Chapter 75 | My Lady Goddess, I Swear I'm a True Believer!

The Divine Kingdom of Light.

Iluvia reclined on her Divine Seat, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest as she silently reviewed everything that had just transpired.

First, she had used her divine power of order to disguise herself as an unfamiliar God-Favored, successfully eliminating the goblin scout sent by Mosator.

That conversation had been practically flawless. It didn't expose her true identity, and it even managed to divert his attention toward a completely non-existent “newborn deity.”

Mhm, giving myself full marks for that one.

“Mosator must already know what happened here,” Iluvia mused softly. “I wonder how he'll react...”

She pondered for a moment. Given Mosator's schemer personality, he probably wouldn't act immediately, but he would definitely keep a close eye on this region from the shadows.

“Hopefully, the identity I led him toward is enough to fool him.”

On second thought, however, she had directly killed one of his God-Favored. That was equivalent to a slap right to Mosator's face.

“Uh... he wouldn't fly into a rage and charge straight over here, right?”

Iluvia's golden eyes narrowed slightly.

If he really ignored all consequences and stormed over...

She looked down at the surging divine power within her body, the corners of her lips curving upward involuntarily.

Truth be told, if Mosator actually dared to come, she felt she might not necessarily lose to him in a fight.

After all, he had been gravely injured a thousand years ago, so his strength had likely fallen far from its peak.

As for her? After recovering to Lesser Divine Power, her divine power had surged, putting her in peak condition.

At this thought, the light in Iluvia's golden eyes brightened, her hands itching for action.

But she quickly suppressed her restless impulse.

“No, no, stay calm. I need to keep a low profile and level up first... cough cough...”

She took a deep breath, giving herself three seconds of mental preparation before quietly crossing out the option of “confronting Mosator head-on.”

“Right now is the golden opportunity to quietly build my strength and silently gather faith to elevate my divine power. I can't reveal my hand too early.”

“Laying low, growing stronger, and out-scaling the enemy is the true path to victory!”

She mentally gave herself a round of applause for her composure and ingenuity.

Immediately after, however, a more practical problem surfaced—

She couldn't stay holed up in the Starfall Forest forever, could she?

The rebuilding of the Church of Light, the expansion of her followers, and the spread of faith all required her presence on a much broader stage.

Hiding away forever wasn't a long-term solution.

To truly establish a foothold on the continent of Aenoria, gather believers, spread her faith, and grow her power, she needed a legitimate, proper identity.

She absolutely could not tie herself to the name of the previous Goddess of Light, Devilitafil. That was far too ostentatious and would attract countless old enemies to pry.

Iluvia thought it through carefully and quickly settled on a brand-new plan.

“Hmm... I might as well change my church's name.”

The previous goddess's faction had been known as the Church of Light, fully titled the Church of Light and Life, centered around the two Divine Authorities of Light and Life.

In that case, she would start fresh and rename it—the Church of Radiance and Order.

And she would be the newly born God of Radiance and Order.

This identity was flawless. Outwardly, she could frame herself as a new True God born by chance after inheriting scattered Divine Spark Fragments of the Goddess of Light, seamlessly explaining the source of her divine power. At the same time, relying on her unique Divine Authority of Order, she could completely cut ties with the previous goddess and eliminate all potential hidden dangers.

Moreover, it provided the most reasonable explanation for the players appearing in the Starfall Forest.

But the problem was, her physical appearance was indeed a headache.

She had inherited the exact appearance of the previous Goddess of Light, Devilitafil, almost without a single difference.

Any True God who had participated in that divine war a thousand years ago would recognize her face at a glance.

When that time came, forget about spreading faith—she would likely attract a gang of old enemies to beat her up instead.

As for Iluvia intentionally disguising herself...

Although she could use divine power to disguise her face, veteran True Gods could easily see through a concealment of that level.

She couldn't very well blur her face with a mosaic every time she met someone, right?

“This is troublesome.”

“Sigh, it seems my main body will have to stay in the Divine Kingdom in the future.”

Iluvia sighed.

Just as she was at a total loss, a brilliant idea suddenly struck her mind.

“Wait... why don't I create an avatar?”

Her eyes instantly lit up.

With her current divine power, she could completely condense a perfect avatar with an ordinary human physical body.

The avatar would have no leaking divinity, no fluctuations of divine power, and no special racial traits—it would be nothing more than an ordinary human body.

“If I craft a human body just like the players and control it remotely with my consciousness, then no matter how others probe when I walk around outside, all they'll see is a normal human body. It won't be linked to the Goddess of Light at all.”

“As for my main body—it can stay safely in the Divine Kingdom to oversee the big picture. Perfect!”

The more Iluvia thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed. Plus, there was an extra hidden benefit:

“This way, I can even disguise myself as a player and blend into the Player Town to have some fun...”

Ever since arriving in this world, watching the players live so freely, casually, and joyfully had secretly filled her with envy.

She could keep her main body safe, hide her trump cards, freely enter the mortal world, maintain complete control, and experience the fun all at once—killing multiple birds with one stone!

No sooner said than done.

With that in mind, Iluvia hesitated no longer and willed it with a thought.

In the center of the temple, a clump of pure, soft white light suddenly coalesced and slowly drifted.

The white light swirled and intertwined, tracing an outline thread by thread. A lithe, fair-featured human teenage girl's body was slowly taking shape within the white light...

...

Meanwhile, on the eastern side of the Starfall Forest.

The human town.

On the open ground outside the Temple of Light, a five-person team stood fully equipped and ready to depart.

Levinel and another mage were checking the magical materials inside their packs.

Selby stood to the side, saying something to two young knights.

The two young knights stood respectfully, their waist swords polished bright and looking quite sharp.

Not far away, Shiruya came running over, her lively eyes curving into crescent moons as she waved cheerfully at everyone. “Uncle Selby! Uncle Levinel!”

Levinel, who was taking inventory of the magical materials, looked up at her voice. The moment he saw the half-elf girl, a look of utter astonishment washed over his face.

“Shiruya? What are you doing here?”

“I want to go find Lady Lilith too,” Shiruya replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “I already told Grandpa Schutard.”

Levinel's expression turned complex in an instant. He turned to look at Selby, who happened to be looking back at him. The two exchanged a glance that clearly said, This child really couldn't let it go after all.

Selby let out a helpless smile. His eyes swept over the bulging waist pouch at Shiruya's hip, which looked ready to burst, and his tone softened, though carrying a hint of seriousness:

“Are you really prepared? We might face dangers along the way. It's not too late to stay behind.”

“Mm!” Shiruya nodded firmly, her emerald-green eyes filled with seriousness and her tone resolute without a shred of hesitation. “I'm ready.”

Seeing this, Levinel helplessly facepalmed.

“Silly child. Didn't Selby send word back? Lady Lilith is perfectly fine, and she has the protection of Her Excellency the Goddess over there. What could possibly go wrong?”

“It's not that I don't trust Uncle Selby. It's just that Lady Lilith is as important to me as a big sister, and I want to see her as soon as possible.”

Shiruya shook her head.

Levinel opened his mouth, but swallowed his words back down. He knew Shiruya far too well, understanding that once she set her mind on something, it was nearly impossible to stop her.

“Besides—”

Shiruya pointed at the bulging pouch at her waist. “I specifically bought a lot of magic scrolls from a passing caravan! If we really run into danger, I can help out too!”

“Alright, then.” Levinel waved his hand helplessly, relenting. “Stay close to the team on the road. No wandering off on your own, obey all commands, and remember not to force yourself.”

“Okay, Uncle Levinel!”

Shiruya's eyes instantly crinkled into sweet curves, her smile radiant.

Just then, an elderly figure slowly walked out from inside the Temple of Light.

Schutard.

His gaze swept across the group prepared for departure, pausing briefly when it landed on Shiruya before giving a slow nod.

In his heart, both Lilith and Shiruya were like his own children.

And while the relationship between Lilith and Shiruya was nominally that of “Saintess and Follower,” in truth, it had long transcended that boundary, resembling sisters bound by deep affection.

Shiruya couldn't let go of her concern for Lilith, and he understood that.

That was why, when he first heard Shiruya request to travel along, he had agreed almost without hesitation.

It wasn't because he didn't worry about Shiruya's safety, but because he knew Selby possessed a divine artifact bestowed by the Goddess—enough to deal with the vast majority of unexpected emergencies. Thus, there was no need to be overly anxious about her well-being.

Meanwhile, the task assigned to this team concerned the future of all their believers. The town was home to numerous followers, including countless elderly, weak, women, and children, who could never make a long-distance journey on foot.

Therefore, constructing a permanently stable, ultra-long-distance two-way teleportation magic circle was the most critical priority at hand.

In fact, Iluvia had previously considered using her divine power to construct a teleportation circle to bring all believers to the Starfall Forest at once.

But she had quickly abandoned the idea.

First, an ultra-long-distance divine-grade teleportation circle required a massive amount of divine power. The gains wouldn't outweigh the losses, severely slowing down her own growth.

Second, a divine spell teleportation created too much commotion. If it accidentally attracted the attention of others, it would end poorly. Dealing with Mosator alone was already enough; she didn't want to provoke more unknown formidable enemies or expose her hidden trump cards.