After the three finished their discussion, Lex removed the divine soundproof barrier.

  Zous once again put on his cold expression.

  The four demigods opposite them felt immense, invisible pressure under his icy gaze.

  Seeing their tense expressions, Zous wasted no words and extended his thoughts toward them:

  "I am giving you two choices."

  "First, I personally crush your divine domain cores and banish you from the world of gods forever."

  As he spoke, Zous glanced at Darius and the other three Lungwa demigods, making them so uneasy that cold sweat nearly broke out.

  Zous continued in a cold voice:

  "It's just a sum of settlement money in reality. Using such a small amount to sever your future—I think it's quite a good deal."

  "The second choice: surrender immediately. I will give you a chance. How much divine power are you willing to offer in exchange for keeping your divine domain core and ten thousand followers?"

  "You only have one opportunity. I advise you to cherish it."

  "No matter how much divine power you save, once you lose your divine domain core and are expelled from the world of gods, you will have nothing left."

  "Make your choice now. I don't have time to wait for you to hesitate."

  As he finished speaking, Zous’s invasion passage began moving slowly toward Darius’s divine domain, leaving no room for negotiation.

  "I choose the second option! I am willing to offer 3.7 million divine power—it's all I have!" Seeing that Zous was about to act against him, Darius immediately made his decision.

  "You, an experienced demigod, have only that much divine power?" William, who had been expecting more, looked at Darius in disbelief.

  "Really, that’s all I have. You can verify the divine power stored in my divine domain core." Seeing that Zous was still staring coldly at him, Darius had no choice but to explain further to William:

  "You know my followers' composition—purely combat-oriented. They have no economic industry at all."

  "My development relies entirely on plundering resources, with everything invested in enhancing my followers' strength."

  "There’s simply no surplus."

  Hearing Darius's explanation, William turned to Lex with a questioning look.

  Only after seeing Lex nod did he reluctantly believe Darius’s words.

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  "I’ll check your divine power reserves. If you lied, you're dead," William said before turning to the remaining two Lungwa demigods.

  Without hesitation, they made the same choice as Darius, handing over all their divine power to secure their lives.

  However, compared to Darius, their divine power reserves were mere scraps.

  Then, William turned his gaze toward the last remaining demigod, Henir.

  Henir stared blankly at William, looking as if his soul had already left his body.

  "Alright, ‘Mr. Lucky,’ what’s your plan? I recall saying that unless you can pull out another Mind Stone, well... heh heh... you know what happens next," William said with a mocking tone.

  Henir, as if suddenly snapping out of his dazed state, slowly returned to reality.

  His ever-changing facial expressions vividly portrayed his overwhelming regret and utter despair.

  "I... I don’t have another Mind Stone! I only have 120,000 divine power left—take it all! Please, just spare me!" Tears of remorse rolled down Henir’s face.

  He looked exactly like someone who had been bullied relentlessly, yet still had to humble himself and beg the tyrant for mercy.

  William’s mouth twitched as he barely managed to hold back the urge to rush over and kick Henir to the ground.

  "Hey, you were the one plotting to stab me in the back! I’M the real victim here!" Though William stayed still, he couldn't help but rant in his mind.

  After taking a moment to compose himself, William, standing in an absolute position of advantage, pondered his options:

  "Even a mosquito’s leg is still meat—can’t waste those 120,000 divine power."

  "Should I take the divine power and then eliminate him? But that would hurt my reputation… and there are witnesses here."

  "Forget it. No need to ruin my image over a grudge. Letting him go counts as an act of kindness."

  "I’m such a good person, even willing to break my promise to kill him just to show mercy."

  "Good deeds bring good fortune—my karma must be skyrocketing right now."

  Feeling quite pleased with himself, William ultimately decided to spare the pitiful Henir—for the sake of those 120,000 divine power.

  "Consider yourself lucky. You’re free to go," William said.

  Then, he turned to Zous and suggested, "Uncle Wang, I don’t think we need to create trouble for the diplomatic department. What do you think?"

  Maintaining his composed demeanor in front of others, Zous simply gave a light nod.

  Seeing this, the four demigods finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  Under the circumstances, keeping their divine domain cores and ten thousand core followers was already a fortunate outcome—at least they had the chance to start over.

  Under Zous’s watchful gaze, the four demigods obediently disconnected from the link.

  With only ten thousand square kilometers of divine domain—the minimum starting size—and their remaining followers, they swiftly disappeared into the void.

  Everything went smoothly, except for one minor hiccup when William checked Darius’s divine power reserves.

  While inspecting Darius’s divine domain core, William discovered an additional 4,326 divine power.

  Without hesitation, he confiscated the remaining 4,326 divine power under the pretext that Darius had reported an inaccurate amount.

  Additionally, instead of letting Darius take his carefully selected ten thousand elite supernatural followers, William swapped them for ten thousand weak, elderly, and injured ordinary followers.

  Darius could only watch in utter despair as William left with a smug expression.

  As a parting "thank you" for Darius’s generosity, William secretly left him a farewell gift buried beneath his remaining divine domain.

  Hundreds of specially crafted stones lay hidden underground, each containing a deadly surprise—Death Black Fungus.

  The stones’ protective shells were designed to last around twenty years before shattering and releasing their contents.

  Watching the four demigods disappear into the void, William smiled in satisfaction.

  Like an old friend bidding farewell, he waved and sent a divine message toward Darius and his companions:

  "Until we meet again!"

  At the same time, he silently hummed a farewell song in his heart:

  "I send you away… a thousand miles away…"

  Hearing William’s words, the four demigods hastened their retreat even further, vanishing at full speed.