Moving out at noon, Zhou Zhou and the First Army rode on Nezario as they headed south of the Tahan Kingdom and the Nether Bark Kingdom.
"We'll stop here."
Upon arriving above the renowned mountain range of the Golden Radiance Kingdom, Zhou Zhou ordered Nezario to descend.
"Place them exactly a hundred meters apart at the four cardinal positions."
Handing formation flags to Bai Yung, Lu Chong, Feng Huo, and Abel, he instructed them.
Having already been informed of their lord's plan, the soldiers knew exactly what the flags were meant for.
After placing them in their respective positions, they prepared for the second phase of the plan: attracting the attention of the neighboring kingdoms.
Taking out more of the items he had obtained from Alexander, Zhou Zhou positioned the High god-tier explosive while handing out additional formation flags to his soldiers.
This time, the formation flags were placed much farther apart.
"We're retreating."
After activating the explosive, Zhou Zhou rode on Nezario as they quickly withdrew from the explosion's range.
The soldiers also retreated farther after placing the formation flags.
Floating hundreds of kilometers away from the explosive, Zhou Zhou activated the second formation his soldiers had set up.
"Make it as glaring as possible."
He muttered as he waited for the explosive's countdown to finish.
A minute later, a massive explosion tore through the mountain range, destroying a third of it as a white beam pierced the clouds.
"The formation worked."
He smiled as half of the explosive's might was redirected toward the sky, revealing the aura of a High god-tier item.
.
At the Tahan Kingdom, Tahan stared outside his palace at the white beam radiating a High god-tier aura.
"A divine artifact!"
The scarlet monster's eyes sparkled for a few seconds before he calmed down.
"Even if I get my hands on it, I'll only end up losing it to the Ice Demon Kingdom. It isn't worth the effort."
"Only by going into hiding can one hope to keep such an artifact."
He shook his head after recalling the colossal force looming over his kingdom.
The same scene was unfolding among the other neighboring kingdoms.
None of them wanted to oppose the only Intermediate-tier Kingdom within a radius of 200 million kilometers.
The Gerny Kingdom, which shared a border with the Golden Radiance Kingdom, even reported the appearance of the divine artifact to Kiro, the King of the Ice Demon Kingdom.
After having his minister read the report, King Kiro immediately visited the Ice Demon Temple located behind the royal palace.
"Kiro pays his respects to the ancestors."
He kowtowed before the temple as he spoke.
"What do you want?"
A voice sounded in Kiro's mind.
"I wish to report to the ancestors that a divine artifact has appeared within our province."
Kiro answered.
"A divine artifact? Tell me its exact location."
Shocked by his distant grand-nephew's words, Kazi rushed out of the temple in the blink of an eye.
For Godspirits, the lack of divine artifacts was one of the major problems they faced.
With the empires and divine kingdoms monopolizing most of the god-tier blacksmiths, Godspirits from kingdoms could barely acquire divine artifacts throughout their lifetimes.
"In the Golden Radiance Kingdom, located in the southern region of the province."
Kiro answered while handing over a map.
Glancing at the map, Kazi memorized the location of the Golden Radiance Kingdom before returning it to Kiro.
The next instant, he soared into the air and vanished from Kiro's sight.
"My Ice Demon Kingdom will grow even stronger once Grand-uncle retrieves the divine artifact."
"We might even be able to loosen the Raven Cliff Kingdom's control over us."
The Legendary-tier king muttered excitedly.
.
After receiving reports from the twins about the neighboring kingdoms' reactions, Zhou Zhou wasn't surprised.
"However, once they discover that the Godspirits of the Ice Demon Kingdom aren't coming, they'll be tempted to keep the Book of the Godspirit for themselves."
Waiting along the route between the Ice Demon Kingdom and the Golden Radiance Kingdom, he set up a communication interference device.
Ashburn had built it at his request.
"How are you feeling? Scared?"
Lu Chong stood beside Abel and asked.
"A bit."
Abel replied as he stared at the Void Mask in his hand.
"Being scared is good. It gives you a reason to fulfill your duty as a soldier by overcoming it."
Lu Chong said as a mask covered his face.
Wanting to remain hidden and unidentified, Zhou Zhou had prepared High god-tier Void Masks for himself and his soldiers.
With over a million faith-tier crystals, there weren't many things he couldn't obtain for himself.
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