362:
Others would think that at this time, Lolth should be guarding outside the elven kingdom, following the Elf-Eater to find another lone elven god to attack. This was something that other gods, and even the entire elven pantheon, were sure of.
But Shelley, who understood history, was very clear about the influence of the Dark Maiden on the rule of the Underdark.
Lolth would absolutely not let her daughter shake her rule at this time of the Time of Troubles… she would definitely come back at the first moment to hunt down her daughter, this unstable factor.
And the moment Shelley had discovered Eilistraee and Lolth, he had let Nadia take Elena and the others back… This was the first step, to show that he had no intention of attacking this Spider Queen.
Then he had acted with overwhelming force, using an extraordinary amount of divine power to carry out a display of judgment over Deephearth. This was the second step, meant to show off his strength and current power.
Finally, he had taken the initiative to persuade Eilistraee to leave this place, and had even taken his followers and had completely withdrawn from the Underdark. This was the third step, and also the last step, to express that he had no intention of interfering in the Underdark.
If, after Shelley had shown his position and attitude, the Spider Queen still wanted to attack Eilistraee, his own ally… then the battle between the two of them would be inevitable.
But in this situation where the great divine power had not descended to the mortal realm, and all sides were very tense, a battle was an unwise choice for both of them.
The best situation now was for the two of them to each take a step back, and Shelley had already taken the first step.
This idea was not a whim of Shelley’s, but had been foreshadowed a long time ago.
Shelley had already helped her clean up an Undead Vengeance Goddess, and had not accepted her followers, but had let their church collapse on its own. This behavior was extremely abnormal in the eyes of others, but Shelley had not explained it at that time.
And then, when the Undead Church was spreading its faith in the Underdark, unlike other churches that had to promise a lot of beautiful futures, and even to bestow healing divine magic for free, the Undead Church had not promised a lot of beautiful prospects, but had instead just used a sincere heart to move others, so the success rate was very low.
This behavior had once made Liz think that her god was short of money. But when she had learned about the wealth of Ir and Fente from Katerina, she had had a sudden realization. She had understood Shelley’s idea of seeking sincere followers and preferring quality over quantity, and had apologized to Shelley for a whole month…
Shelley was also speechless at Liz’s deification behavior for a while, but he did not explain, but instead let them think for themselves.
“This kind of thing, the more you explain, the easier it is to make a mistake, and the darker it gets. Just let them think for themselves.”
Besides killing the Undead Vengeance Goddess, he had not shown any intention of being an enemy of Lolth throughout the whole process. Not to mention reverence, at least Shelley had shown respect for Lolth in many places.
Shelley thought that he had already done a lot, and the concession that Lolth had to make at this time was very simple, just to let Eilistraee go.
If Lolth was still not satisfied at this time and chose to push her luck… Shelley would definitely fight her to the end.
Wary did not mean really afraid of her, and the divine sword in Shelley’s hand was not for show.
The sky that Shelley was looking at did not change at all. After a long while, a light laugh finally sounded in Shelley’s heart, “Hehehehehe…”
“What an interesting man.”
Shelley’s expression did not change in the slightest, and he even wanted to laugh a little.
Hmph, I’ve heard this sentence countless times. It’s impossible for my heart to have any fluctuations.
“Shelley… I’ll remember you.”
After Rose finished speaking, her aura gradually faded away. She was going to continue to take advantage of the chaos to hunt the elven gods.
With Lolth’s departure, Shelley also let out a sigh of relief in secret. Although he had been prepared to fight with Lolth in his heart, being able to avoid a conflict still made Shelley feel at ease.
[Are you scared?]
“Hah.”
“This is a strategic retreat, and didn’t she also retreat?”
“And how could I be at a disadvantage?”
A green gem appeared in Shelley’s hand, and he silently transmitted his will into it.
The Elf-Eater, which was constantly running toward the elven kingdom, paused for a moment, and soon it returned to normal and continued to run. But no one noticed that its direction of advance had a slight, almost invisible change.
It had quietly deviated from its original path and had instead turned to a deserted route… and on this road, there was not a single elven village.
At the same time, Shelley, who was far away in Deephearth, let go of the constantly shattering green gem in his hand and sighed softly, “This is all I can do for you.”
“If the gods you believe in are still unwilling to make a move for you like this…”
“Then you’d better betray them.”
[Lolth will find trouble with you if she finds out.]
“Then don’t let her find out. Anyway, it’s a one-time thing.”
Stretching without caring about his image, Shelley let out a long breath…
“So far… the stage has completely come to an end.”
Nearly four years of planning, countless deductions, countless rehearsals in his mind… the last month of sleepless, crazed speculation, Shelley had ensured the implementation of every detail, and he had hundreds of emergency plans in his mind…
For this performance, Shelley was confident, because he had a grasp of every detail. But he was also nervous, because if just one detail went wrong, it might lead to a bad ending.
Fortunately, all of this had finally paid off in the end. He had successfully played the most perfect ending.
Using a god as a prop on the stage, Shelley had gone through all kinds of hardships and had finally successfully brought this performance to a perfect end.
“The name of this performance will be ‘The God’s Hunting Ground’.”
Shelley laughed silently, and then he whispered with malice, “A pity, they would never have thought that they were the prey.”
And at this time, the night had passed, and the dawn had come.
Looking at the rising sun on the horizon, when the first ray of sunlight cut through the sky and the endless darkness was torn apart by the light, Shelley revealed a brilliant smile.
“The future, I see the possibility of victory.”
“I will absolutely not let you destroy everything I protect.”
…
Waking from a long dream, he opened his eyes and looked at the room he was in at this time.
Magnificent decorations, a velvet quilt, and a certain kind of incense was lit at the head of the bed.
No matter how you looked at it, this was like the bedroom of a powerful noble who had put a lot of thought into enjoyment.
“This is…”
An elegant female voice, with a hint of a smile, appeared at the door and said softly, “It’s been a long time…”
“Sharess.”
