401: The mantis stalks the cicada

"There, you must 'accidentally' leak a trace of divine blood aura containing your origin power."

"It must be done as if it were caused by your inability to control your divine power due to the destruction of the elf mother tree and your agitated state of mind."

Avila understood: "Using divine blood as bait?"

"That alone is not enough."

"Just you losing control might not be enough to lure Sabrina into taking a personal risk. But what if we add my 'cooperation' to it?"

Astrea: "The Archangel will have the internal ranks of the church spread rumors that, due to how we handled the border situation after the fall of Eternal Song Fortress, you and I have had serious disagreements and even erupted into quarrels."

"I will also 'temporarily' sever a portion of my divine power resonance with you, putting on a facade of being 'disappointed in you' and 'too busy to attend to you'."

Avila gasped: "Are you crazy?"

"This is too risky. What if Sabrina actually believes it and comes out in full force?"

"She will not come out in full force."

Astrea interrupted her, stating firmly: "The ancient gods in the Chaos Royal Court are suspicious of one another; Sabrina will at most bring her core followers."

"Moreover, she is suspicious by nature. The more perfect an opportunity appears, the more cautiously she will test it."

"What we need to do is make this 'opportunity' look real enough, while letting Sabrina feel that the risk is within her control."

She gazed at Avila: "The key lies in that trace of divine blood. It must be pure enough for her to confirm it is your origin, yet not so strong that it arouses suspicion."

"We will choose a location on the outskirts of the Chaos Royal Court where the rules are chaotic, making it convenient for action and for our preparations."

Avila's heart raced.

Fear still existed, but the pain of the fall of Eternal Song Fortress, the destruction of the elf mother tree, and the suffering of her people caused the long-suppressed anger in the goddess's heart to burn even more fiercely.

"Fine." The Elf Goddess gritted her teeth.

"What exactly do I need to do?"

Astrea stood up, holy light condensing into the outline of armor around her body: "The details still need to be perfected. But remember, Avila!"

"This time, the Nature Pantheon must seize the initiative. It is not to break the rules, but to eliminate the threat."

"Fine, Astrea. I will listen to you in everything."

The Goddess of Light watched as Avila turned into a stream of light and departed.

Watching that dissipating emerald light, the usual composure on her holy face finally faded, revealing a trace of fatigue.

Steadying this Elf Goddess, who was easily impulsive when encountering matters, required no less mental effort than simulating a God War.

Once Avila was involved with Sabrina, her reason became as ragged as if it had been gnawed away.

The bite from the mother of flesh and blood back then likely left behind more than just a loss of divine blood; it was more like some stubborn poison that corrodes the mind.

As one of the main gods of the Nature Pantheon, she repeatedly lost her footing when facing that madwoman, possessing vast divine power yet repeatedly losing her composure in battle.

Only at times like this did Astrea feel that the Elf Goddess's usual indifference—not vying for power and remaining content in her corner—was a rare virtue.

At least it saved a lot of internal trouble.

If Avila were like this even in ordinary times...

The Goddess of Light closed her eyes, suppressing the helplessness of "carrying a pig teammate" in her heart.

She raised her hand to summon a floating light screen, casting her gaze upon it once more.

The light screen was dotted with points of faith and magical fluctuations across the Ativi Continent, clearly reflecting the situation in the mortal world.

The tragedy of Veloria, the suspicious cases in border towns, the fall of Eternal Song Fortress...

The series of events seemed to be led by Sabrina, with a clear sequence.

Yet, deep within Astrea's divinity, there was always a lingering sense of dissonance.

It was too smooth.

It was as if an invisible hand was gently pushing from behind the chaos Sabrina had stirred up, causing the situation to slide toward an even more uncontrollable direction.

The Goddess of Light had already dispatched War Angels several times to patrol the continent, and even used her divine sense to carefully sweep through the corners where incidents occurred, but found no traces left by other gods.

Was Sabrina's methods becoming increasingly mysterious, or... was there truly an existence hidden so deeply that even she could be deceived, manipulating the winds and clouds from the shadows?

If the latter were true, then the schemer's plot would certainly not be small.

Disrupting the continent's order, weakening the prestige of the Nature Pantheon—the ultimate goal was likely the authority over all of Ativi.

Would such an ambitious person be content to just watch from the sidelines?

Would they reach some dangerous tacit understanding with Sabrina in certain aspects?

At this thought, a spark of starlight burst from Astrea's palm.

She hoped this was just her overthinking, an excessive vigilance brought about by long-term stewardship of the authority of light.

Otherwise, a crazy Sabrina was already tricky enough, and adding a disruptive player hidden in the shadows with unfathomable intentions...

A God War might no longer be a distant legend.

Thinking of this, Astrea rubbed the light crystal embedded in the armrest of her throne with her fingertips.

Avila's condition ultimately made it difficult for her to be completely at ease; having a few extra preparations was never a mistake.

She lifted her gaze, holy light lingering in the hall, condensing into several vague shadows.

Her divine sense spread out like a net, crossing distant spatial nodes, reaching several powerful natural origins.

The first to respond to Astrea was a robust divine power, tightly wrapping around the pulse at the center of the earth.

The Lord of Rocks and Forges, Kazgoroth, mid-eighth rank. This god of dwarves and forging had a resolute temperament, and his divine kingdom had long-standing grievances with the forces of chaos.

Kazgoroth's divine sense sent back a vibration of affirmation; the dwarf deity had always held a firm stance on purging the filth of chaos.

Following closely, a thought carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees wound its way up. The Guardian of Forests and the Path of Oblivion, Vidania, early-eighth rank.

This ancient elf deity lived in seclusion, but had deep connections with the elf mother tree.

Vidania's response carried a hint of anger; the destruction of Eternal Song Fortress and the damage to the elf mother tree clearly touched her bottom line.

However, the feedback from the subsequent two divine senses made Astrea's eyes narrow slightly.

The God of Winter, Skadi.

Her will conveyed a polite refusal; the Queen of the North had no intention of being drawn into this dispute that might affect her own divine domain.

The fierce reputation of the Chaos Royal Court and the strength of Sabrina as a ninth-rank ancient god made that deity, known for caution, choose to stay out of it.

The Eye of Illusion and Reality, Morpheus, early-eighth rank. His response was even more ethereal, conveying only the thoughts of "sleeping" and "not involving in power struggles."

Morpheus had always been detached from the affairs of the gods, and this time was no exception.

With only two deities responding clearly, the helplessness in Astrea's heart surfaced again.

Sabrina was, after all, a ninth-rank ancient god with deep foundations and mysterious, unpredictable methods.

Although she was also ninth-rank, she had ascended later, and in the eyes of those ancient beings, she might indeed lack a bit of seasoning.

And the gods who chose to sleep simply felt it was not worth it to clash head-on with a veteran ancient god for the sake of the Elf Goddess's followers.

[Even if Sabrina Child was already injured.]