Chapter 427 - Mind Worm Infection

Han Wu finally relaxed once his friends and professors arrived. Exhaustion washed over him, and he fainted on the spot.

By the time Han Wu regained consciousness, ten days had passed. Overjoyed, Qin Shuang rushed to call the doctor.

The attending physician from Imperial College was a Major God who specialized in healing. After ensuring that Han Wu had fully recovered, the doctor approved his discharge from the infirmary.

Even though Han Wu’s body was fine, his spirit remained heavy. He completed the discharge process quickly and returned to his divine realm.

There, ten realm years had passed during those ten days outside. In that time, most of the war-torn lands had mended, but many of his units still hadn’t recovered their numbers.

Sensing their god’s return, the Origin of Mutation was the first to approach him. Soon after came Steely, Alpheus, Erebard, Smog, and even Dark Locust.

Han Wu looked at their familiar faces and felt tears sting his eyes. It was as if he had just survived a calamity and was seeing his family again for the first time.

Steely described the war’s aftermath. The locusts had suffered the heaviest losses. Their numbers had once reached 1 trillion, but only 10 billion remained. Even after ten realm years, their population had yet to recover. The Epistians, who had suffered the least damage, had still lost half their population. Countless buildings and towers lay in ruins, with only a few left standing.

Worse still, Han Wu’s account was almost drained. He had once possessed up to 1,000 Divine Essence, but now less than fifty remained. Meanwhile, part of that came from what he had managed to accumulate over the past ten realm years. The sudden war had stripped Han Wu’s divine realm back to the state it had been in when he was still a Demigod.

Fifty Divine Essence would have sufficed for a Demigod, but Han Wu was a God now, and maintaining his Divine Authority required far more. Fifty simply wasn’t enough.

Qin Shuang, following behind him, was worried. “Don’t worry, Han Wu. As long as your Core is here, you can recover.”

Han Wu smiled bitterly. He possessed many powerful Divine Skills and treasures that could recover easily from this, but he couldn’t proceed without uncovering how and why the invaders had found him.

The Origin of Mutation drifted closer. “Vessel, ten realm years have passed. Do you wish the invaders to pay the price?”

Han Wu turned to face it, recalling that he had ordered it to punish the invaders.

“What do you have in mind?” he asked.

The Origin of Mutation chuckled ominously. “Of course I have my own methods. I’ve spent years creating a new life form. It would disgrace my name if I remained idle.”

Han Wu nodded. “Then do it. Let them understand the cost of invading my divine realm. Make sure they remember it's something they can never attempt again.”

“As you wish. Watch closely.” With that, it disappeared without a trace.

Qin Shuang looked troubled and whispered, “Aren’t you afraid that it will harm you?”

Han Wu’s gaze drifted toward his divine realm’s horizon. “My divine realm wouldn’t still exist if it weren’t here. I’ll have to accept it if it tries to harm me.”

The Origin of Mutation returned to the Sky Palace’s eighth floor, sat down, and started emitting powerful brain waves. As the Mind Worms’ creator, it could send signals through the fabric of time and space itself. No matter where they were, the Mind Worms would heed its command.

It commanded them to incite chaos through their hosts and destroy their divine realms’ Cores. The Mind Worms buried inside their hosts’ heads received the command and went berserk.

One God, whose core race were the Snow Wolves, was leading a crucial campaign to invade another civilization. In the middle of the decisive battle, his Snow Wolves suddenly lost control and attacked his allies.

The God commanded them to stop, but his words had no effect. In the end, the plan failed. The God not only had to compensate his allies for their losses but also to keep a constant watch on his units to ensure they didn't attack one another.

When he finally returned to the Divine Civilization, he learned that many other Gods and Major Gods had suffered the same disaster. One had watched in horror as their own core race shattered their Core, destroying their divine realm beyond recovery.

The God kept probing for information until he realized that these were the same Gods and Major Gods who had taken part in the invasion ten days ago. Unwilling to believe it, he questioned several of them directly.

Although they denied any involvement, their shifting gazes confirmed his suspicions. Determined to prevent his core race from being wiped out and the Core from being destroyed, he secretly went to Imperial College to find Han Wu. He was willing to pay any price for Han Wu to resolve the crisis.

Facing the invader, Han Wu laid out his terms and made sure that they were steep. He demanded the God surrender 99% of his units and pay 100 Divine Essence as compensation. In return, Han Wu would heal the remaining 1% of the core race.

Naturally, the God refused. He couldn’t bear to part with the units he had nurtured so painstakingly, much less pay such a high price.

Han Wu didn’t press the issue. He returned to his divine realm and instructed the Origin of Mutation to issue another command to kill that bastard.

Within a single day, the God lost 99% of his Snow Wolves to infighting. The remaining 1% stood motionless, their vacant eyes fixed on nothing. It was clear that something was deeply wrong with them as well.

Even a God who specialized in cleansing couldn’t rouse them. Another day passed, and half of the survivors perished. Only 300,000 of his Snow Wolves remained.

Desperate, the God had no choice but to accept Han Wu’s original demand to save what was left of his core race.

Han Wu only smirked and raised the price. This time, he wanted 500 Divine Essence. It was a huge sum for any God, but he scraped together the amount to preserve his divine realm and paid Han Wu.

Only then did Han Wu command the Origin of Mutation to leave that God alone. After everything that had happened, the God realized that he had not only lost more Divine Essence but would likely also lose what remained of his core race. At that moment, regret filled him for not accepting the first offer.

One thing was for certain, though. He wouldn’t be the last to suffer such a fate.