"Ugh, so dirty."

Tiran looked down and realized that the lower half of his body was still buried in the loose layer of soil. He shook his hand in disgust, and the charred soil splattered onto Aya.

"Hey, stop shaking off the dirt!" Aya subconsciously raised her hand to block it, then used her other hand to pull Sader out, whose face had also been uncovered.

The slightly more awake princess had already picked herself up and was vigorously brushing off the soil from her body and hair. When her gaze swept around, her expression instantly turned grim.

"Is this the aftermath of a celestial battle?”

If Tiran didn't know how this mess had unfolded, he would probably have immediately thought that a meteorite had fallen from the sky.

As far as the eye could see, the ground for several kilometers was laid bare, with the soil layer extending upwards in the distance. The sky still bore remnants of visibly distorted scenes, as though reflecting in a funhouse mirror.

That was the natural aftermath of space being shattered and then naturally restored. Even those on the Holy Rank level who held mastery over spatial laws could only create similar effects for a short period in a small area by pushing the rules to their extremes.

"By the way…how long was I unconscious for?”

Tiran looked at Aya.

"It took me about ten minutes from when the connection between our contracts was severed to me finding you here," Aya guessed based on her feeling of time.

*Cough…cough…*

At this moment, Sader, who had also been knocked unconscious by the shockwaves while fleeing, finally coughed and woke up. As she coughed, she spat out some soil from her mouth, and her clothes and cape were tattered, no longer resembling that of a Holy Rank expert.

It was fortunate that the divine explosion had occurred in mid-air; otherwise, being struck directly would have had much more serious consequences than just looking disheveled.

"Hey, wake up! I thought I had a chance to do CPR…"

Tiran regretfully spread his hands.

"What are you saying in front of me?” Aya looked displeased. "I rushed over in such a hurry."

"Hehe, don't be jealous, Aya. You are the only one in my heart," the princess chuckled, then suddenly threw herself at Aya, whispering, "Well, Aya wouldn’t mind if I save a spot for Coco, Fei Zi, Ah Ling, and Chirp, right?"

"I heard that! Are you deliberately saying that within my earshot?” Aya was amazed. But in the end, she could only chuckled helplessly, reaching out to embrace Tiran, running her left hand over the young lady's nape, and gently flicking off the dirt clinging to the silver strands of hair.

All is well. Hmm, being able to bounce around like this doesn’t seem like anything serious after all.

"Lady Anastasia! Where are you?!"

The brief tender moment was interrupted by Sader's voice.

The dragon girl also stood staring at the ruins for quite a while when she saw it. It seemed that the impact had been too strong, and it took her a while to grasp the situation in her mind. After sprinting a few steps, she spread her wings and flew swiftly towards the center of the divine realm explosion.

"Is that the Dragonkin from earlier?" Aya asked as she watched her retreating figure.

"Yeah, you couldn’t resist someone with Dragon bloodline, right?" Tiran teased.

"Indeed, at least her appearance fits the Dragon aesthetic," Aya replied in all seriousness.

"Hey!" Tiran wagged a finger at Aya. "You are only allowed to like me, you know."

"Huh? It’s unfair that you can like someone else but I can’t have a slight crush?" Aya retorted with a smile.

"Aya, you’ve learned to be naughty too…" the princess sighed, a little embarrassed, as she raised her arms.

"Hehe, all thanks to Lady Tiran," they shared a glance and chuckled in unison. "Anyway, should we go check on that side? After all, General Ling… um, Queen Ling should be over there, right?"

Pain.

A sensation of bones breaking in many places.

Xiang Ling struggled to lift her eyelids, only to realize that it wasn’t a feeling of 'seems like,' but indeed, her bones were broken in multiple places. Her high-quality robes had been torn to shreds, with the most obvious being her left arm twisted into a grotesque posture, covered with countless wounds.

It felt like suffering severe injuries just like an ordinary person. What's more, the immortal techniques she practiced before and her immortal spirit seemed to be unresponsive after ascending to the god seat.

It was as if her divine experience card had expired.

At the thought, Xiang Ling couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

She had already forgotten when was the last time she had been so seriously injured like this.

"Such a reckless individual," Minglin's voice came faintly in her consciousness.

"I'm sorry." Despite having no hesitation or regrets about detonating the small world with all her might, Xiang Ling still apologized softly.

"If you aren't sincere in your apology, there’s no need to say it," Minglin's voice sounded displeased. "Really… setting off a small world created by your own mental state without any reservations or regrets. You can be quite ruthless."

"Because I knew it was all just an illusion," Xiang Ling looked up at the sky, now devoid of any clouds due to the explosion of divine power. She spoke calmly, "What I desire is to change the country in the mortal realm, not to place my hopes on a fragile fantasy."

"Well, it's up to you. But from now on, you'll have to rely on your own luck," Minglin's voice fluctuated a few times before disappearing.

Xiang Ling also noticed the Orc deity not far from her.

Anastasia seemed to be in a better state than herself, with a somewhat pale complexion but without any external injuries, supporting herself with one knee on the ground with only her right hand.

The transformation had ended, and the torn clothing could no longer be restored. Despite her near-fruitful posture, she began to breathe quietly, exuding a hint of charm.

Even Xiang Ling couldn't help but glance at her for a moment.

Well, her current appearance probably wasn’t too different either.

After all, as an old-time Divine Rank powerhouse who had endured thousands of years, it wouldn’t be that easy to defeat her even with the detonation of the divine realm.

She sighed inwardly and couldn't help but smile wryly.

Anastasia noticed Xiang Ling waking up and walked over directly, her steps stable and light. By the time she reached Xiang Ling, there was no trace of any injuries on her.

Two Divine Rank beings, one lying down and the other standing, looked at each other for a moment.

"You did well," Anastasia's tone was indifferent. "At least you were more interesting in battle than the Goddess of the Light."

It was indeed a thoroughly enjoyable battle.

It had been a long time since she had fought so liberally—perhaps, she hardly ever interfered in battles as a deity after the Mythical War.

Of course, she wouldn’t say something like that out loud.

"And now, go ahead and die peacefully."

For her, there was no grudge or enmity between her and Xiang Ling, and her reason for engaging was merely that Xiang Ling had injured her mortal representative. Moreover, she was itching for some action. But she had made Xiang Ling take her seriously.

When she got serious about a battle, it meant more than just winning or losing. It was a matter of life and death that she needed to consider.

That was her principle, her respect for her opponents.

Xiang Ling's response was equally calm. Reflecting on her past, she wouldn’t be surprised to die at any time. However, after gaining godlike powers, dying in such a battle was indeed a bit regretful. Even though wounded in battle, Anastasia still had absolute advantage over the now almost immobile Xiang Ling, making it seem like a matter of snapping her fingers to kill her.

Bending down, Anastasia swung a punch towards Xiang Ling's head.

Ordinary, yet filled with the power of wind and thunder.

But the punch was met with a thin crystal shell, which was unbelievably sturdy, leaving Xiang Ling unaltered after receiving the deity's fist, not even a ripple.

"She arrived just in time!" Tiran's voice.

It was accompanied by the crackling thunder.

At the critical moment, Tiran and Aya finally arrived.

But to see Chang Wei… ah, the Beast God about to kill Xiang Ling was indeed too close for comfort. If they had been even a tad bit later, Xiang Ling probably would have been done for.

Sader, who had been following Aya closely after being surpassed midway, finally caught up after seeing Tiran making a move against Anastasia. A lightning struck down, but Aya caught it with a barrier of wind.

"Holy Rank... and a Dragon Knight? And some strange aura."

With her punch obstructed, Anastasia didn't follow up with another one. Instead, she looked towards Aya and Tiran with interest. But when she sensed the Dragon Knight's contract, her expression notably darkened.

"Lady Anastasia, are you alright?"

Though she herself had sustained injuries from Xiang Ling's actions, Sader showed concern as she hurried to Anastasia's side.

"Take care of yourself, little one. The gods will protect you; there’s no need to worry!"

"Gee, are we going to fight against gods next?" Aya sounded apprehensive.

By crossing over Rank levels, it's bound to get messy… it's definitely going to be a ballbuster!

"Well, we can't just ignore Xiang Ling, can we?"

"If only I could avoid it, I really don’t want to get involved!" Aya said with a grimace.

Looking at Tiran, Anastasia suddenly burst into laughter. "Today has been quite a fruitful trip, recruiting even Dragon Knights… hehe, Dragon Knights."

It was a distant memory from The Age of Legendary War.

The birth of the Dragon Knights as a class was initially devised as means to counter the Demons, but during The Second Legendary War, with the mixed racial war among Main Dimension's races, Dragons deserted the alliance with Orcs, Elves, and Dwarves to form an alliance with humans, reviving the potent class of Dragon Knights to tilt the balance in favor of humans among the races of the Main Dimension.

Even after thousands of years, the hatred between the races and the deities had gradually faded, yet Anastasia’s emotions were still indescribably complex upon seeing this existence again.

"Hey, Dragon Knight," the Orc deity pointed at Tiran, "I’ll give you a chance to challenge me."