Chapter 210: Flattery

Chapter 210: Flattery

After completing the filming of The Prince's Revenge, the God of Death felt somewhat uneasy.

After all, this hyper-realistic drama was pioneered by the Internet God and had achieved unprecedented success. It was impossible for him not to feel pressure.

To ensure perfection, he reviewed the film repeatedly before uploading it.

He meticulously polished every character’s dialogue, expressions, and movements, ensuring even minor roles and extras were flawless. The sets were also painstakingly recreated to match historical accuracy.

Only when he could find no flaws did he finally upload it.

Once uploaded, the God of Death grew restless.

Before he could activate his Divine Perspective to observe audience reactions, he was overwhelmed by a torrent of Source Essence!

It was massive!

The flood of Source Essence surged like a raging river, relentless and overwhelming. The rate of absorption even surpassed the peak levels of the Opera House.

This sudden windfall left the God of Death stunned.

Through his Divine Perspective, he scanned the multiverse and saw countless commoners eagerly logging into the Dark Web to watch The Prince's Revenge.

On the Dark Web and even internet forums, countless users were buzzing about the new drama on the Dark Web.

It must be said that the Internet God deserved credit for pioneering the movie market.

For a multiverse starved of culture, what was Saving Princess Hedi?

It wasn’t nearly enough to quench their thirst!

It was like giving a single drop of water to a traveler dying of thirst in the desert—not only failing to relieve their thirst but intensifying their craving.

Why did so many people watch Saving Princess Hedi again and again?

Partly because it was entertaining, but mostly because there were no alternatives!

Amid this enormous demand, the Dark Web’s new drama shone like a beacon in the night, drawing countless moths to the flame.

Before the God of Death could fully savor his triumph, the Internet God released Young King.

This instantly put the God of Death on edge.

Truth be told, he was deeply wary—even fearful—of the Internet God’s dominance in the digital realm.

However, when he noticed only a slight dip in his Source Essence absorption rate, he relaxed.

And after skimming through Young King, his relief turned to exhilaration.

Uncontrollable glee surged within him.

"Hahaha… Internet God, oh Internet God, who knew you could be so foolish? How dare you release such childish drivel? Hahaha, you’ve handed the entire film industry to me on a silver platter!"

Drunk on the flood of Source Essence, the God of Death summoned the subordinate gods of the Nether Divine System to the Nether Temple for a meeting.

In an instant, portals lit up outside the temple as the subordinate gods arrived in droves.

Before the God of Death could speak, those skilled in flattery rushed to offer congratulations, eager not to be outdone.

"Congratulations, Lord God of Death, on The Prince's Revenge’s triumphant victory!"

Subordinate God Duke, ever the quickest to please, loudly praised.

"Congratulations, Your Highness the God of Death! With the release of The Prince's Revenge, it has utterly crushed the Internet God's two plays like a thousand troops trampling over them—utterly satisfying! From now on, the Dark Web will completely squeeze out the Internet's living space!"

"That clown the Internet God isn’t even worthy of competing with the great God of Death! Your Highness is like a soaring dragon—once you take flight, you soar to the heavens!"

"Well said!"

"Compared to The Prince's Revenge, what even are the plays made by the Internet God? They’re downright unbearable! To be honest, Your Highness, if not for your summons, who would dare interrupt me watching The Prince's Revenge? I’d wring their neck!"

The flattery from the subordinate gods left the God of Death greatly pleased!

"Hahaha! All of you must not underestimate the Internet God. That fellow is indeed a genius, repeatedly doing things never done before and succeeding every time! Unfortunately, he’s far too arrogant. Saving Princess Hedi aside, after my entry, he still dared to upload something as childish as Young King—utterly laughable!"

The God of Death first praised, then disparaged, adopting a fair and wise demeanor.

"Your Highness speaks the absolute truth! I also watched Young King—it was so idiotic and childish, I could barely stand to look!"

The lich Subordinate God Pain stepped forward, kissing up to the God of Death.

"Hahaha…"

The God of Death grew even more smug.

For a time, the temple was filled with a joyous atmosphere as the subordinate gods lavished praise on the God of Death while ruthlessly trampling the Internet God.

After a while, basking in the adulation of his subordinates, the God of Death finally declared with satisfaction, "The reason I summoned you all today is actually to assign you a task!"

With a wave of his hand, a thousandth of The Prince's Revenge's Source Essence suddenly split off and surged toward the subordinate gods.

In an instant, the subordinate gods of the Nether Divine System froze in place, their expressions stiffening!

The sheer volume and intensity of the Source Essence pouring through The Prince's Revenge as a conduit was almost unimaginable!

Even though they had already been receiving a ten-thousandth share of the Dark Web’s Source Essence, at this moment, it paled in comparison to this influx.

"This is…"

The subordinate gods wore expressions of disbelief.

"This is the Source Essence harvested by The Prince's Revenge—"

Before the God of Death could finish, the subordinate gods, now confirmed in their suspicions, were utterly stunned. They exchanged glances, each seeing the same incredulity in the others' eyes!

A single play could harvest such terrifying amounts of Source Essence? This… this was simply unbelievable!

"—a thousandth of it."

The moment the God of Death uttered those last five words, the subordinate gods' expressions shifted drastically, their gazes toward him filled with even greater awe!

Such an immense amount of Source Essence was enough to sustain the God of Death in continuously activating his godhood for low-intensity combat.

This meant that divine war could very well become a regular occurrence!

How could they not be in awe?

"Congratulations, Your Highness! With this advantage, the multiverse is yours to conquer!"

"Congratulations, Your Highness!"

The gods quickly recovered and began offering their congratulations and praises.

"It’s too early for such words! Remember, the Internet God—and even the Four Pillar Gods—remain watchful and covetous. The gods of the multiverse are no pushovers either. The Nether’s grand ambition still requires your full support."

As he spoke, the God of Death revealed a hint of temptation in his tone.

"So I intend to open up Underworld Film, allowing all of you to produce movies and share the Source Essence, just as we see here."

As these words fell, the subordinate gods of the Nether Divine System stood frozen in shock!

As the leader of the Nether Divine System, he had many responsibilities and couldn’t possibly busy himself with movie production.

However, this task wasn’t suitable to hand over to the commoners of the Church of the God of Death either. While the production costs weren’t high, the technical demands—especially for illusions—were steep.

Most importantly, the success of The Prince’s Revenge convinced the God of Death that only truly high-intellect films could crush the Internet God.

And only his subordinate gods, who had lived for centuries, had the capability to achieve this.

Thus, the God of Death decided to entrust the matter of film updates to his subordinate gods.

Of course, if you wanted the horse to run, you had to let it graze.

This was also the fundamental reason he shared The Prince’s Revenge’s Source Essence with them—to prove, through action, the efficiency of films in harvesting Source Essence.

Sure enough, as his words settled, the temple fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into a buzzing clamor.

The subordinate gods began discussing excitedly.

This was an absolutely tremendous opportunity!

Who wouldn’t want Source Essence?

"Your Majesty, the God of Death, is truly wise!"

"We shall not fail our mission!"

The subordinate gods thumped their chests in loyalty, while the sharper ones took the chance to flatter the God of Death under the guise of seeking advice.

"Your Majesty, this is our first time dealing with films. Are there any key points we should pay attention to?" Subordinate God Pain pressed.

The God of Death sat leisurely on his divine throne and chuckled. "Though films are fictional, they must still adhere to common sense. In my opinion, simply recreating historical events will suffice for now!"

He shared his experience—though not too much, as he himself was still new to this.

Subordinate God Duke stepped forward. "Worry not, everyone. Just go back and study The Prince’s Revenge thoroughly—along with Saving Princess Hedi and Young King..."

As soon as he mentioned this, the God of Death’s eyes narrowed—until Duke continued.

"We only need to treat The Prince’s Revenge as a positive example and Saving Princess Hedi and Young King as negative ones. That alone will help us avoid most pitfalls."

"Well said!"

"Absolutely reasonable!"

The subordinate gods applauded in admiration.

The God of Death’s narrowed eyes relaxed again.

This subtle praise had pleased him greatly.

"Look at the plays the Internet God produces—utterly laughable! Who even watches that garbage? That first Saving Princess nonsense only drew attention because those commoners had never seen anything better, dazzled by flashy visuals! Now, with Your Majesty’s masterpiece shining bright, the Internet God pales in comparison!"

"Exactly!"

"Thankfully Saving Princess Hedi came out before The Prince’s Revenge. Otherwise, I bet the Internet God would’ve been so furious he’d cough blood and drop dead!"

"Hahaha..."

The gods of the Nether Divine System took turns mocking their rival, elevating one while tearing down the other.

"Hm?"

Just then, the jubilant subordinate gods suddenly hesitated in unison.

The Source Essence the God of Death Sawyer had shared with them had abruptly plummeted.

Had he withdrawn it right after boosting morale?

How stingy!

No—

That couldn’t be!

At this critical moment of mobilization, the God of Death wouldn’t resort to tricks over a mere play. More importantly, rather than meddling, it would be simpler to cut it off entirely.

Thinking this, the subordinate gods instinctively glanced at the God of Death.

Sure enough, His Majesty the God of Death had clearly noticed something as well, his brow furrowing.

Before anyone could investigate the cause—

The subordinate gods suddenly realized that the Source Essence shared from The Prince's Revenge was plummeting again, the drop so steep it was practically a cliff!

What happened?

The subordinate gods exchanged bewildered looks.

The excitement on God of Death Sawyer’s face stiffened before fading entirely. His gaze turned vacant—clearly, he was checking what had occurred.

The subordinate gods wielded only virtual divine sparks, borrowing Divine Spark Authority in essence, and thus lacked the Divine Perspective.

However, as gods of the Nether Divine System, they had no shortage of methods to investigate.

In an instant, countless undead eyes opened, some scanning preaching zones, others surveilling hostile territories.

The ghost puppets they controlled swarmed the internet to uncover the truth.

It was fine until they looked—but once they did, the gods of the Nether Divine System were stunned.