Chapter 27

Deep within the dense forest, the colossal statue of the Beast God, once enshrined in the Bandasia Shrine, broke through all obstructions and appeared upon the Bandasia Plaza.

Held within the giant stone palm of the Beast God hovered a rustic scepter—a sacred relic representing the supreme glory of the Beast God and the highest authority in Bandasia.

As the massive statue emerged, a giant eagle soaring in the sky slowly lowered the bewildered toddler into the deity's palm.

"Ang?"

After scrambling up from the rugged surface of the statue's hand, the little one immediately spotted the beautiful, softly glowing scepter nearby.

From the moment the eagle placed the toddler in the palm, the Sacred Beasts atop the twelve towering pillars had all risen to their feet, casting their devout gazes toward the scepter. Outside the shrine plaza, the Gray Wolf and the Golden Lion also stood, their anxious eyes fixed on the child.

In the legends of Bandasia, the one who earns the recognition of the twelve Sacred Beasts and claims the scepter from the hand of the Beast God is the true successor to the Beast God's will.

Having circled among the twelve pillars, the toddler had clearly gained the approval of the Sacred Beasts; the only suspense left was whether he could actually lift the scepter.

...Though, there shouldn't be any suspense left, should there?

After all, the powerful Gray Wolf warrior Wolberry and the Golden Lion warrior Belliman had both personally experienced being silently and completely subdued by this seemingly harmless child. Even before gaining the recognition of the scepter, the toddler already possessed a natural affinity and control over the beastkin.

At this moment, watching the toddler who seemed so close yet so far away, Wolberry and Belliman felt that even without the child reaching for the scepter, the succession was already a foregone conclusion.

Yet...

The two S-rank high-level beastkin fell into a subtle, contemplative silence. Legend stated that the successor would inherit the will of the great Beast God... but if the successor was this toddler, what kind of "will" would he be inheriting?

As these slightly irreverent thoughts crossed their minds, the two beastkin felt as though they had heard a familiar line:

"Tongtong, Youyou is hungry!"

On the palm of the holy statue, just as everyone waited in anticipation, the toddler had barely taken two steps after standing up when his stomach gave a tiny, audible rumble.

The little one looked at his "Tongtong" with a pitiful expression, and the silent System, looking at the child, found itself at a loss for how to respond. As a system, it truly could not find any fresh "ingredients" in such an environment.

Fortunately, System 001 possessed Main God-level capabilities. From the moment the eagle placed the child on the statue, it had sensed the tension among all the beastkin present.

To System 001, this was a sacred rite of succession, and it was clearly tied to the "faith" of the beastkin. The system had not forgotten that its host had recently satisfied his hunger using the "faith" of the half-orc Althas.

With the assistance of its Main God-level calculation power, System 001 locked its target onto the scepter. The scepter itself was not the point; the real significance was that once its host claimed it, he would receive the full recognition of the beastkin and, consequently, their "power of faith."

In a mere 0.001 microseconds, System 001 organized its thoughts and gently comforted the little one, who was pouting from hunger.

System 001: [Youyou, do you see that scepter? Why not try to pick it up?]

The toddler, who had been rubbing his tummy, hadn't noticed the scepter until the system's guidance. He looked up and saw it—a rustic branch, glowing with a soft, cyan-green light.

Intrigued by the glow, the hungry little one wiggled in place and pushed himself up with his hands.

"Scepter!"

The toddler walked on his short legs, swaying toward the scepter under the gaze of thousands. Just before reaching out to touch it, he asked his system in all seriousness: "Tongtong, if Youyou gets the scepter, will I not be hungry anymore?"

System 001: [...]

The powerful, low-key Main God-level system watched its host in silence before replying in a gentle, slightly helpless voice: [If I am not mistaken... yes, you will.]

"Oh!!"

Clearly, the little one trusted his Tongtong implicitly. Su You opened his chubby hands and grabbed the tree-branch "scepter."

The moment his hands touched it, the cyan-green light swirling around the branch seemed to have found its master, clinging to the small child. Forgetting his hunger, the little one widened his large, beautiful eyes, which matched the color of the glow, and curiously poked a twig on the scepter with his other hand.

Everything seemed natural and mundane, but the moment he grasped it, the twelve Sacred Beasts let out a roar, then prostrated themselves in devotion toward the toddler.

"Our King—"
"The Guardian of Bandasia—"
"The Eternal Master of Bandasia—"

In the Bandasia forest outside the shrine, high-level beastkin who had been wandering aimlessly suddenly let out excited roars:

"Our King—"
"The Successor to the Beast God's Will—"
"The New Master of Bandasia—"

Roar after roar echoed from the plaza, spreading across the entire Bandasia continent. The other candidates for the "Soldier King" title, who had entered the forest, were filled with curiosity and pressure as they saw the massive number of high-level beastkin prostrating themselves toward the depths of the woods.

What was waiting for them at the heart of the forest? And what had candidates 001 and 098 experienced to reach it before anyone else? Given that the main system had not announced any deaths, they must still be alive.

Deep in the woods, the half-winged Silvalando stared intently toward the center, taking advantage of the beastkin’s distraction to move forward.

At that moment, the virtual live-stream channels 001 and 098, which had suffered from "unexpected signal interruptions," finally recovered through the "all-out efforts" of the staff.

"Oh, my dear audience! Look at this!"

The green-skinned Maka-Maka jumped with excitement as the signal returned. "See? Deliberately cutting the signal? That never happened! Look, our signal is back!"

In 001's sub-space, the AI knew exactly what the viewers wanted to see. The feed cut to a close-up of the toddler, who was holding a branch that looked like a toy he had picked up.

The little one was hungry, so the first thing the viewers saw was the toddler curiously examining the branch and taking a bite out of it. It clearly didn't taste good; he frowned, moved the branch away, and poked it with his finger, looking dissatisfied with his "toy."

After the bite, the little one puffed out his cheeks and complained to the system: "Tongtong, it's not tasty!"

System 001: [...]

System 001 watched the toddler complaining about the branch and soothed him with its gentle, magnetic voice: [Don't worry, you will have food soon.]

Just moments ago, as Su You picked up the scepter and the beasts knelt, System 001 had begun to sense a wave of frenzied energy surging toward the child. When the beasts had knelt to the "Beast God" before, 001 had felt nothing, but now, the object of their worship had shifted from the primitive deity to Su You himself.

Suddenly, the signal for channels 001 and 098 cut out again. The next second, the main system’s broadcast sounded:

[Candidate 001 has successfully subdued the S-rank Sacred Beasts of Plane 12768 (12/12). Candidate 001 has successfully subdued the S-rank high-level beastkin of Plane 12768 (data encrypted). Candidate 001 has successfully subdued the A-rank high-level beastkin of Plane 12768 (data encrypted)...]

A string of data left the audience of the Main Universe and the candidates in the Bandasia forest frozen in place.