"Lord Artosh..."
After exchanging glances with Ryuga, Jibril completely understood the War God's intentions.
Before even fighting, he called it the final battle, seeking only exhilarating combat without caring about victory, even entrusting the Flügel to others.
Anyone with eyes could see that rather than a deal, this was more like entrusting one's legacy.
Thinking of this before even fighting—was this adherence to the rule that the victor gets everything, or trust in Jibril's judgment?
Jibril didn't understand what was going through Artosh's mind.
But she understood that among the Flügel, there were very few with clear sight and many who were blind.
Just like the one in front of her.
"Eh eh eh eh?!"
Hearing the War God's words, Azriel rolled like a carp and climbed up from the ground, looking tearfully toward the War God's throne.
"What's happening? How could this be meow! We are all wings loyal to the Lord God—how could we possibly follow someone else's orders meow!"
As the leader of the Flügel, she desperately tried to express her loyalty.
However, at this moment, after reaching the deal, the War God had withdrawn all his might and returned to staying on his throne, not even glancing in this direction.
So Azriel's pleading was completely like casting flirtatious glances at a blind man—the War God didn't even look.
Seeing Azriel crying pitifully, Jibril stepped forward and very gently patted her head.
"It's okay, Azriel. You've just been abandoned by Lord Artosh."
"Wuuu, I knew Jibril cared about me the most—UWAAAH, don't say such hurtful things!"
Hearing the first half, Azriel was still moved, but hearing the second half, she directly collapsed on the ground, feeling like her heart had been viciously stabbed.
Seeing her clutching her chest and convulsing, Jibril shrugged.
"Since you're wings loyal to Lord Artosh, after hearing Lord Artosh's command, do you still need me, a junior, to teach you what to do?"
In this world, created beings must completely carry out their creator's will.
That is to say, even if it meant betraying themselves, as long as it was a command from the Lord God, they couldn't refuse.
Now, since Artosh had already made a deal with Ryuga, regardless of what they thought in their hearts, they had to follow the Lord God's command and serve Ryuga.
Actually, during Azriel's time of distress, over a thousand Flügel had already silently arrived before Ryuga through Shift, arranging themselves neatly like a silent angel legion.
They also completely couldn't understand Artosh's intentions, but the Lord God's commands must be obeyed, and the Lord God's words could never be wrong.
Therefore, regardless of what they thought in their hearts, they gathered under Ryuga's command at the fastest speed, awaiting their temporary master's instructions.
Under over a thousand pairs of eyes, even Azriel couldn't continue lying on the ground without dignity. She dusted herself off and dejectedly stood in front of all the Flügel.
Then, all the Flügel turned their gazes toward Ryuga.
Looking at this entire Flügel legion capable of deicide before him, Ryuga nodded with satisfaction.
Although the combined strength of these Flügel could only match an upper-tier Old Deus, that was an upper-tier Old Deus from the No Game No Life world.
However, if placed in the Campione world, they would be sufficient to sweep through the entire divine realm.
If he used them as his sword to directly sweep through the divine realm, Ryuga would be able to obtain all the primordial divine cores of every pantheon in one go.
As long as the Ex-Machina's computational power could keep up, Ryuga would be able to master the myths of all pantheons in the entire divine realm, becoming the lord of the divine realm.
If he could accomplish this, all the mythological techniques Ryuga currently wielded would receive maximum completion, and his power would completely surpass the stars, reaching a position he couldn't currently foresee.
Doing this would be much easier than Ryuga attacking each pantheon one by one.
Often, the significance of subordinates lay in this.
Subordinates might not necessarily be able to do things their master couldn't, but they could definitely help their master share the burden—otherwise, there would be no need for their existence.
From this perspective, it had to be said that Artosh's gift had reached Ryuga's heart.
Even if Artosh was defeated later, Ryuga would continue to protect the Flügel.
Of course, talking about this now was too early.
Before returning to the Campione world, he had to settle all the Ex-Machina and make them obey.
Thinking of this, Ryuga immediately issued tasks to the Flügel before him.
"All Flügel, form ten-person squads and conduct grid cross-searches of this planet's surface. The search target is inactive divine cores."
"Inactive divine cores?"
Hearing this request, the Flügel girls looked at each other in confusion. Even Jibril was somewhat puzzled.
"Master, aren't we looking for scrap metal... I mean, the Ex-Machina?"
Others didn't dare ask, but Jibril had no such concerns.
"Finding the Ex-Machina is simple, but conquering them is troublesome."
Ryuga shook his head.
The Ex-Machina's structure wasn't ethereal bodies like the Flügel, but primarily material structures. Such basic structures weren't suitable for the [Sword's Origin], and couldn't be simply subjected through techniques.
Although there were thousands of ways to deal with the Ex-Machina, there weren't many methods that could make them submit.
Of course, the original work mentioned one method—granting the Ex-Machina hearts, then using hearts to infect all Ex-Machina.
However, this was a pathway specifically left for the weak—simple but time-consuming.
For the strong, there was no need for such trouble.
"Just find the deity who created the Ex-Machina, then defeat it, and you can easily conquer all Ex-Machina. This way is more efficient and convenient."
Hearing Ryuga's words, Azriel and the other Flügel were immediately stunned.
Find a deity and then defeat it... where was this convenient?
Only Jibril could best understand Ryuga's thinking.
"Right! As expected of Master, your wisdom is unparalleled!"
Hearing Jibril's flattery, the Flügel looked at each other and had to admit one thing.
That is, this temporary master indeed had the qualifications to be Lord Artosh's enemy.
Nothing else—just this attitude of treating other deities as nothing was not something weak individuals could learn.
Seeing that the Flügel girls had no objections, Ryuga continued speaking.
"The search technique is here. You can obtain it by signing temporary contracts. Each technique has a sensing range within ten kilometers. There may be multiple inactive divine cores in this world, so until I confirm obtaining the target, the search work must not stop."
"Of course, if you encounter enemy attacks, there's no need to hold back. You're allowed to organize your combat power and counterattack. If you encounter enemies difficult to handle, directly request my assistance through the contract."
"Yes!"
Faced with Ryuga's clear instructions, the Flügel girls all accepted their orders.
Although they still had some resistance in their hearts toward their Lord God's enemy, they didn't dislike Ryuga's style of doing things.
The Flügel's style was as violent and straightforward as Ryuga's.
In Ryuga's instructions, they only had objections to the last sentence.
What did he mean by encountering enemies difficult to handle and needing to request his assistance?
This temporary master seemed to underestimate the Flügel's strength too much.
As servants of the War God, the Flügel in this world could be said to be tyrannical, with almost no one daring to obstruct them.
With their power, would they encounter enemies they couldn't handle?
What a joke!
Of course, they still didn't dare voice this complaint.
After signing temporary contracts and obtaining the techniques, the Flügel girls departed through Shift.
Regardless of what they thought in their hearts, they indeed completely followed Ryuga's orders, forming ten-person squads and beginning carpet searches of the earth.
After over a thousand-winged Flügel left, the plain seemed much more spacious.
Looking at the empty ground, Azriel was slightly stunned and suddenly realized something.
"Mmph mmph mmph~"
She began struggling violently.
It wasn't until Jibril removed the rag blocking her mouth that Azriel could speak.
She immediately looked at Ryuga with anticipation.
"Um... did you forget about me meow?"
After witnessing the scene of Ryuga and Artosh speaking as equals, Azriel no longer dared to be disrespectful to Ryuga.
It wasn't betrayal, but because being disrespectful to an opponent acknowledged by the Lord God was equivalent to being disrespectful to the Lord God.
Not to mention, she was now technically Ryuga's temporary property and had to follow Ryuga's commands.
"No."
Ryuga shook his head.
"The previous task was for the other Flügel. Your task is different—you're responsible for staying with us."
Hearing this, Azriel was immediately dumbfounded. She had originally wanted to sneak out and inquire about the Lord God's will.
"Why meow? Why am I the only one who's different meow?"
She asked with a mournful face, worried in her heart that she was being given the cold shoulder because of what happened earlier.
"The answer to this question is simple."
Ryuga never minded resolving others' doubts.
"What is it meow? Oh right! Could it be that you've taken a fancy to my status as the Flügel leader and want to use me to command the other Flügel meow?"
Clapping her hands, Azriel had a flash of inspiration in her mind, as if she had discovered some great secret.
However, faced with this speculation, Jibril only gave her a look like she was looking at a mental patient.
"You're overthinking it. It's simply because the other Flügel happened to form ten-person squads perfectly, and you're the extra one!"
"Ah?"
Azriel was dumbfounded.
"I'm the extra one meow?"
"That's right."
Ryuga nodded, confirming Jibril's speculation.
"...I want to commit suicide meow!"
Azriel could no longer rise.
To be continued…