Becoming the Supreme God

7

Leo left the narrow alleyway and walked north through the lower district of Ashguard. The foul stench of the slums slowly gave way to a sharp chemical odor. Dilapidated wooden shanties thinned out and eventually stopped at the edge of a massive ruined plain.

This was the dead zone. Amara had called it the poisoned fields.

Leo stepped onto the barren earth and his boots sank into thick gray ash. The soil here did not just lack nutrients. It felt actively hostile. Stalks of withered wheat crumbled into dust as his coat brushed against them. A heavy yellow mist clung to the ground and obscured the distant tree line. Nothing had grown here in a decade and the starvation of the entire kingdom proved it.

He stopped in the center of the vast expanse. The silence of the dead fields felt heavy. There were no birds in the sky and no insects in the dirt. He reached into his pocket and his fingers brushed the smooth surface of the Genesis Seed.

He had spent fifty thousand points of faith on this single item. It was the key to his entire economic strategy. A god could not build an army out of starving men. He needed a self sustaining population to generate passive devotion.

Leo pulled the seed from his pocket. A brilliant emerald glow washed over his hands and pierced the yellow fog. The light radiated pure vitality.

The corrupted earth reacted instantly to the divine energy. The ground beneath his boots trembled. A low hiss echoed across the dead fields as the toxic mist began to boil and churn away from the light. The blight itself seemed to reject the presence of the seed.

A deep growl rumbled from the edge of the dead woods.

Leo turned his head toward the tree line. Shadows detached from the thick fog. A pack of predators stalked into the clearing. They were wolves but the poisonous environment had warped their anatomy into something horrific. Thick plates of calcified bone jutted through their gray fur to form crude biological armor. Their ribs pressed sharply against their flanks. Stringy saliva dripped from their jagged jaws and sizzled as it hit the ash.

There were at least thirty of them. They spread out and formed a wide circle around Leo. The alpha stepped forward and snapped its jaws. The beast stood as tall as a draft horse. It locked its yellow eyes on the glowing seed in Leo's hand. The monsters were starving and the concentrated divine energy smelled like a feast.

Leo did not draw a weapon. He did not step back. He stood perfectly still in the center of the closing circle.

The alpha let out a guttural howl. The entire pack charged. Heavy paws tore through the ash as the bone plated wolves closed the distance in a matter of seconds.

Leo raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

A pillar of blinding blue light erupted from the sky and slammed into the earth around him. The shockwave scattered the yellow fog and kicked up a massive cloud of gray dust.

The light faded in an instant to reveal one hundred Systemic Templars standing in perfect concentric circles around their god.

They were imposing figures clad in heavy silver armor that absorbed the ambient light. Featureless steel helms obscured their faces. They did not shout a battle cry. They did not flinch as the monstrous wolves bore down on them. They moved with terrifying mechanical precision.

The front rank of Templars slammed their heavy rectangular shields into the dirt. They formed an impenetrable wall of steel in the blink of an eye.

The charging wolves crashed into the barricade. The impact sounded like boulders striking an iron vault. The shields did not budge a single inch. Bone plating shattered against the immovable barrier and several wolves crumpled to the ground with broken necks.

The Templars retaliated before the beasts could recover.

The second rank stepped forward and thrust their broadswords through the narrow gaps in the shield wall. Silver blades pierced gray fur and bone armor with zero resistance. Blood sprayed across the ash as the front line of predators collapsed.

The alpha leapt over the shield wall and aimed its massive jaws directly at Leo.

Four Templars broke formation and intercepted the beast in midair. They drove their gauntlets into the monster and slammed it violently onto the ground. The alpha thrashed and snapped its jaws. The Templars ignored the gnashing teeth. They raised their broadswords in unison and drove the blades down through the creature's chest.

The alpha let out a final wet gasp and lay still.

The remaining wolves realized they were not hunting prey. They had walked into a slaughterhouse. The surviving beasts turned and scrambled back toward the tree line.

The Templars did not break rank to pursue them. They remained in their tight defensive circles and kept their weapons drawn. Their silver armor gleamed with fresh blood. They stood in absolute silence waiting for their next command.

Leo lowered his hand. The system had classified the starter pack as a high tier basic unit. He now understood why. They were not just strong. They were fearless and possessed zero self preservation instincts. They existed solely to execute his will.

"Hold the perimeter," Leo commanded.

The Templars struck their swords against their shields in a synchronized salute. They turned outward and formed a wide defensive ring facing the dead woods.

Leo knelt in the ash. He brushed aside the top layer of toxic dust to expose the hardened gray dirt underneath. He placed the Genesis Seed into the shallow depression.

The moment the seed touched the earth a pulse of pure kinetic energy knocked Leo backward.

He caught himself on his hands and watched the magic take hold. A shockwave of brilliant emerald light swept outward from the seed. The light traveled across the ground in a massive expanding ring.

Wherever the light touched the gray ash instantly dissolved into rich dark soil. The sickly yellow fog burned away. The air cleared and the sharp chemical odor vanished. A cool breeze carrying the scent of fresh rain swept across the fields.

The ground fractured. Thick roots the size of tree trunks burst from the soil and twisted together. They dug deep into the earth and anchored themselves in the bedrock. A massive wooden spire shot upward toward the sky.

Leo shielded his eyes as the tree grew at a terrifying pace. Bark the color of polished mahogany wrapped around the expanding trunk. Broad green leaves sprouted from thick branches and formed a sprawling canopy that cast a soothing shadow over the surrounding plains.

The Genesis Tree towered over the landscape. It was easily the height of a ten story building. Its roots pulsed with a faint green light that pumped life directly into the dead zone. The ten mile radius detailed in the system interface took effect immediately.

Patches of vibrant green grass erupted from the newly purified soil. Withered stalks of dead wheat transformed into golden healthy crops in a matter of seconds. The transformation rushed past the perimeter of the Templars and rolled all the way to the edge of the lower district shanties.

The magic did not stop at the soil. Heavy blossoms formed on the lower branches of the great tree. The white petals peeled back to reveal large fruit that glowed with a soft golden light. The fruit swelled until the stems snapped under the weight.

Dozens of golden spheres dropped into the soft grass below.

Leo walked over and picked one up. It felt warm and heavy like a large peach. The system had promised hyper nutritional properties. This single harvest could feed a family for a week and cure the ailments caused by severe malnutrition.

He looked back at the city. The towering emerald light of the Genesis Tree was visible from every street in Ashguard. Citizens were already pouring out of their wooden shacks and gathering at the edge of the newly grown grass. They stared at the towering tree in absolute shock.

For years they had stared at a poisoned wasteland. Now they looked upon a paradise.

Leo turned to his Systemic Templars. They stood rigid and silent. Their silver armor created a stark contrast against the vibrant green grass.

"Gather the fruit," Leo ordered. "We are going to feed the slums."

The Templars sheathed their broadswords and moved to execute the command. They gathered the heavy glowing spheres from the grass and piled them into large mounds. The tree continued to blossom and drop new fruit every few minutes. The passive regeneration attribute meant the harvest would never end.

Leo walked toward the edge of the grass where the mortal citizens had gathered. They shrank back in fear as he approached. They looked at his clean clothes and the silent armored giants working behind him. They recognized the power of a noble or perhaps a king but they did not yet understand they were looking at a god.

Amara stood at the front of the crowd. She held her younger brother by the hand. Her cheek was still clean and free of the scar Draken had nearly given her. She recognized Leo from the alleyway.

"My lord," Amara whispered. She dropped to her knees in the grass and bowed her head.

The rest of the crowd followed her lead. Hundreds of starving peasants knelt in the dirt. They trembled in fear of the armed Templars and the impossible magic they had just witnessed.

"Do not kneel in fear," Leo called out. His voice carried across the silent crowd. "You have starved while your king hoards grain in the upper keep. You have bled while your guards collect taxes. That era ends today."

Leo signaled his Templars. The silver clad giants marched forward carrying armfuls of glowing golden fruit. They stopped at the edge of the grass and knelt. They placed the food gently on the ground before the starving citizens.

"Eat," Leo commanded.

The citizens hesitated. A young boy broke from his mother's grasp and ran forward. He grabbed a piece of the golden fruit and bit into it. Sweet juice ran down his chin. The boy let out a loud laugh and his pale sunken cheeks immediately filled with healthy color.

The crowd surged forward. They grabbed the fruit and ate with desperate hunger.

Leo watched as the hyper nutritional magic took hold. Men who had limped on crooked legs suddenly stood straight. Women who had coughed up blood breathed deeply from clear lungs. The chronic pain of starvation vanished in an instant.

The citizens stopped eating and looked at their own hands. They felt the vitality coursing through their veins. They looked up at the towering Genesis Tree and then they looked at Leo.

This was no longer fear. This was genuine overwhelming awe.

A man near the front pressed his forehead against the grass and began to weep. A woman beside him raised her hands to the sky and shouted a prayer of thanks. The wave of devotion rippled backward through the crowd until five thousand citizens were chanting in disorganized chaotic worship.

Leo opened his system interface. The blue screen materialized in his vision.

The notification chimes rang so fast they blended into a single continuous tone.

Five thousand mortals had just converted from desperate peasants into fanatical zealots. The base devotion poured into his ledger. His Architect of Devotion trait grabbed those numbers and multiplied them by one hundred.

The Power of Faith counter spun so rapidly the digits blurred.

Leo closed the interface and took a deep breath of the clean air. He had secured his foundation. He had cured the blight and fed his people. The economic engine of Ashguard was officially running.

He looked up toward the central keep perched on the high hill. King Oric and Duke Alaric were likely watching the emerald light from their stone towers. They would panic. They would send soldiers to crush the rebellion and steal the food.

Leo smiled. Let them come. His bank account was full and his Templars were waiting. The true conquest of Ashguard had just begun.