Global Gods : Skill-Resonance Awakened Chapter 371: Ch 371 : Nepo-King Anohara

The delicate calm that had barely enveloped the inner world exploded like a fragile mirror smashing against unyielding stone.

As the Demigods—protectors of the Emperor’s realm—retreated to the City of Gods to chase their divine breakthroughs, a gaping void in supervision emerged across the mortal lands.

In this quiet void, mortals fended for themselves, blind to the fact that the fractures ripping through their society stemmed not from chance, but from the cunning designs of the Jade Empress.

Though her domain spanned just a hundred thousand worlds—a mere sliver against the vast Cosmic Empire—the Empress wielded an innate command of perception that Anohara, obsessed with his empire’s frameworks and logistics, simply did not possess.

She grasped that in an information-driven realm, whoever shaped the story shaped existence itself.

The main arena for this covert conflict was Thea’s System Forum. Back in the inner world’s infancy, the forum served as a bastion of unfiltered truth, where every viewer-seen detail stood as irrefutable fact, endorsed by Demigod Thea herself.

Thea, born from the Emperor’s will, had vetted every scrap of data personally. Beneath her vigilant eye, falsehoods burned away before touching a single thought.

Critical announcements rose to the pinnacle of awareness; lesser tidbits plunged under layers of priority.

It functioned as a pristine vault of pure knowledge.

Yet when Demigods pulled away from mortal matters, Thea’s core directives shifted dramatically.

The system evolved beyond a handpicked repository; it transformed into a reflection of shared cravings.

Thea rolled out tailored feeds that scanned what lifeforms viewed and interacted with on the forums. This turned lifeforms into rulers of their own streams, granting them full sway over the content.

Yet the deadliest shift came with the Engagement Economy’s launch. Liking or commenting on posts now demanded a tiny Merit outlay, routed straight to the poster’s coffers.

All at once, seizing the crowd’s focus transcended mere sway—it became a concrete, exchangeable wealth.

Once lifeforms grasped that fleeting glances from unknowns could yield riches, information’s essence warped forever.

Content shifted from enlightening to entrancing. Posters unleashed garish Ragebait and pulse-pounding visuals to chain eyes in place.

The algorithm detected the engagement surge and propelled these venomous entries upward, forging a vicious cycle of hype.

The Jade Empress pioneered this algorithm’s exploitation with expert finesse.

She skipped proving Anohara’s tyranny; she merely needed his despotic image to spread faster than his era of harmony.

Deploying a billion tailored lifeforms to swamp forums with snappy thumbnails and incendiary headlines, she seized control of the universal feed.

Since these blasts targeted the Cosmic Empire’s King—the inner world’s supreme icon—they rocketed to prominence. The snowball ignited into a cataclysmic cascade.

As momentum built, opportunistic users chased Merit scraps by echoing the storyline. Falsehoods surged to the forefront. In mere weeks, the forum drowned in defamation:

The Corruption Charges: Accusations that Imperial officers pocketed huge bribes to favor trade queues, dooming solo worlds to famine as elites ballooned.

The Fabricated Figures: Twisted stats purporting surges in trafficking and slavery during Anohara’s rule, with claims his fortunes buried the casualties.

The Legitimacy Assault: The cruelest tale, branding Anohara a vacant Nepo-King.

They highlighted his great-grandfathers Anaske and Vel, ancestor Thorn, and Uncle Light, insisting he’d forged no personal legacy.

This tale depicted him as a ruthless overlord leveraging ancestral fame to swallow 20 billion worlds. Such accusations set multiversal hearts ablaze.

Within Veridian Palace, tension hung heavy in the air. An Elf Minister faced Anohara, hands shaking as he flicked through panicked updates on his system panel.

"Your majesty," the Elf whispered, "the situation is deteriorating. Millions of worlds under our banner are petitioning for independence. They are threatening revolt if we do not release them from the Imperial Contract. Some... some are even speaking of joining the Jade Empire."

Anohара lounged on his throne, expression serene as dawn’s still pond. "Become independent?" he queried, tone hushed yet pulsing with ancestral might.

"Is our empire a social party? A gathering where guests can wander in and out at their whim? We built the foundations they stand upon."

"Your majesty, if we do not grant them leave, the chaos will spread. The projections suggest that two billion more worlds will declare independence within the month."

Anohара shut his eyes, fist tightening gradually on the throne’s arm. "Let them go."

The Elf Minister gasped. "But Sire, the loss of resources, the prestige...."

"Let them be," Anohara repeated, eyes snapping open—icy and piercing.

"I have provided them with benefits they could not dream of in a thousand lifetimes. If their leaders are so easily swayed by the whispers of a masked ghost, then they are not worthy of the protection of the Empire. I respect their choice to be alone. For now. Sooner or later, every world will return to the Cosmic Empire."

A savage gleam sparked in the King’s stare. "But tell them this: Business cannot exist without trust. If they break the bond of loyalty, we shall break the bond of trade."

"In fact, immediately stop all exports to any world that declares independence. No starships, no mana-crystals, no medicine, no artifacts. If they want to be independent, let them be truly independent of everything we have built."

The Minister’s eyes bulged. A sly, ruthless grin crept across his features.

"A stroke of genius, Majesty. Our workers are currently being overworked by the demand. By cutting off the unfaithful dogs, we lighten the burden on our true citizens. They will soon learn that freedom is very cold without the help of Cosmic Empire"

"And Minister Xavius," Anohara added, rising to his feet. "Find out who is behind these attacks. When I have a name, we will discuss the price of a lie."

As Anohara departed the throne room, the System Forum ignited. A violet alert pierced every post across the multiverse.

[LIVE FEED: THE JADE EMPRESS]

Trillions of displays sprang alive. The Jade Empress materialized amid her emerald-vine throne room. Her face remained shrouded, yet her captivating, venomous green eyes bored straight into each watcher’s essence.

"Greetings to all the viewers across the multiverse, who have used their precious time to come and listen to me," she intoned, voice smooth as silk laced with blades. "In an age of tyrants, the truth is the only sanctuary we have left."

The live feed’s comment storm raged into a frenzied haze:

HelloKitty62: I would die for you your majesty, my life is your, this time is nothing!!

LadyKiller52: her eyes... I am being sucked in them. I can’t breathe...

VoidCultist: Finally someone speaks against the Veridian parasites!

SoulSeeker_99: I’m transferring all my merits to her right now! Down with Anohara!

EmeraldFanatic: Why is she still wearing a veil? Even her eyes are enough to make me kneel.

IndependentWarrior: My world just left the Empire. We are coming to join you, Empress!

LustForGreen: I don’t care about the politics, I just want her to look at me again.

TruthBearer: Look at the engagement numbers! Anohara is finished!

DarkStar: I used to be in the Cosmic empire, but now I see the lies. Empress, save us!

DivineBeauty: Those eyes are definitely a talent... I can’t stop watching.

This transcended politics; it birthed a cultish wave, welding scattered lifeforms into one hypnotic horde.

Her allure shredded reason, igniting a blaze poised to devour the empire from inside.

In his secluded study, Anohara eyed the system panel. Rage evaded his features. Instead, calculation gleamed.

"And here I thought it would be difficult to catch the person who was behind these posts," he remarked with a parched, empty laugh. He reclined, eyes igniting in profound gold.

"Your tricks are top-notch, Empress," Anohara muttered, voice dropping as his presence twisted the surrounding atmosphere. "But you underestimated me. You assumed I was going to lie down and take these hits. Well, I will show you what true hits look like."

Anohара’s gaze erupted in searing brilliance, and then... there was no after—the livestream snapped off abruptly, leaving viewers bewildered, minds scrambling to grasp the sudden void.