.

Navigation in the divine war realm was based on explored areas rather than conventional directions. The distance between Barbatos and Sylvanus was neither too close nor too far. As their believers explored more of the realm, they would inevitably encounter each other, leading to a clash.

Seeing the mist surrounding his territory, Barbatos attempted to use his divine perception, but it couldn't penetrate the fog. 

Barbatos sighed, "As I expected, my divine perception can't see through the mists. They contain the law of the Endless Void. Perhaps only Main Gods could see through it, which explains why divine war scrolls can't affect Main Gods."

He continued, "From the looks of it, those guys in the god forum weren't lying. The divine war realm for demigods is like an alternate dimension of the Eternal Continent. Instead of being transported to already explored areas, we're placed in unexplored sections of the Eternal Continent."

"In terms of geographical advantage, both myself and my enemy are equal. The only exception is if either of us gets lucky and encounters an environment that suits our main believer race. Sylvanus has the advantage of a forested environment, which suits his forest kobolds."

"But it's not a disadvantage to me since the wolf beastmen, like humans, can adapt to almost any environment. Moreover, my wolf beastmen lived in the forest, so they are used to it."

Feeling confident that both sides were balanced in terms of geographical and environmental advantages, Barbatos estimated that it wouldn't take long for him to win this divine war. 

He thought, 'The strongest forest kobold is the forest kobold hierophant. From what I discovered by interrogating the forest kobold cultist, their strongest warrior is only at Third-Order Peak Stage Mortal, while the hierophant is only at Fourth-Order Initial Stage Mortal.'

Barbatos' confidence grew as he realized the significant power gap between his forces and Sylvanus'. He prepared to lead his wolf beastmen to explore the mists and confront the forest kobold forces.

Barbatos commanded, "Eldric, send all the wolf beastmen warriors at Third-Order Mortal and Fourth-Order Mortal to explore the divine war realm. If they encounter the forest kobolds, tell them they have my permission to release the Blood Limit."

"For any lost lifespan from using Blood Limit, I will use my divine power to restore it."

Hearing this assurance from their lord god, Eldric and the wolf beastmen warriors resolved to go all out.

Barbatos had a reason for valuing his wolf beastmen race, despite their status as a low-rank race: their "Blood Limit" innate talent.

Ordinary wolf beastmen didn't possess the Blood Limit talent. Barbatos confirmed this after extensive research in the Divine God City's public library and consulting with other gods in the god forum.

This made his wolf beastmen special, with an innate talent comparable to mid-rank races.

However, the Blood Limit came with a significant side effect: it reduced the user's lifespan. Every minute of Blood Limit usage cost a year of lifespan.

From Barbatos' estimation, if Eldric used both Blood Limit and Berserk, he could defeat Eighth-Order Legends.

This gave Barbatos confidence that his wolf beastmen could easily defeat the forest kobolds. Although restoring their lifespan would cost him divine energy, it was worth the expenditure.

Receiving Barbatos' command, Eldric relayed it to the wolf beastmen warriors, "You heard our lord god! Fight with all your might and bring victory to our lord god in this divine war!"

The wolf beastmen warriors roared a war cry as they charged through the unexplored areas, "For our lord god Barbatos!"

"Kill the cultists!"

"Slay the heretics!"

Watching his wolf beastmen warriors charge through the mists, uncovering new areas, Barbatos sat on his wooden throne at the base, confident and prepared for the battles ahead.

…

After fifteen minutes of exploring the divine war realm, the wolf beastmen warriors soon encountered a group of forest kobold cultists.

Without giving the forest kobold cultists a chance to react, the wolf beastmen warriors immediately extended their claws and slashed at the forest kobold cultists.

From their perspective, both groups appeared out of nowhere in the mist, catching the forest kobold cultists off-guard.

The wolf beastmen, with their higher power levels and Hunter Instinct, had the advantage. In contrast, the forest kobold cultists lacked powerful innate talents and had weaker power levels.

In other words, the forest kobold race was one of the weaker low-rank races, unlike the wolf beastman race, which was at the top of the low-rank races.

Because of that, the forest kobold cultists couldn't react and were swiftly slaughtered by the wolf beastmen warriors.

The forest kobold cultists that the wolf beastmen warriors encountered were only at the Second-Order Mortal level, making them easy prey.

However, the skirmish did not go unnoticed. Other forest kobold cultists, as well as the God of Forest, Sylvanus, quickly became aware of the attack.

Sylvanus immediately commanded, "The wolf beastmen cultists are on that side! Go kill them and explore the rest of the area to eliminate the remaining cultists!"

Receiving their lord god's order, the forest kobolds charged toward the wolf beastmen without hesitation, regardless of their power levels.

The forest kobolds knew they couldn't defeat the wolf beastmen in one-on-one combat. However, they planned to use their numerical advantage to overcome this disparity.

If a single Second-Order Mortal forest kobold couldn't defeat a Third-Order Mortal wolf beastman, then a hundred of them would surround and kill that wolf beastman!

Noticing the intentions of the forest kobolds, Eldric sneered, "Heh, pathetic. The idea is good, but it's not realistic."

As the forest kobolds approached, Eldric commanded, "Release the Blood Limit!"