I Hate Systems

"The God King!"

The recipient of their shouts was of course Arnark. He stared at them with pride, observing the faith streaming into each in large quantities, speaking happily, "You've all grown well. You're strong even among Deities."

"But," The divine peacock said hesitantly, "I'm the only Deity among the peacocks. The case is the same for all the other races too. Only the human race is an exception as they have hundreds of Deities now."

"Is there any hope for us?"

"Hope?" Arnark laughed casually as he knocked the divine peacock's head a little, "You should know very well the core source of a Deity's strength."

"Faith!" All the divine beasts answered in unison.

"Yes, so the greater the faith, the stronger you are. So, having just one Deity per race is actually better." Arnark continued, "The faith of everyone from your race surges in you by default just because you represent them."

"This is unlike the humans with many options. Their faith isn't as concentrated or pure as your believers. Well, except for their fanatics that is." He laughed and patted the peacock, "So, continue to increase the number of peacocks and you'll grow stronger and stronger. Eventually, you'll become so strong that no single human Deity can ever hope to resist you."

"Everyone should work towards that future." He announced, "That's why I relocated your homes to strategic locations."

"Is hunting the humans the only option?" The peacock asked, "Is there no hope for coexistence?"

"There is no hope until the God of Humanity is alive." Arnark said, "Through him, the development of humanity is unstoppable. You've seen their growth yourself."

"Y-Yes," The peacock trembled in fright, "They're making mysterious constructs to alter the terrain for their needs. Last year, they flooded a river that wiped out half the wildlife and even impacted my people. It's hard to resist them."

It expressed regret, "Their crossbows are terrifying. Even a normal group of humans armed with it are able to defeat a Spirit of mine. This is not to include the Spirits of other human Deities."

"I know," Arnark said, "My powers can only make you Deities. It cannot grant you knowledge regarding things like the God of Humanity. But, that doesn't mean I'll leave you helpless."

"You have a solution, God King?" The peacock asked in excitement.

"Yep," Arnark nodded naturally, "Killing the God of Humanity solves everything. Without him, humans can no longer develop crazily. Their development would more or less be similar to your people."

"Humans do have an innate advantage in terms of employing tools," Arnark nodded, "But that's why I strategically placed each one of you close to a major human settlement. Whatever they develop, steal it and make it yours. Raid them constantly and prevent their development from surpassing yours."

"Can it work?" The peacock asked.

"Use your head, will you?" Arnark knocked its head, "Every race has its advantage. Work on furthering that and you'll be fine. Diversify your means of development and don't just depend on the power you possess as a Deity."

"I mean, if the people die, the Deity becomes crippled, as simple as that. So," Arnark said, "Economics plays the most important factor in everything. Cripple the people and the foundation of the Deities collapses."

"The God of Humanity doesn't have a primary settlement. His believers are scattered throughout the world and a good fraction of them are part of other faiths. The Deities of those faiths would ensure their protection. So in this way, the God of Humanity has actually employed other Deities to protect his believers."

"His blessings allow the people to improve their standards of life, as a result, they live longer, can build larger settlements, and even innovate methods to harness the power of faith better. With stabler economies, the power held by the Deities is more stable." He continued, "So, all the human Deities are content with the relationship they share with the God of Humanity."

'Indeed, as expected of Compass. Without moving a single finger, he brought the Deities of the world under him. For their benefit, they would defend him to the end. After all, thanks to his blessings, their people live longer, explode their population, and figure out solutions to diseases, plagues, and natural disasters better by expending as little faith as possible. It's insanely efficient.' Arnark thought in praise.

Honestly, he now had a full grasp as to why Compass Carburettor threatened him. The latter was the best in moving just a single piece to naturally influence the rest of the pieces part of a chaotic puzzle into moving towards his benefit.

Even Arnark paled in comparison to that, 'But not this time.'

He let out a smirk and stared at the divine beasts, 'Humans are on your side but every other race is on my side. And unlike you, my believers are the Deities themselves.'

Yes, this was the path Arnark had taken. Just like Compass Carburettor, a few minutes into the picture after he had woken up, Arnark had figured out the core principle of this world, and also its major defect.

Your strength was decided by the number of people believing you. So, a fight between Deities didn't involve themselves, but their followers.

To kill Arnark, as long as Compass Carburettor killed his followers, the result was obvious. The case was the same vice-versa.

This was why Compass Carburettor became the God of Humanity, making other human Deities work to defend his people.

And Arnark's route was similar, or rather, a level better. Instead of making other Deities the guardians of his believers, Arnark turned the Deities themselves into his believers.

So, the faith streaming into him was of a higher level. If the faith gathered by the Deities was mortal level, as the source was the mortals, his faith was Deity level, for the source was the Deities themselves.

Of course, this meant that Arnark had to work harder, since it was his powers that turned animals into Deities.

"Moreover, we have one advantage." Arnark grinned as he snapped his finger, causing a figure to land beside him, riding a wooden bird, "Here, we have someone that can take the place of the tools relied upon by humanity."

"The Beast God himself."