Chapter 23 – Open Battle
Just as the immortals and gods began dispersing to prepare—
The sky trembled again.
Shiva raised his hand.
"Before you leave," he announced calmly, "there is a change."
Every being in the arena froze.
"It will be an open battlefield."
Silence.
Then chaos.
"Lord?!" thousands of voices shouted at once.
An open battlefield meant only one thing—
No brackets.
No separate divisions.
No immortal-only rounds.
Everyone would fight in a single arena.
Gods.
Immortals.
High-ranking deities.
All together.
A death match.
Nameless blinked once.
"…Lord, are you joking?"
Shiva looked at him flatly.
"Do I joke?"
Nameless crossed his arms. "Yes. Quite often, actually."
A few gods coughed nervously.
"But not now," Shiva continued, tone firm. "This is an open battlefield. Gods may use their full divine authority. Immortals may use everything they possess."
The immortals felt their blood run cold.
Originally, immortals would fight immortals.
The winners would ascend into lower godhood.
That was the traditional system.
But now?
They would be thrown into the same arena as gods.
Some of whom were already celestial.
Courage drained from many faces instantly.
Facing a god was already near impossible.
Facing multiple gods in a free-for-all?
Madness.
And the biggest problem—
Several powerful gods had entered this tournament for one reason.
To fight Nameless.
Some of them were already Celestial Gods.
They had nothing to gain from ascending further.
They only wanted battle.
And now, they were forced into the open battlefield too.
They could not withdraw.
That was the rule of Shiva.
If a Celestial God clashed with ordinary immortals…
It wouldn't be a battle.
It would be annihilation.
Even high-ranking gods alone could wipe out most immortals present.
For the immortals, this was despair.
For Nameless—
This was a logistical nightmare.
He had chosen two immortals to raise into godhood.
Now they would be thrown into chaos from the very beginning.
"Why…" Nameless muttered, staring at the sky. "Why do complications follow me like loyal servants?"
He began calculating.
Two Celestial Gods were confirmed participants.
Fortunately, only two.
The others had signed up specifically to fight Nameless directly.
But Shiva had forbidden Nameless from direct god-level duels during this stage.
So those celestial gods were indirectly withdrawn from the main bracket.
Only two remained in the actual battlefield.
"Two Celestials… manageable," Nameless muttered.
Then he counted further.
Epic Gods.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
Fifteen.
"…Fifteen to sixteen Epic Gods," he exhaled slowly.
That was bad.
Very bad.
He could handle them.
But his disciples?
Impossible.
A single normal god could defeat his two chosen immortals instantly.
An Epic God?
They wouldn't survive a breath.
And this was only the beginning stage.
An open battlefield meant phases.
Each stage escalating.
Each round more chaotic.
Nameless rubbed his temple.
"Shiva… my lord… why?"
Above, Shiva watched quietly.
This was not cruelty.
This was pressure.
If Nameless wanted to create gods—
He had to do it under true divine war conditions.
No safety nets.
No protection.
Nameless looked down at the two immortals he had chosen.
The future Goddess of Chaos.
The future God of Dragons.
Both were pale.
Both were aware.
They might die before even touching divinity.
Nameless exhaled sharply.
"Alright," he muttered.
Two Celestials.
Fifteen Epic Gods.
Dozens of High Gods.
Hundreds of immortals.
And a battlefield without rules.
He slowly smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"I might be brilliant… or incredibly stupid."
He looked at the sky again.
"But we'll know only after it begins."
His mind moved rapidly.
A plan was forming.
Not to overpower the battlefield.
Not directly.
But to twist it.
To manipulate positioning.
To force stronger gods to eliminate each other.
To hide his disciples until the right moment.
Or perhaps—
To ignite chaos so intense that even gods would lose control.
His eyes sharpened.
If this was an open battlefield…
Then illusions would dominate.
And in illusions—
Nameless was absolute.
The tournament had just transformed from a competition…
Into a war.
And Nameless had finally found something interesting.