I Have a God Simulator

The vast majority of the Eastern Continent is grassland, making it difficult to hide one’s tracks. The only relatively concealed spots were either backed by forests or located in areas with ravines and scattered boulders.

The intelligence provided by the Fish People allowed Luh Yao to narrow his search area.

It was somewhere in the northern region, near the coast.

He narrowed it down further.

Terrain that offered cover.

After a meticulous search, Luh Yao locked onto his target.

In an inconspicuous patch of woods, there was a pile of rubble. Within the rubble was a large boulder. The rock was shaped like a mushroom and covered in moss, making it quite unremarkable.

But when Luh Yao moved his mouse over it, he immediately saw through its disguise.

[Unknown Divine Statue]

’Found you, you little punk.’

Luh Yao and Isabel began to discuss a plan for the Divine War.

Isabel suggested a traditional blitz tactic: bombard the Divine Statue with a Miracle before the Tao God could react, destroying it completely. Just like how they had dealt with the Haili God.

This method was very prudent and reliable, a safe and steady approach.

With the enemy exposed and his own forces hidden, he could use the information disparity to launch a blitzkrieg and quickly establish an advantage.

Luh Yao thought it was a solid plan. But then he considered it more carefully. ’Wait, that’s not right.’

’What am I afraid of?’

’He’s the one who should be scared.’

First, the Tao God was trapped on the Eastern Continent. He had no idea where Luh Yao’s Divine Hall was, making him essentially a blind man who couldn’t move.

Even if this legless blind man packed a heavy punch, it was all for nothing if he couldn’t find Luh Yao’s location. This was a geographical advantage.

In terms of combat power reserves, Luh Yao commanded a battle-ready force led by four High-Level Apostles, with Ghost Souls and Fish People acting as his eyes and ears all around. This was the support of his people.

The Tao God had only recently entered the Broken World and was still in a weakened state. This was opportune timing.

With opportune timing, geographical advantage, and the support of his people, the advantage was his.

Luh Yao decided to try a little experiment. If it failed, he would switch to an all-out lightning assault, violently blast the Divine Statue to pieces, and send the Tao God to his grave.

「 」

First, Luh Yao used the Magic Potion Crucible to concoct some Madness Pills.

He had Isabel catch some rabbits, fed them the pills, and sent them toward the area near the Divine Statue. These crazed little animals could both check for traps and draw the enemy’s attention.

The Deep Sea Lord submerged into the sea, ready to provide support or cut off any escape route from the coast at a moment’s notice.

Philos, piloting the Skeleton King Armor, hid underground in the distance, lying in wait for an opportunity.

On the surface, there were no visible signs of their setup.

The pack of Mad Rabbits, sent in to trigger traps, actually managed to reveal a great deal about the situation for Luh Yao.

Near the Tao God’s Divine Statue grew a type of [Strain]. The rabbits died the moment they ate it. Moreover, the closer they got to the Divine Statue, the larger these green mushrooms grew.

Some of the green mushrooms even burrowed out of the ground, revealing greenish-white bodies underneath, and the name above their heads changed to [Fungi People].

Luh Yao realized the Tao God was cultivating [Fungi People] in a strategy similar to a modified bunker rush. He was spreading mushrooms everywhere, advancing cautiously to expand his sphere of influence.

’Can’t give him a chance to build up his strength.’

Luh Yao immediately adjusted his plan, targeting the Divine Statue’s location with [Aegir’s Fire].

’Doesn’t matter if it’s effective or not. First, let’s just clear the area with a round of meteors.’

He aimed at the Divine Statue with the [Mirror of Fiery Flame] and unleashed the Miracle bombardment.

As a rain of fiery meteors fell from the sky, the surrounding ground was blasted full of craters. Amidst the billowing smoke, a great fire burned the weeds and trees to charcoal, and the mushrooms on the ground were all but wiped out. It seemed his mushrooms weren’t fireproof.

Luh Yao breathed a small sigh of relief.

’Good thing my firepower is strong enough.’

’Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble these poisonous mushrooms might have cooked up.’

Just as Luh Yao had thought, the Tao God did not protect these mushrooms.

This was understandable. To the Tao God, the mushrooms were not irreplaceable; they weren’t worth wasting Faith on.

Next came the most crucial part of Luh Yao’s plan.

The long-ambushing Snowman Jimmy seized the opportunity, riding the [Ghost White Horse] to launch a swift raid on the Divine Statue.

「 」

Before the operation, Luh Yao had repeatedly questioned Jimmy.

"Are you sure you can do it?"

"Lord God, please trust Jimmy. The Snowman knows what to do!"

"Jimmy is very experienced at stealing fire. If it’s just an Apprentice Deity, it will be an easy success."

"When facing Apprentice Deities, Jimmy has never once failed."

Luh Yao was completely baffled.

’Something seemed off about this.’

"Besides the Dark God, you’ve stolen from other Gods?"

"Yes, Lord God."

A smiley face appeared above Jimmy’s head. "Before this, I tried it on the Divine Statues of many Apprentice Deities and even some of the Gods, and I’ve never failed once! Please believe in Jimmy!"

"The Dark God is a very terrifying Main God. Jimmy had to be completely certain of success before daring to enter Its Divine Hall to steal the fire."

The Snowman rubbed his hands together, looking quite proud of himself.

"..."

Luh Yao didn’t know whether to be happy or worried.

This seemingly simple and honest Snowman was actually a serial offender.

This was indeed the perfect moment for him to practice his... traditional craft.

Luh Yao watched the simulator nervously.

The Snowman, who had been hiding in the distance, galloped his horse to the Divine Statue. With a swipe of his red-gloved hand, he snatched something out of the air. Then, without looking back, he fled at top speed.

Luh Yao saw a "+1600" pop up in the Faith display in the top-right corner, and he couldn’t hide his excitement.

’Success!’

’The Snowman really did know what to do!’

Quitting while he was ahead, Luh Yao immediately started blasting away with [Lightning].

Caught completely off guard by this one-two punch, the Tao God could only desperately use his Fire of Faith to defend.

This time, Luh Yao used only 200 bolts of lightning to blast the Divine Statue into a pile of rubble. An Artifact popped out from the fragments, and he quickly collected it into his Artifact Bar.

However, Luh Yao didn’t feel any sense of relief.

Because the simulator had not yet given the expected notification.

The Tao God’s Faith had not completely vanished.

He had not fallen like the Haili God.

Philos had said it before.

The Tao God had two Apostles. One was the Mud Monster that had been blasted to death earlier, and the other was an Earth Elemental Creature, but it hadn’t shown itself at all since the bombardment from [Aegir’s Fire].

It might have something to do with that Earth Elemental Apostle.

Luh Yao cast [Earthquake] a dozen more times on the surrounding area, cracking the ground all over, but he still couldn’t find any other Divine Statues or suspicious objects.

In all likelihood, the Tao God had not yet left this landmass.

Luh Yao immediately had the Blood Knight lead the Corrupters to search for traces of the Tao God. At the same time, he issued a follow-up order to Philos, telling it to continue searching underground—to turn the entire continent upside down if necessary to find the Divine Statue!

Then, all he could do was wait patiently.

Luh Yao opened a can of ice-cold coke, tilted his head back, and took a large gulp, clearing his mind a little.

Then he opened his Artifact Bar to check his loot.

「 」

[Traveler’s Boots]: Faith +1/hour, Speed +1.

「 」

An Artifact that was, well, better than nothing.

This made Luh Yao even more certain that the Tao God had sacrificed his tail to escape. He had deliberately dropped this Artifact to attract attention and create an opportunity to flee.

Strategically, he had won.

But in the final stage, the enemy had managed to slip away.

Luh Yao wasn’t annoyed, though.

The Tao God’s ability to escape wasn’t part of the intelligence he had. The fact that he’d used a special method to survive was a skill in itself.

However, the Tao God had been severely wounded. All Luh Yao had to do now was narrow the search area to lock onto his position.

Luh Yao tossed the [Traveler’s Boots] to the Snowman.

The Snowman needed speed, so holding onto them would provide some benefit.

"Thank you for the Blessing, Lord God. Jimmy did not disappoint you, and I also made a small gain."

Jimmy opened his arms, holding an Artifact in his red-gloved hands.

Luh Yao was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t expected the Snowman to not only steal the Fire of Faith but also swipe an Artifact from the Divine Statue.

It was a green ring.

「 」

[Growth Ring LV4]: Faith +2/hour. While holding this Artifact, the growth speed of nearby plants is slightly increased.

「 」

Luh Yao’s eyes lit up with delight.

’This is great stuff!’

Without the [Growth Ring], the growth rate of the Tao God’s mushrooms would decrease, and their threat would be greatly diminished.

Furthermore, while the ring couldn’t increase the population’s birth rate, it could boost the growth of Tree People and the forest.

Luh Yao clicked on the ring and saw that it displayed an area of effect; a green light covered exactly one screen.

When there was nothing else going on, he could have Isabel wear the ring and wander around the forest. In the long run, this would be a major benefit.

「 」

Underground.

In a deep, dark cavern, a strong, yellow, multi-legged insect lay prone. It carried a mushroom-shaped stone statue on its back.

Green fungi had already begun to grow on the four walls of the cave.

The Tao God calmed down and gradually realized that the one who had attacked him was not the Haili God.

But this raised a new question. ’How could a God of the Gods Level exist in this Fragment World?’

’In a single encounter, the enemy had nearly destroyed his Divine Statue, almost causing him to fall on the spot. The strategic layout that completely crushed him from start to finish, the cold and swift attacks filled with oppressive power... it left him breathless.’

’There was barely any Fire of Faith left in his Divine Statue. If he encountered that hostile God again, he would surely die.’

’Could it be... that the Forest God had truly been revived?’

’Or had this Fragment World given birth to a native God?’

’No matter which it was, the situation was dire for him.’

’Extremely dire.’

The Tao God thought it over and over, but could find no path to victory.

’If all else failed, he would have to use his trump card, his sure-win method...’

’Pledge allegiance to the enemy and become a Subordinate God!’

’He had submitted to the [Whistleblower] before, so the Tao God felt no burden in doing it again.’

’Continuing one’s Faith is the fundamental purpose of a God.’