Board & Conquest: A Godly LitRPG

After returning to the village and counting their losses, Victoire thought this battle could have been far worse.

The magmorians had burned a few houses to ashes and damaged others, but most remained standing. The miraculous rain had extinguished the flames early enough. Marron had unfortunately perished from a blow to the head, but both Bernard and Guillaume would see their wounds treated by Alpine and Mistouffe. The massacre Victoire feared hadn’t come to pass and the people had been allowed to return to their home.

Most had spent the better part of the hour staring up at their savior.

Victoire looked up to Montfroid Peak. The so-called wolf-god who had saved Narc from utter destruction no longer projected his face on the clouds, but his statue continued to loom over the region from its icy throne. Many of the village’s werelings were busy prostrating themselves in prayer before it, and the rest argued over what its apparition meant for them.

Victoire herself wasn’t sure what to make of this. The Glarmes had raised her in the Sacred Source’s faith, but she had left both her order and god behind long ago. Neither had she seen the Source blast a magmorian dead when asked to do so. This entity was altogether different from a silent and invisible deity; a tangible power whose existence was impossible to refute.

“Milady, do you think he…” Filou cleared his throat. “That he could be Grand-Loup himself?”

“Grand-Loup?” Victoire asked, having heard a few villagers mention that name during their prayers. The werelings’ faith remained foreign to her.

“The wolf god of war and winter,” Filou answered with a fearful look at the statue. “My… my mother used to say Grand-Loup would eat me if I disobeyed her.”

“He called himself Wepwawet, son of Set and Nephthys.” Whoever those were. “But he’s called himself a god and wolf-lord, so maybe people simply forgot his true name?”

“D-do you think he’ll be mad about it?” The sound of a door opening behind them caused Filou to bolt to the side in panic. “Ah!”

Victoire turned her head to look at Narc’s inn. Its owner Alpine, a tall and thick weregoat matron, walked out of it with sweat dripping down her white fur and black horns.

“Oh, I’m sorry Filou,” she apologized with a kind and soothing voice. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“So?” Victoire asked. As the town’s only healer, she had been in charge of treating the wounded.

“Bernard and Guillaume will live,” Alpine confirmed. “Thank goodness Mistouffe kept a stash of healing herbs for emergencies.”

“That’s a relief,” Victoire said with a lighter heart. She was especially happy for Guillaume. His wife had just given birth, and now his daughter would have a chance to grow up with a father. “That was a close call.”

“There wouldn’t have been a call at all without you two… and Grand-Loup.” Alpine joined her hands and looked up at the statue. “Has he spoken to you again?”

“He has been silent for the past hour,” Victoire replied. She had no idea if the ‘god’ would address them again. For all she knew, saving Narc had been a one-time miracle. “We should work to rebuild and reinforce the walls in the meantime. The magmorians might have more raiders in the area.”

“Do you think they’ll come back, milady?” Filou asked in utter disbelief. “After that crushing defeat?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to take the risk.” Victoire’s jaw clenched in frustration. “I’d heard they had already taken over other mining sites and villages to the south, but if they’re willing to send scouts so far north then it’s only a matter of time before they expand into the region. Even Roynimalia might be in danger.”

Was that the reason why this Wepwawet arrived? He did call himself the Protector of the Kind, and the way his statue pointed south reminded her of a vigil watching for the enemy.

What could such a powerful and wise entity be thinking about right now?

This was bad, bad, bad!

After spending the last hour trying to contact the Nexus through all possible channels and checking all System settings, Wepwawet was forced to concede defeat. He was now trapped in the world of Elphion without any form of backup or way to contact the heavens. Worst of all, if his Idol was destroyed while he lacked a connection to the Nexus then it might take centuries for his godly essence to find its way back and reform there.

Someone sabotaged his incarnation, maybe even the entire System’s implementation.

Could it have been those tricksters Anansi and Sun Wukong? Or that bastard Horus? It would have been their style and a good way to penalize the competition, but Wepwawet doubted any of them had the insider knowledge required to do that. None of them would risk Miss Athena’s wrath upon discovery.

Wepwawet could think of a more likely and far more dangerous culprit.

This is the titans’ doing. The more Wepwawet thought about it, the more he grew convinced of it. His father had warned him that they would do everything they could to stack the deck in their favor. They were playing for keeps. Am I the only one affected? Or are Ganesha and Artemis in the same boat?

Wepwawet needed to find a way to contact his friends, but his current situation and set of Miracles greatly limited his options. His fellow gods could be half a world away for all he knew; not to mention that his mission hadn’t changed. Wepwawet still had a duty to protect this world and guide his assigned civilization to greatness, especially since the titans would likely try to capitalize on his temporary weakness. He could already hear prayers sent his way, though these people called him ‘Grand-Loup’ instead.

It didn’t surprise him much. Mortals had a pathological need to believe in something or someone, whether it was money, gods, or even science. When no real god would answer their prayers, they simply invented imaginary ones. New gods were usually sent to civilizations adapted to their personality or culture. Considering almost all his new worshipers appeared to belong to a species of anthropomorphic animal besieged by southern invaders, he had the feeling he would fit right in.

At least my godly interface works normally, Wepwawet thought as he opened it and checked his resources. Let’s check and see if anything has changed since I arrived.